A New Beginning

                                  ALL THIS IN THE MIDST OF COVID-19, WHAT A TRIP!

   The view from our house as we begin life in Arizona.
Beautiful sunsets enhancing the high desert which has now become our residence.


Life in California had become very expensive with the home we had purchased under different expectations. It was hard to decide the direction to take but after much prayer and cautious considerations we listed our house for sale and a few days after it hit the MLS we received an offer that seemed reasonable and so we moved forward and had already checked out Arizona as a place to relocate since family already resided there. Our home in California closed on December 7, 2019 and we were moving our final load to storage that late morning, making it just in time. It took real effort and energy to accomplish the formidable task of moving our "stuff". Thanks to all the family and close friends who helped. I must also give a shout out to the help we received from a local church members in Arizona who unloaded the last load quickly for us.

We found our present home the day after we arrived in Arizona and made an offer which was accepted. We closed escrow on January 15, 2020 and began the task of making it ours. Thanks to my niece and her husband we repainted all the interior and layed new flooring. By the end of February we moved in. It is still a process of unpacking and sorting all our stuff. The final storage was vacated on July 22, 2020 so there is no more storage fees!

I will post more on this blog (Lord willing) with pictures in the near future.

CHANGE CHALLENGES

The last few days have been filled with change.


Sometimes change is good. Other times change is difficult.

On Thursday evening we were with the grieving family of Helen Jones for the viewing. The body was there and peaceful looking, but we know her soul had gone to be at rest with her LORD.

Friday (Good Friday) was the memorial service for Helen with a chapel service and internment after. I hope and pray that my words about her life and service were adequate enough. Many of the family stated so. I felt honored to officiate for the services.

Saturday we rested and did only necessary things. A trip to Lowe’s for closet repair items and sprinkler system changes took several hours of our time.

On Sunday we awoke early to get to church and serve our first official Team Leaders duties of the First Impressions Team for two worship services. It was awesome to serve and greet arrivals for worship. The house was packed for the 9 am service (over 1,000) and almost packed for the 11 am service. We left the church about one pm and finally determined were to go for lunch. We had breakfast at Denny’s in Selma about two pm and then decided to venture to Fresno. Traffic was very light—almost everything was closed, surprise!

Back at home we chilled together and prepared for the week.

Now I am back to work and the remodeling of the front office has everything in disarray. Stuff is everywhere and nowhere. Boy! Talk about unorganized and chaos. All but one of management was absent on Monday. Not the way to run a business! Ah, but who am I to judge. I must just roll with the punches and smile, keeping the spirit of Christ.

Today I am notified by my supervisor that my grant notice must be done for 2011 FY and we haven’t got the FY 2010 approval notice yet. The new request is due June 8. Don’t make any sense to me. It is Tuesday and the remodel is still underway. We will make it. I refuse to let it break me or crush my spirit.

Marketing Under A New Paradigm

The more things change, the more they are the same. [Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose] -Alphonse Karr, Les Guêpes, January, 1849

I know hospitals as places where acute and basic medical care is administered. Now these institutions are using terms like “medical center” to describe their business. But I would note that their original intent is still to provide medical care. Only the name has changed and their services becoming more advanced and specialized. These institutions remain by true definition a hospital with their original intent and purpose still the primary focus.

In the past few months I have noticed a lot of advertisings or postings by pastors and staff about events they stage at their church. Some omit the word “church”; I surmise that the new paradigm prefers the use of “campus” or other titles of sponsorship. I know that “campus” had been a term specifically to describe a place of education, and of course the church needs to be a place of learning.

Why this shift in names now? The auto industry employed the term “station wagon” a few decades ago but now it’s called an SUV. These vehicles are improved but still serve as transportation for a family. The caution I offer is to watch out for trends for the sake of trends. Is the campus still giving sound teaching and enabling transport to heaven?

It’s all about marketing your “product.” It may be easier for some people to attend such meeting on a campus. The term releases a preconceived stigma attached to this institution known as a church. To use a cliché, maybe it is a trick of the trade. Is that sugar-coating the Gospel? Whatever the reason, the leadership of the campus must be sure the message is the same and the original intent and purpose remains. I do not believe God erred when He put His plans together in the Bible. He definitely knows marketing but He leaves it up to His ordained to follow the plan.

It is not being puritanical to preach the unadulterated Word of God. Although it is not a matter of sales for profit, it must be marketed to the public in a fashion that enlarges God’s Kingdom. It is a serious thing to remember that all things done in the church or on a campus must be Spirit driven. God will not share His glory with any one. It is not about marketing your program or agenda, rather it is about giving Jesus to the spiritually hungry and thirsty.

I’ve also noticed many churches establishing unique names to identify their mission. There is a tendency to get away from denominational connections. This may be a step in the right direction. The covering of a hierarchy has turned from true support into a set of useless codifications that hamper the expansion of the church. The umbrella of covering that a church needs is the blood of Christ and the by-laws of Scripture.

The church is not a theater, circus, or carnival. Does your campus entertain the attendees? Call it a tabernacle, church, or campus; your marketing must be such to exhibit the transforming, nourishing, and sustaining power of God. There must be integrity in your outreach to the community.