ChrisTrethewey.com

5 Words in 10 Seconds

5 WORDS in 10 SECONDS

I asked a group of approximately 80 people, all connected to Renaissance Church, a simple question.

When you think of Renaissance, what are the top 5 words that enter your mind? 

I then set a simple guardrail around this question. Only take 10 seconds to do this.  I didn't want people to over think it. I didn't want people to over analyze it.  I just wanted to get a quick "blink"response on what the most important and impacting pieces about Renaissance. 

Here are the results:

This showed me two important insights:

1) Revealed the unique qualities of Renaissance.

2) It revealed areas that I need to start teaching on.

Both insights, priceless.

Art, the Bible, and an Eruption of Color

Renaissance Church had an incredible opportunity to have artist Tom Clark be part of our weekend services (11/13/2011).  After every message, I turned for a moment and stared at the canvas. I was personally inspired by Tom's ability to take a passage of scripture and allow his creative inspiration to explode onto the canvas. He connected words, emotions, and the clear inpsiration of the Holy Spirit in an eruption of color.

The core passage I taught from was Acts 9:1-16 and I focused on Paul's journey to go from a life focused on himself to a life radically comitted to following Christ. You can listen to the Message here.

CHALLENGE: Read through the passage as you look at all three of these paintings. The journey will inspire you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trethewey Family is Heading to New Jersey!

Sixteen years ago, I had one of those moments where God simply said to me, "Chris, take a step out of the boat. I have a plan for you." I was a midwestern boy with a plan for my life already laid out. But that was my plan, not God's plan. So I packed up my Pontiac Sunfire, with everything I owned, and I drove the 1,731 miles from Illinois to Las Vegas. I had absolutely no clue what was in store for me. I could never have scripted the countless pages that are now filled. I am amazed at the storyline that I have seen unfold before for my eyes. 

Kim and I are deeply honored to be part of the movement of God's church in the Las Vegas Valley. We have seen Central grow in such significant ways and have witnessed it literally change the culture of a city that we have grown to know as Grace City. The friendships we have developed will forever be etched into the fabric of our lives. The countless lives that God has allowed us to impact for his kingdom will forever be woven in our hearts. We have had incredible moments when unspeakable joy has filled our hearts. We have also walked through the darkest of days, trying to grasp onto disappearing hope. It has been Central, its staff, and church body whose outpouring of love in the peaks and valleys that has left us speechless.

Over 18 months ago, Kim and I sensed God saying, "It's time again. Get out of the boat." It was one of those moments that was so ludicrous that we quickly ignored it and moved on with life. We love Vegas. We are committed to the vision of the church. Our roots are deep and the friendships are life-giving. As we are aware, God is persistent. He doesn't stop. He doesn't give up. He kept saying, "Get out of the boat. It's time. I have a new path for you to walk down." Prayer kicked in and wisdom was shared from people we deeply love and respect. Through multiple supporting conversations with Jud and Mike, I started to seek out the next possible chapter for our lives. 

In all of God's perfection (He is a smart guy), God lead us to an amazing church, Renaissance Church (http://www.renaissancechurch.org/) in Summit, NJ. Renaissance is a place where unconnected people are connected to a life saving relationship with Christ. It is a church where all people - no matter who they are - where they have come from - are loved and accepted. It is a church where radical grace is freely given. It is a church where they are a light in a world that is dark.

It is with much prayer and thought that I have accepted the role of Sr. Pastor of Renaissance Church.  Kim, Kiara, Claire, Mollee (that's our dog) and I will be moving across the country, but Central will be forever imprinted into the DNA of our lives. It has helped shape us into who we are today.

I believe that the best is yet to come within Family Ministries as the leading out of the vision will remain a priority to Jud and Mike. For Kim and I, words can't express how thankful we are for God's grace in our lives and the incredible opportunity He gave us to serve at such an amazing church. We now look forward in uncontrolled anticipation to the journey in front of us.

 

God Bless, 

 

Chris and Kim

 

Who's talking about your church? (part 2)

In Who's talking about your church (part #1), I asked the first of two questions.

Q #1: Why is Apple the most covered company?

Here's the second question . . . 

Q #2: How does your church rank on the most "covered" list in your community?

