Loud & Clear

the big news

It doesn’t take a degree in economics to know that we’re in a deep recession. Many families at Clovis Hills have lost their jobs and homes and many others can see it from where they are. Just as our families have been impacted, so has our church budget.

Last week, I was called into a meeting with Steve, our lead pastor, and Greg, our exec pastor. I learned that they were eliminating seven positions at Clovis Hills, five full time and two part time. Part of those lay offs was the dissolution of my department, Communications. This includes myself and my assistant Thilani.

I’ve been through this before, a couple times. I know what it’s like to look out and wonder what God is doing and what’s next. God uses times like this to create dependency on Him. He uses it to challenge our faith, our worldly view of security and most importantly our walk.

In fact, for the last six months I’ve wrestled with a restlessness in my spirit, knowing that God was preparing me for whatever was next. The word I got from him was, “Whatever you do next will be something you’ve never done before.” A hard thing to grasp since I’ve done so many things here there’s not much left to pick from.

So, when I walked into that room, I was prepared. I was at peace. God had been prepping me for months for this moment. What I didn’t expect was that the next thing would show up right in that meeting.

I was offered something different. Very different. A campus plant in Firebaugh. It seems there’s several families in that area that have been attending Clovis Hills over the last six months who approached Steve about helping them plant a church or campus in that area, reaching out to both Firebaugh and Dos Palos. The offer was to spearhead whatever that campus would evolve into.

WOW. It was terrifying. It was exciting. I thought about all the things I’ve done at Clovis Hills. Student Pastor. Worship Leader. Performing Arts. Weekend Service Producer. Communication & Marketing. Many of the skills I’d need to accomplish this new work.

I took a solitude day that week and drove out to Firebaugh with my wife. We just wanted to be in the town, drive around, meet some people and spend time in prayer. During that time, God gave me twelve specific scriptures affirming his call on me and what he is doing in Firebaugh. In fact, he told me it was something he was already doing. It’s his work, I just get to be a part of it. It was the last piece of the puzzle.

I’ve officially accepted this new position. I’m still on staff at Clovis Hills and have an office at this campus. And that’s about all I know. I’ll meet these families in the coming weeks. I’ve a whole department to transition out of, setting up systems to keep everything flowing. I have more questions than answers. But if you know me, that’s pretty much heaven for me. Discovery, learning, creating, building relationships and stepping out in faith. There’s nothing better than that!

Please pray for the other folks who are transitioning out. Everyone’s still employed through May with ample leeway to discover what God has next. Pray for hope and peace. Pray for provision. And pray with expectation for what God is going to do through our church and our staff, those leaving and those remaining.

One of the verses God gave me during my solitude time was a promise of what’s to come:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9