Trying to Make Sense of Things

I can remember when Roy Williams told the KU faithful that he was leaving the University of Kansas for North Carolina. We were all stunned and shocked. After all this was his first head coaching job and he wanted to go home.

Home means a lot of different things to people. In the case of Roy Williams, this was where he grew up; went to high school; went to college; met his wife and got married. It was where his children were born. It was where he was born and where his father and sister lived. It was where his wife's family was from. It was where his grown adult children were living. Home held strong memories for him. He missed home. He had an aging father and his sister was ill at the time. Kansas was special to him too. This was where he first started his coaching career. But Kansas was just a stop along the way for him. KU offered him everything and anything just to get him to stay. But his mind was made up. Wanda (Roy's wife) longed for home and so did Coach Roy.

People were shocked and worried. They wondered who would the University find to lead the basketball team. Finally a search committee was formed and they offered the job to Coach Bill Self, an Oklahoma native. At first it wasn't easy for people to get used to his coaching style and him to get used to the team. People questioned whether he was the right person in the first place. He recruited his own players and he formed his "dream team." The kids would rely on Coach Self because he was more than just a coach, he was their friend, someone the kids could count on.

Coach Self and his team won the National Championship this year. Many people worried that he would leave after winning a national championship. T. Boone Pickens offered him a huge deal if he would come back "home" to coach the Oklahoma State Cowboys (his alma mater). But Self had other ideas. He was "home." Lawrence became home. He might not have grown up there but this was where he and his wife met. His children calls Lawrence home. He was "home" to stay.
------
I thought about this when trying to make sense of what happened at church. Our pastor has resigned from leading our church to go "home." I related the Williams/Self story to him. Williams wanted to go home as does our pastor. Some people are still in shock and I'm still trying to make sense out of things. But I can understand the pull some people have of returning to their roots or going back home.

I think about our church too and how we are needing a search committee to find the right person to lead our church. Someone who may have a young family who would call H town their home; someone who has a passion for contemporary worship and youth fellowship; and someone who could make our church really special. A Pastor who would be a kind spirit to talk with and would get along with everyone in the church. Those people are hard to find. But I am sure there is someone out there that will fill the void here.