Storm Clouds Looming

After the morning devotional time with the office staff led by Florence Darby, a true saint, I was immediately called into the president's office. The president asked me to have a seat and proceeded to tell me that TAA had informed him they did not have the liquid funds to meet payroll for the end of the month. That was a dousing of cold water to begin the day.

I asked how much they were going to need to make payroll. The figure of $40,000 was the answer. I spend a sizable amount of the rest of my day in meetings with TAA administration, and later with administration and the development director, to strategize a plan for the short term and lay the foundation for further discussions regarding the plans for next year.

A couple of things come to the surface in response to this latest event. First, there is a need for a plan. Second, only in order, there is need for action. The conference should not have to worry about finding money every payroll to float the school. Mark, the development director, was commissioned with finding $40,000 by the end of next month. The principal will do his part to try to find any unaccounted for money in the conference coffers. This is a remote possibility. The conference is also trying to survive in a tough economy.

I must confess that I was thrown for a loop at the end of the day. Call is a moment of weakness. Perhaps it was more a lapse in focus. When I got home I lost sight of the reason I am here and reacted to the problem. I sought to hide from the problem, as if I could hide from anything, real or imagined, in my small duplex. Trying to run or hide from a problem is never good. The president (by the way, when I refer to the president, it is a reference to the president of the Arizona Conference, where I work. Any reference to any other president will be more specific, since they are not in my immediate realm) has a saying, "Our challenges are God's opportunities." I like that. But, in reality, it is not always easy to remember. To live in a state of feeble faith when life calls for a firm faith is hardly a favorable place to be. I was reminded before falling asleep late at night that I also need to remind myself constantly who I work for and why I do what I do. God is my Boss. I am called to serve. Both of those facts require a faith component that makes them irrational when that component is absent. But when they are infused with faith, that reality becomes empowering and fulfilling, regardless of the circumstance.

"The just shall live by faith" was never truer or more meaningful to me than it is now. The financial challenges at TAA, specifically, and across the conference, generally, will call for much work and prayer. Never a dull moment in the AZC!