What a joy it is to know the Savior Mary once helded in her hands; rules all of creation with his.
Canadians every where can hang their heads in shame over the Christmas holidays. Wednesday, Canada's Supreme Court handed down a ruling that makes Swinger Clubs legal in Canada.
Swinger Clubs are basically people married or single who meet at a club, and rather than the old key swap of the 70's. They pick who they want to have sex with. They may choose 1 or multiple individuals, as long as everyone is consenting. The Supreme Court ruled it is not a criminal act because "it poses no threat to society". Forget the moral fabric we've already shred.
This all came about because some clubs in Montreal got charged for operating a "bawdy house" or brothel. One owner's lawyer is quoted as saying, "It does not contaminate society. It does not hurt, it does not do any harm to society and to the public in general."
Come to Canada, where we have no morals.
Why would I be proud to be a Canadian?
http://www.visithoustontexas.com/fall-gallery/images/christmas%20Tree.jpg
The Christmas/Holiday Tree incident of Boston has sparked allot of discussion about the growing taboo of saying "Merry Christmas". The general attitude I get from most Christians is "It's our holiday and we're not gonna let you steal it from us".
What gets me is we stole the holiday from someone else. For those who haven't taken church History or who were sleeping during it, because of the persecution of the Church in the 1st few centuries AD Christians would use pagan holidays and celebrations as their times of celebration. For example Christmas was assigned the date of December 25 after the last Great persecution (c.330). Prior to this date the birth of Christ was celebrated at different dates each year (http://www.nisbett.com/holidays/christmas_date_and_origin_of.htm).
So really we have no rightful claim to December 25. Sure some people have argued this is the actual birth date of Christ, but we don't know for sure, and allot of other people were born on December 25th does this mean they're not allowed to celebrate their birthdays too?
In case you think I'm saying we need to start saying, "Happy Holidays", I'm not!! I am saying we need to get ride of this "It's our holiday" mentality and realize there are other religions using the date too. Still say "Merry Christmas" and if people get offended, we live in a land of religious freedom, it's about time Christians started having some.
If we really wanna make an impact, I say we stop celebrating on December 25th and move the date to some obscure time of the year, like May or something. Then sales rapidly decline because even "name only Christians" would follow suit. We would disturb the false god, "The almighty Dollar" and Then the TaD worshippers will quickly follow.
I recently watched Chronicles of Narnia and here are a few symbolic things to remember from the book to make your viewing more memborable.
Symbolism
Aslan = Christ
Aslan's breathe = Breath of life
Deep Magic = The Law
Lamp Post = beginning of spiritual journey
Stone Table = Temple Curtain
Turkish Delight = The lure of sin
Wardrobe = entrance into spiritual realm
Winter = Adamic Depravity/Reign of Sin
Witch = Satan
Witch's Staff = Death
I'm sure there is more symbolism that I missed so feel free to share with me others. I'm going to see it 2 more times so I'd love to have new stuff to think about as I watch it.
(http://www.canmag.com/images/front/lap/narnia.jpg)
By now we have all fallen in love with the Goo Goo Dolls new single, Better Days. I've found there are some pretty spiritual messages in the song. I'm not talking about God is in the trees type spirituality. I'm talking arugeably sound Christian doctrine The chorus goes like this:
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
Driving home from town tonight I let the Goo Goo Dolls lead me in worship as I praised God for the forgiveness he made possible through his son, the one poor child, who saved this world. I also praised him for allowing us to be a part of his plan for salvation, by carrying the message of salvation to others. During this worship session they reminded me I am the only one who can give my faith, trust, and peace. No one else can do these things for me. They are my responsibility to exercise.
Their song reaffirmed the truth I believe and challenged me to fulfill my role in God's plan.
How many worship services can we say do that?
(www.http://tsn.ca/cfl/)How long has it been since we've been passionate about the ministry God has called us to?
Thinking back to the first time I was hunting for a ministerial position. I wonder how much of my quest was fueled by a genuine desire to be in a place of ministry, which is within God's will and plan, verses a desire to just be in a church.
When I initionally had my denominational interview about becoming a pastor, something I shared about my calling into full-time ministry is "I couldn't imagine doing anything else and being happy". A few years older and perhaps a little bit wiser. I would say it's not enough to want be in full-time ministry. What is essential is to know our place in full-time ministry is within God's will. A will that could have a multitude of possibile places or simply 1 option.
