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Ideology and Tradition in Conflict 167 “more rain coming in than there was being kept out.” These were the early days of BnF—days that one respondent referred to as BnF’s “charismatic moment.” Kula reported, “I just came in and started to weep. We spent fifty minutes to an hour in there, and then went down to Florida. But I was definitely impacted by what I saw.” The Kulas remained in touch with the VanCronkhites, and some two years later David called and said: “I’ve called to ruin your life. We want you to come down and partner with us. We want you to come down and come on staff.” Kula felt the time was right, so within two months after receiving the call, he and his wife moved to the Atlanta area. It was 1995; for the next six years they were part of BnF Atlanta. Although they reportedly moved to Asheville in 2001 to work with young homeless teens who had settled for a time in western North Carolina , their narrative revealed other significant push-and-pull factors. The Kulas had a daughter who left home at the age of seventeen and became a “traveler” or “gutter punk” (as these teens were commonly known); continuing their relationship with her while she was on the road brought them into contact with her subculture. As Kula put it, “She got off the road a few times and would settle down; she settled from three to six months in Asheville. We went to Asheville to visit her, and basically just fell in love—had our hearts broken over the kids that traveled with her.” Kula also reported a push factor from Atlanta that he described as “God setting up the flow or momentum in certain directions.” He elaborated on the decision to move from Atlanta, acknowledging that there was a growing tension between the two Davids that made the move to Asheville appealing: “Things here got pretty difficult for a couple of years. It was all difficult and wonderful at the same time. I think that David and I had a different approach to some of the things we were doing, but we always tried to honor each other and respect each other. I mean the reason he asked me to come down originally is that it was clear that our gift sets were different. He said, ‘We need what you have in our leadership—we need pastoral gifting.’” At the end, personal differences trumped community need. Although the two Davids met weekly or more often when David Kula was at BnF Atlanta , once Kula left to launch BnF Asheville they “were out of contact for a few years” until the time of David’s episode of depression. “The people who left were marginalized, and David had such a high value for loyalty,” Kula explained. There were probably several reasons for the estrangement, but two came through clearly in the interview: first, ministering to the 168 Ideology and Tradition in Conflict “gutter punk” was not in accord with David’s vision of ministry to the poor; and second, Kula seemed to perceive that VanCronkhite’s focus was on the success of the family business and not on any personal relationship with him. At one point during the interview Margaret noted the emphasis on “father-son” relationships at BnF as she says to Kula, “But David was not your father.” To which Kula responded: No, and that is part of where we parted. He was approaching that, and I said, “Hey, look David, it’s just not going to work for me. You are my captain , my pastor, and I honor you as if you were my spiritual dad. That’s the dynamic that I am submitted to. But your focus is on the corporate ministry—the movement agenda of BnF. If it came between BnF and me, a dad would choose me over his family business. I don’t want you to have to make that choice. Frankly, I don’t think you can make that choice in my favor. I don’t want to put you in the place of having to choose between the vision God has given you and my best interests. So, no, I am not your son.” The Asheville BnF was listed among the Internationals, but David would openly question whether it really had the BnF “DNA.” Despite Kula’s own personal difficulties with David, he indicated that he remained loyal to David and...

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