Back frm the 'Center of the Universe'

Just got back from Toronto last night. Actually I spent the whole weekend in Markham, which is nothing like downtown TO. Lots of hotels and flat, square business buildings. I went for the Free Methodist National Conference. Here's the summary:

Highlights

1. Bishop Ildo from Brazil - He spoke on seeing what is real, and on materialism. He is a strong theologian that communicates with heart and love. English is not his first language, but the heavy Brazilian accent only seems to endear him to us and make his message all the more urgent.

2. Meeting people - I had the chance to meet a number of people from around the country who I had only known by email/blog. Thanks to Coop for giving me the backstage pass to people he's known for a long time. Rich, Jared, and others who I met, thanks for talking and listening.

3. "Crash" - On Sunday night a bunch of us went to see this movie starring a number of stars including Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Ludacris, and many other familiar names. It is a amazing movie, dealing largely with racism, and the 'grayness' of people making good and bad choices. It will keep you guessing as to what happens next. There is a lot of language and a bit of nudity, but don't let that stop you. This is amazing art, and will keep the conversation going for hours after you see it.

4. Conversation with Nancy - It is always good to talk to her; she asks good questions and believes in who I am and what I do, and is fighting on my behalf wherever she can.


Not-so-highlights

1. Back in the church life - Not being around church stuff for the last cople of months, it was tough to step back into that world. I felt (and feel) fairly 'out of it', not having a place where I could work out some of what I heard and learned. and not having a place/job to back to when the conference was over.

2. It is easy to slip into old patterns of conversation with people I've known for a long time, but the underlying current of what is between is does not disappear. There was some of that on the weekend as well, and that is a tough place to be in. I also found out that because of something I wrote just after I got let go, there are no longer any links from the Lakeview website to personal blogs. Too bad.

Also, I watched a couple of biographies on Johnny Depp. He is the coolest.