Slept with the wedding preacher. We shared a bed, although I think I'm the only one who got any sleep. I snore something fierce--that's what they tell me.
Madison, Indiana, celebrating the marriage of dear friends. Ryan was the preacher and I the wedding singer.
He's a great speaker. Passionate, challenging, insightful. A witty man, and playful, both on and off stage. I'm remembering his competitive bowling game when the boys went out for Alburn's bachelor party. Not bad, dude. We should go bowling again.
There are now three wedding sermons that I remember. One by Sam Leonor a year ago in Riverside, one by Andy at Liana and Jason's wedding, and Ryan's from yesterday: That marriages are meant to be live-action models of Grace, deployed so the world can see how God loves.
Ceremony completed, we had a smile over the ying-yang of his black-tie-on-white-shirt against my white-tie-on-black-shirt.
Then good times at the reception (I suck at blowing bubbles...) chatting with Kentucky Darren and the Michigan Smiths. That'd be a good name for a bluegrass band, right?
Found out this morning that Ryan likes bluegrass. I didn't know that. Wouldn't have guessed. And that's exactly what I liked about this trip.
I see him leading community actions in Hollywood and participating in the public conversation on healthcare reform. I hear him next door in his office, moderating a conference call between various church leaders and President Obama.
But it's these one-on-one moments when I see this man I respect in a different way.
Sitting in Starbucks at Louisville International Airport, planning the worship service for this coming Sabbath, I remember how much I enjoy working with him. I don't think I yet know half the reasons God aligned us in mission and ministry, but I know it's been an honor for me.
We board different flights to Chicago, whence he'll drive to Michigan and I'll catch Southwest to Portland. We'll both be back in Hollywood by weekend, God willing.
As he rises in the public scene, the activist minister, holding tightly to faith in one hand and reaching intently for social justice with the other, I think of him most fondly as the guy who showed me how to use the Iphone I borrowed for the weekend.
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