Motions of Ministry
For us to serve in a church out of our own desire to be in ministry would be dangerously close to sin. A sin against God and his people, and ourselves. How can we consume a position of ministry we know is not within God's will for us, simply so we can be in ministry? Consider this, by maintaining a position of ministry, we know is not our place in God's will, is to go through the motions of ministry. In going through the motions we hinder and work against God's will. God has a better place for us in his divine plan and the place you currently hold belongs to another.
Ministry in Motion
Ministry in motion is to seek not only a place to minister but the place God has for us in his plan. Think of it as a train yard. There are hundreds of trains going different direction all for the same purpose, to get people where they need to go. Instead of jumping on a train and trying to make it go your direction, look at the direction God's already taking the train, then jump on board the train going in your direction.
The introspective question of the week: Are we going through the motions of ministry or are we ministry in motion?
So I've been tearing up this book, The Youth Builder, by Mike DeVries & Jim Burns. Some of you would have had it for required reading or collateral reading in a youth course, if you went to Bethany. Well, I was not one of you, but was blessed to have it given to me. The book has allot of practical ideas and principles drawn from years of youth ministry experience. It's not the Bible of youth ministry or anything, just a very valuable resource. Kindof of like Maguyver's swiss army knife.
As I was reading today, I was deeply convicted about something. I was convicted about how we go about ministry half heartedly. As long as things are running smooth, what we're doing is good enough. We shouldn't live in a constant depression of inadequacey, but we should always have in our mind, "What needs to happen for us to go the next mile?"
This life of ministry we have isn't about achieving a certain standard. It's not about numbers. It's not about programs. It's not about being trendy.It's about impacting lives for Christ, the best way we know how.
.
Those of us who think our ministry is "good enough" are falling to fulfil our responsbility to God and those he has entrusted to us. If we are at this point we need to ask 3 things.
1) Is my heart right?
2) Am I in the right ministry?
3) Am I in the right place?
With a "good enough" ideology we are a parked cars in the middle of the freeway. So we'd better get our tires spinning or get off the freeway!
Like most youth leaders of the Atlantic District, I was at Booster this weekend, which in my opinion was the best Booster I've been too. The speaker was Matt LeRoy. At the last rally he talked about the Cost of following Christ. This got me thinking about how we've watered down the Gospel. We tell people about how easy it is to accept Christ and then once we get them committed we start telling them about what God requires of those who follow him.
Please understand I am not intending to preach salvation by works. I do believe God freely gave himself for us, and it is only through Christ we are saved.
We sell Christ to our teens and THEN start telling them, "Now that you've accepted Christ, he requires you to do this and that". We're the fine print people.
"For only one easy prayer you can have eternal life and your own Personal Saviour. Now that you have eternal life here's what's required of you by your new Lord & Savior".
We need to be more clear about what God requires of us in the long run from the beginning. I gotta question my integrity if I don't let people know upfront Christ requires our whole heart and not just a 5 minute prayer.
When I look at Scriptures like II Peter 2:21-23, telling us how it's better for those who accept Christ and turn away to have never known him and then passages like, "Whoever sets his face to the plough and looks back is not fit for service in the Kingdom of God". I gotta wonder what God's gonna say to us when we stand before him.
By presenting a Consumer Christ, we attributed to Consumer Christians, who sign up for their free trial, and then when it starts to cost, they give up.
Last Saturday, I went to an "Understanding Teens" seminar that was held up in Moncton, with one of my friends, who just happens to help with youth. The Seminar was geared toward parents, but I felt we could get some helpful insight by going.
As we sat there in the High School auditorium, something hit me, besides realizing we were almost the only 2 people there who weren't married and had a child. What hit me was how differently we look at things now that we are out in ministry.
Back at Bethany we were pretty well immersed in the hypothetical, with some practical. We went to class every day, most of us, and once a week helped out with or ran some sort of ministry. So our perspective of ministry was pretty much shaped by what we were told in textbooks.
The best way I can think to describe this comes from a junior high school memory. We used to have a class called Family Education, or something like that. In this class we'd spend time learning about the development of children and then after a few weeks we'd throw together a temporary day care. During these weeks there would be a time we would sit behind this one way mirror, you know the kind they have in jail, and watch the childrens' behavior. Then we'd paly Freud, Skinner, Piaget or some other psychologist and try to explain why they do certain things and how we should respond. This is pretty much what we did in our classes at Bethany
Now we find ourselves on the otherside of that glass. Now we're immersed in the practical and we dabble in the hypothetical. Other than the few seminars we hit or the books we read our perspectives are now being shaped by our experience.
