Orientation to prison

Prison ministry is something that my church has become passionate about.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a orientation meeting at the prison for the volunteers.

There were three things that they emphasized.

1. Nothing in and nothing out - which means exactly that.
2. Talk to the leaders if you have questions/concerns.
3. Being there makes a difference.

The guys doing the orientation had both spent time in prison and they really stressed the last point. Just showing up makes a difference in the inmates lives.

A few ways it makes a difference:

1. The prisoners experience love. They discover that someone actually cares for them. Many of the people in prison have come from terrible homes and/or have been cut off from family once they got in. And society in general does not demonstrate a lot of love toward them. But we come in and care about them.
2. We bring hope. The reason we volunteer is because we believe they can change. God works miracles, he transforms people's lives.
3. Our relationship with each other models a different world. So many people in prison have come from a broken background. The we relate with the other volunteers (and with them) shows them that there is actually a different way to live.

The Prodigal God

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, by Timothy Keller

Should I just tell you to go out, buy the book and read it? That’s what I want to tell you. But that feels a little cheap. A review of a book should give you more than just a recommendation to buy it. And to be honest most of people wouldn’t buy it just because I said buy it.
However to give a full blown review, like the ones that are written for school, would rob you of the joy of discovering this book for yourself.
So what should I do? Well let me say some of the basics.
This book is for those who seek after God. It is for both those who are not Christians and for those who have been Christians for most of their life. Personally I fall into the later group and found this little book spoke powerfully to me.
The Prodigal God is an exploration of Jesus’ parable that is often called “the prodigal son”. Timothy claims that he has “seen more people encouraged, enlightened, and helped by this passage, when I explained the true meaning of it, than by any other text.”
Timothy’s book is really about the gospel (which is what the parable is about). However Timothy points out we have often only read part of the parable and therefore have only heard part of it’s message of good news.
This book draws us to God’s wonderful grace. A grace that Timothy says we have to keep drilling into heads again and again. It is something we have return to, be inspired by, and be filled with every single day.
So now that I have given a little review go find the book and read it.

Does God break us? - part 2

This is a continuation of the post “Does God break us?”

Instead of viewing tragedy as the direct work of God on our lives I believe that all tragedy is the result of sin. Sin is anything that is opposed to God, which is why I say that tragedy is not the direct work of God. (Is there a difference between tragedy and change? Yes. In the future I would like to discuss this difference. For now I am viewing tragedy as the bad things that happen to us.)

There are three basic convictions that I hold to: God is good, God loves me, and God is great.
Anything good in my life is a gift from God (it is grace) – James 1:17. I do not have so many good things in my life because I am so good, or worked so hard or am so smart. I am blessed because God is good.
The creator of the universe loves me. In fact he loves me so much that willingly died in order to be in relationship with me. Instead of beating me over the head to crush me into submission Jesus lovingly invites me to be with him.
And the God who is loves me and is good to me is not powerless and weak. He is the creator and sustainer of everything. And there is nothing that rivals him.
If this is true why do Christians suffer?
Because humans and some angels have chosen to reject God and live for themselves. The result is that we live a broken planet. We could explore the idea of a broken planet, however I would like to get more personal.
Why do I suffer? Because I reject God and live for myself. Now I am a follower of Jesus. But it is amazing how many times every day I end up living for myself instead of God (Praise the Lord that he is so gracious and loving that he keeps holding me close to him, forgiving me). And when I live for myself I make a mess of my life.
Instead of tragedy being something that God brings on me, tragedy is something that I bring on myself. I know this is not the answer for all evil, but it does explain a lot of my suffering.
Tragedy is often the result of God removing his hand blessing from me allowing me to experience the consequences of my actions/thoughts/words. It is not God beating me over the head.
Does God use tragedy to change me? Absolutely. He is that amazing. He can take something evil and still work good. But that does not mean that he was the author of evil.

Picturing God in this way I am more prone to thankfulness and prayer. I want to be close to him.

Women tempting men

Found a fascinating blog post written by Carolyn James about men and women called The devil's Gateway. Thought I would throw it up here to see what you thought about it.

". . . you are the devil's gateway. . . you are she who persuaded him, whom the devil did not dare attack. . . . Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on your sex, lives on in this age; the guilt, necessarily, lives on too."

—Tertullian

The view of woman as "temptress" has early roots and is alive and well today both in the wider culture (see links below) and sadly also in Christian circles.

I was a speaker at a gathering of pastors who were interested in doing a better job of utilizing women's gifts. The first question asked during the open forum afterwards stunned me, "If we work with women, won't we be tempted?"

What followed was not a candid discussion about the heart and where is the real problem when there is a moral failure (as in as what goes on behind closed doors when a man is alone with his computer), but a laundry list of precautions to safeguard oneself from moral hazards when working or dealing with women.

Women find this kind of thinking offensive, and rightly so. This low view of women conflicts with the Bible's high redemptive view of us. What strikes me as I think about this, however, is that this negative view of women also reflects badly on men as testosterone driven, morally weak, and unable to control themselves. This is not to say that our sex-saturated culture doesn't create serious problems for everyone. But it is one thing to think wisely about modesty and conduct and quite another to view women as seductresses.

So here are my questions:

First, are men also outraged by the temptress view of women—because of what it implies about them? And second, is it possible to hold a low view of women without degrading men?

Your thoughts?

Funeral

Today I was privileged to be part of a funeral. One of the things I find fascinating about funerals is some of the practices that we do. We have traditions I am sure most people are not even aware of. Even if they have been to lots of funerals they may not be aware of some of the communities traditions.
Today I learned about a tradition we do when we bury people. Now I have known that we bury people with their feet facing east. This is because the bible tells us that Jesus will come in the east. And when he comes those who have died in Christ will be resurrected. Having our feet facing east means that we will be raised facing him.
The tradition I learned about today is that the husband is always buried to the north of his wife. This is so that man will shelter his wife from the cruel north wind.
Interesting traditions.

