Tonight I heard Bishop Will Willimon for the first time in several years. That guy is the best damn meddlin’ preacher I know. He goes from zero to meddlin’ faster than any preacher I know. He’s never afraid to mix it up and start pressing peoples…well, buttons, comfort zones, you name it. He preached on the call of Samuel from 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Excellent stuff.
Also, we are working on General Conference (GC) elections this year. The laity are moving more quickly than the clergy, of course. We have managed to elect 9 out of the 11 GC delegates we need. At present, we’re log jammed with 3-5 folks at the top of the voting. So, we need to just push 2 more through, then we can kind of start over and vote for Jurisdictional Conference (JC) delegates.
As is my custom, I’m reading Henri Nouwen‘s In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership this week, as I said in a earlier post. I’m reading a chapter in the evening. This time around is particularly pointed since I’ve got the elections in the back of my mind as I read. Willimon’s preaching and reflection also makes for a fertile context in which to think through Nouwen’s words. I’m simply reading this week and jotting down thoughts in my journal. I’ll blog my thoughts hopefully next week. I read the prologue and introduction last night (Monday). I decided I needed to hold off on more concrete conviction for another day. Well, tonight I’ll get into it a little more in earnest.
Guy M Williams 
Willimon was pretty good. I’d never heard him live before, just red some books. He’s good at using stories. He obviously even better at generating story-worthy events in his life and ministry. Either my life isn’t that eventful or I’m just not as perceptive about what’s happening. Or maybe it’s both.
“He obviously even better at generating story-worthy events in his life and ministry.”
Yeah, no kidding. I’m sure my life is more eventful than I realize, but he’s definitely better at finding himself in some crazy story-worthy happenings.
Last time I’d heard him live was at a National Youth Worker convention in mid/late 90s.