Shadowland

A Reflection on the Appreciation of Discipline

2012-01-11T10:29:00.002-06:00

I was talking with an advisor yesterday and he quoted Kevin O'Leary when he reminises on how his step father would ask him, "What are you going to do to be who you want to be?" It's a twist on the old, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It reminded me of the words of my own father when I would ask how you he kept up his daily reading and prayer schedule. He replied with, "Patrick, it's all in how you train your body." I would admit that my conversation challenged me to apply some discipline to some financial practices.
Then this morning I was struck by the abruptness of Psalm 94. It begins in such a harsh, almost repugnant tone. "O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance shine forth!" I was caught by the fierceness of these words. Definitely not a "Love Wins" understanding of God. He is a judge that exacts justice and perfect vengeance on the wicked. It is most definitely a psalm calling out to God to judge those who are wicked, those who measure out injustice upon injustice. In the midst of this psalm are four verses which also awakened me. There is punishment for the wicked, but there is discipline for those whom the LORD loves. And blessed is the one who recognizes the discipline of the the LORD.
There is such benefit in discipline. I can do just about anything I want. But, is what I'm doing leading to what God desires for me to be? Discipline actually focuses my attention to do the things that are necessary. The hard things and the good things. Sometimes that discipline needs to come externally and be pressed upon me. More and more my desire is that the discipline comes as my desire for God and his purposes grows. I used to lament about the fact that slowly my bucket list in life was getting shorter and shorter, not because I was so adventurous and successful, but because life was moving on and opportunities were passing me by. I'm starting to think that the bucket list mentality with the "you can do anything you set your mind to" mentality is perhaps missing the point. There is perhaps a greater goal which challenges you to eliminate the distractions to only seek those things which help to achieve the goal.
I need to learn to be more ruthless with my resources and not wish I could do anything, but do what I know I need to do.

Hmmm

2011-10-18T08:13:00.001-05:00

File under: never caught that before.

And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." (Exodus 3:3 ESV)
- reading that again this morning it dawned on me that the initiation of this encounter was God revealing himself in the bush. Yet Moses needed to respond to the prompt before he it was revealed that it was God in the bush. The world is hungry for that personal encounter with God. Perhaps if we would stop to look at some of the amazing things around us, we might actually meet God in the midst of it.

Moses was doing his job and got distracted by a bush that was on fire. I'm far too busy to get distracted by the out-of-the-ordinary moments in life.
Blessed distraction - keep your senses on the look-out for those things that us away from the everyday. It might be a God moment.

Tying the Rites Together

2011-09-22T07:19:00.003-05:00

A recent paper I wrote for a course that I'm taking has made me stop and think about the Church's practice regarding Baptism and Communion. Growing up, Communion was reserved for those who had been baptized and were in good standing with the local church. The Communion service was a separate service, usually taking place Sunday evenings. In our tradition footwashing followed Communion as part of the service. (We will leave the footwashing for another post.) Since then I have witnessed and participated in the gradual opening up of the Communion table.

Now, many of the churches that I know have opened Communion to anyone who has professed faith. I think some of the reason for opening it up was to make celebrating the Lord's Supper something more public. Opening it up allowed the service to be done as part of the regular Sunday morning service without offending anyone who was not baptized. (For those of you reading this from a mainline church background, this may seem like an odd issue. Anabaptists are fairly strong that Baptism is an "adult" confession of faith.) The invitation to participate in Communion is usually phrased in such a way that it is up the individual to determine whether they are "suitable" to take communion.

I have some questions that I'm wrestling with:

Why has this change in our practice gone unchallenged for the most part?
How has our narcississtic culture impacted our practice (and our theology)? Is our faith so personal that it means only I can determine my standing before God?
Are we so careful not to offend that we will stop from thinking through a theological argument before making such a change in the way in which we worship?
Does being identified as part of the body of Christ (baptism) give us the entrance into participating in taking the elements representing his body and blood?

I am curious about how you practice Communion in your worship? Is it something open to all, to those who are believers, or just to those who are baptized?

This Mennonite can dance.

2011-09-18T21:06:00.001-05:00

Now that I have your attention, please allow me to explain. I finished a paper on a Trinitarian theology of worship. While just being done may be reason to dance, but if you know me - it takes a bit more than just a finished paper to make me dance. Allow me to back up a bit.

One of the topics within my paper was dealing with the relationship between the corporate expression of worship and the person piety of the believer. Both can be identified as worship, but which one is more important? I desperately wanted to conclude that the corporate expression, the typical Sunday morning liturgy, was the starting point for a full life of worship. I even had a few authors who made the argument fairly forcefully. I think I really wanted to prove that so that I could blame my inconsistency in spiritual disciplines on the Sunday morning services. Yet ultimately that was not to be the case.

You see, like I mention at the beginning - it was a paper on a Trinitarian theology of worship. I couldn't get past the idea that the relationship between the corporate and personal aspects of worship could best be likened to the dance that happens between the persons of the Trinity. The greeks liked to call it that relationship "perichoresis", a "circle dance." The more I wrestled with the topic the more it struck me that there needs to be a dance between my personal piety and the expression of worship that happens when the Church gathers. So I'm learning what that dance looks like. I'm figuring out that both need to play in harmony for a life of worship.

Lord's Prayer at IWS

2011-07-14T14:31:00.003-05:00

A crude recording of the Lord's Prayer sung at IWS in the June 2011 session.

http://pfriesen.shawwebspace.ca/asset/view/46151/lord_s_prayer_best.mp3

Inconsistent Blogging

2011-07-14T12:46:00.005-05:00

Perhaps this is the wrong title for a post like this. I would be the first to admit that the title is possibly the best descriptor for this blog, but this post is more about the reasons behind the infrequent nature of my posts.

First, I feel it necessary to explain why it is that I publish a blog. There are several reasons:

I enjoy writing. The process. The revisions. The finished product.
I believe that I have something worth contributing to a public discourse on matters of worship and theology.
I like the sense of freedom of expression that self-publishing arena of blogging offers.
More and more I get excited by the prospect of being able to interact with an idea that is published.
The almost instant feedback that can help in promoting dialogue.
The control that is present in blogging is very addictive. I determine the subject matter.
Finally, a sense of notoriety. (Although I've been quoted more through traditional print media, than through this or any other blog.)

I now need to explain why it is that I don't publish that often:

I'm fearful of the impersonal nature of the internet. Now before you go off on this point please hear me out. Reading a blog requires no investment of the reader apart from the time that it takes for them to read the words. There is no purchasing of the material that is read. Free often equals cheep and worthless. The internet while it draws people onto an equal platform, it also creates an environment where there is little respect for the thought and learning of the individual. Someone with absolutely no understanding or background in a subject can comment on material. (I keep on reminding my children that sometimes learning means to shut the mouth and observe.)
I sense a need for the material that is posted to be thoughtful and beneficial to more than just me. There are times that I need to hear my own voice (see my own words), but when I publish something I actually need to believe that it is something worth someone spending their time reading. I'm also not a prolific re-poster of material. Perhaps that is because I tend to be the type of person that follows other people's writings as opposed to attracting a lot of followers.
I have a lot of pursuits and writing often takes backstage. Only when I'm forced to study and write does the bug come back and do I take another look at writing. As you can likely tell, I'm on holidays and therefore finding the time to do some writing.
I'm fairly young and don't believe that I have the maturity to really provide something substantial (see point 2). Someday there will be more. (perhaps)
I take my writing very seriously and personal and quite honestly am afraid of criticism. This is not written to discourage anyone from criticizing my work (that was point 1). It is an honest admission that I too am human and take my writing seriously.
I'm afraid of making a blog a self-promoting, humanistic piece of drivel.
Finally, I'm essentially lazy when it comes to writing. I love it - much like I love cooking, reading and study, but it requires work.

So after all of that I guess what I'm saying is that I will likely be posting more in the coming months as a result of the studies that I'm doing. I trust that the work that I post is meaningful and will somehow edify, encourage and perhaps disturb some.

Albert "Grandpa" Friesen - In the Arms of God

2011-06-09T06:08:00.004-05:00

My Grandpa passed away this past Monday. I got the news on my way to my first Doctoral session in Florida. Needless to say I won't be able to attend the funeral and so I wrote this tribute to Grandpa.

I have many memories of Grandpa. Playing baseball out in the yard in Kleefeld, getting milk from the farm down the road and later on in life listening to him play in the Harmonica Band. He and Grandma were at my graduation, our wedding, and he never missed an opportunity to encourage and support his Grandchildren. Yet the memory that I want to keep alive is of the last time I visited him. I visited him in hospital the week before he passed away. He was in a lot of discomfort and looked very sick. Our visit was brief but his request was for me to read Philippians 4. He said he wanted to hear especially vs. 13 "I can do all things through Christ." Grandpa 's faith in God demonstrated a deep devotion to honouring Scripture. He not only read it, but allowed it to read him. And on this day this passage not only reminded Grandpa of God's surpassing strength, it taught me. This passage could preach many sermons and on that day it spoke very clearly to me. It convicted me of a lack of focus, it reminded me of the peace that comes from a confident reliance on God and it encouraged me to live a life that people could follow. For me that passage is the manifesto that I saw Grandpa live out. From the call to joy in verse 4, to the reminder that "the Lord is at hand" in verse 5. The passage speaks about "practicing" the things that have been taught about living a Godly life. Grandpa's faith was not an intellectual one, or even one based on strick emotion or ritual. His faith was one about doing what you were convicted to do. And where does the strength come to live that life? Only when we are anchored in Jesus Christ. I pray that I never lose the significance of the last visit I had with Grandpa. My prayer is that I would know (read: practice) Scripture in same honest way that Grandpa did.

Preparation for Ministry

2011-03-19T14:48:00.001-05:00

"The waiting time is always the testing time. How we hurry people into work for God! A thrilling experience, an ecstasy of spiritual emotion, a heavenly vision, and, "I am called to preach"! Are you? Get back to God's Book. If you are called to preach, God will put you through mills you never dreamed of. To testify for God is absolutely essential, but never open your mouth as a preacher unless you are called of God. If you are, it is a "woe to unto me, if I preach not," not a delight.".
Oswald Chambers in Bringing Sons Unto Glory

Habakkuk 2:4

2011-03-19T08:38:00.001-05:00

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is upright within him, but the righteous shall live by faith.

