Rod’s Story
Rod retired in 2022. So what? What now?
So many paths stand before you in retirement; travel, hobbies, lounging. For Rod though, as with many other retirees, there's absolutely no desire to do nothing. In retirement he decided to do what he loves to do most, and leave behind the "donkey work." What Rod loves to do most is disciple leaders. He can spot 'em from a mile away, and he loves to take them out to breakfast. He's lived a lot of life, done a lot of things and has stories to tell. Rod's been the CFO of a large automobile parts distribution company, co-founded a bookkeeping firm, planted a church that didn't last, and co-planted one (The Village) that did. Rod married Kathy a long time ago, they've raised children and cared for aging parents. The stories are well earned!
Infuse hosted its first cohort in 2021 as Rod prepared for his retirement party, which he calls his funeral. At his funeral he heard all about the amazing things he did in his career as if it was over. He was a mere seventy years old. His mind wandered to the rest of his life and that burning question, now what? So, he signed up for Infuse. Infuse helps develop people with missional ideas that land outside of traditional ministry boxes. Rod's always been an abstract thinker and the process appealed to him. Infuse was a cohort of his kind of people, exploring and refining his kind of ideas. This time, his idea was to create a retreat center where he could host and offer respite to more leaders. All he needed was a place and someone else to run it because...donkey work...is not his thing.
Throughout his time with Infuse, Rod brainstormed a lot of possibilities. To his surprise, a big house even entered into the conversation. In fact, it now belongs to Mission Church, bears a name that alludes to one of his stories and hosts a couple of the leaders he gathers for breakfast. He also reflected on the roles he valued most; the concepts of listening, reframing, and storytelling. He began to consider his limitations as he dealt with issues with his eye and bouts of vertigo. Friends had encouraged him to write a book for years, since he loves to tell stories but writing a book is a lot of that donkey work. Whatever he chose to do would require some help. The house would run without him as it turned out. He got to help make it happen and meet with the residents, but he didn't need to be on site that often. The book emerged as the focus of his energies. At the end of the Infuse process, Rod received a small grant that could cover the costs of elements like cover design, layout, and copyediting.
Andy is a founder of Infuse and disciple of Rod's. Throughout the process it became clear that Andy was the best person to not only brainstorm, but enter into Rod's idea. Rod began to send Andy his stories, and Andy began to arrange and stitch them together with stories of his own. The stories inspire what Rod loves most, as they invite you into the breakfast-table relationships and the feeling of discipleship. We are pleased to announce the release of Limericks for our Senseis; A Not New Non-model of Leadership Development; the end result of Rod's Infuse idea!
