YOUNG LEADERS RETREAT JANUARY 2009 DAY 01

Thursday, January 8

I love reading a good book. I get an opportunity for those delightful opportunities on some of my trips back East, and since I had no other pressing issues or deadlines, I got to read from early in the morning through the late afternoon. Those times coincided with my flights from San Jose to Dallas and on to Baltimore. The book was one of those international undercover mysteries. It wouldn’t necessarily win a prize as top literature, but for plot and action I score it a 5-star. It had lots of anticipation, building one scene at a time, with just the right mix of back-and-forth between the characters. Wild things happened, followed by normal (believable) conversations, followed by more intense action.

In between my reading frenzies, I dozed off a few times on each flight; such contented sleep, since I was wrapped up with a good book that absolutely consumed my attention. I imagine I had one of those silly smiles on my face while hurling through the air at several hundred miles per hour. The only drag was that my flight landed at BWI before I finished the book! This happens on almost every trip. Even though I’m a fast reader, I’m usually not done with the books by the time I have to stop and return to the real world. Airplanes are like insulated bubbles suspending normal life for a few hours: no phones, no email, no contact with anyone outside of the plane. I know they will land and return me to current events.

But as long as they’re in the air, I love the seclusion they offer from everything. That’s one reason why I look forward to overnight flights to Asia—especially when I get to fly Business Class. I know it sounds crazy, but for me, the longer the flight, the better…

Anyway, it would be nice to read an entire book on a trip back East, but I will happily read from early morning to mid afternoon if given the opportunity. I’ve got another trip planned for early February; all I need is a recommendation for a good action-espionage book with undercover agents and/or intriguing twists in the story-line.

I had an opportunity to have late dinner with Lorrel, who took a break from her doctor duties to join me at P.F. Chang’s in the Inner Harbor near my hotel. We had a delightful chat about her work and all the decisions she must make in the next couple months about where she will do her fellowship years. She’ll be in Baltimore at Hopkins until May of 2010, after which she had four more years at some hospital doing her fellowship. She’s likely to return to California (UCSF or Stanford), but the lure of a fellowship at the nation’s top hospital (Hopkins) is strong.

In either case, I end my tenure as supervisor of the Capital District the last day of April. I will be sad to leave that post because of my love for the friends I have in the East. Having an opportunity to be with them “officially” has been one of the nicest and most enjoyable parts of my life. The good news is that the new supervisor, Harriet Mouer (from Ohio), is a good friend. I anticipate that she will still be happy to have me travel east regularly after the transition.

Our new district will expand to nearly 150 churches, covering Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the southern half of New Jersey. That’s a huge area. I’ve offered to help Harriet in any way I can, and I am so happy about her appointment. I figured that I would probably know whoever was to become our supervisor, just because I’m old and know lots of people in Foursquare. But there are few people for whom I have more regard than Harriet. She is completely selfless, wonderfully relational, thorough and willing to take risk.

We’ll know more about the new districts after a big meeting for all supervisors and divisional leaders later this month (on the heels of my trip to Peru and Mexico starting next week).

I capped off my evening by watching the BCS Championship game. Hoping to stay on California time during my brief stay out here, I powered through ‘til midnight, hoping I would actually sleep late the next day.