
The Starfish and the Church Addicted to Addition, Made to Multiply with Brian Phipps
What if the biggest barrier to church multiplication isn’t strategy—but identity?
In this conversation, Rob Wegner and Brian Phipps dig beneath the surface of church growth to explore the deeper discipleship, healing, and leadership shifts required to move from addition to multiplication. They talk honestly about why multiplication is often slower, more personal, and more costly than leaders expect—and why obedience to Jesus matters more than competence or scale.
Drawing from Brian’s new book, Breaking the Addition Addiction, the conversation surfaces the heart-level issues that shape how leaders measure success, share ownership, and form disciples who actually reproduce. Together, they wrestle with questions every leader eventually faces:
Why does multiplication feel so elusive?
What has to heal in us before multiplication can happen through us?
How do we release control and invite shared ownership without losing clarity or faithfulness?
This episode is especially for leaders who sense that something in the prevailing church growth narrative doesn’t quite line up with the way of Jesus—and are ready to imagine a more faithful, decentralized, disciple-making future.
Resources & Next Steps
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Jesus-shaped, decentralized leadership
Disciple-making that leads to multiplication
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If you’re tired of chasing numbers and hungry for lasting fruit, this conversation is for you.
