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).