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eggebrecht

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A Dirty, Thankful Job

I have a dirty, thankful job…but someone’s got to do it. Thanking people can sometimes feel like work that’s “down and dirty,” but it might be even more rewarding to you than it is to the one receiving the thanks.

I recently read Tom Peters’ 507 page tome called The Little Big Things. Peters is one of the authors of the classic book, In Search of Excellence. In his new book he claims it’s the little things that make a big difference in business. And if in business, why not in the church as well? Granted, Word and Sacrament are not little things at all. They are the biggest and best things of all. But there are little things that we do because we are gifted with Word and Sacrament that can have a profound human impact, and even a profound spiritual impact.

In The Little Big Things Tom Peters asks: “How many times…today…did you ‘use the two words’? I.e….Exactly how many times did you utter: ‘Thank you’?” It’s a dirty, thankful job…but someone’s got to do it. Why not you? Why not me?

This past week I took Peters’ words to heart and I actually sat down and typed a personal letter to a college professor of mine who has had a profound impact on my life. I didn’t send an email. I didn’t text message. I didn’t leave a voice mail. I didn’t instant message. I wrote a full page, single-spaced letter, put it on letterhead, addressed it, and dropped it in the mail. (Aside: In this day and age of email and text messaging, don’t you love getting a personal note or letter in the mail?)

As I wrote the letter I began to appreciate more than ever the wisdom, guidance, modeling, faithfulness, humor, and knowledge that my professor and mentor passed on to me. Writing the “thank you” letter may have meant more to me than it did to him.  It helped me appreciate the gift of God that I have been given in that one man.

I bet I could write a “thank you” letter or note every day, and never run out of people to thank…and learn to appreciate even more the gifts that have been passed on to me by God through people. I don’t want to presuppose anything, but I dearly hope that the letter I sent to my college professor made his day. It would make my day to make his.

It might feel humbling to have to constantly thank other people. But “dirty, thankful jobs” can create good will, good effort, good grace, good teamwork, and even good friends, family, partners, and fellow Christians.

I now have a sticky note on the front of my computer that says: “Whom have you thanked today?”

Whom have you thanked today? Let me know. I’d love to hear about your experiences.

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A Bent Fork in the Trail

I haven’t wiped out on a bike since I was about 11-years-old, and was doing something stupid. As of today, I can’t say that anymore. I went for a ride with my friend, Marc, an expert mountain biker. I learned something about Marc. And I learned something about myself.

The trail we rode today was what Marc calls a “technical” trail. That means there are lots of twists and turns through very narrow passages in the woods. It means that tires can get caught in crevasses, handlebars can get hooked on trees, and bodies can fall off of bikes. Let’s just say this is the first time in my life I really needed a helmet. I fell off of my bike three times, one of which was a “header” into roots and stones.

As I write this, I’ve got a cut and two bad scrapes on one leg; a bruise on the other leg; a cut on my finger; a sore shoulder; a small headache; a scrape on my neck; and a sore sternum (which is a recurrence of an “old football injury”…no lie!). And that’s just my body.

That wipeout wasn’t too kind to my bike, either. It seems I may have bent the front fork. Marc said, “That’s pretty impressive.” I was proud. Then we finished the rest of the loop, which concluded with an uphill climb so steep that I felt every last one of my 47 years. But because my fork was bent, I couldn’t go on anymore. So Marc went and rode with a friend of his we had passed on the trail. I went home to nurse my wounds.

Here’s what I learned about Marc: Marc models the kind of leader, the kind of pastor, the kind of friend I would like to be. As we started, Marc said, “If at anytime you need me to slow down, just let me know. I have no problem doing so.” He put me, the amateur, at ease, and made me feel comfortable. I don’t know how much he was keeping it slow for me, but I seemed to be able to stay with him pretty well.

Not only that, but Marc was out ahead of me, vocally warning me about muddy spots, sharp turns, and narrow passages. I found out how nice it is having someone out in front leading and guiding the way. He even taught me things I had never known about being a good mountain biker. They are skills I hope to use again soon to improve my rides.

Marc was also able to temporarily fix my bike well enough so that I could finish the trail. A leader that has knowledge and technical skill is a true blessing. When things go wrong and broken stuff gets easily fixed (temporary or not), it keeps everything moving toward the goal of the finish line.

A good leader, a good pastor, a good friend, puts people at ease; goes out ahead to guide the way, warn of danger, and improve skill; and, to the best of his ability, keeps things moving toward the goal. That’s the kind of person I want to be. It’s the kind of person Marc is.

