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Read the latest blog post from the PLI team.
Meet Michael Eckelkamp
Rev. Michael Eckelkamp and his wife Bernardine have been involved in PLI in a variety of ways, from participating in Leadership Essentials and Senior Leader, to coaching, mentoring, hosting immersions, and raising funds for hosting.
Meet Rosy Martinez
Rosy Martinez and her husband, pastor Luis Martinez, are current participants in our bilingual Leadership Essentials SoCal. She and Luis live in Spring, Texas, where she serves as a deaconess.
Meet Andrea & Jeffrey Howell
Andrea and Rev. Jeffrey P. Howell are Leadership Essentials alumni. They live in Lansing, Illinois, and have been married for 42 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren. Jeffrey is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, Illinois, where he has served 14 for years.
Meet Tim Bayer
Rev. Tim Bayer and his wife Beth are alumni of both D2MC and Senior Leader. With their three children, they make their home in Tacoma, Washington, where Tim serves as lead pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church.
Meet Kristi & Terry Baughman
Kristi and Rev. Terry Baughman are Leadership Essentials alumni. They live in Lake Orion, Michigan, where Terry is pastor at Crown of Life Lutheran Church and Preschool and Kristi is principal at Lutheran High School Northwest.
Meet Heather & German Sanchez
Heather and German Sanchez of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are D2MC alumni. Together, they are living on mission in their home, workplaces, church, and community.
Meet Kenton Birtell
Rev. Kenton Birtell has served as the pastor of Mt. Calvary in Holdrege, Nebraska since 2000. He and his wife Linda are alumni of both D2MC and Vision Bridge.
Meet Alicia Lucke
Alicia Lucke lives with her husband Jeremy and their three children in Corvallis, Oregon. She is a D2MC alum and a coach in Leadership Essentials.
Rhythms of Rest and Work in Busy Seasons
True rest is abiding in Christ, and that isn’t something you squeeze into your schedule when there’s some down-time.
You’re Not Alone
If you find yourself in the midst of all sorts of change and you’re being called on to lead a group of people through some changes, it’s really important not to remain alone.
Reaching a World that has Stopped Coming to Church
Let’s look at two “entry paths,” certainly simplified, intended to illustrate how “outsiders” make their way into our ministries and/or into faith.
6 Ways to Capture Hope and Courage
If you want the people you lead to experience new hope and new courage, it starts with you. It always starts with the leader.
Three Essentials to Finishing Well
People who start well oftentimes don’t finish well. Here are three essential learnings to help you finish well.
Learning from Learned Leaders
Through my years of ministry, I have had the privilege of learning from loads of learned leaders. Sometimes they have sought me out, and at other times I was so far in over my head that I grasped for them out of desperation.
Unlikely Leaders
It was Christ our ultimate leader who made unlikely leaders out of fishermen, prostitutes, Roman centurions, Gentile business women, Jewish religious leaders, a persecutor of the church and even sinners like you and me.
It’s Complicated
When things get complicated, turn to Christ and to His people who seek the Lord regularly and obey His laws and commands.
Vision Traction: Be Catalytic for Activation
We can help you be intentional in your gathering for the purpose of the sending, all while making sure it is unique to you, your church, your community, at this time, with your staff, empowering everybody, everywhere, everyday.
Vision Traction: Your Context and Mission
When the people in our churches walk out the doors Sunday morning, do they see themselves as active participants in the mission? This has to be a primary motivator for almost everything we do.
Vision Traction: The Need for Change
Change makes us aware of the risks. We fear what might happen if we have to change. We must also ask: What are we risking if nothing changes?
In Community
To punch through a well-guarded status quo mentality, leaders need to stay engaged relationally in community.
Looking to the Future of PLI
Dear PLI Family, Next week, Ben Haupt joins the PLI team as its next executive leader! Ben and I will have two months together before I retire from PLI on August 31 and begin to...
Leaders Go First
If our churches are going to navigate forward and take on their greatest challenges, then the leader needs to go first.
Listen Well
Leaders well practiced in adaptive change learned a long time ago to listen to the voices that aren’t being heard, the voices that are missing.
Adaptive Leaders Dig Deep
My guess? It’s time for you to dig deep and do the hard work of working out these foundations or refreshing what you discovered 5 years or 15 years ago.
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