The road less traveled

2012-01-23T15:49:00.000-06:00

Trying something new!

In December of 2011 I drove into downtown Winnipeg and registered Clarity Safety Consulting as my new business. It is a little different than church ministry but it also has some similarities. I get to work with people! It involves helping people find the best solution for a problem and it is different every day. I am looking forward to this next chapter. That being said I am not turning my back on the church. In fact I am pursuing opportunities to work with churches and ministries who need part-time work and help taking their ministries to the next level. I also have the privilege of helping out my wife with Segue. A student group that is doing amazing things of the University of Manitoba Campus.

2011-11-25T09:04:00.000-06:00

I have created a social media mess for myself. I have a blog, a linkedin profile, a facebook account, a twitter feed, a yahoo email account, a hotmail account, a gmail account and I could probably find a few more. So here I am looking at some new business and ministry ventures and trying to figure out how to use my social media connections. The answer is not to create more because if you read this blog or follow me on twitter you know how often I update what I currently have. Nada.
Any smart people out there with some ideas?

2010-12-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

I came across this article; thought it was a good read.

The days before Christmas can be a tiring season of preparation, planning, shopping, and wrapping. But I think as we prepare for the Christmas celebrations, dinners, travel, and gift giving, it's equally important that we pause and prepare our souls for Christmas.
During this time of year, it may be easy to forget that the bigger purpose behind Bethlehem was Calvary. But the purpose of the manger was realized in the horrors of the cross. The purpose of his birth was his death.
Or to put it more personally: Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner. The incarnation reminds us of our desperate condition before a holy God.
Several years ago WORLD Magazine published a column by William H. Smith with the provocative title, "Christmas is disturbing: Any real understanding of the Christmas messages will disturb anyone" (Dec. 26, 1992).
In part, Smith wrote:
Many people who otherwise ignore God and the church have some religious feeling, or feel they ought to, at this time of the year. So they make their way to a church service or Christmas program. And when they go, they come away feeling vaguely warmed or at least better for having gone, but not disturbed.
Why aren't people disturbed by Christmas? One reason is our tendency to sanitize the birth narratives. We romanticize the story of Mary and Joseph rather than deal with the painful dilemma they faced when the Lord chose Mary to be the virgin who would conceive her child by the power of the Holy Spirit. We beautify the birth scene, not coming to terms with the stench of the stable, the poverty of the parents, the hostility of Herod. Don't miss my point. There is something truly comforting and warming about the Christmas story, but it comes from understanding the reality, not from denying it.
Most of us also have not come to terms with the baby in the manger. We sing, "Glory to the newborn King." But do we truly recognize that the baby lying in the manger is appointed by God to be the King, to be either the Savior or Judge of all people? He is a most threatening person.
Malachi foresaw his coming and said, "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap." As long as we can keep him in the manger, and feel the sentimental feelings we have for babies, Jesus doesn't disturb us. But once we understand that his coming means for every one of us either salvation or condemnation, he disturbs us deeply.
What should be just as disturbing is the awful work Christ had to do to accomplish the salvation of his people. Yet his very name, Jesus, testifies to us of that work.
That baby was born so that "he who had no sin" would become "sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The baby's destiny from the moment of his conception was hell—hell in the place of sinners. When I look into the manger, I come away shaken as I realize again that he was born to pay the unbearable penalty for my sins.
That's the message of Christmas: God reconciled the world to himself through Christ, man's sin has alienated him from God, and man's reconciliation with God is possible only through faith in Christ…Christmas is disturbing.
Don't get me wrong--Christmas should be a wonderful celebration. Properly understood, the message of Christmas confronts before it comforts, it disturbs before it delights.
The purpose of Christ's birth was to live a sinless life, suffer as our substitute on the cross, satisfy the wrath of God, defeat death, and secure our forgiveness and salvation.
Christmas is about God the Father (the offended party) taking the initiative to send his only begotten son to offer his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, so that we might be forgiven for our many sins.
As Smith so fitly concludes his column:
Only those who have been profoundly disturbed to the point of deep repentance are able to receive the tidings of comfort, peace, and joy that Christmas proclaims.
Amen and Merry Christmas!
C.J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace Ministries in its mission to establish and support local churches. After 27 years of pastoring Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, C.J. handed the senior pastor role to Joshua Harris on September 18, 2004, allowing C.J. to devote his full attention to Sovereign Grace. He serves on the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and on the board of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

2010-12-09T10:24:00.000-06:00

I came across this article today and thought it was very interesting. This Christmas Involve Your Children in Giving.
I was thinking about what things that matter to our family.
We have a sponsored child named Sony wouldn't it be cool if each kid gave him money for Christmas.
Or I was part of the creation of Life Campaign which drills wells for clean drinking water around the world.
Our church is sponsoring a drive for Habitat for Humanity.
Our youth ministry is going to Jamaica to help with construction and ministry at a deaf school. We are raising money for that.
These are just a few opportunities to give in our community/world. This Christmas we will include our kids in using some of our Christmas money to help someone in need. How about you, what do you plan to do?

2010-03-16T18:53:00.001-05:00

Colossians 3:12 -17
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Have you ever decided that you needed to make changes in your life. You got up on the mountain of your spiritual journey and said I need to make a change. The temptation is to make a huge change. This usually doesn’t last. The road to change is gradual. In verse 17 of Colossians 3 it says that everything we do should be done giving glory to God. This means the huge number of small decisions you have each day matter. Think about your day tomorrow how can you make the small decisions matter for God?

2010-03-09T08:38:00.001-06:00

This weekend at the youth retreat we are going to have a great time, eating, and playing together. We are going to experience the love of Christ and the presence of God. We are going to laugh and talk about some deep topics. The theme for our gathering times is I can’t imagine…

I could have never imagined the journey my life has taken. But the biggest thing I could not imagine is doing this without faith in God.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the sign that the things not seen are true. Hebrews 11:1

I love this verse we have faith for a better life, and a better world and even though we can’t see it now, we make life decisions because we believe that the God of the Bible is for real.

So a few questions for you;

How is your life different because you have faith in God?

How can you be certain of your faith in a God that you can not see, hear or touch?

Why is it important to have faith?

2010-03-08T15:57:00.002-06:00

Our church is working through the book of Genesis. Today we landed in chapters 34 & 35. Warning subject matter here deals with sexual abuse and rape. Read with caution. This is the story of Dinah, her rape, the indifference of her father Jacob and the fury of her brothers on her attacker.
60% of college age women experienced some form of sexual harassment either verbal or physical. This should make men and women angry. Jacob as a father seemed indifferent to his daughters violation. This isn't out of character Jacob. The story a few chapters earlier talks about the competition between Rachel and Leah to produce sons for Jacob. He ends up having children with 4 different women. He treated Leah without love and respect, but as someone to have sex with. So when Dinah the daughter of Jacob and Leah is raped, Jacob is indifferent. The lack of respect and dignity he shows to Leah manafests itself with his daughter.
Men I'm talking to you! How do you treat women? The porn you look at, the women you talk about, the physical satisfaction you help yourself to. These women are somebody's daughter as well as maybe somebodies sister or future wife. What if this person was your sister or wife? How would you feel if someone treated your daughter this way? I hope you would be angry. Here is the problem if you are disrespecting women now, you won't be filled with righteous anger but personal shame for your own actions.

2010-03-03T08:59:00.001-06:00

The Big Shake Up
According to the radio this morning. The earthquake in Chile has caused a change in the earth's rotation. It has sped up, meaning that yesterday was 1.26 milliseconds shorter than a normal day. No wonder I felt so busy. Busy is a state mind. IMHO there is always extra time, it is a matter of priorities. Busy is code for saying I have something more important going on. It could legit, like spending time with my family, studying God's word, or work, or it could be something like video games. Are you getting the important things done? If not what are the time wasters that are getting in the way?

2010-03-02T10:09:00.001-06:00

When a person encounters Jesus, 1 of 2 things will happen either the person must die or the person must kill Jesus. Bonhoeffer

I was at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference last weekend in Chicago. One of the workshops I was at talked about expectations of Christians. When Jesus called Peter and the other disciples he asked them to radically change their lives. As we walk to the cross that question pounds in my head. Is my life radically different as a disciple of Christ?

2009-05-20T12:18:00.000-05:00

Willow Creek has been a leading influence on church culture. 30 years of ministry summed up by an admission of failure in creating mature Christian believers. I think Willow Creek taught us a lot about presentation, programming and professionalism in church. To strive for excellence is still a key component of ministry. What I think Hybels is saying is summed up in this statement.

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back, it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.

Excellent programming came at the expense of discipleship. What we need to get away from teaching conversion and move towards embracing transformation. In the April 2009 issue of Enrich Magazine, David Moran writes an excellent article on discipleship titled, Make the More Like Jesus. He begins his article with the statement. “Our Pentecostal churches are filled with a crowd, not disciples”. He goes on to ask, “Who is the most successful pastor in the PAOC? Is it the one with the largest crowd? No, it is the one who is making the most disciples”

2008-12-08T13:52:00.006-06:00

This is a PSA for all you men out there buying Christmas presents.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/VideoPage.aspx

Please watch this before it is too late.

2008-12-08T10:42:00.003-06:00

20/20 Hindsight: What I Hope We Learned From the Lakeland Revival

Below are the opening lines from an article written by J. Lee Grady who is editor of Charisma. To read the full version of the article click on the link below.

Looking back at what happened in Lakeland, I wonder if we can agree on what went wrong.

It has been four months since Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley fled the scene of Florida’s Lakeland Revival amid rumors of a moral failure. When Bentley vanished in August, the crowds thinned, God TV stopped broadcasting services, the meetings eventually shut down and Bentley’s worship leader took the popular music of the revival on the road.

"Ministers of the gospel need both godly character and powerful anointing. Why did we ever settle for the idea that we should have one without the other." Ouch!

http://fireinmybones.com/index.php?col=120208

2008-12-04T15:26:00.011-06:00

The National Institute on Media and the Family released it’s 13th annual mediawise Video Game Report Card. If you have kids and are buying video games for Christmas this is a great resource. They say that up to 97% of kids in North America play video games. Warning this is a large document but it is worth looking through. There is a section that talks about recommend games to buy for kids and more importantly the ones to avoid. Here is the link to the report. http//www.mediafamily.org/research/2008_video_game_report_card.pdf

2008-11-18T12:12:00.005-06:00

This is from Leadership Challenge
"Leaders must challenge the process precisely because any system will unconsciously conspire to maintain status quo and prevent change. It is the nature of things organizationally not to change in a healthy direction. It is the nature of things organizationally to find a happy place and stay there forever and ever and ever and ever."

2008-11-05T14:24:00.002-06:00

"We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential." Barak Obama

I don't want to rip this quote apart or make a message out of it. The phrase "poverty of ambition" struck me. We want the good life without the work. In church circles we need to steer clear of a poverty of faith, where we want God's blessings to flow without following what he instructs in scripture to do. We need to steer clear from claiming the rewards without accepting the responsibilities. Our faith needs to be big enough to embrace God's blessing and to live sacrificially.

2008-06-27T14:53:00.004-05:00

YOUR PERSONAL DAY OF DEATH

Well I guess I haven't lived up to bargain of blogging every week. But this is twice this month which is progress. In a conversation today a pastor told me about a sermon that he preached. The topic was making the most of your life and seizing the opportunity now. One of the illustrations he used was from a website http://www.deathclock.com/ You enter personal info like age, weight, mood etc... and if gives you your "personal day of death", and then has a countdown of how many seconds you have left to live. I have 1.16 Billion seconds left according to this survey. Now I know that none of us has any guarantee of how many seconds we get. That is something that only God knows. But it sure gets me thinking how I am going to spend the next billion seconds. Am I going to worry about the little things or am I going to spend them making a difference in this world and pointing people to Jesus Christ? Tick Tick Tick.

Time until Saturday, April 15, 2045 (Winnipeg time)
13440 days
322568 hours
19354130 minutes
1161247804 seconds

2008-06-02T13:21:00.004-05:00

In a busy season it seems like posting is the last thing on my list. But it is also a time of growth, and I am frustrated that my posts have been non-existent for 2 months. Life has been exciting moving into a new house, and taking up new opportunities at work. YC has come and passed, General Conference happened, my daughter had her tonsils, my parents made the trek from BC, I have lost 16 lbs of potato chips, nachos and chicken wings and I started coaching baseball again. This time my son is playing, it is so much fun. In the hustle of trying to keep up with my life I need the outlet of writing. A chance to reflect and slow down. I am going to make a commitment to relax by writing and to be more consistent. Every week for sure. If anyone is still reading this blog you can hold me accountable.

I will leave this with you - Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too
well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance
of things we possess,
We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
WE have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future in strength, courage, hope and love.

2008-03-13T16:18:00.001-05:00

Hey this is a great way to fundraise for YC. OK maybe not but the video made me laugh.

2008-03-07T16:28:00.001-06:00

Last week I was at the National Pastors Conference and it was really interesting to listen to the different keynote speakers. You have Erwin McManus, Chuck Colson, John Ortberg and NT Wright all unpacking different messages. They all have different ministries and yet they all held something in common. They have a passion to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have a love for Jesus.
John Ortberg gave a message on Thriving in Ministry. His first point was the Treasure of Vision and he was borrowing some ideas from Dallas Willard. Here is what he said.

“The most important vision is not what we are going to do, but it is something
that already exists, our vision of God and who he is… This gives us a
desire to work for Him… this desire leads to extraordinary results… In our
love for Jesus, we have abandon our lives for Him, our lives are not of much
concern.”

WOW! That last line is a challenge; our lives are not of much concern.
How much of our lives get in the way of doing the things that God made us to do?

