troy austian | blog

Photo Caller ID, part 3

I like to think of this as a rock star shot of Jeff Kerr, or "J-Rock-Kerr" as I like to say.  I don't think...no, I know Jeff doesn't like that name, but it's my blog and he can't stop me.  I mean, he's Canadian! What's he gonna do?  Pastor Jeff is very talented and is a huge creative force behind so much cool stuff at RVC.  I don't think this picture has ever popped up on my phone for any reason anywhere near frivilous -- Jeff calls for a reason.  The chatting and hanging out happens in person, not on the phone.  Jeff wrote a majority of the tunes on RVC's first live worship CD (and allowed me to contribute a couple), as well as this for our Bumper Stickers series and this for our 2007 Volunteer Appreciation Night that can be found on YouTube as well as the church website.

Pastor Alan is an energetic and passionate guy...that you can hear from 100 feet away through 2 walls!  Nah, he just has a very dynamic voice.  I love Alan's zeal for life, for people, and for ministry.  He's insightful and a great encourager who I deeply appreciate.  I actually gave him piano lessons back when we were both in college at North Central!  Now, he really is the "loud talker guy" that Jeff sang about in his original "Annoying Cell Phone Guy" tune.  What's sad is that I thought I was only an inspiration for "bluetooth earpiece guy"...but Jeff later suggested that I might also be "annoying ringtone guy."  As I started to defend myself, I realized I was only making his case.  Sometimes two out of three is bad, but thanks to Alan I'm not alone! Alan's definitely a gem.

Relevance Conference 2007

Eagle Brook Church hosted their 2007 Relevance Conference yesterday at their Lino Lakes, MN, campus.  I attended along with about 20 people from the RVC crew.  I've got to say that they did a great job with their content and presentation, and with the "relevant" selection of sessions offered.

Bob Merritt spoke on leadership, talking about how things have transpired at Eagle Brook with regard to church growth and leadership, and taught on the two key leadership components of Task and Relationship.  Jason Anderson spoke on Making Messages Stick, and included some memorable techniques in the process!  The other general sessions were quite good as well.  I attended two breakout sessions: Strategic Planning Workshop and Building Teams for Transformational Ministry.  Both were excellent and more than I expected.  I was impressed, took lots of good notes, and found this one-day conference to be very worthwhile.  I've got to give a shout out to Eagle Brook Church for doing such a great job and for offering some good stuff to invest in effective church ministry in our area.

Tumbleweeds

It was crazy windy this weekend, and tumbleweeds were rolling around everywhere! I couldn't believe how many had blown into this corner area of the church building, congregating outside my office in Suite 850. Where do they all come from? Texas??? I don't think this picture really does justice to the sight of all these tumbleweeds that look like they're huddled together for warmth.