A quick update and a few thoughts...
Sam and Christy are gone for a week (until Sunday evening), so I'm the big man on campus now. I moved into Sam's office and have been trying to get things organized for the cafe. I finished my official training from the guy who sold us the coffee cart (Andy) but I spent several hours typing all the recipes and cleaning procedures. Today I actually practiced making some of the drinks myself, and there is quite a bit of tweaking to do, but I'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime people around here are going to be getting many free samples, for better or for worse. Craig and Christine (and others), I may be calling you to get a couple pointers. And good news-my car finally passed emissions, so I can get my car registered in California! The second time was the charm.
My friend Leo and I are doing some bible reading accountability, and it has been great to get into the word more. God's given me a desire to read a lot, which is great. And hopefully this will make it a discipline that I will do even when I'm not feeling stoked about reading. I've been going through Nehemiah, a little Hebrews, some Psalms, and I finished Acts up today. I've also been reading more of Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God, and I have been reminded how i just need to be acutally training myself to be in God's presence throughout the day. To be giving him praise and surrendering to him and being obedient to him. It's tough becauseI've been training myself for the past 22 years to rely upon myself and do my own thing, that it is going to take a lot of practice to reverse that and rely upon God. But it's not supposed to be easy...
I don't really talk to people about Jesus very often. I think that that is because he has been a part of my life for awhile, but he hasn't been the best part (at least in my eyes). I think if I am really loving God with everything and realizing he is my essence, then naturally I would want to talk to others about him. So I am working on surrendering and loving God more...
For those of you in Spokane, I'm planning on going back there for David Perry's wedding at the end of August, probably the 23rd through the 27th or so. Look forward to seeing yall.
Til next time,
Doug
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Early Morning Surfing
Hello people, it's been many days since I last chatted, so here's an update. This past week has been pretty crazy busy. Sam is speaking at a Family Camp in the Seattle area all next week, so he spent much of the week preparing for that endeavor. We were also busy entertaining possible tenants for the church, and we actually got one church to rent out our Sunday morning slot every week. That's a big praise, because our some of the aid we were getting from our conference is stopping at the end of this month. I suppose it should go without saying that God knows what he's doing (although I just said it...) Yesterday was my birthday and I spent the morning getting my first training session on the coffee cart. It will be nice to finish the training tomorrow morning and be able to practice and feel competent at what I've been hired to do.
After that I worked on some things on my car (replaced o2 sensor, etc), and it felt good to take make progress on that. Then we had a good bbq at Sam and Christy's place, and then played some basketball. It was a lot of fun.
Sam and Christy left this morning, and so Dion and I decided to go surfing after we took them to the airport. So we got up around 330 in the morning, dropped them off, and then tried to find the beach. It was supposed to be only about 10 minutes away from LAX but somehow Dion and I couldn't find the beach, and it took over two hours to get to one (we ended up going to Huntington). The waves weren't great, but it was still fun. Dion and I have just been working around the church-as you can see in the picture, we finally got up our two banners outside the church, which is sweet. So things are coming together.
It's been interesting having a change in work. I'm no longer in the clock on clock off kind of job, so I have to change my mindset. The schedule is obviously much more flexible, which is nice but can also mean I feel like I have to always be working.
Allright I'm falling asleep as I type, so thank you for reading this and for your prayers and calls, and I'll write some other time.
Doug
After that I worked on some things on my car (replaced o2 sensor, etc), and it felt good to take make progress on that. Then we had a good bbq at Sam and Christy's place, and then played some basketball. It was a lot of fun.
Sam and Christy left this morning, and so Dion and I decided to go surfing after we took them to the airport. So we got up around 330 in the morning, dropped them off, and then tried to find the beach. It was supposed to be only about 10 minutes away from LAX but somehow Dion and I couldn't find the beach, and it took over two hours to get to one (we ended up going to Huntington). The waves weren't great, but it was still fun. Dion and I have just been working around the church-as you can see in the picture, we finally got up our two banners outside the church, which is sweet. So things are coming together.