2008-02-22T13:21:00.002-06:00

I have been sick for about 2 weeks now. It started with severe sinus pain, headache and fever. For a few hours one night I wondered if I was going to die and then I was wishing I would. When the Tylenol, Advil cocktail doesn’t bring you any relief you really start looking for any form of relief. My wife found something that started to work. It is this water bottle type contraption, that you mix a salt solution with warm water and squirt it up your nose. It actually goes into your sinus cavity and helps loosen up your sinuses. You know it is working when the water mixture combined with snot comes out of you other nostril or pools in the back of your throat, don’t swallow!. This cleans out your sinuses and you can breathe without pain. So as I fighting the remnants of this cold, every morning I am cleansing my sinuses so that I can continue on with my day.
I am finding that I need to do the same thing spiritually. Each day I need to take some time and repent for attitudes, thoughts and actions that are pure. I need to let the living water of the Holy Spirit cleanse through my life. When I do this I feel right but more importantly I am able to go after what God has called me to do.

2008-02-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

Just a random quote!

Are you looking for a random fact to spice up a sermon or presentation. I have one for you, quoting one of the greatest TV trivia minds in the history of broadcasting.

"Due to the shape of the North American Elk's esophagus, even if it could speak, it could not pronounce the word lasagna."- Cliff Clavin, Cheers

This totally useless piece of information, got me thinking about the classic TV show, which had the theme song that defined a key part of community.

Cheers Theme Lyrics
Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo - Cheers Lyrics
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see,

our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.

You wanna go where people know,

people are all the same,

You wanna go where everybody knows your name.

Full Lyrics never actually aired

Making your way in the world today Takes everything you've got;

Taking a break from all your worries Sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

All those night when you've got no lights,

The check is in the mail;

And your little angel Hung the cat up by it's tail;

And your third fiance didn't show;

Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name,

And they're always glad you came;

You want to be where you can see,

Our troubles are all the same;

You want to be where everybody knows your name.

Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead;

The morning's looking bright;

And your shrink ran off to Europe,

And didn't even write;

And your husband wants to be a girl;

Be glad there's one place in the world Where everybody knows your name,

And they're always glad you came;

You want to go where people know,

People are all the same;

You want to go where everybody knows your name.

Where everybody knows your name,

And they're always glad you came;

Where everybody knows your name,

And they're always glad you came...

I'm not saying that we should add this song into our worship rotations. But wouldn't it be great if this song was more true about Christian communities then a bar?

2008-01-29T15:46:00.000-06:00

Last week I had the privilege of attending the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry Forum in Calgary. There was a lot of great discussion from denominational youth leaders from across Canada. There were also a couple of guest speakers for the event. Bruxy Cavey and Andy Harrington. Here are some of the quotes that I was quick enough to write down.

Quote # 1
Bruxy Cavey: "When we blend Scriptural teaching with a passing culture we become irrelevant, but when we just use Scripture we become more relevant."

Quote #2
Bruxy Cavey on how to engage youth and young adults

"Invite people to join a mission, movement and cause"
"Teaching becomes equipping for the mission"
"Keep our eyes on Jesus, the Holy Spirit draws people to Jesus Christ"

Quote # 3
Bruxy Cavey on the Hypocrisy Quotient - The hypocrisy quotient is the difference between what we know about living for God and what we actually live out, and yes we all have one.

Quote #4
Bruxy Cavey on religion:
1. Humanity is on the brink of destroying itself.
2. Religion is making the problem worse not better.
So we can conclude that a loving God would actually be against religion. Jesus was living proof of that.

Quote #5
Andy Harrington - 7 ways to reach our world
1. Liberate a new generation of leaders
2. Create transitional structures - temporary roads
3. Build new communities
4. Practice Authenticity
5. Rediscover lostness (the lost)
6. Teach the Bible in different contexts
7. Find a balance in teaching the justice of Gospel with the righteousness of it.

Quote #6
Andy Harrington - "When an old culture is dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure"

This is by no means a comprehensive report on the forum, but a collection of quotes that made me look at ministry from a different perspective.

2008-01-11T14:05:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

On New Years Eve I was walking through Costco. As I walked into this Costco I was amazed at what I saw first. In the very first section were all the essential items for New Years Resolutions. There were vitamins, fat burners, Nicorette patches, exercise equipment and books. I think there were even some resources on finances. I guess we really are that pathetic.

New Years is a time to start over, to make a change. Costco in its brilliance recognized that we feel the need to make changes at the change of the year. I decided to make some changes. Lose some weight, eat better, spend more time with my kids, and spend my money better. Costco is ready to help me with my goals and sell me the products I need. As a pastor I have to spiritualize everything so here it is.
Costco studies people needs and spending habits to offer them products that they will buy. On a spiritual level do we know what people need? How do we discover that? I think we need to take a two-fold approach. We need to be aware of our world and culture. We also need to consult the person who can help us. The Holy Spirit is vital for us to reach people. How are people drawn to Christ? Through the Holy Spirit, I believe that this point is Biblical, and who empowers us to witness for Christ? Acts 1:8 is pretty clear on this. My resolution for this year is to be engaged in our culture but to see it through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew the needs of the people that he walked and talked with. He used this knowledge with the power of Holy Spirit to change lives. I want to do that.

2007-12-10T15:51:00.001-06:00

I posted an extremely funny You Tube video that was an exerpt from the Mr. Bean Christmas special. Some of the videos that they linked to this clip had questionable content. When this was brought to my attention I decided to pull the clip off. If you still want to see the video I have copied the link below. Just a reminder that You Tube has a ton of videos that vary in content. If you decide to click on any other video links there may be content that bothers you. Please watch discriminately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv0_9IGWFvQ

If anyone was offended by the links on my site please accept my apologies, and to the person who called me to let me know that there was questionable content linked to the video I posted thank you.

2007-12-05T11:31:00.000-06:00

From Sunday
Canadian Youth Workers Conference – Day 4

I am sitting on the Ferry that takes you from Vancouver to Nanaimo. The youth workers conference is over. My brain hurts, overload. Actually there is lots of great preaching and teaching that I now have to pray and sort through. I was sitting in a seminar this morning about lasting in ministry. The speaker said one of the ways that we destroy our ministries is the sin of grandiose. He used the example of youth workers status icons. Like how many are in your group, who do know, what have you read and of course how many conferences do you get to go to.

In my pre-coffee fog I was horrified. Am I sending a message to our pastors and youth leaders that I am better than them, by reporting on the conference, that I am attending? I sure hope not, my purpose for sending details about the conference is to try to pass along some of the teaching that I am receiving.

I grant it privilege to work at District office, to read, attend conferences and dialogue with the leaders so that I can bring perspective and help to our pastors and leaders as they work so hard to build the church and impact their communities for Christ’s sake. If you read this blog and I want to bring you something of value, something that is life changing and helpful.

If I were to sum up the main themes that impacted me in this conference they are;

1. Read – anyone who leads needs to read. Study is imperative. Leaders are learners. We live in a world full of chaos and confusion and not only do we need to here from the Holy Spirit we need to do the academic work as well.
2. Rest – I wrote a little about the seminar on rest yesterday. It kept coming out in the seminars. These are champions of youth ministry, the ones with successful ministries and they are telling us to rest. My skeptical nature says they are telling us that so that they can work and get ahead while we are resting. But the more I thought about and prayed about it and heard about it, it made sense. Work hard but make sure that you rest regularly, even race cars come in for gas, tires and minor adjustments during the race. Actually with NASCAR part of the strategy at the end of the race is when to come in for new tires and how many do you put on. If you don’t put on any you car still race but your car gets slower and slower. If you come in for 2 new tires it makes the stop relatively short and you experience an improvement on traction and speed. If you come in for all 4 tires the stop takes longer but there is a huge improvement in traction and speed.
3. Embrace Restlessness – I know this seems to contradict what I just said. Welcome to my world. What I am talking about is that ministry is messy and God uses restlessness or dissatisfaction as a way to move us towards our next steps on the journey. If this wasn’t the case Pastoral ministry would only take a few hours a week. It is the tough situations that we face in our lives and the lives of the people in our congregations and communities that justify the importance we place on the call of God to ministry.

Hey I would love to know if anyone found the conference blog useful, or if anyone is out there. I have a bribe for you. For the first 5 pastors/youth leaders from the Manitoba Northwestern Ontario District of the PAOC, who comment back to me either negatively or positively I will send you a copy of the book, The Battle For Truth by David A Noebel.

2007-12-01T23:45:00.000-06:00

National Youth Workers Conference – Day 3

Wow has this conference ever gone fast. The weather in Vancouver today consisted of snow. The conference has been great so far. Today I attended a seminar by Mark Buchanan. It was all about Sabbath and rest. He used the analogy of your boss coming to you and saying you have worked enough go home and let me do your work tomorrow. Would you take your boss up on his offer, of course you would. This what God does for us every week and yet many of us don’t accept his offer. He said this is not a work ethic issue but a faith issue. Don’t you have enough faith to let the creator of universe cover you? Ouch!

They are planning on doing this conference again next year in Toronto. No other details so far.

2007-11-30T22:11:00.000-06:00

National Youth Workers - Day 2

High light - Learn To Lead Building Your Leadership Capacity by Rev. Dr. John McAuley

He talked about the common realities that leaders face. They are complexity, confusion and chaos. He talked about some guiding principles for us to lead in the midst of these common realities. Like any good workshop speaker he boiled it down to three things. We must build credibility, capacity and clarity.

Low point - Getting stuck in an elevator with 15 other youth workers and 3 innocent bystanders. When they say maximum capacity 19 people that is not a dare but a warning. The sign should have said 18 people OK, 19 people will get you stuck in an a hot stinky elevator for 20 minutes.

Well it is time to get off to the next session. I will catch you tomorrow.

2007-11-29T23:53:00.000-06:00

National Youth Workers Day 1

My lovely wife woke me up at 5:10 am, with a kiss and the wonderful aroma of a full breakfast with hot coffee. She leaned over me and siad, "my darling husband, you have a full day traveling to Vancouver and participating in important meetings with eternal significance. I want to send you off with a wonderful breakfast worthy of you." At 5:15 I woke up.
Actually the biggest part of my day was spent at a Missions Canada Men's Meeting. We talked about different ways that men's ministries are taking place in our churches across the nation. One of the ways is men's ministry focused on Special Interest Groups. These groups consist of Christian men reaching out to non-Christian men through shared interests and passion. Two books that deal with this topic are, Dog Training, Fly Fishing and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century by Ted Haggard, I know insert joke here, and Organic Community by Joseph R Myers.

2007-11-26T14:47:00.000-06:00

Best Leader Ever

I just finished reading Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. The subtitle of the book describes what it is all about. “LESSONS from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of ALL TIME” This is a great book to pick up.

On page 207 they quote Henry Blackaby from his book Spiritual Leadership, here is the quote, “Godly leadership is not about being more committed it is about being more submitted.” This one challenged me. Success as a leader in God’s kingdom comes not from just working hard and being smart but from hearing and obeying God’s will. I guess anyone can do that, God doesn’t need or want my special skills, he wants to obey.

To me that’s a humbling thought.

2007-11-23T15:31:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a season when neither Sask. nor Winnipeg made a post-season play off game. It seemed so unusual that the teams figured there should be some sort of competition anyway. So they got together and decided on a week-long ice-fishing competition.

On the first day, the Bombers caught 100 fish and Riders caught none. On the second day, Bombers had caught 200 fish and Riders still had zero. The Sask coach, suspecting cheating, dressed one of his players in blue and gold and sent him to the Bombers camp to act as a spy. At the end of the day, the player came back to the report.

"Are they cheating?" asked the coach. "They sure are," the player said. "They're cutting holes in the ice!"

Please feel free to add your best clean Saskatchewan joke!

2007-11-19T12:35:00.000-06:00

Are you kidding me?

I have to shake my head after reading the following quotes from Barna's article.

From George Barna’s article - Christian Parents Are Not Comfortable With Media But Buy Them for Their Kids Anyway
"Millions of Christian parents want to appear to be relevant in their children’s eyes, and to provide gifts that fit within the mainstream of postmodern society," Barna noted. "The problem is that many of the entertainment products that meet those criteria conflict with the moral precepts of the Christian faith. Parents have to make a choice as to what is more important: pleasing their kids’ taste and sensibilities, or satisfying God’s standards as defined in the Bible. When the decision made is to keep their children happy, the Christian parent is often left with a pit in their stomach.
"The process of selecting appropriate Christmas presents for children is a microcosm of the spiritual tension millions of Christian adults wrestle with," the California-based researcher explained. "Many Christian parents are striving to serve two conflicting masters: society and God. They refuse to believe that they cannot satisfy both. Sadly, this Christmas season will produce enormous stress for numerous Christian parents who don’t want to disappoint either God or their children, but whose ultimate choices will disappoint both God and themselves, while providing gifts that are not be in the best interests of their children. For Christians, the Christmas season should be a time of celebration and appreciation of the life of Jesus Christ. Instead, that joy is being minimized by the pressure and confusion introduced by our focus on material consumption and fulfillment."

To read the rest of the article go to http://www.barna.org

2007-11-07T13:20:00.000-06:00

Hey check out this article!

re-thinking (true) discipleship
The term Discipleship” is used today without much vigor and has seemingly lost its biblical meaning, seriousness, and true sense of calling in most contexts. In ...

2007-10-17T12:03:00.001-05:00

How do you see Jesus?
This past Thursday we did a worship service with a group of young adults based on the 23rd Psalm. One of things that came out as we were preparing for the service. Was that David was a shepherd, who wrote about the ultimate shepherd, the LORD. So we asked the young adults, how do you picture Jesus Christ? If David pictured God as a shepherd because that is what he did, how do you picture God? The answers were interesting to say the least. There was no heresy or “I picture Jesus as a unicorn”, answers. But what we experienced is that different people have different pictures of who Jesus is to them based on where they are at in their lives. Think about how you relate to Jesus, do you see him as a parent, friend, lover, teacher, leader, boss, or pastor? How does that influence the way that you interact with Christ?

