K.C. Wahe

One of my Spiritual fathers went to be with the Lord this morning. Below I give you some personal reflections about Clark Paddock.

I can’t remember the exact year that I met Clark Paddock. I was in elementary school and we lived in Hollywood. I had started going to the church because of a boss that my father had at the print shop he worked for in Hollywood. Clark was a member along with his wife Margie of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.

Clark and his family resided in Glendale and were actively involved in ministry within the church. They had two wonderful kids in Dorothy and Barbara who were also very involved in the church in various ministries including the youth ministries of the church. Dorothy was one of my many youth leaders when I was a kid who also played a big role in my life for Christ.

Clark was a church leader, served as an elder and was a faithful follower of Jesus. As a matter of fact he was one of many who truly cared about the role that the church played within the community and helped start a ministry to neighborhood kids a mile from the church. The ministry was called SAMGAM. I can’t remember what it stood for, but I think it stood for “Saturday Morning Games.”  The kinds of kids that were coming to SAMGAM weren’t your typical church kids. Some of them came from an orphanage that the church ministered to for several years. Others just lived around the neighborhood.

From what I learned from Clark over the years, SAMGAM was created in response to the church’s efforts in trying to integrate the neighborhood kids with the church kids in Sunday school. It worked so well that the Lord grew it and the church had to come up with something dedicated to serving the large numbers of kids that Clark and others helped bring to church from the neighborhood and that was part of the reason for moving it to Saturday mornings. The Lord used SAMGAM for many years and many lives were changed for Christ. Including mine.

There was this big green school bus that the church owned and that Clark drove and others would drive every Saturday morning. He and several other volunteers would drive down the streets of Hollywood to a particular neighborhood and pick up kids on street corners until the bus was packed to the rim. The church had built a reputation with the community and the kids after a while knew the “bus” would come and pick them up every Saturday morning. The bus was always full of kids. Kids from different ethnic backgrounds. Kids who were from single parent homes. Kids from broken homes, kids from homes with no parents and kids who were from abusive home environments.

I was one of those kids except I don’t remember the bus picking me up. I lived in a different part of the neighborhood. What I do remember is that I always ended up at SAMGAM somehow. I either got a ride from one of the volunteers or I walked to the church with my brothers. I just can’t remember. As I got older it was a ministry that I got to help serve in when I was a young adult in the church. It was a ministry that both my wife and I would help run and that Deb would even coordinate for a little while. We did it because Clark and others saw the importance of loving kids for Jesus.

It was a ministry that Clark and others cared for deeply and a ministry that Clark advocated for because he felt that the church should have a love for the neighborhood. Clark was so missional before the word even became the hip thing to say out loud. Clark and others were doing the mission of God as others in the church were still trying to figure out God’s mission.  Clark was also involved in Christian Education at the church, taught Sunday School, was always a bus driver for anything that involved children and youth and I have no doubt involved with other things in the church outside of Christian Education.

Several years later Clark and his wife Margie invited me to come and live in one of their spare rooms so that I could focus on my education by attending the local community college which was in walking distance from their home in Glendale. Clark helped me enroll and I began attending classes regularly for what seemed like an eternity.  I remember him telling me that I needed to work on my education and that bit of wisdom stayed with me for a long time.

I remember the first time I sat around the table with Clark and his wife Margie for a meal. Clark led us all in prayer and he made “potato pancakes.” He loved making potato pancakes.

He loved his wife Margie and his kids so much. He was a living example of the kind of husband and father I wanted to be.

Clark was one of my biggest cheerleaders in my life along with his family. I remember him coming with Margie to watch when Debbie and I were married in 1990. I have no doubt Clark prayed for me. Over the years he’s kept tabs on me. He’d call out of the blue just to check in. I remember telling him that I’d finally graduate from Azusa Pacific University and that I graduated from seminary at Princeton in New Jersey. I wanted him to know that I was grateful for him inviting me to live with he and Margie in Glendale so that I could begin my college education. I remember on one occasion he even wrote me a recommendation to a church that I was applying for nearby where he lived in Northern California after I graduated from seminary. I knew he was proud of me and grateful for my wife Debbie continuing to be an encouragement to me supporting me in my education over the years.

We visited with Clark almost a year ago when he was out visiting with his daughters. Clark wanted to drive up to where we lived and where he used to live in the Antelope Valley. I remember picking Clark up on a Friday morning. We went and visited our old church at Hollywood and then he and I drove up to our house in Palmdale. He loved living in the AV. At one time he and his wife owned a lighting business in Palmdale. So, Clark wanted to see his old stomping ground.

I got show him where Debbie and I lived. He got to meet our wonderful kids. He got see Deb.

