IAM020 – Pastor Leads a Start-Up Church in Northern Virginia

Rev. Kate Floyd is United Methodist Clergy, currently the pastor of start-up church Arlington Commons in Arlington, VA. She's originally from Georgia and Texas, married to Kyle and the proud mom to Sam and Daisy.

• CEO Hack: Hire a social media coordinator. Know your wheelhouse.
• CEO Nugget: Believe in yourself and trust yourself. Work through imposter syndrome.
• CEO Redefined: Spiritual leader. Connector with the community and worshipers.

Website: https://www.arlingtoncommons.org/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/arlcommons
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@arlcommons

TRANSCRIPTION:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. Have Reve. Kate Floyd of Arlington's Commons church. Kate, it's awesome to have you on the show today.

Kate Floyd 0:39

Thank you. I'm thrilled to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

Me. I'm happy to have you on the show as well. And what I wanted to do was read a little bit about Kate so you can understand and hear all the awesome things that she's doing. So Rev. Kate Floyd is United Methodist Clergy, currently the pastor of a start-up church in Arlington Commons in Arlington, Virginia. She's originally from Georgia and Texas, married to Kyle, and the proud mom to Sam and Daisy. Kate, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

Kate Floyd 1:06

I am.

Gresham Harkless 1:07

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, what I wanted to do was give you the mic, so to speak for the first question, which is just basically to tell us a little bit more about your CEO story. And what led you to kind of start your organization?

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Kate Floyd 1:17

Yeah, thank you. I'm thrilled to be here to be speaking with your audience. And yeah, so I'm United Methodist Clergy. And for the last 10 years, I have been a pastor, and what you imagine a traditional church to be so with stained glass and Oregon, and folks sitting in the pews. But about a year ago, I had this amazing opportunity to start this journey with Arlington Commons church. And we're really innovative. It's been a creative opportunity.

So I started a year ago, basically, by myself, I have support from the larger denomination, but I came to Arlington, new from Atlanta. And the idea is to build a faith community, outside the walls beyond the walls, so we do not own a building.

So we're gathering in spaces where people are already gathering, so bars and restaurants and coffee shops, parks, libraries, homes, to meet people where they are. And then I've been building up a community to so connecting with folks learning about what are the assets and needs in Arlington. And how can we best create a faith community where people are seeking to ask honest questions and make meaning with each other, give back, grow deeper, and community? So it's been an incredible journey, but also unlike anything I've ever done before.

Gresham Harkless 2:33

Yeah, that makes sense. And it sounds like it's definitely innovative in itself. So not only you but probably a lot of other people have kind of, you know, had this organization that you're starting. So I know, um, could you, I guess, talk a little bit more about some of the programs and things that you guys are doing, just try to get your name out there and be amongst the community.

Kate Floyd 2:49

Yeah, so we have a series called faith on tap. So we gather in a local bar. And we talk about issues that matter to people and often things that maybe might feel taboo and a traditional church sanctuary or to engage people who may not walk into a church for a variety of reasons but want to have some open and honest conversation. So we did one on immigration.

Our second one was on racial justice, and our last one was on food insecurity in Arlington to get a scope of those issues and how we can make a difference. And then our next one, which is coming up next week in June, is on sexuality and shame and what God has to do with all of that. So that's one of the things we're doing to engage people. And to build community. There's a small group of people that meets at my house every Sunday, and we engage in some spiritual practices with each other, we check in about what's going on in our lives, and really kind of formed that deeper, more vulnerable community that sometimes can be hard to find. We were gathering and parks. So we just had a party in a park, which was a fundraiser for a local nonprofit, we had local food, check out lawn games, just a really fun way to gather and meet people again, where they already were at the playground, playing volleyball walking their dogs, and it was just a great chance to have sort of face to face meeting with folks got a morning run and prayer group on Sunday.

So Sundays at eight o'clock, there's a group that meets along the Potomac River, runs, walks jobs for about 45 minutes, whatever people's paces, and then gathers at a beautiful spot overlooking the water in the monuments and does a brief morning reflection. We're hoping to start worshipping regularly this fall. So we're building up to that and excited about those opportunities.

Gresham Harkless 4:32

Yeah, that sounds like this. Very exciting. And it makes perfect sense. Because you know, you're sending out the message getting the message out there, but you're doing it amongst like the people the organization where people are already congregating, having time and spending time and energy. So I love kind of like the concept and the idea and the way that you are executing that. So that leads me to my next question, which in and of itself, might be unique and innovative ended up itself but I wanted to ask if was there is anything additional that you can think of that makes your organization and the church itself unique.

