Customer Service?

I don’t think it’s any secret that customer service nowadays can seem pretty much non-existent. It’s not hard to get anyone to tell you a story of bad service at a restaurant, how they were not helped by some company with their product, or their nightmare with an online call center or government agency. However, there are bright spots. I have recently had a string of fairly good experiences in the customer support department. Here’s some of the winners:

- The guy who sold me my new insurance policy at Geico when I leased my Mazda. Very personable and professional!

- The Rep. who handled the cancellation of my old policy at USAA: Also very professional…and willing to admit defeat when he couldn’t match my rate at Geico.

- The Customer Service Reps at Geico who are listening to me gripe about a mess with the mandatory photo inspection of my van. They are very reassuring that I’m not going to have my coverage slashed because of non-compliance (despite what some Gieco mailings are saying!)

- The Customer Service Rep. at AAA who listened to me explain what broke on my van when they changed a tire for Darcy on Tuesday. She went right to filing the complaint and apologized for the damage to the vehicle – and we don’t know that they caused it yet!

From my observations, part of the customer service problem in our country is that we are a society which has grown to believe we deserve everything. We’ve all known those people who can gripe at the slightest mistake by a server. And while I’ve had my share of bad service, I’ve found that the service gets a little better when you don’t expect perfection. It’s not a lowering of standards, but rather a recognition that those serving us are just as imperfect and human as we are.

I’m reminded of Philippians 4: 8, which Jason spoke of a few days ago, and I think it applies: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever in commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” When we focus on the good aspects of the service we get 1) the bad doesn’t fill our minds as much and 2) we tend to make the whole experience a much better one. Who knows, we may even find that we can get a better resolution.

Back in the Swing!

It’s amazing how life just seems to get away from you sometimes. After being sick last week and then trying to catch up with…well…life, I only had time to make the regular “standard” worship posts – and I barely made those! But I think I’m back in the swing of things and should be able to get back to more regular – and more diverse! – posts.

 

One of the highlights of this past weekend was getting together with some new(er) friends. Actually, it was the family of one of Caleb’s school buddies. If you remember my post on Life in the Grey from about a month ago, this is the family that has gone through some rather incredible struggles lately. It was great to get together with them and just enjoy normal life and have a great time.

 

I’m finding that I don’t do that enough. We all can have crazy schedules – some our own doing and some beyond our control – but every now and then we just need to stop and enjoy what’s happening around us: Watch the kids and take a mental snapshot because they will never look or behave quite like this again; enjoy time with others even when there’s a lot of work piling up because God made us for relationships before He made us for work; take time and just rest and maybe even do nothing. The possibilities are endless, really…as long as we learn to slow down.

 

So, even as I get back in this swing of things, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to be out of it for a while.

Prepare for Worship – The Reality of Heaven, Part 3 (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1)

Heaven. It’s a real place, free of sickness, sadness, suffering, sin, and death, where God lives and rules. It is not of or on this earth, but has been designed with human beings in mind and there we will become perfect. But how do we get there? What do we do now that we are armed with the teaching from the past five weeks on both Heaven and Hell? The series ends this weekend with the final part of Pastor’s message on “The Reality of Heaven.” The questions above will be answered as we start off the Lenten season in preparation for Easter.

In addition to our regular weekend services, we worship every Wednesday in Lent starting today with Ash Wednesday. Beginning next week, join us for dinner at 6pm followed by our service at 7pm featuring testimonies from members of the First Trinity Family and including the Martin Luther High School Concert Choir and Troubadours on Wed, March 4.

The readings for this week:
Old Testament:  Psalm 24: 1-6
New Testament:  2 Corinthians 4: 13-18
Gospel:  Matthew 10: 40-42

Sunday
Gathering:  “God of Wonders”
Opening:     “How Great is Our God” 
                      ”You Are God Alone”
Communion: “Draw Me Close”
                         ”Holy and Anointed”
                         “I’m Counting on You”
Offering:    “Who Am I”
Closing:     “Mighty To Save”
Sending:    “Forever and Ever”

Saturday
Opening:  “Marvelous Light” 
                   “How Great is Our God”
Prayer:     “Draw Me Close”
Communion: “Holy and Anointed One”
Closing:   “Mighty to Save”
Sending:  “Marvelous Light”

Worship Debrief – The Reality of Heaven, Part 2 (Feb. 21-22)

One little flu bug knocks you out for a day or so and it seems like you spend the next week or more catching up! That has to be a sign that you are doing too much! Praise God that there is no sickness in heaven!!!

