Two Fans, a Mouse, and a WOW moment

It was 18 degrees when I left KC at 9:45 this morning, with ice glistening on the trees. It was 68 degrees when I landed in DC this afternoon. Hence my delight that when I entered the guest quarters at Wesley Seminary, there was a fan. I always travel with the black one seen at right; the white one was already here. I had looked on weather.com to see what the weather was like here, but the reality is a lot more warm.

I am just back from supper with Sara Sheppard who works with Doug Strong, and to whom much of the detail falls around events such as the one tomorrow here. She gave me a packet with schedule info, etc., in it...I was belated in getting a bio to her for in the packet, so in the page that has a bit about the speakers she used what she could find on the web and graciously also included this phrase in describing me "(she) is a leading voice on the emerging church within United Methodism." Wow. Part of me says, how sad that I, with all my inadequacies is considered a leading voice--more than half the time when I get up in front of folks and start talking about this stuff, I feel so inadequate and so unable and so unknowledgable and yet I do know that people want to know and that because I've spent so much time on all of this, and partly now because I have a "d.s." after my name, my voice is one to which some folks listen. Yikes. Many of the younger voices who speak from their own personal experiences are so much more able to describe what is happening. But the way our world and church works, those who are older and have many more years of ministry are given an ear. So tomorrow, I will speak. I have a call on my life about this, of that I am profoundly sure...and it is God's call. And as we here so often, those whom God calls, God equips.