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Engaging Followers

One of the greatest rewards of leadership is investing in and raising up the next generation of leaders in the church. Part of that includes taking inventory of the gifts, styles and engagement levels of the people in your congregation who could potentially become strong leaders. On this Whiteboard Wednesday, John Messer breaks down the four main types of “followers” …

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Finding Emerging Leaders

This edition of Whiteboard Wednesday is a reprise of a popular episode! We hope you enjoy this powerful post from the past! Season 5 is coming on the Wednesday after Labor Day! Taking another look at the Leader-Follower Matrix, which kind of follower would make the best emerging leader? On the Leader-Follower Matrix, there are two axis. The first is concerning the …

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Priorities …

Happy New Year! As we enter 2018, we thought it would be appropriate to begin the new year with a series on Priorities. The series will cover eight written blogs, and will begin on January 8 and conclude on February 26. In the Priorities series you will hear perspectives on key Luminex priorities from eight different writers, some of whom are part of …

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Transition Ministry Series: A Story from Hope Reformed Church, Kalamazoo

Moments of transition are sometimes the best moments to take a step back and reevaluate. Here’s the story and process of how Hope Reformed Church did just that. Our speaker, Steve Hellenga, is with Hope Reformed Church in Kalamazoo. They recently went through the transitional process of calling a new pastor. During this process they sought the help of a …

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8 Marks of All-in Leadership Teams

Leadership is a tough task, but it is made easier when the burden is carried by more than one person. When you create leadership teams in your churches and ministries, these are eight characteristics that make up effective and engaged teams. Everyone is Praying This is not simply praying at the beginning of meetings, but having a lifestyle of regular …

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Leadership Development

There is always a need for leaders in all facets of life. To fill that need, there needs to be a way of developing and training leaders. This week’s Whiteboard Wednesday is brought to you by Nate Bull and Mark Van Andel, leaders of an urban church plant in Detroit, Michigan, called Hesed. First of all, Nate and Mark stress …

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Going Back to Middle School

There are many lessons to be learned in middle school. One such lesson is found in studying middle school literature. This week’s Whiteboard Wednesday is brought to you by Dan Ackerman, Executive Leader for Zeeland Classis of the RCA. Dan will tell you of his recent experience reading middle school literature and the lessons he gleaned from it. He starts …

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Luminex Podcast 12: Missions in Detroit

When we think of missions, we often think of crossing oceans to witness to unreached people groups. But in reality, there are unreached people right here in our American cities. On this week’s podcast we have Nate Bull and Mark Van Andel from Hesed Community Church in Detroit. They tell of their ministry in some of Detroit’s toughest neighborhoods. [00:00:30] …

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Introduction to the 3DM Learning Circle

This week is an introduction to the 3DM Learning Circle, a tool to process life’s kairos moments – simply put, moments that make you sad, mad, or glad. Our speaker, Roger Bird, is from The Bridge in Allegan, a church that began 9 years ago. Their main goal was to be a missional church, but found that they were burning …

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Luminex Podcast 11: Pastoring a Church in its Final Days

Last week on the podcast Randy Weener talked about small churches and how some of them are at the end of their life cycle. This week Doug interviews Jason Vermeulen about his experience pastoring Casnovia Reformed Church during its final days and the time leading up to the end. [00:00:20] Introduction to Casnovia Reformed Church Casnovia Reformed Church is located …