Episode 1626: Interview with Ty Dannenbring and Jeff Dillon About Their Book Party in the Front!

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Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining us on episode 1,626 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

Jeff Dillon: I'm Jeff Dillon.

Ty Dannenbring: And I'm Ty Danenbring. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling.

Having the ability to realize how important community is to everyone is key.

And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

Jeff Dillon: I could have a conversation with at some point and a lot of doors open. So I think it's, it's just being available and being aware of the people around you.

Ty Dannenbring: And I'll add Scott, if that's okay.

Just some other practical things if, if you, sometimes it's helpful I think to think about seasons, seasonal things, and for instance, like on Halloween [00:01:00] night, um, I know that can be kind of controversial for some people that you either maybe take one.

Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling in the Inspired Stewardship Podcast who will learn to invest in yourself. Invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

In today's

podcast episode, I interview Jeff Dillon and Ty Denberg. I asked them about their new book Party In the Front. They also share with you why they see community as a spiritual discipline. And I also ask them to share with you more about how you can really engage in community even when you may not want to.

I have a great book [00:02:00] that's been out for a while now called Inspired Living. Assemble the puzzle of your calling by mastering your time, your talent, and your treasures. You can find out more about that book over@inspiredlivingbook.com. It'll take you to a page where there's information and you can sign up to get some mailings about it, as well as purchase a copy there.

I'd love to see you get a copy and share with me how it impacted your world. Jeff Dillon and Ty Daning are our first time Arthurs who are passionate about helping people

overcome loneliness and build community right where they are. Jeff is a pastor at Redemption Church in Loveland, Colorado, and a journalism major from Colorado State University, where he learned his love of sharing stories through writing.

He and his wife Becca, have five kids and love the mountains traveling and being outside in the sunshine and to connect with their neighbors. Ty is a financial advisor where he strives to serve his clients with [00:03:00] integrity and care. He grew up in South Dakota and graduated from Lenoir Ryan University in North Carolina.

He is an avid golfer and loves connecting with people. He and his wife Ashley, also have five kids and enjoy inviting neighbors over for Saturday morning pancakes.

Welcome to the show, Jeff and Ty.

Jeff Dillon: Great to be here.

Scott Maderer: Absolutely. It's always fun when we have split both people on because it's always kind of that, that game of who's gonna talk first, who's gonna talk first.

So, uh, we'll try to get through it and, and, and make it sound pretty good for everybody that's listening. So, I'm excited to have both of you on. We talked a little bit in the intro about some of the work you've done. You know, Jeff. Becoming, being a pastor, a tie, having, working as a financial advisor and those sorts of things.

But I'd like to hear from each of you a little bit about what brought y'all together on this journey and what has brought you to the point where this is the message that you feel called to put out into [00:04:00] the world. And Jeff, why don't you start us off?

Jeff Dillon: Sure. Yeah. So, as you said, I'm, I'm a pastor of a.

Small to medium sized church here in, in Loveland, Colorado, and I've been a pastor there for about eight years now. And, uh, but my background is actually in journalism and I was a journalism grad at CSU Colorado State University. And, uh, so I've always loved writing and I always tell people, you know, before writing this book, most of what I was writing were, uh.

Were church emails and, and they were really, really good church emails, but you know, not too many people read those. And, and of course, sermons, writing sermons. But I realized I really would love to at some point write a book and explore some other avenues of writing. And so somewhere along the way, uh, about three years ago, uh, Ty came to me with this idea of this book and said he was looking for somebody to help him write it.

And I thought, I could do that, I could give that a shot. So, um, that's kind of where I came into the [00:05:00] story. And, and, uh, we can share more about the message of the story. But as a pastor, as a writer, this, this project really resonated with me. And I, uh, I jumped in with Ty.

Ty Dannenbring: Awesome. Thanks Jeff. Yeah. You know, I, I wanted to recruit Jeff right away because with his journalism background, it just, it made a lot of sense because I have never written a book before and even though he hadn't either, he's written a lot more than I have and he does some really good church emails, I'll tell you that much.

And it was some, I wanted to build this team to just have a project that I could work with someone on and, um, and I knew Jeff was a good writer, so, um, how the, how the project came together for me initially was, uh, our family moved to our new neighborhood about four years ago and we.

