I just returned from five days with 1,400 friends at the National Pastors Convention in San Diego. My mind is still swirling.

It was a place to meet new friends, like Horace and Susan and Rick. Horace teaches hematology at a Chicago hospital and, oh yes, has also been pastoring an apostolic church of 4,000 on Chicago's South Side for 17 years. Susan, Horace's wife, is a registered nurse and pastors alongside her husband. Rick chairs the board of a Lutheran church near Detroit. He came to the convention with his pastor so they could enjoy some time together and develop their understanding of the church.

The four of us found ourselves in the same foursome at the convention golf tournament. Playing "best ball," we managed a round of even par, which wasn't even close to a winning score. (I'm not sure what that says about today's church leaders.) But I know that our little group—Pentecostal, Lutheran, and Baptist—learned a lot from each other, very little ...