I'm a serious resource broker
I just received my Amazon associates report. Whoever ordered A Tribute to Don Cherry - thanks! Who knew that there's more than one Don Cherry?
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April 30, 2004
April 28, 2004
New book recommendations
New book recommendations are up, this time from Ron's recommendations at Velocity. More still to come.
Stop turning your back
My brother Arthur left a few quotes in the comment section below. They're all good; here's a sample:
The Church has to face society and not turn its back on it. If you're facing away from someone and you're trying to talk to him, he can't hear you - you're mumbling; you're not interested. What you're saying is, "Come over here. It's better over here," as opposed to saying, "I'm going to come to you - I'm interested in you; how can I serve you?" The days of "tell me" are over. The days of "show me" are in. (Jim Stewert)
Right on.
April 27, 2004
Random notes from Velocity
The church is in trouble - Some individual churches may be doing fine, but the stats are in and the church in North America is in trouble. Our levels of effectiveness are so low that, in many cases, we could have more impact if we quit our churches and started working for IBM.
The solution isn't tinkering - We've tried lower levels of change (reacting, restructuring, redesigning) but these aren't enough. We need to go deeper: to reframe (look at the loads of mental models and cultural assumptions we never question) and regenerate (ask questions about why we are asking certain questions; focus on the meta-questions) instead. There were very few "how-to's" at Velocity; the answers to the big questions are not at the pragmatic level.
One size doesn't fit all - Or rather one size fits everyone poorly. What works at Westwinds won't work here. MapQuest (indigenous) leadership is key. The solution to your problem may not be in any book written; you might have to write that book.
Creativity matters - Art and design are not for those who have ascended Maslow's hierarchy of needs and have nothing else to worry about. It is part of our essence; it's part of who God has created us to be. The more conservative the church, the more we've dissed art and sanitized our buildings (a product of rationalism). Art is the craving and yearning of the human heart. It may mean that our creative endeavors are not optional in ministry.
We're in Act Five - What if we stopped viewing the Bible as an answer book to life, a source of knowledge, or as a rulebook? We often reduce it to a set of principles. What if, instead, we saw the Bible as the first four acts of a five-act play? Our job is to improvise the fifth act by submersing ourselves in the first four acts. Our job isn't to just learn the first four acts, but to prepare for living in the fifth act while honoring the first four. We're not called to mimic the early church, but see them as a model that helps us live God's call in our context.
It's tough work - Engaging culture is relatively easy. Engaging theology is relatively easy. Okay, not easy, but doable. Engaging both culture and theology at the same time is difficult and necessary, and there seem to be few who are doing both.
Still coming - Top books recommended by Ron at Velocity.
Bring me to life
A song (or is it a prayer?) from Evanescence:
All this time I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought without a voice without a soul
Don't let me die here there must be something more
Bring me to life
Wake me up inside
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Photos from Westwinds
My pictures from Westwinds are now online.
April 25, 2004
The ethos of Westwinds
I'm hoping to post some notes on Velocity tomorrow. Ron Martoia was great, and the conference opened new avenues of thought for me.
Westwinds runs about 1,200 or so in attendance. That gives Westwinds a different feel than many churches that run conferences. I've been at many megachurch conferences, and it always feels like I'm the manager of a country fair visiting Disney. It's nice, but the size is a little overwhelming.
Westwinds was different. Their building was constructed when the congregation was about Richview's size. Within minutes of arriving the first day, Ron had already stopped by and chatted. Guys like Ron could have an ego, but he doesn't. There were well over 100 people there, but Ron knew most of us by name by the time it was over. On Friday, two groups sat in his office for a few hours and just talked.
The staff at Westwinds have tons of fun. They made us feel right at home (hello, Trish!). The church oozes values like artistic creativity, authenticity, and a raw willingness to ask honest questions. But they also care.
One of the most moving moments for me was before Thursday night's Encounter, an experiential worship time. We were lined up, waiting to go in. Ron passed by and patted us on the back. He went up a bit further and met an older couple. They looked like they attend Westwinds. They embraced, and I thought "how cool." I'll write more about the conference itself, but honestly, what impressed me the most was the feel, the ethos of the place. What a privilege to be part of that for a few days.
Book summary
Christian Book Summaries has posted a summary of Dallas Willard's book Renovation of the Heart (free PDF reader required). Looks good.
Stoneboats
Charlene and I went out for dinner last night to Stoneboats Restaurant in Oakville. I had the seafood pasta, and it was beyond description. I'll be going back for sure. If you live in the area, this place is worth checking out.
