Transition & Arrival

Baptizing John July 29, 2018

Many years ago at a Conference, I remember this statement made by Pastor Don McClure:  "The two best days in a Church's life...are the days it gets its Pastor, & the day it loses its Pastor."  At the time, I didn't fully understand what he was trying to communicate.  I didn't even know that he himself went through many ministry transitions.  Eventually not only would I understand this statement, but would appreciate it, experience it, & echo it myself in the opening sentence of my final Sermon/Message at Regeneration Church...

Sunday September 30, 2018 was my final service at Regeneration Church, a ministry I planted in Venice Beach with my friend Pastor Jeff Shelp.  I lived and worked in Los Angeles for a total of 7 years & 6 1/2 months.  It took 2 years & 3 months, to launch the Church.  To start something from nothing, to start from scratch, is truly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life & ministry.  Those first couple of years in LA, obstacles arose & presented themselves in various forms.  Testing my faith as well as Jeff's, as to whether or not we heard God correctly.  However, God's will prevailed and Regeneration Church launched January 5, 2014!

4 Years & 9 Months Later

4 years & 9 months later, my message to the Church was entitled: "The End Of A Thing Is Better Than Its Beginning."  The two main Scriptures were Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NLT): "Finishing is better than starting.  Patience is better than pride."  Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NKJV): "Do not say, 'Why were the former days better than these?'  For you do not inquire wisely concerning this."  I then encouraged the congregation on what God did, in nearly half a decade.  Paul the Apostle, planted many Churches in his 4 Missionary Journeys.  Through the NT Epistles, we find he has a unique relationship with all of them.  A piece of his heart was left in all those various geographical locations.  He even uses certain phrases to express his feelings towards them.  As the years go by,  I will always remember Regeneration Church as the "Loving Supportive Church."  They loved God and one another yes.  In relation to me though, in my heart of hearts I know they loved me.  Now, you want to talk about support.  They ALWAYS were behind me in all my endeavors, even those not ministry related.  Not only did they give me room to spread my wings, grow, learn, and experience different things in LA, but were genuinely excited for me when opportunities came my way.

Farewell Card from Regeneration Church

Pastor Jeff Shelp, who I affectionately call "My partner in Holy Crime," has taken over the ministry in Venice Beach since then.  Before I met Jeff 8 years ago in the Summer of 2011, he was part of a Parachurch ministry called Venice Uprising (Surf Outreach).  It was formed in 2007 out of Metro Calvary Chapel Santa Monica.  Jeff's calling & gifts as a Pastor differ from my own.  He felt led to take over the ministry, but to lead it in a different direction.  Jeff has always respected & loved our Church board, but wanted my approval the most for this new direction, & wanted to hear my thoughts on it first.  Now, I was genuinely excited about this new ministry model & direction.  I was so proud of Jeff!  This decision didn't come easy!  We both agreed God used Regeneration Church for a season/chapter, & now was the time for it to dissolve.  Side note, 1 year earlier, Jeff & I both came up with a detailed & extensive spread sheet for the Board.  It had up to 7 options for Pastoral Succession.  For various reasons, I always knew it was Jeff to take over though.  He knew the work, & more specifically his work, was not done in Venice Beach.  It was time to cast a new vision to the congregation, build a new team, new brand, new logo, new colors, etc....to relaunch Venice Uprising.  After hours upon hours of prayer, phone conversations, text messages, a 5 page Succession Plan/Proposal for the Future (typed up by Jeff)...it was time for the Board to vote.  They all voted in favor of this new plan & direction!  Please keep Pastor Jeff Shelp in your prayers, for the timing of relaunching Venice Uprising!  My Pastoral Resignation became official Monday October 1, 2018.  It was now time for my own TRANSITION...

Saying Goodbye to Hannah (Guppy)

Ruth Bell Graham (Wife of Billy Graham): "God was preparing me for a lifetime of goodbyes."  Due to the nature of her missionary upbringing/childhood in China with her family, and future ministry with her husband Billy, she would experience a lifetime of separations from loved ones.  God was now calling me back to the foreign Mission field to serve him.  The hardest part of being a Missionary in Spain for nearly 4 years, was leaving my family behind.  This time around would be harder though, because now I was an Uncle to two beautiful nieces.  One of the reasons I knew it was God calling me, was the fact that I really didn't want to leave them.  The decision/choice to move overseas again wasn't easy.

Saying Goodbye to Harper (Nugget)

Hans Finzel (The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make) makes the observation, passed on to him by an older pastoral predecessor, that "Success without a successor is failure."  I had given my family, Jeff, & the Board a 2 year notice that I would be resigning from my position as Lead Pastor of the church.  I had given the congregation a 1 year notice of my stepping down & moving on.  In that time of transition, Jeff really stepped up (in so many ways) to be their Pastor/Leader, as I little by little began to step away.  It was important for them to see him as my successor.  Jeff & I also knew how much needed to be done in my own transition of moving to New Zealand.  The transition time would be a total of 8 1/2 months (longer than I thought)!  By God's grace, that huge to do list was finished!

Pastor Mark Galvan

Calvary Chapel Lompoc & it's leadership, has graciously agreed to be my main sending/home church.  Although there are other churches and pastors that support (in more ways than one) this new venture of faith, I needed a home base.  An "Antioch," if you will.  Pastor Mark Galvan not only has become a good friend over the years, but a mentor/pastor as well to me, that I admire & respect.  As mentioned earlier, I had a huge to do list not just spiritually & financially, but practically.  Nothing else mattered, if I couldn't get a Visa, to enter and live in the country legally.  Once I went through the long tedious process of obtaining everything Immigration New Zealand required, it was time to apply.  Everyday, multiple times a day I checked my e-mail to see if I got the approval.  On more than 3 occasions, I heard back from them.  However, it was only bad news.  They needed either more documents, the ones submitted corrected or done over again, & warnings of denial/non-approval of my Visa.  On top of all this, they always gave a just few days to respond to their requests.  It typically takes 79 days to get approval for the Visa.  Then come to find out, they were running behind.  Apparently, during the time of year I applied, that is typically when they receive the most applications.  I of course, had no idea!  Once again, my faith was being tested...

My New Church

90 days later on Wednesday June 5, 2019, I received a letter from Immigration New Zealand.  My heart pounding, my mom & sister in the room, I opened it.  When I saw the words, "New Zealand Work Visa Approval," I didn't even bother reading the rest of the letter at that moment.  I was so happy and reminded of the goodness of God!  Bittersweet for sure, the reality sinking in, it was now time to buy my plane ticket and prepare for departure.  Two weeks later, on Thursday June 20th, I landed in Whangarei, New Zealand.  I got off the plane, & here I was starting all over again.  8 years ago on June 2, 2011, I returned to the USA from Spain.  I would have never thought back then, I would be a Missionary again.  However, during my time in LA, God would remind me about things He spoke to me regarding my calling, many years earlier.  The end of June, those last 10 days, were all about settling into my new home here in New Zealand.  As a season/chapter in my life closed, a new one opened.  A new adventure with God.  Once I really thought about it though, God had planted in me the seed/idea of serving Him in New Zealand, all the way back in 2003...

By His Grace,
Eric