Once again – working a day late – we get to look back on our worship and remember the great things that God did as He met with us (and we with Him) this past weekend. Pastor brought us the second part of his message on “The Reality of Heaven” so that we could get a glimpse of what Heaven is like. We learned that there will be no sickness, sadness, suffering, sin, or death (or tissues!! ) in heaven. Instead we can look forward to a great reunion of the saints, rewards for just about everything, responsibilities and duties that will bring us pleasure, rest (enough said!), and lots and lots of rejoicing.

Saturday, 2/21 – 7:00pm:

• As a worship leader, it can often be a challenge to focus past the logistics of the service and really dive into worship. Some nights, though, it just happens out of the gate and you really can’t take credit for much (as it should be!). This past Saturday was such a night!
• What was your sense of the Holy Spirit’s leading that night? Or did I leave you in the dust wondering what was going on?
• Did anyone notice that the Sanctuary was a little brighter this weekend? The sanctuary lights in the roof channels have been changed over the fluorescent bulbs now and we’d love to know if people can see a little better.

Sunday, 2/22 – 11:15am:

• I got to sit in the congregation and worship this morning. It doesn’t happen often, but being sick last week I didn’t rehearse with the band and it made more sense to sit this week out.
• Technical notes: Words in the bulletin and on the screen for “I Will Call Upon the Lord” were different from what the band was singing. Also, because I was down with the flu, I didn’t get the words for the 2^nd verse of “Come Touch” in the bulletin. Sorry!
• I love hearing the congregation sing with the band and the swell of our worship rising to God’s ears.
• What impacted you in worship this past weekend? What part of Heaven (worship, no sickness, the reunion…) is most appealing to you?
• Funny story (and I hope Darcy doesn’t mind!): At one point during the sermon, Darcy attempted to text a quick message relating to Pastor’s sermon to a friend also in the service. We found out later that she had the wrong number! Her message: “Heaven is good!” – and it went to some total stranger somewhere.

Each weekend God gives us a day of rest to come and meet with Him – to worship and feed on His word. I love hearing stories of how God is working in people’s lives…especially through worship. So, if you have one to share…

Prepare for Worship – The Reality of Heaven, Part 2 (Feb. 21-22)

I’m finding this week that a great way to prepare for worship is to stay healthy. And if you are not healthy, get healthy! Yeah, the flu has struck our house and gave us two extra family days this week when we could enjoy time together. Okay, maybe not “enjoy,” per se, but at least we got some kind of time together!

This week continues Pastor’s message looking at Heaven. From our lesson on what and where Heaven is, we move on this week to ask what heaven is like and how we get there. Even if you missed last week’s message, there will still be some great material this week.

The readings for this week:
Old Testament:  Psalm 123: 1-4
New Testament:  1 Peter 2: 9-12
Gospel:  John 3: 16-21

Sunday
Gathering:  “Just a Closer Walk With Thee”
Opening:     “I Will Call Upon the Lord”
                       “We Fall Down”
Offering:    “Come Touch”
Closing:      “Great is the Lord”
Sending:    “Where Do I God”

Saturday
Opening:  “Open the Eyes of My Heart”
                   “Center”
Prayer:    “We Fall Down”
Closing:    “Hosanna”
Sending:   “Marvelous Light”

Worship Debrief – The Reality of Heaven, Part 1 (Feb. 14-15)

If you’ve been following this blog or attending worship at First Trinity, then you know that we are in the middle of a series on Heaven and Hell. Having discussed Hell for the past three weeks, Pastor turned the corner this weekend and began a three-part message on Heaven. As with the message on Hell, we will be looking at some basic questions about Heaven. This weekend, we tackled the first two:

 

1)                 What is Heaven?

