Four Days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina

Teach them that virtue must be Spirit-birthed.

I write from a pub in the Norfolk, VA airport. The wings were a 4 out of 10, and the Greek salad had just enough black olives to make it tolerable. You’d think after spending a small fortune on an airport delicacy you’d get a little return on your investment. But alas, I need to be satisfied with "okayness" as a measure of food.

The plane landed around midday on Monday in Norfolk, Virginia, and then we drove a couple of hours across the border to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My first talk was that first evening, and I had not yet tasted sleep since 3 am. Suffice to say, the mind was not as pristine. But after six talks, three Q&As, and a host of incredibly pleasant interactions throughout our time, I can honestly say that I have spent the entire week lecturing in the company of some truly delightful humans, all of whom were alert, aware, and self-assured about the good news in their lives. To my knowledge, no one fell asleep, and these lectures were up to an hour on a few occasions.

My goal was to use my talks to engage these young adults, who are already productive members of their local churches (CREC, PCA, and others) in hospitality, work, and submission. It’s been some time since I addressed young adults exclusively. Poiema was a terrific example of the healthy environments we are providing for our young, single adults to talk about objective things from a place of present experience rather than expectation. After all, some of them own businesses and are already engaged in many serious aspects of life while making consequential decisions. May God provide them with faithful spouses and steady godly communities.