Exegeting Life

Upcoming Speaking engagements

2010-10-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

Hey friends from the bloggosphere,

Some of you have asked about when I am speaking next. Here are a few dates, feel free to check them out if you are in the area:

November 3rd -Heritage College Chapel 11:00am
November 20th -Men's Breakfast - Grace Ministries (3180 Grand Marias) 8:00am
November 21st -New Song Church - Restorative Justice Sunday 11:00am
November 28th - Alliston Baptist Church 9:00am
December 5th -Parkwood Gospel Temple -Young Adults Gathering 7:00pm

Seeya there!

Good times at HPAC

2009-07-16T17:21:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Heritage Park young adults for a great time on Monday night!

I found it to be very encouraging to hear about all the ways God is working in the lives of these students. Many came up to me after my message to chat about how God is impacting their life. This was inspiring and humbling. We can easily forget that everyone around us has a story to tell. There is no such thing as a 'shallow' person. There is even depth to one's supposed shallowness.

I hope to be back at HPAC's young adults group soon.

Keep having the fresh eyes and ears to see God's kingdom handiwork, which usually is in unusual, and unexpected places.

Yours truly,
Rielly

Monday Night Live -Heritage Park Alliance- July 13th

2009-07-08T12:43:00.002-04:00

I will be joining Heritage Park Alliance' young adults on July 13th for their Monday Night Live. I'd like to invite you to attend, (you won't find much else to do on a Monday night in Windsor). Come here about chaplaincy, life, relationships, and Jesus.

My topic is "The Art of Presence Giving". I will be exploring the implications of God giving us this ancient, timeless, mysterious, and yet healing embodiment called His Presence. From what I gather, the event revolves around a cafe/worship/speaker type of atmosphere. Come as you are.

The event starts at 6pm and I think closes up shop around 10pm.

Here is the link http://www.filled2spill.org/index.cfm?i=8243&mid=4&ministryid=19994

Grace and Peace

Rielly

Books to journey with...

2009-07-03T15:12:00.007-04:00

I've always loved introducing books to people. Here are a few titles I am, and will be, chewing on. The art of spiritual reading has largely been lost in the church today, it seems that if Christians read at all, it will be more for the sake of cold hard facts than the reflective work it takes to understand God's world, and God's work in you. Here are some titles that may inspire you to think creatively and refreshingly about the your life in Christ.

Colossians Remixed
Subverting the Empire

by Brian J. Walsh (Author), Sylvia C. Keesmaat (Author)

Have we really heard the message of Colossians? Is this New Testament book just another religious text whose pretext is an ideological grab for dominating power? Reading Colossians in context, ancient and contemporary, can perhaps give us new ears to hear. In this innovative and refreshing book Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat explain our own sociocultural context to then help us get into the world of the New Testament and get a sense of the power of the gospel as it addressed those who lived in Colossae two thousand years ago. Their reading presents us with a radical challenge from the apostle Paul for today. Drawing together biblical scholarship with a passion for authentic lives that embody the gospel, this groundbreaking interpretation of Colossians provides us with tools to subvert the empire of our own context in a way that acknowledges the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Features & Benefits

* Introduces a groundbreaking new approach to New Testament studies

* Informed by thorough biblical scholarship

* Passionately explores the relevance of the message of Colossians for today

Culture Making: Recovering Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling
by Andy Crouch (Author)

It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture or to copy culture. Most of the time, we just consume culture. But the only way to change culture is to create culture.

Andy Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and have waged misguided "culture wars." But we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed us to be. Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us. By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making.

Crouch unpacks the complexities of how culture works and gives us tools for cultivating and creating culture. He navigates the dynamics of cultural change and probes the role and efficacy of our various cultural gestures and postures. Keen biblical exposition demonstrates that creating culture is central to the whole scriptural narrative, the ministry of Jesus and the call to the church. He guards against naive assumptions about "changing the world," but points us to hopeful examples from church history and contemporary society of how culture is made and shaped. Ultimately, our culture making is done in partnership with God's own making and transforming of culture.

A model of his premise, this landmark book is sure to be a rallying cry for a new generation of culturally creative Christians. Discover your calling and join the culture makers.

Jesus isn't a Product

2009-06-23T10:56:00.007-04:00

I find it really interesting that telemarketers and big business will take great liberties to try to 'convert' me to their products, especially in the light of our culture's distaste for prostylization. At the end of the day it boils down to one message, "Is your life empty? Are you missing something? This: (fill in the blank), is the answer to that empty space." It sounds absurd when put this way, I know; but if you really listen to most commercials, the underlying message is the same whether implicit or explicit. Advertisers need to convincingly create a two step process in the consumer's mind:

(1) there is an unfulfilled need in your life (whether this is true or not),
(2) their product is the answer to that need (where this is true or not).

Often times the appeal to consumers is sexual. The advertiser appeals to natural, God-given sexuality; however, the created sexual need is constructed into grandiose fantasy, which in-turn is presented as true (normal) sexual identity. Knowing full well that no male or female viewer has this kind of experience with sexuality, the advertiser creates the need for sexual fulfillment that does not exist, and not to mention much less then the real thing! Meanwhile, their product is the center that links the world of reality and fantasy together.

You may say, "boy Rielly, you have a pretty low view of people, are we all mindless automatons manipulated at every turn?" I do not think we are manipulated easily, people are indeed smart; and yet, this intelligence is used to concede to our deepest human needs. I believe we allow ourselves, or dare I say, we choose to be consumed by consumerism.

This is the danger of living in a free-market economy. Sure there are benefits, but the question is one of presuppositions and influence. None are neutral, we are all influenced by something. No one is presuppositionally unbiased. Because we live in a free-market economy we must ask ourselves how much of this consumerist mindset we have allowed into our worldview, values, and approach to faith.

When we speak of Jesus, do we present it as a product to purchase? Is it a formula or a relationship? Do we use advertising manipulation: (1) do you feel empty and unsatisfied? (2) if you accept Jesus, all your emptiness and dissatisfaction in life will be gone? Is Jesus a pill to take? A vacuum cleaner to buy? A bed-of-roses solution? A get-out-hell free card?

When we establish our relationship with God, do we see it as transactional? Do I expect a return for my service? Do I treat God as a salesman who presents me with a service in return for my devotion? This is not to say that God does not offer us joy and a host of gifts like beauty, truth, wisdom, and earthly blessings; but why?

Grace.

There is no even level transaction. God is not a peddler of divine gifts.

As the Scriptures say, "...not that we loved God, but that God loved us..." God gives because that's what He loves to do, give completely freely and unconditionally. There is no business transaction.

Is God present in our lives, not for what we think we need, but for a life-long journey of struggles, joys, pains and pleasures? It is not a quick fix. C'mon, life will be tough! Let's start presenting an honest message! Your life will not necessarily be better circumstantially. But instead of living life on your own, in your own wisdom, for yourself; there is someone who invites you into something much bigger than your own wants or needs.

As Donald Miller aptly writes,

Because we live in a constant sales enviornment where we are told a certain car will make us sexy or a certain dishwashing detergent will be a miracle for our dishes, we assume the gospel of Jesus works the same way, that is, if we invest something, we get something more back. But this is not the case. To understand what the Bible explains Jesus' gospel to be, we must look to each other, to the way a father interacts with a child, a bride to a bridegroom, a doctor to a patient. When we let go of the idea of Jesus as a product and embrace Him as a being, our path to spiritual maturity begins.(http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/searching.php)

The Staggering Question

2009-06-01T10:14:00.003-04:00

He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— "O Lord God, You know" ( Ezekiel 37:3 ). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, "Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done."

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

"Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . ." ( Ezekiel 37:12 ). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My "grave" has been opened by God and "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" ( Romans 7:18 ). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.

-Oswald Chambers

Wasaga Beach!

2009-05-24T18:01:00.002-04:00

For those of you interested, I'm taking some holidays this week to spend time with family, old friends, and to rest. I'm pumped to be headed up north! If you read my blog and live north of Toronto, drop me a line, and I'd be glad to connect over a cup of coffee.

From June 1st to the 4th I'll be at MBC (Muskoka Bible Conference) leading worship for our denomination's pastor's conference, and back in Windsor on the 4th or 5th.

I'm grateful for your prayers as I travel and involve myself in formal and informal ministry.

you are loved.

Rielly

Downtown Toronto Starbucks & Mount Sinai

2009-05-15T20:21:00.003-04:00

Starbucks is the same everywhere! Even when I was in England, to find the comforts of home, I sat in a London Starbucks and ordered my favorite drink.

This time it is no different as I gaze out the window at the Toronto downtown.

I came up to the big city for a visit to Mount Sinai Hospital. My brother just had his surgery to reattach what is left of his bowel and intestinal track. For those of you who know, ulcerative colitis has been quite the roller coaster ride for Randall. But thanks to the ingenuity of God's creative gift of intellect and science, he was able to have his colostomy bag removed and everything put back inside and back to normal. God has answered some big prayers in our family!

Randall is now in recovery, and will continue to have major steps of recovery for about one month. I humbly ask you for your continued prayers: his pain can be unbearable at moments, and that these trials would serve to be opportunities for spiritual steps closer to Jesus.

Maranatha

Rielly

Modernity, Postmodernity, and Beyond

2009-05-04T17:49:00.003-04:00

"Postmodernity is about announcing the doctrine of the Fall to arrogant Modernity, but the doctrine of the Fall is never the last word. The task of the church today is to announce redemption, not to a chastened Modernity; but pointing to somewhere we have not yet arrived." -N.T. Wright

When I Go Back To Jail

2009-04-24T14:24:00.006-04:00

I go back to jail when an offender breaks their parole.

Lately, I've gone back to jail quite a few times.

Buzzed through a few large steel doors, locked in a small room, waiting for a friend to visit with me. It doesn't sound like the ideal pastoral environment, and trust me, its not.

Life becomes very simple, very quickly.

I'm not allowed to bring my cell phone while I'm inside, so passing the time by frolicking through blackberry applications was not an option. A lot of waiting happens when you are in prison. My mind wanders as I look at the puke coloured walls, and oddly enough there is a picture of the Queen practically embedded into the wall above the door I entered through. I wonder what effect seeing the Queen of England would have upon a prison inmate? Look out Mr. Inmate, the Queen is watching you! This is the closest thing to art I could find. Being in the bucket (as they call it) allows for virtually zero stimulus, even for visitors like myself. I'm sure the simplicity and minimalist approach must be excruciating.

Strangely, this minimalist environment reminded me of something I can never get enough of: Prayer.

Praying in an environment like prison focuses you like few places can. Prayer takes on a different meaning than a typical 'wish list' offered to God, prayer seems to become a sort of lifeline. It has been said that prayer is not about changing God, it is about changing us. As one interacts relationally with God through open dialogue in a hole so devoid of relational purpose, prayer becomes much more about internal change than getting what you want.

I sat and waited. I sat and prayed. Because there was so little distraction, my mind had to think creatively and my prayers became much more of a conversation then a shallow 'devo-time'. I sensed the presence of God in a fresh way, in a place very unexpected. No excuses, no distractions, no control, just me and Jesus. In a strange way, I suddenly envied the men I was visiting.

Maybe sometimes we complicate our prayer life unnecessarily. I needed to be changed, and the clutter of life needed to be swept away. Ironically, prison was freeing. I was only there for one hour, so I cannot speak to a long stay in our society's dungeons. Of course prison is not a nice place, and its not meant to be that way; however, it taught me a lesson about prayer, about relating to the Lord. Sometimes less is more.

Colbert Takes on Bart Ehrman

2009-04-14T18:07:00.004-04:00

Quite the interview, I have to admit. Colbert really sticks it to this guy. I was pleased because I am troubled with Bart Ehrman's "scholarly claims".

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-colbert-report/interviews-a-z/interviews-e/#clip159897

What really gets me is that much of Ehrman's work is everything he is against, but fails to present a cogent alternative. It is one thing to speak of other beliefs, but a whole other thing to just try (I emphasize TRY) to poke holes in someone else' and not present any good alternatives.

This is a reality I have had to come to grips. I've tended to be that critic. You know this person, the one who pokes holes in everything. Everyone likes this guy.

I have realized something however. I do not want to be known for what I am against, I would much rather like to be known for what I am for (you might need to read that sentence twice).

Look at this Richard. Just look at it!

2009-04-11T13:09:00.003-04:00

Below is a letter I consider to be one of the funniest complaint letters I have ever come across (believe it or not, I have read my fair-share in ministry, a topic for another day) . A Virgin Airlines passenger wrote directly addressing its owner Richard Branson. I particularly love how he is on a first name basis with Mr. Branson.

Maybe it is just me. I grew up in kitchens with my Father- the consummate chef, which led to an appreciation for 'food critique'. I have fond memories of sitting on the salad bar and hearing my dad talk about how he invented chicken fingers, and how disgusted he was with chef's who are cheap when portioning. With that being said, It could very well be one of those humorous moments only funny to me (which happens quite often mind you), nonetheless I wanted to share the love.

Dear Mr Branson

REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008

I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit.

Ironically, by the end of the flight I would have gladly paid over a thousand rupees for a single biscuit following the culinary journey of hell I was subjected to at the hands of your corporation.

Look at this Richard. Just look at it: [see image 1, below].

I imagine the same questions are racing through your brilliant mind as were racing through mine on that fateful day. What is this? Why have I been given it? What have I done to deserve this? And, which one is the starter, which one is the desert?

You don’t get to a position like yours Richard with anything less than a generous sprinkling of observational power so I KNOW you will have spotted the tomato next to the two yellow shafts of sponge on the left. Yes, it’s next to the sponge shaft without the green paste. That’s got to be the clue hasn’t it. No sane person would serve a desert with a tomato would they. Well answer me this Richard, what sort of animal would serve a desert with peas in: [see image 2, below].

I know it looks like a baaji but it’s in custard Richard, custard. It must be the pudding. Well you’ll be fascinated to hear that it wasn't custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top. It’s only redeeming feature was that it managed to be so alien to my palette that it took away the taste of the curry emanating from our miscellaneous central cuboid of beige matter. Perhaps the meal on the left might be the desert after all.

Anyway, this is all irrelevant at the moment. I was raised strictly but neatly by my parents and if they knew I had started desert before the main course, a sponge shaft would be the least of my worries. So lets peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer.

I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat their with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this: [see image 3, below].

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s more of that Baaji custard. I admit I thought the same too, but no. It’s mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.

Once it was regurgitated it was clearly then blended and mixed with a bit of mustard. Everybody likes a bit of mustard Richard.

By now I was actually starting to feel a little hypoglycaemic. I needed a sugar hit. Luckily there was a small cookie provided. It had caught my eye earlier due to it’s baffling presentation: [see image 4, below].

It appears to be in an evidence bag from the scene of a crime. A CRIME AGAINST BLOODY COOKING. Either that or some sort of back-street underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast. You certainly wouldn’t want to be caught carrying one of these through customs. Imagine biting into a piece of brass Richard. That would be softer on the teeth than the specimen above.

I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was relax but obviously I had to sit with that mess in front of me for half an hour. I swear the sponge shafts moved at one point.

Once cleared, I decided to relax with a bit of your world-famous onboard entertainment. I switched it on: [see image 5, below].

I apologise for the quality of the photo, it’s just it was incredibly hard to capture Boris Johnson’s face through the flickering white lines running up and down the screen. Perhaps it would be better on another channel: [see image 6, below].

Is that Ray Liotta? A question I found myself asking over and over again throughout the gruelling half-hour I attempted to watch the film like this. After that I switched off. I’d had enough. I was the hungriest I’d been in my adult life and I had a splitting headache from squinting at a crackling screen.

My only option was to simply stare at the seat in front and wait for either food, or sleep. Neither came for an incredibly long time. But when it did it surpassed my wildest expectations: [see image 7, below].

Yes! It’s another crime-scene cookie. Only this time you dunk it in the white stuff.

Richard…. What is that white stuff? It looked like it was going to be yoghurt. It finally dawned on me what it was after staring at it. It was a mixture between the Baaji custard and the Mustard sauce. It reminded me of my first week at university. I had overheard that you could make a drink by mixing vodka and refreshers. I lied to my new friends and told them I’d done it loads of times. When I attempted to make the drink in a big bowl it formed a cheese Richard, a cheese. That cheese looked a lot like your baaji-mustard.

So that was that Richard. I didn’t eat a bloody thing. My only question is: How can you live like this? I can’t imagine what dinner round your house is like, it must be like something out of a nature documentary.

As I said at the start I love your brand, I really do. It’s just a shame such a simple thing could bring it crashing to it’s knees and begging for sustenance.

Yours Sincererly

XXXX

Paul Charles, Virgin’s Director of Corporate Communications, confirmed that Sir Richard Branson had telephoned the author of the letter and had thanked him for his “constructive if tongue-in-cheek” email. Mr Charles said that Virgin was sorry the passenger had not liked the in-flight meals which he said was “award-winning food which is very popular on our Indian routes."

I love it! haha...Richard, it was my hamster!

Blessings,

Rielly

1 of 7 Images

'Look at this Richard. Just look at it'

2 of 7 Images

'Answer me this Richard, what sort of animal would serve a desert with peas in?'

3 of 7 Images

'It's your hamster in the box and it's not breathing. That's how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this'

4 of 7 Images

'I needed a sugar hit. Luckily there was a small cookie provided. It had caught my eye earlier due to it's baffling presentation'

5 of 7 Images

'It was incredibly hard to capture Boris Johnson's face through the flickering white lines running up and down the screen'

6 of 7 Images

'Is that Ray Liotta? A question I found myself asking over and over again throughout the gruelling half-hour I attempted to watch the film like this'

7 of 7 Images

'Richard...What is that white stuff?'

With Everything

2009-04-03T07:50:00.004-04:00

If you are wondering what I am listening to these days. I've taken an interesting turn. I've never been one to be on the musical bandwagon, but I will pick and choose the music I like and constanting be evolving in that respect. Originally, I disliked Hillsong and Hillsong United, I'm still not a fan of Hillsong, but now Hillsong United will almost always make my Ipod play list. There is a number of reasons for this shift, I was ripe for some change:

1) My friends (thanks Drew) introduced me to their best songs, which are not always done in churches.

2) I was craving something different in worship music...I began to find a lot of music quite boring and empty lyrically. Defaulting to Christian cliches in songwriting has started to become common place in many Christian artists. Where are the song writers??? There is so much in the Scriptures to write about, so many profound themes to explore!

As I listened, I found the newer Hillsong United very rich lyrically, they were willing to explore themes and concepts not usually covered in contemporary worship. For example, songs about justice, songs about active faith, songs about loving what God loves, and hating what God hates. It was a breath of fresh air.

3) I was looking for Christian worship that made healthy use of musical interludes, guitar solos, and heavy/punchy chorus'/bridges, without showboating and misusing these elements to just "rock out".

In no way are they the be-all and end-all, they have their own strengths and weaknesses. Their strengths are worth pointing out however, so that we may grow in excellence, honor God, and reach people with the creative imagination.

1) The inspiration in their music balances both lyrics and instruments. When the lyrics make a profound statement, the music gives it wings. If the music is heavy, those are the times to listen to what the song is saying. Weighty music means weighty words.

2) Their willingness to continually reinvent themselves should be what every Worship Team edeavors to do. There is too much "cover-band" stuff going on in the church. Cheap imitation of even groups like Hillsong United, is like nails straching on a blackboard to me. Usually its just a poor imitation of the real thing. The reason is that churches just want formulas for success and not listen to the Scriptures, the Spirit, and what is going on in their particular Church. It is interesting to note, if you hear a Hillsong United do a particularily popular song, they never do it the same way twice; and yet a church worship team will take one arrangement and do it over and over and over and over again! C'mon dude, make the song your own, try some different riffs, breaks, order the song differently, write a new verse, mix songs together!

Worship Leaders: how is God speaking to your church? Follow Jesus, not a band.

Musicians: don't get your underwear in a knot because "its not like that on the CD". If I had a penny for how many times I've heard that..look out Bill Gates!

Hillsong United does a great job and paving their own way. Trying different forms of music, producing multiple guitar parts, creative drum beats, and broadening their use of lyrics to include topics not normally sang.

3) There is repentance in their music. The Psalms are filled with repentant heart cries. The Psalms speak the language of our heart and mind as we engage with God. From the depths of sorrow to the heights of joy we must teach the church this language of the Psalms. I believe many worship teams and worship leaders have advocated their responsibility in this respect. Let's recover an authentic worship, first in our lives, and secondly in our collective voice. The Church can only be the Church when it reflects every aspect of life.

Here is an example of a recent Hillsong United tune that captured my heart. The lyrics are good, but when it is paired with the music, the lyrics come alive. I'm going to try and imbed the video below, to illustrate this...but if anything I'll make the link to the youtube video. Read the lyrics, and then listen to them play it live and I think you will get what I mean. Technically, only some of the instruments are live...they produce a number of the instruments in a studio and use live tracks together to give the "live" feeling of a song. Nonetheless, take some time to appreciate the balance of song writing, passion, and musical connectedness.