I've been thinking over the last few weeks about "the power of the altar". It seems we, especially in The Wesleyan Church, have attributed some sort of "divine power" to the hunks of wood that sit at the front of the sanctuaries of our churhes. We seem to have this subconcious drive, "if we can only get them to the altar, then we can fix them!" or "If I go to the altar I will get fixed!"
When you combined this mentality with the reality that many speakers' effectiveness is measured by the amount of people who flood the altars at the end of the message, we find a sensationalize altar. We're guilty of what I call "Dancing around the altar". We have a desire to enter into a deeper relationship with God, we're caught in some sin, or we're struggling to demonstrate certain fruit of the Spirit so we go to the altar, we pray, and we expect to magically have everything fixed.
We've forgotten that the change does not need to happen at the altar, it needs to happen in our hearts. We expect to rise from the altar and to float away on some glorious cloud. Then when we're faced with the battle of demonstrating the fruit or resisting the temptation we think we need to go back to the altar because we didn't get fixed the first time.
Speaking as one who has done this altar dance, it breaks my heart to see brothers/sisters do the same thing I did. I'd work myself into an emotional frenzie and weep at the altar. I cry out to God about the same thing for the 100th time, stand up, hug a friend and leave unchanged. "The Altar Dance". I would go through these actions like some magic ritual hoping this time it took. Thinking all I need to do is go to the altar and that'll fix everything. NO! We need to get serious about the issues we are dealing with. Faith is acting on what we believe! The heart change does not happen at the altar it begins when we stand up from the altar and start acting according to what we believe.
"My magnificent Creator has seen fit to give me a long life and a large family and he has used them to show me crystal clearly the sanctity and invariability of life and for that I am forever thankful to him" (1997 Hall of Fame Induction Speech).
For those of you disinterested and uninvolved in the American Football world, you'll have no idea who Wellington Mara is, to be honest, I knew him only as a name, until his death yesterday was announced. Wellington Mara started as a ball boy and eventually became the owner of the New York Giants. For 81 years he was involved in the Giants' organization and saw 6 Superbowl Championships.
During the interviews one of the things that stuck out to many people was his uncompromising faith. He was known as a religious man and when the Giants won the SuperBowl in 1986 instead of having champagne they had Pepsi (should have been coke).
Tiki Barber, the Giants running back had the blessing to visit with Wellington the night before his death and pray with him.
This Post is dedicated to all the men in pro sports, like Wellington, who live a life committed to Christ in a world full of compromise. With the steroids scandals and the domestic disputes, it is tempting to lay down the cross to hoist the Trophy. To those who have continued to carry their cross from home, to the field, and into the locker room. I thank you for being a light in a dark world.
For those of you who don't know, over the past year or so I have developed a love for a little known Ontario band called Hawk Nelson. They're a punk band who encorporate girls, politics, and Christ into Rock-Awesome songs. Songs that penetrate my heart. One of their songs, From Underneath, slices deep into my heart. The part of the song that captures me every time goes, "I'm reaching out to take my Father's hand. Do you remember that cold day in December, leaving everything you knew behind?"
When we look at our relationship with Christ each of us can think back to our own personal " cold day in December". A time in our lives when God asked us to lay down our plans and venture out on the path he has for us. Like Abram we left everything familar behind to pursue what God has for us. We may have only had one "December Day" or we may have had multiple, with each "Day" calling us to a deeper or more sacrifical commitment. When I look back at my "December Day" and remember the things and pathes I left behind, there is both a peace and a thankfulness that accompanies those memories. Even though the path I have taken still isn't my ideal, I know it's a path the Lord has forged for me. The peace comes because I know I am in the Lord's will and the thankfulness comes from the knowledge I am not the man I was.
What memories do you have of your "December Day"s?
Last night I was talking to a close friend of mine about life and basically where we are at with God. We were honest about our relationship with God and posed the questions were suppose to have all figured out. We weren't looking for answers; we were looking for our hearts to be heard.
For an hour we took off the clergy camoflage and told each other we weren't perfect, we don't have all the answers, and we still have doubts.
I think one of the greatest detrements to the message of Christ, is those of us who stand at our pious pulpits and pretend we have it all figured out.
