sola gratia

I’d guess I’m not alone in this, but I don’t do very well in large crowds. Of course large is a relative term, because even a small number of folks can seem bigger depending on the space in which they’re collected. But generally speaking, crowds aren’t my thing––especially when trying to navigate through one. I get nervous. I become frustrated. And I start to feel as if I need to escape. Which was part of my predicament in January of last year when I was selected to be one of two pastors from the Memphis Conference to attend a denomination-wide Young Clergy Forum in Washington, DC. Overarchingly, it was an amazing opportunity. But it was a tad stressful too. If you’ve never been to our nation’s capitol, Reagan National Airport is ridiculously busy on a normal day. But the afternoon that I landed was the first the airport had been open since a major snowstorm had shut it down for more than three days. To say that traffic was backed up is a ridiculous understatement. Thousan...