Here’s what I learned about myself: After Marc left to ride with his friend, I sat in the car and took stock of all of my injuries, my broken bike, and my wounded ego. I deduced that everything was OK. Then, before I even left the parking lot, I decided that I wanted to ride the trail again. Soon.

That trail will not conquer me. I want to improve my skill. I have the deep desire to improve. I want to one day lead someone else through those trails. I want to be able to feel the accomplishment of successfully finishing without falling. And I’d like, one day, to help someone else accomplish that, as well. Something deep inside of me is screaming: “Never say die!”

I want to adopt that attitude for my personal life, my professional life, and in my vocation as a pastor.

What have you experienced lately that has shaped the way you work, or lead, or live?  Please let me know. I’d love to learn from it, too.

Now…excuse me while I go take my bike into the shop.

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Everything New Is Old Again

While we were on vacation, I had the chance to watch the Tony Awards. Since I love New York theater, I usually enjoy the Tony’s; but this year was disappointing for a number of reasons: 1. It seems Hollywood has taken over Broadway; 2. Catherine Zeta Jones in no way deserved the Tony over the other actresses that were up for the award; 3. Mostly I was disappointed in the “new” offerings coming down out of Broadway this year…except one. (More on that later.)

Granted, the Tony’s give away an award for “The Best Revival of a Musical” every year, but this year there were revivals of revivals, like La Cage aux Folles, Finian’s Rainbow, and a revival of Bye Bye Birdie after a sequel of Bye Bye Birdie had closed a number of years ago after only four performances. (Last October my wife and I happened to see the revival of Bye Bye Birdie starring John Stamos and Gina Gershon…and it was awful! No wonder it closed after only four months.)

Broadway isn’t the only place this is happening. Now I see there is going to be a “revival” of Hawaii 5-O on TV in the fall. And this summer there is going to be a “revival” of The A-Team in the movie theater (…did we really need that???!!!).  It seems that instead of the old adage “everything old is new again,” recently “everything new is old again”!

Where are the people like Jeremy Wood, who has made cutting the lawn a form of art? I read in Fast Company magazine that Jeremy has attached his GPS device to the riding lawn mower he uses to cut his mother’s grass, and then maps it out, so that it looks like a giant etch-a-sketch drawing. How’s that for making something “old” “new” again?

Is our 21st century culture so devoid of creativity that we have to rely on old ideas, and cannot come up with anything new? The writer of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes famously said about sin, that “there is nothing new under the sun.” When it comes to TV, Movies, Art, Books, Music, and, yes, Broadway Musicals, can we please have something “new under the sun”?

Which brings me back to the one musical on Broadway’s Tony Awards that really caught my eye. There is a new musical based on a conceptual album by punk rockers Green Day called American Idiot. I’m not a Green Day fan, and I’m not even sure I would like the show or its contents. But it was the one “preview” on the Tony Awards that made me say out loud, “now that’s different.” It was intriguing, innovative, and more energetic than almost everything else on the Tony’s this year.

Where are the people who are going to make something new on Broadway, in Hollywood, on iTunes, or in the Book Store? I’m hoping this new generation “gets it” and will contribute things we’ve never seen before. And, frankly, why can’t some of these things come out of the Church…the place where New Creation happens every day? (Within the areas of the Church, of course, where there is Christian freedom.)

What are your ideas, not on making “everything new, old again,” or “everything old, new again,” but on making something completely new?  Please leave a comment with your ideas!

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D-Day Anniversary

One of the members of my former congregation in Virginia is a World War II Veteran. He sent me the link to these photos of D-Day and Normandy.  We are so blessed to have had such brave people sacrifice themselves for the liberty we enjoy. They are true American Heroes.  We must never forget that sacrifice.  Please click on the link below:

http://bit.ly/Nj0B4

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I Absolutely Can

I watched customer service failure at Target the other day. My wife was in the dressing room, while I waited outside and observed three (count ’em: three!) less-than-motivated employees half-heartedly putting clothes away, and gatekeeping the entrance to the dressing room. They were all complaining about how tired they were, and were barely doing any work.

Some poor guy came up with 7 pairs of shorts to try on. One of the three “red shirts” said in a snide voice, “Only six items.” Poor Guy said, “Even if they’re different sizes of the same kind?” Red Shirt, nastily: “Yep. Only Six.” Poor Guy walked away with his head down, and came back later with six (count ’em: six!) pairs of shorts. If it had been me, I would have left. I would have bought shorts elsewhere.