Struggled meeting our neighbors. And so we just made a simple shift and, and an intentional shift to [00:06:00] do some of the things we were already doing, but just do 'em out in the front yard. And so we started taking our Blackstone griddle and griddling things out front and even if it, you know, in the garage, in the, in the, uh, colder months, just have the garage door open.

And and we started talking to people and, and then we hosted, uh. A, a gathering for a neighborhood pancake, breakfast and a number of families showed up and it was a big hit. And then we started doing that more often. So then the idea of the title of the book came to me, uh, party in the Front.

And then I thought, oh, I've gotta, I've gotta write this book, but I know I'm not gonna do it myself. So that's where Jeff came into play.

Scott Maderer: So yeah, it party in the front. Um. It, it makes me think of a, a mullet, but that's party in the back, so Yeah. I, I guess maybe we should change that.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah.

Scott Maderer: So were you, you had moved up into Colorado Tie is what had happened.

Is that kind of the, the moment that that sparked it.

Ty Dannenbring: Well, so we, uh, my family and I, we moved to Colorado almost nine years ago now, I [00:07:00] think. And then but we made a, a move within Loveland, Okay. Where, where we live. So that was our new neighborhood about four years ago. And then, and, but our families, you know, we went to church at that time together, um, here in Loveland.

So that's. You know, we were very close already, but, uh, it just made a lot of sense to to start working on this together.

Scott Maderer: So that was the connection that you and Jeff had already was through church.

Ty Dannenbring: Okay. Yep. Exactly.

Scott Maderer: Jeff, why when you think about putting together a book, you know, you mentioned having a journalism background and liking the idea of writing something different and, and all of that.

But what else was it about the project or the idea that kind of brought you to. Thinking about it from the point of, of faith or from the point of, you know, your, your background as a, as a pastor as well.

Jeff Dillon: Yeah, that's a great question, Scott. And as a pastor, we're always encouraging people to, you know, to love their neighbors and, and serve their neighbors and to live on [00:08:00] mission.

And you know, and that's something that, to be honest in, in the past, I think I've, you know, I've gone on a lot of international mission trips and we've worked for various nonprofit ministries and. Uh, we've been involved in, in a lot of different evangelistic type projects, but I think the reality is, is I've.

Historically struggled with reaching the people that were right around me and living on mission in my neighborhood. And you know, as we talk about in the book, there's so many cultural shifts and, and things that, that make it harder now to meet our neighbors than maybe ever before. And I think when Ty shared this concept with me, I, I thought, man, that's.

That's something that, that the church needs. That's something that I know I need is the encouragement and um, and I think some empowerment of how we can reach and love those around us. And just recently before Ty brought this idea to me, uh, my wife and I had moved to a new neighborhood as well. And the homer living, living in now is, um.[00:09:00]

It sits on a kind of a private drive. I always call it an eyebrow, but apparently that's a term that doesn't exist. I just came up with it. It's just a private little street off of the main street, kinda running through our neighborhood. So our kids, um, I've got five, five kids now. We had just three at the time.

Really started to, to want to be in the front yard all the time instead of the backyard. They wanted to ride their bikes on our, our little street and do chalk art and just be out front. So suddenly we found ourselves in the front all the time. Meeting our neighbors because of that. So when Ty shared the idea, it was like, yeah, we're, we're seeing that we're experiencing right, that right now in our family, in our neighborhood.

And uh, and so I, to me it was a no brainer. Like, yeah, this is something I wanna be a part of.

Scott Maderer: So, Ty, one of the things I like to highlight on the show is. Kind of the intersection between our, our faith and our life and our life and our faith and how those feedback one into the other. And you know, you mentioned this already as sort of [00:10:00] you were part of church, you were part of all of that, but then you started doing things intentionally in the front yard and, and this, how, how do you see this?

Intersection inter with the experiences you had between, you know, the faith experiences you were having in church and then what was happening at at home, and then vice versa, if that makes sense.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah, Scott, great question. You know, similar to, to Jeff's story where, you know, he and his wife Becca, were you doing.

International missions, and they were working for an organization that focused on that. Like, I had a desire to lead my family that way too. And, and, you know, God pivoted our, our plan. And so here we are in, in Loveland, Colorado, and you know, we, we kind of joke, it's called Vanilla Valley here.