It's been interesting having a change in work. I'm no longer in the clock on clock off kind of job, so I have to change my mindset. The schedule is obviously much more flexible, which is nice but can also mean I feel like I have to always be working.
Allright I'm falling asleep as I type, so thank you for reading this and for your prayers and calls, and I'll write some other time.
Doug
Monday, July 23, 2007
California Camping
Hello everyone,
This past weekend Corridors Church had a camping trip. We had about thirty people come, with the predominate age being in the high school area. We packed up and caravaned out on the freeway at about 6pm on Friday. The lake is only about 45 miles away, but, lucky us, a semi truck jack knifed on the freeway during rush hour so we didn't get to our campsite until about 10 at night. Then we tried to set up our tents, and I definitely failed at that. I was a driver for the trip, and two of the girls in my car were freaking out when they heard that we would be going without showers and without cell phones for a whole two days. By the end of the trip, they were glad they came, but it was comical at first.
We camped out at Castaic Lake, a man made lake north of LA. We had some good ol fashioned hotdogs and chili the first night of camping, and then the next morning we had a rock skipping contest and then I got a chance to share about my life and who I was. The weekend was really good for getting to know people better. The majority of the day on Saturday was spent at Six Flags theme park. I had never been there before, but it was great. The rollercoasters were pretty amazing, and I got a good chance to get to know people better while we stood in lines for much of the day.
Sunday we packed up and then swam at the lake until we headed home in the late afternoon. Once home, Sam, Christy, Dion and I relaxed and rented a movie. It was really nice to be done with the trip and not have any responsibility for a night.
The Lord has really been answering prayer with regard to our need for rentors in the church. There is a good chance we will get renters for Sunday mornings and for during the week starting as soon as August 1, but things aren't finalized yet. God has been so faithful in that regard (well I suppose in every regard). I am quite encouraged with what's going on here in Pasadena in our community, and while I do miss so many people from home, I am starting to become more and more acclamated to this community. Thanks for all your prayers! By the way, we could use prayer for getting everything in the cafe ready by the 18th of August. That's when we're trying on doing our soft opening and there are a lot of things to do. We have been making progress on different fliers/logos/banners etc, which is great. Anyways, I hope and pray the Lord is growing and stretching you all where you are. I'm tired now and I'm going to go to bed. I think I'm getting old or something because I've been going to bed earlier and earlier recently. One night I went to bed by 10....crazy stuff...
til next time
Doug
This past weekend Corridors Church had a camping trip. We had about thirty people come, with the predominate age being in the high school area. We packed up and caravaned out on the freeway at about 6pm on Friday. The lake is only about 45 miles away, but, lucky us, a semi truck jack knifed on the freeway during rush hour so we didn't get to our campsite until about 10 at night. Then we tried to set up our tents, and I definitely failed at that. I was a driver for the trip, and two of the girls in my car were freaking out when they heard that we would be going without showers and without cell phones for a whole two days. By the end of the trip, they were glad they came, but it was comical at first.
We camped out at Castaic Lake, a man made lake north of LA. We had some good ol fashioned hotdogs and chili the first night of camping, and then the next morning we had a rock skipping contest and then I got a chance to share about my life and who I was. The weekend was really good for getting to know people better. The majority of the day on Saturday was spent at Six Flags theme park. I had never been there before, but it was great. The rollercoasters were pretty amazing, and I got a good chance to get to know people better while we stood in lines for much of the day.
Sunday we packed up and then swam at the lake until we headed home in the late afternoon. Once home, Sam, Christy, Dion and I relaxed and rented a movie. It was really nice to be done with the trip and not have any responsibility for a night.
