Wildfoote: A Leadership Journey

Pendant Fusion

She is dynamic, fun, passionate and exciting to hang out with.  Everyone knows when she is around.

She is a gifted artist that puts her heart and soul into her work. 

And I am MARRIED to her!

Liz blogs and displays her creativity at www.pendantfusion.blogspot.com.

I encourage you to check it out!!

The Daily 7 (er...6)

When it comes to leading, one of the biggest challenges that I have faced is leading myself.  And the question remains, how can we lead others if we cannot lead ourselves?

With that in mind, I have used the beginning of 2009 as a catalyst for committing to lead myself in a few key areas (please…not resolutions).  The idea came to me to call them my Daily 7 but only came up with 6 key commitments…so maybe I will need to change the name. 

Actually the commitments are tied to larger goals that I have set out for 2009, such as reading through the Bible, reading 25 books, losing 25 pounds, etc.  So here they are:

1.    Read a section of Scripture
2.    Additional reading – minimum of 30 minutes
3.    Exercise minimum of 30 minutes
4.    Encourage or thank someone
5.    Pray for Liz and the kids
6.    Blog something I am learning, thinking about or experiencing
7.    ?

2009 is 5 days old and I have done well in some and struggling in others.  I am committed to not allow them to be a chain but rather a springboard that allows me to continue to grow as a leader.  Feel free to ask me how I am doing.

Real Estate, Break In, and Sabbatical

Long time no post.  Lots happening.

On the Real Estate front, I have been playing a major role on RCC's facility transition.  We have been working on identifying properties and getting ready for a big move.  Actually hired architects this week and got moving on designing our next space.  Most likely we are going to move into an existing building and turn it into "our space".  We have some cool ideas, so will post more as we get further into the project.

This past Monday night, our next door neighbor had a guy with a gun come into his house and demanded money.  Ended up forcing one of the occupants to drive him to an ATM and made the neighbor take out money.  Kind of scary.  About the same time, I had our front door open and the screen door unlocked.  That has changed. 

Pastor Jim is on sabbatical through July and then on vacation the first week of August.  I spoke at the three services this morning, finishing up our series on the life of Samuel.  Wow, I forget what it takes to give the same message three times, back to back over a 4 hour period.  Believe it or not it takes a lot of emotional energy out of you.  It didn't help that one of the air conditioners went out, making for a warm meeting space.  But overall, I enjoy communicating in that forum. 

So that's a quick update!  Hopefully more to come.

Home In P-Town

The parties are finished, the good byes are over.  Yes, it is official...we are home in Peoria. 

We wondered at times if we were going to make it. Liz did an incredible job of packing and preparing while I was traveling right before we moved.   I think we were both delirious before it was all over.  But we made it...thanks to lots of help and encouragement from old friends, new friends, family, Allied Moving company, and mostly the grace and strength of God.  Thanks to the Hilberts and Liz's parents for the ton of food on Saturday.  The movers were excited about the "buffet" they were able to experience. Thanks to Scott and Holly, Jessica, Heidi, Tom and Dottie, and Joel and Emily for unpacking, setting things up and help us make those decisions as to what goes where.

Now to get down to business...Getting the kids in school, finish setting up the house, and putting energy and intentionality behind my role at Richwoods Christian Church.

Guess What We Are Doing...

This is just a small snapshot of what is happening at our house at the moment...boxes, boxes, everywhere.  We are putting on a full court press to get packed and ready to move.

I returned home from Peoria tonight to help get packed.  The movers are scheduled to load the truck on March 15, we close on both houses on the 16th, and the movers deliver our stuff on the 17th.

The kicker is that several months ago, I agreed to help facilitate a retreat for the Regional and Ministry Leaders of International Teams in South Carolina, March 11-16.  Hmmm...see a problem here?  Liz and I have worked it out, and I will return early before the retreat is over but before the truck shows up.  I will plan to blog some of the retreat while I am there next week.  Apparently we are supposed to have wireless internet.

One thing I can say, our life is definitely not boring!!!

Transition Thoughts

As we are packing, cleaning, attending "going away" parties, saying good-bye, etc, Liz and I are having an ongoing discussion about the impact we have had on people in our neighborhood and community.  If you haven't already, you need to check out her latest post here on her blog. 

In reading Joshua this morning from The Message, I was taken by a line from Peterson's introduction to the book.  He wrote the following:

"God's great love and purposes for us are worked out in the messes, storms, and sins, blue skies, daily work, and dreams of our common lives, working with us as we are and not as we should be."
(The Message:  The Old Testament Historical Books, p. 10).

I find that line comforting.  We have strived to be who we are, without pretense...to be open and authentic...to be honest about who we are and who we are not.  I have to say that Liz does a better job of this than I, as it seems that I can be too concerned with how I am perceived by others.  But all in all, I am grateful that God uses us as we are.

Ear in the Envelope

I am sure you must be wondering about the title of this post.  Well, I have finally gotten Liz into the blog world.  And the title of her blog is Ear in the Envelope.  If you are familiar with Van Gogh, you will understand.  You can access her blog here. 

I am excited that LIz is going to be blogging.  She has such creative and awesome thoughts and ideas about lots of topics...following God, art, creativity, the church, those who seem hopeless, what's going on in the world....and the list goes on.  I think you will be challenged and encouraged by what is going on in her head...if you can keep up!

P.S. Give her a couple of days to get up and running.

The House Saga Continues...

So our house has been on the market for 4 months now.  Yesterday is an example of our experience.  We get a call on Thursday evening.  Someone would like to view the house between 2:30 and 3:30 Friday afternoon.  So, we get the kids off to school, finish some projects, clean like crazy, move some things around...and get out of the house with 10 minutes to spare.

We picked up Zach, remembered we hadn't had lunch, ran through McD's, and then drove down by the river, all with the dogs in tow.  Head back around 3:30 or so.  No evidence that anyone has been there...no realtor card, nothing.  Call our realtor and find out they decided to cancel.  ARRRRG!!!  This has happened so many times it is ridiculous! 

We are definitely feeling frustrated but trying hard to cooperate with whatever God has in mind for us.  All of us are looking forward to getting through this transition and being settled in Peoria.

Catching My Breath

Whew!  It's Monday and I am catching my breath. 

Since I started at Richwoods CC on January 15, it seems that I have been on the go.  After spending a few days in Peoria that first week, I was home for 36 or so hours and then off to speak at a leadership retreat just north of Peoria.  Was in town until Wednesday but as I mentioned in an earlier post, Pastor Jim asked me to speak on Sunday (Jan 28).  My couple of days at home were spent preparing the message, helping Liz get the house ready for a showing, taking Zach to the Fun Fair at his school, and generally catching up with the kids.  Then back on Saturday to speak yesterday.

I had lots of encouraging comments about the message yesterday (all three of them...three services).  Also had some good conversations as well.  If you are interested in listening to the message, you can click here and go to sermon media.  It should be up sometime this week.

Okay...now back to figuring out what's up for this week.  I think I need a cup of coffee!

A BEGINNING...

With an end, also comes a beginning.  After seeking lots of input from a number of sources and exploring several possibilities, I accepted a role as the Executive Pastor at Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, IL.  Scheduled start date was January 15, 2007.

It is no secret that going back to Peoria was way down on the personal desire list.  But we couldn't get away from the fact that God seemed be calling us.  Since making this decision the road has been challenging but we continue to sense this is where God wants us for this season.

Here is a recent update on our decision, our plans, and where things are at the moment.
Download january_min_update.pdf

I am looking forward to blogging more about the challenges in the local church, leadership development, and other relevant issues.