The Black-eyed Pea? Really?

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I stood there in the motel room shaking as I explained to Marilyn about the interview and about what Elizabeth Dykes and Jennifer Johns had expressed to me.  We had travelled to Kissimmee on a wing and a prayer, not expecting too much and glad to get away and get a couple of days at WDW, and now things had changed.  I told my wife that I could feel God working in my heart, and that perhaps we were exactly what FUMC-K was looking for.  We prepared to join Rev. John Willis and his wife Pat for a night out, and now we both had some serious questions to ask.

They picked us up for dinner fairly late in the evening on a Saturday night with thoughts of taking us out to show us around part of Walt Disney World.  A brief conversation made it clear that we knew much more about WDW than they did, so we headed for the Outback Steakhouse instead.  We arrived to find there was a two hour wait, so we headed on down 192 until we reached a now long-gone establishment called The Black-eyed Pea.  They served very unimpressive "home-style" food, but we had never eaten there and the wait was...well, nonexistent!  We did have a great conversation over dinner, and Marilyn and I both immediately fell in love with John and Pat.  From there we headed out to explore the Kissimmee institution of Old Town, a tourist trap of the highest order.  We walked around and learned a great deal about the history an culture of K-town.  We had a great time, but I would have to say that is was one of the least impressive nights of "wooing" I have ever been a part of.

The next morning we were picked up and taken to church, and things got even more bizarre.  The other candidate who had been interviewing when I arrived the day before was being shown around and introduced to the youth Sunday School classes.  We were met by a wonderful lady named Lynn Dykes (Liz's mom) who showed us all around, being very careful not to put us in the same place with the other guy.  I couldn't believe this was actually their plan, but it seemed to be.  We then went to worship and the off to lunch with a family that would become a huge part of our lives- Cathy, Ben and Sara Thacker.  The red carpet welcome continued with lunch at Morrison's Cafeteria (really, there are a lot of nice restaurants in K-town!), but again, we had a wonderful visit and continued to learn more about the history of the youth program at FUMC-K.  The more we learned the more excited I became.  And yet at the same time I still had no reason to believe I was going to be a serious contender for the position.

On Sunday evening I had been asked to lead the program at their weekly youth gathering.  We arrived at the youth room, and I half expected to see the other guy already leading the group...but he was not there.  When my turn came, I was prepared and energetic.  I did a 45 minute lesson on the Beatitudes without using a note (God bless Rich Mullins!), and got many of the students involved in the discussion.  Rev. Willis was very complimentary, as were many of the youth, and I left feeling very good about the whole thing.  The following morning John brought me to the church to meet some of the staff (see picture; from left to right: Ginny Johns, Nancy Boss, Donna Heck, Dick Boss, Jim Gilts, Jill Augenblick and Andrea Marland.) and to visit with him one last time. He told me that the search committee was meeting that night.  I left feeling like everything had gone as well as it could have, and that I still had zero shot at the job.  Except that, more and more, I felt like God was calling us to Kissimmee.  And what God wants...

We stayed in town and visited our friends at WDW until Tuesday afternoon, when we drove back to Tampa to catch our flight home. We weren't sure what to think.  We loved the people we had met, yet the interview process had been odd and unimpressive.  But still...there was something about the place that was calling us.   John had asked me to phone him that afternoon, so I called from the Tampa Airport and learned I was still in consideration and that the decision would be made in a couple of days.  Marilyn and I flew home uncertain of what lie ahead.  We had a lot to talk about and a lot to pray about.  But there was one thing we knew for sure; if we moved to Kissimmee, we were never again going to eat at The Black-eyed Pea! 

Because of Jesus,