Good words - these words were retweeted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and in Hebrews 10:38.

The challenge is to step out in faith when chaos is present and when the way is unclear. Good reminder for today.

Patrick Friesen
Director of Communications
Steinbach Bible College
204-326-6451
www.SBCollege.ca

Running Off to Tarsus

2011-01-02T10:10:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure what to think any more. Whenever I'm out with Free Servant, something has to happen with our travel plans. Back in September on our maiden voyage the van we were driving blew both of the rear tires. This Christmas on the way back from TF we ended up being storm-stayed for 7 hours in Minnesota. As we made our way back to Steinbach via backroads. It was asked who was the "Jonah" among us that was causing all of this trouble.

After yesterday's flight(s) I think the finger is clearly pointing to me.

First our flight was late leaving Grand Forks, which meant that we late in Minneapolis for our connecting flight. We had 20 minutes to go from one end of the airport to the other. We made it thanks to a guy in a golfcart who took us down the last couple of concourses. We arrived at the gate and boarded just in time.

As we were preparing to leave the pilot came on the radio and said there was a technical problem with one of the systems. An hour later they came to the conclusion that would need to replace the part and we were all asked to debark. We waited 2 more hours for the next plane to come in. After that we boarded that plane only to find out that they needed to do some work on that plane as well because the cold had frozen up one of the systems. An hour or so later we were finally flying to Atlanta only four hours later than expected.

I wonder, who is Jonah?

A Week in the Life - Part 1

2010-12-15T20:04:00.001-06:00

I figured that perhaps for some of you - there is a yearning to know the day to day work of a college professor/administrator. So I would like to provide a bit of a glimpse into the week that was. It is also a great reflection exercise in being able to process some of the events of the last week.

This past week has been a continuance of a month of hurried preparation. One is prepping Free Servant for their ministry at Treasured Foundation 2010. Another is preparing for the sabbatical of our Academic Dean. (I'm taking on some of his responsibilities during the next 6 months.) And most significantly preparing for a couple weeks of teaching/ministry in Belize in January. (I know - rough life having to leave Manitoba for three weeks in January to go to Belize.)

One of the exciting things that we have been working on is a new intensive ministry apprenticeship program that we are processing and imagining. I'm excited about the potential of this program and am hoping that we will be able to announce something soon about it.

The other major development this week was our decision as a college to introduce a new Student Information Software solution. For most of you - your eyes likely glaze over at something like this but for us this is a significant step. It means that many of our academic services will be fully supported through online processes. Information will be available in a much more user-friendly format. And I have been elected/appointed as the project manager for the implementation of Populi. I'm pretty excited about working with this project, even though it will mean approximately 6-9 months of data migration and set-up work. We are hoping to have the system fully functional by September.

Those are some of the big rocks. The other work is centered around making sure that the exams are ready to go for Thursday and Friday, and getting some artwork for a Christianweek ad finished.

I was also privileged to lead a worship leaders seminar at the Steinbach CMC this past Saturday. They were a good group of people, with lots of good interaction, considering it was 9am on a Saturday morning.

Together with work is the seasonal attendance of Christmas programs that fills any available slots in the calendar. Kirsten was a part of the SCHS Christmas program last night, which was a very well done program. Especially considering the expected chaos that accompanies a typical program involving grades 5 and up. Well done.

So there it is - a bit of a glimpse into my week.

Raising the Bar

2010-10-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

Another election season has come and gone in Manitoba. One of the most talked about issues in Manitoba, in both the Winnipeg and Steinbach municipal elections, has been how to deal with crime. Politicians seem to have one answer to this particular issue - throw more money at hiring more police officers. Only minutes after being elected - Sam Katz was ensuring voters that new police recruits would be hitting the streets very soon.

It reminds me of a Winnipeg Blue Bomber football game that I attended a few weeks ago. I happened to attend one of the few games that they actually won. It was a decisive victory over the Riders. While I have to confess that it was not the outcome I had hoped for, what I witnessed in the stands that afternoon disturbed me more than the lopsided win over the Riders. What I witnessed were security guards, by the dozen, working feverishly to ensure that no inflatable toys were tossed, no stacks of beer cups exceeded 5 cups, or that fans did not carry more than one drink at a time into the stands. And the fans were willing participants in the game that the security guards were there to play. They were secretly storing up cups, blowing up beach balls and making attempts to distract the security from their posts. Several times chants of "tazer him!" were shouted as security guards removed offenders from the stands. All of this going on while their team is playing one of their strongest games.

That incident illustrated to me something that I've witnessed before. The level of resistance to enforcement increases as the level or presence of enforcement increases. Put simply the more you try to crack down on the rules, the greater the resistance there is to comply with the rules. Over the last couple of seasons the management of the Bombers have responded to complaints from fans about other unruly fans by increasing the security and police presence in certain sections. What has been lost in all of this is that the point of going to the game is to watch the action that is happening on the field, not the action in the stands.

Perhaps Katz and some of the other politicians need to learn from this and shift the attention of the electorate to a vision for community, inspiring people to noble citizenship rather than simply ratcheting up the enforcement for the minority of people breaking the law. Win people through inspiring them to love their neighbour, rather than promising more enforcement.

Cure for Distracted Driving

2010-10-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

CBC ran a story last night on distracted driving. It basically said that people are now trying to hide their cell phone use while driving; making it worse than before the laws against cell phone use. Duhhh. I've got a rather simple solution. Force everyone who gets caught texting and driving to ride a motorbike. (No a scooter doesn't count. You need something with a clutch.) Try texting while driving, or using your bluetooth. The noise cancellation in those things would be working overtime to make up for the wind noise. In winter the challenge of riding in the frigid cold would definitely keep people from doing anything other than trying to keep a bike upright and your extremedies free of frostbite.

So that is my solution. Harleys for everyone.

I wish ...

Butterfly Conservatory and Niagara Falls

2010-07-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

Blue Morpho in flight - a rare catch.

Below is the quintessential Niagara Falls photo - have to have one.

Tech Talk - GPS Living

2010-07-20T03:18:00.001-05:00

There is no doubt in my mind, that these gadgets affixed to the windshield of just about every car, are being put to use in creative and helpful ways. I have heard many accounts of how these postcard size touch-screens can navigate you to most obscure landmark. Perhaps it is my "good fortune" or my own stubborn Independence that has made my experiences with them a less than fruitful experience. This past week I had opportunity to experience the many blessings of a GPS navigation unit. It did it's job of helping us arrive at places we wanted to go. Unfortunately, in the mean time, where it took us was sometimes questionable. I discovered that there is now something called "phantom restaurants." These are ones that only exist in either TomTom or Garmin's mind. We had three vehicles travelling together, with three different GPS units, all giving slightly different information. Add to that a couple of cell phones in each vehicle and you can imagine the texting and calling rampage that accompanied the trip. As it came my turn to play with the machine (no I wasn't driving and playing with the GPS) I saw that what it did flawlessly was to indicated exactly where you had been, how long you had taken to get there, how much time you had spent stopped, and how fast you had travelled while on route.

I've had a few days to reflect on this and I must say that I see some parallels that can be drawn between these gadgets and life.

One of the dangers of relying completely on a GPS unit is that you lose the need to know where you are in perspective to geography. You simply trust that the GPS will guide you through every situation. There is no need to see the big picture, all you need to know is that you are on the map and that you will be making a left hand turn in 22kms. I know too many people like this as well, who fail to consider the big picture in life, trusting that their own navigation system knows the way. This is a simple way to live and for some they might even spiritualize their ignorance by saying that all they need is to trust God to guide them. This simplicity is comfortable, yet my challenge is to know the mystery of God. To contemplate the complexity of all that is there and in so doing better understand where we fall in the entire creation. If we fail to consider the immensity of life and the complexity of our existence than we actually end up elevating ourselves due to our ignorance of the whole.
There is a tendency to fixate on the immediate action rather than the long term goal. The kind voice within the postcard size box tells you only what you need to know for the next action. All you worry about is the next thing you are going to do. This is similar to the previous point with a slight distinction. The last point focused on the need to know the big picture, this is looking more at the need to have a plan. All the GPS unit needs is the address of the location you want to go and it will guide you there. You do not need to know the way - trust it. In fact Garmin's slogan is "follow the leader." In a day and age when being a leader is so important I'm surprised by a product that makes lemmings out of a vast majority of the population. Whatever happened to planning your route and knowing the directions. You don't need to know navigational directions or even the names and numbers of the places you are going you just follow the next step. That same mindset can be found in our spiritual lives. People will follow just about anybody who simply says trust me to be your navigator. The danger isn't in following a leader - we actually need to learn the value of surrendering ourselves to the governence of others, however we can't follow in ignorance.

If you own a GPS unit for your vehicle, please don't take this as a put down. In fact I might even ask you to lend it to me at some point. What I'm wanting to communicate is some of the puzzling thoughts I had about how this bit of technology reflects an age that is not thinking for themselves. I fear that we are not thinking for ourselves and as a result creating a culture of blind trust. At the fundamental level, the value of education lies in the ability to think analytically about ideas. It is far less important to be qualified for a job, than it is to be qualified for life. When education is reduced to a means to an end, we lose the power that education has to change life.

Teaching at SBC

2010-04-02T08:57:00.001-05:00

I will be teaching a course covering communication theory/skills and critical/analytical thinking next year. This is a rework of a college essay writing and speech course that we have taught in the past. I will also be teaching a new worship arts course which will look at the diversity of worship expression within the Church and seek to find unifying themes within them. I will also be leading "Free Servant", one of our college ministry teams. Looks to be a challenging year of teaching. I'm increasing the amount of teaching I'm doing next year which will mean a very heavy workload as it means new courses to prepare. It should be a great year. Exciting to think about next year when this year's work isn't even done.

The Need to Follow

2010-02-16T05:52:00.000-06:00

Most of us are happy being followers. When it comes right down to it we want to be told what to do. Seth Godin has an interesting little post on this subject that supports a more detailed handling of the subject by Peter Block in The Right Use of Power. Both authors point to the motive being about the absolution of responsibility. Perhaps this explains the meriad of religious wing-nuts preying on this need to follow.

Frostbite

2010-02-13T10:12:00.000-06:00

Our visitor doesn't seem to want to leave. It is time to go my friend.

