It's Friday morning, and I am once again greeted by another snow covered scene here in Portland, OR. I haven't posted anything on the blog over the last two days because I find myself trying to figure out the best way to compress what I'm hearing and learning for a quick blog sound bite, and everythig I come up with falls so incredibly short of reality. It just doesn't do it justice. Maybe picrures and captions...who knows. I wanted to at least offer a quick update and let you know that the week has been incredible. From multiple gatherings of leaders across the PDX area to lunch with Rick Mckinley, it's been an incredibly full week of insight into what is happening in the Portland area.
Thank you for your patience as I process everything. The roads are icy so I am going to get an early start on our journey over to meet Luis & Kevin Palau. More soon from the Catalyst Road Trip adventure through what is often called "the least churched region in America."
Praying for another glimpse of the sun,
LV
Looking forward to your observations. We bring in a lot of interns from the Bible Belt to help work in our small, inner-city church, and their reactions sounded kind of similar to some of the things you shared in our conversation yesterday. The conversations, the way people look at faith, spirituality, community, the Bible, Jesus and the nature of church all can be very different than in other regions of the country. The “starting points” of most are very different (many grew up unchurched).
I’ve found ministry and faith conversations to go quite deep here. People want to talk about faith issues.
Looking forward to having you out here at Palau!
Comment by Allan White - Jan 30, 2009 @ 10:45 AM
LV, thanks for showing up today at Palau! It was the highlight of my day to see the old camper van pull in. I hope you caught a glimpse of how much God is working through the churches in the Portland area. God bless you on your travels.
Comment by James Gleason - Jan 30, 2009 @ 03:07 PM
Hey guys, here’s the photos I shot of the meetup at Luis Palau:
http://flickr.com/photos/luispalau/sets/72157613128134343/
I was about to say I enjoyed having you visit us, and I did - but what I really enjoyed was your questions for Luis, listening to his answers, and seeing the camaraderie of the visiting pastors. It just felt… neat!
PS - my kids asked me tonight, “When is LV coming to visit again?” They were most put out when I told them you’d be back on the road.
Comment by Allan White - Jan 31, 2009 @ 12:37 AM
Where are you going to be in Seattle. Would like to meet you folks.
Rod
Comment by Rod Stephens - Jan 31, 2009 @ 01:44 PM
Allan, James, thank YOU for letting me hang out with you guys. It was a great day…really hope to see you guys again soon! And tell the kids that they can always jump in and drive for me! :)
Rod, I am posting a list of our Seattle gatherings Monday morning. Please let me know if you get it, would love to meet you as well…my email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as well. thanks!
Comment by LV Hanson - Feb 01, 2009 @ 10:31 PM