Preaching on the Lord's Prayer

This Sunday I am going to be preaching on the Lord's Prayer:
Matthew 6:7-15

Other passages to read:
Luke 11:1-13

Things to consider:
This prayer is very well known. I grew up saying it every day in school. How deeply does this prayer shape the way that we pray?

Should we pray these very words? Or is that just vain repetition?

A while ago I posted an adaptation of the Lord's prayer

This too shall pass

A very cool video.

Does God break us?

When we experience pain and suffering in our life is that God working to get our attention? Is it God's way of removing things to insure that we become more dependent on him?
Sometimes we say things like "I am so dense God has to hit me over the head with a two-by-four to get my attention." What we are saying is that the tragedy we are in right now is God's intentional act to get our attention. I grew up believing this.
But is this right? I am not so sure.
Today I want to explore some of the difficulties that I see with this view. In a couple of days I want to explore a different way to view tragedies.

In this belief God is the author of tragedy, loss, suffering and pain. And I am the worker of good.
Think about it. This view believes that God intentionally brings tragedy to help me see him. The tragedy is the work of God.
Now the fact that God had to "hit me with a 2-by-4" indicates that I was not paying attention to him. And the fact that the tragedy is God's action means that my life was going quite well without him. I wasn't experience pain/loss/suffering. Without God I was doing very good - thank you very much. And along comes God and messes it all up. As a good Christian I am suppose to be thankful to God for this.

What seems to happen then is that I seek God in my tragedies. I need his help to get out of them (he should be able to help since he brought it on me). But that is it. My faith dries up when the tragedy is over. I don't need God any more. Oh I may try and pay attention to him in order to avoid getting hit again. But I don't need him. And my relationship with him becomes weaker and weaker as I improve my life.

Giving, fasting and praying

Text for Sunday's sermon: Matthew 6:1-18

Other passages: Hosea 6:4-6; Jeremiah 14:11-12; Matthew 3:1-12

Questions to consider:
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells his followers to let the world see their good deeds. But now he is telling them to do them in secret and not let anyone see them. Why? This is in the same sermon.

In the previous part Jesus has been inviting people to learn a new way to relate to others. How does this section on giving, prayer and fasting flow from that?

Friday

I have to confess that I have felt a little blah all week. But here are a couple of fun things I came across this week.

Freemind - mind mapping software. Finding useful in preparing sermons.

'Proverbs 31 husband' justifies beer habit - Lark News is satire, so consider yourself warned.

Tomorrow is a bike race here is town - AWBF (ABES Winter Bike Festival)

God centered living

How does one live a radically God centered life?
Over past number of weeks I have been preaching through the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). And has it ever been challenging me.
I have become convinced that Jesus is not giving us a bunch of rules we now must obey. Rather he is inviting us to live a new way, to relate to others in a new way. Jesus is not calling us to change a few things in our behavior. It is about becoming a totally different person.
I am a very selfish person. I discern everything from my perspective. The unconscious questions that affect what I do are: does this give me pleasure (then do it) or does this cause me pain (then avoid it). Even my moral behavior is filtered through these questions. I often behave morally because of deferred pleasure (which means I will get more pleasure later) not because I am not thinking about myself.
And Jesus invited me to move from having myself at the center of my life to having God and others at the center. So how do I do that?
It begins with confessing and praying (like Peter commented last week). After all this is a work of the Spirit not of me trying harder.

Resisting an evil doer?

Text for Sunday's sermon: Matthew 5:38-48

Other texts:
Romans 12:14-21
Exodus 15:1-18

Questions to consider:
What does Jesus mean when he says "Do not resist an evil doer?" Does this mean we don't call the police when we are wronged? Does this mean we should not stand up for the defenseless? How does this fit with the rest of the bible?

Go Canada!

I have an addiction. My whole family has an addiction.

For two weeks now we have been addicted to the Olympics. The TV is on almost all the time. We eat in front of it. Spend our evenings in front of it. Rearrange our lives around it.
And we love it.

My family, in a true Canadian spirit, have focused a lot on hockey.

It was great to see our girls win gold yesterday. They are truly amazing athletes.

We are also really rooting for our boys to do the same. It was exciting to see them dominate the Russia game. We are really looking forward to the rematch against the US this Sunday (we are totally assuming that they will win tonight and on Sunday).

Pride

Been reading the book Becoming a True Spiritual Community by Larry Crabb. At one point in the book he says that there is an wickedness that dwells in each one of us. In one of the stories he shares about himself he highlights the issue of pride. And I realized that his story was mine.

Pride infects everything that I do. I wanted to write almost everything, but wasn't convinced that would be true.
When I preach pride lurks right there. I desire for people to think that I am smart and a good preacher.
It is there when I lead bible studies. I want people see me as wise and deeply connected to God.
It is there when I resist temptation. "Aren't I so good or holy!"
It is here as I write this post. I want people to see that I am humble and growing closer to God.
Pride infects everything that I do.

Now pride isn't the only thing I feel. I do truly want to give God glory in what I do. I really want to help people because I love them and God.
But pride hovers there in every good (and bad) thing that I do.

Crabb points out that I need to realize that this is evil. Too often I have been content with my pride. Actually many times I have seen no problem at all with my pride. I need the Holy Spirit to show me how wickedly rebellious my pride is.

Prayer

Prayer changes me.

Many times in my life I have asked "Why bother praying?" If God already knows what I need why bother asking him for anything? And if God loves me then I certainly don't need to beg him to give me good gifts.
Now we can say that prayer in some mysterious way moves the heart of God or releases God to move in the world. This mystery is tied to our freedom. Now if this is case (which I believe that it is) then why should we pray for something more than once? Why not ask God for something once and then move on?

Prayer is more about relationship with God then about convincing God to do something. I know this. I have taught this. But this morning I was struck deeply with the truth that prayer changes me.