Hidden

2010-02-10T19:39:00.000-06:00

It is amazing how a what looks drab in fall provides a vibrant splash of colour against the white blanket of snow.

Repentance

2010-01-25T06:51:00.001-06:00

Well said.

http://dcaffeinatedpickler.blogspot.com/2010/01/repentance.html

Fresh Snow

2010-01-23T15:58:00.000-06:00

There was some pretty wet snow today which made it awesome for making snow sculptures. The one in the back is over 6 feet tall.

Frosty

2010-01-19T21:43:00.000-06:00

Poor Communications By MCC

2010-01-15T19:35:00.000-06:00

In an interview with CBC radio in Manitoba, MCC spokesperson Brad Reimer communicated on Thursday that a priority for MCC was to assist their staff in country who were traumatized by the earthquake. This clip was played repeatedly on the local news throughout the day.

While I have no doubt that MCC staff living in Haiti are tramatized by the earthquake and subsequent disaster, the message that a relief organization should get out in the early days after a disaster like this is that they are mobilizing to provide assistance where they are able in the country. I think it is fair to assume that most agencies with workers in the field will be needing to provide support to deal with what has been witnessed, yet the message going out needs to be one of mobilization.

The reality is that everyone in the country has been traumatized and that they are there at a time to react and serve. My response is to realize the opportunity to pray for those workers. No doubt that they are finding it difficult to work in conditions like are being reported in Haiti.

Shepherd keeping watch

2010-01-14T11:24:00.001-06:00

Here is another post in my 52 photo challenge. The lights make a staff in the background.

52Photo Challenge

2010-01-02T18:30:00.001-06:00

I decided that this year I would undertake a project where I post a photo each week on a given theme. Trudy suggested that I focus on our one flower garden and post photos taken of that space. So here is the first photo of the year.

This photo is taken using my 50mm fixed lens with a snowflake Bokeh filter on it. It is a shot of our nativity scene with the lights from the trees.

N.T. Wright on Blogging

2009-12-07T06:42:00.000-06:00

I found this video from N.T. Wright on Michael Krahn's blog. Thanks for posting it. I've been studying the effects of social media on our faith. There are some interesting views out there.

NT Wright on Blogging/Social Media from Bill Kinnon on Vimeo.

Pump Organ Episode 1

2009-11-17T22:50:00.001-06:00

This is my first attempt at podcasting. I figured I would try it out a bit first.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2519778/PumpOrgan.mp3

Refresh Seminar links

2009-11-03T22:18:00.000-06:00

For those of you who attended the Refresh seminar on using presentation software effectively here are some of the links that I referred to during the seminar.

Bible Maps

EasyWorship

MediaShout

Igniter Media (Video Clips)

Shift Worship Backgrounds

Don Pedro's

2009-10-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

The first snowfall of the season was rewarded with a visit to Don Pedro's in Winnipeg's exchange district. We showed up without a reservation and only need to wait about 30 minutes before we were led to our table. The meal began with Sopa Azateca, served hot and reasonably spicy. This combined with the excellent live Spanish guitar playing created a warm and exciting start to the meal. We ordered one of their "Mexican Platter for Two". On it was a selection of several of their meals. The highlights of the meal were the Tacos al Carbon, the Drunken Shrimp, and the Deep Fried Ice cream. Unfortunately the rice in the California Burrito was left a bit on the crunchy side. Whether intentional or not, it didn't provide a great texture in the mouth. The staff were friendly, helpful and obviously well trained for service. The price for all this matched a meal at one of the main chain restaurants making this very affordable.

Most importantly was that I was able to spend the evening with my beautiful wife. Our date was part of decision to begin spending more time, just the two of us. Yes, we are dating again. It had been months since we had been on a date and it was high time. I'm actually a bit embarrassed that we hadn't spent that much time just hanging out together. Yet some things just need to be done.

Dragsters and the Start of a New School Year

2009-09-04T22:37:00.001-05:00

The staging is just about finished. On Monday the lights go green and the new academic year is engaged. This past week the arrival of the Care Group Leaders and the Student Council has revved up the engines and we are now ready at the starting line. There will be a great deal of friction in the first few week as students, staff and faculty all get up to speed with all that happens at the college. Yet without the friction of new routines, new friends, new surroundings, there is no momentum. The direction of the dragster has already been set, there isn’t much more that can be done. What we pray is that we would not blow the engine or damage a tire.

The analogy of the dragster seems very appropriate and quite frankly there is a bit of fear as we don’t know the full outcome when the tree turns green.

Simple Church

2009-08-17T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've been reading the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger. It's an easy read - about twice as long as it should be - they could have made it much simpler - less story more fact, but such is the case for many "ministry" books. They do propose a very appeal thesis in that the most effective churches in discipling believers are ones that have the process clear and simple.

It seems like common sense, yet from my experience in the church, it is far from common. The book is a result of extensive research that was done. (Their definitions of growing and vibrant churches leaves some questions, but I digress.) To illustrate their thesis of simplicity of process they draw on the business models of companies like Apple, Papa John's and Google. Much is made of Google's simple main page especially compared to its rival Yahoo!. The authors claim that it would be too difficult for Yahoo to become as simple as Google.

Yet there is more to the comparison than just looking at the main page and how simple it is. The product that is offered must be of greater value. One of the things that simplicity should force is the need to have a quality product.