I was instantly reminded of a tweet that I saw from Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and The Little Big Things (which is, by the way, an excellent book!). Peters had been spending the weekend at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner, Virginia. His tweet said that three times he had heard these words coming from the mouth of an employee at the Ritz:  “I absolutely can!”

I absolutely can. What a great way to make a customer feel appreciated. What a great way to gain loyalty. What a great way to provide true, caring service. How much does it cost to use those three words? It often costs nothing.

What if Red Shirt would have said to Poor Guy: “You absolutely can take seven shorts into the dressing room. I’ll just check them when you come out.” Poor Guy would have felt respected and somewhat special. He may have even felt loyalty to the Target brand.

I have encouraged our staff at Mt. Calvary to “lead with a ‘yes.'” It means leaning toward a “yes” before you lean toward a “no.” It means saying “I absolutely can” to any reasonable request.  It means showing care, concern, and respect for those whom we serve. It means building loyalty. It means that the first instinct is to serve.

Wouldn’t it be great if the places you frequent would use those three words that most anyone would love to hear? I absolutely can! What a great theme for customer service.

When and how can you use those words in your life? What are your ideas for “leading with a yes”?

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Creating a Job You Love

Imagine if you walked through the door on the first day of your brand new job, and you were told that you would be working there for 45 years.  How would that make you feel?  Would you dread it?  Would you be excited?  Would you walk right back out?

The other night my dad was honored with a retirement party after spending 45 years as a professor, administrator, coach, and head of the drama department at Concordia University — Wisconsin. One of the things I admire about my dad’s 45 years at CUW, is that he made his career into something he really enjoyed.  For the most part, he taught classes revolving around the literature he loved.  Early in his career he coached teams revolving around the sports he loved.  When he gained an interest in theater, he started a drama department at the school so that he could have another outlet involving something he loved.  His love for travel was fulfilled when, as an administrator, he took advantage of traveling to various places in the world, helping to fulfill the mission of the university.

I never got the impression over all those years that my dad was burned out, or bored, or ready to move on to something “bigger and better.” He took what he had and made it into something special.  He knew that in order to love what he was doing, he could do the things he loved.  So that’s what he did.

When you feel as though you have reached a dead end in your career, creatively make ways to do the things you love. It all has to be done within parameters, of course; but I bet you could come up with ways to do the things you love…even within those parameters.  It would make you happier.  It would mean more productivity.  It would bring a better attitude.  It might even be contagious to those around you.

Creativity is often born within the realm of doing the things you love. Do what you love, and creativity will follow.  Do what you love, and your career will undoubtedly advance.  Do what you love, and your whole world will be a better place. Do what you love, and you may find yourself in the same place for 45 years, enjoying each and every day.

How can you create ways to do the things you love within your life as it now is?  I’d love to hear your ideas!

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Third Grade Heaven

The other day our third grade teacher asked me to spend some time with her class, because they had some questions about heaven. I don’t consider myself an expert on “heaven,” but I suppose in third grade eyes, I’m about as close as one can get to knowing at least a little about the topic.  So they submitted some very thought-provoking questions to me before I walked into the classroom.

Today’s third graders want to know some interesting things about heaven. They want to know who they’ll see there.  They want to know how old they’ll be and what their body will be like.  They want to know what the place will look like.  They want to know if there will be toys, video games, and time to play.  They even want to know if you’ll be able to have lions for pets in heaven!

Here are some of the questions to which I answered “yes.”

  • Will we see people who die before us?  (Those who die in the faith!)
  • Will I still be me? (I don’t think you’ll be anyone else…)
  • Will we see Moses, Joseph, Adam, and Eve?  (Heaven is filled with all kinds of wonderful people!)
  • Will heaven be fun?  (If it ain’t fun, I don’t know what is!)
  • Is Jesus going to be there?  (He’ll be the Center of it all…scars and all.)
  • Can you talk in heaven?  (If you can sing, you can certainly talk.)
  • Do you celebrate when you go to heaven?  (What greater thing is there to celebrate?)
  • Can we eat in heaven?  (…I sure HOPE so!…)
  • Can we give things to people?  (I think that is one of the glories of heaven: everyone will be generous and giving.)

Here are some of the questions to which I answered “no.”

  • Does hell have fire?  (It’s got something worse than fire: total separation from God)
  • Is heaven made of gold?  (The Bible uses that image to help our human minds know just how great it will be.)
  • Are we going to be dead in heaven?  (You will be more alive than you are right now.)
  • Will we be able to see the devil?  (He will never be seen or heard from again.)
  • In heaven can you have kids?  (Matthew 22:30)

Here are some of the questions to which I answered “I don’t know.”