2007-09-25T15:25:00.001-05:00

Hit from the Yellow Tees

This weekend my six year old son and I were in a father-son golf tournament. My son had never golfed before, but we had a great time together. The great thing about this course was they set it up for beginners. They had special yellow tee off boxes out in the middle of the fairway that the little guys could tee off from, and get it close to the green. So when I hit from the men’s tee and my boy hit from yellow tees, we both had a chance to get the ball close to the hole. My son whenever he hit his ball closer than me would tell me that he could beat me at golf. He was excited and can’t wait to golf again.
How does this apply for youth leaders? As you work new leaders into your ministry let them him from the “yellow tees.” Give them every chance to succeed. When they succeed they will be more likely to love what they are doing and want to get better.

2007-09-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

RESULTS
" ...begin with the end in mind.'Be result oriented. Know what it is you want. See it. Can you believe you're going to achieve it? How are you going to get there? Work from the end, not the front. See the end. How does it look? Now see where you are. Now see the road between you and the result. This is the road you have to take to get there. Write that down. It's called strategy. It's your road map to a great result. Stick to the plan"
The above was written by Pastor Phil Pringle, Senior Pastor of Christian City Church Sydney Australia.

Yes I know it is ironic that the first version of my thoughts is a quote from someone else. This just proves that we are all influenced by someone else. This quote resonated with me. For me the results in youth ministry are not about bums in seats. The result is what kind of Christian students do I want to unleash on the world and the church? With that in mind how do you design your youth ministry to produce fully engaged followers of Christ? In other words what is God calling you do with these students? Once you figure that out, then you can built your map.

2007-04-04T14:57:00.000-05:00

I was at the local Starbucks yesterday with a friend when I came across, The Way I See It #236 - "Scientists tell us we only use 5% of our brains. But if they only used 5% of their brains to reach that conclusion, then why should we believe them?"

This extreme wisdom explains the debates on such scientific issues as Evolution, Global Warming and the constant barrage of studies that say one food is good for you and then bad and then good and then, who cares. Eating nothing but chocolate bars will shorten your life span, however eating nothing at all will kill you faster. So what is healthier junk food or dieting. According to 5% of my brain - stick with the chocolate bars. I would love to hear from 5% of your brain.

2007-04-03T10:44:00.000-05:00

WHAT ARE YOU DOING GOD?

I am doing something that I haven't done in a long time. I am reading through the Psalms on a regular basis. The thing that is hitting me about the psalms is how much raw emotion that you find there. I almost think that David is some kind of nut case. In Psalm 10 David asks God why does he hide himself in times of trouble? We all know that David is spouting bad theology here. God doesn't hide, but yet it is written right in the Scriptures, go figure. Then David in the same psalm says this, "But you, God see the trouble of the afflicted, you consider their grief and
take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the
fatherless."
I take comfort that God isn't threatened by emotional outbursts that question his actions or plans but that he waits for me to figure it out.

2007-03-23T22:53:00.000-05:00

Time to bring the blog back to life.

I found a set of these videos that made me laugh. I have included the first one, hope that you enjoy.

Best line "Would Jesus go to church on Saturday?"

2006-10-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

Christianity Today did a story on the 50 books influencing evangelicals. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/23.51.html. Some of those books I have read and some I haven’t. But then I was sent this parody list of 50 books. So enjoy your Monday morning laugh.
1. Your Best Life Now Book of Martyrs
2. I'm Totally Depraved, You're Totally Depraved
3. 40 or so Days more-or-less of Purpose
4. Bowel Thou Art Loosed - A Christian Guide to Regularity
5. Good Morning Holy Mackerel - Spirit Filled Sport Fishing With BennyHinn
6. Baldness , True Humility - The Saga of C.J. Mahaney's Failed HairTransplant
7. Prayer of Jabez Guide to Bankruptcy
8. The Ergun Caner Coffee Table Book of Ergun Caner
9. The Power of a Praying Mantis
10. Steal This Book- Then Repent, Bring it Back, and Confess
11. Desiring Gold - Meditations on Things I Would Buy if I were Rich
12. Pretty Good People in the Hands of an Ambivalent God
13. Y3K - Countdown to Armageddon
14. The Tax Code - Secret Messages from God Hidden in Your 1040 LongForm
15. Wicked at Heart - Discovering the Not-So-Secret Secret ofEveryone's Soul
16. Raptured By Mistake - Book I of the "I Should Have Been LeftBehind" series
17. James White's Guide to Weasel Hunting on the Campus of LibertyUniversity
18. The Maker's Diet II- What God Ate and How It Kept Him Healthyand Feeling Good Forever.
19. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Holy Cow - Harry Carey's SecretMembership in Opus Dei
20. The Canadian Prophecies : Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Neighbor to the North's Future
21. 90 Minutes in Hell - A True Story of Death and How Hell was ReallyScary and How I Wanted to Get Out of There
22. Purple Like Barney - Non-Religious Thoughts on Obnoxious PBSChildren's Programming
23. 12 Extraordinary Little Women - An Inspirational Look at 12 GodlyMidgets' Lives
24. Velour Pelagius - Repainting the Emerging Faith
25. The Sixth Love Language - When Heartfelt Commitment Isn'tEnough, Christian Techniques to Get You Out of the Dog House
26. Boise Countdown - How The Capitol of Idaho Will Play A Pivotal Rollin the Unfolding of the Millennium
27. Battlefield of the Lower Intestine - Claim Victory Over Satan andHis Relentless Attacks on Your Digestive System
28. Discernment and How to Know A Good Book on it When You See One -Tim Challies
29. Veggie Tales Systematic Theology
30. For Men and Women Only - A Straightforward Guide to Stuff YouAlready Know
31. I Kissed Bundling Goodbye
32. The Message: Shaken-not-Stirred
33. Total Truth II: Electric Boogaloo
34. Found Again - The Baxter family reunites to extract more dollarsfrom the Christian book buying public
35. Noing God: Tales from the Bible on How to Refuse God and Live toTell About it
36. Outhouse - Vacationing couples are pursued by a maniac killer wholures them to a vacant outhouse which won't let them leave. The"outhouse" mirrors their own heart and souls and they mustdefeat the evil within
37. What's So Amazing About Grace Kelly?
38. If You Want to Walk on Water Then You Have to Be Jesus… ormaybe that David Blaine guy
39. What on Earth Am I Here For and Why On Earth Do I Keep Asking Myselfthese Questions?
40. Having a Mary Heart in a Paul Body
41. It's Not About Me Too - Further Self-Reflections not About Me.
42. More Secret Power Within: Chuck Norris' Guide To Kickin' theCrap out of Badguys for Christ
43. Misquoting Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed MisquotingJesus and Why
44. The Openness of God: How 5 Theologians Go to Heaven only to find it`Closed for the Season'
45. Reimagining Jesus Until I Like What I See
46. A Generous Orthodontics - Why I Think My Fillings Will Be in Heaven
47. Even Newer Strong's Exhausting Concordance - Heavier than Ever
48. Where Would Jesus Eat and How Much Did He Tip?
49. The Way Down Diet - Lose Weight and Your Salvation
50. Capitulating: Unveiling the Mystery of Keeping Your Wife fromGetting Mad at You When You Want to Run Around and Do "Wild atHeart" Kind of Guy Stuff

2006-10-12T01:33:00.000-05:00

Today we had the memorial sevice for grandpa.

MARSHALL, Albert Victor

Passed away peacefully into the presence of the Lord Friday morning October 6, 2006 in Nanamio Hospital surrounded by his wife and children.

Victor was born in Glenora, Manitoba on January 25, 1915. He married Irene in January 1943 just before going overseas to serve with the Canadian Army.

Following his time in the services he owned and operated automotive garages in Ninette and Wawanesa. He moved his family to Red Deer in 1965 and then he and Irene relocated to Nanamio in 1971.

Victor will be remembered with affection and thanks by those he helped. He was always available and willing to attempt anything that needed attention.

Victor is predeceased by his two sisters. Alice and Phyllis; survived by one brother, Stanley. Victor will be greatly missed by his wife of 63 years, Irene, two daughters Diane (Rob) Tyler, and Patricia (George) Junghans and son Kenneth Marshall, 9 grandchildren Greg (Tammy), Matthew (Deidra), David (Laura), Phillip, Sheila (Jason), Sarah, Caitlin, Alexandra, Travis, and 8 great grandchildren.

Although it is a time of mourning the service was truly a celebration of my Grandpa's life. We laughed a lot. Thanks for your prayers.

2006-10-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

Amos, For Our Times

I received the following text in an email. I am not the author, there is a lot in here that I am wrestling with. So I thought I'd give you the same opportunity to wrestle with this.

Reading the book of Amos, specifically 5:18-27, inspired the followingpiece. I wondered what God might say to the contemporary AmericanChurch.

This is one suggestion:_____God, Speaking To the American Church:

You spend too much time thinking about and wishing for the end of theworld. Why are you so anxious to bring about God's judgment? And whatkinds of people have you become, thinking the world will end tomorrow?In your arrogance and laziness you have forgotten why I placed you here.You have endless conferences and seminars on how to do church, but youhave forgotten to be the church, a people who faithfully live as analternative community, pointing all people toward Me through loving service.You have grown rich exploiting the poor. You bring a tiny pittance ofthat money back to Me and say, "God, you have been so good to us." Butyour money smells like crap in My nostrils. It sickens Me and I don'twant it. Give it back to the poor from which it came.You grow more food than you need by destroying the very soil I gave youto tend. You sit down to a sumptuous buffet and say, "Look how God hasblessed us." I have not blessed you. I have left you to your owndestruction.

There will come a day when the womb of the earth will no longer produceand the poor will rise up and pledge never to sew a cheap garment again.You will grow hungry and your shopping malls will close. Then you willturn to Me and cry, "God, why have you rejected us?" And I will say, "Ihave not rejected you. I have been here all along, waiting for yourreturn."

So turn your face toward Me now. Seek after Me. Live out My commands. D oyou want to be people after My own heart? Then care for the poor, theneedy, the marginalized, those for whom My heart has always beat loudly.Cease your endless Bible studies, searching for the answer to righteousliving. Commit yourselves to following what I already told you to do.Don't believe you are pursuing Me if you are not seeking to do justice.Care for the planet. You have become so worried about who might alsoadvocate this course of action that you forgot it was one of My first commandments to you. Tend well what I have given you.Seek the welfare of your community. As people in exile, your future andthe future of the place you live are one and the same. So make yourworld more whole, that you might be more holy.And live in love. I had hoped you would get that message when My Sonjoined humanity and demonstrated sacrificial love in action. But you areso worried about His return that you forget why He came.

Be a people shaped by the model of Jesus, not just the prospect of escaping theworld I have asked you to help heal.

2006-09-28T10:54:00.000-05:00

We are not soul-mates - we are so much more than that.
Ten years ago today, I got up early and went golfing with my brothers and closest buddies. We had free passes and a lot of fun, in fact I came very close to a hole in one. I hit the ball on a 90 yard par 3 that actually lipped the edge of the cup before rolling out. That wasn’t the high-light of that day. See today September 28, 2006 is the date of my tenth anniversary.

Yes that’s right 10 years ago today I somehow convinced Tammy to marry me. We started an incredible journey together that has included living in four cities, Victoria, Prince George, Calgary and Winnipeg and we have been blessed with 4 kids, Rachel, Curtis, Brianne and Stephanie. Even if we move at some point to a fifth city we will be staying at four kids.
Looking back over the 10 years our marriage hasn’t always been easy. We haven’t always gotten along. But I know this, I am more in love with Tammy today then I was 10 years ago. I think the word soul-mate is a crock. I know that true love isn’t a cosmic event but a choice that is made daily to love. We were not "meant to be together" but we chose to be. Choosing to be is stronger than meant to be. There is no one else that I would rather share my life with. I am truly blessed. Thanks Tam.

2006-09-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

Life in the Kingdom

A couple of weeks ago I used John 18 as my text. This is passage where Jesus told Pilate that he was a king. But not the king of this world, he is the king of truth. It hit me that Jesus the king of truth dies to usher in his kingdom. He could have spared his own life, and become a king of the world, taking power from Pilate, or even the Emperor in Rome. This is what Satan tempted Jesus with, all the kingdoms of the world. Satan feared what the kingdom of truth would usher in. Hebrews 13:12-14 talks about Jesus sacrifice, “So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.” (NLT) When Jesus died to usher in Kingdom of Truth, it wasn’t to we could have an easy prosperous life. It was so that we could follow his example and give our lives in service to him. This world is not the end all and be all, verse 14 reminds us of that, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (NLT) The gift of salvation is supposed to free us to live.

On the lighter side
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a sailor named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man's man, who showed no fear when facing his enemies.

One day, while sailing the Seven Seas, his lookout spotted a pirate = ship, and the crew became frantic.

Captain Bravo bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!" The first mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, and while wearing the brightly colored frock, the Captain led his crew into battle and defeated the pirates.

That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day's triumph. One of them asked the Captain, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before battle?"

The captain replied, "If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood. Thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid."

All of the men sat in and marveled at the courage of such a manly man's man.

As dawn came the next morning, the lookout spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirate ships approaching. The crew stared in worshipful silence at the captain and waited for his usual orders.

Captain Bravo gazed with steely eyes upon the vast armada arrayed against his ship, and without fear, turned and calmly shouted, "Get me my brown pants!"

2006-09-18T11:44:00.000-05:00

The Chase

When I was in Bible College I was introduced to a great book by Jerry Bridges called The Pursuit of Holiness. It is a simple straight-forward book on the journey of holiness. To my delight the book has been re-written for youth and is entitled, The Chase. Bridges opens with an illustration of a farmer who works hard but is completely reliant on forces outside of himself. This is the premise of The Chase, God has a part and so do we.

