Ok, back to the blog. Given what is going on in the world, it's time for a post. I'm also migrating from Blogger to Wordpress, but sadly, when I copy the posts, I lose the comments.  

The killing of the 21 Egyptian Christians has caused a resurgence of discussion among Christians regarding our response to the persecution carried out by ISIS.  There are two extreme views that seem to surface.  On one extreme there are people who want to kill the persecutors because they deserve it, on the other extreme, there are people who believe we are helpless to do anything so we should just ignore it and get on with our lives. 

As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. How can we balance fighting injustice with turning the other cheek?  Aren't we instructed to do both? This post will be the first blog of two.  This one will get to the heart of the matter and the following post will talk about what we do about it.

First of all justice.  God is a God of justice; it is in his nature. Justice is seen throughout the Old Testament because God was judging his people based on the Law, rules that would reveal their sinfulness in comparison to a holy God. When they disobeyed, they got what they deserved. Then Jesus came and things changed. God didn't change, but his relationship with his people looked different.  Jesus was to proclaim justice to the nations (Matt 12:18).  He brought justice through victory over death (Matt 12:20).  He taught that the most important matters of the law are justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt 23:23). Jesus wants people to repent and has set a day to judge the world (Acts 17:31) and that the sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of his kingdom (Heb 1:8).  At the end of days, when the wrath of God is poured out, Jesus, the Rider on the white horse, will judge with justice as he wages war (Rev 19:11).

Justice is still in God's nature because he is unchanging.  But there's one Scripture at the end that shows me that we haven't seen the half of it yet.

⁹ When he (Jesus) opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. REVELATION 6:9-10

So, why doesn't God wipe out the killers and avenge the blood of the 21? Because there are others still to die. 

This can either be seen as sick or beautiful.  I believe it is beautiful.  I look at them and realize the value of what Christ did for me, and how he strengthened them when they were faced with death, and how he's preparing others, maybe even me, to stand strong and face the same fate.

The story of Stephen in Acts  7  is beautiful.  He did not call his friends to get bigger stones.  Instead he endured a gruesome death, for presenting Christ and challenging religion. As they were killing him, he was asking God to forgive his killers, echoing the words of Jesus. 

I am not the judge of someone's immortal soul.  What would those who sacrificed their lives think about someone killing their killers?  Would they be ok with it, or would they weep for them and for us? I have a suspicion that it would be the latter.

I believe that vengeance is the Lord's, he will repay (Romans 12:19). I am not the Rider and the time of vengeance is not here yet. There is a day set aside for that. I'm not quite sure how we can choose war when Jesus was very clear we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Can we kill someone and love them at the same time?

I will remember to pray for the persecuted and their persecutors. I am praying for their persecutors to experience a revelation of God, just like Paul had. If someone kills the murderers, their chances of repentance are significantly reduced and God wants all men to come to repentance, that is why he waits.  That is why the Rider has not yet come. Who is in control here, us or God?

Persecution strengthens the living. I wonder if the Egyptian martyrs knew that they were strengthening the faith of believers around the world by taking their stand? I want to be one who honours the beautiful deaths of the 21 by valuing what they valued and standing for what they stood for. 

Lest you think I'm just going to go to the other extreme, stick my head in the sand and pretend this isn't happening, tune in for tomorrow's post. 

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

This is a follow up to my previous post. I recently picked up a piece of fiction, Deadline by Randy Alcorn. I've discovered over the years that I am too cheap to buy fiction novels which is why I've only read one over the past ten years until last week. Deadline I bought for a dollar, so I figured that even if I hated it, I wouldn’t have wasted much money. I was pleasantly surprised by this book on the discount pile. First of all, it took a couple of chapters just to build the characters. This can be annoying when you are waiting for the story to start. However, when you get into the story line it is easy to see why this depth of character development was so necessary. The book is about three friends, one, Finney, a follower of Christ, another, Doc, antagonistic to Christ, and the main character, Jake, who is caught in the middle. While Jake lives his life similar to Doc, he has a respect for Finney. A crisis occurs that rocks Jake’s world. If I told any more than this, I would be giving away the book. What impressed me most about the book, was not the general storyline but how it was written. The characters were very real and the book even showed the conversations Jake and the others have even with themselves. The debates and questions in their minds were very real. Alcorn also does a good job at describing heaven or hell. He takes a little liberties with the angels but also has a disclaimer at the back of the book. Even still how he describes different aspects of heaven or hell was well done. Something else impressive demonstrates how to live like a Christian in a world that does not have the same moral standards. It confronts some of the big issues but also portrays a realistic view of persecution for standing up for what’s right. This book covered so many aspects of the Christian life that I actually felt that the book drew me closer to God and strengthened my spiritual walk.

