Mark Borgetti Weblog

Best Phone Call Ever

Last Friday I picked Adam up from school and took him to lunch. Had a great time. So, I thought maybe this week we could have a repeat. On the way to school when I floated the idea by him, I could tell he would rather hang with friends (and maybe even his girlfriend) in the cafeteria. As I dropped him off, I confess, I was a little bummed.

I wasn't a block from school when, a call came in from a number I did not recognize and I am like, "It's my day off. Do I really want to get this? IT COULD BE THE OFFICE!" Reluctantly, I took the call and heard, "Hey dad, let's go to lunch." When my son got into school he must have ran to the office to tell me he changed his mind. With my voice cracking and tears welling up all I could say was, "Yeah, sounds good!"

It was the best phone call ever!

Finding Jesus in Unexpected Places

 

This Advent we're focusing on the Christmas story and finding out how over and over Jesus just seemed to show up in unexpected places. Nobody would have ever expected Jesus to be born where and when he was and to the parents God chose. And for young and very scared Mary, just knowing she was carrying Jesus gave her unexpected and unexplainable hope. And for Joseph, just knowing that his fiance' was carrying the child who would forgive sins bought light to his very dark situation of trying to figure out how to deal with a pregnant fiance. Jesus has and does continue to show up in unexpected places.

So, here's the question? Where and when have you seen Jesus show up unexpectedly in your life? Where and when did you see tangible signs of His presence? I'd love to hear!

The Left, The Right, Conservatives, Liberals, Republicans, and Democrats?

Following following the example of a pastor I know, I am going to give you the opportunity to inform the pastor (that would be me) about our two presidential candidates.

In your opinion, what are the best online resources that capture Obama and McCain's position on key issues such as: the poor, the economy, the war, education, and abortion? I'd love to hear from the Left, the Right, Conservatives, Liberals, Republicans, and Democrats? How do you stay informed?

Blue Skys and a Guy Named Cloud

Spent Thursday at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington for a day long seminar called "Blue Skys". Turns out the conference appears to be named after the rooms they are held in.

About 112 men and women from the business community and churches heard Henry Cloud and Bill Hybels discuss leadership principles. A couple of immediate benefits were the two free books: Hybels Axioms (wanted this one) and Cloud's The One Life Solution (glad I have this one).

When it comes to leading others in ministry, here was one of the ideas that "stuck" without having to go back and look at my notes: When it comes to having the tough conversations, Henry ... a clinical psychologist suggests ... know the people you are dealing with.

The Wise Person
When the "wise person" hears truth (e.g. You really messed up the other day), they own it, adapt, and work hard to prevent the same mistake. If you are dealing with this person, dump time, energy, and resources into this person. This is a great person to have on your team

The Fool
When the "fool" hears the truth, they ignore it and continue to argue and push back. After attempting to listen with an empathetic ear, if they feel heard, the conversation will take a turn for the better. However, sometimes it get so the point where a consequence has to be established and a line drawn in the sand.

The Evil Person
This is a person who gets great joy seeing others fail in the organization. If you encounter and evil person, do everything possible to protect the vision and others from the "virus" this person will try to infect the system with.

My take away was "I pray I am wise and am gifted with other wise team members. I pray for patience and resolve when dealing with the "fool", and send the resume of an "evil person" to someone else!"

Feelin' Good!

Ok, my High School Youth Director Beth's last day is Sunday. My Communication Coordinator quit a few weeks ago, I just found out one of my weekly newsletter editors has to quit, I missed "The Office" tonight because of the Mission & Ministry Board Meeting  ... oh, and I still haven't started on my message for Sunday! So why am I feelin' so good!! I HAVE NO IDEA!!! For all practical purposes I should be stuck in bed curled up in a fetal position, but ... I just have to say I'M FEELIN' PRETTY GOOD!

Maybe it's because the going away party I planned for Beth with the staff went great. Maybe it's because Beth left me with enough volunteers to keep our Youth Ministries up and running through July of next year! Maybe it's because I have identified 15 people as Youth Ministry Visionaries who will help cast the vision for the High School Ministries. Maybe it's because I think we have a proposed job description for the next Communication Coordinator that will improve productivity at church ten fold. Maybe it's because the Mission Meeting tonight was rock solid and moved us closer to the vision of having the strongest possible missions a church could dream of having.

And maybe it's because my message on Sunday is all about "God giving" ... and after a week where a lot was taken away, I can still say with confidence ... God gives! Now, if only my daughter recorded "The Office!"

