Well, the day has come.

When Braden was born, almost a year ago now, Kari and I had no idea what we were in for. As she tried to hold down a full time job and be a mommy, she became overwhelmed. We began talking about how nice it would be if we could get closer to home, so our parents could be with the grandson and we could have some relief.

When I lost my job at headquarters a couple months ago, our desire to get home reached its height. We decided to begin actively looking for an open door to return closer to home, wherever that may be. We received a few enticing opportunities, including ministries in Honduras, an Asian country, and Seattle, but none of those fit the "closer to home" rule. We received conjecture from two other locations which did fit that bill, one in Michigan and one in Tennessee (difficult to pass up, for sure). But there was no peace. So we waited, and eventually we saw what we thought was an open door at our alma mater, Mount Vernon Nazarene University. The job, while it would have been amazing, would not have been ideal for our family situation, but I applied anyway. After a phone interview, I was asked to fly to Mt. Vernon for an interview in person a couple weeks ago. We were excited at the possibility that was before us.

The day before I left, I received a phone call from a pastor in Dayton. He had offered me a job before and had had a staff position come open just one day earlier. He had heard I was going to be in the area for an interview and wondered if I might be able to change my return trip so I could chat with him and his ministry team. I agreed, not knowing what was around the corner, and headed to Ohio. After arrriving at MVNU, I was told that the folks in another office had found out I was in town and would like to interview me for a position they had recently had come open. Again, not wanting to close any doors, I agreed. That night I had interviews at 4:00 and 7:30, followed by a quick drive to Dayton for a night with Kari's folks and an interview at 6:00 the next morning at the church.

This past Wednesday, we received a call from Keven Wentworth, pastor of Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene. The board had voted to offer me a staff position: Associate Pastor for Community. I would be in charge of small groups. We gladly accepted. BCN is the church where we were married, and where Kari served as College and Career Pastor. Her parents attend the church, which is only about 2 1/2 hours from my parents' home in Kentucky. I start June 1.

And tomorrow I start looking for a place to live. I would appreciate your prayers, as I have the responsibility of doing this without the assistance of my wife, the one who will truly make it home.

We are very excited to be close to some of you who read this who we haven't seen for too long, and very sad to leave some really close friends out here in Kansas. But, the former things have taken place, and God is declaring new things (Isaiah 42:9).

May it be so.

Now Reading: The Importance of Being Foolish, by Brennan Manning