Prayer isn't about me convincing a reluctant God to move. It is about me encountering God. As I encounter God I learn what his desires are for the people I pray for. It is about me falling in love with these people. Prayer creates a revolution in my heart where I become open to God and to people around me.
I have to pray so often for the same people and things because I am in such desperate need of God.

Lust and divorce

Continuing in our series on Matthew this Sunday we will be exploring Matthew 5:27-32.

Some related texts:
1 Corinthians 7
Malachi 2:13-16

Some questions to think about:
In our sex driven culture is there any good news in what Jesus says here? Or is this a message of condemnation and judgment?
What do you hear God saying to you as you read the words of Jesus?

Preparing a place

I love God's people. Right now our community is preparing a place for a Palestine family who became refugee as a result of the war in Iraq. We get the honor of having them become a part of our local community. And when the people of God around here found out I got a phone call from a family offering a whole bunch of furniture. There have been many others offering to help in some way.

This family is going to need some more things. Right now we have a home for them to live in that is fully furnished for a couple of months. But after that they are going to need a lot of different stuff to help them settle.
One of the biggest needs that they will have is community. Pray that we will welcome them into our community and that they will experience love.
And most importantly that they will experience the love of God through Jesus Christ. Pray that a miracle will happen and that they will come to trust Jesus.

Jim Cantelon - missional church

Here are some more thoughts on what Jim Cantelon shared at the pastor's retreat that I attended last week.

In one of Jim's sessions he talked about being a missional church. He used Acts 2 - the story of the early church - to give us a frame for what missional church should look like. Two things stood out to me.

First, is that we need to be open to the supernatural, the transcendent. The church is not simply a country club that does some nice service things. We are the people of the living God, who have been filled with the Spirit of God. In the early church this lead to people speaking in languages they did not know (the gift of tongues).

Second, the church needs to be rooted in the bible and proclaiming the truth of the bible. We are not simply to be a group that engages in experiences. We are the people of the God of truth and he has spoken to us. And we are called to be his ambassadors to the whole world preaching truth.

These two things, the supernatural and the preaching of the word, need to be held together if we are going to be a missional church.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. For those of you who don't know a whole lot of about the church calender Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. Lent is the 40 days before Easter and has often been used in the church as a time to prepare for Easter. Easter being the greatest holiday and celebration of the church.
Through out Lent people often either give up something or take on something to prepare for Easter. They give up things like coffee, chocolate, sugar, red meat, TV, internet, music...
The point is not to just do without these things. But it is a reminder that we desperately need God more than we need any of these things. We need the death and resurrection of Jesus to shape us more than we need TV or music or books to shape us.
People sometimes choose not to give up something but to take on something. Like, extra prayer time or reading more of the bible or memorizing scripture or working through some devotional...
Once again the point is not to just add something to our lives. It is to intentionally do something that helps focus our attention on God, to be shaped by Jesus.

This year I have choose to take on something. MB Biblical Seminary has put out a devotional for Lent. I am going to make this a part of my life for the next 40 days.
What are you going to do that will help prepare you for Easter?

Righteousness

This Sunday's sermon text: Matthew 5:17-26

Some other passages to read:
Exodus 20:1-17
1 John 3:11-17

Some questions to ponder:
In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. What does this text have to do with being salt and light?
What does Jesus mean that unless our righteousness is greater than the religious leaders that we never enter into God's kingdom (verse 20)? How does that fit with the central belief that we are saved by grace not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9)?

Friday Thoughts

Wow. It has been a great week.
Next week I hope to blog a little bit more about the pastor retreat that I was on. Being on the planning committee did not give me a lot of spare time.

The other fun thing that I did this week is watch Olympic hockey. Belearus took on Swizterland in a pre-Olympic game. My daughters' school did a field trip to the game. My wife said that it was really amusing seeing a bunch of father's there. At every other retreat there is mainly moms because the dads are working. However for hockey somehow work can be negoiated.
It was a good a game. Though by the third period my girls were a little bored.
Well I am off to keep watching the opening ceremonies (so far they are a bit dull).

Jim Cantelon - how things have changed

Last night when Jim Cantelon spoke he began off by talking about how the world has changed. He argued that everything has changed. He states that people are now more:

1. Relationally loyal than denominationally loyal. We are committed to things because of the relationships that we develop not because of of the denomination.
2. Humble than we are proud. Jim said in the past there was a great pride in many ministries but that is becoming less.
3. Action orientated. People no longer just want to sit and absorb they want to engage.
4. Focused on authenticity instead of simply productivity.
5. Focused on having fun not just doing things.
6. Committed to a sustainable spirituality. Jim mentioned that in the past people's spiritual life was a roller coaster - need to get converted every other week.

Jim Cantelon - Here am I send me

Last night Jim Cantelon spoke on Isaiah 6. Jim told us that in order to lead a missional church we have to be on a mission ourselves. Actually he stated that we have to be on the mission that God has called us to. And this mission is not to hundreds and thousands (at least not at first) but to one.
This made me think that possibly instead of asking what God is calling us to do? We should prehaps ask who God is calling us to?

Pastor Retreat #1

I am at a retreat for all the pastors and leaders in my conference. Cindy and I have been part of the planning team (which has been really cool). We have gotten to work with some really awesome people.
I am excited to see what God has in store for us as this retreat happens. Jim Cantelon, author of When God Stood Up, is with us to share.
I should also confess that I am a little nervous. I am in charge of a few things and I really hope they work out. People have given up money and time to be here, I am really pray that they do not feel that it is a waste of time.

Friday thoughts

Heading into Winnipeg tonight for "Mission Fest". This is a yearly tradition for my family. Cindy and I started attending "Mission Fest" when we were teenagers. You can see what is happening - possibly even attend - at www.mfest.mb.ca/

On a totally different note here is a video of a totally amazing bassist, Victor Wooten.

