On today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Rick Veenstra, Regional Executive for the Synod of the Great Lakes, discusses team ministries and how they help start and strengthen churches. As a pastor and leader in the church for many years, there were times early on when Rick led staff with a “divide-and-conquer” approach. However, in the latter part of his journey, Rick became …
Multiplying Leadership
A Note from Luminex: This morning’s blog post is the seventh in a 10-week series on leadership. Enjoy! After the supremacy of Christ, the centrality of the gospel and the authority of the Bible as the Word of God, what is most important for the Church of Jesus Christ, as we face the challenges of fulfilling the Great Commission and the …
Heady Leadership
Curry Pikkaart, Interim leader for the Classis of Southwest Michigan, describes “heady leadership” on today’s Whiteboard Wednesday. In football, if you lead with your head, you will suffer the consequences. Most likely, you will be penalized and possibly ejected from the game. However, in leadership if you don’t lead with your head, then you will suffer the consequences. Rabbi Daniel …
Humble Leadership
A Note from Luminex: This morning’s blog post is the fifth in a 10-week series on leadership. Enjoy! Recently, as a leader of a group working on a project, I asked one of our team members what he was seeing concerning our project — big picture. That led to a 30 minute conversation. That also led to a long email that …
A Letter from our President
A Note from Luminex: The following is a letter from Branson Parler, President of the Synod of the Great Lakes (Reformed Church in America). A Pastoral Letter to the churches of the Great Lakes Regional Synod, RCA. Friends, In the last few weeks, informal trackers and tabulators of the RCA amendment votes are reporting that the two amendments (one addressing the …
Vision Convergence
On today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Mike Gafa, Church Leadership Development Catalyst for Luminex, describes the vision convergence exercise, which helps churches and church leaders discern vision. The vision convergence exercise is inspired by, and adapted from, Dr. Thom Rainer’s book, Breakout Churches. In the book, Rainer introduced what he called the vision-intersection-profile, a similar yet slightly different tool from the vision …
Resourceful Leadership
A Note from Luminex: This morning’s blog post is the fifth in a 10-week series on leadership. Enjoy! When it comes to resources, there are two contrasting errors spiritual leaders must guard against. Staying out of either ditch requires vigilance. Dr. James Dobson compares this balancing act to holding a wet bar of soap: Grip it too tight and it squirts out …
Narrative Budgeting
On today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Randy Weener, Classis Leader for Great Lakes City Classis, discusses the importance of narrative budgeting for your congregation. It is important to know that the drivetrain on your car is working. And that everything under the engine is working. But for most of us, our concern is not with the details, but with the car getting …
Joyful Leadership
A Note from Luminex: This morning’s blog post is the fourth in a 10-week series on leadership. Enjoy! “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit …