Confusion...Indecisiveness...Doubt...for what? Part 2

So here I am at Midwestern in Kansas City, MO (May 29th) checking it out to see what some of my close friends have been hollering about. I'm on main campus, which in my mind is not much to look at but not a good enough reason to toss the seminary. It covers a lot of ground with not a whole lot of structures to balance it so it gives you one of those, "I'm back from the city Ma!" feelings. I'm on my tour with Rusty, the admissions director I believe, and we are just sitting in his office one on one talking about the seminary, my call to ministry, what my vision looks like and on and on. Then it's lunch time and we go with a couple checking out the seminary and Dr. McAlpin who is the Dean of Students which by the way, Dr. McAlpin is a stud in my opinion. He is a man searching after the truth and not necessarily tradition while instated in a school/convention that is traditional and somewhat over conservative.

After lunch I told Dr. McAlpin some pretty upfront but honest statements about why I at first never considered Midwestern. I told him that I was told to look elsewhere, that Southern was the way to go, and that the school itself was under some kind of transition. With those statements I asked him, "Now do you know why they might have told me these things?" He fired right back with well thought out, concerned, and wise words concerning the convention, school, and staff. He explained that the transition is really about the convention of the MBC more so then the school itself. He continued with the super conservatives that were in office at the time basically being pushed out because of their legalism. I believe the words he said, "They got embarassed." When it came to the staff he went right out there and said that he would match their staff with Southern any day. Now he didn't say how well they would do but was/is willing to put them on the front lines against what most consider some of the best minds of theology in our day as a whole.

After this visit I explained to him the fact that I was forced to live on campus do to finances but that I was wanting an off-campus apartment to be close to a church plant that I knew of in Midtown Kansas City, MO (Midtown Community Church). He got on the phone and gave me a name of someone he knew and said that he would probably be in contact with me. It wasn't but 10 mins later and I got a call from Andrew who has a 3 bedroom apartment wanting 4 guys total (needing 2 more) and after the initial costs of the deposit and such it would only be $150/month!

So here I am driving back to my home of St. Louis thinking wow I could really live here, do ministry with a new and thriving body of believers, have a cheap way to go about schooling and living expenses, and go to a school where I feel comfortable with the staff. Here is the catch...I decided to go back and visit Southern the very next weekend!

To be continued...