Washington visit

Just walking the streets near our nation’s Capitol is exhilarating.  A few weeks ago, my wife and I had the privilege of attending a conference in Washington DC.   Our Family Research Council sponsored event for pastors was at the Hyatt just a few blocks from the capitol.    It was a packed trip with little extra time for sightseeing.  And the convention schedule was tight too.

On the first evening we visited the capitol building for a tour led by David Barton, the leader of Wall Builders (http://www.wallbuilders.com/) and a leading expert on the Christian history of our country.   He and his helper not only told us basic factoids about the Capitol such as–  you could put the Statue of Liberty inside under that dome and have room left over– but they also explained the interrelationship between our country’s history and our Christian faith.   They reminded us of the Christian beliefs of many of the men whose statues are in the National Statuary Hall Collection (http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/index.cfm) .   We learned about the pictures chosen for the rotunda, four of which are of specifically Christian liturgies or events in our early history. David Barton remarked that there are pictures representing a baptism– that of Pocahontas– a prayer meeting and two Bible studies.

Since I chose the conference, JoAnne chose the activity for the one free afternoon.  Of course it was the art museum, oh well.   Actually, while it probably wouldn’t be my choice of museums, I do enjoy viewing the work of the old impressionist masters and the great landscape artists.

We also checked out the DC aquarium.  It’s theme of national parks was neat and the presentations were high quality.  However, the size and scope of the displays was small, occupying only one floor of one section of the building.   Having been to aquariums in Atlanta and Chicago, we were a little disappointed and another couple we talked to volunteered the same sentiment.

Our roster of speakers was stellar.  Besides FRC president, Tony Perkins, we heard messages or presentations from  Kenyn Cureton,  Jim Garlow, Henry Blackaby,  and Jim Cymbala, as well some present  and previous congresspersons.   It was inspirational.  The most immediate visible result has been the spark for the current sermon series, “God and Country.”