I was just reading an online discussion about the etiquette of leaving your cell phone on and visible while dining out with friends. The general consensus in this particular discussion was that it’s fairly rude – unless you apologetically announce that you’re waiting for an important call/text/email that simply can’t wait until the meal is over. Otherwise, if you’re constantly checking your phone for incoming messages, you’re conveying to your friends – who are sitting right in front of you – that they aren’t nearly as important as what’s happening in your inbox.

It got me thinking – not for the first time recently – about the incredible changes in the ways we communicate. Things are so rapidly changing, with facebook and twitter and cell phones and text messages and now, google+, that it’s awfully hard to keep up. What hasn’t changed, however, is the fact that we communicate at all. We humans seem to have an innate need to share our lives with the people around us, whether that’s through status updates or twitter feeds, or good old fashioned letters.

Think about the letters of Paul that found their way into our New Testament. There he was, in the first century CE with no computer, no cell phone, not even a telegram… and he found a way to tell the story of what had happened to him and how it had changed his life.This summer, we’re spending some time with Paul – his travels and his letters – in the hopes of learning a little more about this most influential evangelist of the Christian tradition. This Sunday, we find him setting off for his first missionary journey, where he visits a number of cities and begins to tell the story of Jesus.

The thing is, of course, that we all have stories about how our lives have been changed by our encounters with the Living God. So why not send a letter – or a text message – and tell somebody about it? Just don’t do it in the middle of dinner.

On Saturday morning, I’m heading west to Nashville to attend the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The General Assembly is held every two years, in a different location each time. Disciples from all over the United States and Canada – really, from all over the world – gather together to worship, learn, pray, and conduct the business of the church.

One of the most important business items before the assembly this year is the reelection of Sharon E. Watkins as General Minister and President. In many ways, Dr. Watson is the face of our denomination and provides visionary leadership to the church. I was there when she was elected for her first six-year term, and I remember how grateful I felt for her service and how hope-filled that assembly was. On Sunday afternoon, she’ll deliver her State of the Church Address. I’m excited to hear from her again and see what she has to say about the future of the church, and what that means for our own congregation as well.

Every evening, the assembly gathers for worship, which always features dynamic speakers. This year, I’m looking forward to hearing from Holly McKissick, a Disciples pastor in Kansas City whose church has done some really incredible mission work, and Brian McLaren, who is a pastor and writer whose work I’ve found to be very helpful. Beyond that, though, there will be great music, prayer time, and of course, communion. Plus, the opportunity to worship with a couple thousand people all at once doesn’t come around all that often.

Sometimes, though, it’s the informal things that make the General Assembly so meaningful for me. I love reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, and meeting new folks from churches the world over. I’ve often found myself in conversations with people I wouldn’t otherwise meet, and I always come home with several new ideas about how we can do ministry here in this place.

Only a small handful of us FCCer’s are able to attend the Assembly in person this time around, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of it. All of the evening worship services will be streamed live from www.disicples.org/ga, and you can get updates on business items and other events there as well. In addition, I’ll do my best to update this site throughout the week as well.

Looking forward to telling you all about it!

Last Wednesday was one of those days when I was aware of the sun rising and setting. On most days, the sun rises and sets without my taking much note of it; it’s just the background light that helps me see. But last Wednesday, my family and I were up early, driving to Raleigh to catch a flight. Heading east on I-40, the sky gradually brightening, we rounded a curve and there was the sun, a giant, deep red, burning ball in the sky. It always surprises me, when I see a sunrise like that one, that it isn’t accompanied by a trumpet fanfare.

Many hours and many miles later, I stood on the shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where we had met up with several members of our extended family. Evenings are long this time of year, especially that far north, and the sun hangs suspended in the sky long past 9:30, giving the impression that the day goes on forever. I watched the sky slowly darken as the sun, which had started its trek across the sky so long ago and far away, finally dropped below the pine trees to the west.

Throughout the day, I’d hardly noticed the sun, other than to tip my sunglasses down from the top of my head every once in a while. But when I watched the light finally fade at the end of the day, I realized that the sun had been there all along – and not just hanging there in the sky, either, but empowering everything we do, fueling everything that happens on this earth. Even when it finally slipped below the horizon and the sky turned dark, I knew that the sun had not left but was simply making its long journey past the rest of the world, empowering people on the other side of the globe, leaving the glowing moon as a reminder that the sun’s light still shines.

This Sunday is Pentecost, the festival of the church when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the fulfillment of the promise that God will never leave us. Sometimes, I think, we notice God in big moments like those brilliant morning sunrises, but we forget – or don’t notice – that God is right there with us all day long, and all night long, too.  That’s the Holy Spirit, which sometimes comes in with a rush of a mighty wind, but often just whispers through us, empowering everything we do and reminding us that we are not alone.