lost in omaha

Working In The ER

I went to work with my husband the other night to learn how to be a scribe.  A scribe is someone who walks around with the doctor and records everything they say or do so the MD can do more patient care.  They also keep track of the Md's patients and let him or her know of when labs and x-rays are back.  The charting system in the ER is all electronic.  It is actually pretty cool.  You walk around with a computer tablet and you can access the chart and click on the template to fill out assessment sheets, order labs, x-rays, print scripts, whatever.  The MD looks over what you entered and signs off on it. 

It was fun to be back in the ER without all the hassles of being a nurse.  Now when someone threw up, I got to walk out the door with the MD instead of staying behind to clean it up like I used to. HA!

While it was fun to be in an ER again, I was amazed at how the patient population had changed.  Or maybe I was just never as observant?  I found myself feeling so sorry for most of the patients there.  At any moment, we had a minimum of 3 drunks sleeping it off.  Most found on the street passed out.  Once their alcohol level gets below .4 (that means 40% of your blood is alcohol) then they can leave. 

Most of the people who came in to the ER were there because of a direct, or in-direct result of substance abuse.  Either they were addicts looking for drugs, they were too drunk or high to be on the street, their substance abuse had made them sick, or they were injured by being in a situation where substance abuse played a key role.

Every once in a while there was a patient who had a true medical emergency, but at one time during the night, every single on of Bill's patients were people that I honestly didn't have much hope for a future for unless they seriously turned their lives around and got help for their addictions. 

It was a good reminder of how many people out there are lost and hurting with no hope.  Bill said that at least once a shift he talks to someone about turning their life around and how God is the only way. 

Nope - it's not like the show ER.   

Back From the Exponential And Catching Up

So I am back from the Exponential.  Actually, I got back on Friday, but every time I sit down to blog I make the mistake of reading everyone else's blogs and then before I know it, I have to move on to other things.  Just not enough time in the day to do all I want to do . . .

Then I was going to post a bunch of pics, but I was going through them and I realized that I don't have any good one's that haven't already been posted.  So if you want to see some great pics of the conference from the CCC perspective - check out Bill Carroll's blog here and here and here Carrie Larson's blog here and here and here. (Yeah, I know its the lazy way to do it, but I would rather think of it as belonging to a network and collaborating.)  Videos from the conference are all over the place too.  If you want to see the new leader song intro Eric Bramlett gave Tim Keller - go here.   

Overall it was a great time!  I talked to a lot of people, finally got to meet some people that I only know by name through e-mail, and I got to hang out with some of my best friends.   Here is my take on the conference this year:

• Andy Stanley - I am never disappointed by what he has to say.  He is an incredible speaker.
• Alan Hirsch - Every pastor should be reading his stuff. His take on the future of the church in America is great and should not be ignored.  He is such an interesting person.  I would like to get to know him more. 
• Rick Warren - A down to earth guy.  He is more than happy to stop and talk to anyone who wants to talk to him.  A few of us talked to him after the NewThing dinner and he gave us all hugs before we left. That's the kind of guy he is. 
• Tim Keller - A guy you would think would be intimidating or talk over your head because he is so smart - but he reminds me of a kind father figure who is happy to just go with the flow.  He even survived the new leader initiation song from Eric Bramlett. 
• Ed Stetzer - This is what Eric Bramlett would be like if Eric was a pastor.  He is incredibly smart and he is not afraid to say anything.  He is a great guy and I enjoy hearing from him every time because he brings a different perspective on things.
• Dave Ferguson - Since I know this guy the best out of all of them, I can tell you what he is REALLY like.  Ok - actually he is just like you see him.  A smart guy who is always looking to do the next best, better, bigger, more innovative thing in ministry. I am always learning from Dave and he is a great friend. 

And so ends another conference experience with the NewThing team.  I cherish these times because they are so much fun and I learn so much about ministry.  I was even prepared this time for the possibility of us not catching our flight home.  No nervousness, I just went with the flow.  And as we were stuck in security with 10 minutes until our flight took off I still didn't panic because I knew that the odds of us making our flight were on our side.  This was the 6th time I have almost missed my flight while traveling with the team and it's the 6th time we have made the flight. On my own I have been late to a plane once, and I missed the flight once.  Go figure.    

