"Come and See!"

"Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Phillip said toy I'm, 'Come and see.'"

(John 1:46)

After 21 years of ministry serving churches in Hawaii, I was asked to come serve a church on the mainland in California. Having never lived in CA before, the only SoCal cities I knew were basically San Diego, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. My colleagues, however, knew all about the various cities and areas in our Conference. So when I found out I'd be coming to Palmdale, I had no other reaction. It was all new. No prior thoughts, feelings, or prejudices.

When others asked where I'll be going to serve, I'd say, "Palmdale!" They very next words out of 90% of the mouths were, "Oh... Palmdale... that will be... interesting." (And they didn't sound excited about it, either!) Once, while in the vets office on Oahu, I met a lady from Palmdale who'd moved to Hawaii. "What was one of the 'MUST DO' things you'd recommend when I get to Palmdale," I asked? She simply said, "Leave." Wow? Seriously? Thanks.

When Jesus first called his disciples, according to John's gospel, word got out that he was from Nazareth. Nazareth was a very small town in Galilee. So small that it's never mentioned in the Old Testament, nor by the famous Jewish historian, Josephus, in all of his writings! So naturally, one of the soon-to-be disciples (Nathanael) asked, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' (I'd basically been hearing that same question about my new appointment, "Can anything good come out of Palmdale?").

Philipp's response was straight forward: "COME AND SEE." So good. Check it out for yourself. Don't take someone else's word, opinion, or experience as your own... investigate it for yourself! For me, it meant waiting until I got to Palmdale to form my own opinion.

And guess what? I LOVE IT HERE! I love the climate (it's a DRY heat in the summer!)... the high desert landscape... the clean air... the lack of traffic... the shops & businesses..., etc. But most of all, I love the church and the people that God has given me for my new community.

"Come and see." Great advice! For both the Savior of the World... AND wherever it is that God might call you to go next. Come and see.