First, let me clearly explain. I am not talking about a PR machine that is behind marketing your church. I am not talking about how charismatic your lead pastor is. I am not talking about the popularity of your church or the gimmicks that some churches implement to get "covered".  (I am not saying any of those things are good or bad. But, that would be a good discussion.) What I am trying to get at is this simple point. People vote with their mouth - by what they say. People vote with their feet - where they go. Your church has a "reputation" in the community. People will talk - share their opinion - and encourage or discourage people from being part of your community depending on their experience. You first have to ask yourself: Are people even talking about your church in the community? If they aren't, why not? If they are, what are they saying. Really saying. 

1. INNOVATION: What is your church doing to impact the culture it gets to serve? Are you looking forward to what "could be" or always looking backwards to what other churches are doing? God is giving you a vision - specific for the church you get to lead in. Can you see it? 
2. CULTURE: What is the culture within the walls of your church? If someone walked in for the first time how would she feel? How would he be treated? I am not talking about the "church crowd". I am focused on the people who have never stepped into a church. What would they experience? Would the experience be grace filled? Would they feel out of place? Would they want to come back?
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Churches are notorious for awful customer service. Phone calls aren't returned. People are told "NO" - constantly - without ever looking for a solution. People who haven't smiled in the past 2 decades are empowered as greeters. How are people treated at your church? Are calls returned? Do staff and volunteers smile? Are staff solution oriented or is their first response, No? Are people's issues more of a burden or do you seek to help solve problems?

The church is simply about people. Period. It is about creating a culture that connects with people - all people - at all points in their spiritual journey. It's about creating a place that is exciting, welcoming and engaging. 

What challenges do you face in each of these areas? What are some solutions you have discovered? 

Who's talking about your church? (part 1)

I read this post at MacRumors a few days ago entitled "Apple Most-Covered Tech Company in Mainstream Media". I didn't need to see any scientific data (But if you need it, it's to the left.) to know that statement was true. If you are an Apple fanatic, you love all the coverage. If you are an Apple hater, you despise the coverage. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, you know that there is a cult like following of Apple and all their product releases.  A frenzy is stirred up. Excitement grows. People talk. Bloggers Blog. Techies debate. The novist (like me), waits in a paralyzing anticipation of the launch of the next product.

   As I read the article, 2 simple questions emerged. Both questions were linked together. The first question was easy. The second question consumed my thinking.

#1: Why is Apple the most covered company?

Here is my quick take.

1. INNOVATION: Apple is always looking forward to the next "thing" to impact culture. They don't look at what others are doing. They aren't following - they are leading out in the tech revolution. Think about it . . .iPod. iPhone. iPad. Those 3 innovations have completely changed their perspective markets. Think about how many tech inventions have come since then trying to be the iPhone killer (or iPod, or iPad). 
2. CULTURE: Apple has built a community of followers around their culture. It is a culture that screams - excellence - innovation - simple - cool - on the edge - quality.It is a culture that people resonate with. It is a culture that people have immersed themselves in not only with their money, but with their emotions as well.
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE:  Apple has worked diligently on creating an amazing experience for their customer. They value the customer so much that they were just ranked 3rd out of all companies by Business Week.  The next closest computer company was Dell at #23. Apple received A+ marks for "quality of staff" and "efficiency of service". But there was one piece that grabbed my attention. Apple moved from 20th to 3rd in just one years time. 

What else would you add to this list?

All this leads me to the second question . . . .coming in Part 2. 

   

 

The Most Important Person to Lead is You!

     November 7th is the date. It has been staring at me straight in the eyes for over 9 months.  It has been slowly creeping forward. Now I am within a month of having to face it. I am within a month of having the opportunity to conquer it. I am within a month of facing an epic challenge. The past 9 months have been filled with moments of great accomplishment and exhilaration. The past 9 months have been filled with countless times where my mind and body were screaming “NO”, but my heart and the looming date in front of me motivated me to keep moving forward.  There have been many times where my bed tried to hold me captive, yet I was able to escape. There have been many times where the DB levels of the voices in my head became deafening. There have been many times where other distractions, really appealing distractions, - unceasingly tried to get in the way.   

 

    I have kept moving forward.