It's not good enough for churches to have a simple discipleship process that moves people along some well-intentioned path. The entire product - the purpose of the church must be of the best quality there is. I've seen many products that look just like an iPod. I've never experienced one that works as well. An inferior product that is simple just looks cheap.

Creating Community in the Worship Space

2009-06-28T07:13:00.000-05:00

I'm reading Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps for a course on digital media that I'm teaching in the fall. In it he illustrates the way in which the medium communicates by illustrating the effect that lighting has in a place of worship. The effect of dimming all the lights except those on stage communicates the importance of freedom and individual worship. It focuses the attention to the drama on stage and away from those who are worshipping together. While he is careful not to condemn this lighting set-up, he is quick to point out that if a congregation values the community of believers, the medium in the gathering place of the people communicates the opposite.

It is easy to preach "community" in a darkened room. In it no one need reveal any of the anguish that comes as part of life; everyone can live santimonious, holy lives. If we want to "be real" within the body of Christ we need to reflect that in the spaces that we worship. And that needs to translate into more than just the lighting, but in the order of the service and in the layout of the space. But be warned - people are uncomfortable with true community and will flock to places where they can anonimously worship God in the freedom of their choosing.

Coffee Shop Talk

2009-05-25T10:15:00.000-05:00

I'm on holidays this week and doing my best to get some things checked off the "honey-do" list while kicking it down a notch. So today finds me sitting in a small coffee shop in a rural village in south-eastern Manitoba. I'm struck by the different characters that fill the seats.

The rain has chased in a handful of elderly farmers; who, if they had their choice would rather be helping out in the field at this time of year. Instead they have retreated into the familiar surroundings of the coffee shop. Next to the farmers, a couple of trucker types are complaining about how the road weight restrictions are creating a headache for their gravel hauling business. In another corner sits a group of men who look like they are a part of a construction crew. They stay mainly to themselves, sipping coffee and talking in tones barely audible to the rest of the inhabitants. The only females in the room are the servers who have taken a break after serving the morning coffee crowd. They politely bow their heads before biting into their slices of toast. And then there is me sitting in a corner quietly observing and listening to the whole scene hurriedly typing my thoughts into my Blackberry.

A coffee shop seems like the perfect place to find people who know what it means to relax. The people in here seem to understand that there is a season for work and a season for rest. Perhaps it comes from their faith or perhaps from their understanding of the seasons. Maybe it is a bit both. In our desire to get the work of the Kingdom done we ought to understand that there are seasons to the work that we are engaged in. As one of my professors used to quip, "Timing is more important than time." How much untold damage is caused when we plow ahead without considering the timing of the work?

How do we then understand the timing of God?

Is More Better?

2009-03-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

There seems to be the general assumption that more is better. What is astounding is that people still think that is the case in light of the recent economic circumstances. I would state that underneath this assumption is the sin of greed. We want what we do not have and keep on striving for more. Doctors will tell you that there is a threshold at which medications are effective. Too little and there is no change in the symptoms, too much and the result can be catastrophic. Yet when it comes to our churches and institutions we say that there is no sense of thinking in terms of thresholds and that more is obviously better.

I would even say that it is guilt that drives a lot of this pressure for more. Perhaps this is the push of 'more is better' and greed is the pull of the assumption. The guilt stems from our belief that what we must be the same for everyone. We need to provide for everyone and everyone needs what we have to offer. Our evangelism takes on this tone as well, seeking to recruit people to our 'brand' as opposed offering people the opportunity to discover Jesus Christ.

Threshold, I believe is something that we need to consider in all of our pursuits. When setting our household spending, I think we should change budgeting from a balance sheet proposal balancing our income with our spending, but rather that we determine thresholds that we allow ourselves and then trust God to provide for that amount. And the reality would be that we could do with a lot less meaning that our opportunity to give beyond those thresholds would be immense. This would also work in churches. That the local church would acknowledge that there is threshold capacity at which if exceeded there is a reduction in the ability to disciple and care for each other. And those thresholds would determine when people are sent from the congregation to spread the gospel elsewhere.

I would really like to explore the implications of threshold mentality when it comes many areas in life.

In my work at SBC - it is something that I'm currently working with in terms of recruitment. Do we set a threshold of students. We set minimum requirements with regards to academics, and spirituality yet do we entertain the thought of having a threshold of students, a band of students at which level we are able to manage?

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

2009-02-28T19:47:00.000-06:00

I just finished reading the latest offering from the pop sociologist, Malcolm Gladwell. It's an easy read and quite intriguing. He offers hypothesis mixed with some good reasoning to suggest that people who are truely exceptional in their field do so not from shear luck or mental genius, but rather by the result of opportunity and hard work. He looks at the dispropotionate amount pro hockey players with birthdays in the first half of the year. He offers that part of Bill Gates rise in computer greatness was because of the year in which he was born. He also looks at the cultural affects that make Asian people on average better at Math than other people groups.

I'm not too sure how evidence based his approach actually is buthe does raiise some interesting commentary on what can be done to create exceptional circumstances.

I will write another one on some specifics of the book.