February Challenge

I am a very blessed man. I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world. My most awesome wife is a constant source of blessing, encouragement and love. We are crazy in love with each other.
A few things have challenged me to be more intentional in letting her know that I love her.
Yesterday I visited an elderly couple. They informed me that they had been married for over 60 years. At one point I was looking at some photos and the elderly man pointed to a picture of his wife and said, "that's my sweetheart." I want that, to be married 60 years and still be madly in love with the same woman. Now I have been married enough years to know that love like this does not just happen it takes some work.
Also, it happens to be February. And as we all know Valentines day is coming up. The one special day we are to show love in a special way.
Last year, my wife offered a challenge to the wives to be very intentional about showing love to their husbands through out the whole month of February.
These three things have prompted me to offer a challenge to the guys, specifically the married men. Every day this month think of a way you can show your wife that you love her and value her. You could do things like: wash the dishes, clean the house, write her a love note, buy her chocolate, watch the kids so she can go out... whatever. Just be intentional in showing your sweetheart that you love her, daily.

Sunday's sermon theme is: Fasting

Some passages to read:
Matthew 4:1-11
Matthew 5:16-18
Isaiah 58
Joel 2:12-13
Acts 13:1-3

Questions to ponder:
Why fast? Is it to earn "points" with God? Or are there other reasons?

Friday thoughts

Wow, this week has flown by. I can hardly believe that is Friday already. Here are a couple of things that captured my interest this past week:

Haiti
Henry Champ makes some excellent comments about helping Haiti (one of the reasons I love MCC) - The issue isn't money, it's staying power
Someone dropped off a couple of really powerful songs written about Haiti (done to the tune of some familiar hymns) - In Haiti there is Anguish

Here is a video of a bike race that would be so much fun to be a part of:

Question everything?

I have grown believing that all questions are allowed. Every and any question is legitimate. Nothing is out of bounds. We can question everything and anything. In fact I was encouraged to engage in this kind of activity.
This is not how everyone grows up though. In fact many people are actively discouraged from asking questions. Questions are viewed as dangerous. One of the verses that is pointed to is Genesis 3:1.
In this verse the serpent comes to Eve and asks her a question. A question that leads Eve (and Adam) to rebel against God. Proof that questions are dangerous. So, we should avoid asking and questioning things. Right?
Well I am not convinced. In fact if you keep reading the story God enters the picture and asks questions. In fact God keeps asking more and more questions. Through out the bible God does not seem to be upset at all with people asking questions. So, since God does not get angry at people for asking questions, and even asks questions, all questions are allowed. Right?
Well... As I was pondering Genesis 3:1 I wondered if the serpent's question was really a legitimate question. The question seems to be designed to lead Eve astray. Instead of being a question that seeks truth.
So perhaps not every question is legitimate. Perhaps it really depends on our motive. Why are we asking this question? Do we want the truth? Do we want to justify some behavior? Our motives may shape the answer we get.
Keep asking questions? I believe we should. But we need to screen our questions to make sure that we are asking honest questions not illegitimate ones.

Light of the World

Sunday's sermon text is: Matthew 5:13-16
Related texts: Philippians 2:14-15; John 1:1-18

Questions to consider:
What does it mean for the people of God to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world?
How has the church in the past failed to be salt and light in the world?
What does it practically look like for your church to be salt and light in your neighborhood?

Random stuff

Here are a couple of random things that caught my interest this past week:

Greg Boyd says "I told Mennonites to 'God to Hell" and they liked it."

I am working on hosting some World Cafes for a pastor retreat in February.

Tour Down Under is happening right now.

Hip Hop Monks in Japan - sounds a lot like some of the conversations happening in the church.

MCC responding to Haiti disaster

MCC Requesting Relief Kits, Comforters, Sheets as Generous Manitobans Respond

WINNIPEG, Man. – In addition to donations of money, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is asking the public for help in collecting 20,000 relief kits, 10,000 heavy comforters and 10,000 sheets to be sent to Haitian earthquake survivors.

To date, Manitobans have already donated approximately $800,000 to MCC’s Haiti Earthquake response.

Relief kits include personal hygiene supplies, laundry soap, towels and bandages. People who donate kits are asked to provide complete kits with only the specific items on the list of relief kit supplies that can be found at mcc.org/kits.

The relief kits can be packed in a box or bag and delivered to any of the drop-off locations in Manitoba by Feb. 28. MCC will then repackage the kits in new, 20-litre buckets. Drop-off locations can be found here: http://mcc.org/kits/dropofflocations

Heavy comforters and sheets also are being accepted at any drop-off location until Feb. 28.

MCC asks that the comforters be new and filled with quilt batting or a blanket for extra warmth. Twin-size comforters are preferred, but double/full-size comforters are accepted. Specific requirements are online at mcc.org/kits.

Flat sheets, which also will be used as mosquito netting, can be double-, queen- or king- size. Sheets, with at least a 300-thread count, should be new, cotton and light-colored, which is not as attractive to mosquitoes.

Meanwhile, MCC is airlifting 31,750 kg of canned meat and 1,000 water filters into Haiti as soon as possible. Another shipment of at least the same amount of meat, probably more, will be sent by sea. MCC is also purchasing thousands of tents and tarps.

MCC is planning a multimillion dollar response over a number of years, focusing on emergency assistance, rebuilding homes and livelihoods

Men's ministry #2

Last week I posted something on men's ministry. Today I am going to approach men's ministry for a slightly different perspective.