With Everything

Open our eyes
To see the things that make Your heart cry
To be the church that You would desire
Your light to be seen

Break down our pride
And all the walls we’ve built up inside
Our earthly crowns and all our desires
We lay at Your feet

PRE CHORUS:

Let hope rise
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light
That every eye will see
Jesus our God
Great and mighty to be praised

God of all days
Glorious in all of Your ways
Oh the majesty the wonder and grace
In the light of Your Name

Chorus:

With everything
With everything
We will shout for Your glory
With everything
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

Chorus 2:

Our hearts they cry
Be glorified
Be lifted high above all names
For You our King
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCE8uLuTJY

Thank you!

2009-04-02T12:45:00.002-04:00

Thanks to those who made it out to my lecture/testimony last night! It was a pleasant surprise to see my church family present and participating!

It was also a pleasure to join with a growing Anglican congregation that has a heart for the Lord Jesus, and a passion to see what God is doing in the unexpected places of life.

Keep up "the Good" work

Rielly

Lenten Justice Service

2009-03-30T12:48:00.002-04:00

http://www.stmarkschurch.net/homepage2007.htm

Perchance you have nothing to do on a Wednesday evening and find yourself in the Windsor area, you now have some plans! I will be speaking on chaplaincy work with St. Leonard's House at St. Mark's by the Lake in Tecumseh.

During this season of Lent, St. Mark's has a series of lectures on justice Wednesday evenings leading up to Easter. April 1st, this coming Wednesday, I will be sharing my story of faith in Jesus Christ, and my heart for offenders at St. Leonard's. My talk is titled, "Why I'll choose criminal's over church-folk any day!"

The title has already raised a few eyebrows. Allow me to qualify my title and say that church-folk and the body of Christ are not necessarily synonymous:

Mark 2 says,

¹⁶When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

¹⁷On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

I'm interested in spending time with the same crew that Jesus spent time with.

The service is at 7:00pm, hope to see you there!

The Cold Gray Tower

2009-02-26T10:20:00.005-05:00

I was linked by a colleague to a very fascinating article on the history of capital punishment in Canada. Often times we consider the ethics of capital punishment, but when the question of "Who wants to throw the switch" comes up, everyone scatters. This is very telling to me.

This blogger shows some interesting historical details concerning the Canadian "hangman". Regardless of your views on capital punishment, this is an interesting read.

Thank you Mr. Lincoln for this article.

Kingston's Cold Gray Tower

I awoke early on this cool day. It is still winter nothing has changed since last night. But the day was colder still as I looked across the road at the tall, imposing gray stone tower that stands to the side of one of the main thorough Fares of Kingston, Ontario.

I asked someone what it was and the answer was simple, “Hanging!”

No kidding? – yep – Hanging!

As you look at it closer the design is something special. There are windows – or at least at one time there were windows. Now they are covered in. The stone work is very unique and would have been completed by experts in stone masonry of their day.

It sits just north of the old and infamous Women’s Prison building in Kingston. It is also just a short distance north up the road from the famous and ancient Kingston Prison ground – or KP as my other friends know it.

On Friday February 13th I had written about Peterborough’s Last hanging.

This Gray Stone Tower sparked another thread of thinking as I stayed so close by – literally across the street from where it stands quietly as a reminder of our gruesome past in Canada.

(Perhaps as some of my American Readers that follow this Blog – there will be some extra thinking going on – in that a number of your states still carry on the practice of Capital Punishment – the Death Sentence)

The information that I share here was hard to find. I was searching for information on the Cold Gray Tower standing alone in Kingston as a testimony to our past… but found nothing. But what I did find was an amazing. Please read all of the article related to the link below – “capitalpunishment”.

I point to one man referred to in the article… Arthur B. English. His was also known as “Arthur Ellis”… and was a cousin to a man that used the name “John Ellis” in England.

The quote from the article tells the story better…
“1865 – Arthur B. English was born in England. He was the cousin of England’s official hangman John Ellis. Arthur English became the hangman in the Middle East and South Africa. English then became the Official Executioner for the Dominion of Canada in 1913. His pseudonym was Arthur Ellis. He officiated at 549 executions. He died in 1938 and is buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery, Quebec. Arthur Ellis continued to be the pseudonym of the Canadian Executioner until the last execution in 1962, and abolition of capital punishment in 1976.” – end quote…

Can you imagine… he attended to 549 deaths by hanging. In the Peterborough Story of the last hanging in our city – he did that one too. As the official “Hangman” for Canada… he traveled everywhere to do the “job”.

Quoting the article again…
“1867-July-01 – After Confederation, the Dominion of Canada’s Department of Justice kept the record of names, dates, and places of 705 executions in Canada until the last two on December 11, 1962 at the Toronto ‘Don’ Jail. Two of the first hangings after Confederation in Ontario were John Hoag in Walkerton, and Ethan Allen in Kingston.”

That is 705 people(known and recorded) killed with a sharp stretching of their neck. “Arthur Ellis” watched it happen 549 times. Do you suppose that he had a rather difficult time with his “dreams”? I do.

Something needs to be known about hanging before I go further with this thought… quoting again the article as it told of Canada’s early Hangman – John Radclive(Radcliff)
“1890 - Canada’s executioner was John Radclive (Radcliff). He held this position until 1912 when he died. His one contribution to the "science of hanging" was the construction of a gallows that had a rope go over the top beam. One end of the rope was fastened around the neck of the accused and the other end held an iron weight (350 lbs.) which was dropped thus yanking the victim off the ground and dislocating his neck, resulting in instantaneous death (a technique affectionately known as the "jerk'em up gallows").”

The article shared also…
“The new technique was not a success for Radclive, as Birchall (Oxford County Jail) died of strangulation 18 minutes after the weight fell because the "drop" did not dislocate his neck. Radclive discarded his invention and went back to conventional hanging. Radclive died in Toronto in 1912 from excessive drinking after hanging 132 persons. He was one person who used his real name when acting as executioner. He used the alias of Thomas Ratley for his social life.”

Enter Arthur Ellis…
“1913 - With the loss of Radclive in 1912, there was a need for an experienced hangman for the Dominion. Arthur English, an ex-English army officer serving in the Middle East as an executioner was unofficially approached by the Canadian government to move to Canada.

English came from a family of executioners who worked in England for almost 300 years and whose uncle was then an official hangman in England under the pseudonym of John Ellis. English accepted the offer and moved to Montreal where he took the trade name of Arthur Ellis after his uncle.”

When he did the hanging there was a problem. He had continued to use the practice used by Radclive – dropping a 350 pound weight – the jerk-em up gallows.

The article states these gruesome thoughts…
"1935 - Ellis’ last hanging was done at the famous Bordeaux Jail in Montreal on 28 March 1935. Ellis had been called to Montreal to execute Leon Gagliardi, Angelo Donafrie and Mrs. Thomasina Sarao after they were found guilty of killing Nicholas Sarao in an intricate insurance scam.

Ellis was now 71 years old and had either assisted at or performed over 600 executions throughout his career in England, the Middle East and Canada. He was a master at his trade, yet this hanging would be his last because of a disastrous set of events that had him boycotted from further hangings. It seems that when Ellis went to weigh Mrs. Sarao at the Women's Jail he was not permitted access and had to be satisfied with the weight handed to him on a piece of paper. Based on the weight given to him Ellis calculated the length of rope needed to break Mrs. Sarao's neck.

On the morning of the hanging Mrs. Sarao walked to the gallows some 32 pounds heavier than what had been scratched on the piece of paper and when she plunged to her death the extra weight supplied enough force to decapitate her. It was not the first execution in which Ellis had miscalculated the condemned person’s weight.

On August 25, 1926, Ellis was called to carry out the execution of 240 pound Dan Prockiw at Headingly Jail. Prockiw, a former real-estate owner in Winnipeg, had been convicted of the March 18th beating death of his common-law wife, Annie Cardno. The drop was too much for Prockiw’s heavy body and the result was it jerked his head right off his body.

However because it was a woman that was decapitated, the execution of Mrs. Sarao marked the end of Ellis' 22-year career as Canada's "Official" Hangman and it effectively ended the practice of allowing the public to attend hangings. Ellis died three years later in his hotel room in Montreal. Although open public hangings were discontinued since about 1869, members of the public could still acquire a pass to attend a hanging inside the jail walls."

Did you catch that Mr. Ellis was 71 years old when he did his last hanging – the disastrous one of Mrs. Sarao. He died 3 years later in a lonely hotel room.

Back to the Cold Gray Tower in Kingston. From what I can gather (and perhaps have read between the lines to gather) the tower was built make the Hanging less of a community show – which people from all around gathered to see. The Cold Gray Tower was perhaps the first demonstration of humanitarian effort in our country.

Personally – every automobile accident that I have attended – being often the first one to help had left a deep mark on my memory. The same is true of each death that I attend as a Hospital Chaplain. You never forget.

I can feel pity for “Mr. Arthur Ellis” and his family.

Away back in my early days in Walkerton, Ontario and my early involvement with that jail, I met one of the guards that had attended the last hanging in that jail. That man was never the same after that job of “witnessing”… he drank himself to sleep to sooth the misery and nightmares that he had.

As I stared at the Tower for a long time… I was very quiet… very quiet.

I wonder what God thought at each of those moments of finality – when someone said, “May God have mercy on your soul…”. Perhaps it should have also included… “and May God have mercy on our souls as well.”

~ Murray Lincoln ~

Would you like some presence?

2008-12-23T11:11:00.004-05:00

We are currently in a time historically called Advent. Advent literally means, “the coming” for example, the advent of the computer. In the case of Christian faith, Advent season represented a two-fold purpose: the Hebrews waiting for the Messiah, and Christians waiting for the second coming of Christ. Did you ever think that the birth of Jesus is meant to draw your mind to the hope that he will-again return?

Advent is about a special and extraordinary coming summarized in four words: God Is With Us. The Artist that made the worlds; the Composer that gave the birds a song; the Love that put affections into our hearts; and the Truth that quenches the mind’s longings came in human flesh, came into a real town, was born to a real family, had real friends, real problems, and real pains! How can this be? How can the infinite God of all the universe take such a step?

But this is exactly the gift that God gave. And in turn, the gift we must give to others.

The gift God gave was not presents, but presence.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

The Apostle John begins his gospel with a familiar sounding narrative, “In the beginning…” The poetic introduction, which functions as a prologue to the rest of the Gospel draws off the creation story that began it all.

It is important to understand John’s audience at this point…he is writing to Jewish followers, both converts and unbelievers in Christ. The Genesis account is something they would know very well. It is no coincidence this sounds like Genesis chapter one, “In the beginning God… created the heavens and the earth.” The writer John is starting with the creation account in order to establish the pre-existence of Jesus, as not just a representative of divinity, or similar to God, but God himself, present and active in the creation of the universe. That little baby who once spoke light into existence, is now in a dark, cold, smelly stable. How could this be?

I, personally have read this passage many times, and understood it was expressing the divinity of Jesus; but not until recently did I understand the parallels to the creation account in Genesis. John is establishing the authority and identity of Jesus by taking us all the way back to God speaking and bringing all that is into existence.

This brings us to Jesus’ title in verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word” or in the original Greek, the “logos”, which very literally means, “word”. It is where we get the term Theology. Theos = God, ology = logos = word. In case you didn't catch that, simply stated, theology is words about God. So next time you hear some overinflated ego talking about theology, you can now say, "oh that's just word's about God, why sound so smart?"

Words are our way of making concrete the abstract. It is how we express ideas, and words are what brings them into action. Without words we would be lost, it is how husbands and boyfriends know they are always wrong, because of words. Language is what helps us make sense of the world around us. And here Jesus is described as THE Word. The ultimate Word. Jesus is the expression of the abstract? Jesus is the Word that makes sense of the world around us?

Getting back to the creation narrative, if you are skeptical to John’s connection in Genesis, the Logos should seal the deal. Let’s look at a Hebrew word in Genesis 1:3. When God began creating, what did he do? He spoke. “And God said…”, and it was so. The word for speaking is dabar. Dabar is a term used in the OT Scriptures whenever God speaks… it is a term of divine self-expression, but it is also a term of divine action.

“And God said…” (divine self-expression)

“And it was so.” (divine action)

For example. In the Psalms it says, “the heaven’s declare (dabar) the glory of God”.

God’s dabar is an expression of who He is. When God speaks we understand His nature, and what he is up to in our world. God’s dabar takes the incomprehensible nature of God, and makes it accessible and understandable to human ears.

Now guess what the Greek equivalent for dabar is…logos!

When Jesus is described as the Logos, we discover that the God who spoke (dabar) creation into existence, has now spoken himself into the fleshly existence! John writes to show us that Jesus embodies all that God has spoken and done throughout the ages. Or as the angel proclaims Emmanuel, those four simple words, God Is With Us.

Jesus as the Word, is the ultimate and perfect picture of God’s divine dabar- self-expression, and divine action.

I am reminded of a story I heard from Tony Campolo a while back. The reason I share this story is because of my compulsion to explore how to live out the incarnation, not just believe it, but to practice incarnation. In other words, if the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, we too should also endeavor to put flesh on our words and dwell among any person in need of a ministry of presence.

I hope you experience the presence of God is a fresh way.

A few years ago, Tony Campolo flew to Hawaii to speak at a conference. The way he tells it, he checks into his hotel and tries to get some sleep. Unfortunately, his internal clock wakes him at 3:00 a.m. The night is dark, the streets are silent, the world is asleep, but Tony is wide-awake and his stomach is growling.

He gets up and prowls the streets looking for a place to get some bacon and eggs for an early breakfast. Everything is closed, except for a grungy dive in an alley. He goes in and sits down at the counter. The fat-guy behind the counter comes over and asks, "What d'ya want?"

Surveying the man, the restaurant, and the greasy plastic menu sitting in front of him, Tony isn't so hungry anymore, so eying some donuts under a plastic cover he says, "I'll have a donut and black coffee."

As he sits there munching on his donut and sipping his coffee at 3:30am, in walk eight or nine provocative, loud prostitutes just finished with their night's work. They plop down at the counter and Tony finds himself uncomfortably surrounded by this group of smoking, swearing hookers. He gulps his coffee, planning to make a quick getaway. Then the woman next to him says to her friend, "You know what? Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm gonna be 39." To which her friend nastily replies, "So what d'ya want from me? A birthday party? Huh? You want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?"

The first woman says, "Aw, come on, why do you have to be so mean? Why do you have to put me down? I'm just sayin' it's my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"

Well, when Tony Campolo heard that, he made a decision. He sat and waited until the women left, and then he asked the fat-guy at the counter, "Do they come in here every night?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"The one right next to me," he asked, "she comes in every night?"

"Yeah," he said, "that's Agnes. Yeah, she's here every night. She's been comin' here for years. Why do you want to know?"

"Because she just said that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you think? Do you think we could maybe throw a little birthday party for her right here in the diner?"

A cute kind of smile crept over the fat man's chubby cheeks. "That's great," he says, "yeah, that's great. I like it." He turns to the kitchen and shouts to his wife, "Hey, come on out here. This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow is Agnes' birthday and he wants to throw a party for her right here."

His wife comes out. "That's terrific," she says. "You know, Agnes is really nice. She's always trying to help other people and nobody does anything nice for her."

So they make their plans. Tony says he'll be back at 2:30 the next morning with some decorations and the man, whose name turns out to be Harry, says he'll make a cake.

At 2:30 the next morning, Tony is back. He has decorations and a sign made of big pieces of cardboard that say, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" They decorate the place from one end to the other and get it looking great. Harry had gotten the word out on the streets about the party and by 3:15 it seemed that every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. There were hookers wall to wall.

At 3:30 on the dot, the door swings open and in walks Agnes and her friend. Tony has everybody ready. They all shout and scream "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" Agnes is absolutely flabbergasted. She's stunned, her mouth falls open, her knees started to buckle, and she almost falls over.

And when the birthday cake with all the candles is carried out, that's when she totally loses it. Now she's sobbing and crying. Harry, who's not used to seeing a prostitute cry, gruffly mumbles, "Blow out the candles, Agnes. Cut the cake."

So she pulls herself together and blows them out. Everyone cheers and yells, "Cut the cake, Agnes, cut the cake!"

But Agnes looks down at the cake and, without taking her eyes off it, slowly and softly says, "Look, Harry, is it all right with you if...I mean, if I don't...I mean, what I want to ask, is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? Is it all right if we don't eat it right away?"

Harry doesn't know what to say so he shrugs and says, "Sure, if that's what you want to do. Keep the cake. Take it home if you want."

"Oh, could I?" she asks. Looking at Tony she says, "I live just down the street a couple of doors; I want to take the cake home, is that okay? I'll be right back, honest."

She gets off her stool, picks up the cake, and carries it high in front of her like it was the Holy Grail. Everybody watches in stunned silence and when the door closes behind her, nobody seems to know what to do. They look at each other. They look at Tony.

So Tony gets up on a chair and says, "What do you say that we pray together?"

And there they are in a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon, half the prostitutes in Honolulu, at 3:30 a.m. listening to Tony Campolo as he prays for Agnes, for her life, her health, and her salvation. Tony recalls, "I prayed that her life would be changed, and that God would be good to her."

When he's finished, Harry leans over, and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he says, "Hey, you never told me you was a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?"

In one of those moments when just the right words came, Tony answers him quietly, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."

Harry thinks for a moment, and in a mocking way says, "No you don't. There ain't no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. Yep, I'd join a church like that."

Tony then said, “There is a church like that, Harry –started by a man who did just that…”

Something to consider

2008-12-09T16:10:00.002-05:00

Boasting

2008-11-01T15:06:00.003-04:00

My thoughts have been poured into preaching over the Fall. Here is another message I recently preached for our Anniversary Sunday at Southwood. September was probably the busiest month in preaching I've ever had.

Now that I have taken a breath from speaking engagements, I've had time to reflect and think through ministry and theology. This message is, in part, a product of some of that reflection.

I'm teaching from Philippians on the subject of boasting.

Keep on boasting...in the right things that is.

http://www.southwoodcommunity.org/audio/09-28-08%20Pastor%20Rielly.mp3

Update

2008-10-30T10:11:00.003-04:00

Thanks to all those who prayed for Randall while having his surgery.
Randall has now been discharged from the hospital and at my parents place in Wasaga Beach recovering further. There was no major complications, praise God.

It was an interesting thing, seeing my bro with all these tubes in him. He was pretty out of it for about 3 days, but slowly was getting back into his right mind.

It was good to know there were so many people praying for his recovery. Thank you for your love and support as well.

He will have another surgery in about 3 or 4 months to reverse everything (I'm not quite sure what that means either).

Soli Deo Gloria

Randall

2008-10-21T10:14:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone,

I really don't want to be one of those bloggers constantly apologizing for not keeping their blog updated. Bottom-line, its been low on my priority list as of late. Other things have taken precedent this Fall, and yet, I feel I must not completely abandon this creative outlet.

Many of you know how fond I am of my brother; his comedy, his creativity, and his passion for life. We are close brothers and I am thankful for that, because there are not many siblings in our world today that have the bond we are graced with.

Currently Randall sits under the surgeons knife in Credit Valley Hospital, Toronto. I am sitting in a coffee shop across the street after taking him to his scheduled appointment at 6:00am. It has been an emotional ride, and I have a hard time envisioning my life without Randall there. Nonetheless, it has been a test of faith and trust in Jesus, as things are very much out of my control. As the big brother, I really want to fix everything and take away his pain. I have prayed many times that God would give me his suffering so he doesn't have to bear it anymore. Control is a funny thing isn't it?

I think times like this illustrate the truth about control. We are never, ever, really in control. Moments like this just reveal what has been true all along. Control is an illusion.

We of course are called to live responsible lives with our health, schooling, jobs, and relationships; but responsibility does not equal control, responsibility equals character. Often we confuse our responsibilities in life as an attempt to control our lives, and thus begins the downward spiral of personal autonomy reminiscent of a scene in a garden called Eden.

Father, help me to see the truth about life. Help me to relinquish control back into Your hands. Thank you that although life sucks sometimes, You are never surprised with what it throws at us, and You never wash your hands of us. Thank you that Your love governs your sovereignty. As well, thank you for not letting me be in control; how much more would my life be a mess if I was!

Why Care about Keeping Commandments?

2008-07-30T14:47:00.004-04:00

Here is a sermon I preached a few Sundays ago at Southwood. I actually showed the video by Matisyahu "King without a Crown" as an introduction to my sermon. You can check out the video in a post below this one.

I am teaching from Deuteronomy chapter 6, and asking the question why we should care about keeping the commandments of God? Deuteronomy chapter 6 is known as the Sh'ma in Judaism, and the song by Matisyahu bridges itself out of the Sh'ma. The Sh'ma is a call or exhortation to listen and act upon what you have heard.

I'd love your comments and feedback on the topic if you so desire.

Here is the link http://southwoodcommunity.org/audio/07-20-08%20Pastor%20Rielly.mp3

A refreshing reminder of the Sh'ma

2008-07-21T16:38:00.005-04:00

A King without a Crown
Matisyahu

Strip away the layers and reveal your soul
Got to give yourself up and then you become whole
You're a slave to yourself and you don't even know

You want to live the fast life but your brain moves slow
If you're trying to stay high then you're bound to stay low
You want God but you can't deflate your ego

If you're already there then there's nowhere to go
If you're cup's already full then its bound to overflow
If you're drowning in the water's and you can't stay afloat

Ask Hashem for mercy and he'll throw you a rope
You're looking for help from God you say he couldn't be found
Searching up to the sky and looking beneath the ground
Like a King without his Crown

Yes, you keep fallin' down
You really want to live but can't get rid of your frown
Tried to reach unto the heights and wound bound down on the ground

Given up your pride and then you heard a sound
Out of night comes day and out of day comes light

Nullified to the One like sunlight in a ray,
Makin' room for his love and a fire gone blaze

2008-07-14T11:45:00.004-04:00

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime;
therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone;
therefore we must be saved by love.

