Trent Renner

Hey Boss!

Even if you’re not self-employed, your boss is you. You manage your career, your day, your responses, your faith. You manage how you sell your services and your education and the way you talk to yourself, the way you pray.
How’s your boss doing?
If you had a manager that talked to you the way you talk to yourself…what would you do? If you had a boss that wasted your time like you might waste your own time…would that boss be fired. If an organization developed its employees as poorly as you might be developing yourself, would that Org. soon go under? If your church treated your faith like you treat your own faith…would that Church survive?
I’m amazed at how often people choose to fail when they find that right church that encourages one to set their own agenda and manage and spiritually grow themselves. Faced with the freedom to excel in their faith, they falter and hesitate and stall and ultimately punt.
Are you surprised when someone self-directed/self led arrives on the scene? Someone who figures out a way to work out their faith and then turns that into a life-long journey, Bible in hand, as they impact their neighborhood/work/and church. Most people are shocked that someone uses evenings and weekends and their vacation to do a mission trip, or start a useful new ministry that helps bring fortune to the less fortunate. Are you envious when you encounter someone who has managed to bootstrap themselves out of depression and nasty circumstances into hope, faith and happiness, as if that’s rare or even uncalled for.
There are few good books on being a good manager, a good boss, a good Christian. Fewer books still on managing yourself and your faith…there really is just the Bible…the Bible doesn’t need you to read more books from Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Mark Driscoll…God…the list is endless. What the Bible wants? The Bible wants your Boss to get out of his/her spiritual bed, and be self led and self fed. Become whole, someone who figures out the solutions…drives with work ethic to complete-ness. The Bible wants your Boss to be the best boss you’ve ever had.
You are your own Boss.
What must your boss begin to do?

Vince Guerra | December 6th, 2010

As I walked up the first day on Parkway’s sidewalk Keith greeted me right away with a big smile and a “welcome to Parkway”. He handed me the pamphlet for the day’s service and he showed my mother and I around the church. We found a spot and I explained to my mother how CCV was and that this was a plant church. When the music started I found the warmth of the church and what made me even more joyous was to see my mother rocking out along side of me. When the lead pastor stepped up (Trent) he began to speak to the congregation and a well speaker he his. He began to talk about our topic “Blessed” as we came to the end of the service I had so many reflections upon myself as it came to this particular subject. How have I managed my money and my life? Well now I can be honest and tell what has happened in my life up to this current moment. I have almost hit rock bottom until I found Parkway, I had been trying to save my marriage with my wife and she told that there were just to many tiny little disappointments throughout the marriage. At the same time my father had falling ill and I had to leave my rental to move in and assist in the caring of my father which also took away from my wife and personal life, but he is so worth the extra time. Then work was overwhelming; I was performing the Managers, Supervisor, Forman’s and my own work to keep our distribution center running like a well-oiled machine. I did however make the sacrifice to step down and take a lesser paying job to spend more time with my wife. All in all it still didn’t help our situation. My stress was overwhelming and I was crashing fast. How can I go from managing a multi million dollar distribution center to not even seeing the damage to my own managed life? When Trent spoke about money and the stress of doing bills, it hit home for me, I began to tear and think about how I left my wife to take on the burden by herself of doing the bills, doing groceries, taking care of the dog’s etc. I had moved myself into a full time worker and had left my wife to deal with the stress alone. We filed for a chapter 13 and things just became worse. I was more then willing to sacrifice but the stress upon her tripled. The next weekend Trent covered what he and his family had to do to make sacrifices to get out of debt. So Trent I’m glad to be part of Parkway and when you finish this topic and I complete the book that you so generously mailed to me “The ABC’s of Financial Freedom”, I promise you that I’ll be on the correct path to being debt free and a much more of a stress free person.
Thank You.
Vinnie

6 Comments

Dareth | December 5th, 2010

I really love this post. Im glad you shared.
- Vickie Kucera | December 5th, 2010
  
  This was good….I am so glad that we listened to our parents when it came to managing money…..I would hate to think that Bob and I could be in the financial mess that you talked about if we were stupid and spend freaks when we were young and working………we are retired……..we are debt free….we are not accountable to anyone but Jesus Christ…..YIPPEE…..:)
Vince Guerra | December 6th, 2010

As I walked up the first day on Parkway’s sidewalk Keith greeted me right away with a big smile and a “welcome to Parkway”. He handed me the pamphlet for the day’s service and he showed my mother and I around the church. We found a spot and I explained to my mother how CCV was and that this was a plant church. When the music started I found the warmth of the church and what made me even more joyous was to see my mother rocking out along side of me. When the lead pastor stepped up (Trent) he began to speak to the congregation and a well speaker he his. He began to talk about our topic “Blessed” as we came to the end of the service I had so many reflections upon myself as it came to this particular subject. How have I managed my money and my life? Well now I can be honest and tell what has happened in my life up to this current moment. I have almost hit rock bottom until I found Parkway, I had been trying to save my marriage with my wife and she told that there were just to many tiny little disappointments throughout the marriage. At the same time my father had falling ill and I had to leave my rental to move in and assist in the caring of my father which also took away from my wife and personal life, but he is so worth the extra time. Then work was overwhelming; I was performing the Managers, Supervisor, Forman’s and my own work to keep our distribution center running like a well-oiled machine. I did however make the sacrifice to step down and take a lesser paying job to spend more time with my wife. All in all it still didn’t help our situation. My stress was overwhelming and I was crashing fast. How can I go from managing a multi million dollar distribution center to not even seeing the damage to my own managed life? When Trent spoke about money and the stress of doing bills, it hit home for me, I began to tear and think about how I left my wife to take on the burden by herself of doing the bills, doing groceries, taking care of the dog’s etc. I had moved myself into a full time worker and had left my wife to deal with the stress alone. We filed for a chapter 13 and things just became worse. I was more then willing to sacrifice but the stress upon her tripled. The next weekend Trent covered what he and his family had to do to make sacrifices to get out of debt. So Trent I’m glad to be part of Parkway and when you finish this topic and I complete the book that you so generously mailed to me “The ABC’s of Financial Freedom”, I promise you that I’ll be on the correct path to being debt free and a much more of a stress free person.
Thank You.
Vinnie
Cheri | December 16th, 2010

Pastor Trent:

I love this topic. I work remotely without being micro-managed, and I will admit that some days it’s really hard to keep my focus… I may have a mindset that I will get my list of to do’s accomplished…but it doesn’t always happen. I let life get in the way, and because I am a single parent I have to manage ‘unbecoming’ situations that I would rather delegate to someone else, and it seriously aggravates me; which equals less production…

I am not envious of others who are able to do what I ‘should’ be doing for the kingdom, I just wish I could someone conquer the road to get there. It is even hard for me to set aside one day or half a day to volunteer, as much as I would like to. I don’t understand why my goals and path aren’t always aligned, but I am a lot farther than I was even three years ago. I was at the first ‘Blessed’ sermon (sorry for the boring word) and I truly know that it matters a great deal to be debt free. There are some situations that prevent you from ‘climbing out’ of your mess; ex’s who don’t pay their portion, particular laws you can’t avoid… Today I am trying to worry less…and praying for a miracle. Always enjoy your words of wisdom…
Pamie | January 14th, 2011

Finally got the time to sit and read your stuff. Glad I did!