From Green to Brown

Greetings from Albuquerque - but temporarily! From the plane, it looks like the ground has changed from lush green to dull brown. New Mexico has received a good bit of rain this month, and flash floods are a possibility.

Before I left Montreat this morning, I heard a wonderful sermon by Bill Carl (picture below), the new president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He has just left a 20-year stint as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas, where he declares "there are more Baptists than people."

It was a flawless piece of preaching - great content, well delivered, perfect hand gestures, no manuscript, and (most of all) the sermon was helpful. I've heard him preach before, at the Massanetta Springs Bible Conference, when we were both on the program. I was grateful that I preached my little bitty sermon before him, and not after.

Bill is certainly one of the church's great preachers, and our pulpits could use a bit more of whatever he's got.

On the downside, the worship service ended with a strange piece of music. A local choir presented the special music today, with a number of stirring anthems. After the benediction, we were invited to sit and the choir began to hum "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." Over the music, a member of that choir did a verbal tribute to war heroes. Then she proceeded to recite the entire Gettysburg Address with tears building in her eyes. It was very strange to hear such words at the end of a Christian worship service.

In fact, it was downright surreal to hear Lincoln's words read to a full auditorium of Confederates. Hmm... Maybe the War Between the States is finally over.

I doubt I'll hear much nationalistic music in a Benedictine monastery. I head to Christ in the Desert tomorrow by way of Santa Fe and the Ghost Ranch Conference Center. It will be a full week of silence and contemplative prayer. It's unlikely that I'll post much here until I emerge from the desert on the 18th. Be sure to check back - the camera is charging up for a lot of pictures.

Peace and love to all!