April 22, 2004
Rock Altar
In the Old Testament, rock piles were memory marker reminders of something God had done on behalf of Israel. This pile of name rocks updates that Old Testament practice and provides a ritual for those who have met Jesus in a powerful way. We invite you to sign a rock if you are making some commitment today to Jesus that you want to mark with a permanent reminder; in doing so, you are joining a community of marked people. You may be starting your journey with Jesus, you may be marking a recommitment to rejoin his ranks, or you may have been prompted by God's Spirit in a powerful way toward some action step you feel you need to mark in a way that will keep you accountable. Whatever the case we welcome you to the Rock Altar.Why the water vials? Call them a 3 dimensional sticky note for your spiritual journey. When you sign a rock you are acknowledging that God is privately prompting you to make some next steps. But those private promptings at some point have to go public. The public action and celebration is what baptism is all about. This vial of water is a mental and spiritual reminder that eventually you need to let that vial of water be joined with you in the waters of baptism. Place it where you shave or put on makeup in the morning and be reminded that baptism is in the future somewhere...soon we hope.
I love the architecture and some of the cool ideas here at Westwinds. Conference observations still to come.
April 21, 2004
Only in Canada
From The Globe and Mail:
Given the choice between beginning their deliberations in the Farah Khan homicide case or watching last night's seventh game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, the jurors chose hockey.
Only in Canada do we delay our newscasts and even delay trials for the sake of hockey. It makes perfect sense to Canadians. Go Leafs go.
April 20, 2004
Velocity.4
Heading out down the 401 today with Ed to Velocity.4 with Ron Martoia. I heard Ron speak last year and have wanted to make the field trip ever since. Ron is author of Morph! and a brilliant guy.
Part of me is wondering why I signed up to go away right now (it's awfully busy; I just got back from Boston last month), but I'm sure it will be good once I get there.
April 19, 2004
You're hired
D.J. Chuang on the similarities and contrasts between the pomo church and The Apprentice. Here's the last one:
The Donald has bad hair and a coupla billions in the City; The Savior has great white hair full of wisdom, owns it all, and is building a New City, and says you're hired to do the best job for Him, and get the best perks as shareholders.
I'm glad he chose to contrast The Donald and The Savior.
April 18, 2004
Noooo!
I'm still a little tense after watching the Senators beat the Leafs. My heart stopped a number of times but I think I'm okay now.
You'd think I'd be panicked now. Not at all. The Leafs never win a series in less than seven games. The more injuries and overtimes, the better. Anyway, they're not doing any worse than Calgary, right?
April 17, 2004
The Ottawa Song
My friend Don referred me to The Ottawa Song in the comments section the other day. I finally got around to listening to the song and I love it. Ottawa only has one more day left in the playoffs, so enjoy the song while you can.
Every Shot You Take (on the same page) is good as well.
Do preachers over-explain?
From Ginkworld:
As Calvin Miller writes of the preaching of Jesus, "His sermon on the Mount is his only entire sermon mentioned and can be preached in 18 minutes. In an economy of 2,320 words, Jesus spends 348 on such images as wolves, sheep, light, rock, sand, and storms." Not once, I might add, does he conjugate a Greek verb or mention "soteriology".Brine and York, noting the Shakespeare/King James connection, point out that the frontispiece of the original edition states, "Appointed to be read in churches." Not explained, not exegeted, not outlined or underlined, but read. It’s almost as if they believed the words contain the Word, and would do their work on their own.
So try something radical: read the Bible. No, you won’t understand it all and you’ll want to look some stuff up later, but not until you see what happens. The first time I read Hamlet’s famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, I had no idea what a fardle was, but by the time I reached the end, I was a different person.
April 16, 2004
Imagine if George W. had said that?
I wonder what LT is going to say about Paul Martin's slip about Canadians landing on the beaches of Norway in World War II?
April 15, 2004
Moe's Tavern, formerly known as Richview Baptist Church
I asked someone to confirm the attendance of people who had signed up for a lunch at Richview this Sunday. This sentence was in the email summarizing who was able to attend: "Seymour Butts left 416-249-xxxx as his number and it’s the wrong number."
I can hardly wait to ask her to describe the phone call to me. "Hello, I'm calling from Richview. Could I speak to Seymour Butts?"
That's life at Moe's Tavern, formerly known as Richview Baptist Church.
Svend Robinson steps down
I doubt Svend Robinson and I agree on many issues. Yet when he stepped down today, after having "snapped" last week and stolen a ring from an auction, I was filled with respect for his courage and integrity.