Kate Floyd 5:02

Yeah, I think yes, I think being a church without a building, there are churches without buildings. We're not the only ones. But it's still fairly rare. And the fact that we are gathering where people are gathering, I think that we're asking those kinds of honest questions and creating safe space, but also challenging space to engage what's really going on, and people's lives and inviting people into have those deeper conversations that frankly, sometimes I love the church, I've grown up in the church, I've worked in the church my whole life, I've given my life to it.

But it can often, unfortunately, be a space where people feel like they have to put on certain clothes, certain face certain attitudes, and there can be judgment. And it doesn't always feel like a safe space. So we really want to break all of that down and say, Come as you are, let's talk about what's really going on without judgment and engage each other and be that real, authentic communities for and with each other that people so desperately need.

There are plenty of churches that do this. But I also think one of the things that makes us fairly unique is that we really care deeply about social justice. We're marching in the Pride Parade, for example, tomorrow, the capital area Pride Parade. So we really want to help our folks advocate, for the least for the last to celebrate everybody who everybody loves and who God loves, which is such as everybody. Absolutely, yeah, that makes perfect sense. And you know, like you mentioned, like, you're not because you don't you're without the walls, you're going to where people are already comfortable. And they're already spending time.

So sometimes you can have those conversations that they're interested in having, because you're kind of within that person's comfortable space, or they're exactly, yeah, and we're not you know, a lot of the church churchy model can be inviting people in to where we are and what we're doing. And we're reversing that model and saying, no, we want to go to where people are, and be part of, as you said, their space their life, what are they doing and help be part of those conversations that are already happening? Whether rather than expecting people to come to us.

Gresham Harkless 7:00

I love it. I love it. I love it. And the kind of like the next question, I was gonna ask you, which we have everybody that's on the show. And we ask them for essentially a CEO hack, so that might be a resource or just like a habit that you do on a regular everyday basis or a book or an app that you use. So do you have a CEO hack that maybe you use on a regular everyday basis that makes you more efficient and effective?

Kate Floyd 7:20

Yeah, I don't know if this is a hack. But I would say the thing that's been sort of one of the greatest things for us is to actually hire a social media coordinator. So I would say a hack that I wasn't doing very well was trying to manage all of that myself. And I think for any organization today, but for us, as a church, when we're trying to connect with people and get the word out, I think any company that's new, you know, word of mouth means everything. Awareness means everything, and people are living on social media. But I think how you engage it matters, I think the ads how much you spend on the ads, how you target the ads, what kind of content you're generating. So don't just push your product, but also have content that people want to engage in, all of those things deeply matter. But they also take a lot of time.

So I feel privileged that I had some space in our budget to hire somebody to do that for us. And so if people can, then then I would highly, highly recommend that they do that made a huge difference for us in terms of who we've been able to engage. And for us, what we want to do is build an in-person community, but social media is giving us the tools to help connect with people we might not connect with otherwise to move towards those in-person connections.

Gresham Harkless 8:29

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I think that's an incredible hack. And a lot of times it's we're bringing on experts to help you be more efficient, effective, and things that you're doing and like even the concept and kind of the parallel because people were spending time on social media. So you're going and using social media as a way to have those in-person conversations.

Kate Floyd 8:45

Were people are, right?

Gresham Harkless 8:47

Exactly

Kate Floyd 8:48

People are on Facebook and Instagram.

Gresham Harkless 8:50

Exactly, exactly. So it's smart that you're doing that. And I think it's definitely you know, an incredible CEO hack that we can all kind of learn from. So that brings me to..

Kate Floyd 8:57

You know, your wheelhouse, right? I know what you're capable of doing and know what if you can, might be smart to pass off to people who know better,

Gresham Harkless 9:06

Exactly knowing yourself, and knowing your strengths is incredibly important on a day-to-day basis when running a business or an organization or anything from that standpoint. So that brings me to my next question, like, what would you give as far as a CEO nugget, which might be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice that you might have for other people that are starting organizations or other entrepreneurs and business owners?

Kate Floyd 9:27

Yeah, I would say I thought a lot about this. And I would just say, believe in yourself and trust yourself. I know that's cheesy and not very original. But I think that often I can live with a lot of imposter syndrome. And I imagine that other folks who are CEOs or trying to do startups can feel that too. And my word of wisdom is to just if you were inspired enough and passionate enough to take this leap of faith, then keep believing in yourself and pushing past the nose.

And the challenges are all the folks who are going to say it's not going to work for these reasons, and really even if you feel like an imposter do it anyway, the founder of The United Methodist Church was a man named John Wesley and he lived in England in the 1700s. But he, like many folks of faith went through periods of doubt and belief. And then some of his periods of doubt, a lot of what he would say is to preach it until you believe it.

