Are There Christian Aliens Out There?

The popularity of science fiction has really grown. What used to be the beloved past time of nerdy guys in their parent’s basement has become much more mainstream. But the belief in extraterrestrial life is hardly confined to science fiction. The SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence) project, the Hubble telescope, and a myriad of other things are all trying to answer one question, ‘Are we alone in the universe?’

Where There's Smoke

Yesterday I did a good deed. 

Or at least I tried too. 

When I pulled into a grocery store parking lot I noticed the car beside me looked a little off. It seemed like smoke was coming from the engine. Now I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or if the truck that had just driven by kicked up a lot of exhaust fumes. 

So I walked over for a closer look. Sure enough as I looked I saw a faint yet steady cloud of smoke wafting into the air.

Hell's Bell's and Jesus

A friend posted on his Facebook Wall an article titled Rob Bell's Replacement Speaks Out on Bell and Hell by Shane Hipps (who is the pastor that replaced Rob Bell at Mars Hill in Detroit). Now Hell is hardly a favourite topic of mine. But after I read this article I knew I wanted to respond.

Before we start I have to say it is telling, and very sad that the editor included a note that says, "...we encourage you to share your thoughts in the comment section below--we also encourage you to be civil and use Scripture to back up your arguments." After skimming the comments I can't help but think may of those who left comments choose to ignore this this 'suggestion'.

With that out of the way let's wade into this 'fun' debate.

...But Without The Jet Plane

On February 1st as things stand now I will be unemployed.

On Monday October 24th 2011 I tendered my resignation at West End Baptist Church. On Sunday October 30th the congregation was made aware of this. Today my role has shifted from Associate Pastor to Exiting Associate Pastor.

As Meghan and I begin the journey from West End to whatever God has in store for us I want to take a moment to put on 'paper' what I said from the pulpit at West End yesterday.

Halloween, Yea Or Nay?

In Christian circles Halloween seems to drudge up some pretty heated and rather divided discussions. I think a convincing case for participating in Halloween and a convincing case for not participating in Halloween can both be made equally well.

There is a good reason for that.

Halloween is two distinct holidays that have been meshed together. Now I don't mean that literally, as in there were two holidays that have combined, but in practice that is what we have.

Allow me to elaborate.

No Pleasure

A few moments ago I heard a great deal of celebratory car honking outside my office. You know the kind I mean right? That special excited honk that people have for sports team wins and weddings. I was surprised to hear such sounds on a rainy Thursday afternoon so I looked out my window. As I looked I didn't see a car with 'Just Married' or a team flag on it. Instead I saw a car displaying several Libyan flags.

Then I understood.

Moammar Gadhafi is dead. And many are calling for a celebration of that fact. I can't bring myself to join in.

Hunters & Handlers

If you are in leadership you know that conflict is inevitable. This really is no secret. I knew when I took on leadership roles conflict would find me. A few years ago I thought I understood conflict because I had been in such close proximity to intense conflict.

But I did not. Not like I know it now anyway.

Just Starting

Like many 20 something semi-nerdy guys I have a sense of justice that has developed out of my love of cartoons, and superheroes. The idea of good guys stopping bad guys has been salient in my mind for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact that desire helped me understand my call to ministry.

Since I was in Jr. High I had wrestled with the idea of going in to vocational ministry. But as I aged that idea had somewhat fallen out of my mind. At 20 I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life, and I was working at a call center. Then the local Catholic Church began a priest recruitment campaign. Every day on my drive to work I saw a billboard that was all black, except for the white square of a priest's collar. Below the collar were the words, 'Yes you get to fight evil. No you cannot wear a cape'.

The message rang loud and clear to me. If you want to be a force for all that is good, just and true don't don tights, but join the ministry. And so I did.

Act's Of God

How do I know that God really acted?

That has been a question bouncing around my mind for the past few months. I suppose it started after I completed two personal discovery projects. One was the Disc personality survey (I am a dominant, creative type if you where curious) and the other was the NCD spiritual gifts test. As I was filling out the latter my mind wondered to the question, what would happen if an atheist or some other non-Christian were to fill out the NCD spiritual gifts test? Given the way it was written I was led to conclude that if a non-Christian took the test it would indicate that they had some spiritual gifts.

Which lead to to wonder;

How do I know if my desire to do something is God's prompting or if it is my own personality?

How do I know what I felt, or saw, or experienced was God and not something else?

Have you ever wondered the same?

Sometimes I wonder if I am a Christian sceptic.

Dinosaur Pee

I remember being in grade school and learning about the water cycle. We were taught the the earth has a closed system, and no new water is introduced. Therefore all rain is water that has evaporated, raised into the sky, cooled to form water vapour, condensed, and then falls back down to the ground.

However there is one in every class. You know the person I mean , the one who connects odd things together and asks strange questions. I won't lie I have often been that person, but not this time. Someone, I don't remember who asked the question; 'is the water we are drinking dinosaur pee?'

My teacher was somewhat taken back but after she thought about it for a moment she sheepishly agreed that yes the water we drink, cook with, and bath in, was at one time dinosaur pee. And as it turns out the American Water Resources Association agrees (sort of).

So it's true! We are in fact drinking dinosaur pee.

Reflective Inaction

Do you want to know what one of my pet peeves is? (Other than the ones I outlined what feels like ages ago) To date my current biggest pet peeve is unreflective action (followed very closely by unreflective speaking). That is in fact my biggest concern with the Missional Church movement. I don't like loose ends, or uncertainties, or otherwise sloppy thinking. I want to understand why we ought to be doing something, and what the goal it is supposed to achieve.

I really do believe that getting your thinking right precedes getting your actions right. Or more simply put I think wrong thinking leads to wrong acting. However I am feeling very convicted right now having spent the afternoon in study and reflection.

Right now I am feeling convicted about my reflective inaction.

Freedom

In Mere Christianity C.S.Lewis warned us about elevating one virtue or characteristic too high**. His example was love, an apt one for the time he wrote in, and in many ways an apt one of our time as well. However if I had to guess I would say our current cultural's most preferred virtue, the thing that we are told must be protected at all cost is; freedom.

