right now, I’m approximately 31,000 feet in the air, listening to a playlist consisting of mewithoutyou, elvis costello’s new album & unreleased michael jackson tracks and staring down at the most incredible fluffy white clouds (p.s. I just mistyped ‘white’ & my iPhone corrected it to ‘whore’…). no, I’m not high or hallucinating… i’m on a plane to grand rapids, michigan.

i’m heading to a conference that I’ve been excited about for quite awhile. rob bell—pastor, author, communicator extraordinaire, nooma creator, dude who wears cool glasses—is hosting ‘poets, prophets & preachers‘, along with fellow uber-communicators peter rollins & shane hipps.

the tagline of the conference is “recapturing the art of the sermon,” which is something I feel very strongly about. I think communication is an artform and doesn’t have to be the “crap, here comes the sermon” part of a worship gathering. now certainly, I don’t believe—like many—that the sermon should or must be the central focus of the worship time, but I certainly do think it can be a primary way to connect with & engage god and others.

so, over the next few days, I hope to check back in here when the opportunity arises. I’d like to be able to share some insights & report on all the christian celebrity stalkers that are always present at this kind of event.

alright, back to cloud gazing & trying my best to not knee the poor woman in front of me in the back…