A Conversation with Josh Howerton and Chris Kuti of Lakepointe Church

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Podcast Show Notes: The Future of Church Leadership with Josh Howerton and Chris Kuti

Guests: Josh Howerton (Senior Pastor) and Chris Kuti (Worship Pastor) from LakePoint Church
Hosts: Jake Gosselin and Matt Woltjer from Churchfront

Key Topics Discussed

AI in Ministry (00:02:15)

• Josh's approach: Uses ChatGPT weekly for sermon prep as a "high-powered research assistant"
• Prompt strategy: "Give me 20 interesting facts about [passage] that are historical, cultural, theological, archeological, linguistic, or biblical that most Christians wouldn't know"
• Chris's usage: Meeting organization, content creation, voice conversations during drives
• Key principle: Use AI as a tool that serves you, don't serve the tool
• Important caveat: Always fact-check AI outputs - they can be wrong up to 17% of the time

Church Technology Criticism (00:58:22)

• The "negative world" concept by Aaron Renn - cultural shift from positive to neutral to negative perception of Christianity
• Common criticisms: "Tax the churches," "Money should go to the poor"
• Biblical response: Only Judas complained about expensive things being used to honor Jesus
• Economic reality: Larger churches often spend lower percentages on tech than smaller churches due to economy of scale
• Technology costs: Modern equipment costs significantly less than in the early 2000s

Social Media Strategy (00:12:38)

• Initial resistance: Reformed background's "theologized cynicism" toward self-promotion
• The turning point: People spend 16-18 hours/week on social media hearing secular perspectives
• "Air war vs. Ground war": Ground war = traditional discipleship, Air war = cultural engagement
• Digital Areopagus: Social media as the modern equivalent of where Paul engaged culture in Athens
• Current following growth: From 20-40k to significantly larger audience through strategic content

Worship Pastor Turnover Crisis (01:26:06)

• Root causes identified:
  • Getting into ministry for wrong reasons (seeking bigger stages/record deals)
  • Senior pastors hiring for talent over pastoral gifting
  • Lack of pastoral development and broader leadership responsibilities
  • "Warm up the crowd" mentality rather than true pastoral partnership
• Solutions proposed:
  • Hire character first, develop competency
  • Give worship pastors genuine pastoral responsibilities
  • Focus on being pastors who happen to use music
  • Create long-term development paths

Hiring and Leadership Development (00:36:29)

• Key principle: "Always bet on leadership" over pure talent
• Character evaluation: Look at family life as indicator of leadership capacity
• "Hire slow, fire fast" - don't ignore red flags in interviews
• Vision alignment: Ensure worship leaders can come under senior pastor's vision
• Josh's story: Had to fire a worship leader after 5 weeks for vision misalignment

Succession Planning (00:45:13)

• LakePoint's success factors:
  • Outgoing pastor (Steve Stroop) "left campground clean" - addressed problems before transition
  • Incoming pastor honored what came before rather than dismissing it
  • 70% credit to predecessor, 30% to successor for smooth transition
• Key advice for incoming leaders:
  • Honor those who built what you inherited
  • Watch your pace in first year - observe more than you act
  • Win relationships and excel on stage
  • Don't make major changes without building equity first

Staying Humble While Growing (00:52:54)

• Key relationships: Spouse who believes in you but isn't impressed by you
• Hire up: Surround yourself with people more talented than you
• Find joy in others' wins: Move from taking all the shots to giving others opportunities
• Dave Stone's wisdom: "Don't let praise go to your head, don't let criticism go to your heart"
• Josh's perspective: Staying confident is often harder than staying humble

Future Ministry Vision (01:08:27)

• Chris's focus: Leadership pipeline development - never having to post job openings
• Josh's project: "Discipleship at scale" through vertically aligned content delivery
• Core principle: "We're in the disciple business, not the events business"
• Technology integration: Purpose-built app to connect sermon, podcast, reading plans, and groups

Quotable Moments

"If you find yourself on team Judas, get a different team." - Josh on criticizing church spending

"Two visions create division." - Chris on worship pastor alignment

"Don't let praise go to your head and don't let criticism go to your heart." - Dave Stone's advice

"We're not in the events business, we're in the disciple business." - Josh on ministry focus

"The loudest boos come from the cheapest seats." - Josh on handling criticism

Action Items for Church Leaders

1. Experiment with AI as a research and content creation tool while maintaining proper oversight
2. Evaluate your hiring process - prioritize character and leadership potential over pure talent
3. Assess succession planning - are you preparing for healthy transitions?
4. Review social media strategy - consider it as cultural engagement rather than self-promotion
5. Examine technology spending through economy of scale lens rather than raw dollar amounts
6. Develop internal leadership pipelines rather than constantly hiring externally
7. Align all ministry elements toward discipleship rather than just events

Resources Mentioned

• ChatGPT/Grok for AI assistance
• Stream Deck for video production control
• Canon C80 cameras for podcast production
• Aaron Renn's "Negative World" essay
• Apple Maps analogy for leadership transitions

Connect with Guests

• LakePoint Church: [Church website/social media]
• Josh Howerton: [Social media handles]
• Chris Kuti: [Social media handles]

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This episode was recorded at LakePoint Church's broadcast studio. Special thanks to Blaine for the viral video content and Carlos for the social media strategy insights mentioned during the conversation.