When life doesn't go as planned, we have a crisis of faith, as minute as it may seem. In those moments there is a dark place of the heart where we ask, "Is God really in control?", "Does God really love me?" or "Am I praying to a religious creation?". Whether the thoughts originate in our heart, or come from an exterior source they are there and it is in these crisises our faith is challenged.
I'd like to say these questions come, but once, and being answer never reappear, however, each of us knows when the light dims for a moment our faith is shaken.
I don't know where we got this idea that our Walk with Christ is easy. The Bible doesn't tell us that, Church History doesn't tell us that, not even the Media tells us that. Maybe it's left over dreams of our ancestors, who jumped on a ship and set sail for "The New World" in search of freedom from persecution.
It's not until we allow these dreams of a utopic life to die in the origin of their sin that we will ever see daylight. When we come to Christ most of us are looking for a good cleaning and a little mending here and there, never realizing our true brokenness. It is in the reality of our broken life that we are usable. So long as we hold to our self-adequacy and the mentality that "I'm not that bad" we are useless to the cause of the cross. It is in the broken life God works.
My prayer to God is: This Broken life I have held so close protecting it from your healing touch. I release my grip from This Broken Life and ask you to do as you please.
It's a pretty simple concept, I think we need to revisit more.
After perhaps the main event of the night, I have decided to hang up my gloves! Most of you know about my playful aggressive nature and for the most part this has always been more play than aggressive.
Well, at youth on Friday we were having the Amazin' Race, not the Amazing Race, for copyright infringement purposes, and we recruited some extra volunteers to run events. So before anything started I was upstairs talking to some people when I got jokingly jumped by one of the volunteers. We wrestled, I got some carpet burn, but everything seemed normal so I went on my merry way and talked to some parents before goin' back inside to check on the teens. When I went back inside the teens came running downstairs to tell me one of the leaders had broken another leader's nose.
I ran upstairs and see a pool of blood on the carpet and the involved parties trailing off to the bathroom. I follow them and eventually get the 411, so to speak, of what went down. When I was wrestling with one of the leaders I had given him a concussion, he has a history of them, and was feeling dizzy. What made things worse is the other leader had come in, not knowing about the dizziness, and jumped on the back of the leader, who has the concussion. The leader with the concussion, lifts the other leader above his head and begins to spin. He looses his footing and trying to put the other guy down, drops him on his face, breaking his nose.
Seeing all the damage I've caused just by wrestling, I am going to attempt to hang up my fighting gloves.
Yesterday, I was doin' my usual newspaper reading, in the usual spot, and as I sat there I began to fume with what I hope was righteous indignation. The largest headline read in huge bold font, "NDP elect Lesbian Leader". I think that's an exact quote, my vision may have been blurred by rage. It wasn't just the title that bothered me, it was the caption alongside it. The new leader stood between her mentally delayed son and some "older lady".
It was the blatant advocation of sin by the NDP party that initially provoked my anger. Then the caption seemed so phony, pushed me dug a little deeper as she pavarotsically prostituted her son. Then there was the media who took the opportunity to try and instigate a fight.The gay and lesbian community screams for equal and human rights, while the media is encourage to take every opportunity to Fly the rainbow flag. What is so equal about allowing one's sexuality to define them? It seems to be selling a lifestyle rather than equality.
As Canada etches out her path to Sodom, I wonder how long we'll allow ourselves to be drug along like passive resistant asses. If we would stop allowing our fear of being perceived as self-righteous and intolerant to silence us, would we be able to delay our countries deprivation?
The Exorcism of Emily Rose speaks to both beleivers and doubters alike. Terry Mattingly is quoted as saying " (it's purpose is to) make believers think twice about what they believe and doubters have doubts about their doubts.” in Plugged in Movie Review by Focus on the Family.
After watching this movie something glarred me in the face, and it didn't have horns or red eyes. It was the realization that our culture is obsessed with the spiritual realm, and yet denies it's true existence. Just count the number of movies in, and coming into, theatres related to the subject and you'll see what I mean.
C.S. Lewis said, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors."
As Father Moore said, “Demons exist whether you believe in them or not.” So I wonder how pleased they are with our Culture, who has the "best of both extremes. We disbelieve in devils, and yet feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them?
I've been thinking about heaven recently. I hear allot of talk about us having our own personal mansion, with John 14:2 usually being used as support.
