leaving on a jet plane

I leave first thing in the morning on a flight bound for Washington D.C. where I'll be speaking at a college retreat for Fourth Presbyterian Church. I'm tired and I still have some packing and last minute preparations to take care of before I can go to bed. This will be my first time visiting D.C. and I'm looking forward to it. There will be some down time on Friday before the retreat begins and my buddy Dave is going to show me some of the sites. I have always wanted to visit the Smithsonian and Dave thinks we'll be able to have at least a brief time there. I'm a total geek and could probably spend a whole week in the museum so I'll have to pick my exhibits wisely. I might also try to make a quick stop by the Library of Congress just to say I've seen it. Yes, I am a geek.

For those of you who are interested, I'm giving four talks on the theme "Living as Exiles." The basic point is that Christians are called to live in this world at present as resident aliens as we await the full renewal of the world when it will be ruled completely by the peace, justice, and love of God. The talk schedule is as follows:
Talk 1 - Welcome to the Dispersion: Exilic Orientation
Talk 2 - Expatriates Unite: Living in Exilic Community
Talk 3 - In But Not Of: Exilic Engagement and the Work of Transformation
Talk 4 - Exiles No More! A Sure Hope

We'll see how they go. If your interested in the subject you can read the Babylon Series by my friend Denis.