Good morning from the future! Driving through time zone is a primitive form of time travel, so I’m currently writing this in a bright neon red spandex jumpsuit and moon boots (a la Back to the Future II or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure). Side note: why did every futuristic movie in the 80s envision the future as a place where people wore insanely bright, tight clothing? Thank God we’re not there yet. We only have Justin Bieber to deal with right now. The signs of our times, folks…
I’m writing to you from my hotel room in Buffalo, NY. Lake Erie has spread a thick fog through the city streets and visibility is terrible. Canada looms just 15 minutes north of me and somewhere close by in this grey misty web Niagara Falls is flushing a whole lot of drool over a cliff. Nature!
The drive was pleasant enough. One broken window. One sweaty car seat. About a dozen white mochas. There was this gorgeous smokey, rose-colored sunset just outside of Cleaveland. Haven’t seen the Mothman or Big Foot yet. Keep praying for a sighting, please. Pennsylvania was covered in many trees. Upstate New York is dark and foggy and populated by people who pass you on the highway way too closely. But I didn’t come here for the sights. I didn’t come here for the Holiday Inn continental breakfast. I didn’t come here to wear my Cardinals hat in Yankee territory. I came here for New England.
For those of you who don’t know, it’s my desire to plant a church in New England some time in the future (a non-neon, non-spandex future). Jared Wilson (who I’ll be meeting with on Wednesday morning) wrote this article and started my life on a new trajectory. New England is in dire need of the gospel and I’m drawn into this fight. Whether it takes ten years or 50 years, this is where I’m going to die, serving people and loving them.
SO. I’ll be attempting to blog my way through this trip. No promises on the consistency of these updates.
On Monday, I’ll be in New Hampshire. Tuesday starts out in New Hampshire but will mostly be a free day to do homework (yes, I said homework) and see the sights. On Wednesday, I’ll be trotting up to Vermont and then back down to Boston. Thursday, I’ll be hanging out in Providence, RI. This is the city that’s really been on my heart. I’d love to plant a church there and get to know those folks. Friday finds me in Connecticut. Friday afternoonish, I’ll begin driving back. And, if Jesus wants it, I’ll be back in St. Louis by Saturday night.
Bam.
Now, in every city I’ll be meeting with at least one church planter. This is a reconnaissance mission in a lot of ways. I’ll be interviewing a dozen pastors, asking them about their cities, the people, the particular challenges and advantages of planting in the least-churched region in America, etc. I figure it’d be nice to know what I’m getting into.
And on that note, I’m going to get ready to disembark. I’ll be driving across upstate New York today. Through Rochester, Syracuse, Utica (which I will burn to the ground after I steal their copier- any Office fans?) and then up to Vermont, where I hope to score some maple syrup and catch a showing of the Hunger Games. The meetings with the church planters start tomorrow. I certainly would appreciate your continued prayers for safety and fruitfulness and fun.
Until next time.