2)                 Where is Heaven?

 

While we don’t know exactly where Heaven is, we know from scripture that Heaven in a real place, not of this world, where God lives and rules…and that He has designed it for us.

 

Saturday, 2/14– 7:00pm:

-         I got to worship with Darcy tonight, something that doesn’t happen often on Saturday night. We had a great Valentines Day dinner and then came over for church. A very nice night!

-         Kudos to Jackie for asking me to speak up. I’m unable to hear what you all hear in the congregation, and it can be difficult sometimes to know if I’m too quiet or not clear. Thanks Jackie!

-         The decision to announce before our closing song that it was OK to leave while the band was playing sending music was somewhat last minute. I think it worked, but it was rather amusing to see people still standing around unsure of what to do following the benediction. Any thoughts on how to improve that?

 

Sunday2/15 – 11:15am:

-         This morning was Jon Whited’s Sunday debut in the sound booth. Though he has been running the board on Saturday’s for several months, we have a bigger band and a bigger congregation on Sundays. How’d he do? I’ve gotten some good feedback, but would love more so I can encourage him.

-         Megan filled in for Sue on vocals. It’s always great to have her back singing with the bands. Working to make it more regular.

-         Jake continues to amaze me! He handled taking the lead on many songs like a pro…and he’s only in 8^th grade!

-         Thanks to all offered their “congrats” to Caleb for his accomplishment in the AWANA quizzing. I was able to watch his face as Pastor made the announcement and he was beaming. If you missed the announcement, drop me a comment and I’ll fill you in!

-         Again, please tell me your experience in worship this weekend. Where did you see or sense God’s spirit moving? Was there a part of the service that drew you into God’s presence?

Wii Promise

Just about a year ago we broke down and purchased a video game system – a Wii to be exact. While not big proponents of video game systems, the Wii has some unique attributes that make it a little more desirable for us. Unfortunately, it has also brought out the competitive side is some of us…maybe a little too much.

I’m a racing guy. I like to watch racing and if I was forced to do my life over again racing is something that I would probably like to get into. Therefore, I like racing games (or any kind of driving game, for that matter). That character trait has (finally!) translated over to my oldest son. The problem is, he can get quite competitive…mostly with himself. We’ve been having problems lately where he is just getting too into the game and can quickly get frustrated when things “go wrong” and he ends up not doing as well as he thinks he should – in other words, if he doesn’t win! This is especially true when we are playing in multiplayer mode.

So, in order to keep the games fun and not have the two of us at odds and unable to play any games together (which would be very bad!), I’m going to introduce him to what I call “Wii Promise”. Below is the version for the racing games, but it can easily be adapted for any game on the Wii console.

Wii Promise:

I,   [state your full name]  , do promise and declare that I will:
- Race hard and do my best
- Respect my fellow players
- Crash with style
- Win with dignity
- Lose with grace
- And no matter what comes around, I will choose to have fun!

Dance, Dance, Dance the Night Away!

I’ve heard it said that kids are growing up too fast now a days, and I guess on some level that’s true. But Darcy and I have always been big proponents of letting our kids be…well…kids. So, it was a bit of an oddity that we took Caleb (almost 10) and Samuel (8) to a school dance. Actually, the whole concept of a school dance in elementary school is a bit odd, but it was a fund raiser and since Caleb is on the Student Council this year we figured they should be there. Besides, each family attending had to have at least one adult present, so there’s really very little to worry about.

Darcy won the honor of accompanying her two elder boys to the dance and I got to stay home with the two little ones. We had a great time – Isaac (4) and I played a game on the Wii and then a board game (Joel (1½) “helped” me with the board game!) before I put them to bed. Meanwhile, Samuel, Caleb, and Darcy got to enjoy the Chicken Dance, the Hokey Pokey and other chaos as little children ran around the school gym in a manor that made the narthex at church after worship look organized! From the small video clips I saw from Darcy, the dance was pretty much high-energy chaos! Still, Samuel announced with great enthusiasm that they had a great time! The other bonus is that Caleb got to see a couple of buddies from the program that he was in last year – they have siblings at Maple Avenue.