The Lord has really been answering prayer with regard to our need for rentors in the church. There is a good chance we will get renters for Sunday mornings and for during the week starting as soon as August 1, but things aren't finalized yet. God has been so faithful in that regard (well I suppose in every regard). I am quite encouraged with what's going on here in Pasadena in our community, and while I do miss so many people from home, I am starting to become more and more acclamated to this community. Thanks for all your prayers! By the way, we could use prayer for getting everything in the cafe ready by the 18th of August. That's when we're trying on doing our soft opening and there are a lot of things to do. We have been making progress on different fliers/logos/banners etc, which is great. Anyways, I hope and pray the Lord is growing and stretching you all where you are. I'm tired now and I'm going to go to bed. I think I'm getting old or something because I've been going to bed earlier and earlier recently. One night I went to bed by 10....crazy stuff...
til next time
Doug
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Lots of Learning...
Hello again. Well things have been going really well here, I'm learning a lot and growing a lot. Here are some salient points:
*I went to a Dodgers game a few nights ago, and they stomped the Phillies 10-3. It was a blast. The first of many games to come.
*The Cafe is coming along, although there are lots of things to do still. We put three mac computers in the cafe on desks and got them locked in there. Dion installed the sound system and that sounds great. I'm finishing some painting on some trim today. We still have a bunch of stuff to do (cash register, menu boards, some more furniture, I need to learn how to actually make coffee, credit card stuff, and so on...) but I am learning that I don't have to worry about everything, I just need to trust God. I need to seek him daily and live in his presence and be obedient, and then God will take care of the results. There is a tremendous amount of confidence and freedom in this perspective. I can be confident that God will
*I braved the California DMV and got my license yesterday. It actually only took an hour, which wasn't bad. I still have to go back and get my car title transferred, but baby steps. And I was kinda nervous about the written test, but I only missed three, so that's nice.
*A couple of guys and I started doing an accountability group (Sam, Chris Waters, and Dion). We met for a little bit a couple days ago, so I'm looking forward to that because I know how important it is to have good strong fellowship/accountability with peers.
*My prayer life and general spiritual life feels like it has been rejuvenated. I am learning what it means to live by the Spirit. I have been constantly reminded of the fact that I need God's help and mercy/grace/power/strength all day every day, or else I try to do things on my own and that sucks. I've done that too much of my life. It's like I need to be retrained, because I have had so much practice living on my own strength and will. It's a slow process, but it's been great. I have been just trying to trust God and surrender to him as often as I can. It is so crucial to try to live in God's presence, to practice his presence. If anyone wants to hear more about what's going on, feel free to give me a call because it's easier to explain that way.
*Sam and Christy and I are convinced that we need a day off, a Sabbath, and we are going to try to do that either Saturday or Sunday every week. It is so important to maintain a healthy balance and to obey God's call to rest periodically, so I'm excited for that.
*This weekend we are having a church camping trip to a lake and we are spending Saturday at Six flags Theme Park, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and getting to know people better. We leave Friday evening and get back Sunday evening I think.
*For those who don't know, we have been looking at renting the church out to other people because we don't need the facilities on Sundays, and there has been a great response in the past week, so thank you for any who have been praying for that. We're not sure who's going to rent, but it will probably be figured out in the next week or so. God has been so faithful in answering prayers!
*God is good, and he's working. This is definitely a time of transition, but I'm excited to see all the God's doing and I'm excited to just be a part of it and be obedient. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Til next time
Doug
*I went to a Dodgers game a few nights ago, and they stomped the Phillies 10-3. It was a blast. The first of many games to come.
*The Cafe is coming along, although there are lots of things to do still. We put three mac computers in the cafe on desks and got them locked in there. Dion installed the sound system and that sounds great. I'm finishing some painting on some trim today. We still have a bunch of stuff to do (cash register, menu boards, some more furniture, I need to learn how to actually make coffee, credit card stuff, and so on...) but I am learning that I don't have to worry about everything, I just need to trust God. I need to seek him daily and live in his presence and be obedient, and then God will take care of the results. There is a tremendous amount of confidence and freedom in this perspective. I can be confident that God will
*I braved the California DMV and got my license yesterday. It actually only took an hour, which wasn't bad. I still have to go back and get my car title transferred, but baby steps. And I was kinda nervous about the written test, but I only missed three, so that's nice.