“Chasing after holiness is like that. Holiness is something we need God to do, yet on the flip side we need to some of the work ourselves. If God isn’t present, true holiness can’t be present. Yet if we rely solely on God and don’t put any effort into ourselves, holiness isn’t possible either.” (p. 9)

He goes even further when he says,

“Maybe you’ve even heard the phrase that says Christians have “power over sin.”
… the Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome sin we encounter all the time. Sometimes, though we see this as a “silver bullet” solution. It’s easy to think that we don’t have to change anything to defeat the sin in our lives. We think we can go on living our lives as we please, asking God to forgive our sins, and God will take care of everything. We almost see our salvation as a ticket to heaven instead of a new and better way of living.” (p. 10)

Then Bridges makes his point with an ouch statement. “We might say that we “fall into sin”—like it’s some big hole that opens in front of us and we can’t do anything to prevent ourselves from falling in. Get real!” (p. 10) Obviously the big pit illustration works for Winnipeg drivers who have experienced the huge potholes that swallow up your car while you are driving. Yes I am still bitter after I hit a big hole this spring and had $900 in car repairs. But I am off track. I love this image that Bridges gives us about “falling into sin” and how we play up the victim of sin mentality. There was nothing I could do. I think that the most popular prayer in North America is for crop failure. We live our lives all week long sowing seeds of selfishness, greed and lustful desires and then we arrive Sunday morning and pray for these seeds to die. I close with Hebrews 12:12-14 (NLT), which Bridges labels as the theme verses for this book.

“Take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame will not stumble and fall but will become strong. Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will net see the Lord.”

2006-09-15T14:20:00.000-05:00

Great Summer

I knew it had been a long time since I last posted. But seriously May 24, that’s almost 4 months. Summer is a great time to take a break but now it is September and time to “git er done”. I was in meetings this last week and there is one profound quote that Mike Love from Extreme Dream said. “We need to reposition ourselves for God to do more.” I have always struggled with the paradox of quality ministry versus quantity of ministry. And Mike’s words helped me sort it out. The increase is God’s so I need to do my part and let God grow the kingdom.

2006-05-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

5 more wins.

I just thought for anyone who does not cheer for the greatest hockey team ever. That the Oilers are only 5 wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup.

2006-05-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

100 Years of PENTECOST
I think this is the last part of the series for now.
It has been 100 years since the modern outbreak of Pentecost. Instead of changing our world and ushering in a time of great revival we have seen the opposite. The 20th century was the bloodiest in the history of the world. We have seen the moral decay march unopposed in Western culture in the face of Pentecostal revival. Abortion became legal, shacking up became acceptable, and same-sex marriage embraced. Religions of the world are gaining significant influence in what was a Christian culture for the western world. Fundamental Christians are seen more as power hungry manipulators than true followers of Jesus. In fact the current Prime Minister probably lost votes because of his connection to evangelical Christians. Somehow the great revivals of the early 20th century have become impotent. The charismatic church has lost its voice in society. We are not connecting to in a culture that desperately needs Christ. The amazing thing is that for all the problems in the Pentecostal Assemblies we are still growing, the number of people who worship in Pentecostal churches in Canada has gone up. However; we are much more capable than marginal growth. To rest on our accomplishments or to see meager growth as a sign that we don’t need to reexamine all we do, is short sighted and wishful thinking.
We need to teach that the Holy Spirit gives us power to live, but that we have a part to play in this. That what happens at the altar needs to be lived out in the world. That we see God’s presence and power more in living out the fruit of the Spirit than we do in the signs and wonders. There is not separation of the supernatural works of the Holy Spirit and the fruit, but that the two are joined like Siamese twins. If we want to preserve Pentecostalism in the new millennium it needs to be more about our mission and less about our distinctive.

2006-05-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

SHAKEN NOT STIRRED - part number 3
We have somehow come to the conclusion that by making or seeking signs and wonders that we will force God’s presence to be with us. We have bought into the mind set that God only shows up in the revival meetings where the signs and wonders are evident. The rest of the time we are in the desert just playing church. I remember going to tent meetings in my home town when I was 16. Our church was all exited about these revival meetings. When the preacher asked for those who wanted more of the Holy Spirit I went up to receive. People were falling over in the Spirit, when the preacher got to me he started pushing really hard on my head. Pushing me back he told me to stand up straight close my eyes and put my arms up. And then with his other hand he hit the hand on my head and knocked me down. The guy catching me said “praise God” while I said “ouch”. I had experienced being “slain” or knocked over by the power of the Spirit before. This was nothing like that, as soon as I hit the ground, I was angry, how could someone try to manipulate the experience of God’s presence? I left the tent meeting that night disappointed that someone would try to create an experience and then tell me that it was God’s presence at work. I am not against signs and wonders. I have prayed and seen a girl healed of cancer, I prayed for a baby that was supposed to die, who is now four years old. This has nothing to do with my ability to create signs and wonders but the fact that I got a front row seat to see God intervene.
We need to teach the presence of God at all times. We need to teach the Elijah experience from

1 Kings 19
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the
presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the
mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the
earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the
fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

We name our youth ministries Fire ______, or ________ wind, or we talk about the power of God that is like an earthquake and shakes us. I think a number of our youth ministries should be called the James Bond Martini. “Shaken not stirred” Our kids are shaken by the power of God but not stirred to action and living it out. To me the idea that God is in the gentle whisper is much more comforting than being in the fire, wind or earthquake. It means that God is with me all the time, not just in church or “Revival Meetings”. That God doesn’t just live at YC and Camp. But that he is with me at all times.
We need to teach that tongues are a gift of the Holy Spirit not the Holy Spirit. We need to teach that signs and wonders, tongues and miracles are not the purpose of the Holy Spirit but a result of his presence. That this presence is about living in the Spirit.

Life by the Spirit – Galatians 5
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we
live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.

That the Holy Spirit empowers us to live as witnesses who possess;
A transforming love to a world that hates. A love that is defined in 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues[a]
of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body
to the flames,[b]
but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does
not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where
there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be
stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and
we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see
but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know
in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now
these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Joy speaks of hope and happiness in the midst of misery.
The peace of God, it calms our minds but also allows us to live in peaceful relationships.
Patience is the ability to put up with people even when tired. To be “slow to anger” Joel 2:13
Kindness is mirroring the kindness that God shows to man.
Goodness the primary function of goodness is found in generosity.
Faithfulness is dependable it is a measure of our character.
“Gentleness describes the person who is so much in control of himself that he is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time” (Aristotle)
Self-Control is the quality that gives victory over fleshly desires.
This is what discipleship is. We have for too long neglected true Spiritual formations. We have allowed people to believe that the Holy Spirit magically makes us super Christians.

2006-05-05T10:04:00.000-05:00

This is the second part of my series on what it means to be Penetcostal. You might want to read the previous post first.

What I believe Pentecostalism needs to be in the 21st century.

We need to get back to teaching what the purpose of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, Jesus last recorded conversation with disciples talks about the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,
which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[a]
water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this
time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is
not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth."

The gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was to give us power so that we could live as witnesses for the Gospel.
I found this in my Bible School commentary on Acts, French L. Arrington says this, “The baptism with the Spirit of v.5 was another way of describing the supernatural endowment of power for service.”
What does a life of service look like? How about the visiting what the early church looked like.

The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs
were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything
in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had
need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They
broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to
their number daily those who were being saved.
Sure there were signs and wonders done by the apostles. But that wasn’t the main focus. Teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. People held everything in common. People were selling their possessions to bless and support each other. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. The signs and wonders were just a small part of the growth of the church. Kind of like how on TV commercials that Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes are a part of this complete breakfast, with toast, orange juice, fruit, milk and eggs. And yet we seek just the signs and wonders. Because they are sexy. I have yet to see revival meetings that centre around sell all you have invite strangers into your home. This early church made it their mission to look after the poor and downtrodden. Jesus ministered to the beaten, broken and rejected as well as doing the miracles. Jesus reached out to Zaccheus, the demon possessed man, the woman at the well, the one caught in adultery and the thief on the cross. When the disciples demonstrated a life of service they were following what Jesus had taught them.
Instead we, like the people in Jesus time embrace the miracle but reject the message, of a life of serving and hardship. A life of perseverance and sacrifice for the purpose of preaching the Gospel. I fear that the Western charismatic movement obsession with signs and wonders is closer to Simon the Sorcerer’s desire for power than for true ministry.

2006-05-03T13:47:00.000-05:00

What does it mean to be Pentecostal?

After being back in the Pentecostal Assemblies for 8 months now, I seem to get this question all the time? It seems that everybody affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies is asking this question from national and regional leaders, to pastors, to the people in the congregations.

I started writing on this topic for my blog and instead of a tight blog, I ended up with 5 pages. So instead of posting all 5 pages I am going to post this in a series. So this is part one. Who knows with any comments and feedback I get the series may grow.

We as a fellowship are celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival which became the catalyst for the modern Pentecostal movement. If you follow Pentecostal history you will see that the signs and wonders that accompanied this revival were not embraced by the established church. People were forced to choose between their experience and their church. Like many people who experience God in a new and fresh way they couldn’t go back to the same old churches. This gave rise to the Pentecostal denominations including the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

The people in these churches embraced their salvation and the subsequent baptism of the Holy Spirit and took the gospel to the world. These churches grew attracting non-Christians as well as Christians. Soon the Pentecostals went from a group of rejects to a major player on the western world church scene. There was a passion for reaching the lost both locally and around the world. Passion and purpose defined these churches not program and practice.

So what happened, Leonard Sweet said it best, “Where God sets up a church the devil sets up a chapel.”

Corruption began to appear. Swaggart, Roberts, Bakker three prominent Pentecostal leaders. Guys peddling books on end times, spiritual warfare and prosperity that at best use Scriptures out of context to proof-text their argument and at their worst are as fictional as Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code.

Complacency the success of early Pentecostals in reaching the lost gave us big self sustaining churches, we didn’t need more people. Instead of seeing a lost and dying world needing a savior we saw a world going to hell and didn’t even blink.

Confusion began to creep into the lives of our people. Leaders were torn by this complacency in our churches and the solution was we needed to go back to our roots. We needed more Azusa experiences. Teaching focused around getting the fire. If you speak in tongues God can use you. This was the mantra of the day. I thank God that the first time I went up to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that it happened instantly. I don’t know if I could have dealt with the feelings of failure by not getting it right away. I would have said God hates me and can not use me. Don’t get me wrong my “Pentecostal experience” was a benchmark of my journey of faith. I pray that everyone would experience the reality of God with the intensity that I did. The confusion came in because no one taught me how to live with the Spirit. My Pentecostal theology as a teenager was best summed up as. God fills you with his Spirit so that you can live for him, which meant not sinning. When you find that you are sinning more you needed to get refilled. This would take place at a Spiritual gas station, the altar at camp, youth convention or retreat, or if you were lucky the altar at a Sunday night service. Tongues and getting refilled became all you needed for Christianity. Tongues became the magic pill that made the bad go away.
The manual for living as Pentecostal teenager read like this.
What do I do when I am afraid to speak up for my faith? Pray in tongues.
What do I do when I tempted to have sex? Pray in tongues.
What do I do when I am nervous about taking a test? Pray in tongues.
What do I do when I mad at my parents? Pray in tongues.
How do I know my faith is real? Pray in tongues.
What happens if I have gas in an elevator and I’m afraid it will come out loud? Pray in tongues.
What happens when my biology teacher starts teaching on evolution? Pray in tongues; also pray that God will strike this person dead in front of class so that everyone will believe creation. And loudly disrupt the class by saying anyone who believes in evolution will go straight to hell.

No wonder we are facing a crisis in Pentecostal circles. We have made tongues more than it should be and have neglected what living in the Spirit really means.

2006-04-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

Today’s Starbucks Wisdom
“Be exceptional. Make tremendous efforts to be extraordinary. What a privilege to be here on the planet to contribute your unique donation to humankind. Just make sure you do so…”
What I think is amazing is that the same ideas communicated on a coffee cup are communicated in Scripture and yet if I quoted the Bible and put it on a coffee cup people would protest.
Starbucks is using a language that people in our society understand. They are preaching Christian values and not using Christian language. This challenges me to use different language in communicating the Gospel.

2006-03-28T11:56:00.000-06:00

Chris Tomlin – Indescribable
It is a song that tries to describe the greatness of God and yet seems so inadequate. I guess that this is irony of the title. I was at a breakfast for the BGEA and this song was sung as one of the worship songs. Which is great, because I love the song, it describes God as indescribable, uncontainable, all-powerful, untamable and unchanging. Reminding us all we do not serve a little god who we understand and control. How big is our God? Tomlin says, “You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name.” There is a line in this song that really hit me. “You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same.” This all-powerful God, who designed the world out of nothing, takes the time to look into my heart. He takes the time to get to know me. How many people really know you? I mean how many really know who you are and what you are thinking? Besides my wife how many have any interest in what I am thinking and feeling. My wife and I are coming up on 10 years of marriage and yes I think she can read my mind. She knows my fears and my weaknesses and still loves me. She has taken the time to know me. God has gotten to know me, he truly cares about me but here is the most indescribable thing. God sees into my heart and still loves me. He knows my thoughts, he sees what I do and hears what I say and yet his love for me doesn’t change. This is what makes God truly indescribable. His love is more incredible than I could ever understand. I guess this is why John in 1 John 4, tells us a couple times that “GOD IS LOVE”. His love is uncontainable.

2006-03-15T11:22:00.000-06:00

STORE WARS

If you love Star Wars you will love this. These guys, from Free Range Studios, take a mind numbing subject like organically grown food vs. the common produce we have today and make it interesting. I know that the next time, I go to the store I am going to think about buying more organic. I love how at the end they blew up the melon, but more importantly how they involved the viewer to get out and make a difference. They realize that their success is changing one person’s mind at a time. I know that there is a Spiritual parallel here; oh I’ll just let you figure it out.
Oh yeah to watch the movie click right here.

2006-03-14T17:28:00.000-06:00

Is it in you?

I was feeling a little sluggish this morning so I treated myself to a grande no-fat latte, and all I can say is that is good coffee. See I am a 1 - 2 cup a day guy and usually I will drink the stuff that we make at work. Which is best described as liquid brown stuff. Hey I am not blaming anyone, but when you buy Folgers, you buy disgusting coffee, but I am not willing to shell out $4 a day for coffee. Free works, you get what you pay for. Anyways I have a Starbucks mug at work, so most mornings I pour the office coffee into the Starbucks mug and pray for a miracle. Maybe I don't have enough faith because there is no miracle, the coffee still tastes like liquid brown stuff. The Starbucks mug has no super powers, office coffee in a Starbucks mug is still office coffee. It doesn't matter what is on the outside but what is on the inside. Starbucks coffee would still taste great even if you poured into a "Roll up the Rim to Win" cup, as long as there was no Tim Horton's coffee left in there. Just a side note, I have decided that any unattended Tim Horton's cup is fair game whether there is coffee in there or not because Tim Horton's coffee is about the same as office coffee. I am still Canadian though, I can eat a box Timbits with the best of them.
In our faith journey's and ministries we can get into the Starbucks mug mentality. That what is on the outside is more important than the inside. People have been talking a lot about how we need to live out our faith and how we need to take care of the needy, those dying from AIDS.
I agree.
James 1:27 says Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

My question is what is our motivation, is it to fit in with the other Christians? Is this the new definition of living a good Christian life? Have we changed the definition of living a Christian life, from sin management to social concerns?

I wonder if we are getting close to taking God out of the equation again? Is it more important to look like a Christian or to be one?

2006-03-10T09:51:00.000-06:00

A good laugh.
If you are going to make fun of your wife, better make sure she isn't holding sissors.
The Lawnmower
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the truck, the car, fishing, always something more important to me.Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house.I was gone only a few minutes. When I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. "When you finish cutting the grass," I said, "you might as well sweep the sidewalk."The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
DISCLAIMER (THIS ISN'T MY STORY BUT THIS GUY IS MY HERO)

2006-03-02T10:35:00.000-06:00

When I saw this I laughed to so hard.
The McPassion of the Filmmaker - Rik Swartzwelder didn't like the way churches pitched The Passion from their pulpits a couple of years ago. So the young filmmaker made a biting satire about it—and you can watch it today.by Mark Moring posted 03/01/06
To read the entire article - go to http://www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/

Watch this film

For more information on The McPassion, go to the official website.

2006-02-23T15:43:00.000-06:00

A Joke for You
It may be that I am just twisted but this joke has made me laugh for two days.

A young cowboy walks into a seedy cafe in Prescott, AZ. He sits at the counter and notices an old cowboy with his arms folded staring blankly at a full bowl of chili.

After fifteen minutes of just sitting there staring at it, the young cowboy bravely asks the old cowpoke, "If you ain't gonna eat that, mind if I do?"

The older cowboy slowly turns his head toward the young wrangler and in his best cowboy manner says, "Nah, go ahead."

Eagerly, the young cowboy reaches over and slides the bowl over to his place and starts spooning it in with delight. He gets nearly down to the bottom and notices a dead mouse in the chili. The sight was shocking and he immediately pukes up the chili into the bowl.

The old cowboy quietly says, "Yep, that's as far as I got, too."

Is this joke to over the top for a sermon to young adults?

2006-02-21T14:40:00.000-06:00

How to Change Lives!

I was sent this article and I think it is awesome. This article isn't just for Pastors but all Christians should consider the way that they preach the Gospel. After all we are all called to be disciples and all called to lead people to Christ.
My comments on this article will be in bold.

Preaching tips that will change lives - by Rick Warren
I’ll say it over and over: The purpose of preaching is obedience. Every preacher in the New Testament – including Jesus – emphasized conduct, behavioral change, and obedience. You only really believe the parts of the Bible that you obey. People say, “I believe in tithing.” But do they tithe? No? Then they don’t believe in it.
That is why you should always preach for response, aiming for people to act on what is said. John did this: “The world and its desires pass away but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17, NIV) And in 1 John 2:3 (NIV), “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”
After about 30 years of preaching, here are nine things I’ve learned about preaching for life change:
1. All behavior is based on a belief If you get divorced, it’s because you believe that disobeying God will cause you less pain than staying in your marriage. It’s a lie, but you believe it. When somebody comes to you and says, “I'm leaving my husband, and I'm going to marry this other man because I believe God wants me to be happy.” They just told you the belief behind their behavior. It’s wrong, but they believe it.
2. Behind every sin is a lie I believeAt the moment you sin, you’re doing what you think is the best thing for you. You say, “I know God says to do that, but I'm going to do this.” What are you doing? You believe a lie. Behind every sin is a lie. Start looking for the lies behind why people in your church act the way they do. When you start dealing with those, you’ll start seeing change.
Titus 3:3 (NIV) declares, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” When you live in sin, you’re living in deception and believing a lie.
When you look at your congregation, you don’t see the lies they believe, but you do see their behavior. You know they’re unfaithful; you know they’re uncommitted; you know all these things. The tough part is figuring out the lie behind the behavior. The wiser you get in ministry, the quicker you’ll start seeing the lies. You’ll grow and mature in ministry and become more discerning, because you’ll start seeing patterns over and over.
3. Change always starts in the mindYou’ve got to start with the belief – the lie – behind the behavior. Romans 12:2 (NIV) commands, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change the way you act, you must determine the way you think. You can’t start with the action. You’ve got to start with the thought.
4. To help people change, we must change their beliefs firstJesus said, “You will know the truth and it will set you free.” (John 8:32 NIV) Why? Because to help people change, you’ve got to help them see the lie they’re basing their behavior on. That’s why when you know the truth, it sets you free.
5. Trying to change people’s behavior without changing their belief is a waste of timeIf you ask a person to change before his mind is renewed, it won’t work. He’s got to internalize God’s Word first.
For example: Your belief patterns are in your mind. Every time you think about a belief, it creates an electrical impulse across your brain. Every time you have that thought again, it creates a deeper rut.
If you want to see change in your church, you must help people get out of their ruts and change their autopilot. For instance: Let’s say I go out and buy a speedboat with an autopilot feature on it. I set the speedboat to go north on autopilot, so the boat goes north automatically. I don’t even have my hands on the wheel. If I want to turn the boat around, I could manually grab the steering wheel and by sheer will power and force, turn it around. I can force it to go south, but the whole time I'm under tension because I'm going against the natural inclination of the boat. Pretty soon I get tired and let go of the steering wheel, and it automatically turns around and goes back to the way it’s programmed.
This is true in life. When people have learned something over and over, being taught by the world’s way of thinking, they’re programmed to go that way. What if a man is programmed to pick up a cigarette every time he’s under tension? But one day he thinks, “This is killing me! I'm going to get cancer.” So he grabs the steering wheel and turns it around forcibly, throws the pack away and says, “I am going to quit!”
He makes it a week without a cigarette, a week and a half, two weeks … , but the whole time he’s under tension because he hasn’t changed the programming in his mind. Eventually, he’s going to let go and pick up a cigarette again.
If you want to change people radically and permanently, you have to do it the New Testament way. You have to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Just telling people, “You need to stop smoking … You need to stop doing this … You need to stop doing that …” isn’t going to work. You’ve got to help them change their belief pattern.
6. The biblical term for “changing your mind” is “repentance”What do most people think of when I say the word “repent”? They think of a guy on the street corner with a sandwich sign saying, “Turn or burn. You’re going to die and fry while we go to the sky.” They think of some kook.
But the word “repentance” is a wonderful word – metanoia – which means in Greek “to change your mind.” Repentance is just changing the way we think about something by accepting the way God thinks about it. That’s all repentance is. The new words for repentance are "paradigm shift."
Pastors, we are in the paradigm-shifting business. We are in the repentance business. We are about changing peoples’ minds at the deepest level – the level of belief and values. But let me clarify this with the next point. Let me reiterate that not just Pastors but all Christians are in the repentance business.
7. You don’t change people’s minds, the applied Word of God does1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLT) helps us keep this in focus: “We speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” In real preaching, God is at work in the speaker.
2 Samuel 23:2 (NIV) says, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me. His word was on my tongue.” Zechariah 4:6 (NIV) says, “‘Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
So keep in mind: You don’t change people’s minds, the applied Word of God does.
8. Changing the way I act is the fruit of repentanceTechnically, repentance is not behavioral change. Behavior change is the result of repentance. Repentance does not mean forsaking your sin. Repentance simply means to change your mind. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:8 (NIV), “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” In other words, “OK, you’ve changed your mind about God, about life, about sin, about yourself — now let’s see some fruit as a result of it.”
9. The deepest kind of preaching is preaching for repentanceBecause life change happens only after you change somebody’s thinking, then preaching for repentance is preaching for life change. It is the deepest kind of preaching you can preach.
Every week I try to communicate God’s Word in such a way that it changes the way people think. The word “repentance” has taken on such a negative image, that I rarely use the word. But I preach it every single week.
Repentance is the central message of the New Testament. What did the New Testament preachers preach on?
John the Baptist: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matt. 3:2 NIV)
Jesus: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15 NIV)
What did Jesus tell his disciples to preach? “So they went off and preached repentance.” (Mark 6:12 NAB)
What did Peter preach at Pentecost? “Repent and be baptized everyone of you.” (Acts 2:38 NAB)
What did John preach in Revelation? Repent.
I believe that one of the great weaknesses of preaching today is that there are a lot of folks who are afraid to stand on the Word of God and humbly but forcefully challenge the will of people. It takes courage to do that, because they may reject you. They may reject your message; they may get mad at you and talk about you behind your back.
And because so many pastors have been unwilling to challenge people and cause a change in belief resulting in behavior change, our nation is falling apart. Proverbs 29:18 (NCV) warns, “Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled.”
P.T. Forsythe says, “What the world is looking for is an authoritative Gospel spoken through a humble personality.” An authoritative Gospel spoken not as a hammer, but with humility. To me this is my greatest challenge is to confidently preach God's word with the humility that Christ showed.
So now, I have a personal challenge for you – life application. Are you going to use the Bible the way it was intended or not? Will you repent of preaching in ways that were not focused on application that could change people’s character and conduct?

2006-02-20T16:44:00.000-06:00

West Jet Church Part 2 – I posted a few weeks ago about the West Jet church I want to add to my thoughts.
“Why do West Jetters care so much? Because they are owners.”
Instead of taking what the company has to offer the idea is that they will make it better. West Jet changed the airline industry. I remember in 1998 when they began flying to Prince George. They reduced airfares by 40%.
I did some digging on West Jet. Checking out their website, and listening to an executive who spoke at a church.

Can I take you on journey with me on how you can use the values or spirit of West Jet to illustrate the principles of a missional church? I want to remind you the end goals of West Jet and the church are different.

West Jet Mission’s Statement
Our mission:
To enrich the lives of everyone in West Jet’s worldby providing safe, friendly, affordable air travel.
Our vision:
West Jet will be the leading low-fare airline that: People want to work with... Customers want to fly with... and Shareholders want to invest with.

The Missional church
Our mission - To preach the gospel, make disciples, teaching in all nations
Our Vision – To become all things to all people to make our mission happen

West Jet’s purpose is to make money for themselves and attract investors; the church exists to build the kingdom of God. The other difference West Jet is a low-cost airline vs. Discipleship which is a high cost life.

West Jetters are owners - 85% of employees are owners. They contribute 13% of their paychecks to buy shares. They tithe to the West Jet god. West Jet’s pay structure is 95% of the industry average.
Who are the owners of the church?
Jesus Christ we belong to him the same way a wife belongs to her husband, the image is we are the bride of Christ
The Pastor: As a pastor I used the adjective my church, my youth, my congregation. This is a term of ownership or belonging.
The people – The church I was at in Calgary. A retired German man named Joe said this after the popular Sr. Pastor left.
“Pastors come and go and change the church but it is the people who stay and make the church.” This doesn’t make the people in the church the owners and the pastor the hired hand. It is more of partnership idea. That all of us are striving to make the church better.
How would church change if we looked as each other as partners in a mission instead of relying on the pastor or a few committed people. What would happen if the people in church took ownership of the church to fulfill the mission statement of Jesus Christ - GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS!!!! Rich poor hungry well fed. That we led the charge to live justly, with mercy and humility. For justice and true moral living.
We could change the world as a church if each believer truly took ownership of it instead of shopping from it. Where did the PAOC start? As a missions organization. A way for us to pool our resources so that we could make disciples of all nations.
The West Jet church involves a mind set change. I have sat in meetings at churches talking about how we need to satisfy our customers, those paying the bills in the church. And this is what is wrong with church models. The people on the membership list think that they are the customers and that the customer is always right. The customer of church is someone who is not a member. The ideal definition of church is an organization that exists not for the benefit of its members. Think about it!

So how do we become owners?

A West Jet executive spoke at Crossroads Church in Alberta – “Great customer service comes from the heart not from the manual.” The next section actually comes from the West Jet website.

There is something special about West Jet’s culture.It's a company with a unique corporate spirit...a close knit family that's building something legendary...and in the process changing the world.
Are you looking for a mission statement for your church?
At West Jet we have legendary values:
We are positive and passionate about everything we do.
We take our jobs seriously, but not ourselves.
We embrace change and innovation.
We are friendly and caring toward our Peopleand our Customers, and we treat everyone with respect.
We provide our People with the trainingand tools they need to do their jobs.
We celebrate our successes.
We personify the hard-working "can-do" attitude.
We are honest, open, and keep our commitments.
We are team West Jet!
At West Jet we keep the spirit alive by:
Being successful in the air.
Being successful on the ground.
Celebrating new markets.
Providing legendary service.
Experiencing legendary growth.
Creating internal 'magic' and external 'wow'.

What defines Church Spirit?

Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2: Peter Addresses the Crowd
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

Here are some ways that we in the church can learn from West Jet.

At West Jet we have legendary values:
We are positive and passionate about everything we do.
We take our jobs seriously, but not ourselves.
We embrace change and innovation.
We are friendly and caring toward our Peopleand our Customers, and we treat everyone with respect. –
We provide our People with the trainingand tools they need to do their jobs.
We celebrate our successes.
We personify the hard-working "can-do" attitude.
We are honest, open, and keep our commitments
We are team West Jet!
Legendary Christian Values
1) Philippians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
2) Titus 2:7 - In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In our teaching show integrity, seriousness
3) My son loves the story of how Jesus healed the blind man.
4) They will know you are my disciples by your love.
5) All Scripture is God Breathed – useful for teaching,
6) Rejoice with those rejoice
7) I can do all things
8) Psalm 41:12 In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever
9) One God, one faith ...

At West Jet we keep the spirit alive by and ways to keep the Spirit alive for the church.
Being successful in the air. Outside the church
Being successful on the ground. Inside the church
Celebrating new markets. New opportunities to minister
Providing legendary service. Testimonies
Experiencing legendary growth. Growing churches and lives
Creating internal 'magic' and external 'wow'. Rediscovering the mystery of the HS

Here are some more of West Jet values that we could use in our churches
Smile - If the glory of God has touched your heart please inform your face.
Call people by name
Finding a way to say yes
Live the vision

How do we live the vision?
Let the Spirit guide us.
Employees of West Jet know the vision and mission not just the rules. They make decisions based on the vision and mission. How many of our church decisions are made on precedent, policy manuals or budget numbers instead of mission?
Work Together
All West Jetters including executives groom the plane, traveling business and pleasure. You know who lives out the policy without fail? The president of West Jet.

Own your faith
“When you own part of the company you usually make the right decisions.”
Presentation by Phyllis Cyr. Tailgate Party 2005

What if at the end of West Jet flight they invited those who want to part of the West Jet to stay behind and they can give their lives to West Jet. I think people who felt cared for and valued as customers would be much more likely to join West Jet than if they were made to feel unimportant.Would the same happen in a west jet church?
Bono said this
But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.
Love was on the move.
Mercy was on the move.
God was on the move.
Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet… Conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS… Soccer moms and quarterbacks… hip-hop stars and country stars… This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens!
Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit.

West jet is all about riding the wind. Our churches need to ride the wind of the Spirit our lives need some crazy stuff.

BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

2006-02-08T13:38:00.000-06:00

Here is something for you to chew on.

BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***
BONOREMARKS AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

Thank you.
Mr. President, First Lady, King Abdullah, Other heads of State, Members of Congress, distinguished guests…
Please join me in praying that I don’t say something we’ll all regret.
That was for the FCC.
If you’re wondering what I’m doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I’m certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It’s certainly not because I’m a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I’m here because I’ve got a messianic complex.
Yes, it’s true. And for anyone who knows me, it’s hardly a revelation.
Well, I’m the first to admit that there’s something unnatural… something unseemly… about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the South of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert… but this is really weird, isn’t it?
You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind. .
Mr. President, are you sure about this?
It’s very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned—I’m Irish.
I’d like to talk about the laws of man, here in this city where those laws are written. And I’d like to talk about higher laws. It would be great to assume that the one serves the other; that the laws of man serve these higher laws… but of course, they don’t always. And I presume that, in a sense, is why you’re here.
I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here—Muslims, Jews, Christians—all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God.
I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too.
Yes, it’s odd, having a rock star here—but maybe it’s odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was… well, a little blurry, and hard to see.
I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.
For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land… and in this country, seeing God’s second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash… in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment…
I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.
Even though I was a believer.
Perhaps because I was a believer.
I was cynical… not about God, but about God’s politics. (There you are, Jim.)
Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick—my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the Millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world’s poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord’s call—and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic’s point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty.
‘Jubilee’—why ‘Jubilee’?
What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lords favor?
I’d always read the Scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)…
‘If your brother becomes poor,’ the Scriptures say, ‘and cannot maintain himself… you shall maintain him… You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.’
It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he’s met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he’s a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn’t done much… yet. He hasn’t spoken in public before…
When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,’ he says, ‘because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.’ And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord’s favour, the year of Jubilee. (Luke 4:18)
What he was really talking about was an era of grace—and we’re still in it.
So fast-forward 2,000 years. That same thought, grace, was made incarnate—in a movement of all kinds of people. It wasn’t a bless-me club… it wasn’t a holy huddle. These religious guys were willing to get out in the streets, get their boots dirty, wave the placards, follow their convictions with actions… making it really hard for people like me to keep their distance. It was amazing. I almost started to like these church people.
But then my cynicism got another helping hand.
It was what Colin Powell, a five-star general, called the greatest W.M.D. of them all: a tiny little virus called A.I.D.S. And the religious community, in large part, missed it. The one’s that didn’t miss it could only see it as divine retribution for bad behaviour. Even on children… Even fastest growing group of HIV infections were married, faithful women.
Aha, there they go again! I thought to myself Judgmentalism is back!
But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.
Love was on the move.
Mercy was on the move.
God was on the move.
Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet… Conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS… Soccer moms and quarterbacks… hip-hop stars and country stars… This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens!
Popes were seen wearing sunglasses!
Jesse Helms was seen with a ghetto blaster!
Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit.
It was breathtaking. Literally. It stopped the world in its tracks.
When churches started demonstrating on debt, governments listened—and acted. When churches starting organising, petitioning, and even—that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying… on AIDS and global health, governments listened—and acted.
I’m here today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.
Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives.
Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.
I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.
God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. “If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places”
It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] ‘As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.
Here’s some good news for the President. After 9-11 we were told America would have no time for the World’s poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it’s true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked the doors.
In fact, you have double aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health. Mr. President, your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the Global Fund—you and Congress—have put 700,000 people onto life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria.
Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud.
But here’s the bad news. From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There’s is much more to do. There’s a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.
And finally, it’s not about charity after all, is it? It’s about justice.
Let me repeat that: It’s not about charity, it’s about justice.
And that’s too bad.
Because you’re good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can’t afford it.
But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.
6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality.
Because there's no way we can look at what’s happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn’t accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature”. In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe.
It’s annoying but justice and equality are mates. Aren’t they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain.
You know, think of those Jewish sheep-herders going to meet the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh says, “Equal?” A preposterous idea: rich and poor are equal? And they say, “Yeah, ‘equal,’ that’s what it says here in this book. We’re all made in the image of God.”
And eventually the Pharaoh says, “OK, I can accept that. I can accept the Jews—but not the blacks.”
“Not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way, man.”
So on we go with our journey of equality.
On we go in the pursuit of justice.
We hear that call in the ONE Campaign, a growing movement of more than two million Americans… left and right together… united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live.
We hear that call even more powerfully today, as we mourn the loss of Coretta Scott King—mother of a movement for equality, one that changed the world but is only just getting started. These issues are as alive as they ever were; they just change shape and cross the seas.
Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market… that’s a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents… That’s a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents… that’s a justice issue.
And while the law is what we say it is, God is not silent on the subject.
That’s why I say there’s the law of the land… and then there is a higher standard. There’s the law of the land, and we can hire experts to write them so they benefit us, so the laws say it’s OK to protect our agriculture but it’s not OK for African farmers to do the same, to earn a living?
As the laws of man are written, that’s what they say.
God will not accept that.
Mine won’t, at least. Will yours?
[pause]
I close this morning on … very… thin… ice.
This is a dangerous idea I’ve put on the table: my God vs. your God, their God vs. our God… vs. no God. It is very easy, in these times, to see religion as a force for division rather than unity.
And this is a town—Washington—that knows something of division.
But the reason I am here, and the reason I keep coming back to Washington, is because this is a town that is proving it can come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call the least of these.
This is not a Republican idea. It is not a Democratic idea. It is not even, with all due respect, an American idea. Nor it is unique to any one faith.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ (Luke 6:30) Jesus says that.
‘Righteousness is this: that one should… give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.’ The Koran says that. (2.177)
Thus sayeth the Lord: ‘Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring fourth, then your Lord will be your rear guard.’ The jewish scripture says that. Isaiah 58 again.
That is a powerful incentive: ‘The Lord will watch your back.’ Sounds like a good deal to me, right now.
A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.
Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do.
I was amazed when I first got to this country and I learned how much some churchgoers tithe. Up to ten percent of the family budget. Well, how does that compare the federal budget, the budget for the entire American family? How much of that goes to the poorest people in the world? Less than one percent.
Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America:
I want to suggest to you today that you see the flow of effective foreign assistance as tithing…. Which, to be truly meaningful, will mean an additional one percent of the federal budget tithed to the poor.
What is one percent?
One percent is not merely a number on a balance sheet.
One percent is the girl in Africa who gets to go to school, thanks to you. One percent is the AIDS patient who gets her medicine, thanks to you. One percent is the African entrepreneur who can start a small family business thanks to you. One percent is not redecorating presidential palaces or money flowing down a rat hole. This one percent is digging waterholes to provide clean water.
One percent is a new partnership with Africa, not paternalism towards Africa, where increased assistance flows toward improved governance and initiatives with proven track records and away from boondoggles and white elephants of every description.
America gives less than one percent now. Were asking for an extra one percent to change the world. to transform millions of lives—but not just that and I say this to the military men now – to transform the way that they see us.
One percent is national security, enlightened economic self interest, and a better safer world rolled into one. Sounds to me that in this town of deals and compromises, one percent is the best bargain around.
These goals—clean water for all; school for every child; medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty—these are not just any goals; they are the Millennium Development goals, which this country supports. And they are more than that. They are the Beatitudes for a Globalised World.
Now, I’m very lucky. I don’t have to sit on any budget committees. And I certainly don’t have to sit where you do, Mr. President. I don’t have to make the tough choices.
But I can tell you this:
To give one percent more is right. It’s smart. And it’s blessed.
There is a continent—Africa—being consumed by flames.
I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did—or did not to—to put the fire out in Africa.
History, like God, is watching what we do.
Thank you. Thank you, America, and God bless you all.

Romans 3 Trustees of the oracle

2006-02-07T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hey we are back online with Romans 3. Sorry that it took so long. I hope that you are getting something out of these minor commentaries. I hope to hear from you on it. As usual I am starting with the Scripture from Romans 3.
God's Faithfulness
1What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."[a]
5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.
No One is Righteous
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better[b]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."[c] 13"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit."[d] "The poison of vipers is on their lips."[e] 14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."[f] 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know."[g] 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."[h]
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Footnotes:

Romans 3:4 Psalm 51:4

Romans 3:9 Or worse

Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20

Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9

Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3

Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7

Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8

Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1

Romans 3:25 Or as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away sin

My 2 cents
v. 2 “Entrusted with the very words of God”, Paul is talking about the Jews here. They not only received the words of God but were given them as trustees or stewards for all the nations. I think we as Christians have also been entrusted with the Word of God. We have received the very oracle or revelation of God and his Spirit lives inside of us. The role of being a trustee is two-fold. Faith, we must believe what we have been given and faithfulness we must live true to what we have been given. This goes back to that whole tension between belief and action, which is more important? In our journey they are impossible to separate. Paul in Galatians doesn’t try to separate the two. Galatians 5:16 – 26.
Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Just like eating healthy and exercising regularly improves your overall health naturally, living in the Spirit naturally produces a godlier person. We should not strive to be good but to seek God.
I know that there is a ton more to this chapter, but I want to hear what you are wrestling through. Once again sorry it took so long to get out.

hey its a post

2006-02-06T10:25:00.000-06:00

I’ve decided that I am horrible at writing a blog. When I have the most to say it seems like I am too busy to write anything. How do you other bloggers do it? I want to write and I love to write but it just doesn’t seem to happen on a regular basis. Anyways let me write my thoughts.

STEELERS WIN – Super Bowl XL was awesome because I am a Steelers fan. The game is way better when your favorite team is playing. I hate watching the game on Canadian TV because we miss the good commercials. But thanks to the internet that problem was solved. Fox Sports on their website updated the commercials after each break and made most of them available to watch. So after the first quarter I watched the good commercials on each commercial break. Take that Global TV. Here is the link to Fox’s Commercials http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5309872

The best message in a commercial was this one - Careerbuilder.com, "Sales Aren't Up"
From fox
“Careerbuilder.com turned in some of the best commercials of last year's Super Bowl and, at least so far, this effort gets our nod for the funniest of this year's version. Once again, the poor, tortured employee is working for a bunch of monkeys. This time, they've got the sales graph turned upside down, so it appears as if business is booming, when in fact, the opposite is the case. For our money, the monkey lighting stogies with cash makes the ad.”
OK even Super Bowl ads are continuing narratives. For the people who watch football once a year at Super Bowl they still have a continuing story. Maybe we should take that approach for our Christmas and Easter services.
Back to the monkeys in the commercial when the guy points out that the chart is upside down and that sales are going down instead of up. He turns the chart up the right way. The partying monkeys confronted by the truth have a choice to make. One of the monkeys gets up and flips the chart back upside down and party on. The monkeys refused to acknowledge the truth and change.
Is there any parallel to Christianity here?
Jesus said – John 8:32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
If "know" in Bible terms means experience, not just know in our brain, then how to we help people “experience” the truth of Jesus Christ? The company of monkeys even if they do not acknowledge the truth will experience the truth in time, if they continue to act like sales are up. The company will collapse. How are we helping people experience Jesus before it is too late?
On the Jesus theme – check out these videos – disclaimer I do not endorse the historical accuracy of these videos and do not show these to people who think we should be only reading King James Version, they will be offended.
The link is this - http://www.vintage21.com/findex.html then click on media when the video options come up click on page 2. When you hit the Jesus videos click away and enjoy.

Romans 2

2006-01-16T21:55:00.000-06:00

Romans 2
God's Righteous Judgment
1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God "will give to each person according to what he has done."[a] 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.
12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
The Jews and the Law
17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."[b]
25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

In Romans 1 Paul directed his words to the Gentile crowd who was coming into Christianity from a secular or pagan background.  Romans 2 Paul addresses his other audience, the Jews.  The pious and righteous, God’s chosen people.  Those who knew God and the 613 commands that he gave for right living.

Here is a question that always comes up?  What do we have to follow since we are New Testament people?  One person told me their guideline was if showed up in the New Testament as a command then it is for all people, however if it was just in the O.T.  Then is was for the Israelites and pertains to Jewish faith.  What do you think?

It was fun working in a Lutheran church, because the entire focus of Lutheran teaching is through faith you are saved or “sola fida” to borrow a Latin term.  Which is true, salvation is God’s gift for us and his action not ours.  The rub is this people took advantage of this and said since salvation is up to God then I do not have to do a thing.  So there is no accountability to live a holy life.  The opposite of this has been my experience in the evangelical church.  Alliance and Pentecostal churches that are based in a holiness movement.  The whole idea was that we give our lives to Christ and pledge to make him Lord and Savior of our lives.  Our actions validate our confession and authenticate our Salvation.  The problem we were always worried that our sin would disqualify us from God’s grace.  People would ask if I lived like a Christian.  That is a loaded question, can you define in 50 words or less what living like a Christian really looks like.  Without resorting to the phrase, “living out WWJD”.   On the extreme edges of Christian faith we have a group saying, it doesn’t matter what you do, God’s grace covers it all and on the other side if you don’t change your lifestyle you will burn in hell.  Or that the better you live the higher rank of Christian you become.  This is what Paul had to address with the Jewish Christians who wanted special recognition of their piety.  See verse 17 – “… if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God”… He makes the point later in the chapter that if they use the Law to justify themselves that they will be judged by the law’s standards.
Reading between the lines you get the picture that Paul is warning the Romans that no one is able to stand under the full scrutiny of the law.  That everyone is a law breaker and that religion cannot save them.

Verse 29 Paul talks about a circumcision of the heart.  This helps bridge the gap between the two extremes of the Christian faith community.  The grace based vs. works based foundations.  “…circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.”  The Spirit of God is imparted to us and changes our heart.  That there isn’t a written code of Christian and non-Christian behavior but that as we sincerely seek God and open our lives to him, that the changes in our heart are visible to the world around us.  I grew up in an era where behavior was more important that our heart and we created a generation of Christians who are the great pretenders.  I feared what others thought of me so much that I never really understood that God saw my heart and actions.  He was the one that mattered, not the people in my church.  It is essential that we inspire young people to give their hearts to God and not try to live as a Christian but to be one.

Romans 1

2006-01-09T15:51:00.000-06:00

Hey I am trying something new on my blog.  I am in the process of working through the book of Romans.  I would love your feedback.
The Book of Romans
This study is not designed to be an in depth exegesis of each verse.  Each week I am going to sit down and read a chapter.  Then I am going give my thoughts on a few verses that stick out to me of course using some commentaries and other resources.  I am not planning on spending a lot of time on this each week.
Your part is to read the chapter in any or multiple versions and give your thoughts.  You can respond to what I wrote or take the conversation in a whole new direction.  This is the benefit of having a Bible Study on a blog is you are free to respond to each others opinions.
Guide lines - feel free to encourage, question or even disagree.  BUT, do not resort to name calling, questioning of each other’s intelligence or faith.  This is to be a discussion not a wrestling match.  As Paul said Romans 1:12 - 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
THE TEXT

Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit[a] of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:       Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul's Longing to Visit Rome
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[c] just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."[d]
God's Wrath Against Mankind
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Footnotes:

Romans 1:4 Or who as to his spirit

Romans 1:4 Or was appointed to be the Son of God with power

Romans 1:17 Or is from faith to faith

Romans 1:17 Hab. 2:4

My 2 cents
Romans 1:1 – Paul has no problem telling the Romans that he has been “set apart” for the Gospel of God.  It may seem like he is lording his position over the Romans.  But his first words of the letter are key here.  1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, this is his position.  Paul at the beginning of letter contrasts his position as servant with the greatness of God and the message that he proclaims.  My experience as a Pastor is that at times I seemed to forget that fact.  I actually equated my effectiveness with God’s greatness.  If God was doing great things then I must be a great pastor.
Now some pastors are not using the term volunteer in their church but using the term servant.  I feel that a lot of this is semantics.  But we live in a sound byte world.  The media in it’s coverage of the first English language debate talked about the importance of the debate.  They said that the debate can produce that one sentence that resonates with voters, which will turn a campaign around.  One sentence can determine who will be the next prime minister.  So what does the word servant imply here?  In the light of Romans 1:1, that we are all called.  That every believer has a part to play in the proclamation of the Gospel, to be part of church should really bring about mutual ministry.  Paul states in Romans 1:12, in his eagerness to see the Romans, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.  This is the point of youth ministry.
Romans 1:16 – 17 – This verse is so straight forward.   That is probably why I want to comment on it.  I understand it!  The point that I need to remind myself is that the Gospel is God’s power not mine, and that I receive this power through faith.  That there is nothing else I can do to touch the divine.  I keep thinking about teaching I received growing up.  To me it boiled down God loves you no matter what but if you want him to like you here are the rules that you have to follow.  NO!  I can’t teach it and I don’t get it.  The power to follow the rules is from God too.  Isn’t that what was promised in Acts 1:8.  It isn’t about me trying to live for God, it is about God living through me.  By stating that my Christianity is contingent on how I live, isn’t that putting some of my faith in me.  All of the sudden I have the power.  Satan tempted Eve with same thing, if you eat the fruit you will have the power.  Righteous living is not about me, it is a natural outflow of my faith.
Romans 1:18-32 – Contains some of most hotly contested Scripture today.  Verses 26 and 27 are open for debate in many Christian circles, as they talk about homosexuality.  My issue with the homosexuality debate is this.  By blessing gay marriage or saying that it isn’t sin aren’t we cheapening what Jesus died for.  So I strongly believe that Scripture condemns homosexuality as sin, but I do believe that we as church have reflected the attitude of society on this matter.  When homosexuality was BAD! In society’s view we were allowed in church to use words like “fag”, or “homo” as insults in jest.  We helped insight hatred and pushed homosexual people away from the church.  I am thinking why didn’t we use other sins as insults.  Like calling someone a “luster” or “thief”, or even “idol worshipper”.  Call someone a gossip you might get a shrug and I know I shouldn’t but hey, blah blah blah.
Verse 25 -   Made me do a double take.  “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”  After telling us that the power is found in no else except God.  Paul tells us that the depraved ones are the ones who served created things rather than the creator.  Ding Ding Ding – This is how the Israelites got in trouble.  Our society is having huge moral issues after the rise of humanism.  I would venture to say that one of the reasons there is so much moral failure in our church communities is the same reason.  We have made the power about us and not about God.  We worship our pastor, worship leader, church, good deeds and our faith is in us.  Last I checked I am created.
Chapter 1 was really written to Christians coming out of the Greek/pagan culture.
What stood out to you in Romans 1?

new years wishes

2005-12-28T09:47:00.000-06:00

WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs, and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastroenterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber, and the IRS.

May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere during rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.

May Friday evening, December 31, find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the New Year ahead. You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may your checkbook and your budget balance, and may they include generous amounts for your church and charities.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, and your parent(s). You can say it to your secretary, your nurse, your butcher, your photographer, your masseuse, your seamstress, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor, but not with a "twinkle" in your eye.

Bless you with every happiness, great health, peace, and much love during the next year and all those that follow.

..And I simply would add to that, the following:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Got this from www.mikeysFunnies.com

The Gift

2005-12-21T15:45:00.000-06:00

John 3:16 The Gift

I remember one Christmas I was probably 10 years old, I got up around 5:30 am and the rule was at that point we were allowed to go through our stocking. In my stocking was one of the first ever electronic race car games, with sound effects and flashing lights. Well let’s just say that after waking up my parents at 5:30 am to a racing car game the rules about stockings changed and so did the wake up time. I was so excited about Christmas

THE MAN AND THE BIRDSBy Paul HarveyNow the man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge; he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man."I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I'm not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite. That he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window.But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window. Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it.Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, the scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then, he realized, that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him."If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

This man had a God encounter. In the snowstorm he experienced the truth about Jesus Christ. God came as man to show us the way. More importantly to be the way back to God. The living truth who brings us eternal life.
Why did God do this?
The answer is in my favorite Christmas verse:
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

“What does God care about most? The redemption of his people. He wants all his lost children found. That’s the whole reason Jesus came to earth.” - Rick Warren

The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree Ever
byWilliam Theron Yates
The Christmas tree stood in a corner of the room, decorated from tip to floor with lights and tinsel and garlands and ornaments and a star shining down from the top. It was a beautiful tree. The family had spent many hours decorating it. Boxes of things from Christmas past had been pulled out of hidden places in overstuffed closets and the dusty attic. Cries of "Oh, remember this one?" and "Didn't Grandma make this decoration?" and "Where's my little toy soldier?" and the rustle of wrapping paper filled the air. Music of the season flowed from the stereo and the intoxicating scent of cinnamon and gingerbread filled the air as Mother baked Christmas cookies in the kitchen.
Gradually the tree had been transformed from a somewhat scraggly and slightly lopsided piece of greenery into a joyous symbol of Christmas. "Isn't this the most beautiful Christmas tree we ever had, Daddy?", a young voice asked. "No", cried another, "it's the most beautiful Christmas tree ever!"
As all pairs of eyes in the room turned to me, awaiting confirmation of this most excellent judgment, my mind suddenly filled with trees -- a veritable forest of evergreens and elms, oaks and maples, sycamores and cypresses -- and one certain tree. Before I quite knew what I was saying, I replied, "No. This is not the most beautiful Christmas tree ever." Cries of "What?" and "Yes, it is!" assaulted my ears. "Hush!" I said, "Shall I tell you of the most beautiful Christmas tree ever?"
"Oh, yes, Daddy, please tell us!" they chorused.
"Well, a long time ago, long before the very first Christmas, God said, 'One day, I will send My Son to the world, and He will show all people how to live and how to worship Me. He will give them a never-ending life with Me in Heaven where they will be happy forever. All they have to do is to be sorry for doing things their own way instead of My better way and to believe that He is my Son.' "
"Long years passed and it was time for God's Son, Jesus, to be born. This is what we celebrate as Christmas."
"Yeah, there were shepherds and angels and wise men," said one. "And Joseph and Mary, His mother," replied another.
"Yes. You all know the story of Christmas. But do you know the story of the first Christmas tree?"
"No, tell us! Tell us!"
"There was no tree at the first Christmas. In fact, the first Christmas tree didn't even come at Christmas!"
"What do you mean?"
"How could it be a Christmas tree if it wasn't at Christmas?"
"Well, Jesus grew up and told everyone about God, His Father, and that they could live forever with Him in Heaven. And many people believed. But some people did not want to change the way they were living. And they were very powerful people. And they got together and arrested Jesus and sentenced Him to die."
"Yeah, they nailed Him on a cross", said a sad, small voice.
"Yes. That cross was the First Christmas Tree! We hang ornaments and decorations on our tree to make it look beautiful, don't we?"
Heads nodded.
"Well, when they hung Jesus on the cross, they hung the most beautiful ornament ever! He had a wreath -- of thorns -- and garlands -- of the blood He shed for us so we could go to Heaven. Those were the most priceless decorations ever. Because Jesus, God's greatest gift to us, died for us nailed to that tree, it really is The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree Ever!"
And all agreed.
© Copyright 1993 by William Theron Yates
God’s love for us is the true meaning of Christmas. At a time of year when people seem a little more generous and kinder, remember why? God came down to earth to give us the greatest love story ever told. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Christmas is not the end of the story but the beginning.

The kids were so excited and beaming about their presents and I know for me as a parent when I see the wide-eyed astonishment of my kids when they open the present I am thrilled. But you know what means more to me? Is when I see my kids use and get enjoyment out of their gifts for years to come.
It is great to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ at Christmas, but the gift of salvation and relationship with God is a 24/7 365 day gift. It is given to not only for Heaven but today. The struggle for us is live like someone who is love with Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season drives me nuts, because we add too many words. JESUS is the REASON. (PERIOD)
He is the reason for my faith and the foundation of my life. Anything that I build into my life that isn’t based on the foundation of Jesus Christ becomes junk and falls apart.

How do you live out the gift of Christmas year around?

Ministry Stress

2005-12-13T16:09:00.000-06:00

Ministry = Stress

My blog is not usually pointed to a group of people but today's musing will apply to those in youth ministry more than those who aren't. But all are welcome to read and comment. If you are in youth ministry and this blog doesn't apply to you sorry for wasting your time.

I just finished reading an article by Christopher T. Marchand, one of his titles is Assistant Professor of Youth Leadership at Providence College and Seminary in Manitoba. His article is in the Journal of Youth Ministry.
The Article is called Secondary Traumatic Stress: Recognizing the Unique Risks For Youth Ministry.
In his article Marchand defines Secondary Traumatic Stress and how it is related to Post Traumatic Stress and how it is different than burnout.
I am going to use Marchand's article as a jumping off point for my thoughts today. I don't want it to sound like a book report because then you would all have to grade it.

One quote that stuck out to me in the article was, "there is a cost to caring". As a pastor I thrive on caring, it energizes me, helping people through crisis gives me a feeling of worth and value. Being that person who stands in the gap and brings people through a traumatic experience is what I live for. The point made here is there is still a cost. There is a cost to my health and family. I may feel energized but through helping I may be emotionally drained, mentally exhausted.

What this article hits on, if I am helping someone with an incredibly traumatic situation, I could experience Secondary Traumatic Stress. This is different than burnout defined in the article as, â€œBurnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment, that can occur among individuals who do people work of some kind."Marchand says that a symptomatic homogeny exists between STS and burnout, which correct me if I am wrong that they look the same on the outside.

All I could think of reading this section was the words of Christ. Luke 14:28 -30
28"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

How many of us enter into ministry thinking it is going to be great and that we will change the world. People will listen to us. My youth in Calgary made sure to tell me how slack my job was. I think they were doing it in fun. The perception for them was Greg has this great fun job. How many of us go into ministry the same way countries went into World War I. We will kick butt and be home by Christmas.

How many of us really experience Luke 14:34?
34"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Seriously I thought in Bible School that I was part of this machine that would change the world. That God was really going to do something special with me and that I was going to be a hero of the faith.

