www.masbakersfield.com

Who's Reading MÁS

larger view

Age: 49
Profession: Executive Pastor at Cornerstone Church
Personal: A wife, Cindy, 40; three daughters, Carly, 16; Cathline, 18; and Kimberly, 20. As Sister Sledge’s “We are Family” streams from his cell phone, Rain said he strives to be “real” and part of the diverse community of Kern County. The Los Angeles native still remembers the brown power movement in the ‘60s and ‘70s and his comical, down-to-earth personality permeates into his life’s main focus of developing a multi-campus ministry. When he gets a break from his pastoral duties, Rain can be found fly-fishing at his favorite spot — the forks of the Kern River or jamming to his favorite band, Los Lobos.

Amor para MÁS : “MÁS has been an incredible vehicle for me in the hispanic community- to be able to communicate and to express my opinion.”

Gone Fishing: “I am an avid fly fisherman. If fish had psychology, I would be a fish psychologist. Did you know that the trout in the Kern River can be found in only one other place? They are found in New Zealand.”

 Shutter Bug: “My love has always been black-and white photography. I have a Canon A1 35 mm camera — what’s special about it though is the lens, it is made from German glass.”

 MySpace savvy: “I just changed my song on MySpace last night. My song is by Carlos Santana- I changed the background to the shaman cover because it looks Aztec, spiritual and Hispanic. My daughter teases me and says, ‘Why does everything have to be about ethnicity?’ I said, ‘Because it’s My Space!”

 Heart of the community: “I recently moved back to the east side since we just got a new venue over there. I used to live over here (near Calloway Drive and Rosedale Highway), but I wanted to be part of the community where I would be a host pastor. There will be services in Spanish and English.”

 Church atmosphere: “We are postmodern. Here at this church, we embrace the arts. God is a creative God and he gave us creative talents — most churches don’t incorporate this. So we try to incorporate this with tangible items. In the past, we have had people paint during a sermon or given clay to members for a more tangible experience.”

— Interview by Lauren Ziegeler/MÁS staff
— Photo by Leia Perkins/MÁS staff