*A couple of guys and I started doing an accountability group (Sam, Chris Waters, and Dion). We met for a little bit a couple days ago, so I'm looking forward to that because I know how important it is to have good strong fellowship/accountability with peers.
*My prayer life and general spiritual life feels like it has been rejuvenated. I am learning what it means to live by the Spirit. I have been constantly reminded of the fact that I need God's help and mercy/grace/power/strength all day every day, or else I try to do things on my own and that sucks. I've done that too much of my life. It's like I need to be retrained, because I have had so much practice living on my own strength and will. It's a slow process, but it's been great. I have been just trying to trust God and surrender to him as often as I can. It is so crucial to try to live in God's presence, to practice his presence. If anyone wants to hear more about what's going on, feel free to give me a call because it's easier to explain that way.
*Sam and Christy and I are convinced that we need a day off, a Sabbath, and we are going to try to do that either Saturday or Sunday every week. It is so important to maintain a healthy balance and to obey God's call to rest periodically, so I'm excited for that.
*This weekend we are having a church camping trip to a lake and we are spending Saturday at Six flags Theme Park, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and getting to know people better. We leave Friday evening and get back Sunday evening I think.
*For those who don't know, we have been looking at renting the church out to other people because we don't need the facilities on Sundays, and there has been a great response in the past week, so thank you for any who have been praying for that. We're not sure who's going to rent, but it will probably be figured out in the next week or so. God has been so faithful in answering prayers!
*God is good, and he's working. This is definitely a time of transition, but I'm excited to see all the God's doing and I'm excited to just be a part of it and be obedient. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Til next time
Doug
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Baseball Stuff!
Hello all, it is Sunday morning and in about an hour Sam, Christy and I are going to visit a predominately black church and worship with them-I'm really excited! In the meantime, let me give a quick update.
Sam got back late Friday night from Michigan, and while he was there he got hooked up with a pass to go to the Los Angeles Angels baseball stadium and take batting/fielding practice. So Christy and Sam and I went out there yesterday and we had a great time at the stadium. Sam also got some free tickets to the Angels/Rangers game last night, so we went to the game, but we actually left after the sixth inning or so because we didn't really have anyone to cheer for (because of course the Mariners are in the same division as those two and so we couldn't root for them). It is a beautiful stadium though. The day was a blast though, just relaxing and enjoying America's favorite past time with friends.
Couple of thoughts...thanks so much for those who are praying for me and the ministry down here, it truly makes a difference and I am so blessed. I had a good chat with Sam yesterday, and we agreed that there is a tremendous amount of hope and confidence that we can have in Christ. I'm not the one in charge of the results of my efforts. God makes things grow. As long as I am genuinely seeking out the Lord and being obedient then God will take care of the rest. It is a really freeing thought to me. It takes off much of the pressure that I too often put on my shoulders and become burdened by. I know that all I can do is seek God and be in a state of surrender and obedience. With that in mind, Sam and Christy and I are going to be diligent in spending a good chunk of time in prayer for the cafe every morning before we open, asking for God's blessing and direction. Can't go wrong doing that.
By the way, thank you to those who have dropped a note and let me know what's going on in your life, I really appreciate it!
Until next time...
Doug
Sam got back late Friday night from Michigan, and while he was there he got hooked up with a pass to go to the Los Angeles Angels baseball stadium and take batting/fielding practice. So Christy and Sam and I went out there yesterday and we had a great time at the stadium. Sam also got some free tickets to the Angels/Rangers game last night, so we went to the game, but we actually left after the sixth inning or so because we didn't really have anyone to cheer for (because of course the Mariners are in the same division as those two and so we couldn't root for them). It is a beautiful stadium though. The day was a blast though, just relaxing and enjoying America's favorite past time with friends.