Audience

2009-02-21T11:39:00.000-06:00

I've been revisiting my collection of classical music lately. Most of it in preparation for a series of classes I'm teaching on the fine arts. What has struck me most profoundly about what makes older forms of music composition so compelling is the intended audience. Composers like Chopin, Mozart, Vivaldi, et al wrote to have their music played predominantly for a live audience and very often for a larger audience. The complexity of their music results in large sounds, intricate moods and delicate nuances of sound. So much is said without a single lyric being uttered. Yet as I have gone further back into historical sounds I have been impressed more with the Renaissance writing than with the Baroque or Classical music that makes up much of the genre.

Today, music is written primarily for an audience of one - listening to the tune on their iPod, mp3 player, or home stereo. the audience is distant from the musician both in time and space. This has made production techniques of higher value than raw talent - resulting in a higher profile for those who produce the music than those who compose or play the music. In fact the composer has all but disappeared from the prominence of pop music.

This is a bit of lament on the quality of composition. I would love to see pieces written once again for the live audience - written for the space in which it will be played - written for musicians whose soul purpose is to bring the music to life.

See you at the symphony.

Tale of Two Views of the Kingdom

2009-02-03T07:24:00.000-06:00

In one of my classes with Dr. Dwayne Uglem he made a statement which has spawned many questions in my mind. His statement was, "I often wonder how imminent return theology impacted the decisions on the facilities of this place." (referring to Briercrest) The following discussion focused on how the founders of Briercrest never imagined that the place would still exist and be needed today. After the second world war Christians were sure that Christ was coming back any moment.

Imminent return theology is becoming a bit of a relec in our time. You can still hear some of it in the gospel songs of the early to mid 1900's. "It could happen in a moment" "I wish we'd all been ready" "Soon and very soon" We see a reminent extreme of this in Jack VanImpe continuing to scare people out of hell. Today the kingdom of God is more often thought of in terms it being the "already and not yet." This thing that is to come and yet something that God is working towards even now. Many of us believe that Christ's resurrection ushered in the Kingdom and that we await the culmination of the kingdom. Our work now is to work in God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

This shift in thinking has brought about change. Some of it good. In our efforts to tell everyone about Jesus we have now realized that perhaps we need to care about the person, their economics, and their culture. We have taken up the call of Christ to feed the hungry, care for the widow, heal the diseased. These are good things and a health shift from the driveby style evangelism of the past that was concerned more with numbers than with changed lives. Yet the extremes of this position have even gone so far as to declare that all of God's perfect kingdom is at the disposal of believers and that if we just name it and claim it we can have it.

Yet we need to be careful that we not lose the significance of the imminent return theology. For it focuses the believer on the promise of Christ's return. It does create an urgency to the work of the kingdom and motivate people to live obedient lives. When time was short and the work great people responded to the call to ministry because the need was never clearer. And now the work is greater but the workers don't want to work because someone else who is stronger, someone else who is more talented, someone else who is more passionate, will do it. The work is greater because the we care more than just securing their souls. The timeline of someone's life is not getting that much longer. If we were to measure Christ's return in a lifetime than it is high time that we do something. Imminent return also helps to keep our focus on who the kingdom belongs to. Social justice is just a program without Christ as central.

In our rush to see God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven there needs to be cautious consideration about what is being left behind.

The Return to Blogging

2009-02-02T07:16:00.000-06:00

I took a temporary hiatus from writing. Not out of any design but rather out of sheer neglect of things important to my intellectual nurture. Through this I'm reminding myself how important it is to keep up the discipline of interacting with the inputs into my life. There are many things that need sorting through and though this is a public forum, I believe that the it is the boundaries of public discourse which forces meaningful thought and dialogue. To keep private is to vent without thinking. I listened to some very concerned peers questioning the existence these blogs. I believe that the concern comes not because of the good dialogue that can happen in this type of forum, but because of the lack of responsibility that is taken when posting something online.

Prior to the development of the internet, the only way to get published was through the critical eyes of an editor. And then came the fact that in order for someone to read what you thought, your writing needed to be purchased. Now it is "free" and it is unedited. The journalist has added to his role of writer the roles of editor and publisher. With these new roles must come a responsibility.

The discussion that parents and educators need to be having is one of helping a new generation understand the responsibility that comes with these new roles, rather than responding to the fear by shielding our young people from this form of communication.

Wrestling in the Dark

2008-11-17T06:39:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple of things that I have been wrestling with in the last few days.

"The intimate God"
- I wonder about this notion that God desires an intimate relationship with each of us. Intimacy has many facets and is expressed in many ways. The most commonly identified physical expression of intimacy is the sex act. When our view of God is as a Father, does this not imply an incestuous and perhaps homosexual relationship? Perhaps I'm jumping too quickly in my reasoning on this. I'm open to hearing what some of you are thinking about this?

"Marketing Scripture"
- I listened to another sermon on how we should be memorizing scripture. Or at least children should be memorizing scripture. (Adults can't do that any more - brains are fried.) I think in my own case it is simply laziness that prevents me from memorization. Once again we hear how the people of Israel memorized. They knew their God through the Shama and other says taken from scripture. What I find interesting is that in education we have all but done away with memorization. We reduce our need for memorization today by looking at earlier cultures as aural-oral based cultures that depended on memorization to pass on important information. That may be true, yet perhaps they were on to something that we have ignored. At least we are ignoring in education. The television advertising is well-aware of the buying power that comes from memorization of ad slogans. Catchy sayings still pound the air ways in an attempt to lure money to a product. Perhaps there is a lesson in this for all of us who are educators. The age of the internet and wikipedia is not lessoning our need for memorization. Without memorization of Scripture, God's Word is placed on the same footing as the rest of the information on the superhyway of the internet. Perhaps it sounds like my mind is made up on this matter - yet let me end with a question - Is memorization dead?