Officially a Nerd

  So now I am know I am losing it.  I woke up this am and the first thing I thought of was "Hey!  Today is the day I get my new version of MS Office!"  Bret Koontz showed me all the cool stuff that the new MS office powerpoint can do (not as cool as mac, but cooler than my old office version I am using) so I ordered the cheapest version I could find on the web and it is coming today!  Just in time for me to put some finishing touches on the Exponential Conference powerpoint presentations.  I know this takes me further down the PC path, but what are you gonna do?  I can't belive I am excited about this - I think I am officially a nerd.

Catch Up

Got back from a visit to Naperville and it was awesome. It was great to connect with my team at work and get re-energized. I love that I can go back and still know what is going on and they meet with others to fill in the gaps.  Thanks to Dave, Sue, Amy, Josh and Caleb for letting me invade your house again. You guys are awesome!!   

I also got to meet with my newest boss, Tom, who is teaching me even more stuff about graphic design and our new web database management system - Joomla.  He is so patient with me trying to learn this stuff in the midst of trying to develop 2 new websites.  Thanks Tom!

So this week - It will be a week of finalizing everything for the Exponential Conference, and then it is off to Orlando!  I am so excited! 

Hanging Out in Naperville with my Team

I am in Naperville this week helping to get the NewThing team ready for the Exponential Conference in a few weeks.  I came early because I wanted to have the chance to go to a few of the vision team dinners for the 4 teams CCC has created as part of their Generosity initiative this year.  Saturday night was the NewThing team dinner.  Basically we invited CCC attenders to come and hear what NewThing was all about and give them the opportunity to get involved.  It was an awesome night. 

Greg Lee, Lead Pastor of one of our Affiliate Churches, Suncrest Church in Indiana gave an inspiring talk about how the NewThing Network has helped transform his church in the area of leadership development.  Through NewThing coaching, and by his teams attending several of our conferences, his church has grown from 40% being grouped to 70%.  Suncrest also plans to launch their first multi-site campus soon.  Greg is a great leader and he now leads one of our networks and coaches other lead pastors who are part of the NewThing network.  It was powerful for our attenders to have someone outside of CCC stand up and talk about the impact their contributions are having on churches across the US.  It is stuff that I get to hear about and see all the time, but for many of our attenders, this was the first time they heard what the NewThing network really is. Aaron Monts, one of our leadership residents at CCC also talked about how he has the dream to start a church in San Francisco, one of the most un-churched areas in the United States.  Next year, Aaron will be starting that church through the support of the NewThing network and Community Christian Church attenders. Overall, it was a successful and fun night and I think many came away with a sense of the church being more than just something for them on Sunday.  Awesome. 

Sunday night was the Neighborhood team Dinner.  Kirsten Strand, who heads up this team is one of my favorite people and I admire her so much.  She has a passion for reaching the under-resourced in and around Naperville and she has built a huge ministry to carry on this vision.  Rather than picking a different community to help every year, or planning a ton of different programs, she has led CCC to concentrate on one community - East Aurora.  For years under her direction, CCC has poured it's efforts in this neighborhood working mainly through the schools to impact families.  Now, CCC is looking to start a campus in this area - but it's not just a campus that has a presence on the weekend.  The dream is bigger than that.  We want a whole community center where classes will be taught, there will be kids programs, educational programs for parents, maybe a place for those who live in the community to run a small business, maybe a medical clinic. The possibilites are endless and they even have a building in mind.  Who knows what God is planning there.

I am really proud of our staff.  This has been a rough month in terms of staff transitions and additional responsibilties, and yet the mission continues and the main thing is still the main thing.  I am having so much fun! 

Bill Stays Connected to Technology

My husband fell asleep on the couch today and I had to take this picture.  I think he is a technology junkie.  I am sure there must be a 12-step group for that.  He is so strange, but then again, I did marry him!

Yoga for Dogs??

  So I am watching TV and this program comes on about people who take their dogs to their yoga class with them.  But it's not yoga - its "DOGA"  I thought it was a joke, but no. . .  these people are serious (crazy).  Dog owners pay to go to DOGA classes so your dog can get that much needed rest and relaxation time.  I guess I have a weird dog, because mine seems to have no problem finding the most comfortable spot in the house and sleeping for hours.  What was even more hilarious was the video of the people trying to do yoga and the dog did what a dog usually does - he came up and licked the owner in the face.  Now, that is an experience I really want to pay for!   So of course, it isn't just the Doga classes - you have to outfit your dog correctly - velour doga sweat suits, special DOGA pillows, special DOGA toys.  Yeah, my dog would definitely like that. Now if only I could stop him from rolling around in what's left of that dead bird in the front lawn.  Only in America...