Now, perhaps I am the only one but I have become uncomfortable with some the rhetoric that happens within men’s ministry. I believe that for the most part men’s ministry is on to something. We are different than woman, we do desire adventure, we are often more hands on…
However I am often very disappointed when it comes to application. We are encouraged to become men like the men our society wishes to create.
There seems to be two warring concepts that seek define men in our world. One is that men should be like women. The other is that men should be warriors like William Wallace (from the movie Brave Heart). Men should be hunters, protectors and strong.
Too often it feels like men’s ministry in the church has completely embraced the second concept. They declare that they are being counter cultural. But how counter cultural are you when your role models come from blockbuster movies like Brave Heart and Gladiator.
And because men’s ministry has embraced the society’s picture of men their applications are too often weak - at best. I have been at a retreat where we were challenged to ride a zip line to prove we were real men. Seriously, this is what it means being the man God created me to be?
I don’t think the bible calls men to be females. But I also don’t believe the bible calls for us to walk around saying, “I’m a man hear me roar.” We are called to a radical life of following Jesus (not William Wallace). We are called to surrender everything, give up everything and follow Yahweh.
Men’s ministry has some good theology and good points but so often it is lacking in real life application.

The Beatitudes - part 2

Text for this Sunday's sermon is Matthew 5:1-12
Some related texts: Psalm 73, James 3:17-18, Deuteronomy 4:29-32

Some questions to think about as read:
What is God saying to you?
What would it look like to live this way?
Are there people you know who live out the beatitudes?

Fun stuff to do in winter

We are in the middle of January. And even though it feels like spring today we are in the middle of winter. Here are some of the fun things that I am doing this winter:

Playing in snow. We got 5 dump truck loads of snow dumped on our front yard. We are making a maze, and tunnels, and sled runs.

Watching TV. My friend loaned me a couple of seasons of Corner Gas. Also am watching Lost and Biggest Loser.

Biking. Ok, I have to admit I haven't done a lot of biking this winter. Still riding to work every day and have a trainer set up at home. But it is still lots of fun and hope to do more.

Help for Haiti

MCC is receiving donations to help the people in Haiti. Please pray.

The Beautiudes

This Sunday's sermon text is Matthew 5:1-12.
Related texts: Deuteronomy 28, Psalm 37, Isaiah 61, Luke 6:20-26.

Questions to consider:
As you read the text(s) what is God saying to you?
What does it mean to be blessed?
Create a list of people you believe are blessed by God. Are there differences between your list and the list that Jesus makes?

Men's ministry #1

I have been thinking a bit about men's ministry the past few days and thought I would throw up some of my thoughts in the next few blogs for your wisdom and input.

Within the church today a call is rising that men need to become the men that God created them to be.
There is a feeling that the church of today is shaped and created for women and not for men. In fact there is an assumption that our churches in a certain sense, and most definitely our society, teaches that to be male is inferior to being female. In society you can look at the school system that is more suited for girls than for boys. Or at TV commercials and shows which portray men as children who need a woman to look after them. In church you see this in this idea being promoted by the belief that you are “truly spiritual” when you are part of a small group that shares your feelings with others. Or in some of the songs that we sing (the “Jesus is my boy friend” songs).
Many having been reacting to this bias and have been calling for men to become the men that God calls them to be. In bible school I remember my teachers telling us that men were most neglected group of people within the church. Then there was the Promise Keeper movement, followed by John Eldredge's book Wild at Heart. Men’s ministries began to flourish.
Though many still feel that men are very neglected and that church is primarily focused on women.
What do you think? Are men neglected in the church? Does the church teach that men need to be more like women?
Or is the church over focused on men?

Preaching exchange

I really enjoyed worshiping with the community in Halbstadt yesterday. The people were very friendly and welcoming. I told my wife when I got home that I was tempted to move there.
I hope Garry felt blessed being a part of our community for a Sunday.
Anyone want to share somethings you learned from Garry?

Photo contest and prayer

Every year my wife does the best photos of the year (and you get to vote for your favorite). So swing over to her sight to see a few of glimpses of our life.

Here are a couple links to my favorite online prayer sites:
Sacred Space
Prayer labyrinth

Have a blessed weekend.

Who do we worship?

As I mentioned earlier this Sunday I am part of a preaching exchange. And even though excited about this opportunity I have to admit that I struggle in preaching in churches that are not my home church. I just feel very disconnected (which I am). I don't know what they have been learning, I don't what the people have been going through. Please pray for me.

This Sunday I felt lead to preach on what unites us as churches - which is God. We all worship God. So I am going to explore a couple of the different characteristics of God. The question I will explore is "who do we worship?"
And as I explore different aspects of God I will also share how too often in my life have been tempted to worship a god that is less then that God of the bible.
How would you describe the God of the bible? Are you tempted to worship a god that is less than that?

ReJesus - Question 5

Alan and Micheal's fifth question (Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, Question 4) they believe the church needs to be asking is:

And perhaps most important of all, how can a rediscovery of Jesus renew our discipleship, the Christian community, and the ongoing mission of the church?

The “rediscovery of Jesus” is our renewal. Jesus is what discipleship, Christian community and mission is all about.
Many times I have prayed for revival. At Bible School we would gather and pray earnestly for God to send his spirit and bring revival to the church. Revival will only happen as we encounter Jesus. We need to desire him, and seek him, and pursue him. We need to love him with all our heart, and soul, and mind and strength. We need to be obsessed with him. He is to be our hero. The one we want to be like, the one we strive to be like. Jesus is the beginning and the end of our spirituality.
Pursuing Jesus like this is discipleship (not simply keeping a list of rules).
As we become like Jesus we will begin to love like Jesus, which is the basis of community (not simply a Sunday morning gathering where we aren't known or know others).
And our mission is to invite others encounter the love of God, enter into pursuing Jesus and loving others (not simply about getting them to attend our church).

Over the past number of weeks I have explored the five questions raised in ReJesus. I have looked at them in a general sense and not applied them to specific situations. But I believe the true benefit of these questions comes from exploring them in light of specific situations. So I encourage you to do that.

Preaching exchange

This Sunday I get the privilege of being part of a preaching exchange in my community. Every year on the second Sunday of January several of the churches in this area do a preaching exchange. It is one of the small ways that we affirm that we are all part of the same community (the global church). As leaders within the global church we are working hard at blessing and building up other churches. We strive to work together (even if we have some differences in theology).
So this Sunday I have the honor of participating in the service at Halbstadt and my congregation gets blessed by having their pastor share with us.
Please be praying for Garry as he will sharing. And pray for me that I will have the words from God that will bless and build up that congregation.

