It’s great to be home, even if I was delayed two hours, and lost my iPhone. Waaaah. But I’m not letting it steal my joy. What a great time at the General Council of the Christian & Missionary Alliance!
Pastors and missionaries are my favorite people to hang out with. Funny, smart, happy (usually). It was awesome to make new friends, and hang out with church leaders from around the world.
Here are some wrap-up items:
Louisville really grew on me. My first impression was that its downtown was worn out and blighted. I had a top floor view (17 stories) from the hotel, and could see the Ohio River, and several steel-bridges, with no artistic flair, to them. Boarded up buildings a block long. Stuff like that. Okay, so not a good first impression. But the more I wandered and drove and hung out, the city really grew on me.
Southern hospitality is alive and well. Super service at the Marriott Downtown. Everywhere we went, except Walmart, the people who helped us were really nice. Plus I discovered some of the cool/hip parts of town… and realized there was a lot more to discover. I like that. It makes me want to explore.
Here are my restua-RANTS and RAVES…
- Smokey Bones… yes, it’s a chain, but has my favorite ribs with sweet, tangy sauce, and just the right texture.
- The Red Tavern… amazing food and classy ambiance on Fourth Street. I had pot roast, but the Flinns had pecan-encrusted halibut. I only wish Margi were there (she left one day early).
- BoomBozz… nice atmosphere, good pizza, friendly service, clean bathrooms (YES!).
- Highland Coffee… DELICIOUS coffee, cool atmosphere, free wifi. I LOVED your sugar free blended mocha. Friendly staff. The one guy memorized my really complicated drink after one visit! Impressive.
- Champions… sports bar/restuarant with really good food, in the hotel. A nice surprise.
- Luigi’s… okay, my favorite place. An old-time Italian lunch joint, with delicious pizza and a huge variety of pastas, served buffet style. This is the kind of pizza I miss from my Chicago days. If you’re in town, head to Luigi’s. And then walk half a block to:
- Louisville Slugger factory. Home of my childhood bat. You can see them making the bats through the windows. They have a museum (we didn’t visit) and a store (we did visit). … and then walk to see..
- The Louisville Bats minor league baseball team… in one of the prettiest ball parks I’ve ever seen. Like a mini-Wrigley field. Perfect place for a family outing; clean, friendly, affordable, and scaled down just right from the big leagues.
I have to confess, I was bummed to leave town.
A huge thank you to the leaders and staff or the C&MA for hosting an outstanding conference for so many people. Great job. I love you guys, and feel humbled and honored that you trusted me with the pulpit.
Once again, our missionaries proved what heroes they are; in the last service, we consecrated a fresh batch, and kept true to our value that lost people matter to God, and he wants them found.
God did stuff. That’s good.
Links:
The Christian and Missionary Alliance
Audio of the keynote speakers, including my talk, and Todd Adams, the missionary whose kids were kidnapped. The links are on the right side of the page, “mp3 download” for each nite. I spoke on Wednesday.
Pastors’ resources (from my seminar).
Here’s a picture of where I spoke, though I couldn’t get the whole building one shot.