Deadline was so good that I wanted to run right back out and buy the sequel at full price. When I got to the bookstore, I learned that the sequel was not in bookstores - very depressing. So I asked the clerk if she had read any of the fiction books on the shelves. She said she was a Ted Dekker fan and had read all of his books. She recommended a stand alone novel to me and even though it was ten dollars, I bought Three. Three's plot started on page two, Dekker wasted no time. The plot was good, with mysterious main character and twist at the end. When I was finished reading, I felt I had read a good story but I was definitely not drawn to God through it. I had just wasted an entire day reading and thought to myself that it was one day I would never get back. Now in fairness to Dekker, I really should read another one of his works before I judge. But I have to wonder why he is so popular. His books take up almost two whole bookshelves at the store, whereas, other authors only have a couple of books each. Then I was reminded of Christian consumerism. There might not be anything Christian about about a book accept for a label. If something is labelled Christian then we seem to think it is ok. We do not have to be convicted about the use of our time because it is “Christian.” In this sense, “Christian” means simply that they took out the smut and crude language. So it is cleaner, but in reality it wouldn’t necessarily even have to be written by a Christian - any moral person could have written it without being a follower of Christ. Is not using bad words and not sleeping around all it means to be a Christian? Isn’t there a deeper more fundamental teaching that needs to go out?

And so in the span of three days I read two contrasting novels. Both were of the suspense genre. One author took full advantage of the platform writing a novel gave him and preached the gospel. The other wrote a novel that provided a Christian with a little suspense in their lives for as long as they read the book. In Alcorn’s book the characters were strengthened in their faith. In Dekker’s book the characters seemed to weaken in their faith and be more concerned with religion than faith. Alcorn’s book was endorsed by Frank Peretti, one of my favorite authors and Dekker had written a book with Peretti. Funny how there are so many similarities and yet one fundamental difference. And so I ask - Why are we not more discerning with what we buy and how we spend our time? Why do we fall prey to the Christian money making machine?

It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA

I was listening to CBC the other morning and I was amazed when I heard the Public Service Announcements. The first PSA was for an event held by a group in the city. This was not a Christian organization, but for some reason I knew I had heard this announcement before. I was saying it along with the announcer in my mind. After she finished describing the event that would be filled with music and special guests, she went on to add the last line, one that I new off by heart - “We hope you’ll join us for a time of fun, food and _____.” My mind filled in “fellowship” but the lady said “entertainment.” Even though that last word was different, the announcement itself was identical to the announcements I’ve heard for church events. In most announcements for church events, there is usually nothing particularly spiritual about them. The only thing different is the word “fellowship” - no prayer, no worship, no praise. But what does “fellowship” mean? I have gone to Christian events full of “fun (usually corny jokes and a couple of games), food (stuffing oursleves is something we always do well - it is really the main event and everyone knows that if you don’t have food people won’t show up), and fellowship (the rest of the world calls it hanging out). Very few times does “fellowship” leave me with anything more than the joy that I get being with my friends who do not believe in God. This makes me wonder if our version of fellowship today makes a mockery of what the Bible said when it describes the early church as being “devoted to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Maybe it’s just me but when I hear that we are going to have “fun, food and fellowship,” it makes me not want to attend that event. How different is the church today different than the world we live in? If we are to be a shining light, if we are to expect people to take notice, if we are to point people to Jesus, how will this happen when our light has blended in so well with the darkness. I long for more...