Uh, we all, we all pretty much look, look alike, but but still that desire to reach the lost people were, was. Is there, you know, and so, you know, and, uh, [00:11:00] another thing that happened is that our family was growing. God was giving us children, and, and we have a, we have five children and they're all closely together.

So, uh, we're just at a a full stage of life right now. And so. Adding one more thing or trying to fundraise to go on a missions trip somewhere else, you know, just wasn't in the cards. And so it just was a natural thing to practically meet the needs around us. Um, but also kind of scratch that itch too, of God, how can, how can you use our family to serve and to be purposeful and intentional?

And God said, Hey right where you're living, that's where you can do it.

Scott Maderer: Jeff, what, how about you? What would you add in terms of your experience as a pastor in the community? You mentioned struggling and, and I think that's common. At least every pastor I've ever talked to. It always feels like it's like the people right outside the door of the church, those are the ones that are the hardest to [00:12:00] talk to and reach and, and the, the folks right around us.

How has this influenced your faith experience?

Jeff Dillon: I, I think I really was convicted by that. A number of years ago. I had another pastor friend who really challenged me in that. 'cause, you know, we were still figuring out what, where we were going with ministry, and we thought maybe we'd be going overseas or you know, still working with different nonprofit ministries and, and he just really encouraged me to say, Hey, you know, how are you living on mission right where you are right now?

And how are you reaching the people that are, that are closest to you? And, and, um, and, and I was really challenged by that. And the reality is, is that I think in many ways it is easier to share the gospel, um, or share your story with someone around the world who you're probably never gonna see again than it is to share with the person that lives right next door to you that you've gotta see every day.

And I think [00:13:00] part of that is, is the recognition that man, when people around us know who we are and know what we believe, um, we can suddenly feel this pressure of like, oh man, now I have to, I have to live in accordance with this, uh, with this news that I'm, I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus.

Um, but I think the reality is for me. Recognizing that, number one, um, that I already should be living in line with what I believe and people should see that in my life. Whether I'm at the church and serving in a pastoral role or, or at home with my family. Um, and also I think. Church sometimes can, can feel like a sort of a a group of people that's sort of different from everyone else.

And we know from scripture we are called to be different. But I think the world needs to see Christians as regular people. Who still struggle, who are still imperfect, who aren't all put together. Um, but we're saved by grace and we're [00:14:00] growing and we desire to love people as Christ has loved us. Like the world needs to see that.

My neighbors need to see that. Yeah, I'm a real person. I'm a pastor, but I'm also a real person. And I, I can have fun. We can have a conversation, we can talk about other things. Um, we can do life together. And so I've really just been challenged to to view it differently. And, and, and view living on mission in my neighborhood as just being who God made me to be right where I am.

Scott Maderer: Yeah. So y'all have mentioned a couple of times that there's challenges now when, when you talk about doing mission in the place that you live, the place that you work those sorts of things. And, and I definitely I see that a lot you know, myself, and I think the present culture where, you know, we have a lot of a lot of polarization, a lot of very strong viewpoints on social media, on tv, whatever it is, [00:15:00] leads to that same sort of that challenge beyond even just.

Our Christian identity, just in terms of our own personal identities of, of different ways. What are some of the ways that you've seen that they're what are some of the challenges that you see today? And then what are some of the ways that folks can begin to live into that and overcome those challenges or, or work with them in a, in a different way?

And Ty, I'll let you start.

Ty Dannenbring: There definitely has been a lot of shifts in the culture. And a lot of these shifts are not necessarily bad, but there is a cost to that. And you know, specifically you look at even just like the marketplace, you know, 150 years ago people were going to one place in town.

They were sharing goods and, and bartering and doing whatever probably. And, um, you, you had. Face-to-face interactions. You you know, I'm assuming they had conversations outside of just what [00:16:00] they were doing right there, and, and got to really know people. And you had to earn your trust, earn people's trust, and, and and people probably took really good care of one another just to survive.

And, um, and then, you know, now you could just click a button and have things. Delivered to your doorstep, and you can structure your life in a way that you don't have to leave home at all. You have everything that can come right to you. Um, you can work from home, you can watch a church be a part of a service online.

You can zoom your family members in if they live across state lines. And so while all those things can be, convenient. Uh, there is a cost to that. And so so that's why we're, we're trying to, hey, fight against some of that and say, Hey, you don't have to change your life completely if you are isolated like that, but maybe consider having lunch on your front, on your front step or just at night.

