The Importance of Ministry Friendships - Richard Cimino

[00:00:00] I just want to encourage anybody that's listening like, you have relationships with people in ministry. You have no idea what God has in them or you. I just can't encourage you enough that people that you get to search Jesus with and all

[00:00:16] that you just God connects with you. Man, pray into those relationships because God doesn't, they're not for nothing, they're big deal. Welcome to the CGN Mission and Methods Podcast, Season 4. My name is Nick Kady, I'm the pastor of Whitefield's Community Church in Lonemont, Colorado,

[00:00:35] and I will be your host this season. The goal and vision of this podcast is that it would be a forum for communication about Calvary Global Network. We want to share with you some of the stories about what God is doing.

[00:00:49] We want to talk about some of the initiatives we're involved in spearheading and we want to answer the questions you might have about who we are as a network. On the episodes in this season, I'm joined by Pastor Brian Broderson,

[00:01:01] the founder and president of CGN and the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. For Season 4 of the podcast, Brian and I will be interviewing the members of the CGN Executive team

[00:01:12] so you can get to know their stories, hear about their ministries and the roles they play in CGN and find out what they're excited about for the future. In this episode we speak with Richard Simino.

[00:01:25] Richard has been a pastor for over 40 years, the majority of which was spent in northern California. In this discussion we talk about the importance of cultivating friendships and ministry. Richard shares very candidly about some of his hardest experiences of the pastor,

[00:01:39] including closing down a church and how it was his friendships with other pastors and leaders which God used to encourage him and give him direction in those times. Here's the episode. Welcome to CGN Mission and Methods Podcasts.

[00:01:55] My name is Nick Kady, I'm joined today by Pastor Brian Broderson and Pastor Richard Simino. Richard, hey how you doing? Doing great. Good to be with you. Great to be here. Well this season on the mission of methods podcast, we're not talking as much about the initiatives

[00:02:10] that CGN's doing that we're doing a lot. We talked a lot about that last season, we really recommend any of our listeners or curious about the origins, kind of the doctrinal perspectives of CGN as well as maybe answering some questions that people have had.

[00:02:24] This season's much more we want to introduce people to our executive team so they can get to know. And maybe we'd get a feel for the vision, the passions of the man who have been called to lead

[00:02:36] in this season of Calvary Global Network and so Richard I know that you're a big part of that and so please just introduce yourself to our listeners, tell us a little bit about yourself who you are, where you serve what's been your journey up to this point.

[00:02:50] Well I am married to my best friend Valerie and we were married in 1977 and we have four adult children to grandkids and just had an amazing Christmas with all of them and so we're just coming out of that season. So thankful for just our life as a family

[00:03:11] and my life in ministry began when we were fairly newly wedged and I was asked by Pastor Chuck Smith to come on staff here about 1981 if I'm not mistaken and it was an awesome opportunity. I actually really never dreamed that I'd be in ministry.

[00:03:33] I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic grade school, Catholic high school just bailed on church completely at the age of 18 but a guy that I'd gone to Catholic grade school in Catholic high school

[00:03:45] actually led me to Jesus when I was 22 and by way of stepping into a Catholic church setting I had never been to a Protestant church and went back to a Catholic church and there was this

[00:03:56] handful of young adults that looked like the same thing must have happened to them that happened to me and so I got to know some of them and they invited me here because they had come to Christ

[00:04:08] because my Catholic priest had invited some of these hippies from Calvary Chapel to come and speak at a youth retreat to Catholic youth retreat. Wow and bunch of them got saved one of whom was

[00:04:18] my wife so we ended up coming my first time here was on a Saturday night concert and I'd never I still can't find words to describe the atmosphere was so thick with the presence of the Lord it was just

[00:04:32] mind blowing and I just was like I need to hear more of this and then somebody introduced me to Thursday nights with Pastor Chuck and by that by the time things got going we were coming on

[00:04:45] Monday nights to the Monday night concerts to Tuesday School of the Bible to the Thursday was Pastor Chuck's midweek study at the time and then we would come on Saturday night concerts and

[00:04:56] and then go back to the Catholic church for five 15 masks and then there was a charismatic permitting afterwards and myself and I had a lot of these young adults we were part of that

