Learn and Lead Podcast

Mark DeYmaz began working for a church when he graduated college. This led to an 18-year career in student ministry in all white churches. In the late 1990s, after a move to Little Rock, Arkansas, to serve at a well-established church, it dawned on DeYmaz that the only people of color in an otherwise amazing church were janitors. He quit the church and launched a 20+ year journey of bringing together diverse men and women from all walks of life and economic backgrounds who would worship God together as one.

About MarkA thought-leading writer and recognized champion of the Multiethnic Church Movement, Mark planted the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in 2001 where he continues to serve as Directional Leader. In 2004, he co-founded the Mosaix Global Network with Dr. George Yancey and has written seven books including, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics; Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community; and Building a Healthy Multiethnic Church. Mark also coaches and consults with churches and has academic partnerships with several colleges and seminaries to advance and sustain the work of establishing the Multiethnic church movement.

You may not question whether you can lead change, but you've probably asked yourself if you can survive it. With so many decisions (and criticisms) coming at our church leaders, how do they prioritize what to do first while simultaneously dealing with the soul-sucking internal resistance they often face when trying to make changes? Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains and his most recent book, Tempered Resilience shares how you can move from surviving in the crucible of change to thriving in it.

Nathan Paulus knew from the age of 18 that he wanted to start a church. From his early roots of starting churches in Kenya with his Dad to a parachute drop in Wichita, Kansas, and the launch of another church in Ohio, Nathan shares what he has learned along the way and the strategy and model he uses to plant churches.

About Nathan

Nathan, his wife, Miranda, and son, Micaiah, moved to Wichita to start Radiant Church in November 2015. Since then, he has helped launch another church in Ohio and is in the process of launching two more sites (one in Kansas and one in Ohio) within the next five years. Nathan grew up in a Christian home and put his faith in Jesus at age 7. From that moment he felt the call of God in his life to tell as many people as possible about God's love and Christ's sacrifice. Nathan has pursued that call in his life by working for various nonprofit ministries, churches and co-founding a ministry in Kenya, Africa. He loves God passionately and enjoys being with people, encouraging them to see their true identity in Christ, and to understand the grace and forgiveness of God. He enjoys spending time with family, the great outdoors, a good cup of coffee, sports of all kinds but especially soccer, and loves the adventure of following Christ.

Danielle Reeves is a church planter in Colorado who flipped the traditional church model to start Resilience Church right in the middle of the pandemic. She is 25 years strong as a woman in ministry with a whole lot of grit and grind for discipling believers and reaching people outside of the church.

From a hierarchical system to shared leadership. From helping at a distance to being in proximity with those we seek to serve. Check out this conversation with Rev. Diane Kenaston and Pantry Board Leader, Mary Fox from University UMC in St. Louis where they share how shared leadership and building high-trust relationships has changed the way they do ministry.

Amid a pandemic, the idea of starting a recovery program for people struggling with addiction in Jackson, MO seems crazy but that's exactly what the leaders at Breaking Bonds Ministry and New McKendree UMC did.

Register for the April 10 laity event through April 3, 2021. Learn more and register here: moumethodist.org/susanbeaumont

How do you lead when you are stuck between an ending and a new beginning-when the old way of doing things no longer works but a way forward is not yet clear? Beaumont calls such in-between times liminal seasons-threshold times when the continuity of tradition disintegrates and uncertainty about the future fuels doubt and chaos. In a liminal season it simply is not helpful to pretend we understand what needs to happen next. But leaders can still lead.

Susan Beaumont is a consultant, coach, and spiritual director. She has worked with hundreds of congregations and denominational bodies across the United States and in Canada. Susan is known for engaging the best of business practice, filtered through the lens of careful theological reflection. She moves easily between discernment and decision making and nurtures the soul of the leader along with the soul of the institution. Before establishing her own practice, Susan worked for nine years as a Senior Consultant with the Alban Institute. Susan has also served on the faculty of two business schools and a seminary, teaching graduate level courses in leadership, change management and organizational behavior. She has corporate experience in human resource management and organizational development. Susan's educational background includes a M.B.A. from Northwestern University and a M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary. She is also a graduate of the Shalem Institute in Spiritual Formation.

You may not question whether you can lead change, but you've probably asked yourself if you can survive it. With so many decisions (and criticisms) coming at our church leaders, how do they prioritize what to do first while simultaneously dealing with the soul-sucking internal resistance they often face when trying to make changes? Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains and his most recent book, Tempered Resilience shares how you can move from surviving in the crucible of change to thriving in it.

Tod Bolsinger, MDiv, PhD, is the Executive Director of the De Pree Center Church Leadership Initiative, a Senior Fellow of the De Pree Center for Leadership, and Associate Professor of Leadership Formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tod was the founder of the Fuller Leadership Platform, an innovative approach to online formation and leadership development and served as a Vice President of Fuller Seminary for six years.

He is the author of five books, including the Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year in pastoral leadership, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, Leadership for a Time of Pandemic: Practicing Resilience and Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change. He served as a pastor for 27 years. Bolsinger speaks, consults and is an executive coach for corporate, non-profit, educational, and church organizations in transformational leadership. His blogs and other resources can be found at depree.org/church.

Tod is married to Beth, an executive coach, consultant, and professional artist. They have two adult children, Brooks and Ali, and a son-in-law, Ben. An avid outdoor lover, if he hadn't taken biology after lunch in high school, Tod would have been a National Park Ranger. When he retires, he is going to do hiking trail maintenance, trout rescue, and be a ski host who makes sure there are four people on every quad chair lift.

In 2020, Rev. Williams accepted the call to serve as Associate Director for Mission, Service, and Justice for the Missouri Conference. But the journey that took her from her American Baptist roots to the United Methodist tribe can be traced back to her childhood. Hear the stories that influenced her to full-time ministry, the heart God gave her for healing the wounds of racism and what she envisions for the office of Mission, Service and Justice in 2021.

About Rev. Williams: A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Rev. Williams has celebrated ties to United Methodism that go back to her childhood days. However, her vocational story within the Methodist tradition began in 2009 as a layperson invited to serve in Church Development for the Indiana Conference. This journey eventually led her to answer the call to ordination and three appointments to serve the local church in a multi-area, multi-ethnic charge in Indianapolis. During her tenure in Indiana, Rev. Williams resourced more than 200 congregations in both English and Spanish speaking contexts, she helped launch and lead conference strategies for transformational ministry with new and existing faith communities; and she became a sought-after leader among the network of developers and general agency partners across the Connection.

Adam Mustoe – a Gallup certified Strengths Coach and second-generation pastor, shares how you can unlock and leverage your unique talents and strengths to make the greatest possible contributions possible to your work and ministry.

About Adam: Adam Mustoe lives in Kearney, Missouri where he serves as Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church. As a Gallup Certified Strengths coach part of his mission is to help guide people to the place they are gifted and called. Adam loves being with his wife Sarah and their two children, BBQ, and a good one-liner.

Host: Roger Ross