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Mike Todd is frustrated:

No on is talking about Israel and Lebanon. Come to think of it, no one is talking about Palestine.

No one is talking about Iraq.
No one is talking about Sudan.
No one is talking about HIV/AIDS.
No one is talking about Afghanistan.
No one is talking about global warming.
No one is talking about corporate greed.
No one is talking about the minimum wage.
No one is talking about corrupt politicians and regimes.
No one is talking about starvation and our overflowing garbage cans.
No one is talking about the millions (in their own countries) living below the poverty line.

No one is talking about what it means to be a follower of Christ in this environment, at this time.

Stephen Shields agrees. What is a Christian to do right now? I wish the answers were easier.

It reminds me of the line in Hotel Rwanda: "I think if people see this footage, they'll say, 'Oh God, that's horrible!" and then go on eating their dinners.' " It's so easy to be disturbed and then return to more pressing matters.

Maybe people aren't talking about Israel and Lebanon...but I hope they're praying at the very least. Your Kingdom come.

Some good and bad things happening...

Bad news: our roof started leaking last week and needs replacing. Drats. Just shingled it myself (with some help) 14 years ago, and it should be good for another ten years. I am not sure the shingles we bought are as durable as advertised. Good news: we hadn't started some of the other home renovation projects we had planned and might be able to afford this.

Bad news: Our car transmission is broken. Good news: They finally found the problem; we bought the extended warranty when we bought the car; we have a free rental (Pontiac G6) in the meantime.

Good news: This is my first full day of writing my thesis. Bad news: I only got to 80% of my target 10 pages per day.

Good news: I start writing again tomorrow, and all week long.

Every Thursday evening, a group of pastors heads out with some police for a community walk. It's mostly to get to know people in the community, to show support for the police, and to build some goodwill. I went for the first time tonight.

We went to a park in the Dixon Road corridor, a high-density area with a huge Somali population. I've been at Richview eight years, and I've never been in this park once before, even though it's only two kilometers away. It was packed with people, including a lot of fairly small kids but not many parents. The centerpiece is a basketball court donated by Vince Carter when he was still a Raptor. You rarely see so many people out in a community park on a hot summer night in Toronto.

We were a bit of a sight - a couple of police in uniform, and pastors with clergy collars so we'd be recognizable. It's safe to say that the police guns and handcuffs got more attention than the pastors and their collars.

I was amazed by a number of things. The police we had with us were amazing. It's different for them to show up to play basketball with kids and to hang out, rather than just showing up to respond to a call.

It was also amazing to see how many kids the other pastors knew. It's easy to talk about community ministry, but some have been doing it for years, and it shows. I heard stories tonight. I realized how out of touch I am with a lot of stuff that's been happening. The only way to find out is to be out there.

Ministry sometimes involves just walking around and hanging out. That can lead to all kinds of other things, but that's where it starts.

Someone on the Resonate list said the other day that the best thing you can do is to just go out and talk to a homeless person. The same thing is true here. I learned more tonight about Dixon Road just walking and chatting than I'd learn in hours anywhere else. And I think I'll go back.

Jonathan & Naomi Johnson, friends of mine here in Toronto, are starting a summer reading club:

Jonathan & Naomi Johnson are interested in hosting a summer-time reading club, to study LONG JOURNEY HOME. Together, we will forge our way through to thinking well – or at least better – on the Meaning of Life & the plethora of religions and religious views available to our neighbors, our co-workers, our young adult children, and their friends. It will be work, but, thanks to the impeccable work of thinker and communicator Os Guinness, the really hard stuff has already been done for us.

Too Busy this Summer? So are we! That’s why we’ll plan minimal get-togethers (probably only 3 or so) packed with maximum quality and content. This will be a working study, but we can all plan to take away increased understanding of some of the core issues and problems in connecting with seekers, as well as increased ability to relate to them, intelligently, where they’re at. We’ll even develop our own thinking and communicating skills – together!

More information here (in PDF).

This is for those of you who think I post too much about U2.

The last time I linked to a post by David Fitch on preaching, Paul Martin commented, "Really, Darryl. You liked this post? I thought it was bunch of hoogly."

Well, Fitch is back with part two and I declare it to be 99% hoogly-free. I love where he goes with this. Samples:

1.) QUIT EXPLAINING AND START PROCLAIMING. Let us preachers quit explaining the text so much. Instead let us proclaim the reality revealed in the text so that we all might live in it. In other words, let us preach to unfurl the reality revealed in the text that we could not see apart from being engulfed in the story of God from creation to redemption. We will no doubt, need to explain some things in the text. But the primary task of preaching on Sunday morning is “proclaiming” the reality of the world as it is under the good news of the gospel that renders all things new...

2.) PLEASE, LET’S COME TO SCRIPTURE AS DRAMA NOT A TEXTBOOK. Let us preachers resist all modernist temptations to see the Scriptures as a propositional textbook of religious facts. Instead, let us see the Scriptures as alive. Scripture is real accounts, testimonies and witnesses of God’s people, through the prophets and the apostles, to what God has done and said and will do. So let us read and speak as ones invited to see ourselves as invited in to participate in the continuation of all this! This might mean we might have to see the Bible as a Narrative (as became so popular in the 80’s.) More recently von Balthazar (Theo Drama), Sam Wells (Drama - Improvisation) and Kevin Vanhoozer (The Drama of Doctrine) have all taught us to think of Scripture as Theo Drama where we become the participants. This is the metaphor I believe we must follow in our preaching.

