The Global Leadership Podcast Ep 188: David Ashcraft on How to Create, Steer and Correct Culture
Oct 7, 2025
David Ashcraft, President and CEO of the Global Leadership Network and longtime church leader, shares practical stories from founding LCBC. He describes how small, repeated practices like cookie drops and meeting habits shape culture. He also talks about setting boundaries, modeling presence, encouraging candid feedback, and rebuilding safety after tough conversations.
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Cookie Drops Made A Big Church Feel Small
- LCBC started a cookie drop practice where volunteers deliver a dozen home-baked cookies to newcomers after their second visit.
- The simple hospitality started at 150 people and scaled to hundreds of weekly drops, helping a 26,000-person church feel personal.
Make Culture Tangible With Repeated Practices
- Establish culture through repeated, specific practices rather than vague statements.
- Name concrete behaviors (cookie drops, follow-up systems, calling out lights out) and model them until they become normative.
Call Out Small Issues To Set Standards
- Set explicit standards by calling out what you won't accept and modeling what you want.
- David texts staff about small issues (like burned-out lights) to create ownership and urgency before problems escalate.