faithrunner

After we finished the conference Friday morning-- N. T. Wright and communion--we headed to the nearby beaches to enjoy the beautiful San Diego area. Here we are on the boardwalk at Mission View Beach. Kenyon, Libby, Michelle, Asher, Troy, me, Angela, and Scottie with Kim taking the picture made quite the roving tourist tribe. Kim had a blast practicing being a grandmother by holding Asher every chance she could. Asher was a great traveling child. I hope my grandchild will be as good. Troy and Michelle lived in this part of CA for a year before they came to Legacy. He could not resist the waves when we got near the water, which was a warm 57 degrees and the air temp was about 70. So, when he looked at me and said let's surf, I said, let's go. The rest of the group walked along the beach and chilled while Troy and I fought--I mean--rode the waves. (Troy can actually surf. I chose a boogie board.) Here we are before getting wet. Here I am coming out of the water later. Only my t...

Got up this morning and wrote. This was easy to do since my body is still on Central Standard Time. I then ran from the hotel to the convention center and the joined the running group which is part of the convention. Twenty of us circled the nearby mall in the most ideal weather to run in that I have experienced in a long time. It was fun listening to the runners from MI and WA and other places talking about this was the first time they had worn shorts and a t-shirt to run in for months. I was glad I live in N TX again. This morning Charles Colson was the plenary speaker. His new book, The Faith , What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why it Matters, was the center of his talk. It was a reminder of the power of the Gospel and historical, orthodox faith in a culture like ours that continues to push it to the sidelines. He defined culture as, "Religion incarnate." Interesting. I was encouraged to continue to preach and teach the basics of the faith in order to jo...

I'm headed with the pastoral staff--minus Markus and Lisa, who are staying home to have a baby-- to San Diego and the annual National Pastor's Convention . It's always a great time to connect with partners in ministry and hear some thought-provoking people. I love the break and time of inspiration--and the fun of being with people you like being around all the time. I'm looking forward to hearing Greg Boyd and Phyllis Tickle , along with some of the other great authors and speakers there. I'll post along the way to let you know what I am hearing and let you in on some of the conversations.