  • What kind of body will I have?  (All I know is that Jesus’ new body could pass through walls; ours too?)
  • How old will I be in heaven?  (The ideal age?)
  • What are we going to do?  (I’m pretty sure we’ll enjoy even more the gifts and talents we already have.)
  • Can you have a lion for a pet?  (The lion will lie down with the lamb…why not with the child?)
  • Can you do anything you want in heaven?  (Within godly reason; we’re not going to be playing harps, folks.)
  • Can we play video games?  (They’ll probably be high def, 3-D, interactive, and so real they’ll be surreal.)

And one more, just for good measure:

  • Will you like the name that you get?

What insights did you learn from these 3rd grade questions?  What questions about heaven do you have?  What do you think it will be like?

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Grandmother, Mother, Wife

Grandma Strege was a seamstress. Her claim to fame was that she got to sew the jerseys of the Marquette basketball team during Al McGwire’s hey day. She lived through the dust bowl years in Kansas. During the worst of it, the family would close all the doors and windows at night before bed. And yet they would wake up in the morning and get out of bed only to see the outline of their body surrounded by the fine dust that came in even through those closed doors and windows.

She ended up in the tiny Wisconsin town of Theresa where she worked for Widmer’s cheese factory. To this day we buy Widmer’s delicious brick cheese in memory of Grandma. When Grandma Strege died last year, the Widmer’s showed up at her funeral. It was quite a tribute to her legacy that they would come to her funeral all those many years after she had worked there.

Grandma Strege lived through the worst of the depression, and became a strong, hard working woman whose priority was to see to it that he children were well-educated. It’s a legacy that lives on in our family. Thanks, Grandma. We miss you.

Grandma Eggebrecht was an entrepreneur, a secretary, and a check out clerk at the A&P. She helped her husband, my grandfather, run a coal business, and later, a liquor store. She did what she needed to do to see to it that the family had food on the table. And that wasn’t always an easy thing in a bad economy. But she worked…and she worked hard.

Christmas Eve was a magical time at Grandma Eggebrecht’s house. The whole place was decorated to the hilt. A whole set of choir boy candles sat on the table inside the door. Presents were scattered under the tree. Since there was one boy and two girl cousins on each side, we all got identical gifts to the opposite cousin. And Grandma’s humor always kept everyone laughing.

Now she’s 94-years-old, and still making everyone laugh. She lives in a nursing home, and people who visit her say that she’s an inspiration. She really is. Besides, I think our side of the family has been endowed with her “gift” for acting and entertaining. Thanks, Grandma. We love you.

My mom is a nurse. She retired a few years ago and is enjoying it immensely. She risked her own health and well-being to care for others for many years. I’ll never forget the time she came home from working at the Children’s Hospital emergency room, having been exposed to meningitis. I was worried. But she took medication to prevent getting the disease, and reassured me everything would be fine.

Mom worked hard and sacrificed her own time so that we could go to Lutheran schools and have nice things to wear. Mom has style, and always saw to it that we did, too. She must have cringed at some of the things I wore when I began buying my own clothes. Even though she was never able to look directly at me when I performed (she still doesn’t look at me when I preach…she’s just too nervous!) she was always there and always supportive. And one of my mom’s greatest characteristics is her generosity. I hope that I am, can be, and will be as generous as she is. Thanks, Mom. I love you.

My wife is a mom that any kid would love to have. I know our kids love having her for a mom. When they were little she played baseball with Ben, and dress up with Ashlyn. She nurtured and fostered their little imaginations. She read to them and sang with them. She encouraged them, and made it to every sporting event, concert, or play that she possibly could. She would always tell the kids, “I’m your biggest fan.” And there is no disputing that fact.

Being a pastor’s wife, she had to sit alone with them in church, which is no easy task. Her faith and faithfulness have been passed on to her children. They have become the people she prayed that they would be. Much of it is due to her modeling, caring, serving, and loving; literally putting them well before herself in most every aspect of life. Any husband would want a wife to be the kind of mother that Tammy is to her children.

Tammy is a teacher, and works hard each and every day so that our kids can get a great education. She wants them to be able to pursue their dreams; and that, in fact, is what they’re doing. Once again she sacrifices herself for the sake of our children and our family. Thanks, Tammy. I love you.

Happy Mother’s Day Grandma, Mom, and Tammy! I love you all.

What is your remembrance of or tribute to your grandmothers, mother, or wife?