Musings of an MVP

Calling Christian Artists

2011-11-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

A letter to Christian Artists who live/have lived/will live in or around Winnipeg:

In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples, for a short period, there was chaos. These uneducated fishermen (for the most part) were speaking languages they had no business knowing... and fluently. A huge crowd gathered and wild accusations flew... drunk at nine in the morning! In general, people didn't know what to make of this new and strange experience. It was something they'd never seen before. That's when Peter stood up and became their interpreter... not in the language sense, since they could all understand what was being said... but by telling the crowd what God was saying through His Spirit.

Friends and fellow artists, a movement of the Spirit has been prophesied for the city of Winnipeg. I have every reason to believe these prophecies will come to pass. I look forward to it. But, I fear the way it comes will be largely misunderstood. The Spirit will likely come in a way that people haven't seen before and they'll need someone to tell them what's going on in a language they'll understand.

I've been told that in recent years, there has been a shift in the way people understand things. Apparently, as time passes, the questions we ask about information change. Whereas some generations have asked "What is true" or "What is useful," we have recently been asking "What is good?" The theory is that the question is about to change again, with some speculating that the next question will be "What is beautiful?" If that is, in fact, the question people will be asking, who better than Christian artists to interpret the movement of the Holy Spirit for the world?

To this end, I think it is time for Christian artists in Winnipeg to create a community to help us get ready for this task. Together, we can help each other study scripture so we're able to understand what God is saying through His Spirit. We can help each other hone our crafts so we're able to create art that will engage and direct people to understanding. But, in order for us to do this together, we'll have to gather.

And so, I propose the gathering of Christian artists on a weekly basis to spend some time studying scripture together, some time creating with and around each other, some time practicing the skills that will make us better, and some time presenting our creations and receiving feedback. In the process, we cannot help but get to know God better, get to know our crafts better, and get to know each other better as well. And then, when the time comes for the Holy Spirit to come in power to Winnipeg, may God grant us the understanding to recognize His message and the wisdom to interpret it for those who do not.

I don't have anything like details figured out, but I would like to see a group of us meeting weekly, starting no later than January. I'm currently partial to Monday nights, though Wednesdays are also a possibility. I have a few ideas about location, but am definitely open to suggestions. There are many things to figure out before this can become a reality, but I'm committed to working on it as much as necessary.

If you are interested in being part of such a gathering, I would love to hear from you. If you know of artists you think would be interested, please pass this on to them, whether it interests you or not. Don't limit your thinking to just visual art, either. I'm interested in hearing from musicians, actors, and writers, as well as painters, sculptors, and film directors. And don't think I'm just looking for the best artists out there either... if that was the case I probably wouldn't belong. We'll all get better together. I want to see a diverse group of artists working together to speak to the world.

I'm in.

Once Saved

2010-12-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of last year, one of the students with whom I was working asked one of those tough questions: once you become a Christian, can you lose your salvation? Unfortunately, when we tackled that question the next week, she wasn't there and she never came again. It really got me thinking, though, that there has to be a good answer to that question. It also reminded me of a sermon I had heard a few years earlier and sent me looking through the scriptures for some sort of an answer. What follows will be my journey as I attempted to satisfy my curiosity.

I started with the parable of the two houses. One built on a rock, the other built on sand. As one might predict, the story ends with the sand shifting in a storm and the house on it collapses. When Jesus told that story he was saying that those who listen to him and do what he says are like the man who built his house on the rock (Matt 7).

The interpretation I've always accepted here is that with Jesus as our foundation, we'll be saved, but otherwise, we'll be caught in the storm and washed away. That's backed up by Paul, who says that having a foundation that is Christ is sufficient to save us, if only by the skin of our teeth (1 Cor 3). But Paul makes an observation that adds to this interpretation. He talks about the materials with which one builds the house.

Often we hear the message that all we need is Christ for us to be saved. That is true. I'm not going to debate that. But, Paul says pretty clearly that being saved shouldn't be where we stop. That got me thinking: how ridiculous would it look for someone to build a foundation and stop there? That person would be an idiot! Maybe not as bad as the guy who builds his house on the sand, but still stupid. I mean, sure, you don't end up being swept into the sea, but you'll be wet, cold and miserable the whole time. Build yourself a house.

But what are the materials with which we are to build? Gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay and straw are out of the question. All we're told, though, is that our reward will come if what we've built survives the test of fire. That's hardly helpful. So, I set out looking for an answer. My attention was caught by another of the major characters in the New Testament: Peter.

Peter tells us that to participate in the divine nature, we should take the foundation that is our faith in Jesus Christ and add goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. He says that these things will keep us from being nearsighted and blind, will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of God, and will cause us to never stumble and enter the Kingdom of God (II Peter 1). That sounds pretty straightforward.

As I looked through that list, it became clear to me that those things that Peter suggests are the very things that make our lives better. If we have been faithful with that list, we'll be able to seek shelter during life's storms. Those things on their own might keep us dry for a while, but without Christ as the foundation, none of them stand up to the storm. I think that Peter has described the materials Paul suggested when he told us to build the houses about which Jesus told his parable.

Finally, it makes sense, then, to read James as he talks about the relationship between faith and works. The quality of a building's foundation is proved by the standing of the building. Without the house, as I've said before, the foundation is close to useless. While going through a storm, someone sitting on an unused foundation is likely to leave it, looking for shelter. Likewise, without works, faith is dead (James 2).

So, I came to the conclusion that the question isn't "Once saved, always saved?" but rather, "Once saved, what do you do?" because if you work to surround yourself with the list of materials given by Peter, there will be no reason to leave the foundation that Christ has built and you will have made your "calling and election sure."

God First

2007-12-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

This one's kinda scary.

I mean, all the other writing I've done here has been purely theoretical, very non-committal and has never required much in the way of action on my part.

This one's different. This one could actually answer one of those small questions that make up my lifelong big question.

A Christian teacher has to put God first. That's the definition of Christian. Putting God first means that in everything we do, we should be working for the Kingdom... including teaching.

In Canada, from what I can tell, the best way of doing that is to be a staff sponsor for an IVCF High School group. Each group needs a sponsor in order to exist in the first place, so it's an excellent place to start.

Too many staff sponsors, however, become staff supervisors. That is something I do not wish to be. I pray that when I find myself in that situation that I will invest my time in the growth of Christian students and the advancement of God's Kingdom. I hope to be fully involved in IVCF even while I teach, even if it means I can only teach part time. That way, I hope, I will be recognized as the "Christian teacher" which will be a witness in and of itself, provided God helps me teach well.

The result would be a teacher who students see as someone they can as tough questions, who will give an honest answer and will help them find the answers for themselves.

That is, after all, what a teacher should do anyway.

On Ф

2007-09-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Phi is a Greek letter: Ф.

Ф shows up all over the place. You've all seen it... you might just not be aware of it.

Supposedly, Ф is the most pleasing ratio to the human eye. Many paintings and buildings have been built, whether on purpose or by coincidence, according to the dimensions of Ф. A rectangle that is drawn according to this ratio will have sides, say, of 10cm and 16.18cm. I could go into how to calculate it, but that would not be exciting for too many and if you really want to know, look up the "Golden Ratio."

The fascinating thing is that this ratio shows up everywhere:

- The head of a sunflower is packed with seeds according to Ф in order to maximize space.

- The leaves on most flowers rotate around the stem according to Ф in order to get the most out of every drop of rain and sunlight.

- The human body is full of golden ratios simply because we perceive it to be pleasant.

- As a result portraits also use the Golden Ratio, especially, the Mona Lisa.

I could mention the pyramids, the Parthanon, various sea creatures and apparently, even the music of Mozart.

What boggles my mind is that our universe was created to fit so perfectly with this one particular ratio in mind and that we have been conditioned to find it pleasant. Truly we have a God who set things up to work in the best possible manner and is pleased to see us be pleased as well!

On Questions

2007-09-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite activities is the investigation game where a situation is presented and you have to figure out what happened using yes/no questions. It really forces a person to think creatively and usually by the time you figure it out, you're thinking, "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" The problem most people have in figuring these out is that they try to ask questions that answer the whole thing at once. That rarely works. Instead, to solve these situations, you have to ask specific questions and slowly build your solution.

I've always felt that the most important ability anyone can have is to ask the right questions. No matter what the subject area is, if you can ask the right question, you're well on your way to understanding the subject. For example, an excellent question for grade 10 geography would be, "How does glacial movement in the last Ice Age affect population patterns in Canada?" But to answer that question, you have to first answer a number of smaller questions: How did the glaciers move? What effect did that have on the landscape? What population patterns exist in Canada? etc... You can't answer the big question without breaking it down into smaller chunks.

Thus, the theory would state that any question, no matter how big, can be broken down into a series of smaller questions... but is that really the case?

We were told today that everyone has a question that is so big that it has no business going away... the type of question that defines our dreams... the type of question that nobody really has a definitive answer to, though many try. Like:

How can people successfully live in deep community?
How does a person serve God while working in a secular environment?
and so on...

Now, we all have quick answers for questions like these, but rarely does someone actually live out what the quick answers say. So the answer to a question like these is really more of a lifestyle... a constant commitment to living out what we think the answer should be.

So, what does a Christian teacher look like in a public school?

On Comparisons

2007-04-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

On one of the last days of school before Christmas Break the teachers at my school accepted a challenge from the students to play a game of hockey. I signed up to play with the staff team and took the ice for the challenge. As it turns out, there are some teachers on the staff that are not as good at hockey as I am. But there are also some that are far better than me... and as it turns out most of the student players are better than most of the teachers. Their superior skills led to an 8-1 drubbing that most teachers knew was coming.

But, though the students are much, much better than I am at playing hockey, that doesn't necessarily mean they are all that good. They only appear good at the game because they are being compared to me. "Good" is a comparative term. If, instead, one was to compare the students to Sidney Crosby, they would no longer seem so good. That doesn't change the fact that they are better than me, it just changes the way they are described overall.

