Saturday was Day 4. Saturday morning we heard from Bishop Hutchinson who called us to move beyond a baptism of water alone to a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Powerful stuff as he called us to pray down the power of the Holy Spirit. May it be so in the UMC.

We spent the remainder of the day in legislative committees and my committee worked really hard to get all of our stuff done last night and we did. We had very little controversial pieces, but we did authorize the hymnal study committee, although I've since learned that piece will come before the body as a whole. I've heard that the legislation in Church and Society is being passed that will strengthen our anti-abortion stance but we'll see. Tomorrow starts full plenary so that should be exciting.

Today was a day to relax for me and I was able to hitch a ride to The Ballpark in Arlington to see a Rangers/Twins game. After a tiring and stressful week it was a good break. Please pray for me as I've had a couple difficult situations to handle in my role as chair and I covet your prayers as we move forward.

The pro-homosexual protestors moved in today in full force. They can be a difficult group to know how to respond to as I strive to embody the life of Christ. I've asked myself how I can strike up a life-giving conversation with some who share a radically different perspective than I do. I know that I don't want to embody hate but I truly want my actions to be infused with grace.

Tomorrow I will be presenting legislation from the podium to the General Conference on behalf of my committee. Pretty awesome. You can stream it live if you want to!

Keep praying friends
Matt