West Oahu Christian Church

Well as stated in Part 1 of this series, I was apprehensive about going to the General Conference by myself. So, why did I decide to go? Well three reasons, in no particular order:

1.  As outgoing Chair of the Board of Deacons, I asked myself, ‘How can I expect anybody else in our church to go if I was not willing?’

2.  I thought it would be an interesting one to attend because of the Propositions and because of Stan’s ordination.

3.  Because the hotel was only a short walk away!

Before the trip, I was stressing over the logistics. How am I going to get from the airport to the hotel? Is it safe to walk from the hotel to the church? What am I going to do on my free day? Should I go into San Francisco? How am I going to get there? How much is a taxi ride? How do I catch the Bart? Well, funny how God works things out.

I decided to take the host church’s offer for airport pick-up and they arranged to have Stan Naruo, their church administrator, pick me up at the airport. As we were driving to the hotel I asked Stan about catching the Bart into San Francisco. After reassuring me it was pretty easy, he asked why I needed to catch the Bart. I told him that I had planned to go into San Francisco the next day (Thursday). He then informed me that he was taking his 2 home stays into SF and asked if I would like to join them. God had overwhelmingly answered my prayers. Not only did I get a personal tour of San Francisco, I got to know my fellow brothers and sisters in the conference (the 2 home stays were a father & daughter from Honolulu Christian Church). Stan was an amazing host, paying for the tolls, and driving us all over the city. He even invited me to join them for dinner that night. It really was a wonderful start to my conference experience.

My new friends: Mari, Tsugumune & Stan

Mari & Stan on the Golden Gate Bridge

The conference itself was also much more enjoyable than I had expected. Prior to going, I imagined myself sitting in a corner, not talking to anyone … you know, my usual outgoing, sunny disposition self. It kind of started out like that, as I didn’t go out of my way to say hello to people, and I found an out-of-the-way spot to sit. Of course it didn’t help that Pastor Stan wasn’t there. After the first morning break, though I found myself talking to some old acquaintances and actually seeking out others. What was going on here? Maybe I was moved by the Holy Spirit to come out of my shell and participate in some fellowship. Which brings me to an aside: going to a conference like this made me realize how insecure I am in showing my own faith. So many in attendance wore their faith on their sleeves, willing to show the world their passion for Christ.

Once we got to the procedural parts of the meeting, I even surprised myself by raising a question, along with a couple of other attendees, on the process of the Executive Council elections. Things only got looser from there. During the call for church votes for Proposition 2, I once again found myself speaking, without prompting from anyone, and questioning the procedures. It turns out that I can be pretty vocal when I need to be. It also speaks to how quickly I became “comfortable” among my fellow attendees. Once again, I can only give credit to the Holy Spirit for giving me a voice.

I think the confidence I gained during the business part of the meeting played a big part in my overall enjoyment of the experience. For immediately after the Friday session was adjourned, I actually sought out pastors from other churches, whom I have never met, to introduce myself and pass along greetings and well wishes from others back in Hawaii. As I look back, this was the most enjoyable part of the conference, making new acquaintances, from Stan Naruo and his wife, to fellow delegates, to pastors in our conference. I think these relationships, more than anything else, is what is making me look forward to my next opportunity to attend a General Conference.

2009 - 2010 Executive & Judicial Council

The second day of the General Conference was more a day of fellowship, filled with ceremonial matters. During the morning session, the new Executive Council and Judicial Council was installed.

This was followed by a series of prayers for each church within our conference.

What a trooper!

The afternoon session included the Ordination ceremony for our very own Pastor Stan, or should I say Rev. Miyamoto? It was a minor miracle, in and of itself that Stan was there for his own ordination. On Wednesday, Pastor Stan felt terrible. Then on Thursday, during the OMB meeting, he went to a doctor and was diagnosed with having pneumonia. He was put on antibiotics and rested the rest of Thursday and all of Friday.

Through God’s grace, he felt well enough to attend Saturday and his ordination was held. Being the only WOCC representative, I had the honor, along with Amy, of placing his robes on him. Congratulations Stan!

Following are a few pictures of Stan’s ordination:

Well, the 2009 General Conference has come and gone, and I had the distinct honor and privilege of serving as your delegate. To tell you the truth, I was a little apprehensive about going, since I have never been to a General Conference by myself. I am glad to say that everything turned out great and I actually had a good time.

Most of the “business” was done on Friday, the first day of the conference. This was a long day. I got to the San Lorenzo Christian Church, a little after 7:30 in the morning for breakfast, and didn’t leave until after 9:30 at night. The first order of business was the committee reports from the Executive Council. This was followed by the election of the new Executive Council, which was held up slightly by questions to procedures in the election process.

In the late afternoon we started on the propositions. Proposition 1, the budget, passed without much fanfare. Things started to heat up with Proposition 2, Licensing of Ministers. After some lengthy discussions on the proposition as well as more procedural questions, this proposition passed. The session after dinner started off with a presentation explaining the reasons for changing the Constitution and By-laws. It is too bad that this presentation was not made to the churches, for when tallying up the church votes, Proposition 3, the new Constitution, did not have the three-fourths majority needed to make it to the floor. Interestingly, though, based on a “straw vote” if the proposition made it to the floor, it would have passed. Based on the outcome of Proposition 3, Proposition 4, the Policy Manual, was also pulled, without calling for any votes.