Apparently, it is for reasons of ill health: he suffers from a rare and debilitating form of kleptomania...
Andrew Coyne wrote these words, but backed down shortly after:
On second thought, maybe we should cut the guy some slack. He did go to the cops himself, which suggests the theft probably was indicative of a disordered state of mind.
Exactly. Nobody is excusing what he did, but I know I'm capable of worse. The first instinct is to hide and cover up. Svend isn't doing that. He's voluntarily owning up and paying the price, and for this, I offer him my respect. Hats off to Svend.
Update: A day later, and I'm starting to feel a little more cynical. It would be nice to believe that Svend came clean because he thought it was the right thing to do and not because he was caught or is trying to win sympathy. Who knows.
Update 2: It was a lot nicer of a story when it looked like Svend had confessed by himself, rather than being caught.
More than one is better
Matt Lortie, a Tyndale student, is speaking at Richview this week. Yesterday, we met at Starbucks and went over his sermon.
It was fun. We tossed around ideas, and things came pretty easily - a lot easier than normal, when I sat in my study alone and try to come up with everything myself.
I'm learning this about myself and the process of sermon preparation. The old model of the pastor sitting in his study alone and producing a sermon is a bogus one. With Matt yesterday, and with my fellow students in Boston, I learned that it's a lot easier to clarify and sharpen what we're going to say after some interaction with others.
It's also a lot more fun to do work at Starbucks, but that's a different story.
So the Leafs lost
They're following the script perfectly. So am I. Every year the playoffs start, and I swear I won't get sucked in. Two games into the playoffs, I'm hooked and sure the Leafs will win the Cup this year. They always go to seven games, accumulate lots of injuries, and eventually fold and break my heart.
They (and I) are staying true to the script so far this year. But they're not done yet. Go Leafs go!
April 13, 2004
If I had $1,300
I'd get one of these.
April 12, 2004
Easter Sunday
Ian describes what happened at Richview yesterday:
Sunday was characterized with much happiness and nervous excitement. Sunday morning prior to the baptism, I was full of nervous excitement .. I couldn't wait! I was one of eight being baptized (age ranges from 9 to 70 something and representation from both sexes). I, like the other 7 did not know what too expect that day (solemn serious experience or fun joyous experience). While waiting for things to begin, many of us, including the pastors, burned some of our nervous energy through humour.
It was a good day. I love the diversity of the people at Richview.
April 11, 2004
Christian Comics Find Redemption for Up to $500
From Reuters:
Jack T. Chick has been practically giving away his pocket-sized Christian comic books for 40 years, but some fans are willing to redeem certain titles for as much as $500.These ubiquitous gospel tracts feature a dramatic story line that typically ends with an ultimatum: "The Bible says there's only one way to heaven! Nobody else can save you. Trust Jesus today!" The covers, in black-and-white plus another color, have titles like "The Word Became Flesh," "The True Path" and "Allah Had No Son"...
Surprisingly, many collectors do not subscribe to the fire-and-brimstone philosophy contained in the booklets, which condemn the Vatican as a tool of Satan, portray Allah as a pre-Islamic moon-god and liken Freemasons to sorcerers. Even humanitarian missionaries who focus on doing good deeds instead of spreading God's Word would be sent to hell, according to tracts like "Flight 144" and "Reverend Wonderful."
This takes me way back to my past. I even heard Jack Chick speak at Massey Hall once. I could have been rich. Who needs hockey cards when you have a Chick rookie tract.
If
The resurrection is the keystone of the arch on which our faith is supported. If Christ has not risen, we must impeach all those witnesses for lying. If Christ has not risen, we have no proof that the crucifixion of Jesus differed from that of the two thieves who suffered with him. If Christ has not risen, it is impossible to believe that his atoning death was accepted. (D.L Moody)
But if Christ is risen...
April 9, 2004
The Collision of God and Sin
The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God. (Oswald Chambers)
April 8, 2004
One game into the playoffs
And already my heart is breaking. It hurts to be a Leafs fan.
Always be prepared
Found through Radical Congruency: a parody of government instructions on how to respond to a terrorist attack, except these captions (same illustrations) are a whole lot funnier. Warning: a couple are a little crude.
April 7, 2004
Holy Week
Holy Week is here, and I'm finding myself strangely envious of my liturgical friends, who seem to know how to handle sacred time a lot better than I do. I stayed with an Anglican while I was in Boston, and learned enough in casual conversation to realize that my ignorance in these matters is vast. You should have seen how shocked he was that some of us celebrate Communion on Good Friday, for instance. You just don't do that in the Anglican church.