[00:05:07] and somebody once said hey does anybody have anything they want to share and I had my little yellow note pad from Sunday morning's Bible study with Chuck and I just had taken copious notes

[00:05:18] and I just took out my notes and went through my notes with them and that was the first time I really ever taught was that and about every week somebody'd be saying hey kind of you want to

[00:05:28] share and I just keep coming back and what I had heard that Sunday morning I would be giving out and the Lord began to add to that that group and at one point the lead had priest at the church

[00:05:41] decided he'd have a sit down talk with all the young people because we were talking to much about the blood of Jesus and being saved and he didn't he said no one knows what it means to

[00:05:50] be saved. Greatest Catholic theologians don't know what it means to be saved and I'm still this like little baby Christian kind and I looked at this guy next to me and said this what that

[00:05:58] blind leading the blind thing is all about so anyway when it was time for us to get married we were going to be married at the Catholic church and nothing seemed to be going well with that because

[00:06:10] we were told that we were a post dates and we couldn't do anything in there and and so we sent out all the invitations and didn't know what to do and so I thought I'll just call Calvary Chop.

[00:06:20] So I called Calvary Chop and the secretary puts me she goes hold on I'll give you a faster end I'm on hold briefly and then some guy gets on the phone he goes this is a domain

[00:06:31] and that's my first meeting with pastor a main and I told him what was happening because well what's the Lord telling you to do that I said I don't know because what are you doing you don't

[00:06:41] know and I'm thinking is this like a trick question I don't know and I said I said nothing and he goes duh and I'm going to go is this guy I'm a man who was I mean so this is my first

[00:06:54] pastor all interdike so anyway he says you go pray that young lady and let the Lord take care of this matter and so I'm kind I get out the phone I go tell the guys that we were hanging out of

[00:07:03] their house when I go this just happened and we all prayed and I went home and the the guy the priest at the county church would invited all these hippies from Calvary to come and share he he's called me

[00:07:15] and said we're gonna figure this thing out for you and that turns out that they had just we're gonna ordain their first that first wrote run out of decans in the Orange County

[00:07:25] Diasis and that there was this really godly guy that was at the Catholic charismatic pair of group that was gonna be one of those decans and he said so John with Mary you guy I won't

[00:07:36] home Mary you and so there you have it and but that's the last thing we ever did Catholic church and we just knew we were called a ministry and a few years later asked me to be the high school pastor

[00:07:48] and which is a hell of a whole story in itself on Brian yes you know it's just I love the just just a whole story of the of the Catholic the context there you know and just that season that you

[00:08:01] guys had where god you know God was moving in that church and but then there you know there was a point where the door shut and and the Lord led you over here and you know for our listeners just

[00:08:14] Richard and I we've been close friends about you know 42 years or so now so and we were in ministry together here back in the early 1980s and have pretty much been all those separated

[00:08:31] sometimes even by an ocean yeah we've been part and in ministry for all these years and it's been great and now you know here rich is come full circle in a sense you know coming back to where

[00:08:42] everything started for the years that's crazy and joined our staff here at customase it's such a blessing to have them with us and Richard you know so that was the story of how kind of how

[00:08:53] you ended up here but then after some years here of leading the high school ministry it was what you your primary ministry the Lord sent you up to northern California you were the reluctant

[00:09:04] prophet that's where the conversation the first conversation you and I had about it and I was already gone at that time I had left some years ago to move down to North San Diego County

[00:09:15] and Pastor down there but you looked at me he said just check mad at me just check not like me why why is he doing this to me you know Chuck was inviting you to leave

[00:09:27] not because he didn't like you but because he thought that you would do a good job up there but you went up to grass valley California yeah and just you know walk us through kind of just a quick

[00:09:39] you know grass valley which then turned into roseville tell us about that yes well grass valley was definitely culture shock on every level and I'd never met a redneck in my life until I

[00:09:52] moved to grass valley and they were wearing vinyl shirts and cowboy boots and buck knives on their Levi's and they were the precursors to the hipsters yes they were and it was also kind of a

[00:10:06] time war because like grass valley was a ton of about 10,000 at the time and there were people that were there simply did not be here or places like here and they just wanted time to stop and

[00:10:19] the church was was really chaotic at the time that I think it I was the third pastor there the first guy left under some dubious circumstances and the guy who I replaced it had a total nervous breakdown