When the music stops

2008-10-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

First of all let me apologize for my poor blogging habits. As a discipline it is easy to neglect my own feeding. So here is something that I have been mulling over in the past couple of weeks.

2 Chronicles 5

I've been reading through the account of Solomon building the temple. I've been impressed by the magnitude of the project and the extravagance of the construction. As someone who is trying to live simply, it is hard to imagine such an undertaking like the construction of this place of worship. Contrasting this a newsletter I received from Gospel for Asia the other day that was appealing for money so that congregations would be able to build a sanctuary. The projected cost was $11,000. I'm curious how we construct our places of worship. Do we worship God with extravagance or are we just trying to impress ourselves? I'm often suspicious of groups or individuals who will build these ornate/expensive buildings. Are they just showing off how much money they have? Are they doing it just to prove that God wants all of us to be rich (and if you send me $500, God will give you $5000)? In our current climate of self-indulgent consumerism this kind of suspicion is likely warranted, however I'm drawn back to the text in 2 Chronicles and it's example of extravagance as an act of worship.

One of the things that I realize is that the purpose for Solomon building the temple was to create a permanent place for the Lord to dwell. Even saying this he recognizes that there is no place good enough or large enough to completely house the Lord of the universe. In chapter 5 is the account of the temple being dedicated/the ark being brought into the temple. The worship service is huge. There are 120 trumpeters on this worship team, not to mention the rest of the instruments. What struck me most peculiar was that when the presence of the Lord was revealed the entire worship team, the priests sacrificing, everything, stopped. It was as if the people were completely overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord being revealed.

Perhaps a sign of our motivation is found in our response to the presence of the Lord. Do we expect to be met with the awe of the presence of God Almighty in our midst?

Some things I'm considering.

How to pick a church 101

2008-08-17T16:51:00.000-05:00

So you're fairly new to a community and you are searching to find a community of faith to connect with. What is the criteria to use in determining which 'church' to attend? The following is a 'tongue-in-cheek' look at choosing a church.

1. Go to the one with the biggest building. God must really be blessing that church if they have a building that big. Furthermore the people that go to that church are likely the wealthiest and best connected in the community.
2. Assess the music selection of the Sunday morning service. Just the right style, lots of participation, upbeat music with talented musicians.
3. Choose the church with the highest profile pastor. Google the pastor's name to see if he/she has any books, CDs, or DVDs for sale. Book sales usually equals preaching ability.
4. Add up the number of friends and relatives that attend each church and attend the one that has the most people that you know. (More popular method with Mennonites.)
5. Check out the size of the offering plate. The smaller the plate the less is expected to give.
6. If in doubt, let your kids decide. After all they have a better ability to discern in these kind of situations.
7. Go to the church that has the best food. They likely won't preach on gluttony.
8. Pick the one that broadcasts their services on TV or radio. That way if you don't feel like going you can still listen/see the service.
9. Pick the one that is low on programming - that way you won't get asked to do anything.
10. Go to a different one each week. In some locations you could spend a whole year without repeating a church.

On a more serious note - this is the stage of life that we are in at the moment. Our desire is to respond to God's leading as we commit ourselves to the congregation of his choosing. I know that sounds like I'm abdicating my own sense of reason and discernment, yet I know that the Holy Spirit is able to lead and guide us in making this decision.

Remembering to whom I belong

2008-07-29T08:49:00.000-05:00

Heidelberg Catechism Question 1

What is my only comfort in life and in death?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of the Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yes, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live for him.

In reviewing this passage this morning I was struck by the profound motivation that comes from its reading. In the midst of starting a new job and fitting in to a new community it has been a bit unnerving to realize that we are once again needing to set those roots of familiarity and fellowship into new ground. It's a difficult task made easier when I am able to acknowledge my intent to belong completely to "my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins." I also love how the answer speaks so forcefully about what it is that Christ does in salvation and then the final phrase becomes my response to that work.

Charles Wesley - bringing the Church back together

2008-07-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

No, they cry, it cannot be!
Christians never will agree!
All the world Thy word deny,
Yet we on the truth rely,
Sure, in that appointed day,
Thou wilt give us all one way,

Show us each to other join’d,

One in heart, and one in mind.

Hasten then the general peace,
Bid Thy people’s discord cease,
All united in thy name,
Let us think, and speak the same:
Then the world shall know and own
God Himself hath made us one,
Thee their Lord with us embrace,

Sing Thine everlasting praise.

I found this poem, written by Charles Wesley, while researching for an assignment. He had such a desire for the Methodist movement to remain in the Anglican church and revive the stale spirituality that marked the Church. Since the writing of this poem there have been numerous further splits representing hundreds of new denominations. Today we are beginning to see a blurring of denominational lines. Perhaps Charles Wesley's prayer may be fulfilled in the next generation.