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

God is fathering you fathers

2008-06-17T16:38:00.007-04:00

Written from the perspective of mothers,
and addressed to the fathers in the community of Christ... read by a Southwood mother.

________________________________________________________________________________

As you stand among us, thank you fathers and husbands for being living examples of our one heavenly Father to our children and us. You play an integral role in the family, especially because we live in an increasingly fatherless world.

As mothers, we commend our children to your care, to love, train, and guide them toward Jesus.

We can’t do it without you.
Thank you for being not just biological fathers, but spiritual fathers in our church family.
Thank you for forgiving us when we fail, being patient when we worry, and thank you for loving us unconditionally when we feel inadequate.

Thank you for being fathers to the fatherless in our church.
Thank you for being dads who are available and present to us in body, mind, and emotion.

Men, we honour you as examples of purity and respect.
Thank you for showing the world what it means to follow Christ and be a true guy.

There are too many voices out there, pulling our children in so many directions, we can’t guide them through this mess alone. Life is difficult. We need you to step up to the plate, being the fathers and husbands you are called to be.

When you strive toward your calling as a Christian father, it becomes a catalyst and model for godliness in our entire family. None of us are perfect, and we will love you always. Thank you for fighting for us, through both the successes and failures. Thank you for loving us as Christ loved the church, giving himself up for her.

You play a unique role. And although we mother’s also play an important role in the lives of our children, your role is equally unique…a role we cannot live out, or even pretend.

Thank you for telling our daughters they are beautiful, and that their true beauty does not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it is that of their inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Thank you for teaching our sons the way of ethics, true love, and respect. Not embittering or exasperating them, but bringing them up in the training and instruction of the Lord, in order that they would be fathers and men of quality.

Today we honour you, as servants of God, having a very difficult and high calling to the children of our world. May we be the support, love, and encouragement you need, as you quest to fulfill your awesome ministry to us.

Most of all, may you have many moments of joy and praise to God in your service, knowing that God himself is fathering you.

What I am reading these days...

2008-06-10T11:06:00.009-04:00

I find it always helpful to share books and ideas.
Currently, I am reading a few books that may interest you...

Surprised By Hope
N.T. Wright
As soon as I heard the next N.T. Wright book was out, I went bonkers! So far it is living up to my expectations, fascinating and refreshing as usual.

Unspoken Sermons
George MacDonald

My mother recommended this book to me after she read comments C.S. Lewis made about MacDonald in a compilation of letters to family and friends about the impact this writer had on his faith journey. I've heard before that MacDonald had a huge influence on Lewis, so it is great to finally track down an obscure book written by him.

A Mother's Day note...

2008-05-11T20:35:00.004-04:00

Dearest Mother,

I'm sorry I have not been able to be with you over the past couple Mother's Days. I hope these flowers find you well, and in a small way communicate how much you are loved, as a mother and a friend. I feel so blessed to have a mother like you, that is not only beautiful and truly motherly; but also reflective, thoughtful, artistic, introspective and most of all, a woman after God's own heart.

I don't know what I would do without you. You have been there for me through thick and thin, and loved me when I have felt very unlovable, and in this way you have reminded me of the Lord's unconditional love. Thank you for the way you pray for me, and care for me (even if I give you a hard time about it).

I was thinking that this might be a hard day for you, I think of Grandma as well. I'm sure you spent many wonderful Mother's Days with her, and it is still a very real void that surfaces in times like this. As you work through your grief, and how much you miss her, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate and love you for who you are. The only way I think I understand your feelings for Grandma is when I think about our relationship. You are to me, what Grandma was to you. I hope that is a comfort, that you are carrying on what was so beautiful in her, through your relationship with Randall and I.

I hope and pray you have a day filled with the Spirit of Christ.

With my deepest amount of love and affection,

Your Son, Rielly

Fixing the Purple Monster

2008-04-28T17:38:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, I am not a gear head; but would you indulge me, as I digress from philosophy and theology for a moment?

I have relied on the knowledge of friends to fix my car, known as the purple monster.

But as time has gone by, I've felt the need to learn how to do this kind of car-mechanics. The male in me was crying out to exercise itself beyond music, art, and the typical Rielly-sensitivities.

So, in a moment of ignorance, I decided to get a new car stereo. The factory stereo was beginning to go, and so I thought, "hey, I'll just buy a new one...it looks simple enough, unplug the old one, and plug in the new one."

Oh Rielly...so young...so naive.

As you can imagine, it was far from being this simple.

Nonetheless, when I saw the challenge (after I bought the new stereo consul mind you) I decided to give it a shot. I can proudly say that two days later, after 6 new fuses, one voltage tester, alot of electrical tape, and a few sparks, (which threw out other parts of my car), everything is now working! Not only my stereo, but I fixed my long broken horn as well (look out Windsor truck drivers!).

I believe I understand how gear-heads feel when they fix a car. I had this rush of testosterone and excitement when I turned on the ignition. I shouted an ecstatic "YES!", followed by a fist pump. I didn't care that the people in the parking lot of Canadian tire looked at me awkwardly as I exclaimed my victory over car mechanics.

I think I am far from being a gear-head. But I contributed to my maleness today.
Thanks for celebrating with me.

Singing in Exile

2008-04-22T13:44:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I spent 5 days in Ancaster, Ontario at a Correctional Services of Canada chaplaincy retreat. It was a beautiful retreat center called Mount Mary Immaculate.

The retreat was very fascinating considering there were a wide variety of religions represented in the chaplaincy. I spent time talking with a Pagan Priestess, a Muslim Emon, Roman Catholic Priests, and the wide variety of Protestant chaplains. I learned a great deal from dialogging with these different faith groups, and seeing where they are coming from in chaplaincy.

I also had the privilege of traveling with pastor Kevin Rogers. He is the pastor of New Song church in Windsor, a ministry to the urban poor. He is the former chaplain of St. Leonard's House and is now also the chaplaincy director for the PAOC (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) in his region. I have appreciated Kevin's insights into ministry, chaplaincy, and his friendship. Fortunately, Kevin is also a musician, and throughout the week I had the chance to sit down with him and jam. We ended up writing a song in the late hours of the evening in this quiet catholic retreat center.

I'd like to share the lyrics of this song with you, because they resonate my heart for chaplaincy and for ministry. After Kevin and I finished writing the song, we both took a deep breath, and agreed that this song comes out our own experiences and brokenness as well.

That's just the point. We sing songs of praise to God often in a place of exile, and in a sense we are still in exile until Jesus returns. Much of the Psalms were written out of a place of exile. It seems to me that any time God decides to use me, its out of my own weakness. Allow me to encourage you, the reader, to keep singing to God in the midst of your exile, keep hoping, and keep trusting.

Exile Song

Hearing the beat of a distant drum
draws our minds to a land we are from.
Forgotten songs we live to tell,
a pulse that breaks the gates of hell.

All of my rage and all of my crimes,
every filthy rag that binds.
Hold me until I fade to dust,
call me out and I will trust.

(chorus)
May the grace that saved me,
be the grace that sustains me.
And the words, the words, that lead me home.
Bring me home.

How long o Lord, how long?
How long, how long,
exile song.

2008-04-12T15:58:00.001-04:00

If I ever succumb to alcoholism, you know what to blame...

Exploring Worship

2008-03-20T12:06:00.002-04:00

“Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable”[1]

If indeed, according to William James, worship is the utmost of human expressions; it does in fact reinforce that throughout history, the word ‘worship’ has been possibly the most sought after word in the life of the Church, and ecclesiology. Ironically, all attempts at definition seem incomplete and allusive (even the above quotation). As soon as a young budding theologian defines ‘worship’, another tradition challenges its emphasis, and so continues the cycle of definition and redefinition. The problem, I believe is rooted in treating the term as a word to be defined, rather than an inexhaustible concept to be lived, expressed, and explored. This is not to say systematic theology is non-important, or the need to create categories when expressing ideas is misguided; instead, these disciplines are only one section of a much larger canvas God is painting.

From Genesis to Revelation the story of redemption has been a story about worship. How will the people whom God loves, acceptably worship Him again in the vibrant relationship they once had? As Genesis says, “Adam walked with God in the cool of day.” When understood, the question of worship is as much a question of soteriology, as it is a question of ecclesiology. Worship is connected with the goal of our salvation (but not the means of our salvation), and central to the purpose of our restored relationship with God.

I have heard it said, “…worshipping the God of the universe is less like drawing from a well, and more like standing under Niagara Falls.”[2] The sheer power of standing underneath the Falls would most certainly kill you, its intensity and immensity is overwhelming and impossible to contain. The body of falling water elicits a wide range of emotions such as fear, awe, and adventure; paradoxically however, Niagara Falls is also known to prompt feelings of peace, joy, and serenity! If God’s creation can present such an existential paradox, what does this mean for the worship of God himself? The wide range of responses to God’s revelation is central to an understanding of the nature of worship. When we are confronted by God, the possibilities of worship are endless and the potential responses are never-ending. It is unimaginable to claim an experience God, yet not respond in some manner of prostration. From building a dispensary in the most obscure African village ravaged by AIDS, to having an emotional experience of repentance through music in a large Western church, any engagement with God elicits a tapestry of worshipful responses. This is true not only in our life today, but in the lives of many throughout the Bible. Plainly stated, there is a better chance of finding a leprechaun in the Bible then an experience of God that did not result in worship.

Unfortunately for the Western Church, worship is increasingly being understood as drawing from a well when the Christian is thirsty, rather than standing under the Falls of God’s revelation. Revelation always demands response; but we have treated worship like an item to consume in the midst of spiritual thirst, endeavouring to quench our spiritual dryness since the last time we visited ‘old-faithful’. The simple use of the word ‘worship’ in the life of the Church reveals the consumeristic mentality of merger and acquisition[3] , which is far more worldly than truly holy. Churches split over personal views concerning ‘worship’ (yet, most likely they mean music); congregations pay full time staff to be in-tune with the latest “worship styles”, and the beloved ‘church-shopper’ demands a spirit filled ‘worship’ experience.

How then does one engage a topic so lofty? More importantly, how does one be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem? Surely, a critical spirit toward the Church and Her practices will only add further disillusionment and little progress to our mission. The opening quotation by William Temple is intended to begin the discussion, not create an end-all definition of worship. His insight brings to light the holistic understanding of biblical worship necessary to engage with God, meanwhile maintaining a level of mystery, and infinitude associated with the worship of the triune God.

[1] William James as cited by: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 119.

[2] What is Worship? A video series, as commented by Matt Hughes.

[3] By ‘merger and acquisition’, I mean treating worship as a business deal, in which, the worshipper offers God something, and expects something in return. Examples of this mentality can be found in The Prayer of Jabez, and the works of Joel Osteen, to name a few.

Souljourner

2008-03-08T11:26:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed, I changed the title of my blog. I was chatting with a friend about blogging when he accidentally mixed two words in my blog title "Soul" and "Sojourner" together, hence getting "Souljourner". Like some form of entropy, the chaos of words came together to make a brilliant new word!

There's the story behind my new title. Thanks for the spontaneous creativity Steve!

New Opportunities

2008-03-03T02:25:00.005-05:00

Friends and Bloggers!

It has been too long since my last post. I apologize to those of you who have stopped in along the way down the information highway. Now that things are leveling out with life (I know that's hard to believe with me) I hope to be a little more consistent with my postings.

After spending Christmas holidays with my family and friends in the Barrie area, which was by the way, a fantastic time, I came back to Windsor with some new opportunities on my doorstep.

As many of you know, I've had a passion for restorative justice for the last few years; however, I've struggled with putting flesh and blood on the truths I see in Scripture concerning such a task. It is strange to say; but living out restorative justice in our cultural context is difficult, simply because it is hard to recognize in a society of such affluence and supposed 'progress'. Yes, we could hop on a plane and aggressively tackle issues of slavery, child-prostitution, and economic oppression in a number of different countries, and so we should; however, it cannot overshadow the need to exercise justice in our own communities. Indeed, we are very well off here in the west, but the idea of progress is only an illusion and far from Biblical.

It is funny to me how Christians can talk about depravity and sin, yet look at another culture as 'Third World'. Are we so much more enlightened? Or do the rules of depravity apply to us as much as it applies to them? If you answered yes, then cultural progress is only a song and dance, a dirge to the tune of depravity. I dare say that being the 'enlightened' ones, and thinking ourselves as the 'progressive' is our downfall, because it is the veil that conceals our injustice. Our culture is clean, tidy, wealthy, abundant, and educated; yet rotting inside-out like painless leprosy. We have categorized evil, injustice, and terror as somewhere else other than here; hence hardening ourselves to our own darkness.

I have had a longing to understand how I may put into practice the kind of justice that is restorative in my everyday life. In the new year, very suddenly, God presented a surprisingly new opportunity that coincides with these passions.

Just two weeks ago I was hired at St. Leonard's House as their Community Chaplain. St. Leonard's is a program for the reintegration of former prisoners of the federal justice system. My task is to be the pastor of this house, for the staff and inmates. It is a most fascinating and humbling experience so far, as I have the privilege of journeying with many men for which society would like to hide and ignore. Murder, drugs, robbery, and rape are among the rap sheets of my friends here. Many of them have spent life in prison and now after receiving parole, must find their place in God's world again. Can you imagine spending half your life in prison, and then being free? What an amazing honor to walk with people to find their purpose again!

So far, I've probably been ministered to the most. I'm just trying to have open eyes and ears to everything God has for me at St. Leonard's. One thing I have learned is that darkness is not 'over there', but in fact, in me. I understand that I could very well be the one on the other end of things with one poor choice. We all hang on the thread of God's mercy. Evil is not those criminals 'over there', the capacity for evil is in all of us, its in me.

The new Jon Foreman album is absolutely brilliant. Jon, lead singer of Switchfoot, has come out with a number of solo projects in the past months. The song writing is honest and raw, still maintaining a level of poetic beauty that is reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah. The song Equally Skilled communicates my heart thus far in chaplaincy, as an understanding of my own life, contrasted by the skill of God in administering true justice.

04. Equally Skilled

Fall EP
by Jon Foreman

How miserable I am
I feel like a fruit picker who arrives after the harvest

There's nothing here at all
Nothing at all here that could placate my hunger

The godly people are all gone
There's not one honest soul left alive here on the planet

We're all murderers and thieves
Setting traps here for even our brothers

And both of our hands
Are equally skilled
At doing evil
Equally skilled
At bribing the judges
Equally skilled
At perverting justice
Both of our hands
Both of our hands

The day of justice comes
And is even now swiftly arriving

Don't trust anyone at all
Not your best friend or even your wife

For the son hates the father
The daughter despises even her mother

Look! Your enemies are right
Right in the room of your very household

And both of their hands
Are equally skilled

No, don't gloat over me
For though I fall, though I fall
I will rise again
Though I sit here in darkness
The Lord, the Lord alone
He will be my light.

I will be patient as the Lord
Punishes me for the wrongs I've done against Him

After that He'll take my case
Bringing me to light and to justice
For all I have suffered

And both of His hands
Are equally skilled
At ruining evil
Equally skilled
At judging the judges
Equally skilled
At administering justice

Both of His hands
Both of His hands

Are equally skilled
At showing mercy

Equally skilled
At loving the loveless

Equally skilled
At administering justice

Both of His hands
Both of His hands

Remember

2007-12-12T10:40:00.000-05:00

As we approach Christmas, I always seem to have a deep level of discontent. Many of you may be expecting me to say, "oh because its all the shopping, and not about the true meaning of Christmas." Although there is some truth here, it is easy for Christians to point the finger at a world that doesn't believe in the Christian message, but looks forward to a holiday, blaming our 'pagan society' for the dismantling of the Christmas message. My level of discontent is less with the surrounding society, and more to do with the Church here in the West.

A much deeper issue is the Christian community's response to Christmas. First of all, is Christmas about a cute little white family having a baby in a fancy-open-concept log cabin of a manger scene (similar to most of the nativity scenes we get so upset when people try to take down)? As Ricky Bobby would say, "Dear little baby Jesus...". Secondly, what is the active response we should have to God in human flesh, born to die, living to change world as we know it? I am all for celebration, and the Bible calls for it; but that is easy for us. Is the response something that runs much deeper? Does it have anything to do with fear? Anything to do with the Church getting down to work?

I'm currently reading another book by N.T. Wright on the subject of worship. Even though the book itself does not address Christmas, reading it as we go through the Advent season, has prompted me to think about it's application to Christmas celebration. Here is an excerpt from his book. I've entered some sporadic paragraphs from his chapter entitled 'Remember'.

Blessings as you reflect and seek to respond to God in human flesh,

Rielly

N.T. Wright., For All God's Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1997), 71-74.

"Moses had heard about God before. He had even tried to act on behalf of God before. Now he finds himself in the presence of God, and suddenly everything looks rather different. Moses, like Adam in front of another tree, is afraid and hides. But the God who is revealed as fire is not to be escaped. He has words to speak to Moses, words which tell of his great compassion for his suffering people, words full of hope and promise and covenant love. And Moses is called to stand in awe before the beauty and power and majesty of God - in order that he may then stand without fear before the pomp and might of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and in the name of the one true God, demand the release of the true people of God.

Later on in the story we are told that Moses was very meek. Don't misunderstand that; the word 'meek' doesn't mean 'weak'. It's the word you'd use of a wild horse that's been tamed. Young man Moses, charging off to do God's will, killing the Egyptian: there's the wold horse, worse than useless. Mature Moses, standing before Pharaoh: he doesn't even have to raise his voice. There's the wild horse, tamed. The secret of the difference is what happened at the burning bush, where Moses stood and trembled in the very presence of the living God...

First, then, where we've got to as a society. We haven't lost all moral sense, as some would say. Ours is in fact a very moralistic age: consider the sheer moral fury of those who protest about (for instance) fox-hunting. It's just that we've changed our moral targets. People who would be horrified to have an older sexual morality imposed on them 'for their own good' are eager to impose a new ecological morality on others 'for their own good'. This is a recipe for moral confusion, and there's plenty of that about right now.

Take some examples. We are all passionately in favour of justice, but somehow it slips through our fingers. We all long for peace in the world, but nobody quite knows how to achieve it. When we did decide to do something, as in the Gulf War, we ended up protecting and liberating some of the most oppressive regimes in the world, while leaving the Kurds to freeze in the mountains, and the Shiites to be gassed in the marshes. Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which had at least provided us with the illusion that we knew how the world was to be run, with a fatally easy goodies-and-baddies analysis, the West has looked suspiciously like Moses, doing the right thing for the wrong reason, the wrong thing for the right reason, and, as often as not, the wrong thing for the wrong reason...

...But God's way of action, now as then, is through a people, maybe even through an individual, who have glimpsed a fresh vision of his fire, and have heard for themselves his words of promise. They will almost certainly be unlikely people. Like Moses, they won't be expecting it. They may well not want it. But if they will only stand in fear before the living and burning God, they will be enabled to stand without fear before the Pharaohs of today...

...So where do we learn to stand in fear before this God? In our worship, many movements in the modern church try to make the worship of God more accessible; often all they succeed in doing is to trivialize it. Of course there must be understanding, of a sort, if worship is not to degenerate into mumbo-jumbo. But when you are confronted by fire, the proper response is not rational analysis, or 'will-the-people-in-the-pew-understand-it?', or a lowest-common-denominator leveling of words or music, but falling on your face. And, without mincing any words, people are more likely to be confronted by the majesty and awesomeness of God when music and drama used in worship was written and is performed with that in mind...

...To enjoy worship for its own sake, or simply out of a cultural appreciation of the 'performance' (whether Byrd or heavy rock), would be like Moses coming upon a burning bush and deciding to cook his lunch on it. No: we too need to cultivate a memory that works forwards as well as backwards. We remember, with due solemnity, events in the past which have shaped our national, social, and personal life. But, as we do so in the presence of the living God, we must listen also for the voice which says: 'I have heard the cry of my people; and so I am sending to you to Pharaoh.' We are not escapists, when we come to worship the true God and to pray for his bruised and bleeding world. On the contrary. We come so that, in whatever ways God calls us, small or great, we can be his agents in rescuing the world that still lies in gaol and cries for freedom. We, after all, stand before a yet more glorious tree: the tree of Calvary, which speaks, more truly than any words, of the fire of love which still burns at the heart of the living God."

N.T. Wright., For All God's Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1997), 71-74.

2007-11-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

I recently spoke down at the University of Windsor for their InterVarsity gathering. It was a great evening, and I was blessed by the group a students I ministered with. This is a small excerpt from my message. *Disclaimer* this is not the entire message, just some different parts put together, so excuse me if it is choppy and random. I just felt passionate about the topic, and thought I would post on my blog to explore the topic further. Yours in Christ, Rielly.

IVCF Windsor

“...Worship God or Change the World?”

November 16^th 2007

Rielly McLaren

“It’s not about you.” Rick Warren writes, “The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your piece of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

Central to being a follower of God is the elimination of personal autonomy. Life is not about me. Life is fundamentally others-centered for the one who begins with God.

