the Outlook Blog

Two nights ago, on my way to the Church Basement Roadshow (which was great - my full review of the evening can be found here), I stopped at a pizza joint to grab a quick dinner. I was the only one there until another gentleman came in and ordered his meal. I sensed that he too was from out of town, and so I asked if he was here for the Presbyterian gathering. He said he was as well and we started to eat dinner together. As it turned out, his name was Dr. Kobus Gerber and he is the current General Secretary for the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa; he is here serving as an Ecumenical Representative to the General Assembly.

We had a wonderful dinner together as we talked about the emergent church, my interests and passions, my wife's PhD program, the church in South Africa, the horrible crisis in Zimbabwe (which he said has the potential to be the next Rwanda) and some other topics. It reminded me of one of the blessings of events such as these - when you can be surrounded by so many people from all over the United States and the world. When would I ever have had the chance to sit down and grab pizza with the General Secretary of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa? Never - never, that is, until General Assembly.