I've been doing a little research on this and the majority of the translations/versions I looked at say, "In my Father's house are many rooms. The only ones I found that don't are Young's and (New) King James, which say, "In my Father's house there are many mansions". Feel free to do some research of your own that, www.biblegateway.com.
As usual, I'm drifting from contemporary thought and I would like to suggest, we won't have individual mansions when we get to heaven. I'm thinking there'll be 1 "...BIG BIG HOUSE with lots and lots rooms" (to quote Audio A). Even in the translations/versions that use "mansions", the mansions are in "My Father's House", one single establishment. I tend to picture a Southern homestead. Y'al jump in da truck we goin' on up to the Big House.
I would think individual mansions lining the streets of gold would reinforce our individuality and created separation. Whereas the 1 House with rooms/mansions within it would reinforce the community and family we are suppose to experience in Christ, and what Adam and Eve had before the Fall.
Most of us are familar with the story of the master who gives 3 servants different amounts of money before he leaves for a trip, then when he returns each servant must give an account of what he has done with the master's money (talents).
When we think about our place in God's Kingdom, most people see themselves in the lime light. We tend to think we'll never be rich or on MTV, but we DO tend to think we'll be pastors of Mega churches or the founders of "the most successful church plant ever". When we think about our place in the Kingdom we wanna be the next Mother Theresa or Billy Graham. Even a John C. Maxwell, business man. We all wanna be the 10 talents guy; no one ever wants to be the guy who gets 1 talent.
Chris Tomlin, in his book The Way I Was Made, talks about how when he made the decision to trust that God was leading him to travel and play music, it was risk. When Chris gave up his pursuit of fame God gave it back to him.
My question is how many of us are still willing to give up our talent, when there's no guarantee we'll ever find that fame or recognition? If our place in the kingdom never extends beyond the shepherding of a country church and dieing quietly with little "fan fair", perhaps only remembered by a handful, are we still willing to invest our talent?
If there is no lime light at the end of the tunnel are we still willing to enter it?
So I'm in my car AGAIN ( do some of my best thinking there) driving through the back roads of Fredericton, listening to JoyFM. I'm singing along with the music when my singing stops dead. The song was When God Made You by Natalie Grant and Newsong. The words are, "When God made you, He must have been thinking about me" http://www.christianlyricsonline.com/artists/newsong/when-god-made-you.html.
It's a great sentimental thought, "you seem so perfect for me", along with all those wonderful phrases we use when we're in love. Really though!? Honestly, how vain is that? When God created you the thoughts that entertained him was not his love for the individual he in the moment was creating, but the person they would marry.
To think my creation was not out of God's love for me, but for someone else!? How worthless am I?!
I was on my way over to my friend's place and had the local Christian radio station playing and FFH came on the radio. I'm no where's close to being a FFH fan. However as their song played it caused me to ask my spirit a question.
The main line of the song goes,
"Lord move in a way, that I've never seen before
Cause there's a mountain in the way
and a lock on the door
I'm drifting away,
waves are crashing on the shore
So Lord move, or move me"
(http://www.lyricsdownload.com/ffh-lord-me-or-move-me-lyrics.html).
The question I asked my spirit was, "Are you willing to ask God to remove you from a place of ministry if you are hindering his work?". It seems like a no brainer, especially if you are ministering in a place where you want to be moved.
I really had to search my heart for the answer, when I put the question into my current context. Being at River Valley, I can't imagine being, or have any desire to be, anywheres else, so it'd be extremely difficult for me to pray this song.
My current prayer is, if there ever comes a time when I am hindering the moving of the Holy Spirit, he will bring me to a point of discernment and humility that I recognize this, so I may be moved to where I am effectively being used by the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday I went to see The Skeleton Key. I tend to enjoy going to "horror" films. Each time I go to see if Hollywood has created a movie that can scare me. Unfortunately, The Skeleton Key failed to even come close to achieving this goal the only movie to be successful in the last few years was "The Bogeyman".
For some reason I got to those movies wanting to be scared and I know I'm not alone in this. The thing I don't understand is "why". Why do we actually wanna subject ourselves to two hours of mental torment, which is followed by us cautious entering rooms and sometimes pulling the covers over our heads.
I'm not totally flippant about what I watch I tend to avoid things I know glorify the demonic. For example I was extremely convicted for watching The Exorcist. I wasn't freaked out by it, but as I watched it, I knew was opening myself up to attacks. So I have stuck away from all the it's sequels.