Couple of thoughts...thanks so much for those who are praying for me and the ministry down here, it truly makes a difference and I am so blessed. I had a good chat with Sam yesterday, and we agreed that there is a tremendous amount of hope and confidence that we can have in Christ. I'm not the one in charge of the results of my efforts. God makes things grow. As long as I am genuinely seeking out the Lord and being obedient then God will take care of the rest. It is a really freeing thought to me. It takes off much of the pressure that I too often put on my shoulders and become burdened by. I know that all I can do is seek God and be in a state of surrender and obedience. With that in mind, Sam and Christy and I are going to be diligent in spending a good chunk of time in prayer for the cafe every morning before we open, asking for God's blessing and direction. Can't go wrong doing that.
By the way, thank you to those who have dropped a note and let me know what's going on in your life, I really appreciate it!
Until next time...
Doug
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thought for the night...
I've decided I might use this blog to just post some random thoughts I have at the moment, or things I have been learning, so here goes.
I think God is calling me to simplify my walk with him. I believe I mentioned this in my first blog, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. He's calling me to listen and obey. Very simple concept, but quite difficult to act out sometimes. And in order for me to listen to Him, I have to be surrendered to what He wants for my life. Earlier this evening I was visiting Mitch at the hospital, and we dialogued about what it means to surrender our lives to God. I sincerely desire him to be guiding me and directing me, but it is so easy to just take control and try to run my own life my own way. It seems much more natural to do the latter, but certainly less fulfilling. To be honest, I don't know practically how to surrender my daily life to God...what does that look like? I know I need to, and I know I need the Spirit guiding and empowering. If anyone has any wisdom to dispel, please do so.
I have been so very blessed to be around such amazing family and friends in the Spokane area. I am realizing this more and more, and how I took that for granted while I was there. I appreciate your prayers as I have gone through a pretty intense homesick phase and am now just trying to adjust to all the changes and get my feet wet in the community. Yesterday and today I got the chance to chat with some people in the community (at a carwash, the grocery store, etc) and it felt good to start to get plugged in to the area. One brother in Christ actually offered to help promote the cafe by passing out our fliers, which was neat.
I am very encouraged with the cafe. Sam (the pastor) came back tonight and it will be good to get on the same page with him and start pursuing some marketing options. I am also going to pursue some intentional accountability with a couple of guys down here, because we all need that. Being a Christian by yourself just doesn't work.
Sam, Christy and I are going to a Los Angeles Angels baseball game tomorrow, which I am quite excited for! Allright I'm going to bed...
-Doug
I think God is calling me to simplify my walk with him. I believe I mentioned this in my first blog, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. He's calling me to listen and obey. Very simple concept, but quite difficult to act out sometimes. And in order for me to listen to Him, I have to be surrendered to what He wants for my life. Earlier this evening I was visiting Mitch at the hospital, and we dialogued about what it means to surrender our lives to God. I sincerely desire him to be guiding me and directing me, but it is so easy to just take control and try to run my own life my own way. It seems much more natural to do the latter, but certainly less fulfilling. To be honest, I don't know practically how to surrender my daily life to God...what does that look like? I know I need to, and I know I need the Spirit guiding and empowering. If anyone has any wisdom to dispel, please do so.
I have been so very blessed to be around such amazing family and friends in the Spokane area. I am realizing this more and more, and how I took that for granted while I was there. I appreciate your prayers as I have gone through a pretty intense homesick phase and am now just trying to adjust to all the changes and get my feet wet in the community. Yesterday and today I got the chance to chat with some people in the community (at a carwash, the grocery store, etc) and it felt good to start to get plugged in to the area. One brother in Christ actually offered to help promote the cafe by passing out our fliers, which was neat.
I am very encouraged with the cafe. Sam (the pastor) came back tonight and it will be good to get on the same page with him and start pursuing some marketing options. I am also going to pursue some intentional accountability with a couple of guys down here, because we all need that. Being a Christian by yourself just doesn't work.
Sam, Christy and I are going to a Los Angeles Angels baseball game tomorrow, which I am quite excited for! Allright I'm going to bed...