[00:10:32] and and had some some real marital things happening and so I kind of knew new the general picture and honestly if I'd known the full picture I probably would have said no and I think that was

[00:10:45] the Lord's doing for us to not know it but the first couple years were really rough they didn't like me and I don't know if anybody else has had this kind of experience but some people several

[00:10:56] people came into my office and it said things to the effect like you know this is my church and I don't want it to change and we don't want this to become like a Los Angeles mega church

[00:11:07] we don't want to see one more person in this church than is here right now and I mean you go from where we were we couldn't keep up with what the Lord was doing and there was vision for like

[00:11:18] people were hoping for more more fruit and more fruit and here are people who we just want to be set up here on altist street this little back street in in a little back street town kind of

[00:11:29] came into being during the gold rush days and but the things that we've learned here I remember sitting on a porch at one point where Vali and I had had a conversation and Vali looked at me and says

[00:11:41] is it too late for you to go to law school? We were just like we were persona non-grunt of there like they just we weren't recognized they didn't want us there and the I was sitting on our front porch

[00:11:51] one day on my day off and I felt the Lord said to me really clearly like I gave you eight years at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa you're not leaving you just do what you learned there and that was

[00:12:05] kind of like it those like hey there's no there isn't any exit plan here we're going to be here and we ended up being there 13 years and by the time about the last year and a half is when we began

[00:12:18] to think about what we're going to start a Bible study in Roseville but up to that time like the women's ministry had gone from like eight to ten ladies that were really really struggling to like 300 ladies that were flourishing and there's leadership being developed within the women's

[00:12:33] ministry and the men's ministry had a couple hundred men regularly there on attendance and just on all grounds like we were starting to really move and being a very healthy church in within the

[00:12:43] community and and missionally as well outside of our outside of our locality and about like I said about 11 and a half years into it the Lord had really put on my heart to start a Bible study

[00:12:57] in the city of Roseville and Roseville is about a half hour downhill from where we were and every time Valerie and I would go on our day off into that we'd go to the movies there and go

[00:13:09] eat there and we would go and there needs to be a coverage on we'll hear it's just such a it was like Irvine in the 1980s like Irvine here in Orange County in the 1980s just growing but

[00:13:19] there was just there was starting to be some bigger churches there but they were kind of more luck in the secret you know philosophy and so big big congregations little Bible and we just thought

[00:13:32] like God wanted us to go there and just teach the Bible so we actually sold our house bought a house there and we're still past during the grass valley but we started a money night

[00:13:41] Bible study in our house and that grew from about a dozen to about 70 and then the city said you can't meet like not anymore then we moved into a community center and at that point is when we started running into

[00:13:54] some problems with the kind of the then CCoF thing and it's like you can't start a church here because there was another Calvary here and you know the church saw I mean

[00:14:05] the city is by then was 100,000 people and it got really weird to say the least and so I was told that if I wasn't but I couldn't start a church there and if I did do a church in that area

[00:14:17] that I couldn't be on the list and if I wasn't on the list in Roseville then grass valley would be taken off the list as well which caused problems at Grass Valley which was very pro

[00:14:28] starting this kind of campus if you would and so that's that's another story for another it's quite a story yes and the owner of the unit memories of that brand but well I do

[00:14:44] and yeah you know going back though it is something triggered when you said that group of people that came into your office and you know complained about the fact that you were trying to make the church grow or whatever you were doing I remember that same exact conversation

[00:15:02] that some people in the church of vista had with me they were so mad at me because I'd wrecked their thing you know they said you know we had a nice little thing going here we really

[00:15:12] loved it we don't want they literally said we don't want these new people come to the church and I was like well nice you got to take it up with God I'm not bringing these people that you know

[00:15:21] the Lord sending them here so yeah you know the mentality of some but yeah that that was it will probably we could probably could do a whole podcast some other situation back it it was a very unpleasant

[00:15:34] season for you obviously very much so in your family and yeah it was not a it was not a good time but the Lord redeemed it in the end and as he did yeah so so the the Monday night study we

[00:15:51] we had actually plotted a course when when I was still at Grass Valley that you know within a year we would start a Sunday service and we kind of the whole team of people that would come from grass

