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Lon and Brianna are alive and well in Minneapolis! Lon will be sending back reports from the "front" and we will post them on the website. Please continue to pray for both of them and for the PC(USA).
GENERAL ASSEMBLY – DAY 1
Friday, July 2, 2010
“Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding…For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will find your joy.” [Proverbs 2:2,10]
I awoke at 3:00 AM to get to the airport by 5:30 for the 6:25 flight out of Evansville. Climbing the steps to the small plane, I couldn’t help but notice the guy in front of me – every bit of 6’6” and 300 pounds. “Wow,” I thought, “this guy’s not going to leave much room for whoever sits next to him!” Yeah, seat 10A is next to seat 10B, but you’re getting ahead of me. A bit of conversation revealed how much this big guy really dislikes his job, just because it involves a lot of regional flights on small planes. My discomfort was somehow lessened just a little by his admission. I felt sorry for him, actually.
Second leg of my trip, Memphis to Minneapolis, I sat next to a non-descript lady in her 60’s who did everything she could to not tell me about her job. Turns out most people don’t like to hear they’re sitting next to an IRS agent.
One last person I met in that first day of GA was Josh. He’s the doorman at my hotel. Josh is really good at his job. You can’t get in or out without one of his hands opening the door and the other offering a sweeping gesture as you enter or leave. Late Friday night, I sat on a bench by Josh’s door. He actually spoke with excitement about his job – no, his profession. He’s a professional greeter and encourager.
So, here’s my lesson as I begin this week in a foreign land with a bunch of people who seem a lot more serious than me about John Calvin. Three parts wisdom, one part obedience.
1. I have felt more than a bit uncomfortable today – squeezed and pulled, but so have others.
2. I have felt more than a bit uncomfortable in proclaiming my place among others in the wide spectrum of Presbyterian theology, but God has said there’s enough room in that spectrum for all of us to be wrong…but accepted.
3. Not only do we need more “Josh’s” in the world, I need to be more like Josh, recognizing that mission and evangelism really isn’t all that difficult to accomplish. Open a few doors, smile…and realize it’s called “applying what you’ve been taught.” That sounds like wisdom, huh?
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