-Doug
Thursday, July 12, 2007
24 Hour Car Rides Stink...
***Warning***This first blog is lengthy
Hello everyone, this is a blog for those who want to stay in touch with the happenings of my life in SoCal. I am going to send out monthly newsletters but this blog will be updated at least once a week, maybe more often depending on what happens down here. Of course, this may only last for a few months and then I'll get sick of it, but it will serve as a good connecting point for awhile at least. So please feel free to respond, to write comments, to email me, to mail me, call me, or anything else. I would love to be in contact with my friends from home as life goes on here in Pasadena. My contact information is:
192 S. Allen Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91106
509.844.5711
dlpettis@gmail.com
Ok, some background info. For those of you who do not know, I have been hired by a young church in Pasadena to manage a cafe. The church is called Corridors, and it is run by Pastor Sam Thomas (Matt Thomas' son for those of you who know him) and his wife Christy. They moved down here about three years ago to inject some fresh air into an older, almost stagnant congregation. Among the many remodeling projects they have undertaken on the church, one of the main ones has been the cafe. They completely remodeled the foyer in the church to make it a smaller version of the Service Station. The reason behind the cafe is twofold: to make money which could go support other Corridors ministries (and employees), and to foster a sense of community in the area where people can belong and be welcomed before they have to believe in Jesus Christ. We plan on having open mic nights, prayer and worship nights, small concerts, local artwork, and so on. We also want it to be a springboard for connecting those in need in the community. This could be achieved by having a bulletin board with information on social services in the community. This board could also be a way for people to find avenues to serve. Basically, we want the cafe to be an expression of the church of Christ: meeting needs, serving, worshipping, praying, fellowshipping, caring for the poor and disenfranchised, etc.
Our plan is to have a grand opening on August 18th, a week or two before the local colleges start up again. Corridors is located right next to three colleges: Pasadena City College (which is the one we're targeting the most), CalTech, and Fuller Theological Seminary. So the target demographic will be young adults. We have several new computers that will be available for use as well as printing services and free wireless internet. Hopefully it will turn into a college hangout/homework area. Maybe we will offer tutoring or something...
You might be asking yourself, "Why in the world did Sam hire someone who has no business, marketing, or coffee experience to manage and market a cafe?" That's a great question. Sam's crazy. I'm stoked for the challenge and Sam, Christy and I are all going to be pouring our energies into the cafe together. We're all going to be brain storming marketing ideas and helping run it, I'm just the official manager, the one who will order supplies and all that. I remember my good friend Jason Roberts giving me some good advice earlier this spring. He said that whatever I decided to do, I should put myself in a situation where I have to rely upon God for success, so that I have to give him credit/glory for anything that comes of it. Well, this is certainly a situation where I can't rely upon my experience or schooling. In our weaknessess, God will be strong through us.
Now on to my last week or so in Pasadena. I left Spokane Friday, July 6th around noon. I didn't start packing until that morning around 930, which wasn't too smart (I definitely forgot many things...oh well). I drove my 96 Accord down by myself. I got in to Pasadena around 3 pm Saturday and was quite sick of being in a car. I had slept for three hours, so I was tired, sore, and overwhelmed with change. I think I'm going to invest in some sort of butt cushion for any more road trips over 15 hours.
I am moving into a room in a house owned by the church in the church parking lot. The house is terribly old and pretty gross. It makes me the DriveInn look like a spotless wonder. Anyways, Christy and I spent the next day repainting the room to a two tone look of brown and avocado. I might get sick of this, but it's fun for now. Then I installed some trim and started moving in. I didn't bring any furniture down because I just took my car, so I am borrowing a bed and dresser and I'm using an end table for my desk at the moment until I get some other stuff.
I've been learning the area in the last few days. It is nice because everything is so close, I don't need to do much driving. I drove down to LA General Hospital to visit Mitch yesterday (FYI Mitch is Sam's brother and has leukemia, but he's doing well and is in his second round of chemo).