It is my belief that we are beginning to see the disastrous affects of making freedom the unquestionable, unassailable virtue that all other virtues, laws and desires must bow to. Not to put to fine a point on it but I believe our cultures quest for ultimate freedom will doom us.

Honestly Trying

While I was on vacation I tried to read Craig Groeschel's book, 'Confessions of a Pastor'. I won't lie I only made it through the first two chapters. Now this is not to say that it is a bad book, just that I didn't care for it. Never the less the premise of the book still intrigues me.

The idea Groeschel put out there was that all Christians, especially pastors needed to drop the pose, or the mystique as he calls it. Instead he claims we all ought to live a far more honest and transparent life. Honest about our failing, and transparent about our struggles.

All and all I am for this. But as I was reading what little I did I found myself wondering something; Groeschel seems to be saying that our less transparent, more mystique filled lives are fake. I am not sure that is always the case.

Why Doing Good And Being Good Won't Be Good Enough

My titled may have caught you off guard. It may have made you feel defensive. In fact you may have come here to argue with me. All of that is fine. But before we get to far down the rabbit hole let me start off by saying I believe in my heart of hearts that Christians have to Live Justly and Relate Purely. You will no doubt notice they are 2/6 of my page headings.

So when I say doing good and being good won't be good enough, I really do mean they are good things that we ought to be doing but in of themselves they are not enough to sustain the church, or disciple people.

So with that being said, please hear me out and then by all means argue with me in the comment section.

Why I am A Christian

One of the consistent comments I feel that I am forced to endure is that; 'Christians are only Christians because they do not reflect on their faith.' Or put more simply, 'Christians are only Christians because of blind faith.' This has frustrated me because there is an unfortunate element of truth involved in these statements. I have met a number of Christians who have never really examined their faith. They simply grew up with it and managed to avoid any serious challenge or situation that would cause them to do any real reflection.

But I really do feel that that kind of Christian faith is on the way out (through it is nicely developing in atheist circles). Simply put Christianity no loner has the luxury of an unexamined faith. There simply are too many people proclaiming the end of faith. And there are too many things happening around the world that challenge our faith for blind faith to survive.

So in that light I want to explain why I am a Christian.

And We're Back

Well vacation is now over (minus the laundry still waiting to be washed) but all and all I am back in action. One of the great things about being on vacation is the chance to read, relax and reflect. That and all the family togetherness.

Needless to say I had a chance to skim/read a few books and I am excited to start blogging again. Some time away has got the juices flowing.

I suspect most people didn't have a chance to see the auto posting vacation blogs so I have posted the links here. Content-wise they are not much, really just a message that I am on vacation, a link to a past blog. However each include a reverendfun.com comic which I find rather funny.

For example,

Anyway here are the links;

http://walkingasjesusdid.blogspot.com/2011/08/hello-all-i-am-enjoying-nice-vacation.html

http://walkingasjesusdid.blogspot.com/2011/08/vacation-post-3.html

http://walkingasjesusdid.blogspot.com/2011/08/vacation-post-2.html

http://walkingasjesusdid.blogspot.com/2011/08/vacation-post-1.html

Vacation Post 4

Hello All I am enjoying a nice vacation, but I did not want the blog to sit idle. So in that spirit please enjoy this cartoon from ReverendFun.com. And a 'classic' blog below the cartoon.

Enjoy this classic blog: Investing 

I will be back with a fresh post on Aug 31st

Vacation Post 3

Hello All I am enjoying a nice vacation, but I did not want the blog to sit idle. So in that spirit please enjoy this cartoon from ReverendFun.com. And a 'classic' blog below the cartoon.

Enjoy this classic blog: Their Not All From Our Imagination

I will be back with a fresh post on Aug 31st

Vacation Post 2

Hello All I am enjoying a nice vacation, but I did not want the blog to sit idle. So in that spirit please enjoy this cartoon from ReverendFun.com. And a 'classic' blog below the cartoon.

Enjoy this classic blog: Verbal Typo's 

I will be back with a fresh post on Aug 31st

Vacation Post 1

Hello All I am enjoying a nice vacation, but I did not want the blog to sit idle. So in that spirit please enjoy this cartoon from ReverendFun.com. And a 'classic' blog below the cartoon.

Enjoy this classic blog:  God Numbered The Hairs On Your Head, But Will He Whiten Your Teeth?

I will be back with a fresh post on Aug 31st

The Unknown

I am a thinker. Maybe that comes as no surprise. I process things cognitively, I study, I reflect, I think things through. I like it this way. What can I say I like to know and understand what is going on around me. There are few things I care for less then surprises or discovering that what I thought I knew turned out to be wrong. I want to be right, and I want my world to be safe.

Leadership Tidbits

I am not an expert in, well anything really (not yet anyway). Leadership is no exception. I am a rookie leader in everything I do. Never the less over the past few years of leading/pastoring I have learned a few tidbits, which I shall share now.

Count Your Blessings

I am not great at processing my emotions. I forget to express gratitude, I can clam up when I am angry, and sadness makes me introspective. In all fairness this is partly because I just don't feel really comfortable spewing my feelings all over the place. What can I say I am a big fan of the Vulcans.

Therefore I have mastered two different emotional art forms fairly well;

The Tidal Impact Collection

Like I did with my Holy Week Collection I thought I would collect all of the Tidal Impact blogs I posted in one link filled spot. Tidal Impact was an amazing week for me and the team of youth and leaders that went. If you read any of these little blogs I pray that you will see and hear something of how God moved. And if you were a part of Tidal Impact I pray that the week helped to shape you and move you toward new things of God.

Voices

I have a confession to make; I hear voices. Now before you round me up as nuts or write me off as a little to 'religious' let me explain. I don't hear the audible voice of God (though there are days I sure wish I did) nor do I hear distant whispers of ghosts, aliens, or spies trying to steal my thoughts. Instead I hear past conversations, or during some advanced moments potential conversations.

I hear the voices of people in my head that over the years have been critical, harsh, and otherwise unpleasant. And I am wondering if perhaps you do to.