You know, we, in the book at the end, we give the Front Porch Challenge [00:17:00] and have people, uh, sit outside for 15 minutes for five nights in a row and. Key thing is just to not have your phone with you and just to see what happens and see how God can use that. And I think just it for me, it, it's helped me to take the focus off myself.

And, uh, when I literally am looking at my neighbor's doors across the street or next to us I'm recalling conversations I've had with them, it, it prompts me to pray for them and, um, I'm not just sitting in, you know, on my couch or whatever. Yeah. Jeff, what, uh, what would you add to that?

Jeff Dillon: Yeah, we talk about this in the book and like Ty said, just some of the cultural changes that have happened over the last 10, 20, 50 years. And one of the most significant changes that has happened is the internet. And, you know it's ironic because [00:18:00] in many ways we're more connected to each other than we've ever been from a technological standpoint, right?

And we can, we can have a conversation like this over Zoom and we can, um, message anyone in the world instantaneously. And, um, there's some amazing blessings and benefits to that. But as Ty said, there's, there's also a cost and we talk about in the book you know, both Ty and I were in college when Facebook kind of became a thing.

I remember when my, the school I was going to in, in California got Facebook for the first time and back then they, they released it like by college, by university. Right. And, um, and so we got it and it was this huge deal. And, and I, you know, I saw my friend list just piling up you know, over, over the months and years that followed.

But I had this realization of like, okay, I have, I have like over a thousand friends on Facebook. How many of these people am I actually friends with? You know? And some of the people I was friends with on Facebook, I'd never met before. I don't even know who these people are. [00:19:00] Right? And, and you just start clicking a button and say, we're friends.

And so I think there's something that happened with with internet, with social media, that gave us a perceived connection to other people. We feel like we're connected. We can talk to each other, but it's not the same as Ty said. There's something lost when we can't be face to face.

When we can't be in the same room when we're not interacting and experiencing some of the same things. It's not true community, it's not true connection. And so I, I would just add that in there, just how the internet, I think has taken trends that were already happening in the sixties, seventies, eighties.

You know, we talk about the advent of the television and, and just things that have pulled us away from some of the, the social connection that, that. My grandparents had and you know, past generations have had, and then the internet was just like a bomb that went off that just accelerated all of those shifts and, and made things even worse.

So that, that's another thing that points to

Scott Maderer: mm-hmm. [00:20:00] So one of the things like I do in my neighborhood is like I just go for a walk in the morning and, you know, it's, it's allowed me to get to know, I, I. I tell my wife, I, I come back and I tell her how good the walk was based on the number of dogs that I saw.

That, that's kinda like the it was a four dog walk this morning. She's like, oh, cool. You know, it's awesome, you know and, and I greet the owners too, but, you know, that's true. Yeah. The dogs are something to bond over. But, uh, it is, sometimes it's, it's, it is taking a moment to be deliberate and think about how can I.

How can I meet, you know, the people that are around me. The, what do you do to encourage that? So, Ty, you mentioned the front porch challenge of going out on the front porch for 15 minutes sounded really easy until you said the whole no phone thing. And then all of a sudden the, the difficulty level went up.

Right. You know, it's like, oh, wait, wait, wait. I can't bring my phone. But uh, uh, other than that, what are some of the [00:21:00] other things that y'all seen that have worked. Uh, or helped folks begin to recognize the, the mission field that's right there in their own neighborhood in, in surrounding them.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah, I, I'll go back to the, the pancake breakfast that we hosted. There's a, a recipe for success for these successful connections that we give in the back of the book too. Humility, starting with humility, but adding food. Music and fun, you know, those four things. Uh, if you can kind of center it around that and, and just be creative with whatever you think may help you connect with that particular neighbor or just how you function yourself and just things that you like.

So food, I, I love food and I love music, so that's where I gravitate toward. I, I, I have my, uh, I have this JBL party box and I love that thing, and it's just a big speaker and I usually just have that out with me in the garage or on the front. And, um, have some music playing and and I [00:22:00] usually make breakfast every morning out there.

And I just, like you, you, you're, you're walking, um, and seeing dogs, but people walk by our house and I say hi, and, and see, see a number of people that way. So that's what helped me, where I'm not adding one more thing necessarily, but just doing what I normally would do, but out outside.