How does this work itself out? What does it mean for your life, that you were made for God? I don’t think the Church of Jesus in the West has honestly explored this question very well.

Does it mean being an American or a Canadian? Does it mean being Republican or Democratic, Conservative or Liberal? Does it mean having nice leather bound Bibles, Christian CD’s (if there was such thing as Christian CD’s in the first place) and pictures of a white, blue-eyed, blond hair surfer Jesus? Does it mean knowing quaint Christian clichés –“God owns the cattle on a thousand hills”. Is it having massive churches, good programs, and rocked up music in our Sunday morning services? Is it about standing and sitting at the right time, crossing ourselves, and saying some regurgitated prayer that we don’t understand?

Is this our purpose for the 80-odd years of our existence? Could it be that Christians have the hardest time understanding their purpose? Could it be because we have crowded so many other non-consequential topics and items around the Church, in order to suit us, our agendas and our comforts, (might I add, that we spiritualize them and call them,"God's agendas", as if we speak for God) and no longer reflect the passions of God himself? These being the passions, and purposes God made us for?

You know what I’m tired of? I’m tired being told that I have to be a white, middle-class, republican in order to be a “real” Christian. I’m tired of Christian Leaders on television speaking for me, saying what “I believe, and what I should be doing” as an Evangelical. We typically like to give Roman Catholics a hard time for having a Pope, but we have our own Popes, they’re called Dobson, Haggard, & Osteen. Do you allow others to speak for you? Or do you have a voice?

Is this what we were made for? Were we made to fit into some demographic and have our little boys club, or dare I say, “University group”, that serves our needs, our private spirituality, and our crusade to Christianize everything, so we may be comfortable, clean, and safe? Meanwhile, people are starving outside the golden gates of our “Christian society”.

St. Augustine said in a prayer, “You have made thee for thyself, and the heart of man is restless until it finds rest in thee.”

Are you restless? Could it be that God wants to save Christians from individualism and privatization?

Central to being a follower of Jesus is the elimination of personal autonomy.

So what is the answer? You’ve pointed out the problem, so what do we do? If we are not made for all these things, how is it exactly that we are made for God?

God is taking me down an interesting journey in this respect. Breaking my heart, and opening my eyes to His Scriptures. I don’t want to even begin to assume I have the last word on the subject here, but let this be the beginning of the discussion. Allow me to give you a word that begins to answer the question of purpose...

Worship.

What do you think of when you hear the word, worship? As a “Worship Pastor” I hear the word quite frequently. “The worship was great this morning” or a popular one, “the worship was too loud this morning.”

“What is your favourite worship style?”

Is worship just another item on the list of commercial Christian products? Or is worship a clue to the purpose for which we were made? Could worship be the doorbell of the doorway to everything God made you to be?

I’d like to read a passage from God’s Word to help us extrapolate this idea. My hope is that we will re-align ourselves with God’s values as we understand the nature of what worship is, and what it is not. Will not only love what God loves, but we will hate what God hates. We will understand that central to being a follower of Jesus is the practice of being others-centred. Stand with me in honour of God’s Word as I read Amos 5:21-24.

"I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!"

Strong language here.

Imagine someone walking into your church on Sunday morning, and saying that?

It is a far cry from The 10 Steps to Having a Good Marriage, or How God Wants You to Be Healthy and Wealthy sermons.

The Prophet Amos is crying out to God’s people as God’s mantle piece. They are about to enter into exile because they had forsaken God and His commands to follow their own gods.

Notice the emphatic language here...

“I hate...” (v.21)

“I despise...” (v.21)

“I cannot stand...” (v.21)

“I will not accept...” (v.22)

“I have no regard...” (v22)

“I will not listen...” (v.23)

When God says, “He hates” something, I think we need to listen up.

The problem is expressed and answered through verse 24 –there is a disjunction between what they express and how they live. Amos is saying that rituals in themselves are not worship. Israel was, in fact obsessed about forms of worship, and God communicates to them that ritual without righteousness and justice is detestable to Him.

...In the film Amazing Grace William Wilberforce endeavours his entire life to outlaw the British slave trade. At one point in the film Wilberforce is walking through his property, adoring nature he seems to go into a state of worship as he lays down on the wet grass and begins to pray to God. So overwhelmed with the beauty of God, he speaks to God with a great amount of love and adoration. A servant comes by, startled Wilberforce feels he owes him an explanation for rolling in the wet grass on his property. He asks his servant, “What should I do? I long to worship God (the desire to enter into a monastery), but I also desire to continue my pursuits against the slave trade.”

Later on in the film, Wilberforce meets with an old friend, John Newton. Newton, known for writing the famous hymn Amazing Grace but little known for being a slave trader himself, now being repentant, talks about the ghosts of thousands of men he murdered and enslaved, haunting him through the halls of his small church. Wilberforce approaches Newton with his dilemma. John Newton responds with a most profound answer, which brings us to the heart of Amos 5.

Wilberforce asks, “I feel torn between the choices, do I worship God or change the world?”

“Perhaps”, Newton responds, “worshipping God and changing the world is one and the same.”

Worship is what makes one’s faith real. Worship is the work. True worship that God accepts and loves is faith in action. Worship connects the idealist and the realist, the abstract and the concrete. Worship is not a style of music, or a form of liturgy. Worship is changing the world for God’s sake. Music, liturgy, and the arts are expressions of worship, not inherently worship. Amos 5 proves it. If worship were music, God wouldn’t say he hates it, I’m sure he would use a much tamer adjective to describe his feelings toward such a practice. If God’s redeemed people are singing songs of praise, meanwhile trampling the poor, and no longer being a voice for the oppressed and marginalized, God despises our expressions of love, because love is not what we are expressing. (1 John 4:20) If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Central to being a follower of God is the elimination of personal autonomy. We cannot privatize our beliefs, and also love God. Being a follower of Jesus is about being others-centred, because Jesus, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very natureof a servant. (Phil 2)

So will God listen to our songs again?

Perhaps, but God desires us to know that you do not have to choose between worshiping God and changing the world, because they are two sides of the same coin. If worship is a clue to being everything God made us to be, and changing the world is part of the nature of worship, God created us to be agents of change. If you feel like you don’t have a purpose, consider that God changed you, in order that you would bring change. When was the last time you brought restoration, and transformation to our world? Allow me to put it in another way, when was the last time you worshiped God?

...on earth as it is in heaven?

2007-11-09T12:08:00.001-05:00

I occasionally love to connect my friends with certain books that have encouraged and challenged my journey through life and thought. This is one such post.

As we live through a unique time in history. A time of pluralism, globalization, war (the 20th & 21st Century being the bloodiest centuries then all the previous six Centuries combined), I am continually thinking about the role of the Jesus-follower through any century a disciple may live. How may the Church be "a light on a hill", or "the light of the world", as Jesus is?

What has struck me is recent dialogue concerning the now/but-not-yet Kingdom of God. It seems to me that the coming Kingdom is not something for Christians to sit around and wait for, but something Christians are commissioned to take part in revealing. As some have said, our responsibility is to create lookout towers for pilgrims, signaling to them that the Kingdom is present.

This Kingdom however, is not one of buildings and borders. This Kingdom is not defined by ethnicity or political power. This Kingdom rather, is a spiritual building containing and open to people of every tribe, tongue, race, and nation.

In the process of thinking through the implications, I have been troubled seeing some of the attempted outworking in the lives of my brothers and sisters. The concern involves calling a literal, physical, geographical, political, and military nation, a "Christian Nation". In my understanding of Scripture, the atonement, and Christ's complete fulfillment of the law, I find calling any nation inherently Christian, or spiritually special then another is not only a form of racism, but a denial of the completed work of Christ.

As you can imagine, I've experienced some militant rebuttals; hence, I try to choose my battles wisely. I do not want to give the impression I have the last word on the subject, and want to be as teachable as I possibly can, sharing with love and grace.

That being said, I've experienced a breath of fresh air in the recent reading of the following book. The Myth of a Christian Nation resonated with me on so many levels. I thought I would quote an excerpt from Boyd's discussion of the nature of the Kingdom of God. The title of his book gives you an indication as to where he is going, but put that aside for a moment and allow these passages to give you some food for thought. Thank you Gregory Boyd, thank you for this prophetic and moving reminder of what it means (and does not mean) to be a follower of Christ no-matter what Century I find myself in.

"This kingdom love that Jesus speaks of always has a Calvary quality to it. While people in the kingdom of the world find it easy to love those who they think deserve it –that’s part of the tit-for-tat nature of the world’s kingdom –kingdom-of-God participants are called to love all people unconditionally, even their enemies, just as Christ did (Luke 6:27, 35). We are even commanded to use our kingdom authority to pray sincerely for those who persecute us –again, just as Christ did (Matt. 5:43-44); Luke 6:28). (Remember, he’s talking to people who before long would be beheaded, burned alive, or fed to lions!) While people in the kingdom of the world usually do good to those who do good to them, followers of Jesus are called to do good even to those who harm them (Luke 6:34-35). When struck on the cheek, we are to offer up the other (Luke 6:29). When asked by an oppressive Roman guard to carry his equipment one mile, we are to offer to carry it two (Matt. 5:41).

Understood in their original context, these teachings do not tell us to allow people to abuse us, as though we are to love our enemies but not ourselves. To the contrary, Jesus is giving us a way by which we can keep from being defined by those who act unjustly toward us. When we respond to violence with violence, whether it be physical, verbal, or attitudinal, we legitimize the violence of our enemy and sink to his level. When we instead respond unexpectedly –offering our other cheek and going a second mile –we reveal, even as we expose the injustice of his actions, that our nemesis doesn’t have the power to define us by those actions. In this sense we serve our enemy, by manifesting God’s love and exposing evil (the two always go hand in hand) we open up the possibility that he will repent and be transformed.

Peter addressed this point when he spoke to a congregation about to undergo unjust persecution. “When [Jesus] was abused,” Peter said, “he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). So when we are persecuted we are not to resort to violence (as Peter himself had done in the Garden!), but we are to “sanctify Christ as Lord” in our “hearts.” In this way, he continues, we “put those who abuse [us] ... to shame” (1 Peter 3:16). Our refusal to sink to the level of our enemy opens up the possibility that the enemy will see the injustice of his treatment and perhaps be freed from his dehumanizing mindset.

Similarly, Paul says we are never to “repay anyone evil for evil” and “never avenge [ourselves].” All judgement is to be left to God (Rom. 12:17-19) who, among other things, uses governments to repay wrongdoers (Rom. 13:4). Instead, we who follow Jesus are to feed our enemy if they’re hungry and give them water if they’re thirsty. In this way, Paul says, we “will heap burning coals on their heads” (Rom. 12:20) –an idiomatic expression for bringing conviction on someone. Paul is saying that the stark contrast between an enemy’s behaviour and our loving response will bring conviction on them and possibly result in their transformation. This is how we keep our own heart from being “overcome by evil” and how we “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

Whether we’re talking about our response to a persecuting official, a threatening nation, or a mean-spirited co-worker, kingdom people are to follow Jesus’ example. This Calvary-like response to conflict and violence is only possible, however, if we allow the Spirit to purge our heart of “all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice” (Eph. 4:31). If we follow the “pattern of this world” (Rom. 12:2 NIV) and allow bitterness and hatred into our heart, and if we consequently demonize our enemy, we cannot possibly obey Jesus’ teaching –or Peter’s and Paul’s. For their teaching is not merely that we are to act lovingly toward our enemy while we clench our teeth. No, we are to genuinely love them, and one’s ability and willingness to do this is the most distinctive manifestation of the reign of God in one’s life.

Martin Luther King Jr. captured the heart of Jesus’ ethic of loving one’s enemy as he discussed the concept of nonviolent resistance advocated by Mahatma Gandhi (who himself was influenced by Christ’s teachings). King wrote that the concept of Satyagraha (meaning “power of love and truth”) “avoids not only external physical violence but also violence of spirit. The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.” Later, King commented, “Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of our lives.”[1]

Gregory A. Boyd., The Myth of a Christian Nation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 39-41.

[1] Martin Luther King Jr., Stride toward Freedom (New York: Harper & Row, 1958), 103-4.

The Lie of Entitlement & the Truth about Adversity

2007-09-25T10:53:00.000-04:00

Today I finally decided to update my blog. It has been a crazy summer, and priorities have limited my time for blogging. Life is beginning to slow down a tad, and hopefully this fall can lead to more blog reflection.

This summer has definitely been a stretching experience. Without going into too much detail, God has taken the opportunity to refine me, and build into my life, much of which has been through fire. I most assuredly do not write this as a clichéd consolation prize in the face of my trials and temptations. I write now with a deep sense of gratitude. Many times I hear friends comforting one another in their pain saying, “this will make you a better person” or, “what doesn’t kill you makes stronger.” I do not deny this, and I see it unravelling in my own life; however, from my experience these comments are said as some kind of consolation prize to suffering. It is as though many believe suffering and tragedy in itself will make you a better person in some mysterious and magical fashion, regardless of how you respond to your trial. Maybe stated another way: I am entitled to something good because I have suffered proportionally in trial and pain. I deserve something good because I experienced pain. In counselling, from what I understand, this is referred to as the Heaven’s Reward Fallacy, from McKay’s 15 Styles of Distorted Thinking. It is interesting how we can take something that is true (maturing through adversity) and create lies of entitlement. Biblically, an important element of growing through suffering is how we respond to trials. Trials in and of themselves do not necessarily make you a stronger, more mature, or more dynamic.

I’ve also heard it said, “time heals all wounds”. As common as a saying like this is, the subtle nature of the lie is easy to miss. It is the lie of entitlement. I have seen “time” fester people’s wounds to the point of gangrene. The concept of time being a healing agent, is much like taking Tylenol for a headache, only to find the headache is a result of a brain aneurism. Time can be more often a mask for our pain, which conceals the entranceway to our true wounds. In fact, I find many people worse-off through the passing of time because time allows you to make excuses, rationalize, and ignore the deepest thoughts of the heart. The longer the period of time, much like skin calloused, pricked over and over by a threading needle eventually stops bleeding, so also the doors into our hurts and betrayal become sealed shut by mortar, and stone. This may perceive to work well; however, our pain becomes an unknown guest demanding attention. It does not lie dormant; the unwelcome guest slowly infects how we respond to everything internal and external to our life as a permanent resident. “Time” only leads to greater memory loss in regards to the root of our troubled minds, and as Emerson wrote, “We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out.”

More importantly, the statement, “time heals all wounds” carries with it the idea that if I wait long enough, sit still long enough; suffer enough, fight it long enough, I deserve to be freed from my pain by the mysterious tyrant-god of time. In the west, I find that the problem of entitlement so pervasive, especially in the Church, and specifically in me. The truth is, if I feel I am entitled to a good life because I have suffered enough, if I am entitled to wisdom because I have experienced enough trials, or if I am entitled to respect because I have been walked-over enough, the cross was insufficient. At the root of entitlement lies the statement, “Christ did not suffer enough for my sin, so I must earn what I perceive to be my ultimate good.” Does not everything seem to come down to grace? Am I able to accept the sufficiency of the cross? Am I able to accept the gift that is nothing of what I have, or have not done? We speak of grace often times almost exclusively in regards to conversion, and little in-regard to the Christian walk of everyday life.

Entitlement and grace cannot coexist. Entitlement speaks to God saying, “You must bless me, have I not suffered enough in your name?” Daily grace speaks to God saying, “I can’t earn the favour I already have in Christ, help me to see who I already am, and live in any situation through the grace you’ve provided.” Grace is the beginning and end of the Christian walk. The more I live, the more I feel I could not survive be it for the grace of Jesus. This does not mean we will not suffer, but it does mean we cannot earn our stripes through fighting back at life. Jesus was the only person who could fight back and find victory to the mysteries of suffering.

Entitlement will rob us of our joy. If we attempt to amount our deeds in the Christian life, with the hope that it will arouse God to give us what we want, we will never be satisfied. This is only so because we have lost sight of what we already have, and already are: a new creation, deeply loved, and immeasurably precious to the God who calls himself our Father. True joy is not having our circumstances perfectly crafted, true joy is being the person God created me to be. Entitlement assumes I must add to Christ’s afflictions in order to be completely accepted.

The truth about adversity is that we will only mature through such things in so far as we allow God to embrace us, responding to trials out of how God already sees us: ransomed, completely forgiven, completely accepted, and infinitely loved. This is a far cry from trusting in the inherency of suffering to refine us, it is a dangerous game of chance, for whomever it doesn’t break it kills, even before the time of their mortal death. The passion of Jesus far exceeds any passion we could muster up. Jesus is a passion that I see throughout the pages of the Scriptures, exemplified through hundreds of years, and hundreds of writers testifying about the same God who has relentlessly pursued them and called them by name. This is a love I long to trust more. I will learn what it means to accept the sufficiency of the cross in the midst of my fears.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

And when you pass through the rivers,

They will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

You will not be burned;

The flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord, your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;

Since you are precious and honoured in my sight,

And because I love you.”

Isaiah 43:1-4

Jesus Christ

2007-07-19T19:24:00.000-04:00

Song lyrics always fascinate me.

I'm the kind of person that will actually listen to the lyrics in songs. Its hard for me to tune out listening to lyricized music. So very frequently, I find profound lyrics, and gems of truth in some of the most unlikely places. I'm convinced that song writers are sometimes even unconsciously touching on issues of spiritual significance, just by the sheer fact that they use life experiences and introspection to write poetry. I believe we are holistic creatures: the spiritual dimension and physical dimension of ourselves are interconnected and cannot be separated. As Solomon wrote, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccl 3:11). Eternity overflows in the realm of song writing.

I came across this song by a punk rock band named Brand New. The song is titled "Jesus Christ". The writer seems to clearly have some background in Christian faith, but struggles with the tension that is familiar to all of us. "I'm know that I am unhappy, and unsatisfied with my life; but I am afraid to trust the offer of there being more." Trust is a major issue in our culture. Trust is major issue in me. Trust requires risk, and risk means there is a chance of failure. But maybe the thought of failure is actually only real in the eye of the beholder, and does not exist in the object of that trust. Maybe that's what makes us real, this element of risk. Risk makes our hearts beat faster; it offers love in the face of rejection; it makes memories of bold decisions; it defines crossroad moments. As much as it hurts, it makes us alive.

"Jesus Christ"

Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face
The kind you'd find on someone that could save
If they don't put me away
It’ll be a miracle

Do you believe you're missing out?
That everything good is happening somewhere else
With nobody in your bed
The night is hard to get through

And I will die all alone
And when I arrive I won’t know anyone

Jesus Christ, I’m alone again
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Because this problem is gonna last
More than the weekend

Jesus Christ I’m not scared to die
But I’m a little bit scared of what comes after
Do I get the gold chariot
Or do I float through the ceiling

Or do I divide and pull apart
Cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark
This ship went down in sight of land
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?

I know you're coming in the night like a thief
But I’ve had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique
I know you think that I’m someone you can trust
But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up
So do you think that we could work out a sign
So I’ll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try
I know you're coming for the people like me
But we all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories
We all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories
We all got wood and nails
And we sleep inside of this machine

Engaging with God

2007-07-03T10:31:00.000-04:00

Over the past month I have been focusing on schooling once again. I took my first seminary class in May, Theology of Worship, with Dr. David Barker. It was a truly exciting, and stimulating lecture series. I also appreciated the class discussion (I rarely do). I found myself engaging a rich tapestry of theology through the subject of worship. It is a popular word in our churches these days, and yet, the discussions seem to have nothing much to do with the Biblical sense of the word!

One of the assignments, is to review chapters from the book Engaging with God by David Peterson. Since I have not had much time to update my blog because I have been focused on class work, why not kill two birds with one stone? I found myself really "engaging" this book, and taking the issues further as a result. Below are some excerpts from a few chapter reviews of Peterson. If you would like to skip the preliminary remarks and head right down to my critique, you won't hurt my feelings...it's at the end of each chapter review. If anything, I hope these thoughts help you grapple with the mystery of worship.

David Peterson, Engaging with God. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press (1992).

Chapter 1: Engaging with God in the Old Testament

Engaging with God by David Peterson opens with a study of worship theology through the Old Testament. In chapter one titled, Engaging with God in the Old Testament, Peterson explores the cult of Israel’s worship practices. Through an investigation of the biblical pattern of cult practices in Old Testament worship Peterson attempts to prove his thesis, “I will test the hypothesis that the worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible” (Peterson, 20). Specifically in chapter 1 Peterson establishes the worship of Yahweh was always through the initiation and work of Yahweh himself.

As he interacts with the practices of cult worship, it is particularly fascinating to note holy places in the ancient world, in even pagan religious practices, were seen as the places where heaven and earth met. Through this belief, Yahweh also engages his people in various physical places to establish covenants of promises, and demand to the patriarchs. It was not as though God was limited to certain physical places; however, God chose these places to manifest his will and direction. Peterson specifically spends time focusing on the book of Exodus because it exposes “a clear connection between Israel’s pattern of approach to God and his redemptive purposes for his people” (Peterson, 27). As New Covenant readers it is necessary to see the deep connection between the (symbolic and literal) exodus of God’s people from Egypt for the purpose of ultimately freeing the worshipper to worship God unfettered. It is particularly appreciated that Peterson explains the festival celebration as significant in the life of God’s people as much as the stoic priestly duties, which are often wrongly portrayed as oppressive and cumbersome (Peterson, 37-38). All ritual was intended to be a heart-act of crying out to God within the gambit of human emotion and experience, for a relational bond with the transcendent. Further, as Peterson gives direct treatment to the prophets, he exposes afresh the Prophet’s relentless rebuke against empty ritual when not backed up by life-oriented worship (Peterson, 45-46).

