Scott Acord and Randy Crane

00:04 Test test.

00:16 Outlet.

00:18 Can you saw speak into the? So it works best if you if you're about a writer, you know, like a hand like a fist away or so, it'll it'll pick it up or not. So, can you check the readings? Are you?

00:34 Does it look like it's recording? I mean, does it look like you're picking up my voice and doing so, all right. So I'm Scott acord M59. Today's date is October 13th 2020 where in Anaheim and I'm with, Randy. He's a colleague.

01:02 My name is Randy crane. My age is 46. Today's date is October 13th. 2020. I am in Anaheim, California. I'm here with Scott and relationship is that we are colleagues. Well, first of all, I want to say thank you for wanting to participate in the hear me now program. So, let's start. Let's cuz we don't know one another.

01:27 But let me, let me just ask you, if you would just tell me a little bit about who you are. And, you know.

01:36 So I can go from there.

01:44 146 and I-10 46 years of life, who I am is rather large and somewhat complicated, but to try to narrow it down a little bit based on the scope of what we talked about this before.

01:57 I have had my I got my bachelor's degree in church ministry quite some time ago, and I got my master's degree in congregational leadership from Hope International University and from there went on to be a pastor for two years of a small church and Torrence actually not too far from Providence, to This Little Company of Mary Hospital.

02:21 And after that church clothes, which is a story in and of itself that we may or may not get to today. I then joined Church Development Fund, which is a nonprofit Church Lander and spent about 13 and a half years there, in a different form of ministry. Certainly outside of the church world, but still serving churches and the congregations

02:51 And then after that, I was able to through a couple different Avenues to join Providence, and so now get to continue working with Ministries, but in a very different way. Now, caring more for the physical person, while still caring for the whole person and doing, so, not directly in a pastoral kind of capacity, but in a technical capacity, in information technology,

03:14 Let me know if you don't mind. I would like to back up a bit and and talk a little bit more about who you are. Like as you know, like are you married? Do you have children?

03:28 What sword. I'd love to know what Drew you to Ministry in the in the first place, you know, and I'd like to know a little bit about that. I'd like to know a little bit about your history. Yeah, absolutely.

03:43 I am married, my wife, her name is Faye. We actually will celebrate 20 years of marriage in about three weeks, graduation name, jadera, who is the light of our lives and takes after me, sometimes a little bit too much. I was a gifted child and she shows many signs of that which is fun, but can make it very difficult to keep up with her. But at the same time, even at 5, she and I get to have some great conversations. So how is she, how is she gifted? And how is it?

04:22 In the same gifts that you were blessed with, or are they different gifts? For the most part? It's the same. I think she has a little bit of facility with language than I did at the time, but we're both very much numbers. People. We like to play with words and play with numbers and sometimes a fairly

04:48 Complex way, it's not just simple Rhymes. But actual Brooke home, kind of complex wordplay and exploring numbers, not just simple counting and simple addition, but the relationships between them and we've even gotten into some play second or third grade math, concepts just here recently, just from talking and playing and then she's 5.

05:19 And that was very much me, intellectually gift. I was in the gifted and talented education program, and did all those classes in that sort of thing. And that's a lot of where she falls follows in my footsteps, as well as some of the Social Challenges that go along with being a gift, a child like.

05:41 Difficulty relating to your peers. She will try to have a conversation with another five year old and it doesn't go very well because she's trying to talk like she talks to adults cuz that's what she's used to. And that's the conversation type that she has and they have no idea what she's talking about for the most part. That's what makes it difficult for her to relate to them. Cuz that's how she knows how to relate to other people, is through words, right? Do you think now a little bit about me? I love to play The Advocate. So do you think some of that is? Maybe because she's an only child and so she spends so much time with adults and that's how she knows.

06:25 Oh, yeah to have a conversation and she doesn't just run up and start talking. She will walk up to someone and say excuse me and wait, let's see, if that's the way you talk to an adult. That's right. Way you necessarily relate to other children and like say it's in part because of her facility with language and in part because she is an only child and is used to that kind of interaction, right? You know, and she has these two wonderful.

07:08 Chips, you know, and then how does your, how does your wife fit into this scenario? Of, obviously, she's an adult and chicken. But how, how does how does she fit into this equation with you? And your daughter?

07:28 So, she keeps us grounded in a lot of weight.

