Sorry that I have been absent from the blogosphere for a week or so...life got busy preparing for going out of town this week and since I don't have a laptop of my own, I must rely on the kindness of other clergy for the temporary use of theirs. Thanks Joe!
So I am currently finishing up Day 3 at the Institute for Church Planting Retreat up here on beautiful Lake Texoma at the Prothro Center. It has been a grueling 3 days and we still have 1 1/2 more to go. I am glad that I am here among friends, but I sure do miss my girls at home. I have talked to them each night, but it's just not the same as seeing them and kissing their faces as they drift off to sleep.
On a personal note (not that the previous paragraph wasn't) I would appreciate some prayers as I discern what God has called me to do in this crazy world of church planting. My personality does not immediately lend itself to a successful church plant, but there are many models to choose from and one might work for me. However, I have been intrigued by the concept of being groomed to be a follow-up pastor at a church that is transitioning out of leadership from their founding/planting pastor. Thanks!
Ok, I will now go and check some blogs that I am behind on and then read another chapter in a great book, then head for the pillow.
Grace&Peace
15 November 2006
06 November 2006
Share the Love
I have recently begun to listen to leadership tapes and CDs while I am in the car, but when I need a break from those, I listen to Power FM without fail. Last week they held their semi-annual "Share-a-thon" to help raise support from their listeners. Well, I was out of town for two of the days that it was going on, then I got busy the rest of the weekend, so I did not get a post up here in time for you guys to call in and support them during that special time. However, I wanted to link to them so that if you love listening to Christian rock music, please pray about supporting them via the web because you can give online anytime.
Grace&Peace
Catching Up?
Do you ever have that feeling like you are always running to catch up? Do you ever wonder if you can really relax on a vacation? I know I do. I feel so bad...Caitlyn's birthday was almost a month ago and I still have not posted her cake pictures like I promised. And it's not like I can just go and get one off the internet because the latest ones of her on her online photo album are from this summer! Yikes, I'm not so good at keeping photos updated.
Anyway, I will pray for all of you who feel behind the 8-ball and I hope that you will do the same for me.
Grace&Peace
Anyway, I will pray for all of you who feel behind the 8-ball and I hope that you will do the same for me.
Grace&Peace
02 November 2006
Staff Retreat Day 2
Our retreat is now complete and I think there were many, many, many good ideas that came out of our breakout sessions and our group times. I am excited to be a part of a team that is looking forward to what God is going to do through us in 2007. I pray that we are capable and diligent in implementing these goals, strategies, objectives, and tactical activities.
The running joke of the retreat was that we all wanted things to be done by the end of first quarter 2007. Guess we will have a busy 3 months ahead of us!
BTW - our game time last night was a blast and the big winners were Jennifer and Holly (aka "the Bomb") - fun times!
Grace&Peace
The running joke of the retreat was that we all wanted things to be done by the end of first quarter 2007. Guess we will have a busy 3 months ahead of us!
BTW - our game time last night was a blast and the big winners were Jennifer and Holly (aka "the Bomb") - fun times!
Grace&Peace
01 November 2006
Staff Retreat Day 1
This morning and afternoon have seen our staff begin to realign with the vision and values that make Trietsch such a unique place to serve the Lord. Jim spoke eloquently and pointedly about the need to live out the DNA of Trietsch on a daily basis. He said that if we don't intentionally seek to promote the DNA, we will be destroying that DNA with every action against it. Now, he didn't say it just like that, but you get my drift - this is important stuff!
I am looking forward to what this evening has to offer - hopefully some great thinking, planning, and strategizing, but most importantly - a whole lotta FUN! We have plans to play "Totally 80s Trivial Pursuit" tonight and I, for one, am like totally psyched, like for sure!
Grace&Peace
PS - thanks to Alan for letting me use his MacBook Pro to do this post!
I am looking forward to what this evening has to offer - hopefully some great thinking, planning, and strategizing, but most importantly - a whole lotta FUN! We have plans to play "Totally 80s Trivial Pursuit" tonight and I, for one, am like totally psyched, like for sure!
Grace&Peace
PS - thanks to Alan for letting me use his MacBook Pro to do this post!
Talking with a "Legend"
Yesterday I spent 23 minutes on the phone with a great American hero and he gave me a completely new outlook on what my goals should be in regards to the Hospitality Ministries here at Trietsch. Thanks Mark!
I don't know about you, but talking on the phone (or in person) with someone who has written a book is an intimidating thing for me. I feel so unimportant and unintelligent compared to someone who has had their thoughts and ideas printed by a major book publisher. I know most authors are just regular people but I really respect what Mark is doing for the kingdom of God up at Granger. So thanks again Mark, for making me feel important and intelligent when I was talking with you. And thanks for the "wow" moment - at least for me!
