Notes from 35,000 feet

I’m posting this via the long-time-coming miracle of internet access on a plane, as I wing it from Atlanta back home to Kansas City to be with my tribe.

It was an amazing weekend with the IHOP-ATL family. The seminar on Saturday morning was full of smart people asking great questions. The banquet Saturday night had a coffee-house feel, far more intimate that some of the others we’ve done, which allowed us to dial down and connect with people in a way we haven’t gotten to in the past.

After the banquet I was able to connect with a number of people who’ve only been known to me via email or the blog. I heard a cool testimony from someone who was waiting for adoption funds to come in and suddenly found a buyer for their house. I also got some great feedback from a very smart adoption professional who was excited about the Zoe Foundation and gave me several tips on how to take it to the next level.

Today, though, was off the charts…

I spoke this morning at the IHOP-ATL Sunday morning Encounter service and was blown away what God is doing in Atlanta. Billy and Marybeth Humphrey have long been some of our favorites, so to see the fruits of their labors up close was heartwarming to me.

The IHOP-ATL community is leaning hard into the call to adoption. At the close of the service, Billy made some strong statements about where they’re going with this…I’ll let him reveal them to the greater populace at such a time as he deems proper, but suffice it to say they are planning big things and I can’t wait to watch.

Thanks so much, Atlanta. It was a blast. I look forward to hearing the stories to come from the past few days’ events.