Prepare for Worship – The Reality of Heaven, Part 1 (Feb. 14-15)

I’ve had a cold this week and it’s starting to look like just about everything is running a day late…that is, except my nose. Most annoying! I’m glad to be getting this out “on time.”

Anyway, I’m resisting the obvious jokes that come with moving from our 3-part message on Hell to a 2-part message on heaven. While some on our staff my not exercise that kind of control, at the time of this writing, I’m getting ready to go into rehearsal with our bands and in some rather desperate need of sleep to fight off the aforementioned cold!

So, with out further disclaimers: The Reality of Heaven (Part 1) is our focus this week. A much easier topic in some ways than Hell because most people are open to believing that Heaven exists. However, there are just as many (more?) misconceptions about Heaven out there as there are about Hell and over the next two weeks Pastor will begin to combat those with the truth of Scripture. Heaven is a real place, just like Hell. But unlike Hell, it was created for us.

The readings for this week:
Old Testament:  Psalm 53: 1-6
New Testament:  1 Corinthians 2: 6-9
Gospel:  Matthew 25: 31-40

Sunday
Gathering:  “We Come to Praise You”
Opening:    ”Come, Now is the Time”
                   ”Your Love, O Lord”
Communion: “Here I Bow”
                    ”Spirit Fall On Us”
                    ”Take My Life (Holiness)”
Offering:     ”And I Love You”
Closing:      ”You’re Worthy of My Praise”
Sending:     ”Meet With Me”

Saturday
Opening:  “Come, Now is the Time”
                 ”Your Love, O Lord”
Prayer:     ”Here I Bow”
Closing:    ”You’re Worthy of My Praise”
Sending:   ”Meet With Me”

Day-late Debrief – The Reality of Hell, Part 3 (Feb. 7-8)

We’ve been looking at Hell for the past three weeks and the big question, of course, becomes: How do I avoid going to Hell? (because, as we’ve seen, it’s not really a very nice place!) Pastor answered that question this week. In brief:

• - Admit that you need a Savior to get to Heaven.
• - Believe Jesus died for you.
• - Commit yourself complete to Him (Jesus.)
• - Depend on God’s promise.

God does all the work for us, and He wants everyone to go to Heaven because Hell was not created for us humans. But He doesn’t force us. Are you open to His way? (BTW – the fourth point in this message was, now that we know what we know, to tell someone about it…kind of like I just did )

NOTES: (Sat. 2/7; 7:00pm)

• We in the band usually have fun at this service and I enjoy watching the congregation worship. But I would love to hear from you. How was your worship experience? Was there a song that was particularly meaningful to you, or that you felt really fit the message?
• Some people have recently commented to me (or their comments have been passed to me) that they would come more often if the service was at a different time. Is 7pm a difficult time for worship on Saturday night? What time do you think would work better?
• It’s fun to have people stay and listen to the closing song (it kind of gives us a little extra purpose.) However, it seems like people sometimes feel obligated. Is there a way that we can communicate better that it’s okay to leave while the band plays that last song?

NOTES: (Sun. 2/8; 11:15am)

• The Worship Assistant (that would be me!) was off the ball this morning and had to scramble for a mic during the passing of the peace. Pretty comical, if you ask me.
• Sue’s children’s message was great. But Isaac (son #3) was a little sleepy and got upset that he didn’t get a ticket. Guess at 4-years old the lesson needs to be reinforced a little more at home! I was also waiting for someone to give Sue the “right” answer.:D But Sue’s good enough that she probably planned for that!
• We tied to quiet and simplify the keyboard during the confession in response to feedback received over the past several months. How’d it go? If you were one that can get distracted by the keyboard music during the confession, were things better for you this week?
• I got some great comments on the band’s sound this week and they are wonderful to hear. Can you share a song or moment in the worship service that was especially Spirit-filled?

I’ve tried a little different format this week and am hoping to generate discussion on our worship. Yes, worship can be personal. But we can also encourage each other by sharing what we can of our encounter with God. The questions above are rhetorical – I would love to get answers!