Intelligence And Faith

There is a 'truth' that I keep bumping into in the debate that rages on between theism and atheism that I have to say gets my ire up. I am tired of reading that atheists are more intelligent than their religious counterparts. This half-truth is used far too often as a bard to attack those of religious belief, and as a refrain to keep atheists in line. An article titled Why Atheism Will Replace Religion: New Evidence written by Nigel Barber published July 14 2011 in Psychology Today is just dripping with this same slop.

I think it is high time that we challenge this very sloppy line of reasoning.

The End The Beginning

Well I hadn't intended to wait this long to write this Tidal Impact wrap up blog, but somewhere between late nights, driving home, church duties and family time I've made it to Wednesday. Oh well with a little more sleep under my belt I am bound to make more sense anyway.

Friday and Saturday were days of mixed emotions for me. On the one hand I was looking forward to going home, seeing my wife and children and sleeping in my bed. And yet I felt a profound sense of sadness. The past week had been a holy time. It was a time where we all felt God move in different ways and in different places. It was a time of ministry and service, a time of growth and stretching, a time of team building and friendship enriching. Like I said it was a holy time.

But eventually even Moses had to leave the burning bush in the distance.

Serving In Weakness

It's Thursday and we are tired. You could see the lack of sleep on everyone’s face this morning. Without a doubt every one of us wanted a few more hours in bed.

But we didn't have a few more hours. 7:15 breakfast, 8:00 team meeting, 9:00 children's ministry. Extra sleep was nowhere to be found. So we did our best to rise and shine and give God the glory glory.

And as we stepped out in faith to serve God, God honoured our action.

First let me say the youth lead the kid's program very well. The highlight of the morning had to be watching the teens lead songs games and the bible story with little help from myself or the other leaders. They nailed it.

The second highlight for the day for me was the food drive. Tonight everyone in Tidal Impact participated in a food drive.

And what a drive it was. Between set up, collection and sorting we took about three hours to do this project. Three long energy intensive hours. To make matters worse the air was humid, the rain came down from time to time, and the area we had to cover was large with houses well spread out.

Last night was all about serving Christ when the Spirit is pumping you up and God's energy is flowing through you. Today on the other hand was all about serving Christ when you may not want too. When you are not feeling the Spirit's power, and you much rather curl up with a book or the TV.

Today was about serving out of weakness.

The youth proved they were up to this task as well. Along with their wonderful morning ministry I am happy to report they collected food with smiles on their faces.

And collect they did. Tonight we collected roughly $3000 worth of food, or roughly one ton of food.

Tonight we made a difference in people’s lives, even if all we wanted to do was sleep.

Big God Moments

Yesterday I got to talk about some little God moments that I have been enjoying. Today let me tell you about some big God moments.

Tonight's rally was in a word; awesome. From almost the beginning of it I felt an energy running through me. It almost felt like there was lightening in my belly.

That feeling grew and grew until we reached the peak of the evening for me, The Lord's Supper.

Now I have helped serve the Lord's Supper lots of times since becoming a pastor but it has never been like this.

Teenagers lined up and came forward one by one, or in small groups. When they came forward I would get their name and a prayer request. After I had those I prayed for the teens by name holding their hand. Once that was finished I gave them the bread and cup.

Now you need to understand something about me. I am not an emotional guy. This is not to say I am heartless but I am much more a thinker than a feeler. Yet the compassion I felt for each person that came forward was beyond measure.

Tonight I heard dozens of tiny stories told by people wanting to follow Christ better. And as they shared I was able to respond with prayer helping them lift their concerns to God.

In that time I felt The Holy Spirit at work in me and around me in a way I rarely have before. I know the prayers I spoke tonight were not my words but the Spirit working through me.

Tonight was a great reminder for me of how great God is and how much young people need him. As I served tonight I found myself wonderfully re-affirmed in my calling, ministry and purpose.

Tonight was amazing. Tonight was wonderful. Tonight was awesome. Tonight was a big God moment.

Little God Moments

If you were to ask me; where did I see God at work today, I could give you an ear full. God's spirit was moving within and around our group.

However the stories I have to tell are not ones of grandeur. Nor are they stories of healings or mighty acts of power. Instead they are little moments of people caring with Christ's love.

Allow me to list just a few;

1. This morning as I walked in to our main cottage one of our Mom leaders handed me a cup of coffee, touched me on the shoulder and said 'we need to take care of our youth pastor'. Seemingly a small act but those words (and the coffee) were just what I needed.

2. At lunch the ladies that have been serving us all week noticed yesterday my caffeine withdrawal and had coffee ready for me.

3. Our youngest leader prayed over me during a prayer time. Her words meant a lot.

4. Darning the same prayer time one of our most quiet members spoke aloud a prayer for someone else on our team. Also our youngest guy went forward to pray with a member of the team we are working with.

5. We had a two times of holy play when families invited us to their homes to swim and eat. During those times our three teams acted as one team.

6. I found myself really missing my kids today, but my wife posted videos on Facebook letting me know they missed me too. (For some reason I cannot get them to load but the fact that they are there means a lot.)

Now I know what some of you are thinking. These things hardly seem like acts of God. There are no parting of the seas, no fire from the sky, no angels, heck not even a conversion. And that is true. None of these things are 'so big you can't miss it' moments.

But they are God moments; little everyday moments that God showed up in.

My prayer is that you too will notice these God moments each day no matter how big or how small.

In The Garden

Today during Tidal Impact we started our service ministry in a garden. We were given the tasks of weeding the walk ways and digging around trees so we could put mulch around them.

When we finished those tasks we went to a nearby home and removed the hay that was in their garden covering their potatoes.

I have never used a pitch fork before today. Neither had I landscaped trees, or dug holes for mulch. The same was true for most if not all of the team.

In the garden we were out of our element.

The work was hard. And the day was hot and muggy. Yet we worked with joy on our faces. I can say that I am proud of our group because I heard no grumbling as we worked. They served well.

As we were working I found my mind drifting to Genesis and Adam and Eve and that first garden. I couldn't help but feel that as we worked we were reconnecting with part of God's original design for us.

As we worked we became stewards of God's creation.

Caring for the Earth is on a lot of our minds right now. It is something we talk about and think about. But caring for the environment is not something churches are known for.