So here's the pyscho-analytical question of the week. What in our pyschy incites us to cautiously freak ourselves out?
Going through Bible College you are filled with Principles. There's 5 Principles of Christian living, 10 principles of money management, 3 Principles to keeping your toe jam organized and so on. Don't get me wrong principles are great guide lines for living and while I was at Worship East I came up with a principle I think will be very beneficial in ministry.
There are many times as an assistant pastor you are scared to do something for fear of the repercussions. We're scared someone will find something wrong with our decision and this causes us to miss out on opportunities or do allot of unnecessary work. For this reason I have instituted the Who's gonna stop me? principle. Before you get the wrong idea, this isn't a license to go out and just be a jerk or act without thinking. It's not even a might makes right mentality. The principle is to be used in relation to those minor details of ministry. In these times of ambiguity when you would like to do something and are scared that there maybe negative consequences takes these 3 easy steps.
1. Ask yourself "What could possibly go wrong?"
2. If something could go wrong, determine if the
possible negative outcomes are an acceptable risk.
3. Announce your plan or idea, and Act.
If anyone has a serious problem with your idea or plan, this is where they will try to stop you. In essence Steps 3 is you asking "Who's gonna stop me?". Except instead of being a challenge it's more an invitation for people to speak up.
I'm what some may call a gradual reader. I'll take 3 or 4 books and read them all over the span of a few months, while others may take 1 book and read it in a week. Then there's you over achievers who read 20 books a month.
In reading one of the final chapters of The Sacred Romance a switch clicked in my head. In this chapter John Eldredge relives how he & his wife, Stasi, took a trip to the "chateau" where they spent their honeymoon, in an attempt to save their marriage. As my eyes touched each word I realized for most of my Christian life I have looked at God as my judgemental father. I was Constantly trying to seek & earn his approval. Knowing I never could, and grace would cover me, I still sought to prove to God, I was a "good boy". I kept trying to make my dad proud of me.
In Scripture God portrays himself as a judge, a master, a father, and as a husband to the church. I think that each of these is a way we relate with God as we continue in our journey and mature in Christ.
As I concluded The Sacred Romance God and I ventured into unchartered waters for me. Our relationship left the realm of judgement and entered into romance.This is a sacred place of union, only husband and wife can know, it is where defenses are dropped. Where there is no longer an attempt to prove worth. They love not for what the other has done or does. It is a selfless love they share with each other. Their actions are not an attempt to prove their love but are motivated by their love.
In life we're often reminded of the choice between right or wrong, good and best. Life is painted in a black and white tapestry and the decision is easy. Then there are the times Pastors try to avoid in the messages. The times when there is no black and white, but techno-color. This is what I call The Space Between. It's the space between right and wrong, where there is no absolute, only options.
This week I find myself faced with a decision. It's not a choice of right or wrong, but of what do I really desire. I think we've all been in that place where we are presented with two options and the right choice isn't so black or white.
It's like an invitation you're scared to open. What seems to be starring me in the face is an invitation to an adventure. I haven't been given the details of the trip or even the destination. I've just been challenged to live beyond myself and my understanding. Now in this Space Between I must make my choice, with no morals or ethics to guide, just desire.
This past week I went to visit friends at Baptist Park, a camp I volunteered on Scholarship with 2 years ago. I told them anything they needed help with. I would do whatever. I was expecting they were gonna have me help maintain the camp with the general workers, as they didn't need any teachers for this week. I thought it would be great to work with some old buds I hadn't seen in 2 years.
I pulled into Baptist Park at 12:30am Saturday morning, leaving River Valley Wesleyan at 10:30pm. A nice 3 hour trip. We stayed up watching movies and playing games until 4:30 before turning in for the morning.
Many of you know of my "great fondness" of caring for children. You might even call it a passion....to usher the children quickly into the presence of God. So with this in mind, the next morning I was given an invitation to teach a class to the the gr.4-6 kids for the week. Even though I'm of the persuasion that any children between the ages of 2 and 12 should be caged I figured I would challenge myself, even though I had no material to go on. Attending a Saturday evening service at Presque Isle Wesleyan I was inspired by Pastor Rick's message about Peter to do a whole theme of "Carnies from the Bible", or as the camp renamed it "God's Carnival". So with the week planned out I was sitting pretty right up until 2:30pm Sunday afternoon.