Happy New Year!

A prayer for the new year:

Lord God,
in whom I find life, health, and strength
through whose gifts I am clothed and fed,
through whose mercy I have been forgiven and cleansed,
be for me Guide, Strength, Savior, and Lord,
all the days of my life.
I offer my prayers through Christ. Amen.
(From Hymnal: A Worship Book)

End of the year

The end of the year is naturally a time of reflection. What happened? What was God up to? What blessings were poured out? What struggles were entered into?
Reflecting I have to say I am very blessed. There were so many opportunities to be a part of God's mission in this world.
However one of the most shocking discoveries that I made this year was how hard my heart is. I realized that I am so lacking in compassion and love. Too many times I have avoided people instead of loving them. And as I made this discovery I have been amazed to witness people around me having huge hearts, loving so much, showing so much compassion.
My prayer for the next year is that Jesus would capture my heart and imagination and fill me with so much love that it would flow out to the people around me.

Merry Christmas

A prayer for Christmas:

Almighty God, you made this holy night with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus' presence and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory; through your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(from the Lutheran Book of Worship)

ReJesus - Question 4

The fourth question Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch say we need to always be asking in their book ReJesus is:

In how many ways do we domesticate the radical Revolutionary in order to sustain our religion and religiosity?

62. Ok, Michael and Alan are not actually looking for a number. But I couldn’t resist.
Personally, I feel that this question is a little loaded. It implies that we most certainly do domesticate Christ in order to sustain our religion and religiosity. Do we? Alan and Michael make a strong case that we do. They say rituals (religion and religiosity?), which do have a vital purpose in sustaining faith, often become a way in which we avoid God.

“Although genuine faith is born out of direct encounters with God, it cannot survive and prosper without some form of stability and order. Viewed positively, rituals, creeds, and organizations can help people structure their relationship with God. In fact, we believe this is what they initially were designed for. But unless the worshipper is very wary, the glory of the God encounter will fade and the ritual, creeds, and rules intended to preserve the encounter will take its place.”

Encountering God is a little bit scary. It is beautiful and glorious and amazing. And he is full of love and grace and mercy. But he is still God – the creator of the world – and often the encounters with him end up changing me (which is scary). So often we want someone to meet with God on our behalf (Moses to go up the mountain and let us know what God said). And this is what we do with our religion and religiosity, we use it to keep Jesus away from us, to make sure he is tame and does not challenge us. Instead of going to God personally we do rituals. For example we go to church Sunday morning to hear what the preacher discovered in his encounter with God instead of meeting with God during the week ourselves. Instead of reading the bible we read what others have written about the bible. Now please understand me, I do believe that going to church and reading books is a good thing – but it should never replace our own encounter with God.

What rituals, creeds, organizations have you found help give structure to your relationship with God?
What rituals, creeds, organizations have lead you to keeping Jesus at a distance?

Christmas thanksgiving

The Christmas season is a time where we naturally give thanks. We say thank you for the great meals that we enjoy. We thank people for the gifts that we get. We say thanks to God for sending his son. We have so many things to give thanks for.
I encourage to be very intentional this week about saying thanks to God and to people around you.

Surfing

I have a fascination with surfing. The couple of times that I tried to surf I spent most of my time eating sand. It still is a lot of fun and I really wish I could surf.
Here is a video with a guy talking about how lucky he is to be alive after wiping out surfing - Greatest Wipe Out

Also check this video of surfing:

ReJesus - Question 3

As we continue to explore Alan and Michael's book ReJesus let's look at the third question they say Christians should always be asking:

How do we assess the continuity required between the life and example of Jesus and subsequent religion called Christianity?

Alan and Michael give three ways to assess the church: right thinking (orthodoxy), right acting (orthopraxy) and right feeling (orthopathy). We need to have all three not just one.

One the greatest strengths of this book is that it takes theology seriously. Alan and Michael do not water down theology. In fact one of their biggest arguments is that the Christian religion has believed in a Jesus that is not theologically correct. We have the right doctrines often enough. The problem is too often the churches seems to have really believed something other than what they say they believe. See the post that examined Question 2 to get an idea of this. They also state that we don’t take the bible seriously enough. What they mean is that too often we read the bible like we are in charge (the bible is an answer book to our questions). Instead the bible should be in charge (it should be allowed to ask us questions).

Right belief needs to be mixed with right feelings. Our hearts and passions are important in following Jesus. “We cannot be disinterested spectators when it comes to Jesus. In fact, in the encounters described in the New Testament, the desire of people to remain neutral observers is in a real sense the real sin.” “Essentially what we are trying to say here is that we have to engage our heart to truly understand Jesus, but also to become like him and to follow him over the long haul.”

And finally we need to have right action. Right beliefs and right feelings lead to right action. If there is no action then the beliefs and feelings are wrong. “In the Bible, the real test of what you know is how you live.”

So if we want to know if we are successful at following Jesus we need to examine our beliefs, passions and actions.

Does the church truly study the word of God? Doe the church allow God’s word to study us?

Is the church passionate about the things of God? There is a song that prays “break my heart with the things that break yours.”

Do Christians live like Jesus?

What is your favorite Christmas song?

The 4th Sunday of Advent is "music morning" in my church. There is no sermon just music. My favorite Christmas carol is "O come, O come Emmanuel":

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Ben - the coffee guy

On Saturday one of my friends, Ben, died suddenly. I am going to miss him. I was first introduced to him as the coffee guy for Christian Growth Class. Every week Ben would come to class and make coffee and arrange snacks. He did this for years (I often wonder if he attended Christian Growth Class more times than I have). Ben also taught Sunday school for many years (where he would often bring snacks).
Over the past couple of years (ever since he retired) Ben was a part of the church coffee break (as staff at the church we have coffee every day at 10 and 3 and people in the community are invited to join us). He would come several times a week and would always make coffee and bring snacks - cookies, oranges, home baked goods.
I will miss talking with him and hearing him laugh and watching him and Bill give each other a hard time. I am going to even miss Ben's stubborn streak.
Ben was part of our community and this Christmas season we grieve his death.