I remember driving him around Palmdale and Lancaster. I showed him where his old lighting business was and how it became a new church. He wanted to see some of his old friends from the Lancaster Presbyterian Church where he and Margie attended when they lived in the Antelope Valley.

I remember taking him to the church I serve and pastor. I got to show him the sanctuary and showed him some renovations that we were working on at the time at the church.

I had so much fun telling him what was going on.

I have to confess…I was so proud that day.

I knew he was proud too.

I’ve cried several times writing this and I have no doubt I’ve mixed up a few facts. What I do know is that he will be missed by many including his sweet, sweet family.

Clark thank you for loving me and Debbie over the years and thank you for being a living example of Christ to me over the years and believing in that little kid from Hollywood. I would not be where I am at today in my life as a follower of Jesus, husband, father, and pastor  if it weren’t for men like you. You truly lived out Ms. Mears vision of, “knowing Christ and making him known.”

Dorothy and Barbara, we love you and your sweet family, and we loved your dad so much. He left a legacy of faith behind and although we grieve now, we celebrate that he’s home with the Lord. No more pain. No more suffering. We praise God for Clark and his life. We praise God for you guys as well.

I’m so happy that we got be with him when he was out last.

We will miss you Clark.

P.S. Clark, I think I forgot to tell you that I was working on my Doctor of Ministry at Fuller. I couldn’t remember if I had told you.  :)

A friend of mine recently gave me a book by John Wooden, “Wooden on Leadership,” that I’ve started reading. I’ve become overwhelmingly convinced that as a pastors we spend too much time focusing on the other church in the neighborhood and what they’re doing right and spend way too much time focusing on what we’re doing wrong as a church. This quote from the Coach’s book caught my eye in the introduction:

Compete only Against Yourself

“Remember my father’s advice: Set your standards high; namely, do the absolute best of which you are capable. Focus on running the race rather than winning it. Do those thing necessary to bring forth your personal best and don’t lose sleep worrying about the competition. Let the competition lose sleep worrying about you. Teach your organization to do the same.” (Coach John Wooden on Leadership Pg. 9)

I find myself worrying a lot about what we’re not doing well at as a church. I’m always keeping my ear to the ground on the latest and greatest thing. What I should be doing is helping my team focus on what it is that God has called us to be and to do it well.

Our focus the last couple of years as a small community church has been on finding what it is that God has called us to be in a community that doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of a thriving metropolis. We’ve determined that one of the things that we do well is caring for kids in our community. We’ve added a class room and a nursery for babies. We know that there are young families in our neighborhood who might be looking for a church that ministers to children and youth.

We’ve recently started searching for a part-time youth coordinator to help us start a youth ministry. Again, something that we feel as a church we can provide and do well at. We’ve continued with the vision of serving those in the community who are hungry. We operate a local foodbank on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month where we receive support from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

These are just a few things that we do as a faith community in our efforts to set our standards high for Christ and to do our absolute best, not as a way to receive the accolades and the high fives from the world, but to be obedient to what Christ has called us to be and to do in the kingdom and in our own neighborhood.

Here’s a standard I know that we all can better at as the church universal in reaching our neighborhoods for Christ and something that obviously Wooden did well at in his own life:

1 Thessalonians 2:8, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

Off to more reading.

Peace.

Kids found this picture in my office.

Got to help break ground with a bunch of folks for a building dedicated to this lady.

Hard to believe it was 23 years AGO.

And thanks for the Facebook comments, especially the ones about being tiny…would have posted this here sooner, but I was having some issues with my blog.

As I think about this post I just finished a long shift at the hospital doing chaplain things. I am exhausted and also grateful for the day I had. As I reflect on my day I think of a statement made by a friend of mine just recently about teaching the people of God to be missional. I am convinced that being missional isn’t something you can teach. Being missional is something you just do. How do you know your doing things missional? 

You’ll know. You’ll start hearing and seeing God work in ways you’ve never seen before. You become a risk taker. You start stepping outside of your box of naivete. When was the last time God kicked you out of your box for a moment just long enough to catch a glimpse of what the kingdom of God actually is about and looks like? 

Responding to the mission of God means finally saying with arms stretched out ,”Lord, here I am.” 

So? What’s keeping you?

This is Rachel.

Rachel and I met almost two years ago. Rachel is 89 years old and loves Jesus and loves teaching God’s Word to children.

Rachel was recruited two years ago to be our VBS story teller. In 2007 and 2008 Rachel loved being the story teller. Rachel was a modern day Ms. Mears. She was always available when it came to kids stuff. I even remember Rachel serving at one of our Trunk Or Treat events. She parked her mini-van in our church parking lot, dressed in a costume,  and was ready to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids.