07:32 Carried away in some of those conversations that we have and she kind of brings us back to Earth and she really advocates for playing with other children and creating those kind of environments where that can happen in that can be built or even just keeping us on task. Sometimes, we'll get some sort of enable each other. So, back when Disneyland was open and we could go when we wanted to, we were with an annual passholders forever, and I've written two books about Disneyland. So, very strong affinity for the park. And so, when Adara and I would go, we would intend to be there for two or three hours. And when it was time to go on with it, I do one more thing. Okay, and where she would ask him, sure. Let's do it. If we be there for 5 hours, which is not necessarily the best thing, you will have conversations about space questions about space.

08:33 And we will get carried away on recently that we had it a little thought experiment, conversation about what would happen if trees could grow on the moon, the conversation. Yes. That's that's an interesting.

08:49 Concept, I think for a five-year-old, but probably, you know, just the way their minds work like what if trees could grow also dinner time.

09:03 This is great. But you need to eat without her. We would probably get a little lost too. Often was your wife and only child to take it? Not she's an only daughter but she has two older half brothers and one younger full brother. Okay?

09:24 So all right with lips. So let's talk a little bit about your ministry work. Now. You were a minister for a. Of time. Correct? Right. For about 2 years. I actually started with the church the week after or the Sunday after 9/11. Oh, wow. What Drew you to Ministry?

09:47 Mostly it was the preaching. I, I love to communicate with words written or verbal. And I particularly love to communicate complicated important significant proof in a way that people can understand and apply and can I ask what religion Protestant. Christian? Okay, so but just sort of I grew up Evangelical. Okay. So but yours is a little more I guess. Generic where is mine was very fundamentalist unless it was non denominational very different than what I experienced. I'm so what was that?

10:36 So did you preach? Was that your first sermon that you've sort of preached was after the Sunday after 9/11?

10:45 I had done some preaching before that. But my first one, as a pastor that congregation was the first Sunday. After, what did you talk about? What was the sermon?

10:56 Do you remember?

10:59 As I recall and I actually might have the timing off. Looks, I want to say that I might have been hired.

11:06 At that time and started a couple weeks later. So, I know I didn't talk about 911, but I believe, I talked about identity even in that time.

11:18 There was this strong movement towards the common identity that we had as Americans, which was a great unifying thing, and I thought that was wonderful, but at the same time, it felt like people were getting a little lost and their individual identity. And it was like, if you didn't go outside of this, macro picture of, who are we, what is my relationship to the hole? And

11:54 Where is my significance? And so as I recall, I talked about our identity in Christ and that being the core of who we are and everything else, including this macro patriotism can grow out of that but cannot replace that right?

12:17 And,

12:20 So, how long were you a pastor?

12:23 I was a pastor for about two years turned out that the church was struggling before I came to a degree that I did not fully realize and so we came in my life and I I was the pastor, but of course, she was my partner in this and it's a fairly small church. I think we had forty or so. Usually on a Sunday morning. We tried several different things to ignite some growth and move us in that direction. The farther we got into it, especially after a year and a half or so. We realized that this was not the direction that we needed to go. And in fact of the church, probably should have closed.

13:08 A year or two before we got there, but through a series of events that was not the direction that they were LED and we realized that God did not call us to your to grow this church, but to help this church in this place, die, with dignity and Grace. And in a way that honored him, which was extraordinary difficult, but it was also, we knew that was why we were there. And so it was a huge blessing, as well. In a lot of ways. I think it's a difficult task to take on your now as you

13:48 Oversee, something like that. That in the church that I grew up in, when I was little, you know, I think we had 200 members, but you're on a Sunday morning. You probably had 60 people show up. Maybe 80 on a good you do an Easter, you know, so it was it was very tight. It was a family, you know, my parents are still, I still know people from those days, you know, but that, you know, we left that church when I was like 11 or 12 and move to a slightly bigger church. But yeah, I mean it, you know, I do understand the

14:31 Family nature of a small church, and that probably though the tough how tough that was two to put it to rest. Yeah, that last Sunday when we were going to have the vote on whether we were going to close or not. And I told everybody, this is my last Sunday here, because I really believe this is where we need to go. If you choose, not to go this Direction, that's fine, but you will have to be doing it without me as the pastor and someone else was willing to step into that role, which was fine. But I really didn't think that was a good thing. We had 22 voting members of the congregation in attendance that Sunday morning. And I spent my entire last sermon while I was saying one thing I was counting potential to cause they're going to talk to close. I think they're going to stay open, open open. I'm not sure close just going through scenarios where I was talking and I thought it

15:31 Can be a very close but I did not know what was going to happen. We got to the vote. After the service was over and into the business meeting and the vote to close was 20 to 200 K. We brought everybody to the place. They needed to me. And what was that? Sermon?