Every Wednesday night we have Crux, which is like a youth group deal with a wider age range (6th grade til college age, pretty much whoever wants to come). It was good to meet some new people and hang out. I have been learning quite a bit over the past week. I have definitely realized how important family and friends are. I definitely took all of you for granted when I was in Spokane. I went through a really tough couple of days when I was so homesick and overwhelmed with all the change and pressure of starting a cafe that I just felt sick. But that has gotten much better, although I still miss so many of you. As far as feeling overwhelmed with the cafe, that has gotten much better as well. I have had great conversations with Mom, Christy, and Sam over the past couple days that have helped tremendously. I just need to continue to rely upon God, to press into Him. If this ministry isn't based/guided/empowered by the Spirit, it's worthless. It has been made clear to me that I can't rely on myself for ministry anymore. That kind of ministry sucks. I have also been trying to get in a routine of devotions in the morning, a good amount of the Word and some Greek and some classic Christian literature as well. I would recommend Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God. It's good. God's also been reminding me to simplify my relationship with Him. Listen, and obey. Hear his word, and do it. Know the word, do it. Discern his spirit, and obey. It's tough, but necessary.
Today we had a big house cleaning day at my house, so we got it looking respectable. That's quite exciting to me.
Oh and on Monday I went surfing and got up a couple times, which was sweet!
Well, I'm sure there's more stuff to say, but I wrote a ton, so I'll write more some other time. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Like I said at the beginning, my new email address is dlpettis@gmail.com. While it would be nice to talk on the phone with everyone, it isn't too likely to happen too often, so if you feel so inclined please shoot me an email. Let me know what God is doing in your life. Shoot me the important stuff. Maybe this can be some kind of cyber church or something.
*Praises...I am getting paid and I will have health insurance! Yeah! ... I'm already getting stretched and learning what it means to be away from home and to be out of my comfort zone ... I'm not nearly as stressed/worried/anxious about the cafe and about life now as opposed to a few days ago ...
***Prayer...we need to rent out the church on Sundays to get some money, so however God wants to work that out ... for surrender in my own life to God on a daily, constant basis ... whatever else the Lord lays on your heart ...
-Doug
Hello everyone, this is a blog for those who want to stay in touch with the happenings of my life in SoCal. I am going to send out monthly newsletters but this blog will be updated at least once a week, maybe more often depending on what happens down here. Of course, this may only last for a few months and then I'll get sick of it, but it will serve as a good connecting point for awhile at least. So please feel free to respond, to write comments, to email me, to mail me, call me, or anything else. I would love to be in contact with my friends from home as life goes on here in Pasadena. My contact information is:
192 S. Allen Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91106
509.844.5711
dlpettis@gmail.com
Ok, some background info. For those of you who do not know, I have been hired by a young church in Pasadena to manage a cafe. The church is called Corridors, and it is run by Pastor Sam Thomas (Matt Thomas' son for those of you who know him) and his wife Christy. They moved down here about three years ago to inject some fresh air into an older, almost stagnant congregation. Among the many remodeling projects they have undertaken on the church, one of the main ones has been the cafe. They completely remodeled the foyer in the church to make it a smaller version of the Service Station. The reason behind the cafe is twofold: to make money which could go support other Corridors ministries (and employees), and to foster a sense of community in the area where people can belong and be welcomed before they have to believe in Jesus Christ. We plan on having open mic nights, prayer and worship nights, small concerts, local artwork, and so on. We also want it to be a springboard for connecting those in need in the community. This could be achieved by having a bulletin board with information on social services in the community. This board could also be a way for people to find avenues to serve. Basically, we want the cafe to be an expression of the church of Christ: meeting needs, serving, worshipping, praying, fellowshipping, caring for the poor and disenfranchised, etc.
Our plan is to have a grand opening on August 18th, a week or two before the local colleges start up again. Corridors is located right next to three colleges: Pasadena City College (which is the one we're targeting the most), CalTech, and Fuller Theological Seminary. So the target demographic will be young adults. We have several new computers that will be available for use as well as printing services and free wireless internet. Hopefully it will turn into a college hangout/homework area. Maybe we will offer tutoring or something...
