I’ve got an exciting week ahead of me. Tomorrow Lisa and I head to Orlando for the Exponential 2008 National New Churches Conference. We’ll be with 2,000 other church planters and leaders listening to speakers like Andy Stanley, Ed Stetzer, Tim Keller & Rick Warren. If you’re going to be there or live in the area let me know so we can hook up.

On Saturday we grabbed some Greek food for a picnic lunch and headed to the beach to enjoy the beautiful bay breeze and Florida sun.

As it turns out, about a thousand other people had the same idea which is fine because I’m a people person and I love being around people. (side note: entirely way too many people wear way too little swim suits for their body type…enough said)

While the girls were playing in the sand I laid on our beach blanket reading unChristian. The guy sitting with his wife ten feet over asked me how I liked the book and we struck up a conversation.

His name was Jorn and as it turns out he was a church planter who had just planted a church in a college town in Pennsylvania a little over a year ago. We had a great conversation about the challenges and rewards of church planting after which he and his wife prayed for Lisa and I.

Out of the thousands of people who hit the beach that day God put us next to another church planter. It’s reassuring when God does the little things to show you that He knows you’re there and He’s watching out for you. I’m excited to see what other God-ordained meetings are in store for me at both of the conferences this week.

“The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalms 37:23