In life, we have this propensity for comparing ourselves with other people. It's like we need to find some place where we're better than everyone else. This habit of ours comes out especially when we try to compare ourselves, as Christians, to those who don't adhere to our values. We claim that we are better than they are in various moral aspects. For all I know, maybe we are... but that's not my point.

Even if we are better than others in our morals, that doesn't mean, by any means, that we are good. Just like our comparison between me, my students, and Sidney Crosby, our ultimate level of goodness depends on the standard to whom we are comparing ourselves. The standard, in this case, is Jesus. Compared to Jesus, we're no good at all, no matter how many people we're better than. Whether we're twice as good as someone else, or a thousand times better, Jesus is perfect... infinitely better than us. So really, our comparison to that other person doesn't matter at all.

So what are we to do about this?

Well, in the first example, when compared to Sidney Crosby, the comparison is a little different. I'm sure if you asked Crosby, he wouldn't say that he's a perfect hockey player. Though he's considered one of the best in the NHL, he still practices every day and could name the ways he wants to improve. Together with his coach, he finds a hole in his game and works on fixing that. I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to say that throughout his career he'll ever feel that he's arrived at the perfect hockey player.

Similarly, in our lives, we have to come to the realization that as long as we're living here on Earth, we won't reach perfection. No matter how much better we might be than someone else, we're far from perfect. Therefore, we should find a place that isn't perfect in our lives and work on that. We won't reach perfection, but we can take the next step toward it... and as long as we're doing that, we'll turn into a better person than we were previously, which is the only comparison we should really be making.

On Nations

2006-11-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

With the whole Quebec thing coming up again, I've had ample opportunity to consider the idea of a nation and how we derive our identities from the nation we call our own.

First of all, I find it interesting that on many survey and census forms in Canada, when people are asked what nationality they come from, Canadians tend to answer with things like French, English, Scottish, Ukrainian, etc. For many Canadians, Canadian doesn't count as a nationality.

But then why do we feel threatened when les Quebecois want to be identified as a nationality? If we, who live in English Canada, don't see ourselves as primarily Canadian, why should we expect the people of Quebec to? Yet, just because Quebecois are different than English Canadians doesn't mean they're not Canadian. Our differences make Canada a much more interesting place to live and our attempts to live at peace with each other are a testament to the rest of the world that in Canada differences are celebrated and we're free to live with whatever culture we bring to the table.

--------------------------------

1 Peter 2:9-10 (NLT)
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

[10] "Once you were not a people;
now you are the people of God.
Once you received none of God's mercy;
now you have received his mercy."

--------------------------------

Christians have the same problem.

First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if, when asked what religion we follow, many of us would respond saying Mennonite, Catholic, Methodist, Reform, etc. For many Christians, Christianity only counts as it's defined by their particular denomination.

We bellyache loudly about how the American Evangelicals are misrepresenting Christianity to the world and giving all of us a bad name. We have endless innuendoes that help us to communicate how we think about other parts of the Christian community (how often has "Yeah, but he's Catholic" counted as a reason for someone's argument to be wrong?). If we can't even get along with others within our own faith, how do we expect to convince others to join it?

If we could at least attempt to celebrate the differences that make the Body of Christ so dynamic and flexible, the discussion that would result and, I'm convinced, the headway we would make would show the world how, in Christ, there is freedom to bring the things that define you as a person into the nation that is God's.

Just like there is room for distinct people groups within the Dominion of Canada, allowing for the differences we find between French, Scottish and Japanese-Canadians, there is room for distinct belief groups within the Nation of God. Having Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist-Christians is no problem, as long as we remember to include the after-the-hyphen stipulation.

So let's continue to have our differences, openly debate them, and then celebrate the fact that the Body of Christ can be diverse and include all of our idiosyncrasies. Meanwhile let us not lose focus on the cross, which is the thing that unifies us all into the one Nation God meant us to be.

CMA Syndrome

2006-09-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Back in the mid-1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev first became the General Secretary of the USSR's Communist Party, he brought two ideas to the Soviet Union that were meant to revolutionize the way the Party worked. Perestroika and Glasnost were meant to create an environment of openness within the Party and renew it's sense of responsibility to the people of the USSR.

As a part of the plan, Gorbachev wanted to streamline the entire economic system of Russia. As a result, he started going around to the government establishments (which, under communism, is everything) to see how they could work better.

For example, Gorbachev visited a hospital to see how the treatments were going and if everyone was getting timely care. However, the people in charge of the establishments Gorbachev visited were less than willing to cooperate with his new vision for the country. Instead, the higher-ups were more concerned with showing the General Secretary a well run institution. The hospital Gorbachev visited, instead of showing him its patients, shipped the patients to a former internship camp and replaced them with people off the street that they paid to be their 'patients' for the day. When Gorbachev asked them how their treatment was going, they truthfully said that they were returning home tomorrow. Meanwhile, the actual patients were left freezing in meagre former prisons.

It got so bad that at one point Gorbachev visited a plant in the Ukraine to see how things were going. Even though the plant was struggling with safety issues, they only showed Gorbachev the things that were going well. Looking back, it appears that Gorbachev was sincere in wanting to improve the efficiency of the institutions in the USSR, but the people showing him around thought that if he saw problems, they'd lose their positions of power. So they sugar coated everything, and Gorbachev left Chernobyl unaware of the problems the nuclear plant was experiencing.

In both cases, the people in charge of reporting to Gorbachev suffered from severe cases of what I call Cover My Ass Syndrome. It affects everyone to some extent and makes friendships and relationships much more difficult than they have to be.

Often when there is a problem or a disagreement between people, our first reaction is to point out that it's not our fault. Clearly, the problem is because of something the other person has done. We're not to blame at all.

Right.

Things would go so much more smoothly, I think, if people would stop trying to avoid blame and take responsibility for their actions. Whenever there's a problem between people, it should be the responsibility of each person to identify what he or she has contributed to the conflict. That way, we can avoid the unpleasantness of blaming each other for the problem and feelings won't be hurt by the suggestions that the other person is the only one at fault.

But, unlike the people running Chernobyl, we have to be able and willing to trust that the other person won't take advantage of our willingness to disclose our weaknesses, and that's where this usually falls apart... 'cause we feel we have to Cover Our Asses.

On Regrets

2006-09-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

We had a discussion last night about how one can go about avoiding the piling up of regrets. It's an interesting topic, because the thought of how a choice affects our futures certainly has bearing on what choice we make. However, I'm convinced that it does us no good to dwell on the things that could go wrong with a decision.

My point of view is that no matter what decision we make, there could be negative consequences. The only way to avoid any possible risk of bad stuff happening because of a decision we make is to avoid making any decisions at all. But that is not at all the way to go about it.

Take, for instance, the parable about the talents. The two guys that doubled their share of the master's money clearly took risks with it. While it worked out for them, I'm sure their investments could have gone very poorly. However, they were rewarded for taking the risk. The third guy, however, puts his talent in the ground and then returned it intact to his master. He was afraid of the consequences should he lose the talent before his master returned. So he avoided making any decisions with it and ended up facing the wrath of his master anyway... but for cowardice.

We could look at a decision and say that both options have the potential to turn out badly. We'd reach the end of our lives and not have to regret the things we did. But more devistating than that, I have no doubt that we'd end up regretting the things we could have done, but never took the chance to do.

This doesn't mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that we should just jump headlong and make decisions willy-nilly. NO! Consider your options. Balance them against God's Word. But when one or two options come to the fore, don't be afraid of them. Go boldly into a decision with the knowledge that God's Grace will cover you. Sure, things could go badly sometimes, but when they go well you won't have the regret of not having taken the chance.

On Risk-Taking

2006-07-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

"Everything I could lose here, You've already won." - Downhere

I've never been the greatest at making decisions. Whenever my family ate at resaurants, I would always be the last to order, because until then, I usually couldn't decide on what I wanted to eat. Now, what one eats at a restaurant has very little bearing on much else in one's life (barring food-poisoning incidents or other such unfortunate occurances). But, from time to time, one must make a decision that affects more than his taste buds and culinary satisfaction.

Being a person predisposed to mathematical/logical reasoning, I usually like to have a series of steps I can use to solve every problem. I've clearly pointed out that I'm not terribly good at making these decisions, so I obviously haven't figured out what all those steps are (or maybe there aren't even steps... but I'd still like to think there are). Even if there aren't steps for making decision, there's definitely one thing a person must consider in every case.

Even when trying to decide what to eat, one of the considerations is how much each potential dish is going to cost. I know if I'm wavering between two entrees, I'll automatically choose the one with the lowest price (maybe I'm just too Mennonite, but still...).

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' ... In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:28-30, 33)

Jesus asks us to give our whole lives to him in order to be his disciple. It's a huge risk. If we give up everything and get no return, there's obviously nothing left. Thankfully, we can rely on the promises of faithfulness we've got from God that everything will work together for the good of those who love him. We don't need to hold on to anything because God's got our best interests at heart.

Compared to that, then, what risk is too difficult? The risk of embarrassment? Poverty? Hunger? Death? If everything we have is already in the hands of God, there is nothing we can lose... it's tucked away in the most secure safety deposit box ever... heaven.

With that in mind, the step of counting the cost of any decision comes down to this: Does the risk I'm about to take (and there is risk in any decision) leave me trusting God to pull me through, or does it require me to get through of my own strength?

On Freedoms

2006-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom."

This is a quote from Clarence Darrow, an American lawyer from the late-18/early-1900s. In light of the whole hulabaloo over the cartoons in Danish newspapers, his assertion is even more applicable than it was before.

Typically, westerners would look at this quote and conclude that if Muslims wanted us to respect their religion, they should start by respecting our culture. If they weren't attacking institutions indicative of western values and ideals, we wouldn't be bothering them about their religion. Therefore, they should stop burning flags and sending suicide bombers into marketplaces if they want respect from us.