The Perfect Gift

Ok, what do Olive Garden gift certificates, bird baths, and sweatshirts have in common? Answer: At one time or another they were the "perfect gift" my sister and I gave our parents. Just before every gift giving occasion my sister and I ask the question, "What do we get mom and dad for their [fill in the blank]?" My parents are very very generous and so when it comes to Christmas, birthdays, etc we would like to get them the perfect gift. But the truth is, we just don't know what that is. They already have the perfect son and daughter:) And even if we figured out what the perfect gift is, we couldn't afford it! So this year, we took a different approach. My sister and I along with our families donated a total of $150 in my parents name to our World Vision sponsored child Muvumelene in Derre Mozambique. Check this out! On behalf of my parents, Muvumelene and her family received:

4 Goats
2 Dresses
2 Pairs of shoes
4 Plates
2 Suits
2 Cooking Pans
3 Shirts
2 Wrap Cloths
1 Pair of shorts
1 Blouse
1 Bar of soap
2 Cups

So a family who had next to nothing has what they need. What do you think? I would say we found the perfect gift!

A Sad Goodbye

Everyday I get out of bed and thank God for the incredible people I get to do ministry with; especially when it comes to the creative musical leadership at our church. Lynn Panosh constantly humbles me when I hear story after story of how high school students who sang in her Eagle's Wing choir had their life changed for ever because of the positive influence Lynn made. Mike Fenton is our awesome contemporary worship leader and literally my wing man at "The Gathering." I can sense God making me a better pastor, preacher, and worship leader through the music he plays and the worship he leads. And last but not least is Mike Kramer (that's his picture on the left). Mike Kramer and I go waaaay back to when he was 16 and Lynn suggested he be the worship leader for a new service we were launching and I was heavily involved in. Over the years I saw this skinny greasy haired kid transform into the an authentic and creative worship leader; giving people a glimpse of God through the songs he played and the music he sang. For over eight years God has blessed so many people through Mike and his music. And today, as Mike packs his bags to get his masters at the University of Southern California, we sadly say "Goodbye!" Mike, we love you, we with you the best, and I leave by saying "Praise Adonai" in all that you do my friend. God bless you.

What a great evening!

Wednesday evening, by what could be nothing other than an act of God, gave me a chance to:

• Make a new friend because of an old tradition
• See an old friend have a new beginning
• Hear an old story told a new way

New Friend / Old Tradition – Josh Linman, and intern at Augsburg Fortress, is traveling the country visiting churches of varied denominations and non-denominations. He started a website called www.creativeworshiptour.com. I head about Josh and the website and posted some comments while thinking to myself, “This is a really cool idea. I need to meet this guy.” About two hours after I posted my comments, JOSH CALLED ME and said, “Hey, I’m at Willowcreek Arts Conference. Want to get together. I’d like to hear more of your thoughts on creative worship.” As luck would have it, Wednesday night was free … a very rare occurrence … so we met at Willow’s New Community … the last New Community at Willow. I made a new friend because of a very old tradition called worship.

Old Friend / New Beginning - God brought me to a Willow not only to meet Josh, but also so I could hear old friend of mine who God used to save “my family” preach his last message. Randy Frazee, up until last night, was one of the teaching pastors at Willowcreek in Barrington. I had met Randy at a conference, and I completely believe God used Randy to help me realign my priorities … helping to me put my family first in my life. Randy wrote a book entitled Making Room For Life that taught me the importance of balance in my life. Last night I was privileged to hear him preach his last message at Willow before he left to join the leadership team of Max Lucado’s church, Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. I was privileged to be there to see my old friend have a new beginning.

Old Story / Told a New Way - After some incredible worship, Randy put a bug in my ear! You’ll have to listen to the entire message on your own to see what I mean. His message was short and sweet but in a nutshell, he reduced the long and complicated stories of scripture to “God loves you, Love God back. God chose you. Choose God back.” I was blessed to hear an old story told a new way. 

What a great evening!

Priceless

Celebrating 20 years together for two nights at a bed and breakfast ... $180 Quiet dinner for two with wine ... $75 Being able to post to my Blog with my BlackBerry while my wife shops ... Priceless!

Fellowship

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

This spring (aka "As the winter that would not end") has cut into my "neighbor time". Since people are still hesitant to spending lots of time outdoors, there have been no impromptu driveway or backyard "over the fence" conversations with neighbors. But tonight, Caryn, Adam, and I were able to recapture some quality fellowship time with our good friends and neighbors, the Meyers. Caryn called me on my way home from the Saturday 5:00 pm service and simply said, "I talked to the Meyers ...." and before she could finish I screamed, "YES!" An hour later  we were eating grilled chicken, drinking a few beers, and catching up around a camp fire ... simple fellowship.

I think this is the trick to being the kind of church God has in mind, the kind of church we find in Acts 2 ... find the balance between learning from God's Word, breaking bread, praying, and the many ministries the church offers, but never neglecting the biblical principle of fellowship.