Which is a shame.

God made us stewards of his garden, then of the whole earth. I hope that I will continue to follow the example of my team and be a steward caring for God's gardens without grumbling.

I hope that from now on I can serve God in the garden with their joy.

Seriously Silly

I have a confession to make.....

I am not a naturally silly person. There I said it, I'm glad that's out there. After all everyone knows that youth pastors ought to be silly.

That being said today at Tidal Impact I watched people be silly, funny, and otherwise zaney for God.

And it was wonderful.

Somewhere along the line many of us seemed to have forgotten that just because something is important, it doesn't mean that it has to be serious.

This week is about loving God and serving others. But I think it is also about remembering to do both with a smile on our face.

Today as we praised God and as we played we helped to remove the myth that faith in God has to be dull. Today we showcased the joy of the Lord for all to see.

Tomorrow we get to take that same joy and turn it in to service. Please pray for us as we minister to kids, and as we clean up a park.

And pray that we do it all with smiles on our faces.

With A Bang

So tonight we thought we would start things off with a bang. Daniel our host came to the beach armed with three boxes of fireworks.

It was exciting I have never lit a firework before. Thankfully we ended our little light show with all our fingers, and eyebrows intact. We didn't even burn down our cottage!

The closing activity of the night has left me wanting more. Not more fireworks (not that I would turn those down mind you) but more power.

I want to see God move this week.

Our speaker talked tonight about letting our collective lights shine in the dark. He reminded us that we as a group are here on a mission to display God's glory.

He is right, we are. And we will.

I close the night finding out that the tasks I thought I had done before I left were not done. The dishes were not clean and the laundry not washed. I am disappointed to discover that I left those things unfinished.

But this week our goal is to leave none of the work God has for us left undone. We are here to do our holy tasks, whatever they may be.

Pray we have eyes to see, ears to hear and hands to work.

On The Road

The last few days of have been filled with anticipation, and sorting out last minute details. Slowly blanks have been filled in and plans have firmed up. This week is Tidal Impact, Canada's largest short term mission's week.

I am excited, and a little nervous. This week is a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Our team is new, and this combination of people has not worked together before. Yet I have worked with each person and am confidant in their abilities. Our partners are more laissez faire than I typically am, so it is hard to say if the last minutes details we firmed up were the true last minute details. Yet I know everyone has been working diligently to get ready for today.

Teapots & God's Existence

In 1952 Atheist Bertrand Russell launched an argument that sought to change who was on the offensive and who was on the defensive in regards to the existence of God. Since belief in God had longevity behind it many treated atheism as the point that needed to be established. Russell disagreed. He thought disbelief in God should be the standard starting point and it was up to those who believed in Him to convince people of God's existence.

This is his argument;

"Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time"

I know that I am almost 60 years late for the party but I would like to respond.

Walk This Way- Bible Czar

Last Saturday I had a chance to indulge myself in a little 'dream come true'. I simply love talk radio. I am a loyal listener of the local station here News 95.7 and I call in whenever I get an opportunity to do so. Of course with News 95.7 all I get to chime in on is all politics, and other such news items. While I enjoy such things my real passion is talking about Walking As Jesus Did. I really want to encourage people to Think Clearly, Worship Continuously, Relate Purely, and Live Justly.

To my surprise and joy I had an opportunity to 'appear' on an internet radio show based  out of Nevada called, 'Bible Czar'. They are a  new show that started this past April. I had a blast doing the show, the guys are a lot of fun.

If you are interested and would like to hear Rev Christopher D Drew 'expert' radio guest you can listen here.

What can I say I've got a face for radio!
Please don't agree with that :(

Sermons I am Proud Of-Pt4

This blog marks the last of the sermon 're-runs.' This sermon is that I delivered on Sunday July 3rd 2011. It is based on the text Galatians 5:1-15.

Sermons I am Proud Of-Pt3

In the thrill and fun of Canada Day, and a wedding I missed my Friday blog post. This sermon was written for October 3rd 2010. Rather I should say re-written for October 3rd 2010. I had written a different sermon on the same passage early in the week but I just disliked it so much. It felt wrong, somehow incomplete. No amount of editing or tampering could fix it. So finally on Saturday morning I decided to write a new sermon. This is that sermon. It focus on the story of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. Enjoy.

Sermons I am Proud Of-Pt2

Today marks the second installment of sermons I am proud of. This sermon is one that I have had the opportunity to refine and reuse a few times over the past 3 years. I first wrote it hastily when my intern-pastor walked in to my office and asked me to write a sermon for a trip to St. Vincent's nursing home.

We were leaving in two hours.

Our area Baptist churches share the responsibility of conducting a Baptist service at that facility and my pastor had forgotten that it was our turn. He was busy, so the responsibility fell to me. I am proud of this sermon for two reasons. One I have never written one so quickly. And second a mentor of mine, my former now mostly retired pastor asked for a copy so he could add it to his repertoire of sermons for nursing home visits. Since he more then anyone I personally know is my preaching 'role model' that was a high honour. Without further ado here is my sermon first given in June of 2008 refined twice and last used in 2010.

Sermons I am Proud Of-Pt1

Call me lazy. Or call me boastful. Maybe you can all me lazyful. I don't know. Either way I am one blog behind my normal posting schedule (which is bothering me a lot) and I am looking forward to what will prove to be a long full week. So in that vain I would like to share with you today, Wednesday and Friday some sermons I have done over the years that I have an extra level of fondness for.

Please allow me to introduce you to my sermons on Isaiah 1:10-20 given on March 18th 2007, at West End Baptist.

The 100th! My Potential Big Idea

First let me say I am excited to have made it to 100 posts. I am grateful for everyone who has read even one word of this blog. I know I am still learning how to do this. I still am working on catching all my typos and grammatical errors. I am still figuring out backgrounds and fonts and all the other things that come with working on a blog. Generally speaking this has been a joy. I love your comments, and feedback. Please keep them coming.

But on to business.

I started this blog for a reason. I am trying to sort out an idea that I have. It may well be THE idea that I have. You know what I mean, that one or two really good ideas that person gets in their lifetime. I think I may have had mine. Right now I am trying to figure it all out.