Sunday, There was a 3 day, ages 6-8, camp that came in and all the volunteer counsellors backed out, so they asked me if I really meant "whatever", as they knew how I love "children's minsitry". It just excites me soooo much. With hestitation and terror in my voice I agreed. All I could think was "Haha very funny God! You must REALLY love me to discipline me this much".
Sunday night was full of one camper's continous temper tantrums (discovering later this child was slightly authistic, poor little guy) and a 3:00am Pee Cleaning. I was loving it already.
Monday and Tuesday my prayers were full of pleas for patience and love, as the 3 day camp wrapped up and I waved good-bye to the wonderful flesh bags a group of us jumped into a 1983 BMW and cruised Presque Isle, making the key stops of Wal-Mart and Tim Horton's.
The rest of the week I continued my teaching, of three 45 minute classes each day looking at a different charcter in the Bible who could have been a Carnie. Using various forms of interaction we had a blast watching, lions' devor corrupt officials of the king, sneaking a peak at Samson and Delilah's Romance, walking across tables as Peter walked on Water, and Torching Rocks with Elijah.
In between classes I had a chance to genuinely reconnect with many of my old campers, who are now staff. What shocked me most was I actually was enjoying teaching.. .children. When people asked how classes were going I could honestly answer, "I'm loving it".
It's awesome how when you open yourself up to whatever... God will not only use you, but you end up enjoying it.
For future reference, I stil have no desire to go into Children's ministry. This just means I'm able to tolerate the human vermon, alittle more. I do love children, just not the things they do. Like snot bubbles, and kicking each other, and crying, and whinning and interrupting and....well, you fill in the blanks.
When I was in Zambia I would drive by a large hill on my way to and from Lusaka. The top of this hill is where it is said David Livingstone stood and wept, For he saw "a thousand fires for a thousand souls who do not know the Lord".
Then when I was in Roanoke, VA I would often drive to the top of a mountain at night, where the Roanoke Star is and look out over the Roanoke Valley, and my mind would be haunted by the words of Livingstone as I saw the street lights, the porch lights, and the busy traffic lights. This time the words would be, " a hundred thousand lights for a hundred thousand souls who do not know the Lord" and then I would weep.
Now at River Valley, many times in our sanctuary, which happens to sit at the top of a hill in Grand Bay, I find myself being burdened to tears for the lost of our community in Grand Bay-Westfield.
While I was in Zambia one of the verses that the Lord kept laying on my heart was Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (NIV) and in this verse Jesus' standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem. I think it's pretty cool that I have always had a hill to overlook the place I'm ministering and experience what Jesus and David Livingstone experienced.
All this nostalgic banter leads me to this question, "Am I weird?" Does anyone else have these types of experiences, perhaps not on a mountain or hill, but does anyone else weep for the lost in their community. Do you some timeless feel overcome by the intensity of others helplessness?
I've noticed over the last little while that through the teenage years there is a change that occurs within each youth I know. You can stop the childish giggling because I'm not referring to puberty. While puberty maybe be linked to this change, I have discovered a worldview change within the youth.
In Middle School teens are pretty much game for anything and think the world of you. Just by the influx of your voice they burst in to cheers, giggles, or disgust. They believe we have their best interest in mind and fully trust our decisions.
Then High School comes along and there is a distinct line drawn, placing us with the adults and as one of the many who can't be trusted. There's a birth of cynicism within these once trusting teens. All of the sudden the cheers turn to leers. Whatever the project, they are "too cool" for anything an adult wants to do. We find ourselves having to prove ourselves over and over again, as the teens keep trying to discover, "what is the catch"?!
Amongst the cynicism there is a plea for guidance and a desire to trust. They stand at the line, leaning over, and waiting for us to whisper direction into their ear. In postmodern fashion they are covertly saying, "Show me the way, but I'm not asking for help"!
They hope the guidance they are given will be worth the price, they will one day pay, not believing our love comes free of charge.
Over the past half a decade I have come in contact with many church leaders and aspiring church leaders across denominational lines.
Through this exposure I have discovered there are two types of holiness in the church today. There is what I call Business Holiness and what I call Personal Holiness.
Business Holiness
This is the life we live in front of the crowd. These are the people to whom holiness is a profession rather than a lifestyle. Going through Bible college, and being in full time ministry, one naturally meets the those who are in the business of holiness, student and leader alike, the ones who say the right things and do the right things for the public eye. Yet in one on one relationships the holiness lacks.