Grace&Peace
I don't know about you, but talking on the phone (or in person) with someone who has written a book is an intimidating thing for me. I feel so unimportant and unintelligent compared to someone who has had their thoughts and ideas printed by a major book publisher. I know most authors are just regular people but I really respect what Mark is doing for the kingdom of God up at Granger. So thanks again Mark, for making me feel important and intelligent when I was talking with you. And thanks for the "wow" moment - at least for me!
Grace&Peace
30 October 2006
Time for Reflection...A Good Thing
If I had made this post Saturday afternoon I would have called it, "Either Psychic or Lame" because that dream I had last week...it came true! Our Hospitality Training Event garnered exactly 17 attendees. Hence the title.
Since I am posting today, I have had more time to reflect and sleep and I have a much clearer head about what happened Saturday morning. Therefore, I neither think of myself as psychic or lame. I do still wish that more people had come to the training, but this just means that I will need to spend more time sharing my vision for hospitality ministries here at Trietsch in forums and at times that are more convenient for team members.
I do believe that I will need to spend 2007 convincing and inviting people to join the team that are on board with the vision that God has given me for this ministry. It will take the full efforts of my leadership team and I to make our transition to a "wow" producing ministry a reality.
Any suggestions on books I should read or people I should talk to about this?
Grace&Peace
Since I am posting today, I have had more time to reflect and sleep and I have a much clearer head about what happened Saturday morning. Therefore, I neither think of myself as psychic or lame. I do still wish that more people had come to the training, but this just means that I will need to spend more time sharing my vision for hospitality ministries here at Trietsch in forums and at times that are more convenient for team members.
I do believe that I will need to spend 2007 convincing and inviting people to join the team that are on board with the vision that God has given me for this ministry. It will take the full efforts of my leadership team and I to make our transition to a "wow" producing ministry a reality.
Any suggestions on books I should read or people I should talk to about this?
Grace&Peace
25 October 2006
What kind of hole have I dug here?
Have you ever been so involved in one big project that you spend all day working on it and then dream about it at night?
I am working toward our Hospitality Training this weekend and I have done little else during my office time this week - and I still have much to do! This has become so all-consuming that I dreamed about the event on Monday night. I dreamed that out of 200+ volunteers who could shown up that morning, only 17 did. 17!!! I felt so defeated. I felt like a failure. It sucked. I would consider that a nightmare.
As I continue to plan for Saturday I continue to wonder how many people will show up. I wonder if they will find it worth their time. I wonder if I will actually have my talks together before Friday night. I wonder if I should have brought in an outside "expert" to lead this. I wonder if my team with know that they matter to me (since that is what I am trying to get them to understand about our guests). I wonder.
Please pray for me about this. It is really stressing me out. Pray for me especially because I internalize stress and I don't want an ulcer or something crazy like that.
OK, I'm going home now - yeah Deb and Caitlyn!
Grace&Peace
I am working toward our Hospitality Training this weekend and I have done little else during my office time this week - and I still have much to do! This has become so all-consuming that I dreamed about the event on Monday night. I dreamed that out of 200+ volunteers who could shown up that morning, only 17 did. 17!!! I felt so defeated. I felt like a failure. It sucked. I would consider that a nightmare.
As I continue to plan for Saturday I continue to wonder how many people will show up. I wonder if they will find it worth their time. I wonder if I will actually have my talks together before Friday night. I wonder if I should have brought in an outside "expert" to lead this. I wonder if my team with know that they matter to me (since that is what I am trying to get them to understand about our guests). I wonder.
Please pray for me about this. It is really stressing me out. Pray for me especially because I internalize stress and I don't want an ulcer or something crazy like that.
OK, I'm going home now - yeah Deb and Caitlyn!
Grace&Peace
18 October 2006
One Bad Lunch
On Monday afternoon, two staff members, a spouse (not mine) and I went to lunch at a local restaurant to celebrate a birthday in our group. We have been to this restaurant before and received lackluster service, but we wanted to have Italian food, so we tried it again. This should have been clue #1, but it wasn't.
However, the service at this restaurant (which will remain nameless) was again poor at best. The waiter who took our drink order was one of two waiters for the whole lunch shift and he was also waiting on a table of 15 in the back - so we paitently sipped our drinks and talked. We noticed that altho this was an Italian restaurant, the music playing in the dining room was a mix of country, pop, and classic rock - nothing even remotely Italian.
