I‘ve never known much about Oprah. That shouldn’t shock anyone, after all I’m both male and a nerd. Oprah’s demographics appeal skews decidedly female, and my nerd sensibilities work to make me clueless about most things that are popular in society. Oprah is about as popular as it gets.

But then Oprah went on tour with Rob Bell. I suppose it's more accurate to say "Rob went on tour with Oprah," but I'm a lot more familiar with Rob. I love Rob, and I love his work.

I asked a few people who’d been to the event if it was worth checking out. There's a lot of pavement between Tallahassee and Miami, and I didn't want to make a drive like that for anything less than amazing.

My friends told me that I shouldn't miss it. One friend went so far as to say I owed it to myself, as someone who often speaks on stage, to go and see Oprah do what she does.

Really? We're talking about someone who entered my awareness by shouting, "You get a car!" on television.

I mentioned the idea to Jenny, and her reaction was powerful. My wife is neither male, nor nerd, so she often sees things differently. She seemed to think a trip to Miami was well worth it. When my pastor (another non-male, non-nerd named Betsy) heard about the trip, she decided to join us. They both assured me there was more to Oprah Winfrey than free cars.

So, we hopped in our (not-free) car and drove from Tallahassee to Miami to see the most powerful woman in media. I'm told that's not hyperbole.