Cliff's not named Kirkpatrick

Greetings from Orlando. I've been absent and I'm sorry but there isn't a decent coffee shop with wi-fi within 30 minutes of my house. I'm currently in a McDonald's and it is an interesting experience to say the least.

I know you are dying to hear about my trip but I really must share about the New Wineskins Association of Churches Convocation! (great new website design by the way).

If you have not read the Strategy Team report you simply must to understand what is going on.

What did I think? Let me sum up the strategy report in one sentence. "You can leave the denomination or stay in the denomination faithfully."

We voted unanimously to do so (stay or leave). Brilliant!

I would be lying if I said that I did not expect a little more.

Here's kind of what I feel like after the meeting (I'm still sorting it out and whatever you do realize that I'm not to be taken too seriously).

We just spent 2 days being shown where the "cliff" was and being told how to "jump of the cliff". We were assured that, "lawyers have looked at the cliff and it is legal to jump, theologians have found it spiritual to jump from cliffs, and that the bible is all for jumping" and, "isn't it exciting to jump off of cliffs?" Also we were told that, "Presbyterians have been jumping off of cliffs for centuries."

We were never, under any uncertain terms, told who might jump off a cliff, and we were also assured that "not jumping" is acceptable and does not mean you are a coward.

A few folks who had jumped off the cliff were present and apparently alive because the spoke but they didn't beg us to jump to them.

All of this was incredibly true and wonderful. If felt good to be around people who wanted to jump off this cliff - but I was a little uncomfortable that apparently we were all being asked to jump off the cliff independantly and that although the landing place was defined we could only assume that if we jumped we would all reach that place from the cliff from which we would all independantly jump.

The lawyers are running the asylum!

I am quite sure you will not read anything like this anywhere else (unless you do). Also keep in mind I am 100% in support of leaving or staying in the denomination faithfully!

Lagniappe:
the preaching? - simply outstanding and worth the entire trip in and of itself.

Places to go in Orlando?
So far all we've done really touristy is go to the worlds largest McDonald's play place - that was fun even if the Philly Cheese steak neither resembled nor tasted like a philly cheesesteak (but it did taste good whatever it was).

I'll be in touch again soon (with much more possitive feedback too)!