One of her dreams was to network with local Elementary Schools to run a kids club after school to offer a place where kids could learn what it means to follow Jesus. At a school near our church, she actually was able to get on campus and use a classroom to do her kids club. I remember her telling me on one occasion that this was one of the ways we could reach more kids for Christ.

She was right.

Earlier this year Rachel joined our church. She is loved by all and is very much a part of our faith community. Rachel is almost 90 years old and is currently in a nursing home. The doctors have given her only a few days to live.

Every time I’ve visited Rachel, she was always ready for me to pray with her. She’d muster as much strength as she could and would hold my hand until I was done praying and she’d go back to sleep. Last Sunday some folks from church brought Palm Sunday worship to Rachel. We sang together at Rachel’s bedside and gave Rachel communion.

Please pray for Rachel and her family.

When I asked Rachel what her favorite Bible verse was last week, she whispered this verse to me.

I wanted to cry and I pray that I myself would grow to love God’s Word as much as Rachel does.

Around 5:OOam this morning Rachel went home to be with the Lord.

Thanks for loving us like Jesus Ms. Rachel.

While away at the Abbey yesterday someone said that one of the ways we help others know the love of Christ is by looking for the turtles. The way a child would pick up a turtle and what the child does by looking inside the shell of a turtle is what I think this person was trying to get at when it comes to making Christ known. The child wants the turtle to appear and do what turtles do best. How do we as followers of Jesus get people to come out from their shells? How do we motivate them to do what God has called them to do?

I was a reading something my friend Steve posted and I wonder if we Christ followers have briefly returned to our shells? I have this need to be overly connected and to stay in touch with folks which I think on some days has kept me in my shell. As a pastor I need to somehow move out from behind my computer screen and into the world where authenticity is better lived out, “live and in person.” Authenticity would require me being intentional with others, looking for those who need a little encouragement, who need to experience hope in the midst of the stuff of life. It ultimately means living by example and deciding that the imprint I want to have on the kingdom of God is the actual time I took to go visit someone in the hospital, take someone to lunch, or make that unexpected phone call. On the other hand and some of the tension in the need to be connected is that there are others who would say that by sending the occasional text message, writing a quick note on facebook, or even an occasional email is just as important and leaves the same imprint and is another way of being connected especially with groups in the church who are difficult to reach.

From The Message Paraphrase
A Future in God
13-16So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

For those of you who read my blog and who know me, you know my parents died several years ago. Over the years the Lord has blessed me with some wonderful surrogate parents who have helped shaped my faith in Christ and in many ways are the reason I do what I do now as a follower of Jesus, husband, father, and now a pastor.

Our friend Frank Frankman went to be with the Lord this past Thursday.

For Debbie and I Frank on more than one occasion cared for us in so many ways. His fatherly love and his heart for Jesus ministered to us and gave to us the peace of Christ. The kind of peace that encouraged us to not give up and to trust that the God of peace is what gives us strength to get through the best and worst of times.

What I loved about Frank was that he was a surrogate parent to Deb and me, he was a spiritual father, and for this we give thanks to God. My fondest memories of Frank were sitting in his home with Jane as they regularly welcomed young adults into their home from the church. I also remember receiving some of the biggest “Frank Frankman” hugs that were the kind of hugs that I so desired from my own father. They were the kinds of hugs that said, “man, I’m proud of you kid!”

What I truly remember about Frank is that every time he talked about me with my friends or people at church, I would always hear from my friends on how proud he was of me. And every time Debbie and I would see Frank he would make it a point to tell us how proud he was of us. This always gave me hope and encouraged me in so many ways. He was our cheerleader. He was one of our biggest fans in the kingdom. He even celebrated like a father would celebrate with his kids, when I told him I finally finished seminary and that I was becoming a Presbyterian minister. On more than one occasion he would tear up when he would talk with Deb and me about the joy he had for us.

Thank you God for our friend Frank. Although we grieve, we celebrate the life you now have with God Frank. We continue to pray for your bride Jane and for your kids. We thank you for loving us as Jesus loved us. Thank you for giving us your heart. And most of all thank you for being proud of me Frank! I love you brother!

I have been a poser of sorts when it comes to blogging for about 5 years now. I am an irregular blogger. My blogging has mostly been about reflections as a Pastor serving a congregation in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and about other things happening my life as a husband, married to Debbie for over 18 years and a father of three boys.

There are other pastors I know who are professional bloggers. I have no idea how they manage to keep up with the amount of time blogging requires. I have found with the recent facebook phenomenon over the last year that facebooking is much easier to keep up with in my life. I have found that my blogging goes in spurts.

