Michigan Ministry Network L3 Podcast

S4 EP20 featuring Karen Yancey: Letting Go of Quiet Resentment

Welcome to the L3 Podcast! We hope this podcast will be helpful to both you and your ministry. Today, we are joined by Karen Yancey for a deeply personal and spiritually refreshing conversation about the necessity of letting go. Pastor Aaron and Karen discuss the danger of leaders holding a "death grip" on their burdens and unpack three specific things every minister must release: unresolved outcomes, unrealistic expectations, and quiet resentment. Karen shares powerful wisdom on overcoming the heavy, toxic feelings of ministry wounds and explains why we can act our way into a new way of feeling, but we can never feel our way into a new way of acting. If you are carrying the heavy weight of pastoral disappointment or feeling too spiritually "full" to receive anything fresh from God, this episode is a beautiful invitation to experience His guarding peace. For more information on the Michigan Ministry Network, please go to our website at mmn.ag.

S4 EP19 featuring Terry Yancey: Defeating Complacency

Welcome to the L3 Podcast! We hope this podcast will be helpful to both you and your ministry. Today, we are joined by a very special guest, Dr. Terry Yancey, stateside ambassador for Project Rescue and former network superintendent. In this episode, Pastor Aaron and Dr. Terry tackle a silent but deadly threat to every leader, marriage, and ministry: Complacency. Drawing from a fresh study of Proverbs, Dr. Terry unpacks a powerful definition of complacency and reveals how settling for "good enough" can subtly rob us of our future impact. He breaks down the "Four D's" of destruction, living distracted, stopping developing, stopping dreaming, and stopping daring, and shares a compelling acrostic highlighting the subtle warning signs of a complacent heart, from conflating intention with action to pouting over past losses. For more information on the Michigan Ministry Network, please go to our website at mmn.ag.

S4 EP18 featuring Herbert Cooper: The 5 H's of a Healthy Church

Welcome to the L3 Podcast! We hope this podcast will be helpful to both you and your ministry. Today, we are joined by Pastor Herbert Cooper, Lead Pastor of People's Church in Oklahoma City and one of our Network Council speakers, to tackle a crucial leadership topic: Creating and shifting church culture. What happens when you realize you are pastoring a church with a toxic culture that you don't even enjoy attending? Pastor Herbert shares his transparent journey of taking "extreme ownership" to completely transform his church's environment. Pastors Aaron and Herbert discuss why culture will eat vision for lunch every time, the importance of gaining buy in from key influencers by asking questions rather than making statements, and how to establish clear language like People's Church's "5 H's" to define your values. If you want to build a church you actually love attending and foster a healthy, long-lasting staff, this episode is a must-listen. For more information on the Michigan Ministry Network, please go to our website at mmn.ag.

S4 EP17 featuring Tom Mattiuzzo & Michael Stone: The Realities of a Church Merger

Welcome to the L3 Podcast! We hope this podcast will be helpful to both you and your ministry. Today, we are joined by Pastor Tom Mattiuzzo and Pastor Michael Stone to discuss the incredible story of merging two churches into Every Nation AG, Flint. In this episode, Pastors Aaron, Tom, and Michael dive into the complex and beautiful journey of merging two historic congregations, Riverside Tabernacle and Flint First Assembly, into one unified body. They discuss the deep humility required from leadership to set aside personal egos, the practical logistics of combining two distinct church cultures, and the shared mission of reaching the city of Flint. If you are curious about what it takes to navigate a church merger, honor legacy while casting a new vision, and build a stronger urban ministry together, this conversation is packed with valuable insights. For more information on the Michigan Ministry Network, please go to our website at mmn.ag.

S4 EP16 featuring Liza Munro: Serving your leaders vision

Welcome to the L3 Podcast! We hope this podcast will be helpful to both you and your ministry. Today, we are joined by Liza Munro, Missions and Outreach Pastor at Brightmoor Christian Church, to discuss an essential dynamic for any staff member, associate pastor, or volunteer team: Serving your leader's vision. While much of modern leadership training focuses on being the one in the top seat, the reality is that most ministry happens in a supporting role. How do you effectively champion a vision that you didn't create? Pastors Aaron and Liza unpack the crucial importance of alignment, trust, and clear communication between a lead pastor and their team. They explore practical ways to proactively support your leader, how to navigate creative differences with grace, and why a unified staff is the absolute key to a thriving church. For more information on the Michigan Ministry Network, please go to our website at mmn.ag.