One member of our party had to hunt down the other waiter in order to get our food order taken and then it took another 25 minutes for our food to arrive at our table. We were just seconds from leaving prior to ordering, but decided to stay once we found someone to take our order. My food was hot, delicious, and reasonably priced, but it will be a long while before I go back there - because I didn't feel valued during my 60 minutes there.
It really is true that a guest's experience is all about the whole package - service, atmosphere, ambiance, friendliness, quality, etc. Without a conscious decision to make dining "an experience" that local restaurant has lost a customer who loves their cuisine.
What can the local church take from a bad trip to a local eatery? We have the best message in the whole world and if we do a lousy job of presenting that message - whether through unfriendly greeters, no parking spaces, or unclear directions - we fail people who matter to God and who need to know that God loves them.
Grace&Peace
However, the service at this restaurant (which will remain nameless) was again poor at best. The waiter who took our drink order was one of two waiters for the whole lunch shift and he was also waiting on a table of 15 in the back - so we paitently sipped our drinks and talked. We noticed that altho this was an Italian restaurant, the music playing in the dining room was a mix of country, pop, and classic rock - nothing even remotely Italian.
One member of our party had to hunt down the other waiter in order to get our food order taken and then it took another 25 minutes for our food to arrive at our table. We were just seconds from leaving prior to ordering, but decided to stay once we found someone to take our order. My food was hot, delicious, and reasonably priced, but it will be a long while before I go back there - because I didn't feel valued during my 60 minutes there.
It really is true that a guest's experience is all about the whole package - service, atmosphere, ambiance, friendliness, quality, etc. Without a conscious decision to make dining "an experience" that local restaurant has lost a customer who loves their cuisine.
What can the local church take from a bad trip to a local eatery? We have the best message in the whole world and if we do a lousy job of presenting that message - whether through unfriendly greeters, no parking spaces, or unclear directions - we fail people who matter to God and who need to know that God loves them.
Grace&Peace
10 October 2006
It's All About the Experience
I am currently reading quickly through Simply Strategic Growth and #42 jumped out at me as one thing that often goes overlooked by long-time church goers: "Engage People in an Experience".
No longer is just opening the doors on a Sunday morning adequate enough for being an effective church. We must strive to offer our communities an experience that connects them with Christ on several levels and at multiple times during their stay on our campus. Tim points out that we must realize that people are no longer just looking for a church based on denominational labels or location, they are asking, "What kind of experience will I have?" and "What vibe do I get from the greeters?"
If we do not connect with the people coming through our doors from the moment they enter our campus, then we stand a good chance of not seeing them again next weekend. As Mark Waltz says, "We have 10 minutes to "wow" them."
This is something we are working hard at here at Trietsch, but we are still learning. We strive to make our worship an experience that leads to life change, but continuing efforts need to be made on the hospitality end of things (my charge) in order to prepare the way for the message to impact the hearers. The members of the church need to realize that we "preach without words" on a continual basis and that our attention to "the experience" will reap benefits for eternity.
Grace&Peace
No longer is just opening the doors on a Sunday morning adequate enough for being an effective church. We must strive to offer our communities an experience that connects them with Christ on several levels and at multiple times during their stay on our campus. Tim points out that we must realize that people are no longer just looking for a church based on denominational labels or location, they are asking, "What kind of experience will I have?" and "What vibe do I get from the greeters?"
If we do not connect with the people coming through our doors from the moment they enter our campus, then we stand a good chance of not seeing them again next weekend. As Mark Waltz says, "We have 10 minutes to "wow" them."
This is something we are working hard at here at Trietsch, but we are still learning. We strive to make our worship an experience that leads to life change, but continuing efforts need to be made on the hospitality end of things (my charge) in order to prepare the way for the message to impact the hearers. The members of the church need to realize that we "preach without words" on a continual basis and that our attention to "the experience" will reap benefits for eternity.
Grace&Peace
Time Flies When...
Caitlyn's first birthday is coming up this weekend and I am floored at how fast the year has gone! It seems like only yesterday that Deb and I were talking about having kids and what it would be like to be parents. Now we have a beautiful daughter who is into everything and is the light of our lives.
I have to say that when Deb brought home a pair of shoes for Caitlyn it took a second for the thought of Caitlyn walking to sink in. And now that we are putting them on her feet daily, she looks even more like a toddler and less like an infant! She is still a little uncomfortable in the shoes (and the socks for that matter!) but I think she is getting used to them.
When we were preparing for Caitlyn's arrival everyone told us that "children will change your life completely" and we sort of laughed it off, but they were exactly right. I continually wonder what we did with all the extra time we used to have.
