What are we Building: Building Materials

Written by Larry Doornbos, Director of Vibrant Congregations Text: 1 Corinthians 3 Leaders build. They build a sanctuary in time, a community of joy, a city on a hill, a house on a rock, and the body of Christ. (see previous devotionals). To build well, however, Paul tells us we need to build with the right materials.  The foundation of … Read More

What are we Building: The Body of Christ

written by Larry Doornbos Text: 1 Corinthians 12 Leaders build. They build a sanctuary in time, a community of joy, a city on a hill, a house on a rock (see previous devotionals), and they build a community that is the body of Christ. To build a house, you start with the foundation, and then you build the walls. When … Read More

I Know the Plans

Rev. Liz Testa Women’s Transformation and Leadership and Equity-Based Hospitality Reformed Church in America Vibrant Leadership Devotion #1 In this series of 4 devotions, Liz shares lessons from her journey as a visionary leader called to create a Spirit-led movement that encourages, equips and empowers women of all backgrounds to live into their God-given gifts and callings, and helps faith … Read More

What are We Building: A House on a Rock

Text Matthew 7:21-27 Leaders build. They build a sanctuary in time, a community of joy, and a city on a hill (see previous devotionals). They build a community that is a house on a rock. Jesus delivers his kingdom manifesto in Matthew 5-7. The manifesto is a brilliant, hopeful, and superb picture of how kingdom people live with each other … Read More

Leaders Finish Well

by Reginald Smith, Director of Diversity CRCNA In the summer of 2015, I was tired and angry at my church. I led a congregation on the southwest side of Grand Rapids for twenty years and things were not going well. People were leaving, finances were rapidly decreasing every Sunday and I wanted to bail out as fast as I could. … Read More

Leaders Do Hard Things

written by Reginald Smith, Director of Diversity CRCNA Let’s admit that having conversations with people who disagree with you is really difficult and frustrating. Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger received an open letter of rebuke from eleven family members because of his disagreements with the former president. They wrote, “What a disappointment you are to us and to God. You … Read More

Leaders Cultivate Meaning

written by Reginald Smith, Director of Diversity CRCNA Augustine loved being a playboy and enjoying the fruit of high living. He had a good job teaching and life appeared to be going just peachy. Until strolling through the paved streets of Milan on a summer day in 386 A.D., his ear caught the voice of a young lad singing an … Read More

Leaders Say Yes to Life

Written by Reginald Smith, Director of Diversity CRCNA In a recent book I read by best-selling author Bruce Feiler on navigating life changes, he suggested that the average adult might experience thirty-six disruptions in their lifetimes. Of the thirty-six, three to four of those disruptions would become major life altering experiences. That means every leader will undergo some kind of … Read More

What are We Building: A City on a Hill

Leaders build. They build a sanctuary in time and a community of joy (see previous devotionals). Creating this type of community means living a certain way before the world and before each other. Living this way is a powerful reminder that one of the central truths of the church is that it is to be a picture of God’s coming … Read More

What are We Building: A Community of Joy

Leaders build. Last week we saw that in this pandemic and during so many other struggles, leaders build a sanctuary in time. Continuing to live in these unique and, at times, overwhelming times, leaders need to create a community of joy. Deep in our roots is a feast that is the greatest of all feasts. This feast lasts for seven … Read More