{"id":188,"date":"2007-10-06T03:01:59","date_gmt":"2007-10-06T03:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/10\/some-things-ill-miss-about-california-part-4.html"},"modified":"2007-10-06T03:01:59","modified_gmt":"2007-10-06T03:01:59","slug":"some-things-ill-miss-about-california-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/10\/some-things-ill-miss-about-california-part-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Some Things I\u2019ll Miss About California, Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, I’ll miss California’s ocean, and the High Sierra, and preaching to my congregation at Irvine Presbyterian Church. I’ll miss the Regatta Caf\u00e9, my favorite restaurant, not to mention In-N-Out Burger. (My taste in food runs the gamut.) I expect that there will be dozens of other things I’ll miss about the state in which I lived for 86% of my life (the other 14% in Massachusetts).
\nBut the “things” I’ll miss most of all aren’t things, but people. I’ll miss the people I have been privileged to spend so much of my life with. First and foremost, I’ll miss my extended family. Oh, to be sure, I’ll get to see them at Christmas and during summer vacations. And I hope they’ll be courageous enough to visit us in Texas. But I won’t get to see my family, including my wife’s family, as often as I have in the last two decades. (Photo below: My family on Thanksgiving Day in 2006)
\n
\nIn addition to my family, the people I’ll miss the most include some long time friends from my days at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. We have remained close over the years, even vacationing together in Grand Tetons National Park in 2004 (see photo to the right). When our friendships began, most of us were unmarried, and none had children. Now we all have spouses and kids, along with plenty of pets.
\nBesides family and friends, I’ll miss my staff at Irvine Presbyterian Church, many of whom became friends as we worked together and shared life together. I was blessed with some fanastic colleagues, people of strong faith, deep integrity, extraordinary talent, and a passion for Christ and His church. Much of what God was able to do through me at Irvine Presbyterian Church reflects the support and partnership with my staff. (Photo to the right: Some members of the pastoral and program staff.)
\nFinally, I’ll miss the people of Irvine Pres. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ll miss the chance to preach to them. But, more basically, I will simply miss them. You can’t share the deepest things in life with people for sixteen years and not miss them when you’re separated. My life has been inestimably changed for the better because of their partnership, friendship, support, and love. (The picture to the right is from the farewell party that the church threw for me and my family. It was one of the highlights of my life. You can view some of the videos made for that event on YouTube: 1) Pictures of people from the church<\/a>; 2) Tributes to my family<\/a>; 3) A video history of my ministry<\/a>, including scandalous shots of me in Vacation Bible School attire. Yikes! Many thanks to Troy Witt of Take One Productions<\/a> and Jennie Korneychuk for producing these sweet videos.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, I’ll miss California’s ocean, and the High Sierra, and preaching to my congregation at Irvine Presbyterian Church. I’ll miss the Regatta Caf\u00e9, my favorite restaurant, not to mention In-N-Out Burger. (My taste in food runs the gamut.) I expect that there will be dozens of other things I’ll miss about the state in which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california"],"yoast_head":"\nSome Things I\u2019ll Miss About California, Part 4 - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/10\/some-things-ill-miss-about-california-part-4.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Some Things I\u2019ll Miss About California, Part 4 - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yes, I’ll miss California’s ocean, and the High Sierra, and preaching to my congregation at Irvine Presbyterian Church. I’ll miss the Regatta Caf\u00e9, my favorite restaurant, not to mention In-N-Out Burger. (My taste in food runs the gamut.) 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}