Happy Valentine's Day Sweetheart

I love Valentine's day because it gives me an opportunity to tell the women in my life how much I love them. I picked up cards and candy for each of my three daughters and wrote a personalized note to each. No card for Andrew - just Little Debbie cakes, his fave.

V-day started for Judy last week. I brought home a heart-shaped tin of chocolate to kinda get things kicked off. Then, on Saturday there was flowers - roses and carnations in a heart shaped vase.

Tuesday night we headed out for a little Valentine's celebration at a new restaurant for us - Texas Roadhouse. It was a great experience and we really enjoyed the atmosphere, service, and food. I was so happy to give Judy her Valentine's gift - a heart-shaped diamond necklace. I wish I could have given her more, but you know what they say - it's the thought that counts!

That brings us to tonight. I gave her a special V-day card with a note telling her how special she is to me. She really is! What a wonderful woman God has blessed me with. Happy Valentine's day to you and my wonderful family! Tye out.

Happy Birthday Judy!!!

Welp, several years ago (I'm not allowed to pinpoint the date) a precious baby girl was born to Bob and Kay and today we are celebrating this momentous occasion. Andrew was out for the evening and Allyson was on a senior high youth group retreat. So, that left me, Mackenzie, and Morgan to celebrate Judy's birthday so we did our best to make her feel special. You can click on the pic for a slide show.

Morgan gave her a movie, and Mackenzie and I gave her a warm up suit to stay warm in. We also shared our cards with her and enjoyed seeing her excitement as she read the notes.

As the husband of Judy, I am so thankful that she was brought up in a home where the Lord was first place. She was taken to church at an early age and trusted Christ at an early age as well.

I am also thankful for my beautiful wife of 21 years. Happy birthday sweetheart!!! We love you!!! Tye out.

Find a good spouse, you find a good life --

and even more: the favor of God.
Proverbs 18:22 The Message

Mackenzie's Titanic Project

Mackenzie sips the finest as a second
class passenger on the Titanic

Today was Mackenzie's Titanic day at school. The children studied about the Titanic and concluded their study with a project. Mackenzie decided to do a scale model of what an iceberg looks like and thanks to her big (creative) brother Andrew they built a wonderful scale reproduction of an iceberg similar to that which probably sunk the Titanic. You can click on the pic for a slide show.

Mackenzie dressed as a second class passenger and gave a speech of what it would have been like for people of her estate to be aboard this magnificent ship. Judy says that Mackenzie definitely gets the best dressed award.

Mackenzie - we are soooo proud of you and this awesome project! You are the best third grader alive and we love you so much!

Morgan's amazing flute playing

Last night Morgan (2nd from right) performed with the Oak Ridge Middle School 8th grade band and they were outstanding! It was a packed house as the students performed. It has been exciting to see their progress over the past couple of years and to see the level of playing go up exponentially.

Congrats Morgan (and all your friends) for an excellent evening of band music! I love you sweetheart!

Zanny Update

I've noticed that I get hits every day from someone searching for Zanny Henseler updates and I wanted to let you know that I have not heard anything. Last I heard she was trying to come up with $25k for the tax bill on her lime-green Cadilac Escalade she won on Deal or No Deal.

Zanny actually left a comment on my blog. (Click here to read it) Rob and Amy, regular readers of tyesjazz.com who go to her church, have left comments on my blog and kinda kept us posted on the progress. They know Zanny's mom so I'm really depending on Rob and Amy to keep me posted and I haven't heard from them in a while.

BTW - A girl who was in my youth group (I think she was old enough back then) was on Deal or No Deal - Josie Butkovic. You can do a search and find out how she did. Congrats Josie for even making the show!!!

So, Zanny, we're dying to know how it's going. If you get a minute between can collecting please leave a comment or email me! Tye out.

God's grace and leadership

God has given us our ministries. We don't have to prove our worth through our ministry, and we don't have to wallow in our mistakes. You don't have to earn your place as a pastor or leader in the church. - Rick Warren

I really appreciate this comment by Rick Warren. I have to confess that there are so many times in my life that I get bogged down trying to make God and people happy with me. I've made so many mistakes, said so many unkind and wrong things to people (even last night!), and continue to struggle in this warfare that we know is not flesh and blood, but is a satanic warfare.