Christmas lights to music

Amazing Grace Techno - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

ReJesus - Question 2

The second question that Alan and Michael, in their book ReJesus, say the church to ask is:
How is the Christian religion, if we could legitimately call it that, informed and shaped by the Jesus that we meet in the Gospels?

Michael and Alan argue that the Christian religion has been shaped too much by a Jesus that we have created rather than the Jesus the Gospels declare. They illustrate their point by directing our attention to popular portraits of Jesus.
They begin off with William Holman;s painting “The Light of the World” – which they call “the bearded-lady Jesus”. They describe it saying Jesus has “flowing blond locks swept back from the face, high cheekbones, groomed eyebrows, full lips, with heavenward gazing, gentle eyes – he’s beautiful.”… “He is wearing a silk ball gown (we’re not sure what else you’d call it).” And they sum up the shaping power of this image by stating “This is the inoffensive Messiah, clean and tidy, pleasing to the eye. This is no disturber of our souls. This image of Jesus reflects a spirituality that is anchored in an adoration of the wonderful Christ, the unattainable Jesus.”
Next painting is Pompeo Batoni “Sacred Heart” – this type of depiction of Jesus is called “the spooky Jesus”. This painting portrays Jesus “as an otherworldly being, swathed in swirling haloes and unearthly auras.” Jesus is divine but not really human. These kind of images focus solely on “the intangible, wise, ethereal, otherworldly, composed aspects of Jesus.”
On the flip side there is the image from BBC’s "Son of God" – they call this the “ordinary Galilean Jesus”. Michael and Alan use this image to emphasize the group that believe that Jesus is only human and not divine – “an ordinary itinerant storyteller and religious guru”.
The next images of Jesus examined are called the “revolutionary Jesus”. The authors point to Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film “II Vangelo secondo Matteo (The Gospel according to Saint Matthew)”. Here Jesus is seen someone who came to destroy and lead in a great revolution. Michael and Alan say that Jesus’ “work was to transform Israel, and beyond that the world, not by rejecting or abolishing Israel’s faith but by embodying it and calling Israel back to its true belief.”
So we have, the bearded lady Jesus, spooky Jesus, ordinary Galilean Jesus, and the revolutionary Jesus. They briefly mention a few more (and we can add some) like, German Jesus (a Jew with blue eyes?) or William Wallace Jesus. Alan and Michael say that these imagines of Jesus shape the Christian religion more than the Jesus in the Gospels.
Are they right?
I heard Michael speak the other day and he asked how well we knew the Jesus of the Gospels?
Have we moved beyond the Sunday School understandings of his stories and teachings (these are good for a 6 year old but aren’t we a little older and wiser)?
Do we know his teachings?
Do we quote him?
Is he our hero?
Do we strive to be like him?
Does the Jesus of the Gospels shape our church or just our safe distant images of him?

Advent Conspiracy - it is happening

I have been hearing about some really cool things happening. People are really starting to embrace the Advent Conspiracy. Instead of just talking about focusing Christmas on Jesus rather than just stuff people are conspiring to do things, conspiring to demonstrate who Jesus is to our world.
My church is responsible for providing some food for the Christmas Day dinner that happens in our community. Over the past few years someone told me that is was almost like pulling teeth, not quite that bad but close. This year we have almost everything we need and it is only December 9.
There have been pails and pails of cookies coming into the church for Inner City. It has been hard to resist tasting these cookies (we have - Dolores guards them very well).
Angle Tree has been going really well. There are more gifts that need to be bought but the response has been great.
I even hear children talking about how to raise $15,000 to drill a well, instead of talking about what they want for Christmas.
I am so blessed to be a part of this community.

ReJesus - Question 1

ReJesus: A wild Messiah for a Missional Church, by Michale Frost and Alan Hirsch.

Alan and Michael begin their book by exploring how too many Christian groups have (proclaim) a Jesus that looks radically different from the one found in the gospel.
There are five questions that they suggest Christians should constantly be asking. Over the next couple of weeks I want to explore these questions.

1. What ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah play in shaping the ethos and self-understanding of the movement that originated in him?

Obviously, Jesus should play the ultimate and pivotal role in shaping the ethos and self-understanding of movement that originated in him. This is Alan and Michael’s major claim through out the book, Jesus should be central to everything.
However, the authors point out that too often the church has allowed others to play the pivotal role in shaping the ethos. That could be the founding fathers of a certain denomination. So for us Mennonites does Menno Simmons or Michael Sattler shape who we are more than Jesus?
I have to confess that I am a strong Anabaptist (a board term for Mennonite). Within my church right now there is a conversation about the emerging church. I tell people I have no desire to be “emerging church” I want to be more “Anabaptist”. Should I rather say that I want us to be more like Jesus? This is not to say that we throw out the theology of the Anabaptists. I really resonate with Anabaptist theology. But our ultimate reference point is not the early Anabaptists, it is Jesus.

3rd Sunday of Advent

We are in the midst of our advent series called Advent Conspiracy. It has been amazing hearing people talk about things they do to make Christmas more about being Jesus then just about getting presents.
One of the challenges is to buy one less present this year - and give the money you save to help someone who needs it.

This coming Sunday we are going to explore how Christmas is about relationships. Jesus came to bring us into relationship with God and to free us to live in right relationship with others. I actually think our culture understands this focus a little. Many of the Christmas movies are about families being together. It gives us a nice and warm feeling thinking about families being together.
However Christmas is also a time when families often experience a lot of pain. Either because someone died or because the family is broken. How does/should Christmas speak to this reality?

