Hey Y’all! Its Rachelle blogging to you live from the digital lounge at Emergent SD. I will gleefully say that I have not attended ONE session all day today because the dish in the courtyard is just too good and the sun is just too bright and shiny. Jen and I reunited last night with much joy, and have proceeded to flap our jaws off ever since. We’ve tucked in with Sally Morgenthaller to discuss lecture tours, worship art, and of course, the fine art of relaxing in massage chair while someone does your nails. Lunch found us round the umbrella tables with the bloggers – about twenty five people or more – pointing at each other’s name tags and going “Ohmigosh! You’re _____________ !!!(fill in name of blog here.)” That’s the gathering phenomenon that happens when all of your friends are generally invisible.) P.S. I wore my “god reads my blog” t-shirt. It was a big hit.

I bailed part way through the bloggers pizza fest because Ken Lloyd invited me to head over to the mall for lunch with Deborah and the Beans. (When a bald man with kodachrome tattoos and orange glasses asks me to go somewhere, I’m damned well gonna go! Cuz, how often does that happen?) After lunch I stuck my head in a lecture entitled “Women Pastor’s: Why or Why Not” featuring my former professor Stan Grenz. It was rolling along nicely, with all the women itching for a voice, when April called me with and offer I couldn’t refuse. I finally got to fulfill that secret wish to be in a band! (sort of.) Harp 46 asked me to fill in as a reader at tonight’s gig. I even got to go to “rehersal” in the hotel room. V. chill…with Posido laying it down unplugged and Nuc giving us the rhythm section by pounding away on his knees. The EC name badges hang around lanyards on our necks like backstage passes, so that really added to the “being in a band” illusion.

Lest you think I’ve taken no advantage of various learning opportunities….Yesterday I hit a session on Physiology and Spirituality, but kind of tuned out when the guy said you could not get to know Jesus through yoga. (Beg to differ bro! Were you AT that morning yoga session with Sherry Paggit. Cuz I’m thinking she’s got a direct line.)
The good news is that at the Physiology session, I ran into Pat Loughery and got to hug his neck. (Thank you thank you thank you to our wonder-spouses, Shannon and Paul, for staying home on kid duty and letting us be here. It’s been so awesome!) Pat and I sat on the patio for awhile with a kid named Jake who’s planted a church in Orange County. At his request we gave him the low down on how to incorporate art into the church, hopefully without blowing it up.

In the afternoon I hit a learning session with Todd Hunter and John Franke which left me with a nice little history of epistemology (how we know what we know) which I’ll edit up for you and post when I get home. And of course the Emerging Women’s Leadership’s critical concerns course was awesome – including a bonus conversation with Dan Allender of Mars Hill graduate, who “got it” for the very first time when we all told him how much in cost us just in childcare costs to get us here. (Me = approx. $100/day) We love edumacating the guys, we really d — especially when they are as kind and gracious and down right egalitarian as Mr.Allendar. After chit chatting awhile with the Lost Boys of San Diego (Jim Henderson’s interview with three non Christians) and telling some fairly conservative listeners about life with the naked pagans, I wrapped up the evening with birthday dessert for Posido with ten other folks in tow.

I think Emergent is getting all the bloggers in one spot at the EC website, so go surf around and see what you can find. I’m gonna put all the links in this thing later cuz right now I’ve gots to go find Lin-DELL.

Bye now!