Many times I can wholeheartedly agree with the apostle Paul when he talks about the struggle between what knows he should do and yet doesn't do it, and the bad that he should not do and yet continues to do that. Only by prayer, study, and full reliance on God can these things be overcome.

Thankfully, God sees us through the eyes of grace and mercy. That's where I get in. Tye out.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found,

Was blind, but now I see.

You might a pastor's wife if...

I saw this on Emily's (I don't know her last name) blog and thought you might enjoy reading this. She is the daughter of one of the men who serves with me on our Small Group Leadership team. I hope you enjoy this! (Iadded personal comments in red) Please remember that this is for fun - don't take it too seriously!

You might be a pastor's wife if...

...you secretly want to sneak away and never come back.
...everyone is allowed to have an emergency except you.
...people think your husband only works three hours a week,
...you've been to thousands of potlucks. (Or "fellowship dinners".)
...you know the difference between the prayer chain and the gossip mill.
...you suffer from "PWS" - Pastor's Wife Syndrome.
...you'd love to stay in bed just one Sunday before you die.
...you're never supposed to get sick - or even tired. (or a combination of the two!)
...caller ID becomes your new best friend.
...your best friend lives over 1000 miles away. (actually, it's 588 miles)
...you are loved by the most wonderful people in all the world.
...family night gets interrupted three weeks in a row by someone else's family.
...you like to bowl - and give the pins names of people who cause your husband grief.
...you don't tell your husband everything people tell you.

Tye out.

Hooray!!! Judy has been accepted to Nursing School!!!

It has been a long six long years on Judy's road to becoming an RN and today we heard some of the sweetest news that we have heard yet:

Congratulations! You have been accepted into our Nursing - AAS Program for fall 2007...There is a possibility for [a] summer start.

This was the word we have been waiting for so PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Judy was finished with her class work and was ready to start clinicals when we had to move to Cedar Rapids. This was a huge downer, but Judy has been a trooper.

So, once we arrived in Cedar Rapids they welcomed her by saying that she would have to take 5 hours of classes - more money, more waiting.

Today was a huge answer to prayer and I am thrilled that Judy has taken this one step closer towards becoming an RN. And I couldn't be more proud! I love you sweetheart! You're going to make a great nurse!!! Tye out.

NCBC Men's Retreat - Battleground

This weekend almost 60 men headed for Camp Wyoming about an hour east of Cedar Rapids for a retreat that we won't soon forget. Here's my "forward observations." (you can click on the pic for a slideshow.)

The bus arrived at 1915 hours (7:15pm) and the "recruits" were met by their drill sergant Travis Klopfenstein. We were assigned to a fire squad (4-5 men) and given a name - we were Bravo Squad. We created tee shirts with our squad's name on it.

Steve Adolph led us in worship and then Steve Jenkins gave us our first "Briefing" (talk). Steve J. told us about his father who was a decorated combat veteran with the Marines serving in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Lt. Colonel Bob Jenkins was a forward observer with an artilery unit. Col. Jenkins landed on Iwo Jima and helped take the island.

It was a great weekend with lots of stories from Steve's father's life as well as others who have served our country. The outline was simple:

1. Prepared to Die - Christ laid down his life for us, and we need to be prepared to do the same.

2. Know the Enemy - Our battle is not with flesh and blood; it is a spiritual battle against satan

3. Stand Inspection - Are we fully prepared to stand God's inspection?

And we did have some fun too! We had spud shooting competition which was a blast - ha! We also got to do some tubing on the snow. It was a great weekend.

Special thanks to the leaders (hope I don't miss anyone): Steve Jenkins, Travis Klopfenstein, Steve Morris, Kurt Tennyson, Jeremy Bushlack, and Bryan Fentress. You guys did it right! Tye out.

P.S. Did I mention it was below zero degrees most of the time and NO ONE complained!

Go Peyton Manning!

