In Oregon

We will be in Oregon from August 7-19th. Rene' and the girls get there on the 24th of July and I will follow about a week later. We would love to see as many of you as we can. Call the Whitehead's if you want to get together sometime.

Plan B

Well we weren't able to pull off Road Rage this year so we went with Plan B. It was a time that 50 of us spent at Rathbun Lake and hung out by the lake and in our familiar camp. It was one of the best retreats I have been a part of. We looked at our lives and the life of our ministry through the words of the prophet Jeremiah (chapter 7 to be exact). We spent the days on and by the lake and the evenings by the campfire; through all of it we had a lot of fun and hopefully we were challenged by what we heard.
I have to say that I was a little amazed... that I can still do a back flip off of an inflatable island in the middle of our cove. I remember doing back flips off of the rafts in the Deschutes River, nearly 20 years ago. I thought I would ache the next day, but I was fine. I also showed the camp my Jedi powers by answering just about every question concerning music hits of the 80's. I think I showed that I had absolutely no life.... and.... that I am a wealth of useless information. I have added the pictures from our time together, enjoy.

17 seconds of sheer terror!

We recently went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH for our annual "Possum Run." What we do is load 50 High School students and 7 adults into a chartered bus at midnight, drive all night from Iowa to Ohio, arrive at Cedar Point at 10:00 AM, then ride roller coasters all day, get on the bus at 10:00 PM, and drive home arriving at 7:00 AM. It sounds like a lot, and it is. I am usually exhausted at the end because of no sleep, or at least a deprived sleeping schedule.
The 17 seconds of terror happen on the roller coaster known as "Top Thrill Dragster." The ride only lasts for 17 seconds, but it is an intense 17 seconds. The coaster starts out rushing you from 0 to 120 mph in the first 4 (that is not a typo, 4 is the correct number) seconds. You then catch your stomach in enough time to realize that you are headed 420 feet up at a 90 degree angle. You come to the top of the coaster and realize that what comes up, has to go down, and down you go; 90 degrees again, only this timein a corkscrew. You flatten out and come to a smoothly jerky stop and try and process what happened. It is an incredible ride.
If you want to see more, go to www.cedarpoint.com.
I will put some pictures up of the trip.

I did it!!!

After 3 long years, I finally graduated from graduate school with an MA in Transforamational Leadership.
People often ask me what the degree actually is. Here is the best way I know how to explain it....
Take the theology courses of a Masters of Divinity and the Leadership courses of an MBA and smash them together, you will get an MATL.
It was a great ceremony at graduation. I have put some pictures up to prove I have actually done it. Although, I have a few more little projects to get done, but for the most part, it is complete.
I now wonder what I will do with all of my free time.... fix the house, read a non-required book, watch tv again, and the list goes on and on...
For any of you interested, I will be in Oregon around the 17th-21st of June. I am taking a group of seniors from here in Iowa out to Oregon to go (I can't believe I am saying this) whitewater rafting on the Deschutes River. I thought after RR of '99 I would never raft again. It shows the sense of humor God has....

School

I'm sitting in Minneapolis right now because I am finishing up my Master's Degree in Transformational Leadership (I graduate on June 3rd). People ask me what exactly is my degree. The best way I can describe it is that it is a program that takes the leadership found in an MBA and the theology found in an M. Div and combines it.
As I sat in class today, I realized how much I have learned not only about leadership in these last three years, but how much I have learned about myself.
Leadership and the development of leaders continues to interest me as I watch how ministry and organizations are shaped by the leadership represented. One of the keys about leadership that is a universal truth is that for effective leadership to sustain itself, it must reproduce itself; meaning that effective (or transformational) leadership must be focused on others first and not yourself. If, as leaders, we all focus on the needs of the people around us, our needs will sufficiently be met. Take that to the bank. The problem is that we become focused or consumed on our own agenda's, clouding our perspective of what will help guid people.
All this to say... I am almost done. What is next for me? I am not sure, but I do know that it will continue to deal with leadership in real and practical ways.
I'm curious, what do you think makes an effective leader? Comment back to me your response, I would love to hear it.

I am also posting some pics of Easter. The great Easter egg hunt in our yard with all the cousins. Savannah (Simone's daughter) came out to visit us with Grandma and Grandpa. We love having her with us!