BrokenThinking

Almost HiJacked

7-23-2012

So….the event with Randy Gage is history. We had a decent attendance level (it wasn’t meant as a big event).  A good percentage of the attendees were seeing the Agel business for the first time so there will be ample opportunity for followup. A few came just to hear Randy and were already doing their own venture.  

Randy was, as always, excellent. He is very low key compared to other MLM trainers. His persona is sincere, caring, thoughtful and direct. This is exactly what resonates with me so I naturally think it’s the better approach.

The first speaker, a nameless speaker, got totally carried away with herself.  She was enthralled with her own voice.  She approached me before the meeting began and asked me how I would be introducing her. She wanted to know which of her accomplishments I would stress.  I wasn’t the one introducing her, I told her, and I was pretty sure that everyone was here to hear Randy Gage. I know that, were I in the same situation, my goal would be to get done with my bit as quickly as possible and sit down to learn from Randy. She thought otherwise, speaking on and on about her parents and her friends, spilling into the next speaker’s allotted time and topic alike.

Nonetheless, she eventually finished. Randy came on and revived the energy,restored the focus, and saved the day!

Today’s lesson, I guess, is to not let a needy, self-absorbed person try to steal the spotlight of your event.  

Almost HiJacked

So….the event with Randy Gage is history. We had a decent attendance level (it wasn’t meant as a big event).  A good percentage of the attendees were seeing the Agel business for the first time so there will be ample opportunity for followup. A few came just to hear Randy and were already doing their own venture.  

Randy was, as always, excellent. He is very low key compared to other MLM trainers. His persona is sincere, caring, thoughtful and direct. This is exactly what resonates with me so I naturally think it’s the better approach.

The first speaker, a nameless speaker, got totally carried away with herself.  She was enthralled with her own voice.  She approached me before the meeting began and asked me how I would be introducing her. She wanted to know which of her accomplishments I would stress.  I wasn’t the one introducing her, I told her, and I was pretty sure that everyone was here to hear Randy Gage. I know that, were I in the same situation, my goal would be to get done with my bit as quickly as possible and sit down to learn from Randy. She thought otherwise, speaking on and on about her parents and her friends, spilling into the next speaker’s allotted time and topic alike.

Nonetheless, she eventually finished. Randy came on and revived the energy,restored the focus, and saved the day!

Today’s lesson, I guess, is to not let a needy, self-absorbed person try to steal the spotlight of your event.  

They got an A

I was just in a restaurant (a nice one) which had a framed article from our local paper.  The article listed 22 restaurants which got no violation points on their last Board of Health inspection.  Of course, this restaurant was among the 22. But, also on that list was a restaurant I’d recently walked out of. You see, in this restaurant (which scored perfectly with the NYC Board of Health), there were live cockroaches strolling along the wall in the daytime. Since roaches are typically nocturnal, this made me shudder at what might be going on when the lights went out. 

The Board of Health gave that restaurant a PERFECT score.  Restaurants in NYC that get  a perfect score are entitled to display an “A” in their window. I’ve noticed some really nice looking restaurants which only got a “B” rating. It made me wonder which restaurants Mayor Bloomberg thought was safe for me to eat in.  For instance, this guy got an A.

Here’s another place recommended by Mayor Bloomberg

Amy is the 100th Sheep

It is so sad that those who profited from Amy’s talent could not find the time to help her with her demons. She was a profitable throwaway for them. I realize she was resistent to help, she was drawn to that which would kill her. That doesn’t make her less valuable. She is the 100th sheep friends should leave the 99 for.

Embracing the Challenge

Tonight we hosted an Agel Power Training meeting at the Comfort Inn on Staten Island.

We planned it for a long time. We were grateful to have Four Star Diamond Director Sarah Zolecki as our speaker.  We hunted down the venue, paid for the meeting room and began our promotion of the event. Everything looked rosy.

That’s when life happened.  Our attendance began to shrink. One of our invitees was transferred days before the event. Another got sick and couldn’t attend. People had to attend wakes, one was surprised with theater tickets. One couple, although they could not attend gave their tickets to another couple. Two others just plain did not show up.  We were undeterred. It would still be a great event.

Then the rains came. Flights into Newark were delayed two hours and longer. Sarah’s flight was a casualty. First she would be delayed. Ultimately her plane had mechanical difficulties and returned her to Phoenix. We were without a star speaker. The burden fell to Ross Jr.

Ross called Phillip Townsend and Mr. Townsend sent a powerpoint presentation via email. We couldn’t have Sarah but we did manage to get Tony Zolecki to speak to the group on Skype.

We left the meeting feeling pretty good about ourselves. We handled adversity. We embraced our opportunity despite its challenges. And…we had a pretty darn successful meeting.