Let me tell you the story thus far.

A Little Slice Of Heaven

My Sister sent me this e-mail yesterday and I needed to share and comment;

A friend from work just came up to me after lunch and said:

"Soo... your brother.. he preaches about heaven and stuff right?"

"You should tell him, that you can find heaven in all sorts of different places, please tell him I found a little piece of heaven hiding in the Great Canadian bagel shop"

To this preacher/blogger this was just to good of an invitation to ignore. So why don't we talk about, 'Heaven and stuff'.

Metamorphosis

Not that long ago I along with another youth leader and some teens entered into a unplanned and rather intense conversation with someone. While we searched a thrift store for bargains we ran into a man selling books. Me being interested in local authors stopped to take a peak.

As it turned out in the course of our conversation we discovered that he had been well on his way into a life of organized crime under the banner of the Hell's Angel's until Jesus changed his life. This book was his semi-factious chronicle of people in very difficult situations that turned to God.

A few moments in the conversation left the youth with me a little rattled. One such moment was that the author  stared each one of us down, eye to eye asking if we were saved. Three people passed with flying colours the other 2, he seemed less sure of.

Relevance Is No Longer Relevant

Spend enough time with 'next gen' leaders and you will inevitably hear the word 'relevant'...a lot. Relevance seems to be the great quest right now. There is good reason of it; many if not most churches are graying and shrinking. By on large the church has not been successfully reaching youth and young adults on mass. And what is equally troubling is that the few youth we have are leave faster and in larger numbers than ever before.

Given these facts, a common observation is made; the church is stuck in its old ways. Old music, old seating, old style of dress, old buildings, old vernacular, old technology, old style of meetings, old patterns of ministry. The list can go on but you get the idea. Many believe that the church is too stuffy, and too old. That it needs a face lift, a good dose of new energy, new ideas and fresh perspectives.

In short the argument goes that the church must update and remove all of the 'old's' and replace them with 'new's'. The church has to go from being irrelevant to relevant.

I disagree.

Too Busy For Discipleship

I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. Right now we are dealing with an issue the news here has deemed #scandalpalooza on twitter. The long and short of it has to to with the Mayor trying to run concerts off of the city coffers. A few months ago the concert promotion group, 'Power Promotions' went bankrupt, taking with it some 400k in loans from the city. The city council was shocked. The public was shocked. The media was shocked. And now we are trying to figure out what happened.

As I was listening to the news I heard an interesting commentary. They were comparing the goals of the city council verses the goals of a private concert promoter. The city wants to create lots of excitement and make people happy to live in Halifax. The business' goal on the other hand is to make money, the method to do so just happens to be the concert. The commentator's point was that these goals are not exclusive of each other, but that it was better to private business to run concerts because they will figure out how to do so without losing money.

This conversation quickly lead me to think about the church.

Let's Talk About Sex

I have only been a pastor now for a few years. However before that I was just a regular person. Some of my friends from the time I was just a regular person (eg those from Jr, High, High School and my Undergrad) every now and then surface via Facebook or some other medium to ask a question. Sometimes it is theological, sometimes practical, sometimes it is about Jesus and sometimes just general religious wondering.

The question below came the other day from a teacher friend of mine who is now living in Calgary. The following blog was my attempt to answer her.

A Tame Spiritual World

The other day I had a conversation that made me a little uneasy. We were talking about ghosts, demons and devils. In of itself that is not unusual. If one spends anytime in the gospels they inviability need to talk about demons and the devil. Jesus simply spends to much time dealing with them to ignore them completely.

But that was not the kind of conversation I was having. Instead we were talking about this individuals supposed real experience with a demonic attack. This person while living and working in Canada now, originally comes from India. Which holds to a pattern I have gotten used to. I only tend to have this kind of conversation with people if that are not from the so called Western World.

It seems that for the most part here in the West we like our spiritual world nice and tame.

Your Right Arm

Have you ever heard the expression, 'I'd give my right arm for X'? A teen in my youth group accidently discovered what he would give his right arm for the other day. He quite literally gave (at least temporarily) his right arm to do a cool skateboarding trick. He tried to tackle a rather difficult 360 turn, only to fall, fracture his arm and give himself a mild concussion.. He OK, but he will be in a cast for at least 4 weeks.

In that spirit let me ask you, what would you give your right arm for? Or to phrase it more Christianly; what would cause you to cut off your right hand?

It's Not Over Yet

May 21st has come and gone. And judgement day passed far more smoothly then I would expect for such an event. As most Christians, and pretty much everyone else suspected Harold Camping and his odd bible math failed to predict anything. I suspect Sunday was awkward for a lot of Christians. We had to lovingly tell some people we told you so, begin the work of collecting and comforting the disheartened, and we have to try to speak into the world that now see Christians as a little more ridiculous then they did before.

It would be hard work, lousy work, but needed work. With a sort of sigh we talked briefly about this on Sunday before we prayed as a congregation. I have to say even with this ahead of us I was at least happy to have it over. Sunday May 22nd ended it.

I took comfort in that. But I was wrong. It is not over yet. Move over May 21st, Hello October 21st!

Fact Checker

Every now and then I find myself in a little debate about what pastors ought to know. The debate seems to center around should pastors be specialists or 'jacks of all trades'? Should pastor's zero in on the bible, or should they know a little something about everything?

It is a tough debate. On the one side you venture into dangerous territory when you say knowing the bible is not enough. If you take that stand sooner or later someone will cry out that you are neglecting the study of the word, for the wisdom of the world. On the other side if you neglect broader study you can be rightly criticized for not following the example of Paul at Mars Hill. He learned about the people and their beliefs so he could best communicate the gospel.

So how does one break this ideological dead lock? Should pastors know nothing except for Christ crucified or should we become all things to all people so we might save a few?

Focus Error

I'd considered adding my voice to the whole Harold Camping bible guaranteeing judgement day on May 21st thing, but the idiocy of it seems to be well documented already. Camping is making a big mistake. He has so zoomed in on the charge that we are to be ready and waiting for the return of Christ, that he has missed that we won't know when that is. It seems obvious to the outsider that he should know that, verses like 'no one knows the day or the hour' and that, 'Jesus will come like a thief in the night' should tell him he is off base.