So he would sort of know it intellectually but might have a hard time feeling it himself. But if the more he just said it, and for example, taught about God's love, and unconditional love, even if he didn't feel it himself, it had some power to help transform belief. So preach it till you believe it is comes from the churchy scope, but just trust in yourself and keep trying and keep doing it.

Gresham Harkless 10:39

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And for anybody that's a CEO, entrepreneur, business owner, starting something new anytime you're kind of going through those, I guess, unchartered waters, so to speak, you're sometimes going to get some pushback for one, but also maybe sometimes feel not as confident. But as you said, you know, if you keep believing in yourself and keep moving forward, then you'll definitely be able to do it. Because that's how a lot of these great innovations happen. Somebody wishes bold enough to try to do it and continue to do it. And then that's how those breakthroughs happen.

Kate Floyd 11:06

Yeah, showing up to the work and showing up to what you care about, even in moments of doubt, or fear that showing up it's so powerful, just to see what can happen next.

Gresham Harkless 11:16

Exactly, exactly. Because sometimes we can astound ourselves with what we can, and what we end up doing. So I definitely agree with that. So another great question that I have for you in one of the questions I'm most excited about is really kind of defining what a CEO means. Everyone that's on the show, we're getting the opportunity to find out what exactly that means because it means different things to different people. And we're having different types of quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. So I want to ask you specifically, what being a CEO means to you.

Kate Floyd 11:43

Yeah, it's one of the things I love about your show and about your model is to say it can take lots of different forms. For me, first and foremost, it means being the spiritual leader of this community that I'm creating. So how not that I'm perfect at it? But how can I help us walk and journey together with the mindset of having trust and faith modeling, being a nonanxious presence and leader, and really trying to help people grow closer to each other and to God, whether they've been faithful their whole lives, or just starting to step in and explore it and ask questions for the first time? How can I help people grow spiritually, but also, how can I model that and help with that?

So I think for me, that's first and foremost, because if I don't hold that up and model that, and exemplify that as a leader, then I can't expect other people to do that. It also means to me being a connector. So part of what I'm doing is creating a community. And so I really value connecting with other folks who are part of the Arlington and DC community. And those might be people who would not be interested for a variety of reasons of ever becoming part of our specific faith community, but nonprofit leaders, business leaders, and government, folks, how can Arlington Commons church be a partner with our community for the common good, and who are the folks that we can partner with to help make that a possibility? So it's connecting with the community on that level, but then also helping to connect people who do want to be part of this faith community and are seeking a new way of doing faith? Um, how can I help bring people together in small groups and service opportunities and worship opportunities, because yes, I am the CEO and the pastor?

But my motto and vision are that I do not do this alone and that we are only a strong community if the gifts and talents and skills and relationships and participation of God's diverse people are at the table and participating. And that's what I'm excited about as we continue to go community is to see what shape it might take. Because I can have one vision, I sort of have a wide vision, but it also depends on who comes in what and what gifts and skills that they have to be part of that.

So there's it also requires, you know, like a CEO of this business, to have those managerial kinds of skills in terms of managing budgets and finances and schedules and part-time staff and, you know, volunteers who aren't staff but are people who are taking a leadership position. So in addition to being a spiritual leader connector, that also means having some of those managerial skills and within those out

Gresham Harkless 14:11

Awesome, yeah, I think those are all like, you know, excellent points that you make about, you know, what it means to you to be a CEO and also how that kind of overlaps in the quote-unquote, traditional, I guess, CEO realm, which definitely overlaps as well. So, Kate, I truly appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule to kind of speak with us and tell us a little bit about all the awesome things that you all are doing and what I wanted to do, which is trying to give you the mic so to speak on the see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know. And lastly, let people know how best to get a hold of you.

Kate Floyd 14:40

Great, thank you Gresh thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for this show. I think it's really needed and inspiring to focus and help folks along their journey, whatever that may be. If people are interested in talking more whether you're interested in starting a new faith community or you're in this local Arlington DC area and want to know more. Our website is www.arlingtoncommons.org. My email, kate@arlingtoncommons.org is also on the website.

So I'd love to talk more and get and get connected. who we are as folks who are trying to seek out faith but love community meetings and uncommon ways and give our lives to participate in the common good. So if anybody wants to know more, or be part of that, or connect or share with me what you're doing, I would love to do that.

Gresham Harkless 15:29

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Thank you so much again, Kate, and anybody that's listening, we're gonna have the link to your website and your email address in the show notes so anybody can go and follow. But again, thank you for all the awesome things that you're doing. I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Kate Floyd 15:42

Thank you. You too. Gresh

Gresham Harkless 15:44

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear @www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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