Next year, I want to observe Lent. For now, I'm going to try to live through Good Friday and Saturday without rushing headlong to Easter Sunday. Sometimes, in my circles, we inject too much hope into Good Friday, and fail to experience it on its own terms. We're so focused on the resurrection that we never really experience the death that comes first.
I'm learning, but I still wouldn't mind being more liturgical, at least now and at Advent.
Yes, but would he use an Mac or PC?
Quoted in a FOXNews article:
I really think that if Jesus were around today, he would have a blog.
(found through Instapundit)
April 6, 2004
The humiliation continues
William Hung's new album is out. This falls under the category of so bad that it's good. I heard some clips on the radio this morning; clips are also available at Amazon.
In a way, I admire this guy. He doesn't deserve a record deal, but there are so many things we're all bad at. At least William is having fun. She bangs.
April 5, 2004
What a trend we have in Jesus
From The Toronto Star:
Jesus is hot.Over the past few months, the dreamy-looking and fanatically adored religious icon has crossed over, born again as a full-fledged international pop celebrity...
In fact, many believe Jesus is fast becoming the ultimate pop celebrity. Though church attendance in many mainline denominations is down, The Da Vinci Code and The Passion are drawing huge crowds. (According to Doubleday, there are now more than 6 million copies of The Da Vinci Code in print, making the year-old, still-in-hardcover book the fastest-selling adult fiction title ever.)
"He is very deeply embedded in American culture," says author Fox, a history professor at the University of Southern California. "He has made it into our pantheon of heroes"...
Theologians refer to much of this hype as the "de-sacralization" of Christ. Poseable Jesus action figures are for sale on the Internet, and there are even Jesus bobblehead dolls. Whether they are meant to enhance children's religiosity or are simply kitschy toys is in the heart of each buyer, explains Dr. Christopher Lind, director of the Toronto School of Theology.
Animatronic band takes guesswork out of worship
From Lark News:
PLANO — On Sunday morning at High Valley Community Church, the curtains part to reveal a 10-piece band of mannequins which springs to life at the touch of a button."Good morning everybody!" says lead animatron "Steve," a male mannequin with blond hair and a beaming smile. "Let's worship God!"
They launch into a flawless version of "Open the Eyes of My Heart," and the animatrons "play" their instruments while people in the audience clap and sing along.
It has taken a few months to get used to them, but the people at High Valley have embraced the burgeoning trend in electronic worship leaders.
"I thought I'd miss the human element, but these machines are so real," says Douglas Wilson, 62. "And I appreciate the consistency."
A new line of preaching mannequins is expected soon.
April 3, 2004
Go Tyler
The "Bored Bush Boy" (under 4/2/04)
April 2, 2004
Phones and ministry
I want to back down a little from my previous post. The phone isn't really the problem. The problem runs much deeper.
Relationships are the key to effective ministry, and that is why the phone can be such a powerful tool. I love to connect with someone by phone. You can accomplish a lot more in a two-minute phone call sometimes than you can in a series of emails. It's not as good as face-to-face, but it's not bad.
The problem is when the phone is used for non-relational purposes. The phone calls that bother me are the ones that are trying to sell me on something, or that want me to give something that they need. I'd much rather respond to an email if that's your purpose. Don't make me return your call or listen to your pitch.
Take that away, and there is only one type of phone call I dread: benevolent requests. But that is a subject for another post.
*$%#* phone
I have a love-hate relationship with my office phone. That's not true. I hate it. Somebody somewhere has flipped a switch, and I'm getting more calls than ever. It's driving me crazy.
If I was smarter, I would have figured out what to do about it by now. People call who want to rent the church, present their ministry to the congregation, run a seminar. They need money because they're in a tight spot, or they just want an appointment to talk. They want someone to conduct their wedding ceremony, or they want to see how something works. Most of them are complete strangers to me.
Some of the phone calls are easy to deal with; some are important; most take time. (All of them used to take time, but I sometimes decide to ignore those along the lines of "God loves you and I have a wonderful plan for your life"). And don't get me started on the phone stalkers, who call back every five minutes just in case.
Sometime soon I'm going to figure out what to do about this problem. I think part of the solution will be better screening, so I deal with more of the people-related calls and less of the administrative ones. Let's just hope I haven't ripped the phone from the wall and thrown it out the window by then.