A Conversation with Rich Klerrick

Some of our leaders from Church Leader Alive! met up with Rich Klerrick and discussed his Sinker&Lure tour of the Southeast. From his blockbuster autobiography SNAGGED! we learned that “Rich was Senior Mentor Head Pastor at the explosive, multi-campus fellowship in eastern North Dakota: ServiceMasterFellowships, Inc." Rich innovated the popular Depth-finder Seminars that are catching attention worldwide. Today, he leads Reeling Reality, the new relevant and authentic movement of biblical “fishing” teams and missional multiplication, that has captivated the United States.

Here are some of the insights he shared with CheezeWhiz:

Three kinds of missional anglers:

1. Those who go along on large, impersonal trawlers (pew sitters)
2. Those who partner with others but don’t set sail alone in innovative ways (nursery workers, etc.)
3. Independent contractors: Fishermen with no other agenda but catching fish and doing it well (supporters)

Fishing is more than just a vocation Most Jesus-followers have been fishing in the wrong streams and using the wrong equipment at the wrong time with the wrong crew. They're wrong. Say it. "WRONG!"

Jesus said we would be “fishers of men,” but we keep returning to the Lake of Tiberius hauling faulty line, stinky bait, worthless lures and unreasonable expectations. It’s time to be true fishermen using extreme methods to haul in bail-loads of fish. We need top equipment and better methods than the piddly little operations all around us. Here are tips from Klerrick's new blockbuster bestseller, Hook, Line and Sinker:

• Scan the horizon – Good fishermen know what conditions they face, what is brewing beyond their immediate  view, what they are likely to encounter. They know they will face opposition as they move traditional churches toward becoming missional megaliths.
• Know your crew – Better yet, handpick the crew. You don’t want weak hands hauling net. You don’t want worriers upsetting the crew, and you especially don’t want potential mutineers on board. It’s essential to pick yes-men and sycophants who will do what you tell them to -- at just the right time
• Care for your boat – You don’t want leaks developing mid-stream. Most churches are just bailing and sitting still. You don't want to be like that. It’s important to provide proper maintenance to the vessel that your very life depends on. You must care for the building as well as the people in it. You must spend what is necessary on sound equipment and staffing, on plush carpet, check-in systems and coffee kiosks. It’s what James and John would have done. It’s what Jesus would do.
• Always carry the best gear -- That means depth-finders, not just rods, reels and nets. You need the best in church management software; the best in audio-video; the best in web presence, in finance, in member-tracking and especially -- considering impertinent and disruptive bloggers -- the best in church security.

Rich warns of lazy fisherman, unprepared fishermen and mostly timid fisherman.

Klerrick is a frequent speaker at Church Leader Alive! He is the author of six bestselling “you-can-do-it-too” books. He is available to speak at your church -- in hologram form or through satellite. Don’t even THINK about asking him to address your little, pathetic group in person. He will be keynote speaker for FAM 2012 in Aberdeen, S.D.