[00:16:01] Valley and they would man and staff that service until the people in the local physical community that was started to come to the Lord or our 10 church there then they would begin to take it over

[00:16:14] and then we they would just be we would be out there on our own and but that happened a much more suddenly than we thought it was going to happen in terms of just the ties being cut but the Lord was

[00:16:25] faithful and we did start our first Sunday service on January 4th 2004 and it was the same Sunday that I had to like literally resign from so two services in Grass Valley I resigned before the congregation and then after second service got into charge of 30 minutes walked into the

[00:16:44] service that it already started and had finished its worship time and I walked in and I said let's open up our Bibles to Acts chapter one and that was a very strange day kind of surreal in a lot

[00:16:56] of ways and so exciting in a lot of ways but then Monday the reality kind of hit like wow then we are now no longer there or we're only just here but like Ryan was saying the Lord redeemed it and

[00:17:10] it was really really wonderful and we we were there for if you count the money that Bible studies started in our almost 20 years there so and it was it was really a tremendous time and God did some

[00:17:26] amazing things there and one of which was we began to see Metro become involved outside of the country in missions especially Brazil we had some great relationship that's bond ministry and part of it was ministry in England and and so thankful for for years Brian

[00:17:46] you would call me like every summer going you want to go to creation and that's you want to go go to creation fast and it's like not this year we just can't the church can't afford it

[00:17:54] but in time and when we finally did get to go what we saw there was so mind-blowing it was like this is everything we'd ever dreamed of in all the years that I've been doing ministry in England

[00:18:08] like I'll just saw it while this is it yeah and you know we've talked about creation fast in another previous episode as well maybe could Brian you tell us just give our listeners a

[00:18:18] view if they don't know what that right yeah yeah in our episode but Joel Turner we talked about it so creation fast is a fast of a music festival and I'm in a Bible week that's how we would

[00:18:29] describe it in the UK it takes place in Cornwall, England it was birthed out of my time in living in London and in 2002 I had moved back to California in 2000 in 2002 a friend of mine

[00:18:46] and I felt Patonus who since gone to be with Jesus I had always shared with him about this vision I had to do a festival and he was living in a place called North Devon at the time and it was a

[00:18:57] surf community and I kind of started the little group of guys down there that he ended up pastoring at church there anyway he just randomly said to me when he said hey remember that festival

[00:19:06] thing that you're always talking about why don't we do it why don't we do it here in Devon and it never really crossed my mind to do it there I was always thinking London because that's where I had

[00:19:16] lived and it just it just sort of resonated with me like wow yeah maybe we could so anyway we did and we started that festival in 2002 that was our first event with you know I don't know maybe

[00:19:28] a couple hundred people wandered in throughout the day a couple of days we set up and and it was really just an open you know inviting whoever was passing by really hey come and check out some

[00:19:40] music and listen to some lectures on biblical subjects and things like that well now here we are you know 20 plus years later that festival is grown into something pretty substantial and relocated from North Devon to Cornwall about 10 or 11 years ago and so it it is recognized now

[00:20:02] you know as festivals are a big thing in the UK Christian festivals are a big thing but we're kind of right there on the list with everybody else you know this is an event that hey you're looking for

[00:20:13] something like this well check creation Fest out so Richard was involved in ministry in the UK before I was and he would go with Malcolm Wile to used to be here on staff Richard and Malcolm

[00:20:25] we're in a band together and and Malcolm of course came from England so he would take teams and Richard was part of that and they would always tell me about you know all the great stuff God was

[00:20:35] doing in England and at the time I was you know England just wasn't on my radar I was doing other stuff and I remember one time you guys I think told me you know you should think about coming with us

[00:20:46] and I remember really thinking about it and even praying about it and just felt like no I don't I don't think that I'm supposed to do it I didn't even know at the time later that I would you know

[00:20:54] be as involved as I have been so when I and you know just remembering that and Richard and I having our long term friendship when I went to London Richard was a part of that as well in our first

[00:21:09] kind of scouting trip and we were together and Ray Bentley and you and me and there we were and the daughters we had our daughters with us yeah and that was literally the the moment where I

[00:21:22] sensed the Lord saying you know do something here in England and so all the way along you know Richard was kind of there and part of that so anyway then all these years transpired and creation