Alright, most of you who know me know that I don't go out and buy my fave team's jersey's sweatshirts, clocks, and pens. I don't have a banner outside my house and a flag on my car. Not me.

So, you wont be surprised when I show up to our ABF Super Bowl Party tonight without a team jersey.

BUT...tonight, although I will not be wearing official NFL apparel (costs too much any way) I will be cheering on Peyton Manning and whatever team he is playing with. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this young man play the past few years and was bummed when they repeatedly failed to make the Super Bowl.

I am predicting a Colts win. I am also predicting some great fun with friends from our ABF and some great snacks. Go Peyton!!!

9 degrees below zero - IT'S COLD!!!

It was minus 9 this morning when I left. This is just too cold. But you know what? How can I complain? I'm not homeless - I have a nice house. I have at least one good winter coat, warm shoes, gloves, and a hat. I have sweaters galore. Not to mention all the hunting gear that could keep three people warm for a long time!

Ok, I'm cold, but it could be worse. Tye out.

I finished the Old Testament this morning

I started my annual read through of The Message, a translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson on November 22nd and I finished the Old Testament this morning - that's 10 weeks and two days. O my!

This version is very easy to read and because the translation is so straight forward I can honestly say that I rarely stop and think to myself, "Self, what did that mean?" Also, I have taught myself to speed read by the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Method and I am probably reading around 450-500 words a minute with comprehension.

Here are some of my 30k foot level thoughts of this read through:

• God has a plan.
• He loves his people unconditionally
• His mercy is not exclusive
• He honors those who honor him
• Like our earthly fathers, God has his way of getting our attention when we step out of line
• God responds to prayer
• God is absolutely sovereign
• He still responds to prayer even though he is sovereign
• He promised to redeem Israel (this happened through Jesus)
• He promised restoration and peace in the land (this is yet to come)

That is just some of my observations of this lightspeed read through. I can't wait to get to the New Testament tomorrow morning! Tye out.

Meet John Carlson - saxophonist

It's a long story, but I'll try to be brief. I have heard John Carlson (and the Willow Creek Band) on the radio many times and enjoyed his vivacious style alto saxophone playing, and his Michael Brecker influenced tenor sax playing. Well...

Wayne Watson came to sing at our church and his road manager, now solo artist Bill Pickup, was using some cool music for the prelude. It turns out to be John Carlson and the Willow Creek Band. They recorded some of their original arrangements that were used at Willow and called the CD "Preludes" which is no longer available. (John has since released an expanded version of Preludes entitled Preludes II)

I would use this CD to get ready for concerts and solo performances because it helped me zero in on my sound very quickly. One song, "How Excellent is Thy Name" was so groovy that I used it in my concerts and solo performances and I learned John's solo so well that people couldn't tell that I was playing along with someone on the CD!

So, I wind up doing an interview for a mom & pop radio station for I don't know what reason, and the interview is from a pastor's perspective on Christian radio. It turns out that John Carlson was listening (just wait - I'll explain) and when I talked about playing big band music he looked me up and emailed me.

As it turns out, John had left Willow and is now serving at Parkview Evangelical Free Church in Iowa City - only 39 minutes away. We began exchanging emails and discovered that we have a lot in common. I set up a time to get together and talk shop and see what God has been doing in our lives and on January 12th I enjoyed coffee with one of my fave saxophonist! I'll tell you more later. Tye out.

Panera's Pastor

I just completed my 5th week working only one day a week at Panera. The team there has been very patient as I have attempted to refine my bagel-order-getting, drink mixing, floor-sweeping, and inventory restocking skills. Did I mention cash-register skills? Oh my.

The cash register. The Panera team has been faithful to train me on the cash register, but I'm a little on the thick-headed side. I think I can, I think I can...uh, no way.

Yesterday was my first day to man my own register. I was so nervous - rightfully so. At 6:00 AM my first customer stepped up and ordered two bagel packs: 26 bagels/4 tubs of spread. That's 26 bagels that have to be sliced - easy. But ringing it up, that's another story. Then he gave me 3 gift cards - YIKES! Thankfully, he was very patient and I survived! But, not everyone was patient...

