Next week, I’m leaving with the bishop of our North Georgia Conference and several of my fellow recent ordinands for a ten-day tour of Israel. I’ve never had a burning desire to travel to Israel. But I’ve heard from other pastors who felt like me—and went anyway—and found that it was a deeply rewarding experience, and a great benefit to their ministry.
Furthermore, over the past seven or eight years of the ordination process, I bonded with several friends who are going with me. I hope it will also be a celebration of the end of our pain and suffering journey.
I’m bringing my Flip camcorder and a camera with me. I hope to post short videos of my trip each day. (This will, of course, depend on having access to wi-fi or internet, which I don’t think will be a problem.) I want my blog to be a permanent journal of my trip, to which I can refer for years to come as I prepare sermons and Bible studies.
I leave on Wednesday, so stay tuned!