I plan to take mucho mucho pictures at the party this weekend, so be on the lookout for cake-on-the-face pics up here soon!
Grace&Peace
I have to say that when Deb brought home a pair of shoes for Caitlyn it took a second for the thought of Caitlyn walking to sink in. And now that we are putting them on her feet daily, she looks even more like a toddler and less like an infant! She is still a little uncomfortable in the shoes (and the socks for that matter!) but I think she is getting used to them.
When we were preparing for Caitlyn's arrival everyone told us that "children will change your life completely" and we sort of laughed it off, but they were exactly right. I continually wonder what we did with all the extra time we used to have.
I plan to take mucho mucho pictures at the party this weekend, so be on the lookout for cake-on-the-face pics up here soon!
Grace&Peace
05 October 2006
Mark Long, the writer
Mark Long is a friend of mine that is working to help the young adult clergy in the North Texas Conference gather for dialogue and learning around the emerging church and other issues relevant to ministry in the 21st century. He wrote a great article for the UMR and I hope that all of you take it seriously.
Grace&Peace
Grace&Peace
29 August 2006
August was a B-L-U-R!
It's been awhile since my last real post, so I thought I would take a few moments and update everyone about what all is going on...
1) Returned from San Diego with a new energy about starting a church - eventho it will be TONS of work
2) Spent three days being inspired to grow as a leader - check out great summaries of each talk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3) Performed the 2nd and 3rd weddings of my career
4) Beginning the fall season of Bible studies
5) Mourning the loss of a great servant leader
Now I am looking forward for my family (Caitlyn turns 1 in October), my ministry (Hospitality training event), and my leadership (covenanted to read 6 books on the subject by next August).
Grace&Peace
1) Returned from San Diego with a new energy about starting a church - eventho it will be TONS of work
2) Spent three days being inspired to grow as a leader - check out great summaries of each talk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3) Performed the 2nd and 3rd weddings of my career
4) Beginning the fall season of Bible studies
5) Mourning the loss of a great servant leader
Now I am looking forward for my family (Caitlyn turns 1 in October), my ministry (Hospitality training event), and my leadership (covenanted to read 6 books on the subject by next August).
Grace&Peace
16 August 2006
Who do you want to be?
I found this article about a hipster bar and found myself laughing quite a bit...maybe you will too!
Grace&Peace
Grace&Peace
02 August 2006
Off to sunny San Diego
I will be leaving the heat of Dallas in August for the mildly pleasant weather in San Diego for 5 days. I am not sure whether I will be able to update while I am there, but I will do my best to find the hotel's business room and use their computer to let all of you know how things are going.
I'll be back late on Tuesday night with (hopefully) a better understanding of what all goes into a church plant. If not, I will most likely have some good stories to share about my time in California and my colleagues in ministry.
Grace&Peace
I'll be back late on Tuesday night with (hopefully) a better understanding of what all goes into a church plant. If not, I will most likely have some good stories to share about my time in California and my colleagues in ministry.
Grace&Peace
31 July 2006
I thought weekends were for relaxing...
I think that was their original intention, but this past weekend was anything but relaxing for the Libby Clan.
We trekked to San Antonio on Thursday afternoon to spend some time with Debbie's folks before heading off to Tapatio Springs for a weekend with our college friends. However, things went south quickly. Debbie spent Thursday night coughing and not sleeping, went to the emergency care doctor on Friday morning and found out that she had a sinus infection.
That nixed our time at the resort - much to our chagrin. We were able to head out for an afternoon get together with our friends on Saturday, but we only stayed a few hours.
We were unable to go to church on Sunday morning because Debbie needed to recuperate from another night of coughing and no sleep. Our trip home that afternoon had us driving through a grass fire in Belton which stopped traffic for about 45 minutes.
Now we are home. Deb went to the doctor again and is suffering from allergies as well as the sinus infection. Tomorrow is her birthday - I think I'll be extra sweet to her since it will not be fun being sick on her special day.
BTW - I don't feel 100% either.
FYI - It sucks being sick!
Grace&Peace
We trekked to San Antonio on Thursday afternoon to spend some time with Debbie's folks before heading off to Tapatio Springs for a weekend with our college friends. However, things went south quickly. Debbie spent Thursday night coughing and not sleeping, went to the emergency care doctor on Friday morning and found out that she had a sinus infection.
That nixed our time at the resort - much to our chagrin. We were able to head out for an afternoon get together with our friends on Saturday, but we only stayed a few hours.