However I think that this kind of mistake is not uncommon. Now most of us don't make it in the same way, but I think we all make it. We all zero in on a narrow section on scripture, or one aspect of the Christian faith at the expense of the rest. At least I know there are times that I do.

All Fun And Games

Some of you may be wondering why I rarely blog about youth ministry. Which is fair given that 80ish% of my current ministry role is youth related. The truth is I don’t have a lot of advice to offer. I am far more a learner then an instructor. I have to study hard and reflect long to figure out things that some of my peers seem to know intuitively.

So most of what I could pass along you will find in these books.

However there is one youth ministry issue I would like to weigh in on. The age old debate between 'fun and games' and spiritual growth.

From The Mouths Of Babes

My hope for the future generation of Christians was dashed a little on Sunday. A boy, young enough to still say whatever stomps through his mind, yet old enough to form pretty strong opinions of how things ought to be, asked me on Sunday when I was going to start behaving like a real pastor.I was shocked, I didn't know what we meant.

As it turns out by behaving like, he meant look like.

Friday Is The New Thursday

Sometimes tradition trumps usefulness. Actually I suspect that happens more than 'sometimes'. This is a common enough criticism of churches. That even the most innovative churches quickly fall in to a traditional, whatever the tradition. That phenomenon is no ones fault, it just seems to happen that way.

A lot.

Reshuffling the Deck Or Playing a New Game

The future of governments have been in the news a lot lately. The world watched as Egypt fought for a new government, and for the right to vote in a true democracy. Shortly after winning that right other countries throughout the Middle East began to demand the same change.

For example Libya has entered into a bloody, and what will likely be a long civil war. At its simplest we have a group of people that are fighting for a new government.

On Friday Prince William and Katherine were married while 3 billion people watched the future king and queen of England make their vows. People are, at least momentarily excited, to see what the future will hold for the English Monarchy.

And here in Canada we voted yesterday and as a result the political landscape has changed dramatically.

Gird Up Now Thy Loins

Thunderstorms have been in the forecast here lately.To be clear by thunderstorms I mean actual thunderstorms, I am not being poetic. It`s been raining a lot, and we have had a chance of thunderstorms for the past three days.

For some reason when I heard yesterday's prediction of a possible thundershower I started to think of Job. More specifically I started to think of God questioning Job. The take home message of God questioning Job is, if you cannot understand or control the natural world around you, how can you possibly hope to understand or control God?

We've come a long way since God and Job had this little chat. And it almost seems  like we have taken God up on his challenge; we are trying our best to understand and control the entire natural world.

The question is, where does this leave us?

That's Not Funny, But It Just Might Be True

A little more than a week ago I was sent a link to the Christian Post. It was something I knew I wanted to interact with but I was just about to launch a Holy Week set of blogs so I had to wait until today. The article was about comedian/atheist Ricky Gervais giving a message just before Easter saying that he was 'a good Christian'. What was this startling claim about? Did Ricky convert? No. But he did compare his life to the 10 Commandments to see how he was doing. His self evaluation, a 10/10 he passed with flying colours.

What was his point in this you may ask; he believes that he is a better Christian than many Christians. The sad truth is he is very likely right.

Holy Week Collection

During Holy week 2011 I tried to capture a little each day of what Jesus did and said for us to reflect on. This blog is simply a catch all for those 8 posts. If you click on the date it will take you to the blog reflection on each individual day of Holy Week and if you click on the bible pass it will take you to a webpage where you can read the passages themselves.

Holy Week- Easter Sunday- Are You Living In A BC World or an AC World?

***This Blog is Adapted From An Easter Sermon I Gave April 13th 2009. It Is A Little Longer Then My Average Blog Post. Being Easter I Hope You Don't Mind Granting Me Some Extra Space.***

Do to some recent changes in my life, resulting is some altered sleep patterns I have had, let’s call it the opportunity to watch some late night TV. And I have found a few things, first there is nothing good on, and second infomercials can be entertaining. Because of infomercials I have seen a lot of before and after moments. I have watched men exclaim with joy about their new found hair, I have heard testimonials of satisfied customers talking about various products meant to give you more energy for the day, and of course the ever popular before and after our amazing weight loss program. And all of these things made me think about Easter. And while I know that sounds strange at first, after all what does the “mega ab buster” have to do with the most important day on the Christian Calendar?

Holy Week-Saturday-A Very Long Day

Holy Saturday. Is there such a thing? Good Friday has come and gone. Jesus was arrested, tired, crucified, has died and is buried. Easter Sunday is a whole day away. So where does that leave us on the Saturday of Holy week? Is there such a thing as Holy Saturday? Or should we just skip over this day entirely and go about our normal lives until Sunday?

Many would do so. I am sure many people go to a Good Friday service and are reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus. Likewise I am sure many people attend a Easter service to celebrate Jesus' defeat of death. But what about Saturday? There are few services to attend, and no obvious action of Jesus to mediate on; is today just a day to ignore?

You could, but if do you'll miss a lot.

Holy Week- Good Friday- Whats So Good About It?

Today we have reached Good Friday. A dark and hard day to be sure. A day of suffering, a day of pain, a day of death. Justice is abused. Goodness disregarded. Courage evaporates. Friendship fails. Tears and blood are shed. It seems like sin, sadness and death have won. The light of the world was snuffed out.

Given all of this, have you ever wondered why we call today 'Good Friday'?

Holy Week- Maundy Thursday- What's For Supper?

We have now reached Thursday of Holy Week, or as some know it by Maundy Thursday. Today is the day that Jesus shared his Last Supper with his disciples. You know the story right; the night Jesus was to face betrayal, torture, and death he wanted to have supper with his disciples.

Jesus was the host, he made the arrangements, and he had a lot to do any say in a very short window of time. The last supper may well be the most important dinner party the world has ever known. Today we are going to ask with a childlike wonderment, what's for supper?

Holy Week- Wednesday- It's Quiet Too Quiet

For the last few days I have noticed that people have found their way to my little corner of the Internet by asking questions to Google. Something like 'What did Jesus do during holy week Monday/Tuesday?' So you may have found you way here today asking; 'What did Jesus do during Holy Week Wednesday?' I can sum up Jesus' activities in one word.

Nothing.

That's right all is quiet in the Gospels about the Wednesday of Holy week. It seems that Jesus took the day off.

And when we consider the week Jesus was having, and about to have, isn't that interesting.

Holy Week- Tuesday- The Battle Of Words

After Jesus received a kings welcome to town, and created a prophets scene at the temple you can rest assured that the ruling religious leaders were unhappy. They were in charge of one of the greatest temples, in one of the greatest cities, during the most important celebration of the Jewish calendar. But who was getting all the attention; some back woods preacher who didn't seem to have enough sense to know whom he was messing with.

But Jesus wasn't in Galilee anymore he was in their play ground now, and the time had come for them to show Jesus who really ran the religious show in Israel.

Holy Week-Monday Table Flipping Redux

The parade is over. The crowd has dispersed. What will one day be known as Palm Sunday has come to a close. The evening is setting in, and Jesus stops by the Temple before heading back to Bethany for the evening.

Evidently Jesus did not like what he saw.

Holy Week- Palm Sunday

I get the donkey.


By that I mean I understand the symbol. I understand that the kings of Jerusalem road in on donkeys in peace times and in on horses in times of war. So I get that Jesus is declaring both his kingship, and that he is coming in peace.

An Undesired Learning Opportunity-Redux

I have been told, and I have taught others that all hardships, all struggles and all conflict should be seen as God ordained opportunities to grow. It is always much easier to say that when things are going well. Right now I am 'enjoying' an unscheduled and rather undesired opportunity to learn, and grow.

The Joy of Children

On Sunday I had the joy of doing my first child dedication. I really to love these ceremonial moments. Some time ago the church I grew up at gave me their standard child dedication service which I modified some. Below is the service given on Sunday;

Gleeful

Last night I watched my first ever episode of the hit TV series Glee. I did not set out to do so. Meghan was watching survivor while I was doing some chores. Her show ended, the phone rang and the TV remained on. Once one character made the statement that churches didn't like him, woman or science I knew I needed to keep watching.

Well that and there was another character praying to a Grilled Cheesus.

Drive Or Devotion

A few things have been on my mind of late. I have been thinking about goal setting, and what projects I want to tackle both in the short and long term. I have even pondered putting together a 101 in 1001 goal list, something my unofficial blog coach has done.

As I pondered what my list might hold, some items came easily to mind. Some were health related, some were family related, and some were finance related. But than I started to consider other more substantial goals. I started to think about my career, some further education, and a few other dreams. I thought about what steps I would take to try and achieve some of these goals. but the more I thought about it, the more I delved deeper into my own ambitions I became conflicted.

Busted

I am still pretty new to Twitter. I am still getting use to how to use it, and how to get the most out of it. I also am still getting used to sorting out who to follow. One person I followed sometime ago is Adam Savage from The Mythbusters. I have been a fan of the show for years. So following Adam and Jamie seemed like a no brainier. What I didn't know from watching the show, (though in retrospect I am not surprised) is the Mythbusters are Humanists.

A few weeks ago Adam tweeted a link to the acceptance speech he gave when he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Harvard Humanists. The speech was given about a year ago, but like me, people are still discovering it.

Forget Paul, Stick With Jesus

OK so the title may have been a little misleading. To be clear I mean forget Paul the alien not Paul the apostle.

A few days ago Paul hit theaters. This movie is brought to you by the same duo who brought us Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead. Seeing the trailers I was conflicted. I enjoy a good sci-fi movie but I didn't care for the other movies made by these guys. In the end I skipped it. Which I guess I am grateful for. The trailers never showed that this movie has a strong anti-religious tone.

Paul through touch was able to convince a devote Christian girl, Ruth Buggs that God did not exist.

An Apology To No One In Particular

I admittedly don't remember if I ever talked disparagingly about 1, 5, or 10 minute devotionals or not. I suspect I have because I certainly have thought disparaging thoughts about said devotions. Since most thoughts that stomp through my mind inevitably find their way to my mouth I am almost certain that I have. I suspect somewhere along the lines I said something like 'they are a waste of time, and money.  Any Christian worth their salt would not make use of such surface level materials'.

I have changed my mind.

Little Eye's Be careful What You See

Now call me a little paranoid but I think Waybuloo is trying to turn my son into some kind of Eastern Mystic.

A Little More On God And Evil

I really had planned on being finished with the topic of God and evil. In a real sense I was not enjoying it. Spending a few weeks thinking about, reading about, and writing about pain, suffering and evil is not what I like to do to relax. Plus I have a new daughter and I am stressed enough without being starkly reminded just how bad things can be on a daily bases. Besides for the most part I felt like I had said it all I wanted too.

God And Evil Pt 5 - Why The Presence Of Evil Is Not Really A Defeater For The Existence of God

We have reached the end of our journey talking about God and evil. And in this short time we have covered a fair amount of ground. We took seriously the challenge of Epicurus when he said, ''Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?'

We talked about the source of evil. We considered whether human free will and God omniscience are incompatible. We looked at reasons for why God lets evil happen. And just the other day we mussed over why God just doesn't put a stop to evil once and for all. 

So what does that leave us with? Today we are going to turn the tables, so to speak. I would like to suggest that the existence of evil does not disprove God's existence as Epicurus and many others assert. Instead I think the evil is a hint that there is a God.

God and Evil Pt 4- Why Doesn't God Stop All Bad Things From Happening?

As we explore questions surrounding God and evil, this is a question that is no doubt on everyones mind; why doesn't God stop all bad things from happening?* This is an excellent question! After all we constantly talk about God being good, and God being love. And yet if God really was good and really loved us wouldn't he just stop all evil from happening?

God and Evil Pt 3- Why Does God Allow Bad Things To Happen?

Alright now that we have covered where evil came from, and took a short detour to discuss freewill and God's omniscience it's high time we get to the question that plagues most of us; 'Why does God allow bad things to happen?' 

