It was fun to see so many old faces and meet new folks, but I got to spend time with Jana Riess of Westminster John Knox Press, Mike King of YouthFront in Kansas City (he’s involved with all sorts of cutting edge ministry groups), and I got to have lunch with a bundle of young leaders — or leaders of emerging groups — in South Africa.

My schedule was full and I was there for two presentations, and I consider the first one, called “a new perspective on evangelism,” is one of the most important presentations I’ve made in a long time — I’ve been working on “gospel” for a long time and this was my first time to take some of those academic ideas and deliver them in a more public and pastoral setting. My second talk, one I keep improving and working on, is how to teach Jesus: in the Story of Israel, in the Story of the First Century, and in the Story of his own life.  1.5 hours is never enough for such a talk, but that’s long enough to wear me out and get enough thoughts on the table.