Yesterday was a ludicrously long day - I left home at 03:40 and returned at 23:10 or thereabouts. And in between, I spent a full day (09:00 to roughly 16:45) at the BMS Catalyst Live event at St Martins in the Bullring in Birmingham.

Was it worth it?  Yes, it most definitely was! Some well known speakers such as Ruth Gledhill, Stanley Hauerwas (a filmed interview as he'd been unable to travel) and Adrian Snell.  Some fascinating topics from history/biography via ethics, to apologetics and worship.  There was real laughter, and deep thinking.  There were conversations with friends old and new.

I guess it's a bit like a box of chocolates, where different flavours sit side by side, waiting to be eaten. And yes, you can eat a coffee cream followed by Turkish delight and then hazelnut crunch, and somehow it works.

I guess it's a bit like being back at school, where it's maths, and then geography before English literature and RE.  Your mind has to switch swiftly from topic to topic, without time to process what you've heard.

I guess it's a bit like doing theology, as you find yourself making connections between different themes and ideas.  The quest for truth and meaning, the challenges and opportunities of a technological age, the power of story, the need for imagination/imaginative hermeneutics, the importance of culture to shape and inform, the challenge of inclusion and the potential of multisensory approaches.

I was a ridiculously long day.  And I've working hard today to try to catch up. 

It was also a good day, and I am so glad I made the effort to go.

The 2018 videos aren't yet available, but you can look at talks from previous years here... And if anyone fancies joining me in 2020...