Good changes

We missed it by 3 days.

Macy was scheduled to move into the University of Florida on Friday, August 19, meaning we would, after 35 years, be empty nesters. 

However, Luke, having just finished his PhD, moved home on Tuesday the 16th.  We got that close.

We are, of course, thrilled for Luke and for Macy, and glad to have Luke home.  We took a pontoon boat ride on our local lake to celebrate them both.

Macy is doing well at UF and is making friends.  She has joined the softball club team and enjoying her classes.

Yesterday Luke accepted an offer to work in Melbourne, Florida for Northrup Grumman as an engineer!  There will be some time for him for a pre-employment process, so we get to have him home for a while we think.

We are really happy for both of them and these big transitions.

With Cru, We are helping our teams change the Cru culture so we can be more effective working together.

Bill Bright, the co-founder of Cru, was an entrepreneur, and he attracted other entrepreneurs to help reach every person with the gospel.  This helped Cru expand into many different audiences.  But it also led to the staff and ministries working in silos that led to duplication of effort and resources that at times hindered our effectiveness.

Our Lake Hart headquarters here in Orlando, houses 9 field ministries, 7 departments, and our global leadership.  Even though we share the same facilities, these entities worked rather independently and often created their own resource solutions and cultures.  

The changes we are making at Lake Hart involve what may seem like simple changes, but help change the culture of how we work.  Some examples:

• We stopped charging departments and ministries rent, removing the sense of "property ownership" and boundaries.  We all share the whole campus.
• We have reduced the number of printers from over 225 to 25, and have centralized the maintenance and supplies for them.
• Instead of each department providing office supplies and coffee, we provide them centrally.  (We removed a LOT of Keurigs)
• Departments used to own meeting rooms that at times had different technology.  Now all rooms are available to everyone and have the same tech.  (Also, we tripled the number of meeting rooms)
• The shredding box company had about 6 different contracts with different departments!  Now we have one.
• The campus is developing a cohesive look for the first time.

While I was in Milwaukee this summer I made some "explainer" videos about some of these simple changes:

All of these changes allow Cru to be better stewards of our facilities and reduce the costs.  And this frees up departments and ministries to focus on the mission, not office management.  And they support a more collaborative and innovative culture to increase our ability to fulfill the mission of Cru.  

The space is much more welcoming to our staff and partners.  Some of our field staff from Indiana visited the new Lake Hart for the first time this week and said, 

"This is the first time we've felt welcome at our headquarters.  It feels like this is all of our headquarters now."

If you are ever in Orlando, we would love to show you around the Lake Hart campus.

Thank you for investing in us, in Cru, and the Great Commission.

With love,

If you are still following this page and still want more, check out Cru Storylines for all kinds of stories of God at work.