The second PSA was from a church. After hearing the first one, I was interested to hear this one. However, I was sorely disappointed. The announcement was for a fundraising concert for the church building project. The performers were listed and it was stated that the music would be “classical, sacred and secular.” What does that mean exactly? Once again there appears to be no difference between the church and the local community center. What would Jesus say to the church today? I think he would saddened as his body - his hands, his feet - got together for “fun, food and fellowship” listening to “classical, sacred and secular” instead of going out into the harvest fields. Time is short...

“You say that I’m coming back soon, but you act like I’ll never return” - Keith Green

The Ready Reader

People ask me: So what books are you reading or what are your all time favorite books? Well I've decided to post them here. Some will be current, others will be awesome ones I have read over the years.

A good book on leadership. Only the second one I've ever finished - I usually find them terribly carnal. This one was really good. He challenges some basic church structures and traditions. I found it a refreshing view on leadership. It gets better as you read it too, so you have to finish it. I almost put it down near the middle but kept going and I'm glad I did. I would recommend this to anyone in church leadership because it will stretch you - and its healthy to be stretched - It lets you find out where your limits are and then you have to question them.

This book is not for the easily offended. You will throw it out before you finish the first chapter.

The only annoying thing is that Cole promotes his products, but I just ignore that and take the meat out it. Believe me there is a lot to chew on. Much of what he says matches my personal values of what the church should look like - no paid clergy, multiple leaders, etc. However, this ideal is not always a reality, especially if the church has been in existence for a while and did not start with these principles. I enjoy that he did talk about this and that he's pretty balanced in his expectations of established churches. I found this book primarily written for church planters (which is what he's all about).

The First Commandment

A great message by Shelley Hundley that we probably need to listen to in this day: http://todayandthatday.podOmatic.com

Eulogy for Civi

Well today I finally had to retire my 1996 Honda Civic. In her memory, I have written a eulogy.

Loved by me and misunderstood by most it was a very sad day. Civi may have been old and feeble, but she had personality. She (yes my car was a "she") lived to see 13 good years. Well maintained by me and her previous owner, her underneath just got too brittle to keep going. Even in her last days she had comfortable seats and shifted easily. Civi will be mourned by me...and probably only by me. Her final resting place will most likely be the junk heap and her organs (whatever is left of them) will be donated. In lieu of flowers, please send Shawna some money so she can make the payments on her new car!

The View from Here

I was working on my computer on Friday and I worked right through the morning news, Regis and Kelly, and then The View came on. This snapped me out of what I was doing - not because they were having some loud obnoxious conversation but because of the topic they were discussing. They were talking about the Angels and Demons movie.

**As a side note: I read The DaVinci Code book and then watched the movie. I was glad I read the book first because the movie just scratched the surface. I will do the same thing with Angels and Demons - read the book first.

Anyway, they briefly talked about the movie and then Barbara asked the question about whether or not the ladies believed in an afterlife. Barbara and Joy said they did not. They say we just cease to exist. Sherri said she believed in an afterlife. Whoopi said she wasn't sure but she was going to say yes in order to keep all of her bases covered. Then Tom Hanks and Ron Howard came on and Barbara asked them the same question. Tom said he did not believe in an afterlife. Ron Howard said that he wasn't sure. While he would like to say he did not believe, there was something inside of him that makes him wonder about it.

I find it fascinating that we live in a day and age where the topic of an afterlife is one of the main topics of a talk show and that everyone on the panel can feel free to express their opinions honestly. I also find it interesting that there are so many different opinions among that small group of people. That small group is most likely a sample of our larger society.

I wish I was on The View. I have some things to say...oh wait...I get to have discussions everyday with people I know, who are asking the same questions! The media can pump a lot of crap into our society, but it also provides Christians with great opportunities to share the truth about Christ and most people are very interested in listening.

Simplicity

Have you ever had so much to blog that you can't get your thoughts straight? I wish I could just transfer what is in my brain right to the page. I suppose that's what I get from taking so long to blog again. I've rewritten this so many times and what I ended up with is this summary of where we are at.

