A Visit to Kansas City

I had already agreed to interview in Kansas City when I went to Pittsburgh, and had purchased an airline ticket.  The church didn’t pay for both Ann and me to come so I agreed to travel to Kansas City alone.  Big mistake!  You have to be able to see a place through your wife’s eyes if you expect her to be content.

When I got to Kansas City, I was treated royally.  I was introduced to Kansas City Steaks, given a tour of city.  I learned about the American Royal, the history of Kansas city jazz, and the stockyards.  I was shown many courtesies. 

I met with the elders and deacons and their wives in an informal setting, and they seemed like wonderful people.  I stayed in the home of Ray Strome, who was one of the two elders.  Ray and Ruth couldn’t have been nicer.   On Sunday afternoon, I went to the home of Earl and Carrie Bond, and that was the beginning of a friendship that continues to this very day.  Ray and Ruth were there, and I had a most unusual interview.  It was not an interview in the formal sense.  It was nothing more than a social conversation.  In the process we learned a great deal about each other.  

There were negatives about the Argentine church, but I didn’t see them at the time.  We had lived in our own house in New York, and Ann really liked it.  The outgoing minister lived in a parsonage.  They invited me to take a brief tour of the house.  I didn’t think it was as nice as our home in Jamestown, but my thought was “It will do.”  Another big reason, why I needed Ann’s take on things!

I didn’t have an offer on the table when I left, but Ray told me that I needed to be prepared to accept or reject and offer.  I made a modest request for a little more money, and that didn’t prove to be an obstacle.  On the way back home I agonized over which offer to accept. 

Within the Churches of Christ, we aren’t comfortable with the term “call.”   We’re quite willing to accept God’s leading, guidance, direction, and we talk about trying to discern his will.   Unfortunately, there’s it’s a great temptation to rationalize, what you want to do, and convince yourself that it’s God’s will.  Certainly, it’s within the scope of God’s permissive will because he allows it to happen, but our decisions may or may not be based on God’s direction.

In this instance I remember praying about it while I was waiting for a connecting flight at O’Hare in Chicago.  By the time I boarded my flight for Buffalo, I had decided to accept the Kansas City offer if one was made. I would ask Ann for het judgment, but I didn’t figure it would be any different from mine. On Friday night I got a call from Kansas City, accepted the offer, and then made a very difficult call to Pittsburgh.