15:50 Do you remember? I actually called his sermon titles and I don't get along. Well, I'm not great at coming up with clever, with Pastor Randy's, farewell message, and I told him, it was my farewell message, and I kind of went through some of the things that I hadn't really emphasized. During the two years there, that I knew this was my last opportunity to. And so I wanted to just really drive those home and at the moment, actually don't remember what those were remember. I had three of them cuz I know your past. Are you have three points? That's the way it works. Is how you preached, but that was why I spent my time doing was here's the last things. I want to make sure I tell you and so then what did you do after that? What did you you do? Because that's unit. Aleve pastoral position.

16:49 Which in a minute and you're serving God, you know, the greater good. So where do you go from there?

16:57 So,

16:59 We being a small Church were actually our property was in trust with church Development Fund. And so they were involved in this whole closure process and their main representative with us was a gentleman named Dave Hamilton, and he and I got to be friends through this.

17:18 And afterwards, I really didn't know what I was going to do. I was able to get a little bit of severance. Thanks to CVS involvement, but mostly didn't really know what to do. And after I have been looking for something, just really anything for maybe a month. I was talking to Dave and he said, have you applied at CVS yet?

17:38 No, I hadn't really thought about it. He said, we need people like you here. You need to apply.

17:44 Okay, so why didn't the only open position they had at the time? Was Loan Servicing representative. I'd never done anything in Winding of any kind, but you like numbers and language a form of ministry with the organization that helped us through that process. And it seems like a good transition. So I moved into that and ended up in at least five different roles. During my time at CDF, which was not uncommon that we used to joke that you didn't really work at CVS until you change. Desks. At least three times to me. Your other roles their loan closings, which was the intent was starting Loan Servicing and they were implementing a regional model as they were moving into a national platform.

18:44 And then at that point, I would become the one who was actually doing the loan documentation, for the mountain, Plains region of the United States. If I was able to move into that for a while, then we started to move away from that region will model and I've called and our supervisor also left and move to Oklahoma. So I became sort of the de facto department, supervisor for team, supervisor until that. Rachel model is kind of going away at which point I was called into the one of the VPS offices and said I was told, we need to in real estate. Now you're going to be working with our properties, and we've got her bp, a real estate, and you're going to be the other person in the real estate apartment and somewhere in the middle of that. I also became the system administrator for our on-base document storage system because I used it, and I was Technical and they said, great, you're going to be

19:44 Administrator and I said, okay to go to another company. Assisted apartment was Cam and me and they decided then to just outsourced all of the real estate stuff to the company. He was going to. I got called in again and I was told we have one open position in the company and that is as an investment servicing representative. And so you can do that or we can give you a severance package.

20:17 I thought I don't really want to do that. But at least it's something. And so I did that and ended up staying in that for like, probably five or six years, because I was that the longest desk you held. I think it was actually, and did you ever grow to love that position or like that position, like the team? And I never liked the position that all it was.

20:48 It's a great position for some people and it was not challenging or interesting to me in any way. I had it. I had a job that I think was coveted by many people and it was like the people and it was a great job. There was no pressure on me whatsoever. You know. Yeah, it was like, no. This is not. I don't want to be here there. I think because it was not

21:20 Challenging or fulfilling. And anyway, it was just there, right? Yeah, and so then okay, so you've been so you were there, how long, 13, 13 and a half years ago. And then you were like, okay, what, what next? Well, that's not a Friday morning was July 7th, 2017. And I was told that they were laying off. Some people, and I was one of those people who is being let go. I had survived, actually three rounds of layoffs over several years. And this one, I did not. I was one of four people, that was like, oh, and I, I think, I remember which one I was in the four, cuz some of them. Some of us, they told who the others were, that were being let go. And some, they did not, I was one of them that did find out who the others were, that were being let go and

22:20 So I got to work at 8 at 9:45. I was called into the office for this meeting and by 10:30. I was in my car and that was it. Yeah, but thankfully they did give me a very generous severance package as well as some placement Services help which sort of helped but not. And I ended up being unemployed for almost a year and a half.

22:51 I thought that was your July 2017 and I was unemployed until November. I think of December of 2018 you had a young daughter by that time. So that must have been worried some, you know, I mean, I take it, your wife was working. She was still worrisome, a lot of prayer, a lot of relying on other people.

23:23 And at no point was I afraid we were going to be on the street or we were going to have food to eat or something like that, but it was still very difficult. A lot of time of spending all of your time doing something feeling like you should be doing something else. I spent almost every waking hour. If I was looking for a job. I felt like maybe I should be looking for doing something different you. If I was studying something to learn a new skill. I felt like I should be sending out applications. If I was sending out applications. I felt like maybe I should be spending some time with my family. If I was spending time with my family. I feel like I should be applying for jobs.

