Ventura was a great stop for us. We were at Ventura Vinyard Church who proved to be a fantastic committee. Par for the course, the house was packed with folks eager to dive into the story begun in Abraham and Sarah. And we had some great conversations with people afterwards. Some of the folks there are buds with a great theologian, Ched Myers, who we’ve cited in our work. We take some time in our book to consider the Christian’s hospitality toward immigrants. Being around southern California–and from Albuquerque now–makes for much more visibility of and sensitivity to that concern. Aren’t we all aliens and strangers in a foreign land? At every turn we have an opportunity to show God’s grace and hospitality.
We have had ample time on the bus to look out into the desert and remember that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything therein.” That may be possibly one of the most politically offensive proclamations of the Bible, next to monotheism. For God’s ownership of all the earth relativizes and trumps all human borders and assertions, as calling Christ “Lord” implicitly means that Caesar is not.