The whole thing is worth reading. Some very good stuff here.

One of my favorite local bloggers, Bill Kinnon, has released a new book called A Networked Conspiracy, along with a splashy new blog to go with the book.

Bill writes:

First it's a combination audio book and softcover 55 page booklet featuring the entire text of the audio book - including 50 reference links...

The book was partly written as the result of frustration with "modern" church leadership. We've become great at "delivering services" while ignoring the incredible potential that exists in the people to whom we "deliver those services." In the Cluetrain universe we now inhabit, many, if not all people want to be involved. They want to both listen and be heard - they want to engage and be engaged. The one way communication of most "churchianity" just doesn't cut it for them/us - and we not only want to be heard...we will be heard.

Looks good! I'm adding this to my next book order.

Charlene and Josiah in Canada's oldest rail tunnel in Brockville, Ontario.

A while ago, someone posted on eBible, which annoyed me because it looks cool and because I couldn't get in. It's in invitation-only beta.

Well, i finally snagged an invite and I'm in. Looks like a great tool. It's a Web 2.0 application and has some neat features I haven't seen before, such as auto-completing the search field as you type.

I have 20 invites if you want to check it out, first come first serve. Just send me an e-mail and I'll be glad to set you up.

My latest column at Christian Week:

I didn't know what to expect when an older gentleman spoke up at an emerging church conference. The speaker had asked, "What are you doing here? What is the issue you want to talk about?" The older man rose to his feet and said:

"Are we allowed to speak honestly?"

"I'm here because my three sons believe in Jesus and find the church totally indifferent. I'm 72 years old. I have six compatriots. We've produced 35 kids. They're bright, reasonably intelligent. None of them disbelieves in Jesus; none of them has any time for the church."

To be honest, I'm not sure I heard much of anything others said that day. But I can't get what he said out of my mind.

We're back from camping, and it was an amazing trip. But it didn't start out that way.

I should have known we were in trouble when things went so well while packing. For the first time ever, we left on time and were poised for a great day. But then...

A kilometer into our trip, Buddy the dog tried to make a break from his cramped position on the floor in the back. We pulled over on the shoulder of the highway, and within seconds a police cruiser was there to make sure we were okay. I wasn't sure if we'd be charged with crazy over-packing of a vehicle or some offense, but we got away with little more than a chuckle from the officers.

We made great time to the camp, but then found out that the premium site we had reserved, right on the water, could only take an eight-foot by eight-foot tent. You figure it out. There are four of us, two dogs, and lots of luggage. That wasn't going to work.

We picked another site. I began to set up just as it started to rain. Buddy was whining. I was starved. We were right under the bridge to the U.S. and the trucks never ended, and they were LOUD. The noise was driving us crazy. The vacation was falling apart before it even began.

You don't want to see me hungry, wet, and grumpy with a headache when things are falling apart. Trust me on this one.

I called a time out and we went into town, without dogs, and got the vacation back on track with suicide hot chicken wings, ice cold Diet Coke, and a World Cup soccer game. Feeling refreshed, we made one of the most brilliantly stupid decisions in recent memory.

We took a walk-in site.

Ten minutes from car to site, up and down a rocky trail. Ten minutes to carry water, tents, coolers, containers, luggage, and gear.

It was crazy. It was great.

So for the past two weeks, we've been ten minutes away from everything except for each other and the water. It was a ton of work, but it was amazing. We were secluded and we got tons of exercise and had all kinds of fun, except for the weekend that the drunk kids moved in - but I'll save that for later.

Here's a picture of the start of the path. More pictures here, and a few more stories to come.

(Some pictures are only available if you're marked as a family or friend with Flickr. Ask me and I'll be glad to add you.)

It's good to be back after having a great vacation, even if things didn't start out all that well.

Whenever we go camping, we can't afford to mess around with extras. No wasted space. Four of us, plus two dogs, and all our luggage, tents, and supplies have to fit in our humble Vibe. The challenge of fitting it all in begins tonight. This is how it looked a couple of years ago.

This isn't the vacation we had planned - we should have been on our way to England as a family so the kids could visit Dad. He left us a little too soon, so this is our last minute substitute.

Usually I don't take any non-fiction with me - that's for the rest of the year. This time I'm taking one non-fiction book: The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and The World by Marva Dawn.

Gone camping - see you when we get back!

On July 2, 1998, I began as the young new pastor at Richview. I remember the excitement of a fresh new assignment, and also the nervousness.

Nobody calls me the new young pastor anymore. I'm the second-longest serving pastor at RIchview, although my tenure so far is a fraction of my predecessor's, who broke the mold of short tenures at Richview, and in many ways made the church what it is.

Statistically, I shouldn't have lasted. When you follow a long tenure, you're only supposed to last a year or two. We've had our adjustments, but I'm still here.

Pastoring is a lot like marriage. There's lots of give and take, and you need to grow up along the way. And, like in marriage, even when you're sure you're right, you're also a little bit wrong. Most of all, it involves moving from an immature love to something much deeper and that you wouldn't trade back for the world.

I'm grateful. Richview has been patient and flexible when needed. When we've had bumps (any pastor who says he hasn't had bumps is lying), there has also been lots of love. I have a predecessor with a good track record who is supportive, and lots of people at Richview who are praying for me.

I guess the ninth year begins today. It's no longer a fresh new assignment, but it's a good one. And I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

The neighbors have a big Portugal flag up. It's only fair that we show our true colors.

Some friendly neighborhood rivalry. Go England go!

Update: Ugh! Hurts to lose.