The people of God (at least in our area) are being taught by God in a very deep way right now. Many Christians seem to be getting very serious about their faith, studying the Scripture, and praying less to get God to move and more to hear Him.

As a church we coming to grips with the fact that our great ideas are not what God wants. We can engineer church because we are good at it, but that is not God's way. Church growth models and plans that we read in books are not what God desires. And so we are continually moving toward more and more simplicity.

We can no longer depend on men or men's products to change society. A move of God is the only thing and so we are encouraging people to seek Him. Sounds simple, sounds basic, sounds Scriptural, but how much does the church really do this? And if we do this, is it really the core of our Christian community or an add on? Maybe we need to take away some of our supports and see if we sink or swim...I'll keep you posted.

Getting Sassy Back

Wow June 17th huh? I am such a bad blogger. I was reading Hurd's blog today and discovered that I have become brain dead. Everytime I read his blog I laugh so hard that my eyes water and my nose runs. As I was reading his blog, I discovered that I no longer get to think for fun. Instead I'm forced to think about things like curriculum, gender, wait time, multiculturalism, inclusion, etc. All of these things would be great if I could think of them on my own time without having an assignment to do on them. Every time I get the urge to blog I think about the time I would be wasting that I could be spending on school work. In fact, I'm thinking about that right now.

Contemplating random things in life was the purpose for this blog and so I need to go back to doing that. Right now I am neither creative nor funny. I really need to get my sassy back. I think my next blog will be written as I watch Obama's inauguration - US politics is usually a good time, although not nearly as funny as Canadian politics... (Dion's cell phone video to Canadians - case in point, totally hilarious).

Gay Haters?

As I was watching the news this morning and they were talking about how SanFransico legalized gay marriage, I felt angry and sick. Not because of gay marriage, but because there were people outside the courthouse protesting the legalization with signs that said "God Hates Fags" and "Fags Will Burn In Hell." These signs made me disgusted because of what they say to our society. and more importantly, what they say to people we know and love who are involved in homosexual relationships.

I became so angry and disgusted, wondering who these people were. Where do they come from? Who told them that nasty, hateful signs are how we engage our culture? They portray the stereotype of Christians who think everyone (except them) is evil and unloved by God. I do not want to be lumped in with these people, but every time someone pulls a stunt like this it happens to me anyway. In the eyes of many, I become a gay hater even though I am not. I wish these protesters would wake up and gain an understanding of the heart of God. I wonder if they know anyone who is gay. I wonder if they have any friends or family members who are gay. I wonder if they have ever just listened to their gay friend speak about their life.

I personally have a conservative view on homosexuality because there are parts in the Bible that we can't just ignore. We cannot choose passages we like and leave those we don't like. However, I think we need to be careful in how we express our beliefs. We can be open and honest about them, we do not need to hide them. But we need to make sure we are entering into discussion with people who don't agree with us, not just yelling and waving signs. Open dialogue is needed if we are to gain an understanding and the ability to have compassion for our world that is required of us as Christians. We also need to be careful that we don't focus on one issue. In 1 Corinthians 6 where homosexuality is mentioned, heterosexual immorality is also mentioned, as are slanderers, theives, alcoholics and those who are greedy. We need to be careful, when we cast stones at the courthouse, that we are also not among that list. Jesus warned us over and over about the dangers of self-righteousness, so how have Christians, Jesus' followers, become so good at it? Many other issues are mentioned throughout the Bible and I've become convinced over the years that pretty well everyone has their thing that they struggle with. Why have we elevated homosexuality as the unpardonable sin?

It appears to me that the protesters do not care too much about transformation but more about condemnation. But, just like the protesters don't know the people in the courthouse, I don't know the protesters either. So I guess I need to wait to jump to any conclusions until I get a chance to speak with one of them. What I wish the world knew is that NONE of the Christians I know personally (and they are many) hold the belief that "God Hates Fags", nor would they ever hold a sign stating it.

