wow. I haven't' spent so much time in the presence of God in a long time. This past couple of days I have been at a prayer retreat. Several pastors from the Boston area came together and we just pray. Someone prays for a minute, then another, and another. Someone breaks out in song and we sing, someone shares scripture and then we pray again. And we sit before the Lord for hours in this flexible time of worship. It was amazing. I've experienced these types of worship times before but not recently. At first it's challenging to be before the Lord without certain structure of prayer and praise but it's so enjoyable. We took grand timeouts, pondered God's mercy, grace, kindness, love, authority, nature, power, etc. and we were all moved.

What was doubly amazing was the unity that theses pastors share in the Boston area. I have never seen a gathering of pastors across different denominations and churches who genuinely love each other (verbally, non-verbally, and give themselves and resources). Furthermore their friendships are deep and none of these guys have chips on their shoulders (including the pastors of larger congregations). Amazing. There is a unity like I've not seen before and this common unity was shared across denominational branches? Amazing. Several people wanted to meet with me, discover what our church is up to, and how we are doing, and stay connected to us and offer to be of help in any way possible.

This time has been amazing.