Debbie was saying to me this morning that there are people who actually read my blog. So, as 2009 has taken off here are a couple of my hopes for the New Year:

1. As I hear stories of pastors who have placed their call to serve Christ and the church over their marriages and families I want to continue keeping what really matters most to me as a follower of Jesus close to my heart. One area that really matters most to me is my love for my wife. I often forget to give thanks to God for the gift of my wife who has been one of my biggest encouragements and who has always supported me in my call to serve as a Pastor. She has been a friend to me in the best and worst of times in my ministry and the Lord continues to use her not only as a loving and gifted mom of three very cool kids, but as a school teacher.

2. I have a pastor buddy who once said to me, “don’t make the same mistakes I made early on in my ministry as a pastor.” What he said to me spoke volumes not only in regards to my relationship with my wife, but with my relationships with our kids. I pray that I will continue to be available and present, ready to be dad for our kids and a Christ like father.

3. My hope is to continue growing in my preaching. I love preaching. My desire in 2009 is to continue to find balance in the midst of what is expected of me in the congregation I serve and in my personal study of God’s Word. With this desire I want to become more diligent in what I read professionally and personally.

4. I have talked to a respected friend about the possibility of receiving spiritual direction. I think this is an area in my life that I know I can benefit from in my personal life spiritually and professionally as I disciple folks.

5. I am currently working at a doctor of ministry degree. I hit a couple of bumps this past Summer when Deb was part of district and state wide teacher lay-offs due to the education budget cuts in California. I am currently gearing up to continue working on this very important part of my life and calling as a pastor when it comes to my education. I know this degree will be benefit me in many different areas of my ministry and in my call as a pastor over the next 5-10 years.

6. For over a year now I have been a little more attentive to my health. I have lost a bunch of weight because of some more regular excercise. I have also (Although the holidays kicked my butt) started paying attention to what I am eating. I am no use to my bride, my kids, or my church if I am a big pile of mush. So, 2009 I will continue in my pursuit of getting healthy!

So, for you 8 or so readers. Be thinking about what you might want to do in 2009. We do celebrate Epiphany this week. What will you be giving back to the Lord in 2009?

May it be so Lord!

Haven’t had much time to blog. I had someone play with the sound system at church and record a tiny little audio clip of my newly refretted guitar. geet08.mp3

I’m feeling spent today. The year is coming to an end quickly. Kids are growing up way to fast and I can’t seem to get past the idea that I’m not getting any younger. I took a drive through Hollywood today for simply one reason. To retrieve my guitar from a cool old guy named Art Valdez. Art is a professional flamenco guitarist. Art also makes guitars and refrets guitars.

The guitar I dropped off was a gift given to me almost 15 years ago by a church I love dearly. I remember the day when one of my old pastor friends handed it to me as a going away present. It was one of the neatest gifts I had ever received and I’ve put it to good use in my ministry as a youth pastor and now a pastor. After a bunch of years of playing, It needed to be refretted, and a good friend of mine suggested Valdez Guitars.

Now this guitar has taken a beating. It’s been played by kids in youth groups I’ve served. It’s been dropped and the wood has been chipped. I’ve played every youth group song and VBS song you can think of and I can’t count how many times I’ve broken a string. I’ve taken it to Mexico and back. It’s been rained on.  It’s been to the beach. It’s been to camp with kids. It’s even been to the east coast where it toured a few churches where I made some cash on the side by helping lead worship while getting through seminary. It’s even been stolen and brought back by a homeless dude.

Now why not spend the money I spent fixing this guitar and investing it into a new guitar? I thought about that today. I’ve even had a member of my church give me a really nice Martin to lead worship with which I love, but there is nothing like my beaten up takamine. The sound of the guitar now with the refret job? Let’s just say that it sounds better than ever.

When I feel spent and tired, something I do is retreat to my guitar. I can play and sing songs to God. I can worship him with my whole heart. I can even help lead the people of God into worship with the hopes that when we walk away from worshiping the Lord that we’re restored to go back out and serve God. My guitar is simply my paint brush and my canvass.

Thank you God for every good and perfect gift!

I took this picture yesterday of the church. The trim and fascia work are almost finished. We hope to color stucco sometime next week. If you’ve been to the church over the last year, you might remember that there was a trailer to the left of the building. The last task is to put in new landscaping completely around the church. The last task will be to pave the parking lot. Can I borrow a parking lot from someone?

Another view…

Job Complete…

Stucco is on. Now for the landscaping. Goal? By Christmas Eve. Lord willing.

The Cross

“To God be the glory.”