I say that's all fine and dandy, unless you consider yourself a Christian.

Christians, if we truly wish to be like Christ, are called to think of others ahead of ourselves. If we really do that, we'll inevitably also think of others' rights ahead of our own. In that case, it's our responsibility to respect the freedom of religion of Muslims before expecting them to respect our freedom of expression.

In general, that is one of the problems I see in society today. Rights, and our mentality that we have to protect our rights at all costs. But, for those who want to protect their rights and freedoms, I refer you back to the beginning of this entry. The only way to ensure your rights is to first make sure you protect the rights of others.

Therefore, when another person infringes on your rights, don't respond by retaliating and violating one of theirs. Rather, continue to protect their rights, thereby convincing them to respect yours.

Voting as a Christian

2006-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

I was pretty much told this weekend that if I'm a Christian I have to vote Conservative. The person saying it wasn't quite that blunt about it, but he went on about how our leaders have to be the moral guides of the country and if we don't have Christians in government our society will all fall to pieces.

I'm quite sure that morally, I agree with Conservative policy more than others, simply because it does reflect what I understand to be Biblical principles. But, I also think it is not the job of the government to dictate the moral fibre of a country. Morality is a personal choice that each person has to struggle with. When governments step in the way, it just serves to make things even more complicated than they already are.

Yet, it is the custom for governments these days to try to legislate their ideas of what a moral society looks like. In contrast, even the apostle Paul said that everything is permissable, but not all things are beneficial. In my opinion, it's not the government's job to make immorality illegal. If they want to support those who are, by their definition, moral, that's up to them, but legality is somewhat beyond their realm.

What is their job? Making it possible for people to take care of themselves and each other. Provide an environment in which people have the means to acquire food, clothing, shelter, etc... and quite honestly, all three of our major parties plan on doing that. They plan on doing it in different ways and I'm basing my vote on which plan seems the most likely to work, but I won't be devistated if one of the other parties wins because in the long run, I've got a really big Benevolent Dictator looking after me.

Fear of the Other

2006-01-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching my second movie of the week (that must be a record for me) and was startled by an observation. The two movies were X2: X-Men Unite and Hotel Rwanda. Now, at first glance, one might say that these are two very different movies, but I challenge us to look at little bit deeper.

At a risk of revealing things in these movies to those who have not seen them (I don't think I do, but this serves as a warning anyway) X2 is mainly about humans and mutants who don't think they can live harmoniously together. Many humans don't trust the mutants and many mutants return the favour. Trouble ensues as some try to kill the others. In Hotel Rwanda, the story is much the same. Substitute Hutus for humans and Tutsis for mutants (I am not saying Tutsis are mutants... that would be gross misquotage) and you have the same story.

We see movies like these and we immediately think to ourselves that we would never do something like that. We're liberal-minded people who are far more accepting of different people than the people in the movies. Are we really?

At one point in X2, someone mentions the 'mutant problem' to which Wolverine is quick to reply 'what problem?' In the humans' eyes, that there were mutants meant that there was a problem. How often, though, do we refer to people different than ourselves as 'problems:' the problem of teenage parents, the problem of homosexuality, the problem of murderers? More often than we could count, I'm sure.

But what about some of the other problems: lying, greed, pride, lust... where do those fit in? The answer from God is that all the problems are equally problematic. They all end up in our spiritual deaths. No one problem is bigger than another. Yet we rarely, if ever, treat them that way. We're so quick to draw lines in the sand saying the people on the other side commit sins that are worse than ours and therefore we have no obligation to associate with them (God help them). In reality, the line we try to imitate is so far beyond us, showing that our sins are not at all worthy of God and He has no obligation to associate with us. Yet He does.

To God, we are the 'other' that he cannot trust to do His will. Fortunately, His will transcends anything we could do to mess it up, but that's another topic for another day. He has every right to do away with us all. Yet, we are His creation, He loves us, and does everything to draw us closer to Him.

And that's grace.

If only we could treat our 'others' the same.

What We Need

2005-12-28T21:21:00.000-08:00

Something I noticed when I was on a mission trip to Mexico is that the people there are very satisfied living with a lot less than we do. In fact, I found that in many ways, the people in Reynosa were much more giving and hospitable than many people I know in Canada. Anyone who has been to a developing or third world country would agree with these statements. If we think that being satisfied and giving are good things (which I think we should) then we must ask what is wrong with us?

Now, of course we could say 'materialistic culture' and everyone would nod their heads and go "mmhmm" and leave it at that. But what exactly does it mean that we live in a materialistic culture?

When North Americans go shopping, what do we go shopping for? Theoretically, the purpose of shopping is to get things we need, right? Is that what we buy? Recently, as I was considering what to wear for a Christmas event, I thought I should go out to buy a tie that does well with a black shirt. Currently, I have two navy ties and one red one. As I considered ties in a catalog, it dawned on me that I didn't really need a tie that goes with black... I can wear a white shirt instead and it'll be fine. Some people I know would tell me that I need the black tie because otherwise I can't wear my black shirt with a suit, but that would imply that I need to wear my black shirt with a suit. But I don't really, do I?

It's my opinion that in North America, we've badly misdefined the concept of need. Jesus tells us that he will provide everything we need if we put our faith in him. Do we agree with that? Are we satisfied with the things God has given us?

Paul says we should be content with food and clothing, for godliness with contentment is great gain. We tend to spend so much time thinking about things we want, we turn those into 'needs' very quickly. We don't take the opportunity to step back at look at the situation, which would undoubtedly lead to us realising that we really do have all that we need. It's our desire to own better and more classy things that lead us to believe we need things that are really not necessary. People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

Now, the last time I checked, none of us need (or want) to fall into ruin or destruction, so perhaps it's time to re-evaluate our definitions of 'need' and 'want' before we run up debts so high that we become slaves to our consumerism. It's not that God doesn't want us to have any luxuries (the streets of heaven are reportedly paved with gold) but we should try to view everything with more accurate definitions of what we need and what we want.

On Foolishness

2005-12-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

There is a church that is spending all day today having four church services in which they are planning to provide every child with a gift and every family with a turkey. Everyone is invited and everyone gets something. The process is going to cost the church over ten thousand dollars and as churches go, it is not incredibly large. This means that just about every person in that church is making a significant sacrifice to put the four services together.

Conventional wisdom would say they are being utterly foolish. People in the community who hear about the program could just show up, take their turkey and ignore whatever message is given during the service. Then, they would go home and never show their faces again, one turkey up and still not actually poor. Analysts would likely say that members of the church are just giving their money up and getting nothing in return.

And yet, isn't it that kind of sacrifice we're called to give?

We're supposed to proved for the poor, the widows and the fatherless, without the expectation that we might be repaid someday. In general, that equation means we're risking our own well-being, what many people would consider foolish. It's that kind of sacrifice that the young rich ruler was unable to make when Jesus told him to sell everything and follow. He just couldn't give up everything with no promise of getting anything back. In his eyes, that would have been foolish.

The thing is, we do get it back:

Is there any such foolishness that the Lord cannot redeem - he who chose fishermen to be his disciples, who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, who let himself be betrayed by one of his schose, who thought it would be a good idea to die on a cross in order to destroy death? All of this has been so dwelt upon, so reasoned out, so studied and analyzed, memorized and categorized, that at times it no longer seems strange. But I tell you it's mad, utterly and completely. There is no reason in it, except that it works.

By giving up our earthly posessions to follow God's command to help others, we are, in fact, storing up our treasures in heaven. We're seeking the Kingdom of God instead of the things of the world, which by the world is foolishness, but by the Kingdom is very wise. It is only foolishness that is born of hope that can be considered wise.

God doesn't need us to take care of the poor, the widows and the fatherless. He could do it himself. Having used foolishness to redeem the world, [Jesus] has not yet given up on that method. He has the power to wipe every tear from our eyes, but he chooses instead to wait for us to wipe the tears from each other's eyes.

This year, as we remember the foolishness of Jesus giving up his throne to become a human baby, let's do our best to follow in His foolish footsteps. God doesn't necessarily require everyone to give up everything, but promises that if we do, He'll provide for our every need. We just have trust that He'll keep that promise and revise our definition of need.

-Quotes in italics taken from Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues by Mark Eddy Smith

Physics of Music

2005-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

I just wrote an exam yesterday for a course called the Physics of Music. For me, the class was pretty easy, but that wasn't the point. It was actually really interesting. While writing the exam, I came across a question about nature, music, and chaos and it really got me thinking.

The theory is that good music has to have an element of surprise in it to keep us interested. A song could have all the nice chords and a catchy tune, but if it gets too predictable, we won't be interested. However, some music seems completely random and has no semblance of structure to it. For many people, that music is no good either. It has to have enough surprise to be unpredictable, but not to the point that it's predicably so.

There is a mathematical formula based on two variables that is used in chaos theory. One of the variables (say x) is the starting point for a series and has to be between 0 and 1. The other (y) determines the variability of the series and can be any positive value. If this determining variable is between 0 and 3.57, the series starts off at x and quickly finds up to four different values that it fluctuates between. If y is 4 or larger, the series starts at x and takes off to infinity. Between 3.57 and 4, however, the series has a seemingly random flow to it. Never repeating and always surprising. And the great thing is that if x varies even slightly, the series changes dramatically.

Here's my point: humans like us seem to take pleasure in surprise. We like movies with twists, we like getting presents that we don't know about, and the like. If life is too predictable, we get bored. At the same time, if there is too much surprise, we can't handle it. Stress levels go through the roof and bad things start to happen. Therefore, in the interests of having an interesting life that we can handle, it's imperative for the determining value in the universe's chaos equation to remain between 3.57 and 4. Otherwise we'd lead either really boring or really out-of-control lives.

