Bishop David Roller

Noon time and moon-time

God's smart, with the whole day and night thing. I wouldn't have thought of night-time. I'd have just made day-time, so people could work all the time, thinking we'd all get a lot more done. But He thought of the moon as well as the sun. That's a good enough reason to really like God, right there. They introduce us to the pleasure of balance, contrast, and rhythm. Last night, from Lisbon, it was very clear. Perhaps you noticed it, too.

I have new binoculars and I've been looking at the moon through them. They're only 8x but I can still see a lot of detail. Can't see the golf ball but I can see the craters. Without fail looking at the moon provokes a shrinking effect on me, it makes me feel small and lost in the larger swirl of the universe. I feel that same way when I fly into a major city and I wonder how we're ever supposed to connect the Jesus story to so many people. It's overwhelming.

Then I pull away the binoculars and it's just a spot in the sky.  Or I step off the plane into the airport and there are just plain-old people around me, everyone with a similar set of hopes, pains, loves and problems. No one person is overwhelming, they're lovable one-by-one. The moon reminds me.

The volcano got us

Our trip today to Northern Ireland from England had to be cancelled because of the volcanic ash cloud. We were looking forward to a united worship service tonight near Belfast and a morning with our pastors tomorrow, but instead we're on a train to London. The airlines and hotels have been surprisingly good about the cancellations.

We had an excellent weekend at Renewal Christian Center in Solihull England. I preached 3 times and chaired the UK annual conference.

I've scheduled a late-summer mini-retreat with their leadership team to discern the outlines of where we sense God is leading them. I'm looking forward to those days. Great adventures lay ahead!

Overflowing