EC Chair: Rev. Rick Chuman

 What was the most interesting part of this day for me? Well it has to be the way this conference conducts business. It was very eye-opening for me to see so much of what we do as a conference is based on “past practices” rather than what is written. I can only hope and pray that after this exercise in changing our Constitution and By-Laws is over, our conference leaders will actually follow what is written.

Your Board of Deacons for this fiscal year are as follows:

Chair: Darren Nako
Vice Chair: Kazuo Uyemura
Secretary: Stan Miyamoto
Benevolence: Helen Matsueda
Christian Education: Jane Nako
Evangelism: Sharon Horita / Kazuo Uyemura
Fellowship: Sharon Horita / Tomiko Takamoto
Finance: Daniel Miyamoto
Missions: Roberta Nagano
Worship: Daniel Miyamoto / Tomiko Takamoto

As you may have noticed, some names are listed twice. While this attests to the dedication of your Board members, the reason behind this circumstance is disheartening. Once again we have struggled to find members willing to serve as a Deacon. Given this fact, rather than cutting back on programs and events, some members of your Board took it upon themselves to do double duty.

Please remember to support and encourage your Board members. If you are asked to help, whether by serving on a committee or at a particular event, say “Yes!” In fact it would be great and very heart warming if you didn’t wait to be asked, but instead approached a Board member and asked “What can I do?”

Looking back on my third stint as Board of Deacons Chair, I can honestly say that I found this to be an enjoyable experience overall. Being able to say this is quite surprising considering how the term began. Back in May 2008, being Board Chair was the furthest thing from my mind and as a result, being nominated for the position was neither expected nor appreciated by me. I reluctantly and angrily accepted the position. While upset at the circumstances, I nonetheless went about trying to do the best that I could, and as one of my first duties as Board Chair, I went out to purchase gift cards for our outgoing Board members. This action turned into an adventure and ultimately into a valuable lesson learned.

As I pulled into the parking lot of the store from which I went to purchase the gift cards, I noticed how tight the parking was. That being said, I saw an open stall and attempted to squeeze my car in there. While doing so, I ever-so-gently rubbed up against the car on my passenger side … well OK, I hit it. The first thing I thought was “Great! This wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t Board Chair since the only reason I’m here is to fulfill one of my obligations.” Of course, the next thing I thought was “I wonder if anyone noticed?” After parking the car, it became evident that no one did notice. Hmmm … what should I do? Well, since I was Board Chair, a Christian in the parking lot of a Christian bookstore, and in general a swell guy (if I do say so myself), I did the right thing and went looking for the owner. I found her shopping in the bookstore and when I told her what had occurred, the strangest thing happened. Instead of getting visibly upset, she was actually appreciative of my honesty. She even suggested that we settle outside of insurance so that my rates would not increase.

Immediately after this incident, I of course asked God “Why?” And you know what? He showed me the answer. God had used that situation to show me how a Christian should handle adversity. The owner of the other car did not get upset, she remained calm and she handled herself with dignity and compassion, the complete opposite of how I handled being “elected” Board Chair. I was so thankful for the lesson learned that when I sent my check to the owner of the other car, I also included a letter sharing my revelation and thanking her for being a part of God’s plan for me. I also included a restaurant gift card as thanks for her shining example. She responded with a letter back thanking me for the gift card and explaining that it was her husband’s birthday, and being a stay at home mom, she usually has to use “his” money to purchase gifts and what not, but with this card, she could truly take him out for his birthday.

What’s the moral of this story? Well, for one, if a parking stall looks tight, don’t try to squeeze into it! But more importantly, you should heed God’s call with patience and grace rather than anger and resentment. So for those of you, who’ve made it through this rambling article, please open your eyes, ears and heart. Hear God’s call for you, heed it and be blessed, for He is always calling you to service. You may be scared, reluctant, upset or anxious but it doesn’t matter. Follow God’s intentions for you and good things will follow. Of course, if you go into it with the right attitude in the first place, it may just save you $800.

God Bless all of you and thank you for allowing me to serve His kingdom as your Board Chair this past year.

For His glory,

Neal

PS. One day, Pastor Stan asked me what I got out of being Board Chair this past year. Honestly, the one thing that immediately came to my mind was the relationship I had built with him. Early on in the term, Stan asked if we could have lunch. Knowing myself, I know that if I was not Board Chair, I would not have agreed to this, but feeling duty bound to at least humor our Pastor, I went. Well, long story short, this initial lunch turned into a monthly thing and over the course of the year, I actually started looking forward to our lunches and discussions. The hours spent talking to each other really sped up my comfort level working with Stan and helped me to appreciate his gifts. It also helped by turning our working relationship into a friendship.

So if you are asked by Pastor Stan to have lunch, take him up on the offer. Who knows where it will lead. Just remember, it’s dutch!