Last week at this time I was headed down to Huntsville, AL to visit some good buddies of mine that I haven't seen in years. David Moerbe is a pastor at Good Shepherd in the Birmingham area and made the time for me over coffee. We caught up from our seminary days, chewed the fat, solved all the world's problems and dreamed about a vision for the church at large.
After that, I zipped off to this cool coffee place in Huntsville called Stearns Coffee. (But, as some of you know, I got way way lost and was an hour late, but I got there and it was worth it!) What a cool place! They make coffee art lattes. Check out the video. It was so beautiful that I felt guilty for drinking it.
I caught up with a college buddy of mine named Billy Chia who is a worship art pastor at Chase Valley Church. Billy is doing some amazing things and has a passion for connecting people to Jesus. And, he's got a cool blog...check it out.
As an aside: it is always a great idea to go to a different community and break up your routine. All too often, we get stuck in ruts (which are just graves with the ends kicked out). When we are in a routine, it's hard to get new ideas, a fresh perspective and a different way of looking at problems and opportunities. Leonard Sweet talks about this in his March 16, 2007 Napkin Scribble called "randomizing rituals". (it's about 3/4 of the way down on the page).
If you are in a bad rut, get outside your routine and check out a place you normally don't hang out at. You just might find new inspiration for your life.