You Are Rich - Seriously

Today I heard a great message on Blessings and it made me stop and think once again what I do with my money.  Am I using it to further God's kingdom or am I just using it to get ahead and make me feel secure?  That is a constant battle that I am always dealing with.  The basis of the message is that we are all monetarily rich. . . and we are.  If we live in the US, the majority of us are in the top money makers in the world.   If you want to know just how rich you are, go to www.globalrichlist.com and punch in your annual salary and it will tell you just how high up you are compared to the rest of world.  My family is in the top .01%.  That is just ridiculous to me and it made me even more anxious to be a good steward of what God has given me.

I found it such a God thing that today in church I heard a message that was along the exact lines of what my home church - CCC - has made their primary focus.   During the weekend of April 19/20, all CCC services will be encouraging attenders leave a Soul Legacy by supporting one of four teams that will have a global impact when it comes to helping people find their way back to God and eradicating poverty.  You can learn more about that here.  It seems like God is really at work and it doesn't seem to matter if I am here in Omaha, or back in Chicago - the message is the same.  That is so cool!

Bill Got a MAC

This week my husband was using his laptop and he got the "blue screen of death".  I tried everything and couldn't get it back so I figured it was time for a new computer.  I love getting new computers! 

My husband is not the most computer savy so I figured this is a good time to make the switch to a mac for him.  So we headed off to the Apple store and picked up a new MacBook.  It has been years since we owned a mac and I have been wanting to get one again in the house for a while.  Now that he has his and he has been using it, I am wondering why we have any PC's in the house at all.  His laptop starts up so easy - no anti-spyware to load, no anti-virus stuff to load.  The Apple store set up his computer with all his I-tunes, they set up his e-mail, and they gave him a demo as to how to use everything. 

From his desktop widgets he can see the weather, all the sports scores he wants, what movies are playing at the local theatre and where the cheapest gas is close to home.  When he started it up it just found the wireless network and configured itself to our home network so he can grab files off of all the other computers I have on the workgroup.  It has been so long since I owned a mac that I totally forgot how easy they are - and they are even better now than they were 12 years ago when I had one.  I couldn't really think of anyting that I do on my pc that I couldn't do on the mac. Hmmmm...

So of course I started calculating how much it would cost me to make the switch - I figure  that with the programs I need to have on the laptop (Office professional and Adobe CS3) and the type of laptop I want(a MacBook Pro) it would cost way too much, so it is out of my price range. But someday. . . .

Working For CCC - Still

My life has been going through a phase of transition again.  After working at StoneBridge for a while, I am leaving because I have finally decided to stop fighting what I am supposed to be doing. . .  working for CCC and NewThing.  When I first had to move to Omaha, I figured that my contribution to CCC was done, and I tried hard to move in that direction.  But the more I tried, the more opportunities were put before me that put me right back working for CCC. I tried to contribute at other churches, but I found myself kind of feeling like a fish out of water.  I blame Dave and Jon for that.  They are the one's who immersed me so deep into the reproducing church culture that I get restless doing anything else.  So now I am ruined - forever - and I don't think I can work for any other church that doesn't have the same DNA in their structure - otherwise it is just a job to me. 

A few weeks ago, believe it or not, CCC gave me even MORE responsibility and I LOVE it!  I know that I am so far away, but now I am starting to think that God is telling me to hang on, you are still a part of that team, just in exile right now.  And, God has been giving me even more opportunities.  I am helping out with the materials for the Multi-Site Exposed Conference, (which at first I was a little freaked out about, but so far, Leadership Network is liking what I have done for them, so it's all good.)Plus I got to design a bunch of stuff for Troy and Janet for their new church, Restore, in Kansas City which I was so happy to do for them.  I talk daily to someone at CCC about work needs and issues in the office which blows my  mind.  I am 450 miles away, and I still know pretty much what is going on there.  That has got to be a God thing. 

So I am back where I started when I first moved to Omaha and it has taken me 2 years to get here. I still work for CCC and NewThing and I pretty sure I always will.