Back in the Day....aka "For the Sake of the Call"

Yesterday marked the end of my one week sabbath/vacation, which ended up being quite the busy time for me; spoke at NH South Shore on Sunday, class on Monday, worked on message on Tuesday, classes, afternoon video shoot, and speaking at Midweek service on Wednesday, rested (FINALLY) on Thursday, FHS football game on Friday (our first loss..*ouch*), all day Ministry and Church Security session on Saturday, and finally, another video session on Sunday afternoon.  Yes, I was on vacation!  Loved every minute of every day, though.

The video session saw five of us from "back in the day"; veterans who, in one way or another, have our pictures hanging in New Hope's "Hall of Faith" dating back to the formative years, 1995 - 1997.  It was a reunion of sorts, with Pastor Wayne as the focal point of the days of pioneering, and Tim Savage as the moderator/ fellow pioneer.  I sat with legends of our church; Creighton Arita, who is the CEO and president of a major medical data and information company, Frieda Takaki, who is CEO of a rehabilitation center with three locations, Dr. Randy Furushima, our dean and Executive VP of New Hope Christian College, Tim, who is a Telly-award winning cinematographer in short film (Accelerator Films), and ME.  A nobody.  A ground-level servant and two time college dropout.  But in the context of the video, we were all pioneers of a church.  No hangups.  No attitudes or one-ups.  Just a bunch of old friends getting together and reliving the "good old days".

This wasn't to say we're going back to "old ways".  What it did say was that there were VALUES that we adhered to, lived by, and held each other accountable to, and these God-centered values were so instrumental to seeing the church GROW and THRIVE, and brought fruitfulness and fulfillment to all who were blessed to be part of that period in time.  Great memories.  War stories.  Visions, hopes,and dreams.  Lots and lots of LAUGHING about some light moments.  And hard to keep a dry eye when we watched video of worship; pure and simple, and serving in every area with all our hearts.

I left the shoot with a refreshed soul, and much hope for the future; this may mark the zenith of a turning point or defining mark in my ministry life and journey of faith.  When will it "air"?  We'll just have to wait and see.  I know four others who are also waiting for that day :)  Thank you Creighton, Dr. Randy, Frieda, Tim, and Pastor Wayne!  I'm honored and flattered to have been part of our "dinna" and "talk story".