Off to Laity, Austin and LA


Tomorrow morning we fly off to the motherland: Texas. We are such suckers for good Tex Mex. Thank God for the co-inherent relationship between Texan and Mexican cuisine.

Here is a little bit of what will be happening over the next week.

First Stop: Laity Lodge Retreat (Mar. 4-7)

We are bursting with excitement about this retreat. Such wonderful people are coming down for it. Folks like: Luci Shaw, Charlie Peacock and his wife Andi from Nashville, Cherith Nordling from Michigan, Terri Fisher, Ahna Phillips and Erik and Shannon Newby from Vancouver BC (and Rosie Perera too), Tamara Murphy from upstate NY, my Regent College pal Brian Williams from Kansas, Matt and Geinene Carson from Atlanta, Jeff Guy (who has fantastic artwork in my book--last chapter), Bryan Brown from Christ Church in Austin, Brie and Kate and Adam, Ceallaign Anderson from Minnesota. Jez and Miriam Carr are coming in from England. My dear friend Jo-Anne White flies in from New Zealand. And other really good folks.

I'll be speaking about mentoring as naming. Luci will talk about mentoring as the art of paying attention. The Welcome Wagon, aka Vito and Monique Aiuto, will play music. Steven Purcell will offer us superb hosting. And the Laity Lodge will minister beauty and rest to our tired souls. Yum yum.

Second Stop: Austin (Mar. 7-9)

We'll drive to Austin on Sunday. There we will get our hearts nourished as we spend time with family. We'll go to Arandas and Chuy's to experience TexMex ecstasy (you can tell we love it, can't you?). We'll also get to celebrate my brother-in-law Cliff Warner's 40th birthday. He is the fabulous rector of Christ Church Anglican, which we miss sorely.

Third Stop: Biola University near LA (Mar. 9-12)

I'm praying for a sweet, divine, pastoral connection with about 100 art students that I'll be addressing Tuesday evening. I'm also praying for God's grace and wisdom as I preach in chapel to around 2000 students on Wednesday morning. My topic is beauty. Beauty in 30 minutes. It'll be great. It'll also be nice to connect with the community there. Afterwards I'll get to hang out with Jeffrey Travis, my filmmaker friend from Argentina. And maybe play golf!

My book is now, according to Amazon, officially "in stock." Hallelujah.

I also just found out that I have a radio interview with a Canadian radio station: AM930 CJCA Edmonton “Positive Talk." It's happening at 7AM (MST) on April 19. Stay tuned. And three of my books will be given away. How fun.

Lastly, I just had the most amazing "class" discussion this afternoon. Three fellow theology and art grad students here at Duke--Bo Hemlich, Brian Curry, Tanner Capps--and I are doing an independent study with Jeremy Begbie. Our topic is the doctrine of creation. Our primary conversation partner is Karl Barth. Today's three-hour conversation is the kind of conversation I dreamed of while a pastor. I'm so grateful for these good men.

Comments

Jim Janknegt said…
I hope you can post your talk about beauty on your blog. I have been reading up on St. Thomas Aquinas and several books about art from a Thomist perspective that talk a lot about beauty.

Have a great time at Laity. I wish I could be there.
Haley said…
Hope it was a great weekend to begin a fruitful trip. Had to laugh at your picture because I took one a lot like it today! http://www.twitpic.com/17f674
Jim: I'll see what Biola posts online. They may post my talk in audio or video form. Not much mention of Aquinas this morning, but that's because we have to start simple. I did quote him, though.

Haley: fun picture. I'll be writing a report on our retreat shortly. Hope your art weekend with Brian M. went well.
robbie said…
so bummed i missed the laity gathering. just stumbled on your blog after seeing the friend request. would love to chat. you're my kind of people. and i'd love to trade new music for the book. what do you say?
blessings, robbie
Robbie: is that Robbie Seay? Just checking. We would have loved to have had you at the retreat. It really was a Spirit-graced time. We had an amazing collection of people who feel called to shepherd artists. I feel very encouraged.

I'd be happy to trade books for music. I'm always looking for new music. Feel free to fire me a note through FB.

Blessings to you.

DT
Unknown said…
I wish i could have made it to one of these gatherings. I work with Shaun Fox at the Austin Stone. I do storytelling for them, and have a heart to shepherd artists here in Austin. I'm excited to get your book.

If you are ever in Austin I'd love to treat you to a beer or coffee.

Blessings,
Bush
Bush, thanks for your kind words. Shaun's a good man. He also has one of his artworks in my book, which in fact serves as the frontispiece for my chapter on the dangers of art in the church.

Glad to know you work at Austin Stone. A lot of good people there. I'll be in Austin in early June for a book-signing party. I don't know if I'll have time for a coffee-beer, but perhaps at some point down the line. We will be doing the Laity Lodge retreat again, so stay tuned.

All the best to you.
sam said…
Just got the book in the mail! Hooray!

It's really lovely and I can't wait to get to reading it... I was also sad to miss the retreat, but hope it was amazing.

Thanks again for including my drawing in the book. It's my first official illustration publication.

Onward and upward!
Sam
Samantha, it was *my* pleasure to include your artwork. I absolutely love it. And we did miss you at the retreat. Maybe next time.
Haley said…
Sam, forgive my "eavesdropping" here -- just wanted to say that, like David, I absolutely loved the drawing of yours included in the book! Do you have a website where I could see more of your work? You can comment here or email me, haleyballast@gmail.com. Thanks!
sam said…
hello haley!

you can find me over at my blog: dwelldeep.com/blog/

cheers,
sam
FYI: I'm going to create a FAQs page for the book (very soon) and it will include weblinks to all the artists' websites.
Melanie said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melanie said…
Three cheers David on publishing!! I came looking for you today because I witnessed to a fellow artist this past week and shared the story on my blog, a few people have written since inquiring about your art and faith class I mentioned, and I suspected you had something in print at this time... I'll shoot you an email later! Things are going splendidly with my stamp designs, and my work is now regularly published in magazines and books. you were such a big part of my success sotry. You can read my recent post here, as you can see that class continues to make an impact:
http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/2010/04/where-he-leads-us.html

Hope you had a wonderful tour!
Blessings,
Melanie Muenchinger

Popular Posts