Brandon Liebe

Million dollar question: What does success look like?

Ask 10 people and you could get 10 different answers.  That’s not just because it looks different to different people, it’s because it IS different to different people.  So if success is different for each of us, why do we find ourselves comparing our lives or callings to other people’s? OK, enough with the rhetorical questions because Jesus himself addressed this!

In the end of the book of John we find Jesus having already risen from the dead and talking with Peter. At the end of their conversation Jesus says to him, “Follow me!” (Jn 21:19) That’s when Peter falls into the comparison trap and looks at John and asks “what about him?” Here’s the problem with that; Peter wasn’t John.  Jesus knew the plan for both of them, but it wasn’t the same! Jesus got real and responded with “… what is that to you? YOU must follow ME.” Continue reading “Success vs. Fulfillment” →

There’s a reason patience is a virtue. It’s because it’s not fun.  In a world where anything can be at your fingertips immediately, when you can purchase something online and have it at your door in an hour, we have come to love the immediate.  I don’t even think this is a problem! I love the efficiency of it! The problem is when we let this love of the immediate creep into relationship with God. So often we tend to drift to the stories of immediate healing in scripture.  It’s awesome! Jesus tells a man to pick up his mat and walk. He instantly heals a woman with an issue of blood. Even Peter and John get in on the immediate action in Acts 3 when they heal the beggar in the awesome “Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. Stand up and walk!” moment.  These are awesome and possible with God! But what happens when God’s plan isn’t immediate? Continue reading “Process Over Product” →

Have you ever had a moment where a thought you’ve had, or something you’ve heard or read stops you in your tracks for a moment and makes you think?  This happened to me about a week ago while reading my Bible.  I was reading in Psalm 34 and came across verse 4, “I sought the Lord and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears.”  Here’s where my mind went…

Continue reading “Overcome Your Fear” →

This is a post I wrote for our churches Leadership Blog about hosting the Leadership Summit back in August which was titled “The Power of Hospitality.”  It’s not just about that event, but the possibility of what church could look like if we were as intentional with our lobby and parking lot as we were with our services…

Last week was a little different around here at River Valley Church.  We had the privilege to host the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit.  Over 500 business and ministry leaders from all over the south metro came to be inspired by world-class leadership teaching. Though it is something I look forward to every year, this isn’t my first Leadership Summit. The difference this year, for me, started during our early morning prep to meet with our amazing River Valley LifeTeam volunteers…the people who would welcome and host the hundreds of guests about to walk through our church doors. Something significant occurred to me: What would happen – what could happen – if these business leaders were so impacted by simply experiencing our team’s hospitality, that it changed the way they ran their companies? What kind of impact could we make? How far-reaching could that hospitality be? Continue reading “Less Lights, More Lobby; Why Hospitality should be Emphasized” →

After awhile without writing, I felt the need to get back to it… only to realize I needed to finish Part 3!  The truth is, inviting people to our team (Pt. 1) and allowing them to share the experience (Pt. 2) can almost be easy for some leaders, especially those who are extroverts and natural “includers.” The true test of leadership, and the test of how well you as a leader have prepared those you lead, is when and how you release them into their calling. Continue reading “Pt. 3 – Release to Lead” →

Today I was reading Jonah chapter 1.  I’ve read it a lot. I’ve preached on it more than once. Yet, the cool thing about scripture is that God can give you something new each time you read it!

So back to the story many of you may already know… Jonah gets called by God to a place he doesn’t want to go so he jumps on a ship headed in the opposite direction.  While he’s cashed out below deck a storm comes up and threatens to wreck the ship and kill everyone on board. The captain, who’s obviously a nice guy, wakes up Jonah to see if “his god would take notice.” The crew members cast lots, find out it’s all Jonah’s fault, don’t want to kill him (which I wish the bible would expound more on, because I’m sure they didn’t want the wrath of God because they were murders, but they just found out it was Jonah’s fault that all of their lives were in danger!  You can’t tell me there wasn’t at least one guy onboard that was ready toss him overboard immediately! But I digress…), but finally realize after the storm gets even worse that their only hope is to toss Jonah overboard.  And they do (which made that one guy who wanted to in the first place happy, I’m sure). Continue reading “God can use your shortfall” →