We were unable to go to church on Sunday morning because Debbie needed to recuperate from another night of coughing and no sleep. Our trip home that afternoon had us driving through a grass fire in Belton which stopped traffic for about 45 minutes.
Now we are home. Deb went to the doctor again and is suffering from allergies as well as the sinus infection. Tomorrow is her birthday - I think I'll be extra sweet to her since it will not be fun being sick on her special day.
BTW - I don't feel 100% either.
FYI - It sucks being sick!
Grace&Peace
24 July 2006
Starved for Entertainment?
Is there really nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon than watch as someone commits several crimes on live TV? Are we so starved for something to watch that we will get in our cars and stop traffic in order to see a woman at gun-point drive a semi down the highway? Have we lost our minds to the point that we will hold up a sign that reads "Keep on Truckin" and cheer when a fugitive from the law rides by?
I am certainly glad that I didn't find out about the car-jacking/truck-jacking/hostage-taking incident until it had safely concluded. I must say that I was (and still am) appalled at the number of people who left their homes to see the hijacked semi drive down I-20. Honestly, I think that anyone who stopped what they were doing (be that watching TV or driving along the highway) in order to cheer on the stolen semi should be arrested for failure to render aid.
This incident was neither funny nor worthy of cheer.
Grace&Peace
I am certainly glad that I didn't find out about the car-jacking/truck-jacking/hostage-taking incident until it had safely concluded. I must say that I was (and still am) appalled at the number of people who left their homes to see the hijacked semi drive down I-20. Honestly, I think that anyone who stopped what they were doing (be that watching TV or driving along the highway) in order to cheer on the stolen semi should be arrested for failure to render aid.
This incident was neither funny nor worthy of cheer.
Grace&Peace
19 July 2006
Happy Blog-iversary!
Today marks one year in the blogosphere for "The Gospel According to Dean" and I just wanted to share a few stats with my readers:
# of posts: 70
# of comments: 86
# of profile views: 140
avg # of posts per month: 5.83
avg # of comments per post: 1.23
avg # of comments per month: 7.17
top posts:
The big winner is "welcome to the internet caitlyn!" with 7 comments
Second place goes to "interesting conversation" with 6 comments
And three posts tied for third with 5 comments each:
"the wait is over" "Here's what I'm wondering..." and "For Sherry..."
Thank you to all of you who have posted comments and helped me to flesh out some of my incoherent thoughts. Maybe year two will provide a post that receives double-digit comments - who know?
Grace&Peace
# of posts: 70
# of comments: 86
# of profile views: 140
avg # of posts per month: 5.83
avg # of comments per post: 1.23
avg # of comments per month: 7.17
top posts:
The big winner is "welcome to the internet caitlyn!" with 7 comments
Second place goes to "interesting conversation" with 6 comments
And three posts tied for third with 5 comments each:
"the wait is over" "Here's what I'm wondering..." and "For Sherry..."
Thank you to all of you who have posted comments and helped me to flesh out some of my incoherent thoughts. Maybe year two will provide a post that receives double-digit comments - who know?
Grace&Peace
17 July 2006
The Heat is Melting My Brain
Summer is almost over and it feels like it is only just beginning.
Last week was "action packed" to say the least. I read with kids at PT, married a couple, and preached on Sunday. To borrow a phrase, "Oof!" I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but I am very tired this afternoon and I am desperately trying to catch up on the things that had to be pushed aside last week.
I heard some great news between services on Sunday and congrats are in order for one Jon Rutty! Way to go, bro!
Grace&Peace
Last week was "action packed" to say the least. I read with kids at PT, married a couple, and preached on Sunday. To borrow a phrase, "Oof!" I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but I am very tired this afternoon and I am desperately trying to catch up on the things that had to be pushed aside last week.
I heard some great news between services on Sunday and congrats are in order for one Jon Rutty! Way to go, bro!
Grace&Peace
05 July 2006
Is there such a thing as "slow" in the church?
July is supposed to be the "slow" month here at Trietsch, but as I look at the calendar I don't see anything "slow" about it
- Kids Eat Free with Young Adults - 6th
- Project Transformation - 12th
- Officiating Wedding - 14th
- Preaching - 16th
- Kids Eat Free with Young Adults - 20th
- Six Flags with Young Adults - 21st
- College Reunion Trip - 28th-30th
Plus all the things I have to do to get ready for the school year starting in August - Fall BS Schedule, Medical Response Team, National Night Out, Back in the Saddle, Elevate planning...
I am not complaining, I'm just saying there is lots to be done and I hope that the "slow" month doesn't go by too fast.
Grace&Peace
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