The only way left to disrupt such a delicate balance would be to change the initial conditions. As far back as intiquity, people have recognized that there is an underlying 'natural' law that applies to everyone. In Christian circles, this would apply to living within the will of God (love the Lord & your neighbour). As long as we stay within those parameters, everything will be fine. But step out and suddenly everything takes off out of control to infinity.

Now, it would seem that God wants us to have the pleasure that comes from manageable surprise, because as far as physicists and mathematicians can tell, the whole universe has this property of manageable chaos. So we can take comfort in the fact that as long as we keep our initial conditions within the parameters God has set for us, God is in control of the variability constant and won't let our lives spiral into boredom or blow our minds with complete unpredictability.

So now that I've written this, I'm not sure if it makes sense, but I like the idea of chaos in music anyway and I still like the odd surprise, too.

On Carrying the Cross

2005-11-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

I have recently been presented with a new angle from which to view 'carrying the cross.' In the past, I've always assumed that carrying my cross would be something that is difficult for me. After all, a cross is heavy and somewhat awkward, isn't it? But enter something else into the conversation:

While crosses are big, they can't be hard to carry, because Jesus has promised to help us along the way. In fact, carrying our crosses can take very little effort on our part. But...

They are big... which means other people can see them. By just glancing at us, anyone can see that we're carrying the cross, and that means we might have to answer for it. Then, they might ridicule us because we're walking around with this big thing that seems to be getting in our way.

Then, we have to ask ourselves: do we want to be seen walking around with this cross or will we only carry it around other people who carry theirs as well? Read: are we willing to live our lives in constant witness or do we save our 'christianness' for those who are already christians?

So carrying the cross is not a question of whether or not we're able to do it, but whether or not we're willing.

Truth & Grace

2005-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

John 1:17 (KJV) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

and thank God for that. I mean, look at the law. There's no way we can do all that. Some even say that's the point. Make the law impossible so that we have to rely on God. And the wages of sin is death, so according to the law we all deserve death.

But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. It's not that they didn't exist before, but with the permanent sacrifice that Jesus was for us, God now looks at us in truth, but covers it with grace. At any point when we are judged, God sees the things we have done and truthfully tells us that it's not good. We've lied, we've cheated, we've killed, we've lusted, we've been proud. He doesn't hold back because He might hurt our feelings. But then, after He has finished convicting us of all our sins, He applies the grace and tells us that He knows we can't be good all the time. Then, as long as we say thank-you for your grace and your sacrifice and we accept that we can't do it without God, His grace will cover our sins.

However, should we not accept the sacrifice of Jesus, in effect we're telling God that we're better than He thinks and that we can handle this on our own. In that case, God won't apply His grace, since a gift has to be accepted in order to be given. And a human life without grace is nothing but a bunch of filthy rags worthy to be burned into ashes and thrown out to be trampled over and over.

So it pretty much comes down to whether we accept the truth and grace or if we turn it into a rejected gift. But we can also take it further.

Using grace and truth in everyday relationships really helps keep things on the down-low. If we keep things honest (even when it's hard and might hurt), people will always know where we stand. If we cover that truth with grace, giving the notion that even though there are things that are wrong we'll be okay with the process of working on it, people will be much quicker to accept that truth as trying to build them up. But then, we also have to take criticism from others and not make it into something personal... understanding that they're also working on truth and grace.

If everyone in Christian circles worked on the basis of truth and grace, personal vendettas would disappear and we would be much closer to the early church in meeting everyone's needs as they come. Let's make that our goal.

On Marriage

2005-10-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

It would seem that whether or not a person should marry another is one of the biggest decisions a person has to make in the course of a lifetime. So, with that it mind, somehow we have to come up with a way to determine the pros and cons of marrying some particular person. In order to do that, we first have to decide on a purpose for marriage.

Movies these days have one main idea about the reason for getting married. For the most part, we're led to believe that the lone reason for marriage is because two people are in love. On the surface that seems like a really good reason. I mean, if they're not in love, what possible reason is there? However, while being in love is critical for making it work over the short term, what happens when that feeling subsides? Even Hollywood has movies that admit that sometimes it's possible to 'fall out' of love as well. But marriage is for life, so when the feelings aren't so great, what is supposed to hold it together?

Sex? Some might think so. But that's an argument that hardly holds water... especially in modern society. If sex is all someone wants, there's no reason to get married anymore. There's enough of that going on outside of marriages that to call it the purpose of marriage would be absurd.

Some might say companionship is the reason for getting married. Having someone to be around for the rest of one's life is a very desirable thing. But, just like the first argument, what happens when the other person annoys you, or flat out makes you angry... what's the purpose of sticking around then?

Having children? A lot of people say that they only stayed together because of the kids. But if that's the purpose, then what about people who never have children?

Clearly, the purpose of marriage goes deeper than the surface emotional, physical, and social benefits it provides. In my opinion, in fact, the purpose of marriage is very closely related to the purose of life. So what's that?

The purpose of life is simply this: to serve God and to work for His Kingdom.

It is my belief that the reason for getting married is so that two people, with different skill sets and some different interests, can combine their efforts to serve God better. There are many things that two people can do much better and much more efficiently than one... and in the case that there are children, three, four, etc. people can make a formidable team of God's workers.

Therefore, I would say that when considering whether or not to marry someone, the primary concern would be whether or not the two of you can work effectively together to bring glory to God. I'm not saying that the other factors are irrelevant, but chances are that by the time you're considering marriage, you've already experienced some love, physical attraction, and joy with the other person. I'm just saying that the crux of the decision should, just like anything else, be focused on God.

And then it truly can be eternal.

Jesus Shirt

2005-09-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of my favourite songs from a CD that probably no one else has heard:

Jesus Shirt
by Mukala

I wanna wear more than just a Jesus shirt
Like some kind of iron on to cover up the dirt
To throw away when I feel okay
You're so much more than that to me

I wanna wear more than just a Jesus ring
It's so much more than just a sentimental thing
That fades away like yesterday
You're so much more than that to me

I wanna be Your child
So come and walk with me
For more than just a while
So come and talk to me
I know that's Your style
So stay with me, stay with me
Forever

I wanna wear more than just a Jesus chain
Put it on and take it off; I don't wanna play that game
'Cause it comes and goes like shifting shadows
You're so much more than that to me

I wanna be Your child
So come and walk with me
For more than just a while
So come and talk to me
I know that's Your style
So stay with me, stay with me
Forever

So make a change in me
Come on and do your thing
'Cause I don't want, I don't want
To live this way, no, no

'Cause it comes and goes like shifting shadows
It comes and goes like shifting shadows
Don't wanna come and go like shifting shadows
You're so much more than that to me

------------------

High
by Mukala

Tonight I watched the sky and saw the stars around me
Fiery constellations
It's oh, so clear that You're not silent while,
The world spins underneath me.

Never do I take the time, just watch the years go flying by
Busy-bodies never stopping
And just when I resign, to think that I,
Will never see Your face again, is when..

You take me high
And let me see Your holy countenance
That frees me from the sadness of yesterday
You take me high
And let me find the face of innocence
I don't know how, I don’t know why, but
You take me high

When I believe the lie that You would never want me
I see myself through tainted eyes
Entrapped inside the walls of my disguise, looking for a new beginning.

I find the heavy life, oh so overbearing
I guess that’s why You said that I should bear Your yoke upon me
And like so many times, You take me in Your arms again, and then..

You take me high
And let me see Your holy countenance
That frees me from the sadness of yesterday
You take me high
And let me find the face of innocence
I don't know how, I don’t know why, but
You take me high

See the signs and take me high
Find a new beginning
Always such a consolation
And judging from my suffering
It’s only for a moment.

You take me high
And let me find the face of innocence
I don't know how, I don’t know why
I don't know how, I don’t know why
I don't know how, I don’t know why, but
You take, You take, You take me high

Eye of the Storm

2005-09-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered what it would be like to be in the eye of a hurricane. I wouldn't want to go through the hurricane to find out, but I wonder nonetheless. I mean, one minute the rain is pouring and the winds is battering everything beyond recognition, and then it's suddenly calm and clear. We've been through our own share of violent storms in Southern Manitoba (certainly not hurricanes, but sometimes hurricane-force) and the suddenness with which they started and ended had to be something like going into and out of the eye of a hurricane.

The eye of a hurricane is a region 20-50 km in diameter found at the center where skies are often clear, winds are light, and the storm's lowest pressure readings are obtained. While the storm rages around it, the conditions within the eye are downright pleasant... except for the knowledge that the other half of the hurricane will hit even harder than the first half did. But for those brief moments, everyone gets a chance to take a deep breath and brace for what is still to come.

Now, as we go through life we often experience our own storms... you know, those times when everything is really busy, things are starting to fall apart, and you don't know how you're going to make it through in one piece. These storms can be as destructive to our minds and souls as hurricanes are to the buildings they hit. But just like hurricanes, these storms have a center too.

You see, nothing happens in this world without God seeing it. At the very least, everything happens according to God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. This means, at the center of every storm, there is God. God is the eye... and whenever He's around, conditions can be downright pleasant.

As long as we keep our hearts centered in God's will, the storms that rage in us and around us will not dampen our peace and joy because we know that as far as our eternal fate is concerned, God is perfectly in control. As soon as we decide that we can make it out of the storm ourselves, we take our hearts out of the eye and into the wind and rain. Often in these circumstances, our pride won't let us return until our minds and souls are battered beyond recognition. But as soon as we focus our hearts on God, he restores us and keeps us safe from the forces that seek to destroy us.

So don't worry about the storms that rage around you. Keep yourself centered on God and His will for you, and the winds cannot touch your heart. The circumstances won't change, but whatever comes, you'll be able to rest in the peace and joy that only God can give.

On Dating

2005-09-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer* - the ideas presented herein are based solely on theoretical thought and not at all on practical experience.

Ah, the modern ritual of meeting someone you like, going to movies to watch actors do a much better job of what you're trying to do, and probably not living happily ever after. You probably mix it up a little with dinners, walks, and other things that can be done together. But what's the point? Just to have some fun?