You might be asking yourself, "Why in the world did Sam hire someone who has no business, marketing, or coffee experience to manage and market a cafe?" That's a great question. Sam's crazy. I'm stoked for the challenge and Sam, Christy and I are all going to be pouring our energies into the cafe together. We're all going to be brain storming marketing ideas and helping run it, I'm just the official manager, the one who will order supplies and all that. I remember my good friend Jason Roberts giving me some good advice earlier this spring. He said that whatever I decided to do, I should put myself in a situation where I have to rely upon God for success, so that I have to give him credit/glory for anything that comes of it. Well, this is certainly a situation where I can't rely upon my experience or schooling. In our weaknessess, God will be strong through us.
Now on to my last week or so in Pasadena. I left Spokane Friday, July 6th around noon. I didn't start packing until that morning around 930, which wasn't too smart (I definitely forgot many things...oh well). I drove my 96 Accord down by myself. I got in to Pasadena around 3 pm Saturday and was quite sick of being in a car. I had slept for three hours, so I was tired, sore, and overwhelmed with change. I think I'm going to invest in some sort of butt cushion for any more road trips over 15 hours.
I am moving into a room in a house owned by the church in the church parking lot. The house is terribly old and pretty gross. It makes me the DriveInn look like a spotless wonder. Anyways, Christy and I spent the next day repainting the room to a two tone look of brown and avocado. I might get sick of this, but it's fun for now. Then I installed some trim and started moving in. I didn't bring any furniture down because I just took my car, so I am borrowing a bed and dresser and I'm using an end table for my desk at the moment until I get some other stuff.
I've been learning the area in the last few days. It is nice because everything is so close, I don't need to do much driving. I drove down to LA General Hospital to visit Mitch yesterday (FYI Mitch is Sam's brother and has leukemia, but he's doing well and is in his second round of chemo).
Every Wednesday night we have Crux, which is like a youth group deal with a wider age range (6th grade til college age, pretty much whoever wants to come). It was good to meet some new people and hang out. I have been learning quite a bit over the past week. I have definitely realized how important family and friends are. I definitely took all of you for granted when I was in Spokane. I went through a really tough couple of days when I was so homesick and overwhelmed with all the change and pressure of starting a cafe that I just felt sick. But that has gotten much better, although I still miss so many of you. As far as feeling overwhelmed with the cafe, that has gotten much better as well. I have had great conversations with Mom, Christy, and Sam over the past couple days that have helped tremendously. I just need to continue to rely upon God, to press into Him. If this ministry isn't based/guided/empowered by the Spirit, it's worthless. It has been made clear to me that I can't rely on myself for ministry anymore. That kind of ministry sucks. I have also been trying to get in a routine of devotions in the morning, a good amount of the Word and some Greek and some classic Christian literature as well. I would recommend Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God. It's good. God's also been reminding me to simplify my relationship with Him. Listen, and obey. Hear his word, and do it. Know the word, do it. Discern his spirit, and obey. It's tough, but necessary.
Today we had a big house cleaning day at my house, so we got it looking respectable. That's quite exciting to me.
Oh and on Monday I went surfing and got up a couple times, which was sweet!
Well, I'm sure there's more stuff to say, but I wrote a ton, so I'll write more some other time. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Like I said at the beginning, my new email address is dlpettis@gmail.com. While it would be nice to talk on the phone with everyone, it isn't too likely to happen too often, so if you feel so inclined please shoot me an email. Let me know what God is doing in your life. Shoot me the important stuff. Maybe this can be some kind of cyber church or something.
*Praises...I am getting paid and I will have health insurance! Yeah! ... I'm already getting stretched and learning what it means to be away from home and to be out of my comfort zone ... I'm not nearly as stressed/worried/anxious about the cafe and about life now as opposed to a few days ago ...
***Prayer...we need to rent out the church on Sundays to get some money, so however God wants to work that out ... for surrender in my own life to God on a daily, constant basis ... whatever else the Lord lays on your heart ...
-Doug
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