Last night I heard Rob Bell talk about Love Wins at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center.

I’ve met Rob before, but this was the first time I was able to hear him preach/speak live.

I tried taking notes. But since this was a book tour, Rob’s talk was so masterfully and tightly edited that it made “note taking” impossible. So I started taking some video clips of the talk with my iPhone. A couple of disclaimers regarding the clips: 1) Remember, it’s an iPhone. 2) I had 4th row seats, and from my angle it appears that the room is not very full. That isn’t the case. My guess is there were somewhere between 1500 and 2000 people in attendance. (That’s just a guess).

Here are some video clips from last night as well as some comments about the evening.

1) Like I’ve said before, Rob’s delivery is quirky, at times awkward, but always endearing. It hangs somewhere between the classic style of 20th century preachers and the animated antics of an actor doing a one-man show. His words are passionate and visual. He’s a bit geeky at times. And unassuming. But confident.

2) Here’s a minute from his introduction.

Click here if the video doesn’t work.

3) Perhaps my favorite part of Rob’s talk was what he said in regards to “living water”.

Click here if the video isn’t working.

4) Toward the end of his talk, Rob talked about how so many of us “see” and “view” God, and what Jesus does to that view.

Click here if the video doesn’t work.

5) And then Rob answered questions. He answered them. He didn’t dance around questions like so many accuse him of doing. He answered them. His answers might not be the same answers that you conclude, but that hardly means he’s not answering the question. He’s just not answering it with your answer.

6) Somebody asked Rob how he pursues loving his enemies. The question of clumsily presented, but with good intentions. Here’s what Rob said about the criticism…

Click here if the video doesn’t work.

7) I asked a question. My question was a bit clumsily presented too. I basically said… “Rob, we’ve focused a lot of time and attention of the criticism, controversy, and negative aspects of this book release, can you share a good story that has happened or you’ve heard since releasing the book?”

I didn’t tape Rob’s answer. And I won’t try to recapture it. But he teared up telling the story. And I did too. I think lots of people did.

8) Here Rob talks about restoration and shares a hopeful story…

Click here if video isn’t working.

Wish I had time to write more, but I’m too busy to right now. Maybe sooner or later, I’ll write more. Overall it was good night. We laughed. We prayed. Nobody fired any gunshots.

I think most people walked away hopeful and excited about the good news of Jesus. On my way to the car, I heard lots of people discussing theology, God, ideas, love, etc. It’s good to hear people discussing and debating ideas. And doing it kindly.

I’ll close with this: At one point Rob said something like… “If my critics were here in this room, I’d hope that we’d disagree, debate… and then I’d hope we’d break the bread, pour the wine, and enjoy God’s table together… as family.”