Jeff Dillon: Yeah.

The, I think, you know, some of the, the shifts that we've made as a family are. Really just simple shifts. And in the summertime especially, we have like six inches of snow out right now. So this makes it a little bit harder in, in Colorado in the winter. But you know, when it's warm, we try to do lunches on the weekend out in the front yard.

Instead the, the back, you know, we've got my wife just put a couple, you know, bigger plastic chairs in the front yard, um, that will just go and sit and, and watch the kids play. You know, this summer we we would, uh do s'mores and we've got a little, little fire pit that we can bring out to the front, and [00:23:00] so we invite our neighbors over and, and just people walking by like, Hey, you wanna s'more?

And, and, um, and, and we've made some connections like that. I think it's also, you know, when you're working out in the front yard, mowing the lawn, or doing yard work or shoveling snow as I was doing yesterday. Just it's so tempting to have my AirPods in and listening to a podcast or something, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

But, um I've started to pay attention to, to how many more interactions I can have if I'm just available and paying attention. So some of the shifts are just really simple and. Recognizing that there's always people around, there's always opportunities for connection. And it doesn't have to be, you know, this, this huge conversation or something, but, but even just, you know, waving to a neighbor saying hello to the, the people walking by with their dog just can spark something.

And communicates to the people around you. Like that's a friendly face. That's someone who cares. That's someone who I could have a conversation with at some [00:24:00] point and, and a lot of doors open through that. So I think it's, it's just being available and being aware of the people around you.

Ty Dannenbring: And I'll add Scott, if that's okay.

Just some other mm-hmm. Practical things. If you, sometimes it's helpful I think to think about seasons, seasonal things and um for instance, like on Halloween night, um, I know that can be kind of controversial for some people that you either maybe take one, one of two extremes and either, you know, just shut off the lights and go in the basement or, or you're just all decked out.

And and so what we've done as a family to kind of. Just be a, a part of the evening and understanding that God is bringing people to our door. We just have a hot chocolate bar outside and we haven't done it every night or every Halloween, but it has been really fun to connect and really a, a great way to serve The parents that are in our area, col usually cold that night and so we can have some hot chocolate for them and and then it usually is a place for them just to pause and talk with [00:25:00] someone, and then the kids can just.

Not just run to the next house, you know? Um, so I've had some great conversations there. Um, I think most of us probably do like, um, Christmas cards, and so there's another seasonal thing you can just make some more cards for your neighbors instead of just sending it to family members or other friends across the state or country.

And, um, and then just bring 'em over with a, a, a plate of cookies or something like that. So just some real practical things that I think can serve those around you.

Scott Maderer: So one of the things I, I, I wanna call out too, and because obviously we've talked about this having a faith component in terms of our mission field and and reaching people and and the gospel and all of that.

And I, I think a lot of times for a lot of folks especially church folks, you know, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to, you know, e everyone talks about evangelism and outreach, and you gotta do this and you gotta do that, and you gotta do that. But a lot of what y'all are talking about is just kind of quote.

Human [00:26:00] kindness, you know? Yeah. Just kind of being, just kind of being there. Draw that out for me. What is the because I think you understand what I mean. I, I think so many times Christians put it in their mind that they have to go and, and tell everybody you've gotta come to my church and you've gotta do this, and you've gotta do that.

And, you know and all of these kind of pressure things when the reality, a lot of times the best way to share faith is just. Being present and being a good a good human in a way. Right. So what would y'all, what would y'all add to that?

Jeff Dillon: Yeah, I think, I think honestly as a, as a pastor, I've seen, you know, in the church where that's happened, where, where we've, we've built up evangelism to be, I mean, even just the word evangelism just sounds like this big, scary word, you know?

And it's like, actually it's just, it's just being who we were made to be. In the places where God has put us. And you know, we talk about in the book, [00:27:00] uh, how, you know how strange it would be if you know you. Got to know your neighbors over a pan span of a, a year or two or whatever. And, and then one day you told 'em, you know, that, that, you know, surprise, you're, you're actually married, you know, you have a wife.

And it's the first time they're hearing of that, you know, and it's like, why, why would you not share that? And, and just kind of the same idea in terms of how we talk about our faith. My wife is so good at this. Where she doesn't, she's not, uh, you know, preachy. She's not, uh, doesn't have this formal, you know, evangelistic presentation.