Peterson repeatedly reminds the readers that cult ritual was never an end in itself. Even in the Old Testament pattern of worship, “total-life orientation” (Peterson, 29) was always the attitude and spirit behind any ritual of worship. In turn, God’s initiative in leading the worshipper was found in cultivating a holy people (set apart from the surrounding cultures) to be purified by Yahweh himself. God was the initiative taker in establishing the cult ritual, forgiving the repentant heart, and establishing the grounds for blessings and curses within the context of his holy nation. In this sense, Peterson is successful in affirming his hypothesis in the Old Testament. He shows that Old Testament worship was on God’s terms and in a way that God alone makes possible.

This reviewer found Peterson’s treatment of Old Testament worship fascinating, and thoughtfully involved. It is difficult to find much critique in Peterson’s opening chapter; however, the reviewer has found a constructive point of contention with the author. Peterson’s in-depth theology of worship surrounding the exodus (though excellent) seemed to sacrifice (no pun intended) the even more foundational theology of worship in Genesis. With limited discussion on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Peterson, 25-26) and no discussion of Edenic worship, the study of Old Testament worship theology leaves something to be desired. The reviewer is left with questions such as, what implications did Old Testament worship practices, pre-Mosaic law, have upon God’s people? And, does Edenic worship give us any clues as to the ideals for worship God was trying communicate to Moses and his people at Sinai? This reviewer believes that a study of Eden would give further strength to the authors “life-oriented worship”, as explained in chapter one.

Chapter 2: Honouring, Serving, and Respecting God

In chapter two Peterson breaks down the word ‘worship’ in specific Hebrew and Greek words found in the Bible, Septuagint, and Ancient Near-Eastern and Greco-Roman literature. Peterson comments that a study of the various words that one would translate ‘worship’ represent not a complete or exhaustive explanation of worship; but reveal, “a whole mosaic of thought about the way to relate to God.” (Peterson, 56) Specifically, Peterson explains the words for worship that literally mean homage, service, and reverence. The ultimate goal is to understand better how the people of the Old Testament interacted with God.

Although Peterson does not directly come out and emphatically state this truth; throughout the chapter, he implies that the English understanding of the word worship is inadequate in expressing this mosaic of thought concerning the subject of worship theology. Worship is shown as so much broader then simply adoring God. In fact, Peterson repeatedly returns (as in Chapter 1) to Biblical worship being a total life-orientation as expressed in the gambit of words the English translates as ‘worship’. Specifically through homage, service, and the reverence, we find very active forms of worship.

First, Peterson addresses the words used for homage and grateful submission as words used for worship. For example, the most commonly used word for worship is the verb proskynein. Proskynein carries the idea of a “total bodily gesture of respect before a great one...” (Peterson, 57). LXX translators used this word frequently to translate the Hebrew word histah wa in the Old Testament. Histah wa, according to Peterson, literally means to bend oneself at the waist. He reveals the Old Testament contexts in which the word is used, and in many cases it is both spontaneous and part of the cultic ritual. Either word when employed shows a response of gratitude and thanksgiving toward God revealing Himself. It is ultimately a reflection of an inward reality of overwhelming prostration in one’s heart because of gratitude. This expression of submission and humility in proskynein and histah wah, interestingly is associated with thanksgiving and not supplication according to Peterson (Peterson, 60-61).

Secondly, Peterson explores worship as an act of service. The Greek words latreuein, doulos, and leitourgia, carry the idea of service, both ritualistically and in everyday living. In Hebrew, the word abad is also used for service. On one hand, the word service is used in the ritualistic sense, which is where we get the English word ‘liturgy’. For Israel to perform the cultic responsibilities mainly through the priests of the Lord, they acted out the “church service” to the Lord. At the same time, abad, doulos,and latreuein represent a concept much larger, “The language of service implies that God is a great king, who requires faithfulness and obedience from those who belong to him.” (Peterson, 69) The cultic expression of worship, was just the outpouring of lives already engaged in worship through obedience to the covenant. Ideas of slavery, submission, and allegiance are implied within these words for worship, contrasting the slavery in Egypt under a different master, now being freed to worship the true Master. Peterson concludes that obedience, as represented in these words, is a key avenue of worship to the living God.

Thirdly, words for fear and reverence are studied. Drawing off of many non-biblical texts, Peterson contrasts the Greek’s use of sebomai with an Old Testament understanding of fear. He argues that the LXX writers used fear in a far more positive light then the Greeks did. The Greeks served their gods out of negative fear only (trembling, and dread); however, the Israelites saw fear in a positive light. Even though Peterson ascents briefly to fear in the Old Testament being trembling and negative fear, Peterson’s emphasis on fear is far more towards the positive and active obedience to God’s commandments. Fear, according to the author, is reverence and respect acted out in obedience. At this point the reviewer takes issue, and will humbly critique.

Although the author does build a strong case for fear being understood as obedience, Peterson does seem to do some interpretive gymnastics to reinforce his conclusion that fear is almost exclusively obedience and not equally the trembling before a holy and awesome God. It is the view of this writer that Peterson presents a shallow view of fear, and seems to ignore many obvious Scriptures dealing utter terror before Yahweh. It is not antithetical to speak of fear as respect, and utter terror. The Scriptures seems to show both, and seems to require both to maintain a proper view of fear. Though yare may be used infrequently, the spirit of yare cannot be ignored. The subject has practical and theological implications for how we view God in today’s world. The utter terror of God is almost altogether ignored in today’s churches, and it is reflected in the overemphasis on the immanence of God. There is a need to call people back to fearing the power and presence of God in utter poverty of spirit, as Isaiah said, “woe to me, ...I am ruined!” (Isa 6:5) when he found himself in the presence of Yahweh, which interestingly, from a NT perspective is a theophany of Jesus! (John 12:41)

2007-05-15T13:02:00.000-04:00

I am occasionally stirred in my soul over documentaries that tell the realities of life. I gravitate toward films that are real, plain, and capture true-to-life emotion. In watching Hollywood films, the distinction between the real and the fabricated is sometimes blurred purposefully or inadvertently. In the case of "Deliver Us From Evil", I found it to be jarring, and alarming to the point of awakening me from my apathetic sleep in regards to the serious perils the Church has as it attempts to hang onto religion.

If you are not already familiar with the film, it is the documentation of one specific priests' charges of pedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church. It reveals the churches attempts at covering it up, and avoiding any focus on the Diocese in the LA area. It also follows the families of whom it destroyed, showing their pain, bitterness, and consequences.

I honestly felt sick while watching this film. A topic like pedophilia is not common table talk; however, the film woke me up to its pervasiveness, and corruption surrounding it. My heart broke for these people as they poured our their pain on camera. You could see it all over them, as adults, the child inside that has never recovered from such a sacred violation. Their development has been stunted, their families destroyed, all because one person abused their responsibility and power to gratify their own lustful gratification. Beyond pedophilia however, there was an issue that I wept over: these men and women cried out to the church for an advocate, and were violently rejected. Granted, I'm sure in many professions there can be people who slip through the cracks (not that it is an excuse, especially in the church) who have these sorts of issues; but for the Catholic Church to cover it up, shove it aside, and send that priest to another parish somewhere far away is the plain representation of injustice that God hates so much. It is not only tragic that it took place, but equally tragic that the group God originally established to be an advocate for those on the underside of power, have become the perpetrators of evil injustice.

I'm sure some would criticize me for watching a film like this at all; however, I believe that Hollywood is to the world, what the Marketplace and Aeropagus was to the Greeks. People take advantage of this platform to blow to whistle on injustice. Of course we need to be discerning about the information presented, and scrutinize it closely with Biblical and factual evidence; but I believe it to be the responsibility of followers of Christ to be climbing the mizpah (the look-out towers) to look for opportunities to represent Christ in tzedakah (justice). The Apostle Paul was there on Mars Hill, and we also need to be standing on the Mars Hill's of today, paying little attention to the voices of power and esteem, and leaning closer to hear to the faint whispers of those no one is listening to, because there we will find Jesus also.

I want to be clear. I am not going after individual Roman Catholics. I have met many a Catholic that passionately love God, and would be equally appalled by this. I am addressing the institution as a whole. If reports like Deliver Us From Evil have a shred of truth in them, it affirms to me that the evil in the Catholic Church is pandemic. Yes, Baptists have done their fair share of evil, yes protestants have contributed to the problem; denominations are not the issue here, injustice is! We are talking about what is happening today, not 500 years ago. If ANY organization is facilitating injustice and by omission doing nothing for the victims of their own institution, it has no reason to exist, and should be actively pursued to be brought down at it's very root.

It is interesting to note that Pope Benedict's position before becoming Pope was to oversee the sexual abuse cases of the Catholic church around the world. When some of the victims traveled all the way to the Vatican from the US (by appointment), not to accuse but find mercy and help, they treated as criminals and turned away at the gate. I realize I making a lot of assumptions here; but when an institution is more interested in protecting and maintaining itself, to the exclusion of neglecting its original purpose, it is shooting itself in the foot, because the rotting is not coming from the outside in, but the inside out.

Let there be distance between your love...

2007-04-15T19:15:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a few quotations or sayings you've come across when you were young, and they've stuck with you for all these years? Not only have they stuck with you, but they seem to articulate well the themes of your life? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Or is it something God gives you, early on, to remind you that there is something much bigger taking place, in contrast to whatever trees stand in front of you?

I connected with literature in the 10th grade. I had this high school crush on a girl named Nicole Jacques. One of the things that caught my attention about her was the keen interest she had in English literature. I could see the way she connected with Shakespeare, and other various poetry...it fascinated me. I felt like she was this diamond in the ruff, unique and mysterious. She wasn't like other girls at school: talking about getting drunk, vain discussions on fashion, and the new cute jock on the basketball team. Nicole would discuss philosophy, revel in the beauty of a sonnet, and give herself to the wonder of lyrical rhythm and rhyme. Granted, I must have created a mythological version of this girl, because there is no way a girl at that age would be so into literature. Yet from my 16 year old mind, it seemed quite cool. Yes this story is going somewhere....not to worry...

I really wanted to get her attention. I realized that she wouldn't notice me unless I had some similar passions, so I took out almost every Shakespearean play, and all the poems I could find in the library. I spent one year going through all the material, memorizing romantic sonnets, and giving myself to the themes and plots of Shakespeare. I would walk to school repeating the most recent stanza I needed to memorize. I was determined! I look back now and laugh...I memorized some of the cheesiest poems, just for that right moment, I could bust out in something profound, and get her to notice me. I could really go on, and explain some of the interesting things that subsequently happened...but after things never really panned out as I hoped, I became disinterested in her, but found myself falling in love with literature. It helped me understand what I was feeling in a way that science textbooks could not express. All that to say, I fell "out of love" with the girl, and "in love" with words.

Getting back to my intial question: Are there some phrases, poems, or words that have stuck with you, and seem to also represent the theme's of your life up to this point? For me there is. I thought I would share a few with you. Maybe it could get you thinking about quotations that have stuck with you over the years. I will save the explaination of each, but allow them to speak for themselves. For those of you who know me, some of these will sound familiar. They go all the way back to grade 10, and have followed me ever since.

"Let there be distance between your love, for the pillars of the temple stand apart, as do the strings of the lute, although they quiver with the same music." -Khalil Gibran

"Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." -Song of Songs 8:4

Holidays of Renewal

2007-04-09T20:15:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of my brother (Randall), my mom Lynne, and stepdad Guy, not forgetting the coolest bulldog ever, the fabulous Renee!

I'm currently taking some time off from my work in Windsor. Every once in a while I feel the need to take more then a day to put myself back together. Since I've moved to Windsor I'm finding myself usually going to Barrie for any vacation time I get. So here I am. Barrie and Wasaga beach.

Something I am learning is that I cannot trust going to Barrie will be the thing that puts me back together when I feel like my energy and strength is gone. Ministry seems to take its toll on me. I still haven't figured out if its because I don't manage stress well, or if it's because I am just learning what ministry is really like on a ground level (in contrast to the ivory towers of seminary). I looked forward to having this time off, and a part of me thought, "well if I just get to Barrie for a little while things will be ok." I think I missed the point for a moment. As I drove around my hometown, so much was the same as Windsor, just another city that is much more familiar to me. The nostalgia turned into memories of my times wandering Barrie alone, then to Huntsville, wandering alone. None of these places offer me anything different. I realized that it is purely a matter of God using something to change me, and if it is a change of scenery, I don't trust in the scenery, I trust in God's love to use it in putting me back together.

My prayer is that God would reset some broken bones, renew my mind, and refresh my spirit. As I've taken some hits over the past little while, I pray that he would use old friends, family (even our cute bulldog), silence, memories, and reflection on truth to accomplish such an end. I felt selfish at first, asking God for these things; but I recognized in that same moment, God is best displayed in me through the restoring of my broken spirit. He is also best displayed in a life that finds pleasure in God himself. Renewal is not for self glorification, or to accomplish all the "plans" of my life; its purpose is to show God as the hero of human renewal.

N.T. Wright on Worship

2007-04-02T19:06:00.000-04:00

My recent post has continually been on my mind. Worship. Interestingly, I was reading Simply Christian by N.T. Wright, not expecting to come across anything of what had been on my mind; yet providentially (??) I came across a chapter in his book on worship, and he pretty much says the exact same thing (except in a much more elegant fashion) I had written about in my last blog entry concerning "becoming what we worship." I would like to share a passage from his book that really stuck out to me. It may be interesting to read my previous post, then read this section of his book. Not in any prideful sense, I just felt affirmed...like I was on the right track. It really excited my faith, and I returned thanks to God.

N.T. Wright. Simply Christian, 147-149.

"What happens when you're at a concert like that is that everyone present feels that they have grown in stature. Something has happened to them: they are aware of things in a new way; the whole world looks different. It's a bit like falling in love. In fact, it is a kind of falling in love. And when you fall in love, when you're ready to throw yourself at the feet of your beloved, what you desire, above all, is union.

This brings us to the first of two golden rules at the heart of spirituality. You become what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship. Those who worship money become, eventually, human calculating machines. Those who worship sex become obsessed with their own attractiveness or prowess. Those who worship power become more and more ruthless.

So what happens when you worship the creator God whose plan to rescue the world and put it to rights has been accomplished by the Lamb who was slain? The answer comes in the second golden rule: because you were made in God's image, worship makes you more truly human. When you gaze in love and gratitude at the God in whose image you were made, you do indeed grow. You discover more of what it means to be fully alive.

Conversely, when you give that same total worship to anything or anyone else, you shrink as a human being. It doesn't, of course, feel like that at the time. When you worship part of the creation as though it were the Creator himself - in other words, when you worship an idol - you may well feel a brief "high." But, like a halucinatory drug, that worship achieves its effect at a cost: when the effect is over, you are less of a human being than you were to begin with. That is the price of idolatry.

The opportunity, the invitation, the summons is there before us: to come and worship the true God, the creator, the redeemer, and to become more truly human by doing so. Worship is at the very center of all Christian living... Perhaps one of the reasons why so much worship, in some churches at least, appears unattractive to so many people is that we have forgotten, or covered up, the truth about the one we are worshipping. But whenever we even glimpse the truth, we are drawn back... those who come to recognize the God we see in Jesus, the Lion who is also the Lamb, will long to come and worship him. "

A Device In Clever Disguise: Redux

2007-03-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while I will read over former posts I have made. This particular post struck me as something I am becoming more and more convinced of. The question of "Who are we becoming as we worship?" is of vital importance. What we spend our time thinking about, and constructing in our churches is a good indication of what we worship. I've reworked my thoughts a tad, and continue to discuss over this ambiguous topic of "Christian worship".

-December 2006- "A Device in Clever Disguise"

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,

"A person will worship something -- have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts -- but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming.”

We become what we worship.

We see the obvious connection in the world. Thousands of teenager girls could easily be mistaken as Brittany Spears; business men who really look and act like One Hundred Dollar bills; housewives who try to make their lives look as clean as the kitchen Martha Stewart told them to design. That's easy to see...the examples go on. Now when it comes to religion...does followers of Islam become like Allah? Do Atheists unravel their Atheism and become the consequences of a life without God? G.K. Chesterton said, "If there was no God, there would be no athiests." (That gave me a good laugh, just had to add that in there). Subversively, or blantantly, we become what we worship. When one ascribes ultimate value to something (which is worship in it's most basic form), ones life becomes consumed with obtaining that value and
imitating it. But wait, aren’t Christians the ones who throw around this word worship the most? What difference does it make for the Christian?

If everyone becomes what they worship, for the Christian, it seems clear that when worshipping God, you become like God. More specifically, like Jesus. Previously, I used negative examples of false religion and belief: one retains, adapts, and imitates the false ideologies they worship and ascribe worth to. Worship is the centerpiece of all human belief, because it is at this point cognitive understanding and personal internalization collide.

In turn, it also seems reasonable to say worship of the one true God changes us, and if worship doesn't change us, worship is not worship. If we are not becoming what we think we are worshipping, we are not worshipping the object we thought. In fact, our affections are somewhere else, because there is no one who worships nothing. This kind of ideological objectivity is a myth. Even if we hypothetically worshipped nothing, we would in turn become nothing. Therefore, in becoming what we worship, we would invalidate our belief in nothing, because someone who is nothing cannot be, do, or say anything, simply because it would cease to be nothing. So there we are back to the drawing board.

This is because Christian Worship is the point at which heaven and earth become one. Consider the Old Testament tabernacle, as this was where "God would dwell with His people". Moses, at the Tent of Meeting (a pre-temple, temple worship function), comes out from meeting with God. His face is shinning an astonishing brightness. He was literally transformed in the presence of YHWH. The Scriptures say that this glory was fading, God's relational presence could not be fully sustained because of sin. Ultimately, however, the point of the tabernacle was that God would dwell with his people, heaven and earth were one, and therefore, those who engaged it were transformed by this bridge of heaven and earth.

Now read the words of second Corinthians chapters three and four,

"...the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because its glory, fading though it was...and if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!"

"...Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away...but whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

The most astonishing thing about worship is this boldness of entering the presence of God and retaining his glory in an unfading fashion. The transformation Moses experienced in worship is something we have daily access to: the Spirit of Jesus living in and with us. Worship is transformation. The Israelities tasted it, early Christians experienced it.

Secondly, if Jesus is truely unique, to worship Jesus also means he is superior to all creeds and gods that have been worshipped and are being worshipped in our world. The consequence to Christian worship is that the Christian can be unique in a world filled with options and choices in the drive-thru selection of western gods.

If Jesus was unique, we can be unique.

My point is reduced to this. As we approach Sunday morning, or weekly praise, the primary fruit of singing and worshipping God is life transformation into the image of Christ. Cold affirmation of doctrine does not come first, and neither does shallow experiential religious emotion. The implication to me and those that I minister is this: Am I leading more then the music? Am I leading the worship through the exhortation to be more like Jesus? That true worship will be transformational? If our gospel is about grace (undeserved favour before God) am I modeling that in the way I lead worship? Or, am I putting social constraints around the necks of those who come to hear from God...do this and do that, and then you'll be a part of our community? Wear this kind of clothing, speak these cliches, sing this type of music. Do I expect people to jump through all our evangelical hoops to access meaningful worship?

Let me take it a step further... could it be possible that in becoming what we worship, we have found a hint into the "worship wars" of the modern day church? Could it be that we actually worship style over the Jesus? Can you have a different "style" of being like Jesus? Of course not! Do we become more like the music we sing, and less like our Saviour?

I am more and more convinced that the music will come; God calls us to be obedient first and foremost, because He knows that our greatest joy and worship will come from a life concerned with being like Himself.

Maybe this is all too simple. God knows that I have heard it before.
Not until recently did I put it together that we really do become what we worship, so as I've began to examine my life, I ask myself, "At the end of the day, who am I really like?" Because if I am not becoming like Jesus, I'm becoming like something else.

If you and I are not becoming like Jesus as we worship him; be careful, because it is most likely not Him we are worshipping, but a device in clever disguise.

Life seems to happen sometimes

2007-03-22T21:17:00.000-04:00

Sadly, I have been neglecting my blog once again. Many things have taken precedent, and yet to be frank, I really write on my blog when I want to, and I just have not wanted to lately. I think that will change for the next little while though. There are many blessings and curses from the internet; and yet one of the unique blessings is the chance to process life with others.

For those of you who occasionally pray for me, I've got a nasty sickness that has been quite distracting of late. I find myself sitting at my desk and blanking out for a few minutes, almost as though my brain has a scratch on it like a CD, and is skipping over the same thought over and over again.

In terms of an update for those of you who are wondering...

I was recently down at ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) in Warsaw IL. It's very cool being close to the US border. It provides quite a bit of opportunity for events like this not being very far away.

The discussion at ETS mainly revolved around the messianic mantle of Jesus. Did the ancient Jews have an idea of a individual messiah? How did a Jewish worldview understand the concept of messiah? It was a fascinating discussion. Daryl Bock was one of our main plenary speakers. He had just returned from Jerusalem studying the claims surrounding the Jesus ossuary, as well as early church documents.