I was so naive. I can't count how many times I have wanted to quit ministry. How I have asked God, "How stupid are you for picking me?"The point I want to make, is the one Jesus made we expect that because we are doing it for Jesus it will end happily ever after. Tell that to the Apostle Paul who bemoans to Timothy that everyone has left him. Or John the Baptist who in prison wonders if Jesus really is the Messiah. Ministry on any level whether as a Pastor with a title or volunteer, servant, Westjet Christian has a cost to it. It isn't all ice cream and lollipops and that some of our best energies or efforts will produce nothing that we can feel good about.

I think this post is getting a little long winded, like the Pastor of my church, just kidding had to say it. So I will touch on one more thing that Marchand said in his article.

He gave 4 significant reasons why people who work with the traumatized might encounter STS.
1. Empathy
2. Personal Trauma History
3. Unresolved Trauma Material
4. Children and Trauma

To me this is the essence of being a youth pastor. Any good youth pastor has empathy. Most people breathing have a personal trauma history, deep wounds from our lives, which have shaped us. Unresolved Trauma youth pastors function as MASH units, a lot of time we are dealing with teens who are in the middle of trauma and we donâ€™t always see the end. Finally children and trauma, it doesn't seem fair to watch kids and teens suffer. I have heard myself say dealing with families in trauma, that no one that young should ever have to deal with â€¦. And yet they do. The voice of Rev Lovejoy's wife from the Simpsons cries out in any situation, "Think of the children"
We can get emotionally and spiritually drained, not because we are sinning or not doing our job, but as a result of doing our job well. I think one of the real reasons that Jesus went into solitary times of prayer was to debrief.

There is a cost to ministry to continue touching lives we must realize this, how is your support network? When you have dealt with trauma do you debrief? Do you meet with other pastors to talk, pray and recharge. Do you take a couple more hours/days off after dealing with trauma or do you play catch up with all the work you missed dealing with the crisis? For my denomination we have the best kept secret. This is from the PAOC website.
Ministers Helpline
In cooperation with Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, eleven other denominations and PAOC district offices have commissioned Focus on The Family to establish an all-Canadian counseling helpline. This is private, confidential, anonymous counseling and referrals for ministers and their families.
This is completely confidential and free for our PAOC pastors. What a great resource to use the next time you deal with a trauma. Go to http://www.paoc.ca/ and follow the links.

2005-12-09T12:58:00.000-06:00

Idiot
If any of you have tried to comment to any of my posts for the last couple of days. Sorry I clicked the wrong box and all your comments are floating around the web. Anyways it is fixed now so comment away.

Glitz, Glamour Affecting Charitable Giving?

2005-12-09T10:53:00.000-06:00

I watched this piece last night on ABC Primetime, the article accompanying this piece is pasted below. It is called, Glitz, Glamour Affecting Charitable Giving?
One stunning image in the piece was when a celebrity limo drove to a fundraising benefit for an opera or something like that and to get to the glitzy benefit they had to drive past like 20 homeless people sleeping on the street.
OK celebrities are easy targets so before I judge them and poke at the speck in their eyes. I have to ask why do I give? Who do I give to? More importantly do I give to fulfill a need or is it to make me feel better? Do I give to things that benefit me? Is their a difference between philanthropy and generosity? Do I give money to my kids school to make a difference for the other kids or do I do it to make my kids more successful. Another statement made in this piece was it is a good career move for these celebrities to been seen giving to charity. And all I could think was Jesus and Widow who gave her 2 cents.
Luke 21
The Widow's Offering
1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.[a] 3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
I ask myself do I give like her or like the people that Jesus chastised?

Article from http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1387620

Glitz, Glamour Affecting Charitable Giving?
Charities Serving Poor Sometimes Take Second Place to More Alluring Causes
It's the season for giving -- and for opulent charity events where the rich, powerful and famous mingle. But charities that help the poor aren't doing as well as more glamorous causes. (ABC News)
By BRIAN ROSS
Dec. 8, 2005 â€” This year alone, charitable giving in America is expected to reach at least $250 billion, with many Americans writing their checks in these last few weeks of the year, so their donations will still count toward this year's tax deduction.
And for some of the wealthiest Americans, it is not only the season of giving, but also the season of lavish black-tie events. According to publicist and society columnist R. Couri Hay, "It's all about charities. Social life in New York revolves around giving, and so every single night there are five, six, maybe even 10 parties during the busy season a night where you can go and give to a worthy cause."
The charity game is now in full swing as the rich, the powerful, and the famous mingle in circles where the level of opulence can seem incredibly out of place if the true goal is to help the needy.
"It's glamorous, and the room looks beautiful, and everyone's dressed up in beautiful gowns and jewels, but they're raising millions of dollars while they do it, and they're looking good," says Hay of the charity game. "Wow, I mean, what could be better than that?"
Over the last week, New York's charity circuit has included galas for scholarship funds, music programs, the blind, a variety of diseases and a star-studded event to raise money for a museum program to teach children about classic movies and television shows. Director Ron Howard was the guest of the honor at that even, where tables cost $25,000 each.
"Celebrities really help," says Hay. "We're still in a celebrity culture so everybody wants our celebrities at the party. You know, you add a celebrity, you have an excitement. And people pay money to be near a celebrity."
Neediest Overlooked?
Yet, while most of the grand events, such as a charity gala at the Waldorf Astoria, each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, some people are left out in the cold.
"Americans are giving more and more and more to charity, they're giving less and less and less to the poorest citizens in this country," says Trent Stamp, who runs a non-profit Web site called the Charity Navigator, which evaluates and tracks where America's charitable contributions go.
"There's no doubt that American donors have abandoned the poor in terms of their philanthropic decision-making," says Stamp. "These are not the right types of charities that are endorsed by celebrities. These are not the types of charities that send you a tote bag when you make a gift."
Last year, contributions to charities working with the poor decreased to 8 percent of all money given, marking the third consecutive year of decline.
"For the most part, the large donor, the wealthy donor has turned away from these types of charities," says Stamp. "Nobody wants to be seen at the local homeless shelter, but they would like to be seen at the Symphony Hall."
Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, a former New York City social services commissioner, attests to that. She works with many of the city's smaller charities that deal directly with the poor and the homeless.
"I have donors that will give a $25,000 check to Lincoln Center, and they'll give us a thousand dollar check," Barrios-Paoli acknowledges. "You know, the big universities get a lot of the money, the big cultural centers get a lot of the money. And again, I'm not saying they shouldn't, but the reality is that we have the, we don't have access to the money, and we really need it."
All of this leads to the question, recently posed by The New York Times, whether all charities and non-profit organizations are equal.
Universities are considered non-profits and in some cases have billions in assets. For example, Harvard has $22 billion, and Yale's endowment is $12 billion.
Ivy League Criticism
Television personality Ben Stein, a Yale Law School graduate, met a lot of criticism when he first suggested universities with billions of dollars in assets were getting a disproportionate percentage in donor dollars.
"The generosity of individuals is much more meaningful to a local soup kitchen than it is to Yale," he said.
Yet all charities are created equal in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. A donation to the museum featuring classic movies and television shows gets the same tax advantage as a donation to a soup kitchen in Harlem.
"If you're working with citizens in this country who are not eating tonight, to me, that's a much more worthwhile cause than people who like to hear a symphony," comments Stamp. As for this winter, he says, "I think it's going to be a very cold and very hungry winter for our most vulnerable citizens."

2005-12-08T15:28:00.000-06:00

My 2 year old is fascinated with us taking pictures of her angry face.

Chirstmas Consumerism and Teens

2005-12-07T15:06:00.000-06:00

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/k12news/HI_Trends&TudesNews2005_v4_iss12.pdf?j=2903024&e=stasia71@yahoo.com&l=692018_HTML&u=42276179

I just read an interesting article on teens and consumerism over Christmas.  It was a good article and the link is a copy of that article.

The thing that I found really interesting was teens were asked what they would do if they won $10000.
Some responses were good but the one that stuck out was this one.
â€œFirst I would buy me an Xbox 360 and all the games that I want then I would pay off most of my bills and if I have anything left over I would donate 1/3 of it to the people affected by the hurricanesâ€�

Tell me  is playing the charity card at the end of statement tell you anything about where this personâ€™s heart is at?

The most troubling part of this persons statement is, â€œif I have anything left over I wouldâ€¦â€�
To me it is indicative of a mind set in our society that says after I have enough then I will look after those who donâ€™t.  The problem is do we ever have enough.

If looking after the poor is an after thought.  If giving to charity or our churches is based on what we have left over our giving patterns will never change.

My daughters school is doing a program called pennies from heaven for Christmas, and I love what they say, that every penny makes a difference.

I am not asking you or me to sell everything and give it to the poor, but to do something.  To consider what more you can do.  Let face it at our current involvement not enough is being done.  If we truly want to save lives and end poverty we need to do more.

2005-12-02T14:55:00.000-06:00

West Jet Church
I was reading the blog of a friend who commented about McChurch. It is really a good blog http://soulpastor.blogspot.com some of the comments made are worth reading and some not so much. Anyways this is my blog and it is all about me not someone else. I started thinking about what is a good model of church and I came up with the West Jet church. So I commented - Mc Church! When I go to McDonalds, I have no vested interest except for the double quarter pounder, fries and a coke. I am taking what I want and paying a price for it. I don't care about the future of McDonalds or the employees just bring me my double quarter pounder, fries and a coke in 30 seconds or less. I think people are the same way with church and are willing to through $20 into the offering plate. They want value for their money. And give them what they want. And you are right this sucks. I want McChurch to be replaced by West Jet church. Why do Westjetters care so much? Because they are owners. Instead of taking what the company has to offer the idea is that they will make it better. What would happen if the people in church took ownership of the church to fulfill the mission statement of Jesus Christ - GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS!!!! Rich poor hungry well fed. We could change the world as a church if we truly took ownership of it instead of shopping from it.
I would love to know if people who work for, er sorry own West Jet actually feel a greater responsibility to look after people or if they get crusty like Air Canada employees, if you work for Air Canada donâ€™t blog me back and tell me off just be nicer to me when I fly. I remember flying on Air Canada from Winnipeg and Toronto and having my flight cancelled when I got to the airport and asked what gives, the ticket guy said, â€œWe ran out of pilots.â€� You what? Iâ€™m thinking how do run out of pilots? Did two guys quit, flying into Winnipeg or maybe you found an extra plane and thought maybe a couple of the passengers can help fly the plane. I have always had a good time on West Jet.
Getting back to the West Jet church â€“ it involves a mind set change. I have sat in meetings at churches talking about how we need to satisfy our customers, those paying the bills in the church. And this is what is wrong with church models. The people on the membership list think that they are the customers and that the customer is always right. The customer of church is someone who is not a member. The ideal definition of church is an organization that exists not for the benefit of its members. Think about it! We exist to provide light in a dark world and yet we hide the light because we donâ€™t want someone new to come in and mess up our perfect church.
What if at the end of West Jet flight they invited those who want to part of the West Jet to stay behind and they can give their lives to West Jet. I think people who felt cared for and valued as customers would be much more likely to join West Jet than if they were made to feel unimportant.
So I guess the question that we all have to ask is? Am I an owner of my faith or a customer?

Christmas newsletter article gone bad

2005-11-18T11:41:00.000-06:00

This post was supposed to be a newsletter article but it kind of got sidetracked.
Merry Christmas! I was walking through Wal-Mart with my family the other day and we were looking at the Christmas ornaments. I finally saw something that disturbed me. Rows and rows of cartoon character ornaments and I turned to my wife and said, â€œIt is official Christmas isnâ€™t about Jesus anymore.â€� I love the Christmas symbols angels, stars, wreaths, candy canes, the Christmas tree, candles, the gifts etcâ€¦. I find each one of those help tell the story. Donâ€™t even get me started on how the Easter bunny, Easter eggs and Mardi Gras tell the story of Easter. But Spiderman ornaments thatâ€™s a stretch. We have a great opportunity the story of Christmas and Godâ€™s great gift given to mankind is new to people again and begging to be told. Then Prime Minister Paul Martin is quoted in saying that a Christmas election could offend Christian Canadians but that an election in March or April wouldnâ€™t. I love Christmas but as far as sacred holy days, isnâ€™t Easter a bigger deal than Christmas. Without Easter who cares about Christmas? OK a little rant there but it is all good now. Letâ€™s not bemoan the fact that we could now call Christmas a winter festival. We have great news to proclaim to the world. And if you figure out how to work Spiderman ornaments into the Christmas story let me know cause I want to buy them for my son.

New Life

2005-11-07T10:15:00.000-06:00

New Life
9 days ago I got to see the miracle of life play out again, as I witnessed the birth of our fourth child, Stephanie Grace Junghans came into the world on October 29. She is so full of potential and promise. There are so many things that could damage her in this world, including her 2 year old sister â€“ Brianne. But for Stephanie to truly grow and realize her potential she needs to be exposed to some of the dangers of life. As her Daddy my job is to balance the need for her to grow with the need for her safety. To value her as the precious gift of God that she is.
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I saw this great vid

2005-10-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

I saw this great video at the YMRN lunch on Wednesday.  It was a nooma by Rob Bell on Silence.  He talks about Elijah experiencing God in 1 Kings 19:11 - 13 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Â Â Â Â Â Â Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
He made the point that we need silence to hear the whisper.  You should really find someone who has the video and watch it.  Powerful.
It hit me while I watching the video that so many of our youth ministries refer to fire, wind or earthquakes in our names.  My question is, is God really in our youth ministries or is there just so much noise that no one ever gets to hear Godâ€™s voice.  10 years as a youth pastor, I wonder how many times did I give young people the opportunity to really hear God and how much was the show, earth, wind and fire.

2005-10-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

Everyone seems to blog now, so being the culture junkie that I am I have to try.
I was at a youth pastor get together today and yesterday at a pastor's prayer meeting. Although the crowds were completely different and so was the atmosphere, dress code and of course hair styles.
The form of the events are completely the same, announcements, worship and somebody speaks.
Youth culture in the church in so many ways seems to be an extention of the church culture it grew up in.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

2005-09-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

Just getting started.