Patience. I've noticed that a lot of people have no margin in their life. They leave themselves 2 minutes, 38.6 seconds to get 2 bagel packs, a chai tea latte, and a cup of coffee only to realize that 10 other people had the same idea. Now, they want me to perform like "Dash" on the Incredibles. I'm pretty fast, but not fast enough to make up for their lack of planning. I'm not complaining! The customers come first!!! And, they make my paycheck possible.

One last thing. We were absolutely deluged with bagel orders - must have been the full moon. By 10:30 AM we were out our most popular bagels. A lady came in and was miffed that she couldn't get her fave bagel. She actually said that it was wrong that we ran out of bagels and companies who get bagels should have to order them ahead of time. wow. That is pretty judgemental.

I suggested she fill out a comment card and voice her anger to the "powers that be." I wasn't exactly sure why she felt like arguing with me. I smiled and said thank you.

Thank you Lord for an extra paycheck - answered prayer. And Lord, please help this precious soul for whom you died understand that there are way worse things in our world to be angry about. Tye out.

We Are Marshall

Friday night Judy and I had our first date in a while and we usually like to go to a movie and then out to eat. We decided to go see We Are Marshall and I don't think I was prepared for what was about to happen, to me. You can click on the pic for a movie trailer.

Here's a review from Yahoo! Movies:

A true story, based on devastating events, set in Huntington, West Virginia, about a small town steeped in the rich tradition of college football. For decades, players, coaches, fans and families have come together to cheer on Marshall University's "Thundering Herd." For this team and this community, Marshall football is more than just a sport, it's a way of life. But on a fateful night in 1970, while traveling back to Huntington after a game in North Carolina, 75 members of Marshall's football team and coaching staff were killed in a plane crash. As those left behind struggled to cope with the devastating loss of their loved ones, the grieving families found hope and strength in the leadership of Jack Lengyel, a young coach who was determined to rebuild Marshall's football program and in the process helped to heal a community.

In the movie, the plane crash takes place in the opening minutes of the movie and from there on out we see the story unfold of how a town and college deal with the loss of so many people and the potential loss of a football program. At that moment I could feel the emotion begin to well up within me and the tears began to flow. As the story unfolds we learn about the people left behind how they try to cope with such tremendous loss.

I never stopped crying. In fact, I don't know that I have ever cried that long before in my life. This story touched my life in a deep and profound way.

We Are Marshall is a story about loss. I must confess that I am still processing all the emotion from that day. The good news is that while loss is a reality of life, Jesus can bring healing. Tye out.

NCBC Brass Line

I have the awesome privilege of serving in an instrumental group called Brass Line. We perform every third Sunday of the month now and you can listen to us online each month by going to www.newcovenantbible.org and clicking on the media link. Then click on sermons, then select the date you want and click on Worship in Song. To listen to this month's Brass Line click here. (the link will be live Monday morning some time)

We had an awesome day as we provided backgrounds for the choir and congregational singing. The style is like the band Chicago. I think you will enjoy listening in.

I really enjoy playing with this group because we can laugh and have a good time while playing some cool music. We are serious about what we do but we can have a good time doing it. Does that make sense?

Thanks to Jared, Karen, Dick, Ray, and Steve for your hard work and dedication to excellence. I really enjoy playing in this fine group. Tye out.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This morning we woke up to about 2-3 inches of snow. I arrived at the church around 7 AM for Brass Line rehearsal and then it started snowing again. It snowed all morning and we wound up with probably around 6-8 inches. It was absolutely beautiful out!

Judy and Mackenzie got the driveway cleaned off and did an awesome job! Thanks ladies! Tye out.

Singles Together ABF launched tonight with 37!!!

Tonight we launched a brand new ABF for singles called Singles Together. It is a multigenerational community that has been 5 months in the planning stage and we launched with 37 people tonight! I am so excited!

It all started back in August when I invited about 10 people to join me for an informational meeting about forming an ABF for single adults. We met nearly every Sunday night at 6:30 to plan for the launch of this new community.

We were so excited to see 37 people (including 8 leaders) show up tonight in the library of New Covenant Bible Church. You can click on the pick to view a slideshow.

