Mother's Day and the big toe

Well, my family gathered for a nice dinner at "Panda Express," a famously Non-Authentic Asian food place that we all love. I wasn't invited. I know! Sounds so harsh that way, doesn't it?

And our Pastor announced his resignation, on Mother's day as well.

And we had protesters carrying signs out front of the church again.

That all sounds SOOOOOOoooo severe when I type it out in such simple terms, don't you agree? But behind all that are stories. Details. Love and concern, warmth and promise.

For one - my family getting together without me was because they were in Atlanta, GA and I was in Southern California. Little detail there, and if you realize that Stephen had to fly there for business, but Hope and Kristen were willing to drive a very long way out of the way on their trip from KJ's school to Sunnee Lynn's wedding so they could get together for Mother's day, well it's actually heart-warming. My wife even dropped her huge piece of luggage on her bare toe just to prove her love for us - we all truly enjoy a good laugh now and then... She really did hurt her foot, and I am praying it is not broken or anything! I'll pass along details as I get them...

Next, our Pastor announced his resignation because God has opened up a new and exciting door for him in a way which only God could do. Our church is part of the Assemblies of God, a worldwide denomination of Pentecostal churches, and the Southern California District is one of the largest districts in the entire movement. The leadership has been in place for a couple of decades, but a change was brewing and some say it was needed - get some younger, more forward-looking folks in there. No knock on the previous administration who served so very faithfully and so well for so long, but there are times when the only change we need is just change itself.

So - there were meetings, phone calls, emails, and our pastor was considered for the position of Assistant Superintendent. This was his response - I would only leave the church here in Ventura if God called me. And I would only consider it to be God calling me if two important things came about:
1. I would need to be able to lead us back to our Spirit-Filled roots, and
2. The vote of the presbytery would have to be unanimous. That's right - 100%-

Well - the new Superintendent did in fact agree that we need a man just like Dr. Cervero to do exactly what he was offering: lead us back to our roots in Spirit-filled pentecostalism, and the vote DID in fact come in at 100% unanimous. That vote broke records going back over 25 years, BTW.

So we get to find a new pastor, a task I don't look forward to but a task we can easily trust God for help with. After all, it's His church anyway. And there have been so many good men in contact with our church over the years, and so many of them are close by or right on the edge of being or becoming available, it will be hard to thin down the list of candidates.

And Our Pastor gets to move through a door which was so very obviously opened by God just for him. And if you don't know it, our pastor is the perfect man for the job - it was almost as if God knew what He was doing (of course).

As to the protesters - we have ticked off a local man who thinks we are not radical enough in our pro-life stand. We are VERY pro-life, in case you are wondering, but we just are not radical enough for this guy. So we get protesters and very ugly graphic pictures of aborted babies on our sidewalk and driving up and down the street in front of the church on Sunday. Yes, on Mother's day too.

So - another week begins. God - help me! And I truly mean that: Lord, you are a part of the details of my life. Help me with all the things which could honor you, or which could distract me. Amen.