God and Evil Pt 2- Free Will and The Omniscience of God

Well let's continue our exploration of  God and evil shall we. My last blog post outlined the basic Christian explanation for the existence of evil. God made the world, and humanity good. Humanity and the world we inhabit fell due to our rebellion against God. Now this argument lives or dies on the premise that an all knowing and all powerful God created humans with free will.

Many would say that human free will and God's omniscience cannot coexist. The standard argument goes something like this;

God And Evil Pt 1 - The Christian Story Of Why Evil Exists

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about responding to people in the midst of tragedy. By doing that I left myself with the feeling that I started with the last piece of a rather long and very important discussion. While I mussed over what to do when tragedy strikes I leapfrogged over the two very important questions, why does evil exist, and why do bad things happen to people? This post will seek to address the first question, the following posts will try to address questions around free will, why God allows bad things to happen, and a revisit to how we ought to respond to tragedy.

Can Humanists Be Good?

The other day as I was reading my church's bulletin I ran in to an article about the AHA, or the American Humanist Association. The article talked about the groups recent use of adverts to push their agenda of secularizing America. Of course just saying that is a little of an oversimplification of their cause. Near as I can tell from their website their number one goal is to promote, "a progressive society where being good without gods is an accepted way to live life."

Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice, Mourn With Those Who Mourn

Now this should come as no surprise to any of you but I am not a mother. However a friend of my wife's and mine writes a blog about being a mother that I drop in on every now and than. Sometimes the topics go well over my head, others don't connect with me at all; being a father and not a mother that is to be expected. But the other day she posted about a personal loss that she is suffering through, her loss of an unborn child.

Forgiveness

I stumbled on a few interesting articles today. One was about justice, and the thrust of the article was that jail time is not always the best solution when someone breaks the law. I tend to agree. Often restorative justice is better than punishment for transgressions.

The other was an article that surprised me. It was about the not so former pastor Ted Haggard (fill in your joke/comment of disgust here) and his return to ministry. Haggard now is the pastor of a church plant in Colorado called St James. The GQ article wrestled with the idea of forgiveness, trust and could if a person could change. The article left the question hanging, will people forgive Ted, and can he return to a place of trust?

Spoiler Alert!

I hate spoilers! It drives me nuts to find out what happens in movies, games, books or TV shows before I am supposed know. I want to have the complete experience, I want to discover information as the author(s) intended. So if you have seen, read or played something I plan to but have not yet done so, please don't tell me anything about it.

Conviction and Coffee Round 2

Coffee shops never cease to provide me with encounters ordained by God. Today seems to be no exception. For the past hour or so I have been eavesdropping. It's a bad habit I know, I ought not to do it. Granted they are speaking so loudly the only way to avoid it would be to plug in earphones, which I don't have, or leave which I am not going to do. I came here to get a head on some lesson plans and by goodness I swear I will!

To My Reader from Slovenia

hvala zakaj čitanje

I Have No Wounds To Nurse

So my experience with the Nursing students was good. They had a lot of questions, everything from the difference between brands of Christians to the style of clothes they could expect to see clergy in. We talked about abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, prayer, healing and a number of other things. In the end we talked for solid 2.5 hours. In my best moments I felt a little like a professor.

Nurse, Nurse!

Today I am a bit nervous. A few weeks ago I agreed to talk with a group of nursing students working on a class project about Christianity and Nursing. It sounded like such a good idea when I agreed, but now I am nervous.

When You Have Nothing To Say

Take it from me, I am rarely at a loss for words. Maybe it is my personality, maybe it is my calling, maybe it is the household I grew up in but I rarely find myself short of things to talk about. Today seems to be one of those rare days. My words are stored up somewhere deep in the back of my mind, and I can't seem to access them. There were three or more ideas I toyed with for today, but nothing seemed right. Nothing flowed.

Would You Rather?

There is a common method of argument being used by Christian and Non-Christian alike right now. The argument lays out a number of possibilities and then asks the question; which of these would you rather?

The 'would you rather' method does have a number of  very legitimate uses. If you want to find out what celebrities your friends are willing to make out with, or given a choice how they would die, this type of question is very helpful.

Underwhelmed

Last night we had our church annual business meeting. It was a yawn fest. Which was disappointing. It was disappointing because it seemed like we didn't really engage any of the problems and challenges we are having as a church.

Coffee Shop Evangelism

I was doubly evangelized at a coffee shop this week. First by a self proclaimed born again Christian and immediately after by an atheist. Needless to say as a member of the clergy I found the two conversations fascinating.

Conviction and Coffee

I was reading at a coffee shop today as I tend to do on most Thursdays. I go there to read in private while enjoying a better cup of coffee then I would make for myself. One day I really must examine this strange phenomenon of going out in to a public location to be alone. Never the less that was what I was doing.

Test of Faith

So there is a little test I would like you to take right now. It's called; 'Are You a Christian?' So go and grab a pen and paper I'll wait........

OK, now that your ready lets get started.

It's Written In The Stars

Something interesting happened in the last few days that could potentially bring science and religion into conflict again...but this time it's not conflicting with Christianity. Astronomer Parke Kunkle thought it was high time the astrology chart got updated. Kunkle at some point thought to himself that 3000 years or more has gone by since someone checked into this, and since the earth was not in the same orbit around the sun then as it is now things needed adjusting.

Living With Confusion

While it pains me to admit it, some times the things we say don't make a lot of sense, sound very logical and may even defy reason. Now some brands of Christians love when they don't make sense. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, some Christians love being caught up in the mysteries of the Spirit. I just am not that kind of Christian. For the most part I want my universe to make sense and while perhaps it is asking a lot I prefer it when God does as well.

Marital Bliss

As I write this I am in Montreal Quebec, looking forward to a friends wedding. I have been given the honour of being part of the wedding party. Since this week will be full of wedding preparation and celebration I wish only to do three things.

Show Your Work

Do you remember doing either long division, or algebra? One thing that seemed to be a rule in every math classroom I have ever been is 'show your work'. You know what I mean right, if you had a problem 2 +X = 4 in the earliest stages of math you were not allowed to simply say that X=2, you had to show it.

I think this is a rule we of the Christian faith need to re-familiarize ourselves with.