"Six More Years! Six More Years!"

The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins has been re-elected to her second six-year term as the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada -- what a title! Let us keep Sharon in our prayers and show her our support by working hard on behalf of the church we all love so much.

Quote: Brian McLaren's "Wow" Line

"We are not called to be Disciples of Christianity." -- Brian McLaren in Monday evening's worship service.

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Quote: Be the Change Lecture

Dr. Harvey Cox's closing remarks after a wide-ranging lecture on the parallels between the early church and today's contemporary world: "If we let go and don't cling to old structures and old things...there is every reason to believe that the Spirit will move with us...and we can all "Tell It!" and we can all be disciples.

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About Last Night

Here I am pictured with our very own Al B. And Daryl M. at the Week of Compassion Event at the Country Music Hall of Fame. An amazing night filled with great music from Gabe Dixon (tremendous talent) and my friend Craig Wiseman (the best live performer in the land). Plus U got to see Elvis' Gold Cadillac. It was the kind of night that could only happen in Nashville...and at General Assembly!

The gangs all here

Good news: The Church Van made it all the way to Nashville! When I hadn't heard from our crew by late Saturday night I figured they had either made it safely (best case scenario) or were stranded in a stretch of New Mexico desert without cellphone reception (worst case scenario). Now I have the photographic evidence to prove that they made it! Jeanne and Jessie rode over in the van. They are pictures in the Plenary Hall with me and Lea (who both flew, by the way). Glad everyone is here!

Quote: State of the Church

From our General Minister and President, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins in her State of the Church address: "In the midst of this new landscape for missions...with God's leadership we are finding the way. It is an amazing time to be church!"

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Sunday Morning at Vie Street

Guest preacher Dr. William Lee brought a powerful word. Senior Minister Thomas Kleinert welcomed us all to the Lord's Table. The music was amazing. The sanctuary was packed. And glory, glory hallelujah they had veggie sandwiches in the box lunches after worship! It was my first time back at Vine Street since my Ordination there the weekend after I graduated from Seminary, and it was a remarkable day. Special thanks to Rev. Hope Hodnett for making sure I caught the bus to get there and to Al Beasley for taking the picture of me next to Vine Street's sign.

Opening Worship Redux

I grabbed way in the back for Opening Worship (the Pew Ladies at FCC Scottsdale would be proud!) and tried to a picture if the size if the crowd in attendance -- It really us amazing worshipping with several thousand Disciples. Way up there at the front is the Rev. Glen Stewart, the Tennessee Regional Minister. Glen is offering the formal welcome to the Assembly attendees, and many years ago Glen presided at my Ordination to Christian Ministry. Sunday morning I am off to worship at Vine Street Christian Church, where that ordination took place!

Opening Worship at GA

What is that you ask? Well that is FCC Scottsdale's very own Al Beasley playing "Go Tell It On the Mountain" on stage during the opening worship service at General Assembly (I know, I know Mr. Blurrycam strikes again, but trust me Al is there in the upper lefthand corner. It kinda helps if you squint.) I flew over with Don and Kay, and I'm still on the lookout for our group who drove over from Scottsdale in the church van. Expect a picture of them when I see 'em too...hopefully not such a blurry one. We have a great group here representing the church, and it is going to be a terrific Assembly.

Music City Here I Come

Good morning friends! That little, unreadable sign behind me says "Nashville 10:00" and that is my flight out to General Assembly! A direct flight and several timezones later I will be in Music City with several thousand Disciples for our every-other-year big old meeting. Throughout General Assembly I'll be posting short updates here on the blog, so check back often. But a word of warning: I'm doing the whole thing through my phone! So expect some typos, some weird auto-fill changes (my phone originally changed "timezone" to "Toledo Ed"?!?), and some formatting problems. You can also expect all kinds off good news from General Assembly and plenty of great ideas that we can start implementing at FCC Scottsdale!