My Chihuahua Bit Me

Early Monday morning my chihuahua bit me. He was sleeping under the covers near my feet. I called to him and patted the mattress. I wanted him to come up closer so that I could pet him. He just looked at me for a moment and then stood up. I took that to mean that he was coming up to lay down next to me and I reached for him. That was when, much to my surprise, he bit me. Hard. He snarled and growled and drew blood. I yelled “no” and flipped him onto his back. I locked eyes with him until he looked away in submission. Then, I got up and started unwrapping the Band-Aids.

While I was putting the Band Aid on I started to think about what had just happened. I love that dog and I know he loves me. But he bit me. He can’t feed himself, he needs me to do it for him. And he bit me. I buy the food, open the bag and put it into the bowl. And he bit me. I bought the bowl too. And he bit me.

He can’t let himself out to go for a walk. I have to take him. But he bit me.

The reality of this is simple. I’ve comitted myself to caring for that little dog no matter what. I love him.That;s his photo at the top of the page. I suppose that there is some number of bites that might make me change my mind about that, but we’re nowhere near that number.

It reminds me about something my friend Glenn said to me. Sheep bite the shepherd. The shepherd gives his all for the sheep, he lives with them, feeds them, waters them, protects them. And, instead of steadfast devotion, they bite him. They literally bite the hand that feeds them.

If you’re in a calling that demands you give your all to others you might do well to remember that. Teachers - sheep bite the shepherd. Your students will act out. Parents - sheep bite the shepherd. Your children will call you mean. Pastors - sheep bite the shepherd. Despite all your care and counseling, your congregants will turn on you. But if you are true to your calling pastors, parents and teachers,it can’t be about how those you love and serve treat you. You will continue to give your all and be repaid with bites. No matter how dearly you love them, sheep bite the shepherd. My chihuahua bit me.

It’s Always March 15

I am Paul Fenton’s son.  He loved me and I knew it.  I loved him and he knew it.  I met him at 16 when I started dating Liz.  He was the only father I ever knew.  He was the only father I would need.

Paul Fenton was a man for all times.

He often remarked to me that he was amazed at the speed that things changed in the world.  And think of what he saw. 

He was born just before the depression but he always felt like a rich kid.  As a boy, he drove all the way to California on his first great family adventure.  After that, he saw the rise of commercial aviation. He saw the beginning of jet travel

As a young man he sailed to Europe to serve his country.  He was to see the map of that same Europe change many times over. He saw a man launched into space and saw the flag he’d defended planted on the moon.

He went from partyline telephone calls to email. But Paul was never baffled by technology, he was never behind the curve.  He embraced technology.  He rushed out and bought demonstration records in a new format called stereophonic sound.  He went hi fidelity. He bought a great reel to reel tape machine and we’d all sit in his kitchen and make weird sounds with flatware, plates and pots.  He recorded our breathing and heartbeats and blended all the sounds.  Paul would play it back at altered the speeds to distort the sound.  It always sounded terrible but we had so much fun.

There was always laughter in his house and always creativity.  Everyone was welcome there and they always knew it.  He was always happy to be with you and it was always genuine.  He wasn’t a Pollyanna, but he saw the good in most people.  When the good wasn’t so easy to see, Paul was always ready to look a bit more closely.

Paul lived every moment of his life as a happy, optimistic man.  He always expected to love his life and he wasn’t disappointed.  He loved his wife.  He loved his children, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren.    He lived in Tottenville for almost thirty years and would always claim to have had the best neighbors He was even sure he’d owned the two greatest dogs who’d ever lived.  He loved everything about his new neighborhood. He was convinced that even the local drivers were more polite.  And he loved walking to the stores.  He loved his choir ministry   He loved Pastor Eddie and he loved Salem. I know he loved me.

Paul Fenton was a man for all times and he is now a man for eternity.  Today, he walks with His Lord Jesus Christ.  And of everyone he loved, he loves Jesus most.

Today, the American church worships youth.  Marching under the banner of “raising up the next generation”, they’ve asked youth to serve in areas where they are not fully skilled and where, at times, they are simply in over their heads.  

The incessant desire to give youth an opportunity to minister in the local church easily gets dangerous. There are some things youths, (by virtue of being young), are simply not capable of doing. When you put anyone in a position they aren’t equipped for, disaster follows.  They do their job poorly and can carry the disappointment of having failed with them for a long, long time.

I’ve seen where a few churches have begun using young teens as the worship leaders.  They look great, they may perform well and they’re usually energetic. But what does any of that have to do with worship leading. I’m no singer, but my understanding is that worship comes from a far deeper place than good looks and ability. It comes from an intimate relationship with our God which develops over time.  I also believe that today’s worship leaders ought to be modeled on the worship leaders of the Bible. These leaders went before the nation of Israel into the battle.  That’s not a fair place to put our children. When children lead worship they are placed in the most dangerous, vulnerable position, leading the army of God into worship. It’s unfair to them and it devalues the true meaning of church worship.

Young people are sometimes excellent, gifted leaders. That can’t be disputed. However, those young leaders excel at leading because they are specially equipped for leadership – not because they’re young.