Blogging Democracy

So why do some people hate bloggers? Blogging is quite possibly the truest form of democracy that exists in our society today. Through blogging, anyone can have their say and others can get informed and hear different points of view. I don't like hurtful blogs or when people plaster their views on the internet without thinking about what they are saying. We need to be thoughtful and considerate in our blogging while at the same time being free to give our opinions. Transparency and asking questions are important to my generation and probably will be to those coming after me. Blogging is becoming a way of life and we need to get used to it. Just look at news programming and political talk shows. These guys are always discussing bloggers' comments because blogs often demonstrate the attitudes of the masses - something that those of us leading the masses must always consider.

Dave sent me the link of Keith Drury's blog (http://wesleyanstuff.blogspot.com/)on the General Conference of the Wesleyan Church. Every four years delegates from the Wesleyan Church worldwide gather to deal with issues affecting the church at large. This is an event that most people will never get to, but Drury delivered a play-by-play on his blog. He talked about elections and which memorials passed. He also talked about the overall atmosphere and attitude of the conference. Drury's blog provides a way for anyone who has access to the internet an inside look into General Conference. To me this is enlightening and important. The shroud of mystery that surrounds GC no longer exists thanks to bloggers. That might make some people uneasy, but isn't it important to have people thinking about important issues and how they relate to their local church?

At the close of the conference yesterday, Drury said that the people he talked to were encouraged by the direction of the WC. He says this is because the people believe they took some of their power back. This is demonstrated by some of the memorials which were not approved by the delegates. The memorials not approved were mostly those which would give more power to headquarters and decrease local autonomy (If you care to know what the memorials were, you can find them at http://www.wesleyan.org/gc/). Local churches and districts want to have their say. Many of the memorials approved increased the power of local chuches and districts. This is a very positive move in eyes of many (obviously, they voted for it!).

Another thing that people apparently felt positive about was the election of JoAnne Lyon to the upper ranks of the WC. You can read Drury's comments about this on his blog as well as the views of those who left their comments. I think I'll comment on this tomorrow because it is an interesting turn of events. Not because she is a woman, but because she is seen as the peoples' candidate - once again, the masses taking a little bit of their power back.

Oh Disrespectful Canada!

I love living in Canada mainly due to government healthcare and our disrespect for pretty much everything. I was watching the news this morning and they had a live feed announcing the Juno nominees. This was both the lamest and the funniest thing I have watched and was definitely the highlight of my morning.

First of all it looked and sounded like someone set up the backdrop and a sound system in their garage. Then some lady, I think she was the head of CTV, got up to introduce the host for this years Junos. She must have had about seven cue cards for about 4 lines, stumbled through what she wanted to say and mispronounced one of the performer's names so badly she had to appologize. So, I'm thinking why didn't CTV put on someone who is used to public speaking?

The host for this year is a comedian who tells mostly racial jokes. In his comments he mentioned that he was the first non-white Juno host and proceeded to overpronounce and make fun of all of the French names of nominees. THEN as if he wasn't enough on the edge, he said that he would never watch the Junos and made fun of one of the corporate sponsors! He was proceeded by a couple of bands who were reading off nominees but looked as though they had never read the cue cards before (which by the way, had the same 6 names on them each time so they should have been paying attention and they would have picked it up). Measha Brueggergosman was the funniest and the only one who actually spoke as though she had prepared.

I thought this was so funny! As I listened to this I thought, "only in Canada, eh?" In Canada we are not impressed by fame or money. It is almost appauling to our senses. We make fun of the famous and the rich. We make fun of ourselves, our politicians, our neighbours to the south, everyone. If you are in the public eye, you will be made fun of. This makes me glad to be Canadian. I am glad that we do not bow down and worship those with a lot of cash. Comedy seems to be how Canadian peasants take their power back in a weird kind of way.

Here's how I think the Junos started. Two people from CTV were sitting at Tim Hortons one day when one guy said, "So, I was watching the Grammy's last night eh, and I was thinkin' that we could make a lot of money if we made a Canadian version of the show." His friend said, "Yeah, we have some good talent in Canada. My neighbour has a band called "Ice Fishin'" that plays at the bar down the street there, he might like to be in it."