She just tends to talk about God and talk about Jesus and talk about God's blessing in our lives, and it just comes naturally. In a way that just it doesn't make people feel awkward, but people know right away who she is and what she believes and what she's about. And so, yeah, I think, I think we just need to simplify this idea of loving and sharing Jesus with our neighbors to, to, yeah.

Like you said, Scott, like just. Being kind, being present having fun, being people [00:28:00] that you know, when, when neighbors drive past your house or walk past your house, they're like, Hey, we, we like those people. Those are, those are good people. Those are good neighbors. I mean that what a, what a powerful testimony to the world.

If we can be that, that kind of people.

Scott Maderer: Well, yeah, one of my past clients who, who was not a Christian and after I'd worked with him and his wife for about three years as we were splitting and, and no longer gonna be working together, and he says, yeah, Scott, I really wanna pay you a compliment, but I'm not sure if you're gonna take it as a compliment.

And that's always a scary thing to hear, but it's like, okay, go ahead. And he says, you know, I know you're Christian, but you're not annoying about it. And I went, you know what? I'll take that as a compliment. That's a win. It's like, that's, that's, that's a win. You know, A, you knew I was Christian, and b, you are not annoyed by it.

Okay, that's, I'll take that as a win, right? Because I, some I think that sometimes we forget is, you know, it isn't, being Christian doesn't have to mean that you. Quote, annoying about [00:29:00] it. Or, you know, it just means being who you are and being and even if people aren't, at least I've discovered that.

I think people are more attracted to it. When you're, when you are just naturally who you are it's like, oh, that's just who you are. I could be around you even if I don't. Know what I mean? I I'm not feeling put upon by you in a way. Yeah, yeah,

Jeff Dillon: yeah. I heard someone talking recently about Matthew five and Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, you know, says that we are the salt of the earth.

Right? Salt of the earth, light of the world, and the salt of the earth. And this pastor was talking about. How salt, you know, enhances the flavor of whatever's in it and how, how we are called to, to enhance and make better the world that we live in and the places where we work and the places where we live.

Like, you know, when, when we're with a group of people should walk away. Feeling better about that group because we were a, a salty presence there. Right? And obviously [00:30:00] there's, there's parts of the world that, that we're not called to be a part of, but man in our neighborhoods, like how are we salt, how do we make neighborhood gatherings even richer?

How do we, how do we make neighborhood connections more natural? How can we serve the people around us just in really practical ways? That makes our street a better place to be and uh, makes our neighbors enjoy where they live even more. How, how are we, the salt of the earth? And I, I think that's a great perspective.

Scott Maderer: Yeah. Yeah. And, and sometimes it's the smallest things like one of the, again, one of the small things that I try to do we've only lived in this house that I'm in. We've been here a little over a year. And so on trash day, I try to, if. If they have it picked, you know, if the trash has been picked up, but nobody's taken the garbage can back up to people's houses.

I know where people keep their garbage can, and I'll just go drag to three or four of my neighbor's garbage cans up to where they keep 'em because it takes me 10 minutes. I work from home. So it's not like it's, you know, I'm not, [00:31:00] not that big of a deal for me because they're off at work, you know?

But and several of them have made a point of coming by and saying, oh, well thank you. You know, I I, you didn't have to do that. I don't know. It's not that hard, so why not?

Jeff Dillon: Right.

Right. Extra points if you clean the the garbage cans out. Do you do that?

Scott Maderer: Yeah. I don't, I don't, I don't do that. I don't do that.

That's job. Not yet. Not yet. These are those big green outdoor garbage cans. Yeah. So, you know, it's it's a bit of a job to do that. So I've got a few questions that I like to ask all of my guests, but before I go there, is there anything else about your work or the, the book that you feel is really important for folks to hear?

About, about what we've been talking about.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah. I, I think that, um, we tried to write this book in a way that. It wouldn't just be one more thing for people to do. And I think there are a lot of like self-help books and well-meaning Christian books [00:32:00] out there, but you walk away thinking like, oh, I like the concept, but gosh, I don't want to do that.

Um, or I don't have time to do it, or I don't feel like doing it. And so we. In the book, we really address the heart issues of, of loneliness and even thi the barriers, the exterior barriers, but the interior barriers. And you look at e even something like the divorce rate within the, the church and with and outside the church and it's high and it's growing and and so there are natural factors like shame and, and sin and guilt that are keeping people from opening up and.