The speech that pours out of their mouth is profane and full of gossip. Their actions corrupt. Others' importance to them is directly proportional to one's ability to advance their "career". They are the shining stars for all to see. They preach holiness, yet they do not truly know holiness. They are our modern day pharisees; pointing the pious finger outward.
Personal Holiness
In contrast to Business Holiness, along my journey I have met those who live holiness. These are the ones who have modeled a Christ-like lifestyle to me. They have taken the time for those the stars have cast aside. They see us and know we can not advance their "career", but see their ministry.
Their speech is full of encouragement and points us to the cross. They are transparent enough to allow us to see their passion and their pains. We are not held at arms length but embraced in love, as brothers or sisters. In these times, their struggles are revealed yet are shadowed by their thirst for Christ-likeness.
After having one of those intimate moments with those living Personal Holiness, I always find myself driven to be more like Christ and asking myself, "Am I in the Business of Holiness or am I living Personal Holiness?". Kindof a sobering thought for those of us in full-time ministry.
Is our holiness business or is it personal?
*Please understand is this blog is meant to spur us on to true
personal holiness and is not an attack on any specific individual.*
"And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. "
-Acts 2:44, NLT
This past weekend 12 churches from a multitude of denominations got together for Love Saint John. This began in Abbotsford, B.C. a few years back and has exploded across the country. Essentially churches put down their denominational arms and go forth as the body of Christ to show God's love in tactile ways. For example in our area, the Church cleaned up trash and then handed out bottles of water... after we washed our hands! In other areas of the city we handed out hot dogs and offered prayer. My personal favorite was a "cashless yard sale" (genius!!).
While the focus of the ministry is to reach out, over this weekend I could sense and visibly see ways the body of Christ was being knit together; as Baptist, Wesleyan, charismatic, Roman Catholic titles disappeared and brothers and sisters stood united for our Father's Kingdom!
This past weekend we were the Acts 2 church!
Preparing for ministry you constantly hear conversation about how poorly pastors are paid, or how this church pays their pastor more than that church. Recently there was a group of people together and they were praising a senior pastor, the comment was made, "He could easily make more money at another church" and then some one hushed them and said, "Don't let him know that, he may leave". Overhearing this conversation I whispered to a friend, "If your calling won't keep you, we don't want you"!
My personal opinion of "the call" is God calls individuals to full-time ministry. Then allows us to pick how we will fulfill that calling as we examine our "SHAPE", as Warren calls it. With this understanding I would also be predisposed to think that one could fulfill God's calling to full-time ministry in a large spectrum of ministries.
If one is called to full-time ministry salary should never be the determining factor in whether they remain at a church or not.
I would respect a pastor who left a church because he was not passionate about the ministry he was in, or he didn't feel his talents and or gifts did not match the ministry he was in far more than I would some who leaves a church because they don't pay him enough.
For those of you who know me, you would realize this is a drastic change in my previous opinion that salary should be a major factor in the decision to go to a church or not.
In Summary "your passion and God's peace should empower you to be at a church to fulfill your calling. If you do not have passion or peace then it's time to leave and fulfill your calling elsewhere".
Please comment and help me to develop these thoughts further.
So over the last month or so I have been receiving MSN messages asking, "What's up with your blog spot". I usually responded with, "it wasn't fulfilling its purpose so I trashed it". However, the requests have still been coming, so I have decided to resurrect this cyber valley of dry bones. To everyone I say, "You've brought this upon yourself"?
This past weekend our youth group went to May Rally and during one of the rallies I got nostalgic. I thought back to years ago when I was a teen and how I would stand in similar rallies with my hands raised and my heart humbled. There was a genuine contrite spirit that pleaded before the Lord to be made holy, with full anticipation that he would do it.
Fast forwarding to this weekend I began to ask myself this question, "What happened to your childlike faith"?
As we "grow up" it seems we build a callousness around our hearts and a cynicism around our minds, all to protect "US". Our faith has shrunk from a mustard seed to an atom. The God we once praised for being able to conquer death and shake the foundations of the earth, we no longer feel safe to give our heart's desires to. We chain the Lion of Judah to our realm of understanding . YHWH has become a security blanket. We no longer, rely on the Bread of Life for our daily bread. Warm fuzzies he can give us, but we need to take care of our real needs.
"When did growing up turn into our faith dieing"?