Aaron gave me some pulpit time during his holidays a few weeks ago. I enjoyed the chance to preach my heart out, and it reminded me of how much I do enjoy it. Preaching on a once-every-couple-month basis causes me to sometimes forget an element of ministry I really connect with. I find myself learning and growing so much on the weeks I am preaching. They are also the weeks that God shows me the most about myself. I loath the idea of preaching on a passage very systematically and being so far removed from it that I would perceive things only as "telling people what they need to hear". I'm finding that preaching and teaching is more for me, the way it challenges and changes me, I don't think I could live without it.

I thought I would put a few excerpts from my message in my blog tonight. Not to show off (its most likely very unoriginal), but to share the way God is changing me.

The Jewish people used the word Shalom to describe this. What does it mean? Peace; but not a shallow peace like, “love flowers, and hate war”. An ancient Jew meant so much more with this greeting Shalom. It was a holistic blessing that had to do with all of life: your physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational being was all wrapped up in this greeting “Shalom”. Are we a Shalom community? Certainly by “truth”, John is not saying, if you agree on a set of words like, Jesus, God, the Bible, etc…you will magically be a loving community. Certainly church history has proved that having nice and clean doctrinal statements does not guarantee you will be a loving community. Yet, if we understand the depth of truth, to love people in the truth will result in a community of people that radically loves. Because the nature of true truth is shalom.

In 1^st John 3:16-18, John himself comments,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another. If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

For us to reach out to people and share the message, we have to be able to communicate with our actions that truth is not winning an argument, or getting the last word in; truth is representing Jesus, and sometimes Jesus would be quiet. Pilate asked condescendingly “what is truth?” And there it was, standing right in front of him! Jesus did not say, here is the truth, or this is the truth, he said, “I am the truth.” Jesus is truth, he embodies, and personifies everything that the truth is. “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Where do these accounts in scripture come from? Far from a coincidence, the Gospel of John!

John knew something about the truth, and loving people in the truth, because he spent three years walking with the embodied truth of God, and a lifetime of living in it.

If Jesus is truth, and to know truth is to know Jesus, and to know Jesus is to have a relationship. Truth therefore is relational in nature. Does this not bring to life truth as so much more then just a set of ideas I cognitively subscribe to?...

...As I prepared for this message, understanding that I wanted to discuss truth. I kept thinking about that passage in John 14…”I am the truth”. The message of truth being found in Jesus. I am convinced that there is no person in history so mysterious, so creative, and so full of wisdom and constitution. This is not only found in the way Jesus displayed himself, but also in what he claimed. We need to effectively deal with the nonsense going around that Jesus was just a good teacher. Jesus did not give us that option. Good teachers do not go around claiming to be God.
There has recently been an interest in re-inventing Jesus based on 3rd century documents. Interestingly, they focus much more on Jesus as a teacher and less on him as divine. Why is there such an interest in removing his deity? It might be good to look at some 1st Century documents that speak of this Jesus of Nazareth. Let's see what they have to say...

Josephus 94 A.D. A Jewish historian, under the employment of the Roman gov’t.

“About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if it be proper to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, -a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when Pilate; at the instigation of the principal men among us; had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him at first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again on the third day; the divine prophets having foretold these and many other wonderful things concerning him. And the sect of Christians, so named after him, are not extinct to this day.” –Flavius Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews, book XV111. A.D. 94

Who would have thought I look like Cate Blanchett??

2007-02-20T19:09:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of Valentine's Day

2007-02-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

I read a very funny comment today. I was calmly sitting in Starbucks, and burst out laughing. Keep in mind, I was sitting by myself, while other Starbuck enthusiasts were sitting around me enjoying their lattes and frappacino's. I felt the need to explain my sudden laugher to ease the awakwardness as they glanced in my direction, yet pretended to look at something behind me, so as to not make eye contact. Ooooh look, some guy is laughing, how strange, better not make eye contact!

I resisted the urge to explain, and just took a moment to laugh at a funny comment I could relate to. It's nothing deep; but sometimes, simplicity is the funniest thing ever. The comment went something like this...

"Nice girls are like internet domain names. The good ones are aready taken."

Haha, man that cracks me up. Yes it's geeky, and maybe only a geek would get it.
So in the spirit of Valentine's Day, here is my bow. Maybe I built things up a little too much for a lame joke, and you're still waiting for the punch line.

Isn't She Beautiful?

2007-01-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I've excited some of you. A strange, but telling title for a blog.

I know many of you have been interested in the fruit of my love life as a single guy. Are you curious to know the "she" that is so beautiful? I am aware of your keen interest in finding me the right lady. Your thoughts and attempts have been flattering and appreciated; however, you can rest now.

Search no more. You'd be glad to know that she is indeed very beautiful. Sadly, I didn't always notice her that way. I admit I was a little blind to her; though she was right under my nose all along. I was just caught up in "doing" the things of life, and as such, it prevented me from seeing her. I am just so glad that God opened my eyes to just how beautiful she actually is.

So who is she? I'm sure you are dying to know.

As a matter of fact, I almost considered her ugly before! Not ugly asethetically, she kept up her physical appearance fairly well. On the outside she could be noticeable a times: elegant, polished, witty, and articulate; but inside, oh inside! I percieved to be so ugly. I thought I knew her, she made me angry at times...her behaviour was atrocious! I was just waiting for her to say something embarassing. Have you ever known someone like that? They can seem so beautiful on the outside, but as soon as they open their mouth, it's like they were just beaten with an ugly stick?

What's even worse, people would talk about the horrible things she did before I met her. Her former loves, her failures, her deciet. I would be appalled and speechless, especially when they would ask why I still keep company with her...

I wondered why I kept company with her.

I used to think she was ugly; but isn't she beautiful?

Yesterday night I was just sitting there and admiring her. She smiled at me.

She smiled at my beating heart. My heart, because it was her own.

Many others were admiring her...I wasn't jealous. We all knew her reputation, but admired her nonetheless. We could all sympathize with the ugliness. I, of all people, could sympathize with her.

We saw her beauty, and saw that there is none like her. God made her, and loves her, even when she did go her own way. There was always a part of her that was beautiful, and longed to be everything God made her to be, even when her hands and feet rebelled and left home.

Her beauty is real. She is beautiful. I just had to look.

I saw her in Africa, where she journyed away from video cameras...
she was beautiful.
I saw her in a crack house, where she replaced drugs for jealous love...
she was beautiful.
I saw her in a broken church, where she stopped pretending...
she was beautiful.
I saw her in a mosque, where she openly shared humility, and vulnerability...
she was beautiful.
I saw her in a broken marriage, where she said 'I'm sorry'...
she was beautiful.
I saw her in a seminary, where she wrestled with mystery...
she was beautiful.
And I saw her in a broken heart, where she offered true love...
she was beautiful.

I began to see her everywhere, because she is everywhere.

Isn't she beautiful?
Why is she beautiful?
Because she bleeds divine blood, and bled she has.
_________________________________________________________

I was down at a conference titled "Isn't She Beautiful" at Mars Hill Chuch in Grand Rapids MI, with Rob Bell as the main speaker. It reminded me, and captured me in many different areas; many of which I will write. However, I can summarize it all in the deep realization of the profound mystery, and beauty of the Church. There is nothing like it, and nothing with such great potential to change the world. God is continually adorning His bride. The Father takes her scares, failures, and faults, making beauty from ashes. She has her fair share of ashes to make beautiful.

Brad, Jon, Jeff, Derek, and Tom, thanks for representing Her well.

So Are You To Me

2007-01-19T18:03:00.000-05:00

As the music at the banquet
As the wine before the meal
As the firelight in the night
So are you to me

As the ruby in the setting
As the fruit upon the tree
As the wind blows over the plains
So are you to me

As the wind blows over the plains
So are you to me

Have mercy on us Father

2007-01-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

I've dropped the ball.
I've definitely failed.
I've dissapointed myself.
I've dissapointed others.

I am thankful beyond words that I can say "I've dropped the ball."
I am thankful beyond words that I can say "I made a mistake."
I am afraid of a time when I think I'm doing good, when really I am doing evil.
I am afraid of not having the faintest idea of the harm I am doing.
I am afraid of closing my ears to the friends who love me so much, they care to correct me.

I am thankful that God's spirit of loving discipline does not let me get very far.

"No one is so terribly decieved than he who does not suspect" Keirkegaard said.

Could the most the dangerous Christian be one who believes their pragmatics are correct because their theology is correct? Could your theology be correct, but their practice be antithetical or just plain old evil?

If you have not figured out by now I am referring to the latest events in Windsor concerning the attempt of a local church to "educate" the public on Islam.

Their ad in the newspaper: "The deadly threat of Islam: Be afriad, be very afriad."
What is the purpose of such advertisement? Public advertisement implies the desire to get public attention. The question arises, what is the purpose? To make a long story short, a story many of you know. The fruit of such advertisement and seminars now have sparked a national debate and protest of muslim groups. The protest revolves around "Baptist, Protestant, Christian Churches"now, all over the news. Christians fueling hate towards Muslims is the outcry.

You wanted a product of your advertisement and following lectures. You got it.

Now the relationship building, discussions, friendship, and bridges being built in our community are compromised. Thank you. The very Muslims I have spent months and months conversing with were the very ones being yelled at, disrespected, and reduced to nothing more then terrorits by my supposed Christian brothers and sisters. There has not been one shred of love displayed in practice, though I hear these Christians say they are not about hate. Love is what we do, not what you say, sorry.

So can we be correct theologically, but in error practically? Yes, absolutely. Does one come before the other? I don't know. But one thing the Bible is clear about is the bearing of fruit as a result of your "theology". Is it bad fruit? Good fruit? Can you divorce love from the result of saving faith?

Is it even more dangerous to close your ears to the loving rebuke of fellow Christians, for the sake of the mission of the gospel and our testimony to others?

Have mercy on me Lord. Have mercy on your bride. It is too often a whore of many lovers, whos names are 'publicity', 'religion', and 'pride'.

Maranatha (a day I truely long for)

Here is an low down from the media's perspective in this story http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=8f12e622-3aa5-47c8-86ac-6eecddd92b07&k=71

2007 Approaching

2006-12-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

It's the last hours of 2006 (and the geek I am, I'm updating my blog). 2006 has been very interesting for me. Relationships have come and gone (the "special friend" kind); I've moved to a new city and started a new life; I've started a new ministry position; new friends; new perspectives; and within it all, new challenges.

There is truely no one like the one true God, who is not content with just existing, nor created things and let them alone. This God is interested in seeing me grow in my deepest essence. For all the experiences, heartaches, challenges, new opportunities, God wastes nothing. Thank you God for sustaining me over this year, and being far more concerned with my heart and it's reflection of Your own.

Currently I am on holidays in Barrie, I will be back in a few days to update my blog further, and let everyone know what is going through this crazy head of mine.

May you know God's peace in the new year.

Maranatha...your's truely,

Rielly

A Clear Voice In a Conveluded Pseudo-Christian World

2006-12-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

Authentic Christian scholarship is so refreshing! Let me say that again...authentic Christian scholarship is so refreshing!

Lately I have felt very bored with Christianity. Now when I say Christianity, I should say, Churchianity. Christian book stores, Christian radio-stations, Christian schools, Christian, Christian, Christian...I find it all very boring. Pardon my candor.

Browsing through a Christian book store the other day; throughout all the hundreds of books, I realized that very few actally said anything. In fact, most seemed to reinforce bad answers to bad questions. Could I find something meaningful in a place like this? I am indeed making some pretty big generalizations, which I am aware; but I did not realize how bland my heart and mind have felt lately, because I have been filling myself with Christian fluff.

Being in church leadership, this sort of thing is thrown at you all the time. I feel the pressure to have quick, witty, and profound solutions, pleasing to the ear and no cause anyone to get upset. All with the intention to put temporary bandages on people so they can just get out of my office. I tell yah, pop culture Christian book stores are really good at giving those kind of things. But it does nothing for my soul, or the souls of others.

Today I listened to a lecture by N.T. Wright. If you have not heard or read anything by him, you must pick up something. His perspective was so refreshing! In listening to him, I realized that there is a world of difference between authentic Christian scholarship and pop-culture publishing churchianity. You may not agree with everything Wright says; but you cannot deny that him and many other Christian scholars are authentic question askers, that honestly attempt to deal with the good questions, and good answers. They don't claim to have all the answers, but they are interested in using everything God gave them to search it out. I'm convinced that God is pleased in the pursuit of truth, even if it means we are not always finding the perfect answers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about being insane like a rock-star fan over Christian preachers. At the same time, I think these people are all metaphorically linked with the cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12. The cloud, by their voices, are calling us to be a part of the coming kingdom of God. As we live and move, think and act, they direct us to God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

No man is an end in itself; but at the same time, some contribute and some perpetuate the problem. My mind feels refreshed again, not because I have answers, but because I've been reminded of the real work for all those who call themselves followers of the Messiah.

I originally just wanted to post N.T. Wright's website, now look what I've gotten into.
Well here it is, and I trust you are blessed by the resources be offers. There are lectures manuscripts, mp3 files, and videos of Wright's work.

http://www.ntwrightpage.com/

A Device in Clever Disguise

2006-12-02T00:25:00.000-05:00

To all of you who occasionally check out my blog, I apologize for not updating it in the last few months. Many other things have taken precedent over my time lately; however, I'll be back into it very soon. I sincerely hope you continue to look up Soul Sojourner for the periodic article.

I am doing well. The fall has been jammed packed with ministry opportunities, and I've found a lot of joy in gaining the experience and life-lessons from ministry and life in general. I've recently been a part of forming a praise and worship band to do some gigs in Ontario and Michigan; we've had an awesome time leading youth in worship through song. The name that we are going with right now is Angelos, and no, we are not so egotistical to call ourselves "angels" for all you Greek geeks out there...the word also means "messenger". That's what we have felt our calling has been thus far: to be messengers on and off the stage for God's message of truth and reconciliation. Not only has it been an awesome time from a ministry standpoint, we definitely bring the house down with the music. We have a blast.

On that subject of worship, I want to leave you with some thoughts that have been running through my mind lately. It is something which is changing the way I do my job as a worship pastor, and individually express worship.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,

"A person will worship something -- have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts -- but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming.”

We become what we worship.

We see the obvious connection in the world. Thousands of teenager girls could easily be mistaken as Brittany Spears; business men who really look and act like One Hundred Dollar bills; housewives who try to make their lives look as clean as the kitchen Martha Stewart told them to design. That's easy to see...the examples go on. Now when it comes to religion...does followers of Islam become like Allah? Do Atheists unravel their Atheism and become the consequences of living life without God? I would answer yes to these questions. Subversively, or blantantly, we become what we worship. When one ascribes ultimate value to something (which is what worship is in it's most basic form), ones life is consumed with obtaining that value and modeling it. But wait, aren’t Christians the ones who throw around this word worship the most? What difference does it make for the Christian? Are we just the same?

If everyone becomes what they worship, for the Christian, it seems clear that when worshipping God, you become like God. More specifically, like Jesus. In other words, worship changes us, and if worship doesn't change us, worship is not worship. If we are not becoming what we think we are worshipping, we are not worshipping the object we thought. In fact, our affections are somewhere else, because there is no one who worships nothing. Even if we hypothetically worshipped nothing, we would in turn become nothing. Therefore, in becoming what we worship, we would invalidate our belief in nothing, because someone who is nothing cannot be, do, or say something, simply because it would cease to be nothing. So there we are back to the drawing board.

I believe what makes a Christian different is the worship of Jesus. As I look at all figures of history, none is as compelling as Jesus. Jesus has an instinctive gravity to Him that no other person in history contains. To quote one writer, demons curdled in terror; yet children loved to play with him. If Jesus is unique, to worship him as Lord and God is to seek to become like him primarily. The consequence for Christian worship is firstly not for feelings of comfort, warmth, or existential bliss (although I do believe it can encompass these elements), it is primarily to become like Christ; and through the avenue of worshipping the Messiah, he opens the door to live and walk like him. Secondly, if Jesus is truely unique, to worship Jesus also means he is superior to all creeds and gods that have been worshipped and are being worshipped in our world. The consequence to Christian worship is that the Christian can be unique in a world filled with options and choices in the drive-thru selection of western gods.

If Jesus was unique, we can be unique.

My point is reduced to this. As we approach Sunday morning, or weekly praise, the primary fruit of singing and worshipping God is life transformation into the image of Christ. Cold affirmation of doctrine does not come first, and neither does shallow experiential religious emotion. The implication to me and those that I minister is this: Am I leading more then the music? Am I leading the worship through the exhortation to be more like Jesus? That true worship will be transformational? If our gospel is about grace (undeserved favour before God) am I modeling that in the way I lead worship? Or, am I putting social constraints around the necks of those who come to hear from God...do this and do that, and then you'll be a part of our community? Wear this kind of clothing, speak these cliches, sing this type of music. Do I expect people to jump through all our evangelical hoops to access meaningful worship? Is that what the gospel of grace is?

Let me take it a step further... could it be possible that in becoming what we worship, we have found a hint into the "worship wars" of the modern day church? Could it be that we actually worship style over the Jesus? Can you have a different "style" of being like Jesus? Of course not! Do we become like our music and not like our Saviour? Quite possibly.

I am more and more convinced that the music will come; God calls us to be obedient first and foremost, because He knows that our greatest joy and worship will come from a life concerned with being like Himself.

Maybe this is all too simple. God knows that I have heard it before.
Not until recently did I put it together that we really do become what we worship, so as I've began to examine my life, I ask myself, "At the end of the day, who am I really like?" Because if I am not becoming like Jesus, I'm becoming like something else.

If you and I are not becoming like Jesus as we worship him; be careful, because it is most likely not Him we are worshipping, but a device in clever disguise.

Why I'm Not a Secularist "Why I Am Not" Series #2

2006-09-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while I will step out of myself, and observe my life as a third party. I find that every time I do this, without fail, I become filled with overwhelming wonder. Yes, a little dramatic I know, but bare with me. This wonder could be summed up in the question "How in the world did I get here?" I'm not taking about being created into a human person from the dust (as amazing as that is), nor am I talking about the universe and it's irreducible complexity (equally amazing). I am asking the question out of social, circumstantial, intellectual, and behavioral contexts. How did I get here? Why am I, what I am? Why do I believe what I believe? Why do I reject the things I reject? In fact it makes me believe more and more in the grace of God. Let me illustrate this in some things that turn out to be social oddities rather then norms...

What I believe seems pretty contrary to popular thought;
I always get a raised eyebrow when asked my profession from the general public.
When I'm asked what religion I am, I respond in rejecting religion; in turn I receive a look of sheer confusion.
When asked about sex, my answer brings initial laugher; but almost always carries an unheard-of-curiosity.
When questioned about tolerance I address the definitions. I ask, according to your definition, must a "tolerant" person must be "tolerant" also of "intolerant" people, and their "intolerance"?
Why is it that I always have to give an answer for my beliefs, defending its rationale and claims, but the everyday-average Joe Secularist doesn't have to answer for theirs?

I could really go on. But the bottom line is that I'm glad I don't believe what the general public does (and that includes 'cultural Christianity' in many respects). People love to play kick the can with followers of Christ, but how often are these same people honestly address what they believe? Have they thought seriously about the fact that no one is neutral? Do they understand their own beliefs of neo-judeo/christian secularism? If you reject one thing, you in turn embrace another. That rejection of one thing implies the acceptance of another. Do they ask, is that "other" credible? Do they care?

Some people ask me how us Christians do it. It seems so hard to be a Christian, they say. They are honest questions though, and definitely deserve answering. As Chesterton said, "It's not that Christianity was tried and found wanting, but that Christianity was found difficult, and left untried."

Of course I think the message of God's grace through Jesus answers this question in the affirmative "yes, it is too difficult to do or obtain yourself. That's what's so amazing about grace." But let me tell you. Secularism is no credible option. I would become a Muslim, Communist,
Shinto, or whatever, before I became a Western Secularist. Don't tell me that to be a follower of Jesus is also to be insane, especially if you consider yourself the average-joe-syncretist. I will take the claims of Jesus and the Bible over the shallow facade of western secularism any day. The guy who goes to painstaking lengths to prove to me there are contradictions in the Bible (without accounting for any type of context); but at the same time, tells me that all religions are the same, and all truth-claims are equally true...is glaringly ignoring blatant contradictions in his own system to point out minuet details of Biblical text ...that have been answered, by the way, over and over and over again.

Remember this post is simply to communicate to you why I am not a Secularist. I cannot help but see the complete bankruptcy (ideologically and pragmatically) of the western culture. It's everywhere.

Steve Turner comments much more eloquently than me on the absurdity of our thought, so I will leave you with his poem titled, "Creed" and his concluding postscript. It is quite ingenious. If you have not read any of what I wrote, at least read this:

“Creed”

Steve Turner

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.

We believe everything is OK

As long as you don’t hurt anyone,

to your best definition of hurt,

and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.

We believe in the therapy of sin.

We believe adultery is fun.

We believe that sodomy’s OK.

We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything’s getting better

despite evidence to the contrary.

The evidence must be investigated

and you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in horoscopes,

UFO’s and bent spoons;

Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,

Mohammad, and ourselves.

He was a good moral teacher although we think

his good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same –

at least the one that we read was.

They all believe in love and goodness.