And feeling like they can just be themselves around people that they don't really know that well. And so we just acknowledge, and I wanna say this on the podcast, like, we, you might not want to do this. Um, and that's okay if that's where you're at. But if you lean into who God has made you to be. If you understand the gospel and that God can take your brokenness and he [00:33:00] can make it something new, and um, and hopefully you can taste and see that God is good and then be compelled to share that.

Um, so that's just the distinction we wanna make. Not something that you have to earn or do, but just that, that it would be, uh, from a place of gratitude.

Jeff Dillon: Yeah, I think just the idea of loneliness, you know, we talk about that a lot in the book. Just recognizing again that there are so many people around us who are, who are just, who are lonely and, and need connection and need a friend.

And you know, in 2023, the US Surgeon General released a report on and called it an epidemic of loneliness in our country. And that about half of us adults regularly experienced loneliness and, um. You know, and just remembering that this is a significant issue and an opportunity. And I think a lot of times we can feel like, ah, the people around us don't really wanna [00:34:00] hear from me.

You know, they just go into their garage and, and close the garage door and kind of seem closed off. And some people are, but I think we, you know, we believe, and, and the Bible makes it clear that we were made for community. We were created for connection and relationship. And so I, I think people are are hungrier for community and, and connection than we realize.

And sometimes all it takes is, is that first step of someone moving towards them and being real and being kind and, uh, bringing their, their garbage can up to to the fence or whatever. And, and just simple acts that make a connection. And I think people are hungrier for that. And and more open to that than we realize.

Yeah.

Scott Maderer: So my brand is inspired. Go ahead Ty. Sorry.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah, well just one more thing to add. Uh, based on what Jeff was saying, we talk about the, the loneliness epidemic and, and Jeff mentioned the friendships, um, and the kinda lack of that too. And so we, we believe that there's a, a, a friendship epidemic. And you know, I think what's important about what we're.

[00:35:00] Communicating with partying in the front is that we're trying to help people to, to actually build friendships in their neighborhood and finding common ground with people. And I think that's really important as we do let people know what we believe and, and they can see us see what we believe, but, um, that they can actually see us as friends too.

And, you know, Jesus called us his friends. Those, you know, and. And so that's really important aspect I think of evangelism is just having that sort of base baseline.

Scott Maderer: Absolutely. So my brand is inspired stewardship and I kind of run things through that lens of, of stewardship, and yet I've discovered over the years that that's one of those words that can mean a lot of different things.

So a lot of different people. So I like to ask so Jeff, for you, what does the word stewardship mean to you?

Jeff Dillon: Well, it's funny, Scott, I just preached on stewardship recently, so it's kind of in my mind. Are y'all

Scott Maderer: starting a building

Jeff Dillon: campaign? Uh, yeah, right, exactly. Yeah, exactly. We're we are, uh, yeah, we're, we're, uh, we're [00:36:00] doing some year end, uh giving goals for sure.

But you know, we, we really wanted to talk about how stewardship is so much more than just our, our finances. And, um, I know you, you know that and talk about that, but that's it. You know, it's a huge part of it, but to me, stewardship, I, you know, I think the definition is. That I came across as something like, you know, the careful management of something that is entrusted to you.

And so just viewing it as uh the management taking care of. What's been given to you that as a gift, as, as something that's precious, um, as a joyful process of getting to, to manage those things. And, and the way I think of it in terms of how God has has provided for us and called us to stewardship is that everything we have is his, our lives are his.

So every aspect of our lives, we get to respond out of gratitude and worship by using those things for God and for his glory and for the good of others. So. To me that stewardship [00:37:00] is carefully and joyfully using what we've been given, uh, to glorify God and to serve other people.

Ty Dannenbring: Hmm. Nailed it, pastor.

Jeff Dillon: I feel like that's kind of cheating when you just preach a sermon on it, but,

Scott Maderer: well, you know, one of the things I, and that's why I made the joke and I knew you would get it, and one of the things I try to tell people is I am trying to reclaim the word from, Hey, we're starting to build a campaign, fell out your pledge card.

Because unfortunately, in a lot of Christian churches, that's the only time people hear that word is, is in reference to giving. And it's like. Like you said, it's more than that.

