The bigger the better, right? Well, not necessarily. Small churches have advantages that a big church couldn’t have. This week Doug interviews Randy Weener, Classis Leader for the Great Lake City Classis in Michigan. They discuss small churches – their advantages, disadvantages, and unique opportunities. [00:00:30] Defining a small church A small church can be defined as a congregation of …
Instilling Hope in the Midst of Transition
The uncertainty that often occurs when a ministry is going through a leadership transition tends to drain positive energy and raises doubts about the future of that ministry. While much of this doubt will usually be unspoken, the reality is that if it is not intentionally addressed, it will cause the ministry to lose considerable momentum. One of the most …
Standing Firm in the Gospel
The Gospel must be central to all that we do, say, and think. The truth of the Gospel – God’s unfathomable love (John 3:16, Romans 5:8), our inherent sin (Romans 3:23, 5:12), salvation by and through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23, John 1:12) – is the Good News that we are called to live out and carry to the very ends …
Luminex Podcast 8: To Catch the Wind, Hoist Your Sail
Show Notes On this week’s podcast episode, Doug is interviewing Curry Pikkaart, Classis Leader for the Southwest Michigan Classis. The topic of their conversation is based on Curry’s blog post, To Catch the Wind, Hoist Your Sails, about how to persevere through trying and empty times while waiting for the Holy Spirit’s wind in our sails. [0:00:25] The Story Behind …
Leading for Collaboration
A thriving church often has many separate teams overseeing multiple ministries. How can those ministries work together instead of creating division? On this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Art Wiers, member of the Luminex core leadership team, shares his experiences with church leaders working towards collaboration. Throughout his time working with churches, Art noticed a pattern he calls the “silo effect.” The …
Nine Strategic Planning Landmines, Part 2
Hopefully by avoiding these landmines, your strategic planning experience will be a blessing to your leaders and church as a whole. Last week on Whiteboard Wednesday, we talked about the first five of Nine Strategic Planning Landmines – lack of prayer, lack of faith, failure to add wisdom to faith, overlooking the reality of spiritual warfare, and failure to celebrate. …
Nine Strategic Planning Landmines, Part 1
When you are in a season of planning in your church or ministry, there are some things you should avoid at all costs. On this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Mike Gafa, church leadership development catalyst for Luminex, talks about the first five of nine landmines when it comes to strategic planning. 1. Lack of Prayer Prayer is essential; without prayer, nothing …
Holy Risk
Will you stay in your comfort zone or take a Holy Risk? In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Art Wiers, member of the core leadership team of the Region of the Great Lakes, discusses the subject of Holy Risk based on the book The U-Turn Church by Bob Bouwer and Kevin Harney. Throughout the life of a church, there are times …
Stewardship and Spirituality
Money matters are always an awkward topic to broach in church. Here’s the answer: KISS – Keep It Spiritual, Silly. In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday, Ken Neevel, Director of Development and Facilitation for the Reformed Church in America, talks about financial stewardship and spirituality. He changes the acronym of “KISS” from “Keep it simple, silly” to “Keep it spiritual, silly;” …
Locating Questions
Because of my work, I’m often in spaces where people want to discuss current trends in community engagement. One of my favorite stories from a friend of mine was exceptionally telling. His organization, which focuses on economic development, had a booth at a large Christian conference in their display area. Next to them was a well-known ministry. In response to …