24:05 And there was no structure to everything really, it was just, I've got to get something, but I don't want to neglect my family and it was just a lot of that, and we touched a little bit on this initial Communications about and I think it was in your initial reach out to me that.

24:28 You were searching for something meaningful. So, in this,

24:34 Search for your position. How much weight did that carry, you know, as you were looking for this new position that you know that had that needed to be meaningful. And so how did that guide you?

24:51 It definitely narrowed the focus on the company's that I was looking at and because of some health issues, with some relatives of mine. My geographical Focus was somewhat limited which I'm sure is part of why it kept me unemployed, as long as I was afraid, move to another part of the country or something. I might have had an easier time, but we did need to stay local in Southern California, but it was important to me that

25:19 Whenever I saw a job posting or we get contacted by a recruiter that the company was doing something that made some kind of positive difference in the world at war to individuals. It didn't have to be huge and I interviewed at a home builder and was going to be possibly on their data analytics team. They were one of the preeminent providers of new homes for new homeowners people who are purchasing a home for the first time that matters that matters to that family. So that's something that's important to me, or there's something like Providence where you're dealing with health care for seven states and thousands and thousands of people in some cases. What we do is literally life or death for these people. That matters at the extreme other end.

26:17 It was important to me that wherever I worked made some kind of a difference that I could recognize and that what I did was important to the company doing what they did. I didn't have to be a headliner, don't need that. Be in front of people that I do when I have been at CDF, especially an investment service. And I felt like what I did help people that help people that help people, that made a difference. And that was to many steps removed for me. I wanted to do something where what I did contributed directly to the company. And that company directly made a difference in people's lives. I needed to remove remove some of that distance. And so those were the two guiding factors as well as will. It pay the bills, right?

27:04 Yeah. You know, it it was when I had been laid off and it took me and I went into Consulting as I began my search for meaning, you know, and yeah, it took me a few years. I mean, but I was, I was working. But yeah, I totally get the needed to be. Can't feel hands on where I was making a difference in a positive way cuz I came from a world where I was making a difference in a negative way. I work in reality TV.

27:41 So what was it? What was it like for your wife, you know, as you were searching, was she.

27:52 Nervous through all of this, you know, I'm sure she must have been supportive. But I like, how did that way on her?

28:00 Yes, she was definitely support if I could not have done what I did.

28:06 But she was nervous. She got worried sometimes and we spend a lot of time praying a lot of time.

28:13 Getting counsel from some friends of ours, from church that you were able to kind of help us stay connected to each other and stay focused. But

28:29 At no point. Were we ever afraid? And she never talked about this several times, and no point where we ever afraid that we were not going to be taking care of, like God was not going to somehow provide for us. We often did not know exactly how it was going to happen.

28:49 And we look back on that time as some of the most valuable growth that we've had which was does not come without some difficulty in some pain. And as difficult as it was, there was there was one point that I can think of where she said to me. I don't know what we're going to do. I don't think we're going to make it through this. You were running out of everything.

29:20 And so we sat down and we made a list just off the top of our heads of every time. We could think of that God had provided for us in any kind of significant way something where it was thousands of dollars that come in two major bills or there have been a job loss and then a new job for her. Those kinds of Majors your health issues that kind of thing. And off the top of our head we came up with a list of 19 things and we put that list up on the refrigerator and said the same God who did those is working right now. Phone number, 20 rice. If he can do those, he's got this. I think there's I think there's real

30:06 Beauty and joy in that, and that faith in that belief, you know, where it can, it can carry you through.

30:15 Those times in an hour where you can,

30:19 Let the anxiety go and let it rest somewhere else and one of our hear me now stories, and I think she may have gotten it from somewhere else.

30:39 And it was two black women talking about racial issues. And one of them said our greatest moments of growth.

30:49 Come from being uncomfortable. And I think I may have put your dad a little bit. But I think you know, as you get the you get the picture and then, you know, it's for you. You're some of those greatest moments of growth, come from those moments of uncomfortability, you know, where you've been challenged and you come out, you know, let me ask you what does your wife do, okay?

31:15 Initiate. What she always doing this. She's been doing that for.

31:21 2009 in the business in 2011.

31:26 Running her own practice. And what did she do with me? Ask you this? How did you guys meet? But I saw the time that we have there. I'll give you the short version of the story.

