Meeting People

Wednesday was a big day for me. I got up early, drove four hours to Atlanta, sat in on some pretty amazing talks (info from them to come later) then that night, I was blessed beyond belief to visit with and talk face-to-face with a large number of folks I've listened to for about a year. 

A couple weeks ago, I'd received notice about a "Bloggers Meetup" that would be held on the Wednesday night of the Catalyst Conference. I was so excited and sent my RSVP right away. As I saw the list of those who would attend, my excitement grew. 

When I left the Catalyst Labs, I went to check into my hotel. My TomTom decided I needed to go around the block in order to get there and the front desk decided I needed a smoking room even though I'd reserved a non-smoking one, but that's just a whole different story. 

I headed out to the restaurant where where the Meetup was to be held — again taking the long way around, thank you, TomTom — but I made it to the Loafing Leprechaun. The first person I saw as I entered was Anne Jackson, whom I've had the privilege of meeting before. After a brief word and a hug, I found my way to the patio where close to a hundred of my nearest and dearest never-met friends were gathered. 

As soon as I passed through the doors, I saw faces I knew but didn't know. I mean, I've seen them on Twitter and on their respective blogs, but I'd never seen them in person. 

I've conversed several times about truly serious things and some really silly things with Nick Carnes and wouldn't you know, he was the first person I actually saw and made contact with. With him was Latasha Morrison and Billy Wilson. I sat with them as we shared about ourselves and told stories of what's going on in our lives and ministries. 

As I sat there, I met Shaun King, of Courageous Church in downtown Atlanta. I've watched from my comfortable home and life for months, being challenged by this young man's life and passion for reaching people for Christ, and the way God has used him and others in the aftermath of the flooding in Atlanta. NOTE: If you read his blog, you'll see that as I write this, the city and state governments have asked that ALL demolition and clean up activities be done by October 18th. My first thought is to wonder where I can stay while I go down here to help tear down walls and help in whatever ways possible. If you're reading this, I hope you'll pray about whether you're supposed to go or give. You can learn more here. Meeting Shaun and his wife introduced me to a man of humility and generosity. That brief encounter was a blessing. 

Nick and Billy laughed and joked when Pete Wilson came in, saying it looked like the entry of the Jonas Brothers because the way people gathered so quickly around him looked like an entourage or a bunch of groupies. However, when he walked by, I was encouraged by the flash of recognition when I introduced myself to him and was able to share a moment about ministry. 

Scott Williams paused and shook my hand and thanked me for visiting and commenting on his blog and we shared a moment talking about prison ministry and the way he challenges me through his words. I was able to thank Brad Ruggles for setting up the party and visit with Jenni Catron of Crosspoint Church in Nashville.

I had the pleasure of listening to Jon Acuff speak in one of the labs earlier and was amazed at his words about fame. It's something we want, but it's something the enemy uses. We think our story isn't as good as someone else's and so we keep it to ourselves. That's so wrong! God gave us the story we have so we can share it with someone and not discount it. Jon said we need to just give our story to God as we share it and let Him use it to help someone else. When it comes to fame, he shared that God had reminded him that He, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator of all heaven and earth, knew his name — what other fame could be better? I was able to briefly speak with Jon after his Lab, and also at the Meetup. 

I met Tim Schraeder again. I'd met him in Indiana when I was at Innovate '09. This time I was able to share with him that information he had given me was something we can use at church. Those are words that a communications person just loves to hear. 

Others I met included Chad and Amy Houck — amazing family story — Bryan Allain, Dawn Nicole Baldwin, Tony Steward, Carlos Whittaker, Buzz Brockway, D'Art Strickland, and Matt Bortmess. 

While I enjoyed talking and meeting all those folks, the best ten minutes of my evening was visiting with Matthew Paul Turner, the author of Churched, one kid's journey toward God despite a holy mess. When I walked up to him, he recognized me and after a quick hug, we talked about his book and how I grew up in a church like he described in it and how God has brought me through and into His service. We talked about my book being published. He gave me such encouragement about how I'm going along with that and told me that he loved the title and promised to read it for review for me. 

I am so blessed to know these people, even though I only know them via social media and now a brief meeting in a social setting. I know them enough that I was able to encourage them with words of hope and joy and caring just as they were me. The theme of every chat was the same: God is good and it's so cool that He lets us do what He does.

Yeah. I'm good with that.

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