[00:21:34] fest becomes this thing and I always wanted Richard to come and experience something that I saw as an ascense kind of a fruit of the stuff that he'd invested earlier and I wanted him to

[00:21:48] to share in that fruit you know I wanted him to taste it and say like look this is what the Lord has done with all of that so that was kind of and when I got there the first time and it was in

[00:21:58] going well I thought like it I was a kid walking through the gates of Disneyland for the first time it was so my blink and you know even as we're talking I just want to encourage anybody

[00:22:07] this listening like your relationships with with people in ministry you have no idea what God has in them or you you know from when when I I met you when I was working at the

[00:22:22] chapel store yes before I came on staff and you guys were coming in you'd be buying all your commentaries I just be coveting your job and your books and all that stuff and and it was just like

[00:22:34] I would have never known if the beginning then when I first came on staff and you were still here as a junior high guy yeah I would have never dreamed that we would have this life long friendship

[00:22:44] that would become so rich in ministry yeah and I just can't encourage you enough that people that you get to serve Jesus with and or that you just God connects with you man pray into those

[00:22:57] relationships because God doesn't they're not for nothing they're big deal yeah that's really good you know I'm always kind of going back to this question of like why do we need a network with what's

[00:23:09] the point and because I get people contact me and they just be like you know what I'm fine we're just doing our thing here in our town we've we're plenty busy with our church and we don't need to

[00:23:19] invest in you know a network of churches like what's the point and I think there are several really good answers to that like what we're doing as C.G.N and we've talked about some of that stuff

[00:23:31] but I think this is a really great point you're making here is that those friendships you have God uses them God uses those relationships in ways that you may not even realize it at first you

[00:23:43] know Paul and Barnervis aren't hanging out in that prayer meeting in Antioch right like does the spirit speak through one of the one of the people and say hey set aside for me these men to go and

[00:23:53] do this mission so I think that's really good what were you gonna say something about that friend yeah I do I agree with you Nick I think that it's it's a mistake and idea to think that you can just sort of

[00:24:06] go about your business independently just to be like well hey we've got our church and this is this is we're connected with this we don't need anything outside that's a very limited perspective on

[00:24:16] what the church is you know the church is much bigger than your local congregation and obviously you're not gonna resonate with everybody that's out there you're not gonna be able to link arms

[00:24:27] with everyone and yes are like March to the same beat but but there are people that you will be able to and that's why a bunch of different networks exist because certain people resonate with

[00:24:38] this group and other people you know it's talking to a young kid yesterday who's looking at church plant and you know he's telling me about you know five different similar kinds of networks that he's

[00:24:48] already had some experience with and each one of them had you know positive aspects to it and then from just from his own personal preferences and things there were some negatives and then so we

[00:25:01] started talking about CG and you know maybe this would be a fit for him but I just think that and and I think Richard you and I both probably would agree on this that the older we get the more we value

[00:25:14] the friendships I mean maybe when we were younger and independent and doing our thing you know they were important but they weren't as important they're coming time in your life where

[00:25:23] they will be they will be the thing that really matters you know so I think that's where we're at these days so you know don't wait till you're in your 50s or 60s to build these relationships man

[00:25:35] you know to build them early well I can I just know this when I was like persona nongrada in terms of the CCLF list of guys yeah that was not reality relationally for me you know like

[00:25:50] when I would just want to go to conferences but I wasn't on the mailing list anymore yeah like Ryan would literally sneak me in it'd be like I'd be climbing over the fence so to be

[00:25:59] and he would give me the golden ephod you know the name tag or whatever but it but going through everything I went through during that that time that strange time of like wait what's happening here

[00:26:10] I just want to go plant a church and it was I had guys that I could pick up the phone and talk to them about it even though there was no formal association it wasn't like you know I got to

[00:26:23] actually go sit next to them in a conference or whatever but those relationships and they are more valuable the older you get and then and I never thought I thought well surely that's the low

[00:26:35] point of my Christian life I will never experience anything as difficult and as traumatic as that again and then we did on the heels of 2020 and more than ever those friendships were like

[00:26:50] literally like you know I mean what's the picture of the hand over the cliff holding onto a guy that was like I'm not losing my faith I just losing my grip you know they were there and