Hats off to the formation team who helped this become a reality: Dianna Burnette, Peggy Eichenberger, Steve Cooper, Yvonne Kenworthy, Rob and Renee Borkgren, Tom and Connie Knepp, Ed and Ginny Larsen, and David Taylor.

Dianna is the Community Leader, Yvonne is the Assimilation Coordinator, and Peggy is the Inreach Coordinator. Ed Larsen is the Bible teacher. Steve Cooper is going to be helping with coordinating events. Rob and Renee are sponsoring a Super Bowl party.

Congratulations team! I'm looking forward to what God is going to do with this group. Tye out.

Am I a servant leader, or self-serving leader?

RANT WARNING - I went off a little here, so you might want to skip this entry. I am not angry (although it may sound like it)but somewhat hurt and wounded. I do want to be an encouragement to fellow laborers in the ministry. Also, some of my own personal pain is present in this entry. Please pray for me.

______________________________________________________

I love servant leaders! It has become a lifetime goal of me to be the very best servant leader I can possibly be. Over the course of my 15 (almost 16) short years of full-time vocational pastor I have met many leaders who are self-serving and unfortunately many of them lead nationally known ministries or even worst, they pastor churches. (a bit of a rant there - sorry)

But I love it when I meet men and women who are peak performers and they are servant leaders. They realize that leadership is a gift from God and is not to be lorded over those they lead.

Why am I ranting today? I heard of yet another pastor of a mega-church (that is growing) who is a self-serving leader and I guess it brought back some bad memories and some personal pain. What I mean by this is that people are treated as a means to an end and it is sad but true that they wind up running over the very people they should be serving. Please know that God can work through leaders like this - he works in spite of them.

How do I know this? This was me at one point in my ministry. This is a very regretful and sad part of the history of my ministry. In fact, if I have ever hurt you as a result of my self-serving leadership style, please let me know and I would love to apologize and learn how I might serve you. (I'm not kidding.)

Self-serving leaders worry more about how things look (and how they reflect personally on them) than they do the people they lead. They say things like: "That won't look very good [on me]."

Think of it this way: Jesus discipled 12 men and they continually let him down and were a poor reflection on him. They were fraught with problems and often did things that would embarass any leader. Yet, Jesus continued loving them and discipling them. I don't always serve like Jesus did, but I can tell you that it is my goal.

Why do I sound so angry today? (a friend held me accountable on this post so you are now reading version 2.0 - thanks!) I'm just wandering if you have you ever been mistreated/abused by a church or ministry? You should never be mistreated; not in marriage, not where you work, and ESPECIALLY not at church.

I am thankful that I am in an environment where servant leadership is valued, taught, and modeled. It has been a great time of healing for me personally as well as my family and now I am extremely motivated to be a servant leader.

Am I a servant leader? I can only imagine that there are people who believe I am a self-serving leader and they are probably right. I will forever be struggling to be the kind of servant leader Jesus wants me to be. In fact, servant leaders value feedback, so I would love to hear from you how I am doing - and please tell me! I promise to listen, apologize if need be, and learn from my mistakes. If I don't, then I don't deserve to lead.

I must confess that I have had a tough weekend and some painful memories were resurrected. I want to be an encouragement to folks and I hope maybe something in the post challenged you to be a servant leader. If you believe in prayer, would you say one for me today? Tye out.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28 NIV

Panera's Pastor

Alright, the cats out of the bag. I started working one day a week at Panera - the one I "work" at when I'm using their WiFi. Friday was my third day - I only work on Fridays from 6am-2pm. And it's working out pretty good.

In the coming months I am going to be sharing some of my Panera Ponderings about life in the workplace, retail customers, and and other random musings. Here's the first installment.

I like working at Panera because it is a positive work environment. The managers are so encouraging to everyone there.

I also like the team atmosphere. Everyone pitches in and helps. Each person does their part and is patient with others as they do theirs.

So far I have had an extremely positive experience working there and really enjoy it. If you are in the area on Fridays make sure you stop by and see me. Tye out.