Las Vegas

I am in Las Vegas this morning sitting at the table of my good friends and mentors, Loren & Deanna Trethewey. I arrived last night after an uneventful flight from Chicago. I will be here for a few more days - visiting a local church, sitting at the feet of my mentors, and sharing stories about my family and the church.

It was somewhat surreal to see The Strip in downtown Las Vegas in person after seeing it for so many years in movies and on TV (CSI, of course) and in print-media. We will be heading down there one night this week to see it up close and personal.

Before I left Chicago, there were all of the pre-requisite jokes about traveling to Vegas... particularly for a pastor...

"There's a religious town for a pastor to visit."
"People pray in Vegas...every time they place a bet!"
"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

There is definitely a sense of detachment from the normal routine of life for many of the people who come to Vegas. That was evident from the number of people around me on the plane talking about all of the "fun" they are going to have while they are here. I sensed in some of these people that this trip is a completely different experience than if they were heading to the Caribbean or some other warm, exotic place. (For some people the experience is probably the same no matter where they go...)

For a couple of people sitting near me on the plane, though, I detected a desire to fully embrace a hedonistic, self-gratifying, regret-nothing-that-happens experience. A true embodiment of the "what happens here stays here" mindset.

I realize that not all people who come here have that desire, but my instincts are telling me that it doesn't take long for some people to adopt that mindset once they are here in Vegas.

Loren & Deanna showed me a book their pastor, Judd Wilhite at Central Christian Church, wrote about the stories of life-change that have occurred in the church here in Vegas. The back of the book states that once you read these stories, you will begin to see Vegas as "grace city" rather than "sin city." I am looking forward to reading the book in the future.

I will try to post more entries as the trip goes on...