    I have kept my eyes focused on the goal.

    I have kept my commitment held tightly within the grasp of my hands.

    The resolve within my heart has only deepened and the journey has only become more life impacting.

    November 7th represents a lot of things for me, personally. It represents overcoming a personal tragedy that completely turned my world upside down. November 7th represents accomplishing something that only a small percentage of all people will even consider attempting. November 7th represents a series of personal goals that I have set for my life. November 7th does not represent the destination, but a brief stop on the journey.  

        What in your life do you need to overcome? What in your life do you need to solve? What in your life have you been ignoring, sticking your head in the sand, wishing that you didn’t have to confront it? What in your life controls you and you have to take the control back? We all have those areas. We all have those pieces. The question is: What are you going to do about it? My encouragement for you . . .overcome it. Step one: Set a date. Could be tomorrow or it could be a week or 9 months from now. It doesn’t matter. Set a date. Commit to it and then put into action steps to overcome. One of the first steps that I did was I shared my date with my wife and core group of friends that I knew would encourage me and hold me accountable. I then put a simple action plan into place that has helped me to take steps closer.

    Today is your day. It’s your day to take a hold of what you have let go in your life. It is your day, to lead the most important person you have the opportunity to lead. You!



You might be wondering what is happening on November 7th. I will be racing in the Silverman 70.3 Ironman triathlon. If you are not familiar with triathlons, 70.3 represents a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. This will be my second Ironman 70.3 race this year.

*This was written for Octobers Family Ministries Team email.

 

The 1st Impression will be the Lasting Impression! (repost)

I had a blogging technical mistake. I had started a post back in August 2009 that I never finished. So when I discovered it in my "draft" section, I decided it was time to finish it. So I did. Well, the date associated with the draft is linked to the date I started it - August 2009. You learn something everyday.

So click on the link for today's post: "The 1st impression will be the lasting impression."

http://www.christrethewey.com/2009/08/the1st-impression-will-be-the-lasting-impression.html 

The Church has Left the Building

I was sitting on the couch Sunday night after a weekend filled with Soccer games, church services, and Boulder City's Art in the Park. Great weekend. Tons of fun. I was exhausted.  I quickly flipped channels trying to find something to watch. (Isn't it a sad state of life that I have over 200 channels and I can't find one thing to watch.) Somehow I landed on the local news and a story about a local church had just started. 

The Crossing is a church that was planted by Canyon Ridge and Central Christian in the SouthWest part of the valley. Shane Philip is the lead pastor and they were celebrating their 10 Year Anniversary at their church. Their celebration, well it was different then what you would think. It wasn't filled with inward expressions focused on what "they" had accomplished over 10 years. It was completely opposite.

Their vision, simple. The impact, explosive. 

Their mission: The Church has Left the Building.

The Crossing literally closed their doors sunday morning and went out into the community with one purpose: To SERVE.

• Over 2000 people rolled up their sleeves to serve the community.
• Over 8 different locations were specifically targeted to help.
• Countless stories of impact have been shared.

*Check out the News Coverage.

What's so simple, yet so impacting, was the Crossing - a church - was just being the church. As a church, it is so easy to become inward focused, to become an island.  But that is not what Christ intended the church to be. The church has to be focused on impacting the community inwhich God has allowed her to exist in. The church has to be about people outside her walls. The church has to be about what she can give to others and not what she can get. The church has to reflect the heart of the Samaritan man.

Let me ask you two real honest questions. Don't read these and quickly move on. Let both of these questions rattle around in your heart for a moment.

Q: If the church you attend - serve in - work for - closed it's doors, would anyone in the community (outside the walls of the church) know? 

Q: What are you doing at your church to impact the community in which you live?

 

 

Our Story

Jud Wilhite kicked off a new series this weekend at Central Christian Church titled, TORN.  This series is focused on the book of Job.  Several weeks ago Kim and I had the opportunity to share our story.  Our hope and prayer is that our story, will help others in their life journey.

Trethewey Life Story. from David Tate on Vimeo.

God gives and takes away. One couple shares about the blessings and the struggles in their journey.

Baptism Celebration Video

Central Baptism Celebration Recap from David Tate on Vimeo.