I certainly hope not. I mean, having fun helps, no doubt, but that shouldn't be the sole purpose of dating. If we just wanted to have fun, we could do that with large groups at just about any time... the people don't even necessarily have to be friends to have fun.

No, dating, in my opinion, should only happen with the purpose of working toward someday, perhaps, getting married. Otherwise, what's the point?

Again, not saying that the first person you date has to be the one you marry. Most definitely not. If it does happen that way, good for you, but by no means should there be that kind of pressure. No, what I'm saying is that dating should only happen if there is, on both sides, at least a faint hope that the relationship will end in marriage. Here's what I see as the progression of events:

1. Two people (for my purposes, they should be of opposite sex, but I realize that some probably disagree with me on that) mutually agree that marriage could be a future (even *hopefully* distant future) possibility for them.

2. They spend the next variable amount of time learning about each other... finding out the beliefs, tendencies, dreams, etc. of the other person.

3. Throughout that variable amount of time, they continue to evaluate whether or not marriage is still a future possibility.

4. If, at any point, the two people realize that there is something that would keep them from getting married (something that is not fickle and that could change after a week or so), they should be completely honest and tactful about it, in every attempt to save the friendship that was before/developed during the dating.

5. If that point never occurs and there comes a point at which there are more pros to getting married than cons, the process has been successful and the couple would, traditionally, get engaged (at which point they endeavour to know even more about each other).

Exactly what activites constitute the period of dating is as variable as the time period used for it. Hopefully the couple can quickly find some activities they both enjoy, but I should think there would be much better ways to spend time together than going to movies... I mean, you can't even talk in there.

Now, all this begs the question: Then how do I determine whether or not marriage is a possibility? That depends on what you see as the purpose for marriage, which will have to wait for another day.

Again, this comes from a purely theoretical standpoint, and has not been tested in any practical sense by yours truly, so if it doesn't work, I suppose I may find out eventually.

Fix Your Eyes

2005-09-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

On the risk of sounding like I'm copying, there are three things I think I could just watch forever, four that could hold my attention continuously:

1. Fire is such a beautiful thing. From the smallest candle flame to the biggest bonfire, the flickering and dancing of a fire can captivate me like little else. This is especially true if there's a slight chill in the air, and the fire also serves to keep me warm. It's hard to believe that something so beautiful and so necessary can be so destructive when it gets out of hand.

2. Rushing water soothes my soul. Be it a babbling brook or Niagara Falls, I cannot get enough of watching water tumble over, around, and in between rocks. My mind cannot fathom the process that makes sure there is always a steady supply of water to dazzle onlookers. What makes it so that the water follows such intricate, seemingly random paths despite always going over the same rocks with the same gravity affecting it. And yet, just like fire, get too much of it and water can be very, very destructive, even though it is one of the things we need the most.

3. The Aurora Borealis are amazing. An effect created out of some of the most violent explosions in the universe doesn't hurt us, but give us a light show unrivaled by lasers, fireworks, or even lightning. The mesmerising changing of colours and dancing of the lights can keep my eyes trained heavenward for hours. It's the visual equivalent of music, for all I can tell.

4. Friends have to be the best part about living. If I had my way, I'd be with all of them all the time, but just like fire, water, and explosions of the sun, too much can be dangerous. But the best part is, even when I cannot be with my friends, my attention can be turned toward the good things we have done together and the potentially good things our future can hold. For though a fire eventually dies, water sometimes dries up, and the Aurora Borealis has to end in the morning, true friends are forever.

God has blessed us with beauty that is immesurable, even in this world. All of nature reflects God's love, power, and majesty to our minds in ways that are easier to comprehend. As much as we try, we cannot change nature. But what we do can have an effect on our friendships. Therefore, let us try, as much as we can, to reflect God's love, power, and majesty, in whatever way we know how, to our friends and to our potential friends (read: everyone else) so that God can be brought to them in ways that are easier to comprehend.

This can only be done once we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. For otherwise, we know not what to do.

On Home

2005-09-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Home is where the heart is, truly. It is where one keeps all the things that are valuable; whatever that person determines is valuable.

Leaving home means leaving that which has true value. Often leaving home is a result of valuing things that are not really valuable. When we are away from home, we're putting our time and effort into collecting things that offer no satisfaction. The more we get, the more we want. We feel that if we get one more of whatever we're collecting, we'll be home. But when we get it, home just moves farther away. Sometimes we can even think we're going home, but we misplace value on something and we find that whatever it is doesn't actually bring us home.

Home, for me, consists of people. Whenever I am with the people I value the most, I am home. That value, as far as I know, is based on a mutual love for each other. When I must be away from those people, I often remind myself of what home is like by reading emails I've received from them in the past. Just reading their words reminds me of what it's like to be around them.

Sometimes, value placed in people can be misplaced as well, but even if no one around me has the same love for me that the people at home have, I have a constant reminder that there is a home for me.

Spiritually, I suppose the same applies. If all our focus is on God and His love, then heaven is our home. While we live in a place (ie Earth) where nobody has the same love for us, God's Word serves as a constant reminder that there is a place where the fact that we're loved cannot be questioned. That is home.

When we start to value things that are not eternal, we move away from our spiritual home. We start to despair because the things we now value are not giving anything in return for the value we've placed in them. But as we return to God, we realize that the investments we place in His eternal kingdom are guaranteed to give us a return of infinity per cent. We can trust that value placed in God is never misplaced. That is the love of God.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you." Hallelujah!

On Moving On

2005-09-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

Why is it that whenever I start getting comfortable with people, they leave? I mean, for someone as socially hesitant as me, it takes a lot of determination and concentration to get to know someone. But then, it seems like as soon as someone becomes a really good friend, they're suddenly gone. As much as I try to keep in touch, not having them around makes keeping up with what's going on much more difficult. Then, even when I do see them again, they've become different people and I don't really know them anymore.

I could, of course, make new friends at that point, which I think is important to do anyway, but I tend to get even more hesitant with the thought that I'm going to keep starting over all the time anyway. By no means am I suggesting that I would trade the friends I have for something else, and I'm glad that my friends are finding their ways around the world, but somehow I wish being friends was easier to do.

Alas, I suppose all I can do is remember that true friends are forever friends no matter the distance between them... and work on making new friends, even though it has been my stated goal to get to know few people better, instead of lots of people hardly at all.

Christians & Commies

2005-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Way back in grade nine, we played this game once in youth group. Christians and Commies. The idea was to broaden our knowledge of the persecution that happens around the world for people who proclaim the name of Jesus. It also, though perhaps not intentionally, gave us a pretty bad view of Communism... you know, the whole they're evil and we're good thing. In the game, the youth leaders were the Commies and the youth were the Christians. The leaders would chase the youth all over the church, and if the youth got caught, they'd be taken to a secret place for detainment. If a youth was in detainment long enough, they "died." They could also escape, but it was really hard to get away. I specifically remember wearing a Winnipeg Jets shirt that night and that it got a hole ripped in it (stupid me!).

Recently, two friends of mine were discussing Communism and it got me thinking about my views on the subject. For quite a while, I've considered Communism to be a great theory that looks great on paper. Everyone works for the betterment of society, and everyone gets their needs met equally. There are no favourites, no classes, and no real need for a government. If one part of the country suffers a famine, the rest pitch in to help out, no questions asked. Everyone is truly equal, and everyone gets along fabulously. That's communism on paper. But then, people get involved.

You see, from what I've studied, communism works fine until someone disagrees. As soon as there is one person who is not fully committed to the system, the whole thing falls apart. Here's what I mean: Suppose one person refuses to share. This person gets a bumper crop one year while his neighbour's crop is damaged. In order to get this person in line, a higher authority must compel him to do so. If he resists, they must use force, because someone who disagrees with the system must somehow change his mind. Thus, a police force or military becomes necessary. In order to make sure everyone participates in the Communist system, this police/military would have to collect all produce and redistribute it, making sure everyone gets the same amount. This creates a group of people who are in charge of the system (aka the government).

This is still all fine and dandy, as long as the people in the government are completely dedicated to the system. However, if there is any corruption, greed, or fame-seeking in the government, the system further deteriorates. The closer these problems get to the top of the government, the more trouble this Communist state is in.

As long as there is a leader who is truly committed to Communism and takes no perks for himself, and has enough power to regulate the necessary sharing throughout the country, Communism will work. But that hasn't happened yet.The problem with Communism, as we have seen it (in my opinion) is that eventually, the leader of the Party succumbs to greed and takes advantage of the system. Those who are fully committed to the system end up giving their goods to the government and losing out on the return, never to see their hard-earned produce again.

Now, here's the thing that has struck me about Communism: Christianity is much the same.

As Christians, we're instructed to love one another, give to the poor and expect nothing in return, work for the good of God's kingdom, and use our gifts and talents to serve each other. In much the same way, there are people who take advantage of those who are completely committed to Christianity (the stereotypical tele-evangelist, for example). The difference, however, is at the top.

Whereas in Communism, its success depends on whether or not the leader of the Party is committed to it and has the power to compel others to be committed as well, Christianity depends on God, who is all-loving, and all-powerful... and fully committed to us.

We can be sure that the leader of Christianity is working for our good, and that He will provide whatever we need. We don't have to be worried about those who take advantage of the system, because the leader knows about it, and will take action when He deems it necessary, in the way that promotes His system of love the best.

So, while we probably would not feel completely comfortable committing ourselves to a Communist system that depends on the whims and feelings of a human being, we can trust God that the system of love called Christianity will provide and will prevail, no matter how much people try to take advantage of it.

On Motives

2005-08-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Got to thinking about why we do the things we do. I mean, in my head I usually have a pretty good idea of the things that drive my actions. But I also know that I'm not always perfectly honest when I convey those things to other people. Case in point:

---------------------------

After Change-Over Day, a day in which all the people who were on the IVCF exec the previous year get together with all the people who will be on it the next year, it was suggested that a group of us should all go out for supper and watch a movie afterward. It was a movie I did want to see, and the people were all friends of mine. I really wanted to go. But there was a problem.