They only differ on matters of creation,

sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing

Because when you ask the dead what happens

They say nothing.

If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then it’s

compulsory heaven for all

excepting perhaps

Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.

We believe in total disarmament.

We believe there are direct links between warfare and

bloodshed.

Americans should beat their guns into tractors

and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.

It’s only his behavior that lets him down.

This is the fault of society.

Society is the fault of conditions.

Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that

is right for him.

Reality will adapt accordingly.

The universe will readjust.

History will alter.

We believe that there is no absolute truth

excepting the truth

that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,

and the flowering of individual thought.

In his post script titled “Chance” he writes,

If chance be

the Father of all flesh,

disaster is his rainbow in the sky,

and when you hear

State of Emergency!

Sniper Kills Ten!

Troops on Rampage!

Whites go Looting!

Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man

worshipping his maker.

Wow, it seems we all worship something don't we?

From the Mind of a Brother

2006-09-20T10:37:00.000-04:00

I noticed this post that my brother made on his blog about him and I.
It is some abstract poetry. I am struck that Randall and I, though taking different paths, understand life in the same way. We both crave adventure, to tell stories, and really get the most out of this short time we have alive. Whether it is talking to that elderly lady on the bus ride home, or chasing a drunk driver (on foot) down Eglington Road, we are audacious.

Well Randall, I know I've teased you about your spelling and grammar; but I love reading the things you write. It makes me laugh, and speaks to me because you and I are so much the alike.

So this is my tribute to you in return. I don't just link to anyone's blog *wink*.

The Questions of Exhaustive Knowledge

2006-09-02T14:19:00.000-04:00

I apologize to those of you who make frequent trips to my blog, and have yet to have something new to read since the beginning of August. The summer has had plenty of distractions and shuffling around. Thankfully, things are settling down in this respect and I will be able to give Soul Sojourner a little more attention.

I was thinking about the nature of this blog, and found a passage in a book that aptly describes my heart. There are some commonalities in my thought process (against popular opinion)...and in some ways this passage sums it up. This might be a window into my own mind, if you're at all curious.

I will neglect in sourcing the book, because some readers may immediately go on the defensive. I would rather we just let the quotation stand on it's own, and if you really want to know who wrote it, email me, and I will tell you. After you've read it of course :)

"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning God. No belligerent, arrogant questions that have no respect for our maker, but naked, honest, vulnerable, raw questions, arising out of the awe that comes from engaging the living God.

This type of questioning frees us. Frees us from having to have it all figured out. Frees us from having answers to everything. Frees us from always having to be right. It allows us to have moments when we come to the end of our ability to comprehend. Moments when the silence is enough.

The great Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, 'I did not ask for success, I asked for wonder.'"

Oh that God would teach us to stand before Him in a perpetual state wonder! I sense that even during the whole process of sanctification, the journey toward Jesus is a deeper sense of wonder and delight in God. It is actually God showing us we know little of what true pleasure really is and what the world offers is, as Lewis puts it, "making mud pies in the sand".

I think that questioning leads to wonder, because the enevitable conclusion to honest, authentic questioning, is a line of answers that are of an infinite nature. Questions with answers that are of the infinite, can only be answered in a limited fashion with the finite mind.

It is important to point out that we can still knows things to be true. Because we cannot know things exhaustively, does not equally mean we are inable know anything at all. True knowledge is possible, exhaustive knowledge is not. But as we persue the questions of exhaustive knowledge we come face to face with the infinite, living God who contains all awe and wonder and knowledge. In fact, it is the same God who personified knowledge saying, "I AM the truth". If truth is a person, how much more should our questions of truth and knowledge be laid before the God who personifies the truth?

The application for me is learning how to be a person who asks the right questions.

The Ontology of Superheroes

2006-08-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

My friend Andy Johnson recently did a story for CTV on the reemergence of Comic book heroes in the mainstream film industry. A few weeks ago, Andy, as well as my brother and I, sat around a table and discussed the elements of heroic archetypes in a downtown Toronto Pub. It was defintely time well spent. Andy interviewed the famed Todd McFarlane, as well as a University Professor who specializes in comic books as a form of literature.

Andy works for CTV, and I thought his article is well done, and worth checking out. I personally found his article fascinating as it relates to the tragic flaw of heroes, as well as the lines of good and evil being clearly drawn...in contrast to our age of moral relativity. But what interests me most, is why stories and heroes have been valued throughout all of history, and in all cultures. Why is this? What is it about stories that lasts through the ages? Is there some transcendant value to narrative? Is it an expression of longing for a hero to exist? Has God implanted within us the need for a saviour? As I believe Superman says, in Superman Returns, "You say this world doesn't need a saviour, but everyday I hear them crying out for one."

Do you hear the "groans" of creation for a Saviour through the voice of the arts? I'd love to hear other examples.

Great work Andy, keep it up.

Here is an exerp from his article...

"But Versace is adamant that there's more to it than that. He believes it's the same attraction that draws legions of dedicated fans to follow comic books with religious zeal -- they long for a world where good and evil are clearly defined.

"I think the vast majority of people are drawn to seeing the world in unambiguous ways. It makes living a little bit easier when it's clear there are good guys and there are bad guys," he says.

But it's not just super heroes who are making the transition to celluloid. Less-likely concept comics such as Ghost World, Art School Confidential and American Splendor, which deal with ordinary people doing ordinary things, have also become successful film adaptations -- albeit on a much smaller scale.

People are attracted to these films for very different reasons, Versace says.

"I think when someone reads something, they search for some of themselves in what they read," Versace says.

"Harvey Pekar (creator of American Splendor) is great at capturing that. He takes ordinary things like serving on jury duty or buying a loaf of bread, and he shows how there's a story there, how there's something heroic about that. I love reading his stories, and in so much of his work nothing really happens, but we see ourselves in there."

McFarlane takes a slightly different position. He's currently in the midst of working to adapt Torso, a graphic novel that follows the life of Eliot Ness, the leader of the famed 'Untouchables' after he busted Al Capone, into a film.

The Torso project, along with Ghost World and American Splendor and others like them, work well on the screen because first and foremost they're good stories, and secondly, because we see our own flaws projected back at us, he says.

"I don't know if it's necessarily the heroism we relate to, I think it's the flaws," he says.

"We understand that our life is completely imperfect, and these guys are completely imperfect, but somehow they're getting along and it's just called life at the end of the day and it's not meant to be perfect."

If We Have No Imagination, the God We Percieve Will Be Small.

2006-07-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

After watching Lady In the Water, I was so incredibly inspired, I have been thinking about the film all week. I'm not going address the people who criticized the film (it just makes me angry thinking about it). There are many things profound in this film; however, one particular theme comes out, whether M. Night Shyamalan was conscious of it or not. This theme is as simple as it is profound, the value of a good story.

Shyamalan fits the model C.S. Lewis gives for an apologetics of the imagination. The imagination is a pathway to knowing God, because it inspires wonder inside us. The imagination leads to wonder, wonder inevitably leads to knowingGod, and knowing God leads to knowing the One True Story we are a part of, even in this very moment.

The greatness of a story can be measured by how much it inspires you to be a part of the One True Story you find yourself in.

At the beginning of Lady In the Water, the comment is made, "Mankind has forgotten how to listen", which is the essence of the plot for the film. We have forgotten how to listen, and it is even reflected in people's responses to the film. We do not know how to listen or perceive. The arts, especially stories, can be an avenue to spark the hearts and minds of people who are open and looking for truth, which contain wonder and God.

You may think I am just speaking mumbo-jumbo, and loose speculation; but to those of you who would call yourselves Christians, let me ask you...why did Jesus speak in parables so often? What was the purpose? Why stories?

...Because he cared about speaking to people who wanted to learn how to listen again.

"He who has ears, let him hear" I remember Jesus saying. "Listen closely," he says, "or because of your hard heart you may not perceive what I am really saying."

I have seen that the older we get, the more wonder we lose. We begin to see life as more predictable, we become more desensitized, we need more sensory injection to be thrilled. Can you appreciate a good story among friends, or is it all about one-upmanship? Can you sit in a theater and allow your imagination free reign without constant explosions, special effects, and airbrushed abnormal humans? At the same time, do you struggle through the parables of Jesus, or would you rather have Jesus spell it out for you? Is the connection a coincidence?

What does it mean to become child-like in our faith? Does it have to do with regaining wonder? Is a sunset boring to you, and something about a mustard seed make no sense? G.K. Chesterton said that he learned more sitting in a Sunday school class watching children play, then he did in all his graduate studies combined.

Paul said, "To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."

If we have no imagination, the God we perceive will be small; but if our imagination is big, how immensely immeasurable will God's imagination be seen to be?

"The Lord God was playful enough
to make lobsters and ginko threes,
quartz crystals and
red-haired girls with freckles.
God wants us to laugh and enjoy
the imaginative riches
smiling and crying everywhere...

It's significant that God made
rainbows for the fallen world.
God did not have to make rainbows.
God could have said it black on white,
'I will keep covenant with the earth',
just as God wrote in stone
the Ten Words. And why,
do you think, did Christ
teach men and women in parables?
Couldn't he have been more straightforward,
so there wouldn't be any
misunderstandings?

But it pleased God
to tell the story of the
Good Samaritan and it pleased God
to make rainbows in the sky."

-Calvin Seerveld

What Keeps Me Awake At Night

2006-07-19T12:44:00.001-04:00

The “Why I Am Not…” series. #1
Rielly McLaren © 2006

What keeps you awake at night? I’m talking about the nights where you just can’t sleep; you toss and turn, while many different pathways of thinking cross your thoughts. What do you think about in those times if insomnia, in the quiet dark of your room? What preoccupies your mind? Deadlines? Money? That book you’ve been reading? The girl who smiled at you yesterday while sitting in Starbucks?

Now don’t get defensive, I’m not about to get all spiritual , saying you should be thinking about Jesus or something like that. I honestly couldn’t go in that direction for the danger of being a true hypocrite. I will try to pray in those times, but my thoughts will easily drift back to whatever I was thinking about before. I personally don’t get the whole, ‘always pray at the edge of your bed in the morning and before you go to sleep at night’ thing. Those are the two times in the day I am the least focused, and most inclined to be distracted. I am definitely not that cute little kid you see in pictures, kneeling at his bedside in his pj’s, praying the Lord’s Prayer, while his proud parents are secretly watching from a crack in the bedroom door. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great to be able to talk to our Father at the opening of a day and/or at the end. But if we are in la la land in our moments of prayer, because you heard somewhere that true “spiritual” Christians pray in the morning and at night…you might want to think about an afternoon prayer time.

At the same time however, if you’ve ever had temporary insomnia, it feels much more like temporary insanity. And this is what I want to address in my next blog entries: the thoughts that keep me awake at night. This series I will title, “Why I am not…” Every entry will be about why I am not a particular label. For example, “Why I am not a Liberal Christian”, and then “Why I am not a Fundamentalist”. Other topics will include Islam, Classical Apologetics, Popular Culture, and Theology, all under the banner of “Why I Am Not” something. See, I will get desperate to fall asleep. The insanity of thinking about people’s opinions, ideas, and so forth really makes me feel like I am going insane. I am hoping that this may be a remedy to my sleeping disorder, and in turn help other people who face similar sleep deprivation.

Maybe I just need to chill out, (which has been recommended to me on many occasions), but I am beginning to realize that I have a deep emotional connection with truth. I can’t divorce my essence and being apart from cold propositions. I simply cannot believe something to be true and not have it impact me in the areas of my life where it is applicable. Some people can do this, I can’t. This is the point in the night where I realize this, and feel desperate. I feel a sense of futility at the possibility of applying all things I believe to be true. It is important to say that this desperation does not help calm one’s mind down. Not only these thoughts, but I will begin to think about all the other things I have to do the next day, and how now, I will be very tired during all of my activities, and this leads to what is popularly described as ‘anger’. Being angry at oneself is quite different then being angry with other people or things. I seem very good at instigating myself; but at the same time perpetuating the problem of not being able to fall asleep.

So out of this desperation I will try to pray, but this does not always change how fast my mind is working, and how I want to pray about all the things I’ve been thinking about, which leads to thinking about them all over again. Keeping my mind on track in prayer at 4:00 am is like being a geek at a video game convention. In fact, my mind will be racing so much in the dark of my room, I will start to analyze my own prayers in the process of praying them, and begin to ask myself questions like, “I’m talking to the most massive, incomprehensible Being in the entire universe while half-naked, tangled up in my superman bed sheets, with Conan O’Brien on mute in the corner of my room? Is there some kind of existential irony to this?” and, “I wonder if God is rolling his eyes at me right now? Well God does not technically have eyes… I am just using anthropomorphic language to express His reaction. But what would it really look for the most massive, incomprehensible Being in the entire universe to anthropomorphically roll its eyes? Would it make elephants roll on their backs, and daisies to wilt?

Maybe I have some kind of spiritual ADD. It wouldn’t surprise me; but nonetheless, occasionally multiple trains of thought keep me up at night and questions that I will ponder for hours and hours, most of the time very trivial at best. I hope that whoever happens to read my blog in the next little while will gain some sense of encouragement, questioning, a deeper appreciation for their beliefs, or maybe you’d just like to know where I stand on various issues. Take it all with a grain of salt, I’m no theologian, and like I’ve said before: sometimes writing, if for no other reason, is for the benefit of the writer alone.

An Unlikely Tribute -Napoleon Bonaparte

2006-06-22T10:09:00.000-04:00

It is interesting to me that even those in history who were not necessarily people of faith, still recognized the mysterious grandeur of Jesus, the mystery of divine personality. The unqiueness of Jesus throughout all of history either gives one great joy or relentlessly haunts. It is affirming to me that of all the respected religious leaders in humanities history, none can come close to Jesus. None claimed what Jesus claimed, none did what Jesus did, none caused such an earth shattering effect on human history for the past 2,000 years as Jesus has.

Some of you know, I have been debating avidly with a very zealous Muslim. Much of our discussion revolves around the nature of Jesus. He calls it blasphemy when I speak of Jesus as the Lord God, and show him that the Gospels leave no room for calling him anything other then God. He is not a prophet or a good teacher, or in our contemporary church, Jesus is not a white, pay-by-the-hour, therapist either. My Muslim friend asked me (see if this sounds familiar), "When I stand before Allah on the day that I die, what would I say to him to let me into Paradise?" I paused for a moment to think about my answer, and he began telling me what he would say, "Allah I've sought to serve you with my whole heart, keep your commandments, and expand your kingdom." I then answered...

"Friend, this is what I'd say...My Lord, my sins are too many to count, my good deeds could never outweight my bad deeds, and even if they could, but one imperfection ruins the whole batch. I am in need of an advocate, for I cannot enter into your perfect holiness in my own merit...and suddenly there, appeared Jesus the Christ standing at the right hand of the Father (at this point my Muslim friend began to shake his head and speak under his breath, almost reaching to cover his ears). Jesus Christ Son of God is my advocate, I trust in His merit and work, for I know of no other way!"

I felt like I was in the place of Stephen before he was stoned. When he said he saw heaven open and Jesus sitting at the right hand of the father. Thankfully, my interaction did not go as far as the stoning of Stephen, but I felt the indignation, which reminded me of the uniqueness of Christ, even to those who reject him.

Napoleon Bonaparte is an example of a man who far from living for Jesus, understood something of who he was, and in turn, is a testimony to the nature of Jesus

"I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity...

Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by himself. His ideas and his sentiments, the truth which he announces, his manner of convincing, are not explained either by human organisation or by the nature of things.

The nearer I approach, the more carefull I examine, everything is above me; everything remains grand, -of a granduer which overpowers. His religion is a revelation from an intellegence which certainly is not that of man. There is there a profound originality which has created a series of words and of maxims before unknown. Jesus borrowed nothing from our science. One can absolutely find nowhere, but in him alone, the imitation or the example of his life.

...I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary. The more I consider the gospel, the more I am assured that there is nothing there which is not beyond the march of events, and above the human mind."

-Napoleon Bonaparte

Am I a Soldier of the Cross?

2006-06-14T18:32:00.000-04:00

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim 4:7)

I fear the church is filled with Christians who have an overly romantic view of what it means to be a soldier of the cross. Our churches are filled with believers who want to be missionaries, preachers, workers and elders. While I applaud such aspirations, I wonder how many of us have counted the cost. It is easy to be a soldier of the cross when we are surrounded by our Christian friends, when we have the love and support of the saints, when we are not required to do those things that are uncomfortable. It is easy to have high aspirations and lofty goals, to see ourselves as victorious warriors and decorated generals, but do we really know what the battle looks like from the trenches?

Many young believers want to be missionaries. Many have a romantic view of working for the Lord in a far off country. But have they seen the view from the trenches? Are they prepared to accept the crushing loneliness of being one of the only Christians in a new field? Are they prepared to labour for years in the hope of seeing a single convert? Are they prepared to risk all working in lands where the Gospel is not welcome? Are they prepared to give up the comforts of home and family to reach the lost? Yes, many have a romantic view of what it means to be a missionary, but how many have counted the cost.

Many of our young men want to preach the word. Many have a romantic view of themselves up at the pulpit, preaching the word of God and becoming popular in the process. But have they seen the view from the trenches? Are they prepared to preach in the little assemblies? Are they prepared to drive for hours to a speaking engagement, only to have nobody show up? Are they prepared to put hours and hours of effort into study and the preparation of their sermons? Are they prepared to face a storm of criticism every time they take a stand for the truth? Are they prepared to be censured every time they refuse to tickle ears? Are they prepared to pour out their best efforts, only to be ignored? Some of the sisters want to marry a preacher, but are they prepared to give up their husband's time as he prepares for a message? Are they prepared to wait patiently at home with a sick child while he travels to preach? Yes, many have a romantic view of what it means to be a preacher, but how many have counted the cost?

Many of our believers want to be full time workers. Many have a romantic view of the work a commended worker does. But have they seen the view from the trenches? Do they know what it means to live by faith year after year? Are they prepared to give up worldly luxuries? Are they prepared to stand for the truth knowing that much of the financial support they have been receiving will be withdrawn? Are they prepared to move away from family and friends when the Lord tells them it is time to go? Are they prepared to discipline themselves to go to bed early so that they might rise early to do the Lord's work? Are they prepared to interrupt family occasions to go out and meet with an anxious soul? Yes, many have a romantic view of what it means to be a worker, but how many have counted the cost?

Many of our believers want to be elders in the assembly. Many have a romantic view of what it means to be a local church elder. But have they seen the view from the trenches? Are they prepared to deal with uncomfortable situations? Are they prepared to deal with the same problems in the same individuals year after year? Are they prepared to open up their homes to the saints? I remember a sister telling me about her husband, who served for many years as a local church elder. She said that she would often wake up in the middle of the night and find that he was not in bed. When she would go out into the living room, she would find him on his knees in tears as he prayed for the believers. That same man and his wife made it their practice to pray for every believer in the assembly every day, by name and regarding each specific need. Do we have a romantic view of the work of an elder? Do we think that they are simply individuals who get to make decisions and exercise authority over others? Yes, many have a romantic view of what it means to be an elder, but how many have counted the cost?

We all want to serve the Lord in the big ministries, the flashy ministries, the ministries that get noticed. We have a romantic view of these ministries. But have we seen the view from the trenches? Are we prepared to be faithful in the little things and the ministries that do not bring glory to ourselves? Are we prepared to commit ourselves for the long haul? Are we prepared to teach Sunday School every week? Are we prepared to drive across town to give a believer a drive to a meeting? Are we prepared to do this week after week? Are we prepared to tell our friends we cannot go out for lunch with them because we have to drive that same person home? Are we prepared to clean the chapel? Are we prepared to open our home to that troubled teenager? Are we prepared to go over and talk to that rather strange individual who has just wandered into our meeting, or do we want to spend the time with our friends talking about the hockey game? Are we prepared to pray with the preacher before every meeting? Are we prepared to risk the anger of family members as we seek to share the Gospel? Are we prepared to weep for the lost? Are we prepared to visit the prisons, the hospitals and the nursing homes? Are we prepared to live self-sacrificial lives so that we can share our bounty with the less fortunate? Yes, many of us have a romantic view of serving the Lord in the big ministries, but how many of us have counted the cost?

At the end of a long and faithful term of service, Paul could say "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" Paul was not in the fight for a single battle. His fight was not an occasional thing. Paul led a life that burned brightly for the Lord from his conversion to his death. He knew the cost of Christian service. We are thankful for every believer who wishes to be a soldier of the cross, but let us not fill people's minds with romantic ideas. Christian warfare is hard and costly work. Have you counted the cost?

Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause, Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies, On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize, And sailed thro' bloody seas?

To plead with God in Gotham City

2006-06-09T17:07:00.000-04:00

This post is not my own. I was inspired by the writing of a good friend, Ian Havercroft. The more people reading his thoughts, the broder the impact it has.

Thank you for your sincere heart, and the reminder of God's faithful justice.

Gotham City

Batman has it made. Sure, he’s portrayed as the product of tragedy; parents killed, restless soul, chip on his shoulder; the man can’t sleep at night and forever battles his own demons. But Batman can hide. Batman can put a mask on and become someone else. Batman can decide what is right and wrong and dish out his vigilante justice on the scum of the city. He doesn’t have to worry about obeying the law, he is the law. He doesn’t have to turn the other cheek, he can apply swift retribution. His goal is not to love, his goal is not to represent a heavenly kingdom, and his goal is not to hope or wish or think of a gracious strategy of patience and compassion. His goal is to make it happen; to put his gut reaction in the gut of his opponent: ka-pow.