[00:27:01] and and then when you're at a pivotal point pivotal point in your you know what's the art of your ministry going forward like you have you have somebody they're going oh I think we're connected

[00:27:12] in this art and I think we're yeah this is we're seeing like where this might head I'm so thankful for those really yeah something so thankful for this relationship I mean I would have I would have never met

[00:27:24] you for weren't for C.G.N. Yeah right yeah that's right we had G. Come out it was awesome we hung out a Peruvian food that's you spoke at a men's event and pastors event that was really cool

[00:27:35] and I was just gonna say like for me and I think someone was asking me this a while back me a couple months ago ask me you know what have been some of the biggest blessings we've been

[00:27:43] some of the biggest struggles and I'd shared about the struggles but one of the things I said was the biggest blessing with some of the friendships I've developed with with other pastors in C.G.N

[00:27:53] that when I was facing a hard time that was just it was a breath of fresh air it was like spring water you know to be able to reach out to these guys and have some counsel and yeah I just think it's

[00:28:06] it's so valuable. You know one thing and this is not the time to do it because we don't have that time but I think we're doing one thing that's so I think would be so valuable and helpful

[00:28:18] for listeners for guys in ministry you know you did kind of in a sense the unthinkable and in the sense you know we would never necessarily think that the Lord would have you shut down your church

[00:28:32] you know just literally say next week will be our last Sunday but you did and you did it not because not at a desperation or not out of frustration even you did it because you really sense that's

[00:28:44] about the Lord was saying to do you know so backing up like you said with with Metro but basically a 20 year history and there comes a point where it's seeming like you know something radically

[00:28:57] different is happening through the pandemic and all of that you know you were at one time I think maybe a church of you know what 12, 1500 and then you know you ended up being a church of

[00:29:08] 50, 60, 70 people yeah and what do you do with that and you know I think people even probably just out of out of guilt would never want to think that I closed the doors on a church but you know

[00:29:26] I I 100% bear witness that God actually led you to do that and again this is a conversation we could read out a long conversation about this for listeners but you know just and I'm sorry

[00:29:42] for saying you know in a nutshell what would you say to encourage people from that but I'm doing it anyway and a nutshell what do you say yeah well you know again it's it is

[00:29:56] another whole conversation there's so much to be said about it and you know there's some there's definitely the grace of God in all of it was it did super abound in ways that like I just

[00:30:10] really when you just think like I don't know even how to stand up you know during all this but again relationally there were so many kind and curgene affirming you know words

[00:30:22] that were spoken to me by way of guys in C.G. and in fact and again I just keep it along that line it connects to this is like I would have never met Aaron Campbell and Ray Dash

[00:30:32] had it not been for the pastor gatherings, pastor gatherings, prayer gatherings that Brian put together and those guys were very very much present in my struggle and they live on these coast and they would they would encourage me through the stuff that was going on and you know

[00:30:54] when things got to the point where we went I think grass valley was about 12, 1500 at one point Brian but Metro was probably 700 it you know I did speak and we did get down to like 70, 80 people

[00:31:05] and I just knew one thing like I can't when when that was like what was left standing it was like you know I I can't walk away from this this is you know I have to care for these people

[00:31:18] well at the C.G. and conference last summer Brian the last C.G. and pastors leaders conference that you set up a lunch with with with Ray with Ray or at Lundripe

[00:31:31] and Ray was so amazing you know in that conversation and he looked at me and he said so do you still feel called to pastor these people and I said obviously I feel yes I love these

[00:31:48] people and I can't walk away from these people until the Lord asked me to walk away from these people but my wife had said to me not not too long before that that the Lord had really been speaking

[00:32:00] to her about like our time is coming to a close and I'm thinking yeah in a couple of years when when we walk with these 70, 80 people when we get them out and they're just totally there not just

[00:32:13] you know walking out of a foxhole in World War I you know and they're actually like up and walking upright and strong and healthy but but Ray's question to me began to stir that up like what

[00:32:27] what really is going on here and with with in a very short period of time it was like the Lord really made it clear to me like no they are done and and we had been a year as a mobile church meeting

[00:32:38] in a local high school and and these people were actually they they look nothing like they did the first Sunday at the high school after having to leave our permanent place their tone that just

[00:32:52] the tone of our meetings was different and you could see it in their faces and you could see the way community groups were starting to jell and it was like wow Lord these people are actually

[00:33:03] okay and it was at that time that I engaged in a conversation with Brian about like well where are we going you know for Brian and I we've had a number of conversations about so what do

[00:33:14] things we're gonna be like what we're doing we're old you know and I said Brian we are old now what are we doing and I said and you know Brian nothing would nothing would make

[00:33:26] us happier than to finish our time of ministry here at Costa Mesa and I said I love to talk you about that and if you don't feel that's right I still want to talk to you because I

[00:33:37] I just value your wisdom and so he said hey I gotta go up to the Twin Pakes to look at the progress on the Bible College construction once you drive up with me and let's yeah let's talk

[00:33:48] and I was thinking that morning this could be a bad drive home it possibly you know it could be a very awkward one but it was such an amazing conversation and and the Lord really you know

[00:34:01] by the time we were doing that conversation it was like yeah this is what I'm doing you know yeah yeah and gave you just a real sense of all right you know this is the Lord yeah you know

[00:34:13] so that brings us up to now where you are on staff here at Costa Mesa we're recording in the K-Wave Studio which is owned by the church and so you're on staff and what's your role here?

[00:34:26] Well I'm a part of the teaching team here and coming up I'm really excited about this on Wednesdays they've they've just this last year they started a new thing called the Gathering in which they're

[00:34:37] offering classes and the congregation can sign up for classes and there's various topics or books of the Bible that are being taught and I'm so excited because I get to teach on the

[00:34:49] I also teach at the School of Worship with I I co-teach with John Huang and I'm just here I know Brian said to me he says man I'd love for you to just be to be listening here for some of the

[00:35:00] younger guys and I think sometime again a future future episode we you know specifically with church planning Richard did something that I I'm always you know proud of him for and kind of marvel that he did it but

[00:35:15] I think I think you were 52 when you stepped out and planted Metro is that right? Yeah yeah and you know that's a challenging thing at that stage in life I mean a lot of guys at 52

[00:35:28] that's the last thing they would ever think about doing is starting from scratch you're all yeah so that's well we'll obviously say that for an hour. Well yeah and I mean having planted the

[00:35:39] church I know this you know how when we planted a church and then you see it come together you're like well this is like a miracle but this happened you know like so many pieces where you've got

[00:35:49] these stories of things that God did and you're like why can't I remember having this thought before I don't think I could replicate that like I can't you can't like force the miracle to happen

[00:35:59] you can it is almost like it requires a move of God every time something like that happens I think it takes a ton of courage to be a walk away from a sure thing to say hey God's leading me and I'm

[00:36:09] gonna follow yeah yeah that was definitely the the sense of it it's like really by the time when I was starting to think about planting Metro I can tell you like the last thing they got

[00:36:21] buttoned up was the whole administrative end of things and it was like everything was just working and it was like oh I just get teached by them and then when the Lord put that my heart is like oh

[00:36:34] and and and and this might seem like a very kind of weird place to go right now but it does tie in with how this thing ended was you know right around the conversation time with Brian about

[00:36:46] the you know that's trajectory of for Valerie and I we had an opportunity to just spend an evening with Britain Kate Merrick and I'll just share with him a little bit about that conversation and just

[00:36:58] you know he'd heard some of this what had happened at Metro and I told you know I think we're supposed to leave it think we're just supposed to end it we're just supposed to like we're going to end

[00:37:09] and he just looked at me and he had this system matter of fact because you know Richard there's nothing in our broken world that doesn't die he goes every church has an end was there's no church

[00:37:21] from the book of Acts that's living there's not been this continuous existence of certain church and it was like you know he goes and death isn't pretty those some people die of cancer and

[00:37:31] years ago I was daughter died of cancer at the age of seven so when he said that it's something death is messy I'm just going oh he goes but why do we think that because we started church it's never going

[00:37:43] to end and then and they'd hold Richard the same thing when I was sharing with him what Brick said Brick said he said Richard because I've been I've been wrestling with this for a couple of years

[00:37:53] like why do we think in the especially in America that so much goes into planting the church that we just think they're going to go on forever and forever there's nothing in the testament that shows us that

[00:38:04] so I think like when you're talking about like it's one thing to see at birth and you think that's him it's like looking at your child like what I'm miracle and you never thinking they're going to

[00:38:14] end up you know you're thinking I'm never see that I'm going to go to happen before they go to happen yeah but man it's a soldering knot I think about yeah yeah it is yeah and I mean I could add a little

[00:38:25] bit myself just from my England experience you know my London church plant but I won't I'm going to detail but I totally get that so Brick Merrick for those who don't know Brit is Brit was

[00:38:35] the founding pastor of reality church in Carpentry, California which then became a network of churches names like Tim Chatech Tim was in Los Angeles went to London, Dave Lomas, San Francisco, Brit then ended up stepping away from the church, she's no longer pastoring the church, she's

[00:38:53] running the the greatest support company in the world, you know, channel islands which is his family business but but he's I was with Tim the other day and Brits playing guitar in the

[00:39:03] worship band yeah that's it so that's really great yeah so final question for you Richard is what are you excited about for the future of CGM? I'm excited about its trajectory I'm excited to see that these the this first collection of people that belong to this network

[00:39:27] connect in a ways that Brian and I have been able to connect not like Brian said it's not going to be everybody but that they'll build these relationships by which ministry happens together

[00:39:39] and that connect ministry to ministry and that will birth other ministries I think that's one of the most exciting prospects of CGM I think within the existing team of guys and and the things that

[00:39:52] are in their minds formulating to the resources and the training that's all coming from years of experience and I love I love that that's super exciting to me and then the opportunity to just be

[00:40:05] available to care for these guys and to be able to just wrap your arms around them a conversation at a meal or breakfast at whatever in a regional meeting could mean more than any guy could ever put

[00:40:18] a price tag on just because God you're connected by way of this network so I'm sorry. Andrew it's just one last thing you know you've had those six that's been part of your experience

[00:40:31] and even recently we were talking about it just how you know you're at you know gathering of some sort and then you just sort of you know see me randomly end up maybe sitting next to someone like

[00:40:42] you said it breakfast and then a conversation ensues where you realize in the course of the conversation it's like wow this this is the Lord the Lord is either you know using you to really

[00:40:52] speak into this person's life or maybe they're speaking into your life something and that that's a beauty of it isn't it so Brian I mean if somebody's listening to this and they say I want that how do I

[00:41:04] get plugged in like how do I start to develop those kinds of relationships specifically through C. Genre what would you say yeah well I you know what we really want to see cultivates not not our cultivate church planting thing but cultivating relationships with our local connectors you know

[00:41:23] we're trying to identify people in different communities around the country even throughout the world where you might make an initial point of contact to say hey I'm this is where I'm at is there anybody in the area and sometimes it would be just as simple as you know

[00:41:38] killing Chris well killing and I got to know each other because killing sent me a random email and said hey you don't know me but I'm a guy on Utah and I'm going through this and I it I would love

[00:41:51] to talk to somebody is there any chance whatsoever that you would be available when I just say hey send me your phone number and yeah so that's it that's how we met and so I think it's just

[00:42:02] doing that sometimes you know it's reaching out and and I think the Lord is in all those kinds of things too you know I mean I'm sitting here looking at you across the table and I'm thinking I'm

[00:42:11] at you and you're 18 years old yeah and you were just a kid that ended up in hungry just doing mission stuff and you know here we are now you know what 20 years later is that where we're at

[00:42:22] no yeah so crazy also good crazy Richard thanks so much thanks for listening to this episode of the CGN mission and methods podcast in our next episode pastor Brian and I will be speaking with Wayne Taylor Wayne is the founding pastor of Calvary Fellowship in Seattle Washington

[00:42:42] and has been involved in planting over 50 churches in the Pacific Northwest in Europe and in Russia in this episode Wayne will share his heart for evangelism and how CGN is carrying on this important

[00:42:55] aspect of what the early Calvary Chapel movement was all about we'd love to hear feedback from you on these episodes you can email us at cgn at calvarychapel.com and if you'd like to support

[00:43:08] this podcast one of the best ways you can do that is by giving us a rating and review on your podcast written reviews are particularly helpful in helping boost this content so other people can find it and benefit from it until next time god bless you