That evening, back in Altona, it was Prison Ministry Awareness Night. I'm on the Prison Ministries Worship Team, and we were playing in my church at the time I wanted to be eating supper and watching a movie. Therein lay my dilemma. To that point I had never, on the day I was to be doing something, changed my mind in a way that affected others. On that day, I did.

I phoned the church and left a message telling them that Change-Over Day had taken longer than expected (true) and that I was feeling really tired (true) and that I didn't really trust myself to be driving home under those conditions (true). But that wasn't really the reason I wasn't coming home. In fact, with nothing going on in the city, I probably would have risked it and tried to drive home (as stupid as that may have been).

I told the truth, and nothing but the truth, but certainly not the WHOLE truth...

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Sitting here and thinking about that made me realize something: I have no idea what the motive is behind what other people do. I might guess at it, I might even hear them articulate their motive to me, but I still don't know with certainty what that motive is. But, whatever they do, I can be sure they have a reasonably good explanation for doing it. Some people, however, have become extremely good at hiding their motives from others because they feel that if their motives got out, they would have a much more difficult time accomplishing what they want.

It's like when you're playing Settlers of Catan. If you need one brick to build a settlement on the space someone else is trying to get to, you don't say, "I'd like to trade for brick because with my road building card I'd be able to block you from playing there." No, you just put your offer on the table: "1 brick for 1 ore" and let the chips fall where they may.

The difference, is that as Christians in the "game" of life, we're all on the same team pushing toward a common goal. So why is it that we feel we have to hide our motives from others? Likely it's because we don't think our motives are entirely pure. Just remember (and I need to remember this too) that you can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never fool God. He looks through any facade we might set up and attacks a problem right at the root, and His motive is love.

So why don't we? It may be difficult, but I'm sure God makes it possible for our motive to be love as well, and then we wouldn't have to hide it from anyone. Life would be so much simpler if love was the only motive. I'd like to be able to trust that everyone else is acting in love, and I'd like everyone else to be able to trust that I am too.

Unless I'm playing Settlers...

Things I've Learned

2005-06-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been a while since I updated this thing. Sorry about that.

I've been back from Serbia for about two weeks now, and some of the things I learned there have started to sink in a bit. I've found myself hearing something on the news and thinking to myself that that would never happen in Serbia. I've found myself sitting in church and suddenly noticing that everything's in english. I've found myself wishing that I could suddenly change plans and do something completely different than what I've arranged (as happens frequently in Serbia). But every time, I've learned to accept that life in North America will never be quite like it was in Serbia. With that said, there are a few things I learned about life and about myself that I would like to transfer to the way I live in Canada.
__________________________

1. People are more important than time or things.

One day we had arranged to meet with a few students 'at the horse' in the centre of Belgrade. These students were going to take us for a combined tour/shopping trip. We were going to meet at 2pm. As we were eating lunch, Samuil decided that we weren't going to get there on time. So, he text messaged our tour guides that we wouldn't get there until 3pm. We got there at about 3:15, and our tour guides met us at 3:45. As a result, our tour/shopping trip ended up being much shorter than expected, but we still had a good time.

In Serbia, it's customary to finish a conversation with one person before moving on to the next... even if it means you'll be late. They told us there are only two things in Serbia for which you shouldn't be late: airplanes and movies. Now, I don't plan on making a habit of being late for things. But there may be times when I feel it's more important for me to finish a discussion than to be on time for something else.

As a result, please don't take it as an insult if I'm late for something. It just means that I was previously involved in something that turned out to take more time than expected. That being said, if I have responsibilities in the place to which I'm going, I'll do my best to get there early. I don't wish to be irresponsible, just flexible.

2. Forgive and move on.

One evening I went our for coffee with Jonny (Canadian) and Slobodan (Serb). We talked about a number of things and eventually our discussion turned to the 1999 bombing. I asked Slobodan if Serbs still hold anger toward NATO for the attack. His response surprised me. He said that when Serbs look back at 1999, they see a great misunderstanding between the west and the Serbs. He claims that NATO misunderstood what Serbia wanted while Serbia also misunderstood what England and the US wanted. He says that many Serbs wish things could have turned out differently, but they can't change what has already happened. So they move on.

In North American culture, we have a tendency to hold on to the things that have been done wrong to us. 1999 was just two years before 2001, and the US is far from moving on from the events of 9/11. Anyone with problems in their lives will likely tell you its because of something that happened to them as children, or at the very least, something that someone else did to them. No one wants to take responsibility.

I want my attitude to change so that I don't feel that anyone owes me anything. I'm no more free of circumstance than anyone else. And if bad things happen, perhaps I should look inward before blaming someone else. At the very least, such an action would provide time to look at things after they have cooled down a bit.

3. Know people more rather than just knowing more people.

Finally, I noticed that Serbs are very willing to share their lives with each other. They have no problem telling each other where they are struggling and everyone works together to support each other and to build each other up. In my five years of university, I have met a lot of people. But I don't go much further than that. There are really only 2 or 3 people that I know really well. I've had lots of fun hanging out and meeting new people, but I think it's time for me to focus on getting to know people instead of just getting to know people's names.

I don't want to stop meeting new people. But I want to achieve some kind of balance that will allow me to get close to people to the extent that we can really support each other and know the things with which each other is dealing. This is going to take a lot of effort on my part, because I don't really feel comfortable getting personal with people, but I saw the benefits of doing so in Serbia, and I'd like to transfer that experience into my life here in Canada.
_________________________________

So, overall, it was a great trip to Serbia. Thanks to everyone who supported me and prayed for me. God has blessed me and I hope I can reflect that blessing onto the people I meet.

Back in Belgrade

2005-05-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know I said I'd try to get another post in before the weekend, but we got really busy for a few days. Sorry about that.

The weekend was hectic. We took a whirlwind tour of the south-east of Serbia, visiting Leskovac and Nis. There is definitely a more Turkish influence in this area. Apparently the largest evangelical church in Serbia is in Leskovac and is made entirely of Gypsies. We didn't get a chance to visit that church.

Saturday night we were in Leskovac for their student meeting and we got to meet a number of new people there again. There's no way I'm going to remember all these names. A highlight from that meeting was getting to sing "Power of Your Love" in Serbian.

In Nis we went to the Sunday worship service of the local Penticostal church. Their pastor is a local who married a British woman and through that started a new church. They asked if any of us could play piano, so I got a crash course on some of their songs and I played along with their songleader. It was great. I just couldn't understand any of the songs I was playing.

Nis was the centre of the most fierce fighting between the Turks and Serbs. In one battle, 10000 Turks and 4000 Serbs died at once. As a result, the Serbs there hang on even stronger to their Orthodox roots. We wish we could have spent more time there, but we had to make our way back to Belgrade.

Our plans have changed somewhat as God has shown us that building relationships is to be our main focus while we're here. We're spending a lot of time going with locals (both believers and not) and simply engaging them in discussions. We have discovered that the level of English spoken here is higher than we thought, so discussions are actually better suited to the country than English classes.

A highlight from this new focus (it was one of our foci before, but it has become even more of a focal point than before) was eating at a restaurant in which one of our friends is a cook. He is not yet a believer, but his brother is and they are very close. This cook has prepared meals for the likes of the Onassis family, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and various Greek and Russian dignitaries... and he was excited to have us visit his restaurant. In fact, he told us that he is considering coming to Winnipeg in order to learn to cook in other ways (Japanese, Indian, etc.). We encouraged him to follow through because we consider Winnipeg a good place to find many different types of cooking.

We only have a few more days left here, so I cannot guarantee anything. If this happens to be the last post, we'll be in London from the 27th to the 30th and we'll be arriving in Winnipeg at 7:49 (or 7:29... I'm not sure) on the 30th.

And in case it happens that way, happy birthday dad.

Serbia Update #2

2005-05-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

We got back to Belgrade this morning around 11pm. We found out that God never stops working, even when we're on the bus. Our Belgrade contact, Samuil, gave us a call while we were on the Bus telling us that he would not be able to pick us up at the bus station. This may have caused some serious problems for us since we don't really know how to get from the bus station to our building. However, the bus driver noticed that we were speaking english when we got on the bus. He asked us where we were from and one of us answered, "Canada." Well, apparently he has a cousin that drives a cab in Toronto and he knows French really well. So when we found out that we didn't have anyone picking us up, we asked him how close we were going to the Genex building (where our flat is) and he said we were going right by it. Then he asked us if we'd like to get dropped off there and we accepted the offer immediately.

For the last few days we've been in Novi Sad and Subotica meeting with EUS groups there. We went to a number of church services while we were there and managed to encourage the believers there despite our lack of Serbian language. We really noticed the more laid back lifestyle of those cities. They are also much more evangelical than Belgrade because they were further from the Byzantine Empire (in Subotica, the predominant language is actually Hungarian).

A surprise from today is that around noon we all of a sudden got a call from Nick that we could join their little league teams for practice this afternoon. Well, it wasn't really a practice. They just did running drills and a little infielding. There's only one ball field in Belgrade and there are four teams sharing it, so their practice was actually on the lawn of the basketball stadium. Go figure. Lots of bad bounces. We're trying again tomorrow, but supposedly it's going to rain.

The team is still getting along amazingly well. It was good for us to be able to live under one roof in Novi Sad. The culture there is also much more like North America, so we were able to get a break from the hectic 'no one really knows what's going on' culture of Belgrade. As we get closer to the end of the GP (in ten days we leave for London) please pray that we can keep our focus and finish well. The relationships have definitely been forged in Belgrade, now we need to move forward into helping them grow in their relationships with Jesus.

As for "Kingdom of Heaven," chew on this for a bit: Religion. I've seen religion turn people into fanatics who will use the will of God for whatever they want. -- It's not an exact quote, but that really spoke to me and I hope it will speak to many Serbs as well.