31:47 I had to move in with a family from church when I was going to church in Rowland Heights and that family happened to the mom in that family happened to be mine. Alewives pre algebra math teacher. Okay? Mean, while the mom and I were in the Easter, play at our church. I was playing John the disciple. She was playing Mary, the mother of Jesus. And so we got to be friends during that time. So when I needed a place to live, they invited me to move in to that household.

32:23 Meanwhile, she had been working on trying to get high to come up to see the Easter play for two or three years and she finally came that year and introduced us at that time. And then the whole family been specially. She and her two daughters. Worked, very hard to set us up and make sure that we had opportunities for dates and things over the several months until we have had more of an established relationship and really play play matchmaker several times throughout that so Rowland Heights, not exactly right next door, but they going to make that happen and we choked that when she came to see me in the Easter player to see the Easter play, and then I was introduced to her. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt cuz it was March. And I was wearing the typical Church. Turn it on your first century, right?

33:31 So tell me a little bit about the work you do now.

33:35 So thankfully I had been a system administrator because it gave me some exposure to technology it in the corporate setting. But I also have always had an affinity for technology. Your writing sample programs and basic on my Commodore 64 helping set up the windows for workgroups Network. When my parents were assistant managers of a mobile home park and connect two computers in the printer and that's everything into sort of built it from there. I was really looking in the information technology space and got started at Providence as a contractor. Working on application, Discovery and documentation as we were integrating the Legacy St. Joseph into Providence as well as doing some preparation for the Windows 10. Migration. It was going to be happening. Now is a contract position that lasted for me from the early December of 2018, until late December or the end of December 2019.

34:35 And through that, I learned a lot more about technology than I had ever known before learned about Healthcare technology, specifically and learned about Providence as a company. And he knew that I was getting into that area of making a difference in a company when I had to call a vendor at one point to get information about one of the applications and the voicemail phone tree. Greeting. I got started with if you have a patient on the table, press one.

35:09 This is very different from Churchland tank and a very different space now, but this matters, I could see this is what's Happening Here.

35:18 So once that contract ended, then I interviewed and sending a bunch of applications to too. I just knew I wanted to work at Providence, doing something. I needed to be part of this company and hopefully something closely related to what I have been doing. And so I was able to join the Radiology applications analyst team in doing that support for our Radiology, folks, throughout Providence. And that's what I do now, and, and it makes your meaningful needs. It does. Let me ask you this Providence.

35:58 Has a lot of chaplains on staff. Did that ever enter your mind to be a chaplain within the Providence system?

36:09 Not really because while I was a pastor, the preaching is where my passion was, and I still, I'm in Toastmasters. I do speaking actually present some workshops based on the books that I've written. I like the speaking, the Pastoral Care I can do it. I can relate well to people, but it wasn't really where I was drawn. And it's sort of ironic that I work at, maybe not ironic. But God has a sense of humor that I work in this Healthcare environment because because with some family history that I've had being in hospitals, has been very uncomfortable for me a long time. I'm better about that now because of the capacity I'm doing it in the because of that being a hospital chaplain was just never something that even crossed my mind. I was just curious, you know, I mean was like, okay, but I mean I can.

37:09 You say that if we look at sort of the two big gifts that you have language.

37:17 And numbers. I mean that is it, you know, I mean that squarely in that Emma. Let me ask you as we begin to wrap up just a little bit about your daughter like she has these gifts. Do you know is she leaning towards the stem areas of, you know, to use these gifts serve.

37:40 I think she is, she still got so many interest right now, and we're cultivating as many interest as we can. But space has been a big interest of hers for longer than any other so far. She wants to go to space week. If we want to teach her anything about any subject, if we can tie it into space. She's more likely to be interested in it. If not, she kind of doesn't care quite so much. I think that's great. I love that when I hear that, you know, especially kids especially girls who are interested in these sort of Science and Math. And and, and language are things that are usually meant for are pushed on, boys, right? You know, our young man, you know, I love to see that in fact that she's interested interested in space. I think it's absolutely wonderful.

38:40 Junior TV series Mission Force. One miles from Tomorrowland Mission Force, One was part of it and that series really emphasizes girls being part of it and making these major contribution and it plays up and they put a pretty fine point. Sometimes on these are the people that are dealing with science, technology, engineering, arts, and math makes a big deal of it. I think that's great. So I just want to say thank you so much for participating in the in the hear me now storytelling listening, and it should have ended. It was really great to sit with you and get to know you a little bit and and I've only been at Providence for less than a year, but I will say welcome. Welcome to you, too. All right. Well, thank you. My pleasure. Thank you. All right.