Jeff Dillon: Yep.

Scott Maderer: Yeah. Ty, for you, how, what, how's that word influenced your life?

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah, I'm I think about Joseph in the Bible and the position that God put him in and how he was stewarding another's property and, and, you know the Egyptians you know, I guess, you know more specifically, you know, of her, um, gave him just the opportunity to manage [00:38:00] things at his his own house and the.

The integrity that Joseph had and the ways that he was shunned by his family and, and then how God used all of that. So yeah, I think that's where I, what I think about when I think of stewardship is, uh, similar to Jeff like looking after another's property. Mm-hmm. Um, which I think is kind of fun, you know as we talk about, like our homes in this book.

Um and stewarding that. Well, I think it's, uh, kind of a fun connection there.

Scott Maderer: Yeah. Well, and, and even the neighborhood and the friendships that you have within there are yeah. I don't own my neighbors, but. I still have a responsibility to, to steward those relationships too.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah.

Scott Maderer: So this is my favorite question that I, I like to ask everybody and Kyle, I'll let you go first.

Imagine for a minute that I can invent this magic machine, and with this machine, I was able to take you from where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe 150, maybe 250 [00:39:00] years. And through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life. See all of the, all of the ripples, all of the connections, all of the impacts you've left, what impact do you hope you've left in the world?

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah, that is a great question. I think that I would zero in on the impact that had on my family and my kids. And you know how to be remembered by, I think about my relationship with my father and, and the things I've learned from him. And I think that would be the, the thing I would want, I would, uh, hope that I would have the most impact is just, is there.

Um, because I've, as doors have opened up with this project, I just, I hope that, um, that we wouldn't lose the main focus and, uh, and, you know, God's blessed us with children and, and that right now is our main ministry. And, and that would be. Where I would hope, hope to have the most impact.

Scott Maderer: Absolutely.

Jeff, how about you?

Jeff Dillon: That's a great answer from Ty. It's tough to [00:40:00] top that, but, um I actually, I was thinking immediately what came to mind was a conversation with, with my daughter, my 11-year-old daughter where she's 11 now. This was maybe a year or two ago. And she just asked me like, dad, do you think you'll always be a pastor?

And I said, I don't, you know, I don't know. Like prob probably like, what do you think? And she said, I think you should be. And I asked her why, and she said, well, because I, I think you're good at it. But also I when I look at you, I, I see bits of Jesus in you. And um, and I just go back to that quote often because I think it's maybe the greatest thing anyone's ever said to me.

Yeah. Um, the greatest compliment and so humbling, and I think that's what comes to mind is I would want people to look at my life and my example. Whatever quote unquote legacy I leave and, and see bits of Jesus, you know, see Jesus in that, see Jesus in, in who I tried to be and [00:41:00] and in pointing people to, to him and, and to the hope of the gospel.

So, um, I hope my kids see that. I hope my, my family sees that. I hope my church sees that. I hope my neighbors see that and say, yeah, we saw, we saw Jesus in him imperfectly for sure, but but saw bits of Jesus in my life.

Scott Maderer: Yeah. So what's next? What's on the roadmap as y'all continue putting the book out and, and sharing the message?

Ty Dannenbring: I think that the two things we plan to focus on this year will be, um, a children's book and potentially a series. And then also just more opportunities to, to do face-to-face interaction with people and, and, you know, go to churches and rotary clubs and different civic groups in town and, and hopefully a lot of places.

But, um, just really getting on the front lines and and hopefully encouraging people that way.

Scott Maderer: So you [00:42:00] can find out more about Ty and Jeff and the book over at their Instagram, which is instagram.com party in the front book. Of course, I'll have a link to that over in the show notes as well. Ty, Jeff, anything else you'd like to leave with the lister?

Jeff Dillon: I think just to encouragement, we say it in the book, it's kind of one of our, our taglines.

We say a lot that community is possible and community is powerful. And, uh, just recognizing that that small steps, small shifts being available, being aware of the people around you can go a long ways and, and God will use you and who he's made you to be, to to help overcome loneliness and, and build community right where you are.

Ty Dannenbring: Yeah. Yeah. And it's better to give than to receive. And this is a great way just to give of yourself to your family and to hopefully lead well, um, but also to, um, to just bless those around you.

Scott Maderer: [00:43:00] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode. Please. Please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

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