We'll hopefully I'll be able to get here once more before we head to Nis on Saturday.

Until then, God bless and go Moose/Jays/Bombers.

Serbia update #1

2005-05-12T02:15:00.000-07:00

So we've been here for a few days now and things seem to be running along quite well. The three things we set out to do (teach english, encourage local believers, evangelize to non-believers) have all been accomplished to some extent in the last two days. Our focus for the first week has been to get to know the local believers through various meetings and get-togethers.

We have learned a lot about Serbian culture and history and it really helps explain some of the reasons the Orthodox church has such a hold on the people. The Orthodox religion was brought to Serbia by a prince named Sava when he escaped from the palace to the Byzantine empire. When the Ottomans overran the Byzantines, they went on to take half of Serbia. The other galf was controlled by the Hungarians. During this time, the Serbian people were forced to conform to their rulers' expectations. When they were "freed" by the Soviets, they suddenly had to conform to communism. The only Serbian cultural identity that survived all those years of oppression was the Orthodox Church. So the people are loyal to it for reasons of culture and national pride.

Later today we'll be heading off to Novi Sad to meet with other groups of believers, so please pray for our safety while travelling and willingness to meet new people over the next few days.

I have pictures, but not the time to upload them, so hopefully they will be making an appearance sometime later.

Dovidenje

mvp

ps If you get a chance to see "Kingdom of Heaven" it would create lots of thought and discussion. I recommend it greatly.

On Monopoly

2005-04-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

I went to a church in Winnipeg today and the pastor at that church made a very interesting analogy connecting Monopoly to Life. The topic of the message was based on the passage from Matthew where Jesus tells the people to store up treasures in heaven instead of on earth. The analogy to Monopoly went something like this:

First of all, when playing the game of Monopoly, the game can go on and on and we might not be paying very close attention to what's happening. There are only two instances that will make us sit up and pay attention: when it's our turn and when someone lands on our spot. It's only natural for us to pay attention when we have an investment in something.

Likewise with life. Those places in which we have investments (monetary or otherwise), we also have interest. That's what Jesus is talking about when he tells us that our hearts will be wherever our treasure lies.

But that's not where the analogy ended.

The pastor went on to say that as the game of Monopoly progresses, eventually one player has bankrupted everyone else and has won the game (although when I play we usually don't get that far). At that point, that person has control of everything in the Monopoly game. But then, everything just gets put back in the box and placed on the shelf. Whatever was gained or lost during the game no longer matters. The only thing that's left is the other people who were playing.

Similarly, in life, whatever is gained or lost here on earth no longer matters when life is over. Only those things that had to do with other people (and God) matter anymore. Only two things last forever: the word and the spirits (the spirits include God and ourselves). Everything else is packed away and forgotten.

How this applies to Serbia I don't know, but I thought it was an interesting analogy, so I wrote it in anyway.

30 days to go.

On farewells

2005-03-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

I found out yesterday that there's a lot more to saying 'good-bye' than I thought there was. I have lamented in the past that in English we always say 'good-bye,' which is so much more final than 'au revoir' or 'auf wiedersehen' or 'hasta luego.' But now I know better...

Someone asked me to take a look at a couple of the different shorter 'good-byes' from other languages to see what they had in common.

Adios
Adieu

Specifically, he said, look at the 'dios' and 'dieu' part.

Whoa.

They literally mean 'to God.'

Then, he said to consider 'good-bye.' Apparently (and I haven't checked this out) good-bye is from scottish and is a variation of 'God be with ye' which evolved through 'God b'w'ye' and eventually reached 'good-bye.'

So when I leave for Serbia, I'll no longer have a problem saying 'good-bye,' and I hope some of you will say it back.

God b'w'ye.

On Having Structure

2005-02-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

God wants us to be flexible, doesn't he? I mean, we're supposed to be like those fishermen who just got up and left everything to follow Jesus. If God calls us to go in an opposite direction than we're going, then we're supposed to just be able to drop it and go, right?

But then why all the order in the world?

I admit, I'm a math major and I love the way that in math everything just fits together nicely and the problem always works out in the end (even if you need a calculator somewhere along the line). Then, if you doubt the answer, you can just go backwards and check it against the original problem. If it all comes out alright, you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you got it right.

Why can't life be like that?

Nothing ever changes. There's a set of steps that are always the same for every variation of a particular problem. As long as you follow those steps to the letter, you know that it'll turn out right.

But instead we're given one step for everything: trust God.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

But what do I do? I want to do something. Other than just trust.

I mean, sure I can be flexible, as long as I'm following some sort of laid out plan that I know how it goes all the way along. None of this just knowing how it turns out in the end. I want to know the steps that will get me there and what exactly my job is from here on in so I can focus on getting that done.

But, I'm in the Lord's army, and as a soldier I find stuff out on a need-to-know basis and I must be content with that.

And at the end, I'll be able to trace it all back to the beginning and see that it comes out alright, so the steps must have been correct, even when I didn't know what I was doing.

I don't know that I can handle it.

On Meaninglessness

2005-02-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

"Meaningless, Meaningless, says the Teacher, Everything is meaningless." Solomon says this a number of times throughout the book of Ecclesiates. But if we stop there, we can get depressed really, really easily. Read to the end of the book and see this: "Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commands." (not exact quote... this is off the top of my head).

That's it.

None of this grey area stuff. Simply fear God and keep His commands.

So why is it so hard?

Quite frankly it comes down to the thinking that we have to look after ourselves... that God cannot be trusted to take care of everything we need. So we stress out about making sure we get good grades so we can get a good job so we can make enough money to not have to live on the street and so we won't starve to death and we'll always have something to wear.

Do we really think God can't take care of that?

Stress comes from fear. The only reason we get stressed is because we care what other people think of us. What happens if we fail a course, even one that's required for graduation? We spend another year at school. Does that make us failures? NO!

Our worth is not made by our marks or our diploma or the job we get or how much money we have. God made us and loves us. We can be thankful that that will never change. So we can take risks and fail sometimes with the knowledge that no matter how often it happens, our value to God hasn't changed and He still loves us and will care for us. In the process, we probably learned something about ourselves, God, or the world, and we may even have enjoyed it.

To trust in God is irrational if you don't believe that God will take care of you. But if you believe that God is who the Bible says He is, it's equally irrational to think you have to do it yourself.

Therein lies the peace that goes beyond all understanding, because it's based on what seems like an irrational truth that we can rely on another to take care of our basic needs.

But knowing the truth that God created us, loves us, and has already given us everything He has... there's no reason we can't feel that peace.

Matthew 6:24-34... don't worry.

Testing Faith

2005-01-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

I was just bombarded this weekend with lessons about faith... and this is what struck me:

Everyone uses the analogy of a chair when they're talking about faith. We have faith in chairs that they will not collapse when we sit on them, yada, yada, yada...

But here's what I'm thinking: We can say we have faith in the chair all we want, but until we sit in the chair, we have no way of knowing for sure if it will hold us up.

So if the chair analogy holds true, then we need to test our faith in God every once in a while to convince ourselves that it's really true. That way, we'll eventually get to the point we're at with most chairs... where we can just sit down without giving it a second thought. The more we trust in God, the more it'll become second nature for us, and the more we'll put our faith in God 100% without asking questions.

So what am I waiting for? Well, I guess maybe I don't trust God as much as I think I do...

What Goes Around, Comes Around

2005-01-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Learned something today. I was observing a Canadian History class and my cooperating teacher was talking about the 1885 rebellion in Saskatchewan. They talked all about Louis Riel and whether he was a hero or a murderer, they explored the tensions between Quebec and Ontario over the subject, etc.

But then they talked about someone else.

Gabriel Dumont.

Now, Dumont was one of Riel's top guns. The guy could hit anything within range while galloping full steam ahead on his horse. A very skilled shooter. Also wanted by the Canadian government for treason against the country.

Unlike Riel, however, Dumont escaped to the United States before any Canadian army could capture him. While he was down there, he actually joined the "Wild West Show" that toured all over the former 13 colonies giving them a taste of the "Wild West." (He, of course, played the part of an Aboriginal who, of course, lost all the time. But then he dazzled everyone with his marksmanship).

But back to the story.

Eventually, the Canadian government granted Dumont a pardon. He was now free to return to his home in Saskatchewan without the fear of getting arrested.

So he did.

But he couldn't stay home. He had grown up as a Metis usually did at that time: he was a hunter and roamed all over the prairie all the time. As it turned out, the trail he used ran right by the home of a Mr. Diefenbaker, who had a son named John. Mr. Diefenbaker would welcome Dumont into his home for a night here and there and would share meals with the hunter. In return for his kindness, Dumont taught young John how to shoot with accuracy. In the meantime, John Diefenbaker got the chance to hear stories of Louis Riel and the injustices done to the Metis in the 1880s.

Dumont dies when Diefenbaker was 11 years old.

As you may know, Diefenbaker grew up to be a lawyer who offered his services for free to native and metis people who needed legal help. Oh, and he also became Prime Minister.

He became the Prime Minister who passed the Bill of Rights, recognising the rights of Natives and Metis people to vote in Canadian elections (1960s). It was only then that Natives were allowed off the reserves without a pass (like a hall pass or something). He was the Prime Minister who convinced the UN to stop trading with South Africa until apartheid was stopped (interestingly enough, apartheid in SA was modelled after the reserve system in Canada... think about that for a bit).

So, Mr. Dumont, what goes around, comes around.

Congratulations.

So what can we learn from Gabriel Dumont? Simply this: when something happens to you that you consider an injustice, don't hate the people who did it to you. Do good to those who harm you and thus pour hot coals on their heads. Eventually, maybe someone will agree with you and take up your cause... and even if not, you know that all things work out to the good of those who love the Lord.