Sore and Lazy

Well I have nothing deep to write today that's for sure. I am sitting at the university library during a snowstorm. My class has been cancelled and this would be prime paper writing time. But noooooo I choose to blog about nothing becuase I don't want to write the introduction to a thesis or a commentary report about the US media giants. I would much rather read friends' blogs and veg out. I have so much to do this week that my brain might explode and so I justify blogging by claiming I am doing it for my mental health. But really...why do I do this???

I hate philosophy by the way. I have no desire to throw around opinions on concepts that have been chewed on for hundreds of years. People have devoted their lives to these things and still noone knows the answer! How frustrating. I would get an F in a few of my classes if I was caught saying this. "F" is for frustrating.

I went to the gym again today and I'll probably feel it tomorrow. I had a hard time raising my hands in church on Sunday because my arms were so sore from last week's upper body workout. Oh well, that's what you get when you slack off and lose all your strength and have to get it back. T-Rex will have her muscles back.

Speaking of muscles...I love the show American Gladiators. I am stuck with the suspicion that the gladiators rarely truly try to take out the competitor. I mean really, they could beat the snot out of those people if they really wanted to.

Now I must go and get it over with....

Overseas Mission Myth #2

MYTH #2 - IF WE ARE INVOLVED IN BUILDING ANYTHING, WE TAKE JOBS AWAY FROM LOCAL PEOPLE.

Sometimes this is a myth and sometimes it is not. Just as we cannot go to other countries and do things that may take away from the local economy, we also cannot generalize about what the results of our actions will be.

The way to make sure this is a myth is to check out how your building project works. If you are paying a flat rate for a building no matter how soon it is finished, and if you are hiring the same amount of workers that would be hired if you were not there, then you are not taking money or jobs from the local economy. If you are paying less money or hiring less people, then this myth may in fact be truth. If you check it out first then you can be sure about what you are doing.

When we travel, we pay a flat rate for our building and hire local maestros and workers. Also, the family often works on their own home (similar to the Habitat for Humanity system). We do not care how quickly or slowly we get the job done because it will be built even if we leave. Often our role is to talk with the family or play with the children. I mean really who are we trying to kid?? We do not know how to build with cinder blocks and a machete! The reason we do building projects is to meet the people and have a chance to share the gospel. Our partners in Guatemala see the buildings as a way for the church to make contact with families.

So, no need to worry about this myth if you do your homework first!

Overseas Mission Myth #1

After a semester long hiatus, I am back to blogging. There have been so many times I have thought of things to write but didn't have the time to do so. We'll see how long this lasts. I'll probably stop when I have to start writing papers again.

Anyway, we are going to Africa on Feb 28th which inspires me to write this series of blogs on church work overseas. There some common myths about overseas work that are floating around out there. These myths relate to short-term trips to foreign countries.


MYTH #1 - IT IS FINANCIALLY WASTEFULL TO SEND PEOPLE ON SHORT-TERM TRIPS OVERSEAS.
This is a total myth. This statement comes from a North American mindset that money is of primary importance. To the majority of the world survival is important and many Christians will sacrifice even their survival for sharing the gospel. What is more meaningful than money is the support and encouragement from believers on the other side of the world. The fact that someone cares enough to spend their money and take the time to come and visit you, speaks more than a cheque ever could. Most people do not want to be charity cases and have money thrown at them. However, they, like us, can use encouragement and support through prayer, acts of service, etc. When we visit other countries even for a short time, we get a glimpse of what daily life is like for the people we meet. We hear their stories and learn about them and their culture. We see their sacrifice and their needs. This makes us pray with understanding, serve where needed, and give when appropriate. It is a lot easier sometimes just to write a cheque, than it is to become a student and learn from others.

