It was another lesson learned the hard way. During my freshman year at college my dorm was challenged by another dorm to a track meet. My assignment? To participate in a relay by running one lap around the track. Even though I had not run track in high school I figured I was in shape and one lap wasn’t too …
Aligning Church Ministries with Mission and Vision
Once you have a solid understanding on your church’s mission and vision, it’s time to make sure your ministries and departments are actually working together to help you realize that vision. On this Whiteboard Wednesday, Mike Gafa provides us with a quick tool to do just that – it’s called the “Keep-Alter-Stop-Add” tool. First, consider one of your existing ministries. …
Praying Through
Several years ago, the church I was a part of held a multi-day prayer summit with a guest facilitator named Gerhard Du Toit. One phrase that Gerhard used repeatedly throughout the summit was, “Praying through.” In general, what Gerhard was conveying is that the more deeply we live for the cause of Christ, the more we can expect resistance – …
An Out of the Box Partnership: Luminex and Lanio
Over the past few years, as we (Luminex) have worked to more effectively realize our mission to Develop Leaders to Start and Strengthen Churches, one of the questions we are often asked is, “How did a middle judicatory in the Reformed Church in America become a recognized thought leader for leadership development, and for starting and strengthening churches, in the RCA …
Measuring Leadership
Let’s talk about leadership. It’s one of those topics that seem to be all the rage. On today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, we have Dan Ackerman from Zeeland Classis answer a very important question on the topic of leadership: “How can we measure leadership?” Oftentimes, we use characteristics and skill sets to measure what makes a leader. But is there a another …
The Pressure Cooker
Peer pressure. It’s everywhere. Whether it’s at an in-person gathering or on social media, the pressure to compete (and conform) comes at us from every direction. Whether it’s someone highlighting their new tech gadget or posting a picture from their fabulous vacation, we experience the pressure to compete (and conform). We like to think that being a Christian is different, …
Healthy Churches: Empowered by the Holy Spirit
A Note from Luminex: This morning’s blog post is the eleventh – and final – entry in our “Healthy Churches” blog series. Enjoy! Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) I love …