Dumont never lived to see the day that his time invested in the childhood of a white boy from Ontario came to benefit people around the world, but we can look back and say, "Well done, Gabriel. May history smile on you."

On Being Like Jesus

2005-01-16T23:39:00.000-08:00

I can't take any credit for this post. Just about everything I've got here comes from a video I saw at Treasured Foundation. But it has hit me in a couple of ways. I'll explain...

First of all, think about Peter. Remember him? He's the guy who jumped out of a boat in the middle of a storm because he thought the ghost on the water was Jesus. Yeah, him. Stupid, right? I mean who, in their right mind, would jump out of a boat in the middle of the lake in the middle of a storm? So why does he do it?

Take a look waaaay back.

The Jewish tradition was for all children to go to school at age six. For the next three years, they spent their time memorizing the scriptures. That's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deutoronomy, Numbers... memorized in three years. That's all they did. I'm sure in the process they learned stuff like reading and writing, and maybe Numbers has some arithmetic, but in general they memorized.

Then, after three years, they would get broken into groups (what we call streaming today). Those who were good at school got to move on the the next step. Those who weren't so good at school went into the family business. Thanks for coming out, you know the scriptures now, so go be a really good farmer (nothing against farmers).

Those who were deemed good enough moved into the next step where they spent their next three years memorizing other parts of the modern Old Testament (prophets and stuff, like Isaiah, for example). So by the time they were twelve, these kids had most of our Old Testament memorized.

Now it's streaming time again. Those who were really, really good stood the chance of getting picked by a Rabbi for some personal instruction. The rest went into their family business.

The ones who got picked for the further instruction then spent their time following their Rabbi around learning his ways and trying to become like him. Once the Rabbi decided they had done so satisfactorily, they finally graduated and became a Rabbi themselves.

The first thing they did as a new Rabbi was to go around to the schools and pick out the best twelve-year-olds they could find. The only ones they picked were the ones they thought were good enough to become like them.

Jesus was a Rabbi.

So you can picture him as a kid going to school for three years memorizing scripture (I don't suppose that was much of a challenge for him). Then at twelve we're told of his trip where he confounds the teachers of the law. I'd like to see the competition these guys had to make Jesus one of their followers. And yet, he went back home with his parents and became a carpenter.

Somewhere around 30 years old, some Rabbi who recognised the spiritual geneous that was Jesus must have conferred some kind of honorary Rabbiship on him because later on, Jesus is called a Rabbi.

So now Jesus is a Rabbi. His job now is to go around and find followers.

Now here's what I think. I don't think Jesus would've had to go very far to find potential followers. It's my guess that he would've had these recent graduates of the second phase of schooling trying their hardest to impress him and show off their stuff to him in the hopes that they would be chosen by this new Rabbi.

So they're following Jesus around and showing their stuff and he seemingly randomly walks up to some fishermen and says, "Come, follow me."

That was the line. Someone was being chosen! Who was it? WHAT!!!? A fisherman? But the simple fact that this person was a fisherman meant he was in the family business. He was one of the ones who didn't make it. You can't choose him!

But Jesus did.

Jesus chose Peter because he thought Peter had enough to become like him. Peter had enough to become like Jesus. Peter could do the things that Jesus did.

So Peter drops everything and follows Jesus. Now, this might be seen as a great commitment on Peter's part, but consider this: Jewish children dreamt of being chosen by a Rabbi. It meant that they were the best of the best. It's as if Wayne Gretzky came up to any Canadian boy and said, "Hey, I'd like to name you to Canada's 2006 Olympic Hockey team. Come start training." What do you think the response would be?

Back to the boat, now, and Peter sees this guy, this thing, out walking on the water. It might be a ghost and it might be Jesus. But Peter knows that if it's Jesus, then he could do what Jesus was doing. That's why Jesus called him in the first place. So Peter asks Jesus if he should also be walking on the water and Jesus says you betcha. So Peter takes a further step as an understudy of his Rabbi and jumps out of the boat.

Eventually, even though Peter failed over and over again, it get to the point where Jesus tells him to "feed my sheep." A Rabbi was seen as a shepherd over his flock of followers. Jesus was effectively turning the mission over to Peter, saying that he had effectively become like Jesus. He was naming Peter a Rabbi (although by this point they'd kind of been disowned by the Jewish traditionalists and I'm sure no one officially recognised that).

But here's something to think about:

Jesus has chosen you.

Why I don't like Napolean Dynamite

2005-01-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

People keep asking me: Don't you think Napolean Dynamite is the funniest movie?

No, it's not the funniest movie. In fact, as funny movies go, this one's about as funny as... oh, let's say... those educational movies you watched in Jr. High.

And that's only because it seems to be stuck in the 70s.

Now, that's not to say there aren't any funny parts in it, but the people who made the movie (who are undoubtedly laughing their way to the bank right now) couldn't make up their minds.

Either make the movie about nothing at all and fill it with useless humour (which most of the movie is and I can appreciate that) or give it some sort of story line and fill it with applicable jokes (which happens from time to time).

Napolean Dynamite, however, goes abolutely nowhere for much of the movie, and then suddenly breaks from the humour to rush the storyline along to try to reach a certain point. Make up your mind and go with it.

I think the movie would've even been better if they just ended it with Napolean's dance number and left the audience going "what? that's the end of the movie?" That would've been funny. But trying to resolve everything right at the end just to give it the resemblence of having a storyline is idiotic. I'm sorry.

And for those of you who don't agree with me (and apparently there are lots of you), I'm right and you're wrong.

I have no qualms about saying that.

On Foundations

2004-12-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

Just got home from Treasured Foundation 2004 and I thought I'd share some of the thoughts that passed through this head...

The theme was "Go Deep or Go Home" and our speaker (Don Talle) tied that to the foundation theme very well. First of all, he said to get any height on a building, you have to first have a deep foundation... so you have to go deep. Then, the benefits of going deep are the three unshakables: Unshakable faith, unshakable hope, and unshakable love. All three are, of course, obtained by going deep into the character of Christ.

The greatest part of the whole thing was that Don was a great example of this himself. See, he's got some rare muscle disorder that will keep him weak for his whole life. He was supposed to die by 10 yrs old, but he's now 35. But instead of focusing on what could have been, he focuses on faith, hope, and love and becoming like Christ. Here's someone who has to practice what he preaches or else he would be very, very depressed all the time. It's encouraging to see that people are capable of not giving in to depression and of holding on to Jesus.

Interesting fact: the foundation of the Chicago Sears Tower goes so deep that you could almost fit the entire Statue of Liberty under the building... only the torch would stick out into the lobby.

On MVP

2004-11-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

I've heard this commercial sometimes on CJOB as I'm driving out to school:

Little Girl: Daddy, what an MVP?
Daddy: It's the most valuable player.
Little Girl: Really?
Daddy: Why?
Little Girl: Coach said I was the MVP.
Daddy: Oh, that's great...
LG: And he said Jimmy was, and so was Peter...
Daddy: You mean he said everyone was the MVP?
LG: Yeah.
Daddy: Hmm.

(Disclaimer: this might not be exactly how it goes, but it's pretty close)

Now, as it happens every time I hear something about an MVP, I think about myself. You see, with initials MVP, it's hard to escape. What with the familiarity many people have with those particular initials, I'm sure I'll be reminded of the fact for the rest of my life. But sometimes it's not so great...

See, as someone who loves almost all sports, but is generally considered on the bubble to be on any team, I will likely never be considered the Most Valuable Player for anything. As it was pointed out to me somewhere during high school, I am quite possibly the only person who will never live up to his initials. But whenever I'm reminded that I'm not great at sports and I never will be, I just think back to a story my aunt had told time and time again...

When I was born, I had an uncle who was an uncle for the first time. For everyone else, it was old hat because he had two children. But he was gung-ho about the whole being-an-uncle thing. So when he found out that my initials were MVP, he quickly pointed out that I must naturally be destined to be a Most Valuable Player. It was at that point that my aunt interjected by saying the following: "He may, and he may not. But no matter what, he will always be a Marvellously Valuable Person." Throughout life, it's always comforting to know that someone regards me as a Marvellously Valuable Person.

But the commercial got me thinking. MVP is something we usually assume can only apply to one person at a time, for one year at a time (or two if there's a lockout). However, with a new definition of the term 'MVP' it's clear to see that every one of us will be an MVP for eternity.

See, it's painfully clear that through God, we were all (and I mean every single one of us) "fearfully and wonderfully made." This eternal, all-powerful God chose to make us, and to love us enough to name each person his MVP. The fact that we can get up each morning and have a purpose for our lives is nothing short of a miracle. But therein lies insight #2 of the day.

Today, all the teachers (and student teachers) in the Garden Valley School Division had an inservice. The topic was literacy and how to teach students to write well. The presenter pointed out that teachers don't celebrate the day-to-day achievements of their students enough. She gave an example of an acquaintance who took a trip to Italy. This friend journaled every little thing that happened on that trip. But once she got home, she stopped journalling. Why? Because the things she did at home were no longer special.

Then, a year or so later, she had a baby. As it is with most babies, she started writing down everything the baby did (the first tooth, the first step, the first diaper rash, etc.). But, after a couple of years, it had dwindled to an entry every two or three weeks. Why? Because she was too busy with housekeeping, shopping, visiting with friends, etc. to bother writing down the daily events that seem to get more and more repetitive. What changed?

What happened to our presenter's friend is that she let her miracles become mundane. Amazing things happened so often and so repetitively, that they started to be taken for granted. The presenter said we do the same thing in our classrooms.

But we also do it every morning.

We wake up (miracle) and we're still breathing (miracle). We have a purpose for our life (miracle) and hope for our future (miracle) because there is a God who loves us (miracle) and calls us his MVP (you get the point).

So I challenge all of us (myself included) to remember that we are God's MVPs, and that it is a miracle that could never be repeated too many times. For me, it could be easier, just because every time I think of my name, I'll be reminded. But personally, I can use all the reminders I can get.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

mvp