Jesus has AIDS

My wife found this article last night - Jesus has AIDS. It is worth reading. Here are a couple that stood out to me:

When we stand in judgment, we’ll stand, Jesus tells us, accountable for how we recognized him in the trauma of those who don’t seem to bear the glory of Christ at all right now. We see Jesus now, by faith, in the sufferings of the crack baby, the meth addict, the AIDS orphan, the hospitalized prodigal who sees his ruin in the wires running from his veins.

And so, if we love Jesus, our churches should be more aware of the cries of the curse, including the curse of AIDS, than the culture around us.

2nd Sunday of Advent

This coming Sunday is going to be focused on issues of justice. The kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of justice and peace. I do not believe that Jesus came simply to get us into heaven. In fact I am completely convinced that he came so that we may become like him (be his disciples) - getting into heaven is byproduct of being forgiven and changed.
So in keeping with our theme of advent conspiracy let me ask a couple of questions:
1. What things did Jesus challenge or change in order to bring justice and peace to this world? As his disciples what things are we to challenge or change?
2. Does Christmas promote justice? Or are things about Christmas that promote injustice?

1st Sunday of Advent

It is hard to believe that Advent is almost here. Advent is the time that we wait with expectation for celebration of the birth of Christ (Christmas). However in our culture Christmas is no longer really about celebrating the birth of Jesus. Buying presents is more important than Jesus. And this is true of Christians (this is most likely not a surprise to anyone).
So this year the theme in my church is "Advent Conspiracy". It is a calling for people to take actions to make Christmas about celebrating Christ not simply about buying stuff.
On this first Sunday of Advent we are going to talk about how God gives of himself.

Check out the Advent Conspiracy site and let me know what you think.

Wayne

Last night I met Wayne at Denny's. As we talked he let me know that he sleeps on streets. He told me that he wants a home. He wants to live in a place where he can go to bathroom and have shower and do laundry.
After praying for him I wandered back to my hotel and had a nice warm shower. Wayne wandered down the street and I assumed found a place to sleep outside.

Church Planting congress

This afternoon Wagdi Iskander shared his story. It was amazing. I don't even know how to summarize what he said. He talked about his experience of converting from Islam to Christianity. At one point he was slated to be executed for becoming a Christian.
However the one thing that pierced me was right at the end. Wagdi talked about the need to reach Muslims with the gospel of God. He mentioned the church in Canada by and large is not engaged or passionate about it. And earlier Wagdi said that he was talking to another pastor about this and that pastor said the church in Canada will not be engaged until their is martyr - until someone dies. Wagdi then looked at us and told us that he told his family he was willing to be that martyr. He is willing to die so that the church in Canada who become passionate about reaching his people.
And he meant it.
Now I hope I am willing to die for Jesus. But this is not what Wagdi said. He is willing to die for the church, he is willing to die so that we discover the passion of God.
Amazing.

Church Planting congress

Yesterday afternoon Stuart Murray and Juliet Kilpin shared about "What God is doing in my neighborhood? And how am I to discern that?"
One of the things that they said was "God's church does not have a mission. God's mission has a church." In other words don't think that we bring God into the neighborhood. He is already there we need to join him in what he is doing. This sounds a lot like Experiencing God.
How do we know what God is doing? They said we should look for shalom seekers. Shalom is God's peace - this includes things like freedom from violence but also includes things like justice and security.

Church Planting congress

Just finished day 2 of the church planting congress here in Calgary. My head is very full of information. It has been great - wish my whole church was here with us.
Allow me to share a couple of highlights from the morning sessions:

Glenn Smith
Said a lot of the same things as Mike Frost from the night before. One thing he did talk about was the need to take place seriously. He said that God always works in a certain place with a certain people. Glenn gave a few principles of how the church should work with neighborhood.

1. We need to have a commitment to interpret the triune God to the neighborhood. We may be the only bible that they will ever read.
2. We bear witness to Jesus and all his teaching in word and deed.
3. Christian education for the whole church seriously
4. We need to bring our hearts and heads together.
   

Mike Frost - So far this has been the best session I have been in
Mike asked how we know when someone belongs to our church? He then said that most likely feel that they belong to church if they attend the Sunday morning service. In Mike's church they define belonging by practices. They have five practices and to belong to the church you have to do them. They are
Bless 3 people every week
Eat with 3 people every week
Listen to the Holy Spirit at least once during the week
Learn about Jesus once every week
Sent - journal about how God has sent you this week.
What would it look like if our churches were defined around practices instead of Sunday morning services?

Church Planting congress

Church Planting Congress - session #1 - Mike Frost

Here are some highlights from the first session at Church Planting Congress.

• The church does not define it's mission - we are defined by God's mission
• God is always on a mission - he extends himself beyond himself
• We are called to extend ourselves beyond ourselves
• Our Goal is to alert people to the reign of God in Christ - we do this by announcing it and demonstrating it
  

Remembrance Day

As part of the peace church I have often struggled with Remembrance Day. It has often felt that by remembering the wars we were saying that war was ok, or even a good thing. But I don't believe that we need to oppose Remembrance Day in order to show that we oppose war. In fact I think we should remember. Allow me to share two reasons:

1. Soldiers have given their lives. Whether or not we agree with the war that they fought in soldiers have given their lives for our country. They deserve our respect and honor. I can respect someone even if I disagree with them
2. We remember that war is hell. Not only have our soldiers died, civilians have died, our enemies have died. War is a terrible thing that has claimed millions of lives. By remembering we can recommit ourselves to working for peace in this world. Too often avoiding Remembrance Day has not led to a greater push for peace but rather has just led me to just stick my head in the sand.

For these reasons today I am going to remember.

Matthew 4:12-17

A new song by David Crowder fits very well with this passage:

Light and Shadows

Life is full of light and shadow
O the joy and O the sorrow
O the sorrow

And yet will He bring
Dark to light
And yet will He bring
Day from night

When shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We remember the cost
We rest in Him
Shadow of the cross