Maybe you think I should move on and not write any more about the economy and the impact it's had on our staff recently. But this is a different post. This isn't so much about me. It's about Shelley Arredondo.
I could write a similar post about any of the people who lost their jobs at Granger last week (if this is news to you, see the links below). I miss Dottie, Lindsay, Sarah, Adam, Deb, Wendy, and Albert. But, the truth is, I didn't personally work with anyone like I worked with Shelley Arredondo.
I knew when I was hired to serve as Granger's pastor of connections that the role was too enormous to fulfill on my own. At Granger we've always operated in a team culture - no lone rangers. Volunteers make the ministry happen. They are, along with the staff, the church.
But on January 3, 2005 I hired Shelley as our Experience Specialist. With nearly 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the restaurant / customer service industry and a grace-filled love for people, she was the ideal choice to come on board full-time to oversee all our guest services teams.
Shelley built new teams,
raised up leaders, and cast vision for our volunteers. She embraced the vision at the core of Granger and helped our people understand one simple truth: "people matter." They matter to God; they matter to us. This wasn't a stretch for Shelley. She was fairly new in her pursuit of Jesus when she came on our staff. She remembered well how comforting and life-changing that message was in her own life: she really matters to God. Out of that reality, Shelley led, served, and developed teams to accomplish the objective: "create a safe, warm, and personable environment where people can see, know and follow Christ." Today, over 750 adult volunteers are doing just that.
I miss Shelley. We all miss Shelley. We hate that we hit a point that caused us to look at our staffing positions and lament over the roles that we ultimately cut. Then we cried more as the pain of dismissing the people in those roles grew imminent.
I'm re-reading this as I type. Maybe you're thinking what I'm thinking. If Shelley played such a crucial role in the life of our church, why eliminate her role? That's the insane paradox of this broken economy that's impacted our church. We simply had to make cuts. We've never hired "just because." We don't hire slackers. We don't hire people and expect little. Every person on our team was making kingdom impact.
And I believe Shelley, along with our other friends no longer paid to do ministry at the church, are and will continue to make kingdom impact. Kingdom impact happens in accounting offices, school classrooms, catering businesses, delivery work, colleges, homes and online. God's kingdom happens where we are. He wants us to be part of it. And, I know Shelley is.
I see her at church services still. She served communion this past Wednesday to our people. She's still part of the family.But I miss her. I miss the everyday focus, workshop training, future dreaming, team developing work with her. She is my friend.
Shelley left our staff with great strength. She built teams of people who are, right now, stepping up to fill the gaps and lead strong. She served us well.
Pray with me for Shelley... and Deb, Lindsay, Adam, Albert, Sarah, Dottie, and Wendy. Pray they'll find gainful employment, an experience with Jesus that surprises them, and that they'll continue to advance the kingdom right where they are.
Oh, and if you're in the area, and you have a great paying job that requires someone who is...
- vision-thinking
- people-focused
- a compassionate leader
- tenacious
- motivating
- solution-minded
- a team-builder
- an expressive encourager
- a recruiter
- coachable, as well as a great coach
- comfortable in the marketplace, as well as the church
...then you should contact me. I want to introduce you to Shelley. But your job needs to be in the immediate area; I think she's staying here. At least I hope so.
Shelley's worth celebrating. I'm grateful for the experience of shared work past... and friendship for years to come.
(If you've not read about the staffing decisions referenced, read here or here or here.
