Page 95 of A Surefire Love
Anson tucked a hand in his pocket. “Guess I’ll find out in a couple weeks.”
“That’s kind of crazy, man.”
“Fanatical, you mean.”
“Yeah, sure.” David stepped away, but before his hand left the table, he paused. “You know, if you’d seen half the fanatical things people did in the name of religion that I saw overseas, you’d give the whole thing up.”
Blaze’s breath caught. According to Marissa, David never talked about his time in the military.
Anson took a beat, then nodded. “My schedule’s wide open, if you want to talk about it.”
“Nice try.” David stalked off toward the dining area.
Anson’s attention settled on Blaze.
“You’re coming back to MOBC?”
“Someone told me to trust that God is bigger than this circumstance. To try grace first.” He slid a hand across her shoulders, and a shiver cascaded down her spine. “I mightnot be able to stay, but until God tells me to go somewhere else, I’ll hang around in hopes that He’ll do something.”
“Like get your job back?”
“If I go into it with that mindset, we all lose.” Releasing her, he folded his hands, leaning heavily against his forearms on the tabletop. “I’ll minister here while I can, even if it’s only in the form of conversations like that one with David.”
She picked at the label on her water bottle. “Is Eric going to be angry?”
“That’s part of why I thought I’d better give it a few weeks. Right now, he’s angry.I’mangry. Sad. Still processing why God let this happen. He might never tell me, but I’m waiting to go back to MOBC until I can honestly say I’m not hoping to stir up trouble. Ideally, I want to do the opposite.” He braced a hand on the table, straightening. “If I stay at MOBC until I find a new position, it might calm down people like Nolan, who are angry enough to leave.”
“You don’t think they should?”
“The teaching and worship on Sunday morning are still solid. So no, I don’t think there should be a mass exodus. If the Lord does want to adjust the youth group philosophy, He’ll likely do it through faithful people who stay. And I do think most people there love God and want to serve Him.” He turned his glass on the tabletop, and bubbles raced up the sides. “This whole thing could be a blip that lasts a year or two and then gets corrected again.” His smile wavered.
She understood the conflicting feelings. As much as she found comfort in his perspective, she hated that someone so faithful had been pushed out. “Where do you think you’ll work?”
There were other churches around, though most weredifferent denominations. He’d make a good teacher, but his degree was in ministry. Perhaps the Christian school a town over had fewer restrictions on whom they could hire than public schools.
He sipped his drink. “A church I interned with during college is talking about hiring an associate pastor. They’re in Minnesota. Or a guy I went to school with is a lead pastor in Arizona. The youth pastor there accepted a position with a missions organization, so his position will need to be filled.”
Her grip on the water bottle tightened. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d consider moving, let alone to such far-flung locations. “Out of state? Why not find something closer?”
“Many Oaks doesn’t have any open pastoral positions. Even if it did, if I worked nearby, people might follow me. When I move on, it needs to be a clean break or it could cause a church split.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t fault his reasoning, but could their relationship survive long distance?
“It’s not what I wanted.”
She nodded and dropped eye contact. Perhaps they could overcome her secret or his move, but both?
Philip and the other Signalmen made their way back onstage. She escaped the conversation, but that didn’t stop her mind from circling the problem.
She’d challenged Anson to assume the best and respond with grace, and he seemed to be doing both. He had more integrity and resolve than she’d given him credit for. If only she’d realized the far-reaching implications of the board’s decision, she wouldn’t have been so nonchalant about the whole thing. They were running him out of town.
Someone needed to fight back.
She caught an amused glance from Philip. Maybe she’d let a little too much of her anger show in her performance, but at least this cover of an Awestruck song lent itself to the intensity.
As the night continued, however, her anger drained into a pit of grief. Anson was accepting the board’s decision. Her only true option was to trust God with the church and to shore up her relationship with Anson as best she could.
Out in the crowd, Gabby Voss took a seat beside Anson. After a conversation that lasted three songs, she wrapped him in a hug and patted his cheek in a motherly way before leaving. Blaze needed to be supportive like that.