When we return to our country we can raise money for what is needed or raise awareness of the prayer needs. It is easier to do this when you have seen and experienced what you are talking about. One thing that our partners tell us is that they want to us to share our experiences with the people back home. For them it is more important that the people here know what is going on with them, than it is for them to only get some cash. Luis Martinez our partner in Guatemala tells of when he was offered thousands of dollars by a businessman. The businessman said that he would never support another person to go overseas short-term again because it was a waste of money and instead he would write Luis a cheque for the amount it would cost to send someone short-term. Luis told the businessman that he should keep his money because "money doesn't have eyes."

Tibetan Flip Flops

Quite often I think of some very random questions in my mind, and wonder such things as "What is the average lifespan of a squirrel?" - which is 6 by the way, but some live until 10.

Last night I asked Mike whether or not people living in Tibet would wear flip flops. He proceeded to give a thoughtful and scholarly answer to this burning question.

"There once was a guy who lived in Tibet named Chow Yong Meng. Chow Yong Meng liked the looks of the flip flops he saw online, so he ordered a pair from flipflop.com. They were all he dreamed they would be and more. He loved the way the fabric felt between his toes.

But someone else was also attracted by his flip flops. The Yeti loved the bright color and the sound of Chow Yong Meng's sandals - flip,flop,flip,flop. The Yeti began stalking and chasing Chow Yong Meng in order to have the flip flops for himself. Chow Yong Meng found it difficult to outrun the Yeti in his new flip flops, which while fashionable were not exactly functional for running away from Yetis in the snow. Chow Yong Meng could not outrun the Yeti anymore, and soon met his demise.

And so people in Tibet wear boots and not flip flops, but somewhere there is a very stylish Yeti with his very own pair."

Square Peg in a Round Hole

The question that I have been asking for the last couple of years is why do I carry the title "pastor"? Why do a lot of us carry that title, when in fact, we may not even have the pastoral gift? There are more equipping gifts than just pastors (prophets, evangelists, apostles, teachers) but we only seem to license people as pastors or "special workers".

So what about me? I fall into that other group. Luckily, I am in a place where I can use my giftings as I like, even while having a label that doesn't fit me. But what about those who cannot? Is this maybe while people feel tired in ministry? People expect certain things from you because you carry a certain type of stamp. This can be frustrating and tiring.

I think it would be great if we would recognize church leadership (those who equip the saints for the work of the ministry) as having some variety. A gifts-based ministry where everyone is passionate about what they do, and are energized by it instead of fatigued. I think we are going that way, so that gives me hope.

Barth or McLaren? hmmm....

You scored as Karl Barth,The daddy of 20th Century theology. You perceive liberal theology to be a disaster and so you insist that the revelation of Christ, not human experience, should be the starting point for all theology.

Which theologian are you?
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The Imaginary Pet

Here's a question. So get your thinkin' caps on (that includes you Antonio Martinez) cause this one's deep. The nature of the kingdom of God is often debated so let's hear your opinions.

What is the kingdom Jesus talked about?

What implications does that have for us?


P.S. I am reading the book This Beautful Mess by Rick McKinley. I like it so far - refreshing and thought provoking - but I'm not sure I agree with him yet.

Ox Bile Holds No Attraction For Me.

Check this out! I was at the university running some errands, got lunch at Tim's, and sat in front of the library and picked up this weeks issue of [here]. On the front page, the title is "Generation Wired Gets Loaded on More Than Just Energy". I hate those dumb energy drink things and this article just gave me more ammo. The actual article on the inside is by Melanie Taylor called "A Wired Generation Gets Their Buzz On, But At What Cost? [here] explores crack in a can."

Now here's the gross part...Energy drinks also contain a main ingredient called Taurine, which the article says, hasn't been tested in any long-term studies. Taurine is an acid that is found in human bile and in other tissues. It helps with muscular contractions to break down your food. In the case of energy drinks, it is isolated from ox bile - probably where Red Bull gets its name - Bleck!

It is believed that Taurine can play a role in the development of seizures. A study of rats fed high amounts of Taurine exhibited a high level of anxiety, irritability, increased sensitivity to noise and even self-mutilation. Sound like anyone you know?? Maybe they need to get off the ox bile.

Taurine was just one ingredient - there were others in the article. And there actually is an energy drink called Cocaine.