Moving to Nashville

It's been two weeks since I last blogged, and the honest truth is I've been too busy to write.  Seriously.  After you read this blog, you'll believe me.

We're moving to Nashville next month.

Holy cow, I can't believe I just typed those words!

It all started in July. Guitarman received a call from Dwight Gunter, a friend of ours, asking if Guitarman would consider being the children's pastor at Trevecca Community Church of the Nazarene (TCC) in Nashville, Tennessee. We prayed about it, and we met with Dwight to discuss things.  After prayerful consideration, we told Dwight "No" because the timing just didn't seem right.

Fast forward a few weeks.  We were back into the swing of life, and things were going well.  Although we were confident we had made the right decision, we couldn't seem to get TCC off our minds.  That's when Dwight called us again.  He said we were still on his heart.  He just had a feeling we were the right fit for TCC.  So we agreed to pray about it again.

Fast forward again. (I'm skipping over a lot of details here.)  Dwight and Guitarman talked again, and Dwight asked if we would be more comfortable if I had a job.  We admitted that my being without a job was a major concern given the state of the economy and the fact that we would likely have to continue paying our mortgage in Idaho.  Dwight asked me to send him my resume, and said he would contact some folks at Trevecca Nazarene University (a sister school to Northwest Nazarene University - where I work now) to see what jobs might be available.

A few days later, I got a phone call from someone in leadership at TNU.  He had received my resume, and was very interested in talking with me about a position that might be opening up in the near future.  We discussed the position, he sent me the job description, and I was amazed at how well I seemed to fit the job requirements.  Within days, I received another call from the TNU leader, verifying the job had become available.

We recognized God's hand at work, so Guitarman and I agreed to fly to Nashville (with Snuggles) to interview at TCC.  While we were there, I planned to interview with various leaders at Trevecca for the job there.

The days in Nashville were a whirlwind of activity.  It felt like we raced around at 100mph the entire time. We ate dinner with the pastoral team, we met with the children's leadership team (they call it something else), and we met with the church board.  Guitarman interviewed with people.  I interviewed with people.  My parents drove down to meet us there, and helped us take care of Snuggles.

Although it was a whirlwind, we felt like we were breathing fresh air while we were in Nashville.  We sensed God's grace, and we felt the peace only He provides.  It became very clear over those days that the Lord was calling us to Nashville.  The Lord confirmed His call when TCC's church board voted unanimously to call John as their children's pastor.  The day after Guitarman accepted TCC's call, I received a call from Trevecca, offering me the job there.

During our interview with the church board, one of the board members asked us a really great question.  She said something to the effect of, "It sounds like things are going really well for you in Idaho.  If things are so great, why would you want to come here?"  I answered the question with a one-word answer:  God.

Why are we moving to Nashville?  GOD is calling us there.  Why would we willing to pack up our entire lives, including a baby and an elderly mother, and move 1,600 miles?  Because when GOD calls, we answer. 

Sometimes it's not logical to answer God's call.  The cost of obedience doesn't  always work out on paper.  The numbers may not balance, but faith does.

For Guitarman and me, our greatest aspiration is to be faithful to God's call on our lives.  Above all else, we want to be in the center of God's will.  We want to be WHO He calls us to be.  We're trusting GOD to provide everything we need to answer His call.

So, we're moving to Nashville in mid-November.  Please join us in prayer that the Lord will direct our path, and pray also for College Church of the Nazarene in Nampa. We believe God is already working on a new children's pastor to minister with CCN.