Batman doesn’t worry about serving God, Batman serves himself. He is angry at bullies and jerks who think they are too good to worry about anyone else. He is angry at every snivelling playground idiot who ever name-called the new kid, or the kid who looked funny, or the kid who had to dress in clothes her dad picked out from a hamper at the church. These bullies have no pleas with Batman, no second-chances or stern warnings. They are wrong and he is right. And if they don’t comply and still think their best bet at survival and happiness is to rip the value out of other people: they will be hurt and tied up by their feet to the warehouse’s catwalk for the police to take down and put in prison.

You and I can’t do that. You and I are the victims. We have to obey the law and offer a hand of love even when our hate and anger seethes after these jerks and bullies. And it is not very satisfying because grace feels an awful lot like giving in, like losing. Grace doesn’t dish out the punishment that we really want. Compassion doesn’t grab meanness by the neck and force it to stop OR ELSE.

I see the victims in our church. I see the victims in the kids I care for after school. I see the bullies too, I could name them. I wish my grace was dressed in black with a cape and cowl and fists of steel that when I offered it the bullies would second-guess their behaviour, instead of thinking they escaped again scot-free.

This is how it feels. Anger, with no end in sight. Where are you Batman? I can’t be you. I wouldn’t last long enough: the cops would come to collect me and I’d lose all opportunities to serve in church and work with children. They’d call me a maniac — tell me I was being unfair, me! Where are you Jesus? I can’t be you. I can’t keep defending mercy like this because it hurts, its unfair, its helpless. You won’t let me be mean, you won’t let me be violent, you won’t let me condemn and judge and dish out my own vengeance. I don’t know what to do anymore, Lord. Stand up for the victim. Bind up and strike fear in the heart of evil. Don your cape and cowl for the sake of the broken-boned and broken-hearted. Bring in your fists to prove that jerks and bullies will not win. Show them their stupid pride and rub it in their face, bring them to their knees because of their wickedness. Lift up the sad, the made-fun-of, the disabled, and the ostracized: show them you love them, you protect them, they are valuable because of you. Hide them in your wings and fly away with them. And tell Batman to eat his heart out.

The many faces of Randall McLaren

2006-05-18T17:35:00.000-04:00

Well apparently to put a picture on my profile, I need to publish it first....so I thought hmmm instead of embarassing myself, why not embarass someone else.

I am not as photogenic (sp?) as my brother is...so the more of him and the less of me the better.

If you know Randall, you know he has a wide range of personalities. The following pictures illustrate well his multiple personality disorder.

Enjoy the many faces of Randall McLaren...

The Purposes of Man's Heart are Deep Waters

2006-05-06T11:41:00.000-04:00

I'd like to thank all the people who posted on my last entry, as it is something God has continually reminded me of. To hear about others who have had the same inclinations is affirming and encouraging. To learn how we can stop just "doing" for God, and really start "being" for God could very likely revolutionize our relationship with the Creator.

I'm seeing that this constant drive to "do, do, do" for God is not something, necessarily pleasing to God nor from the leading of God. Rather, the drive comes from my need for approval, something of which I already have from God, yet I still seek to earn. Why do I have this need for God's approve when I know in my head that his grace is sufficient for me?

Well if anyone knows me, they know that I am definitely not a fan of common pseudo-Christian counseling; however, I will tell you something God is teaching me, which in some ways is a no brainer. Events in our formative years can really shape our actions and thought life today. I am beginning to come to grips with this, as I ask the hard questions about my behaviours, thoughts, and struggles. In other words, I am a product of my life's events up to this point.

This has reworked my view of sanctification. God, in his goodness, is making me more like Jesus, and that is what santification is. But what is it's outworking? If you think about it, the only stumbling block to being like someone else is being yourself. Now don't get me wrong, I do not believe that God takes away our identity and turns us into these little automaton droids that look like brown haired-blue eyed Jesus, and retain nothing of their uniqueness.

That's the true beauty about Jesus

He can change us into his likeness, and still retain the fearful and wonderfully made nature of who we are as individuals.

The point is...sanctification is about becoming who you and I really are, who we are made to be. The transformation Jesus is doing in our lives as we let him in, is actually turning us into what we would be as born into garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Like Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Jesus used the word paradise for a reason,

he was talking about living in Eden.

So how does my past shape my life today? It's different for everyone I'm finding, but no one is exempt. Part of Jesus' work of sanctification is...

teaching you about the lies you've believed for so long, because you think they are true.

taking His words like, "I came that you would have life, and have it to the full", and teaching you to know it in your heart, not just in your head.

bringing up wounds that have only scared, but never actually healed, because your living in a way that walks with a limp. (by the way, I don't buy the whole..."just move on, Jesus forgave you", I've been there...that's not true reconciliation Jesus has in mind for us. That is simply pure ignorance as reductionism.)

So why do I constantly do, do, do, and still feel unsatisfied, meanwhile craving God's approval?

God's showing me that the patterns were shaped early on. Have you ever considered reconciling and honestly confronting your past? I get the feeling that a lot of people in ministry, as busy and as successful as they are; in fact, are doing, and doing more only because they feel like God will bless them and give the smiling, father-like-face of approval that they desperately crave, when regardless, and all along his face shines with pleasure upon us, as his eyes gaze upon the Son standing with and before you and I saying, "It is done", there is no "look what we are doing."

It really takes a simple Sunday school answer like, "Salvation is a gift from God, and not by works" and turns it into something that I have to daily consider as I seek to do ministry. Why I am I doing this today? Am I trying to earn favour, or enjoy the favour I already have?

The Heart of Home

2006-04-15T11:56:00.000-04:00

I unfortunately have not been able to make a recent post. It bothers me that I cannot take some time to write my thoughts and do some reflection. In my mind there is no excuse. Our culture trains us to be "busy". So when asked "How are you?", and the reply is, "busy"...it is not a statement of actual schedule congestion, it is a statement of significance. Busy equals important. People think, "wow, he must be doing some important stuff if he is so busy, and so many people demand his time."

I am becoming more and more convinced that the whole concept of being busy is one of the ways Satan and his minions get into our Christian worldview to stifle our mission and purpose. Here is the bottom line: We give time to our priorities. If we chose not to do something based on our busyness, we are actually basing it on our priorities. Let's be honest here. This is a common excuse to avoid getting too involved in your church, having a significant role in your families (especially as fathers), and friendships.

Don't get me wrong...some things you should be saying no to. This is not a call to be a doormat. The question is rather, what are you saying no to? Are you saying no to the right things? What do you genuinely care so much about, that you are willing to allow your schedule to revolve around it, and not the other way around?

Life is like investments. We recieve return on what we invest in. Since moving down to Windsor, I've done a lot of restructing in my heart about what is worth investing in. What actually carries return into eternity, as Jesus says, "where moth and rust do not destroy"? Please wake up, and stop being stupid, as I have been so many times. We spend time in what we care about, and maybe what you do with your time is a good indication of the condition of your heart. Are we thinking with a truely missional perspective, a Christian worldview: That we are only passing through this world? That this world is not our home? Or are we trying to set up our little sand castles, destined to get washed away when the tide comes in? Or as C.S. Lewis says, are we content with making mud pies in the dirt, because we cannot concieve what is meant by a holiday at the sea? The Church will not effectively operate unless it's followers start thinking with a truely Christian worldview ... always being "busy" is not thinking with a Christian worldview; rather, it is an individualistic, self centred, secular humanististic, "survival of the fittest" worldview.

This post is written to Rielly McLaren from Rielly McLaren.

Thoughts on Christian Worship

2006-03-30T17:24:00.000-05:00

This is an article I wrote which will appear in Modern Disciple Magazine sometime in the near future. I thought that people might be up for reading it here. It is reworked from an article with the same time I wrote for The Aletheia (Heritage College's Student Newspaper) in 2003.

Contemporary Worship
and Songs You Could Sing to Your Girlfriend

March 26, 2006

My Heretical Adolescence: The Problem

Ever thought back to the good old days of high school or youth group? Some of you may not be that far from such a time; however, for me it has been about five or six years and the memories are quickly fading. Recently in a college chapel service, we were doing our regular worship time and suddenly I was brought back to these wonderful days. The memory was of me cracking out my guitar and singing a worship tune I had learned in Youth Group to a lady friend in the 10^th grade. To the horror of my readers, I was not teaching her the newest worship song…it was my sad attempt at a romantic serenading. If my memory serves me correctly, the ploy seemed to work well and got me a few flattering glances. At my young age I thought I had found the ultimate resource of romantic and original love songs…contemporary worship! All I had to do was put the name of the latest crush in the place of Jesus or God.

Please excuse my heresy. I was a young; a naïve; and a typical teenage Christian, in desperate need of discipleship. Over time I recognized my huge mistakes before God and spent much time silent every time those same songs were sang in church. Strangely enough, I was reminded of this memory as we moved through the musical worship in chapel… how could this be? I remember the song quite clearly, it went like this:

(Verse 1)

“Suddenly I feel you holding me,

Suddenly I feel you holding me,

Suddenly I feel you holding me.

(Chorus)

Sweep me away,

Sweep me away.

(Verse 2)

Suddenly I feel your hand in my hand (X4)

Sweep me away (X3)

(Verse 3)

Suddenly I feel you leading me (X4)

Sweep me away (X3)

(Verse 4)

Suddenly I feel your heart in mine (X4)

Sweep me away (X3)

I was lulled into a mantra of imagery and memories of Senior High Youth Group; suddenly, I snapped out of it. I sensed an important question needed to be addressed in my own mind before I continued singing. That question was… what was I actually singing? Though the music was soothing and lyrics calming, what in the world does “Sweep me away” mean? The chorus suddenly lost its emotional and truthful depth. Sweep me away from the world? Sweep me away from evil? Sweep me away with warm fuzzy feelings? I was perplexed.

Before you begin writing a letter to the editor, let me qualify my sarcasm. In no way do I want to insult the quality of music in contemporary churches or the hard work of worship leaders and song writers. I am a worship director myself, and it is no easy task. I deeply respect the work of worship pastors, who put their heart and soul into using the arts as a medium to connect people with the heart of God. I also do not think love songs to God are wrong, nor do I think that using metaphors to express worship to God are wrong. The actual concern places itself in something much deeper, specifically, the false dichotomy between the singing of truth and the expression of emotion.

It really seems to me that too often do we get “swept away” from the true sense of worship in the Evangelical Church. We are unbalanced in our approach to song. I have found two extremes, which our churches tend to lean toward. The first is a worship system that is devoid of emotion for the sake of “liturgical etiquette”. It is as though something magical will happen if I sing the right words. The emphasis is found on singing proper doctrinal lyrics but at the same time empty, meaningless words on a page being sung with no heart. For the sake of this article, let’s call this extreme “heartless song”.

And so, let me ask you a question: Do you think God is pleased with a church that has all the right ‘answers’, perfectly structured Sunday morning services, and quaint little church folk to go with it; but, has no passion for truth, emotional connection with what they sing, or deep affection for the people who come through their doors? Yes, it’s a rhetorical question.

As young, zealous, “postmodern” pastors, we would love the chance to combat this poison in our churches. However, without understanding the importance of balance we jump to the second extreme that calls for us to practice, and think, emotional satisfaction is the goal of worship. Everything must be warm imagery, and what I like to call, an ‘anthropomorphic jungle’[1]. What counts is your personal “experience” with the music alone. Somehow musical worship has become a kind of individualistic emotional high, where you need to get your tank filled up so you can live out the Christian life effectively. The priority is not singing about what is true or meaningful. Shallow emotional response is the goal. No wonder it is easy to exchange names of God for names of our latest girlfriend or boyfriend. It plays off of simple human emotions of impulsiveness and infatuation. Let’s call this extreme “mindless mantra”.

And so, let me ask you another question: Do you think God is pleased with Christians who make worship (1) about what they can get out of it, and (2) turn God into an emotional Santa Claus? Yes… rhetorical once again.

The Balance:
How to be truthful emotionally without being brainless emotionalism

So we have two extremes: heartless song and brainless mantra. I believe the issue is thinking that we should be on one side or the other, having no other option. In any case, I will stick with Solomon’s words of wisdom, “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.” (Eccl 7:18) Despite my sarcastic titles for both views, I believe that there are benefits to both approaches or as one might say: a balance.

An emotional component is absolutely necessary for authentic worship, while truth in the lyrics we sing is vital for content. That being said, where is the proper balance? It is in fact much simpler than I had originally expected. True emotion in worship comes from a rejoicing in what is true, and an inevitable response to authentic truth is true emotion. They are actually interrelated! For those of you who missed that; basically, this means that truth in worship is not truth unless it has an emotional component, and true emotion only exists in the realm of what is already absolute truth.

I am not saying truth itself is based upon how one feels about it, I can imagine some of you being quick to point that out. However, I am saying that truth without passion, without excitement, without fear, is empty words on a page that should be re-examined. To use a term from Francis Schaffer, true truth is not just true in some metaphysical reality, floating around in space somewhere; the response to true truth must come from the affections deep within us. In the meantime, authentic emotion takes away the “mindless mantra” and replaces it with a new song; namely one of intelligence and truth. This emotion excites itself in the discovery of truth, making it therefore “true emotion”. I think of Paul’s statement, “Love does not delight in what is evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Cor 13:6) Is it any coincidence that 1 Corinthians 13 is written in the context of worship? Like love, so should all emotion surrender itself to the Truth and find pleasure in it always. Emotional worship that has no interest in truth is no different than all the worldly distractions competing for our attention. Yet, if emotion is based on truth, emotion will therefore protect itself from dictating the truth, and because an integral part of truth is the emotional response, we save the loss of passion and heart. I’m reminded of the words in the Westminster Catechism of Faith, “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.”

In closing, I challenge all Christians to consider seeking the balance when approaching events like music in the Church of Christ. Musical worship in the contemporary Church is a very powerful tool and speaks to our culture in amazing ways. However, the bottom line of worship is that it is not for you or me, or even for music itself, it is for God. He not only desires our worship, but He deserves it! Why? Simply because our next heartbeat is uncertain, and our next breath beyond our control, yet both are not outside God’s mind. The fact that God is God necessitates his need to be worshipped. This adoration goes beyond heartless song, and mindless mantra, but is something that demands our whole selves, mind and emotion integrated together. This is much more then asking God to “Sweep me away” toward some mind-emotion altering state, which some might call an “opiate of the masses”.

[1] Anthropomorphisms are human attributes given to God for the sake of relating who God is, to our human experience. For example, the Old Testament speaks of Yahweh’s right hand. God does not technically have a right hand, but a right hand in the Old Testament world was where strength and power came from in a human person.

ETS and Loving God With Our Minds

2006-03-23T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm headed out to Grand Rapids for ETS Friday and Saturday.

I'm very much looking forward to hearing some of the presenters, one of which is Dr. Bill Webb from my very own school, Heritage College and Seminary. I am also looking forward to Robert Kurka's critique of the Emergent Church, it's supposed "Misplaced Fire: Why Classical Evangelicalism Is Not Modernism". John Depoe is presenting on "Evidentialism, Reformed Epistemology, and the Holy Spirit." Those are just a few of the topics I look forward to hearing about. The main plenary sessions focus specifically on the theme of the 2 days which is "Going Beyond the Bible Biblically: The Hermeneutical Issues of Moving From Scripture to Theology."

The Evangelical Theological Society is an interesting entity, simple because it is a forum to discuss and debate the most recent controversies and ideas safely. In a church, to discuss many of these issues, sadly, would lead to church splits and problems too numerous to count. It is really sad that on the whole, the local church is not a safe place to debate even the most fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. I believe that is why I loved Bible College so much: that although I was challenged by students and professors, some more irate then others, it was a safe place to ask the questions I really wanted to ask, and get away from the rhetorical, and shallow questions in church. At Heritage, those that mattered didn't mind my probing of even fundamental questions. In no way am I interested in bashing the church in this respect, but I think there is a call to be pushing the envelope concerning education in the Church.

There was a time when Christians led the way in education. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, was all seminaries at one time, with a mission to honor God with their minds. Somewhere along the line of history and ideas, Christians stopped fighting for these forums, and it gave way to secularism. Now Christians are the ones who shy away from philosophy, higher education, and leave the thinking to the Senior Pastors, Bible College Profs, Ravi Zacharias', and James MacDonalds.

In our churches we speak of not "going over people's heads". Gosh, when I was an intern...I don't know how many times I was told not to use too much "Bible College lingo"...theology is good, but people will tune out, they said. As far as I can see, this "Bible College lingo" is just simply the English language, which is not in fact very complicated. From my understanding basic Bible College lingo was a common part of the English vocabulary no more then 50 years ago. I'm not saying we need to get back to how it was then (they had their own problems), but the problem is not being "too deep" for people, the problem is Christians losing the sense of what it means to love God with our minds. God commands everyone to love Him with our minds...not just those who are supposedly 'gifted thinkers'. I question the amount of time an evangelical Christian spends in a Bible commentary, or in a book discussing contemporary issues in theology. It seems Christians would rather hear a nicely packaged sermon about the 5 points of how to have a healthy marriage, or how to pray the prayer of Jabez enough to get the promotion you've always wanted. But then, they come and say, ".....I don't hear God like I did when I became a Christian, there must be something wrong with God.... I don't see Him...I've done all these things and I still feel unfulfilled." Coincidence? Hardly.

Pardon my sarcasm. I felt like being a jerk on my blog today. My heart is that people would understand the riches of knowing God, and end being baby Christians as they are far past adolescence. As Colossians says,

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

People will take this passage as say, "See! Ah ha! The Bible teaches us not to study philosophy." And so they fail to see what kind of philosophy Paul is taking about, and that is most likely because they are the ones taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy. Specifically, a philosophy which says philosophy doesn't matter... sounds a lot like Nihilism, which Christians love to whip around if they, in fact, know what Nihilism is.

As C.S. Lewis says, "Good philosophy exists, if for no other reason, then to combat bad philosophy."

Christianity is THE true philosophy...lets start thinking and living like it is. I believe it was Pascal who said, "Make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is."

Aging Soldiers In an Ancient War

2006-03-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am continually baffled by life. A few summers ago, I was working up in Huntsville, Ontario. I lived in a small house with my Father outside of town. One of the beautiful things about Muskoka is the escape from light pollution. I noticed this in a profound moment of gazing into the night sky, on a very very dark evening. It was one of those nights where it was a clear sky, but you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. You knew the sky was clear because of the vast expanse of galaxies and stars which blanketed the night sky. It caught me by surpise, as moments of gradeur seem to do with all of us. I believe it is Jonathan Edwards who said, all true affections are spontaneous.

As I suddenly noticed the night sky, a thought immediately raced through my consciousness in a haunting sort of way... "I exist!" I couldn't stop repeating it in my mind; but this phrase was bitter sweet. On the one hand, I was consumed with this great honour God had bestowed upon me, the chance to exist, rather than not exist. God had me in mind before all of this was, and chose that I would be a part of his masterpiece...what a great honour, to just exist! On the other hand, the haunting loneliness of existence also permeated my mind. The only way to describe it is through a war analogy. I suddenly felt like an aging soldier in an ancient war. This strong sense came over me that since the existence and fall of man, there has been this tension, much like a battle...to answer the question of meaning and destiny. Kingdoms have risen and fallen on the battlefield of ideas; people have fought both valiantly and disgracefully in the arena.

As I looked at the millions of galaxies suspended in space, I felt that I was a part of this ancient war, and I felt tired. I thought about the history of ideas; the toil of so many, the joy and greif. I thought of my own broken heart; my own war wounds. I thought of my own great (to quote C.S. Lewis) "stabs of joy"; God's victories through me. A Scripture verse then came to mind from His servant Peter,

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

...Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you."

It brings me to tears thinking about being a blade of grass which drys up and is blown away; but God has a much bigger plan then anything we can ask or imagine. It carries with it, infinite perspectives, as the enternity within us groans and calls out for that which were made. I am slowely realizing that as God refines us by the fire, He is good, and if we really believe in His goodness, we will believe our battle is not in vain. We will believe that we behold the pain to become the pearl. Finding these moments of clarity can be in some unexpected places, as Emmylou Harris has proven to me. Read these lyrics. I hope they give you perspective.

The Pearl
By Emmylou Harris

O the dragons are gonna fly tonight
They're circling low and inside tonight
It's another round in the losing fight
Out along the great divide tonight

We are aging soldiers in an ancient war
Seeking out some half remembered shore
We drink our fill and still we thirst for more
Asking if there's no heaven what is this hunger for?

Our path is worn our feet are poorly shod
We lift up our prayer against the odds
And fear the silence is the voice of God

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

Sorrow is constant and the joys are brief
The seasons come and bring no sweet relief
Time is a brutal but a careless theif
Who takes our lot but leaves behind the grief

It is the heart that kills us in the end
Just one more old broken bone that cannot mend
As it was now and ever shall be amen

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

So there'll be a guiding light for you and me
We are not sailors lost out on the sea
We were always headed toward eternity
Hoping for a glimpse of Gaililee

Like falling stars from the universe we are hurled
Down through the long loneliness of the world
Until we behold the pain become the pearl

Cryin´ Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah
And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah