Living Sent

Wow!
Just finished a great book called Live Sent (as you can see to your left). The author (Jason Dukes) talks about what it means to be a letter, sent by God to this world.
Frankly, I've tried to convey this concept to a lot of people over the past 20 years and have never heard (or read) it spoken like this nor have I been able to articulate it so well. I really appreciate what Jason has to say and the heart that he obviously has in letting us know how to be a letter as well as ensuring that we are a letter sent to those whom God intends.
As a pastor, I find it quite frustrating that the "letters" in our church seem to be happy to sit in the "post office" called Bayridge Alliance Church. I know there are people who attend our church who are living sent and I hear their stories and am encouraged but the fact is that a large number of attendees are perfectly happy to stay in the pew on Sunday and let that be their single expression of God's love to the world.
I took a risk last Sunday and quoted a quote Jason gives in one of his last chapters from George Barna. It was about how the church is content to expend some energy in religious activities such as attending church and reading the Bible, and they are willing to throw some money in the offering basket but we don't want God messing with the image we work so hard to produce and cause us to be seen as "odd" somehow - especially if we get really radical and allow God's love to flow through us to everyone we meet and interact with each day. I'm not sure how well it was received but I trust and pray that as God's love and "mission" is lived and talked about that it will filter out of our heads and into our hearts and become a way of life for all of us. 
This book is a must read for everyone.

Lessons from Grief for a Cat

I will miss Chilli!

How is it that we get attached to animals?

I had to "put our cat down" today because he had an aggressive form of bone cancer. He was given the injection and went quietly - just kind-of laid his head down and went to sleep.

I cried.

Why? What was it about an animal that I felt attached to and required some kind of grief?

Why can I walk into the woods with a Bow, stalk a defenseless deer, sight it in my sights and let an arrow fly at it to kill it, and not cry over it? What's the difference between that animal (the deer) and the other animal (the cat)? Why or how did I become emotionally attached to an animal?

Why do we not feel the same way about other animals or even other people?

Someone told me that it was because we are not emotionally attached to other people or animals. How did I get attached? Was it because I felt he (the cat) talked to me? Was it because I talked to him? Was it because he was dependent on me for care? That he required me in order to live so I gave of myself thus forming a bond that required tears to heal the wound made when the bond was severed?

The Bible talks about us caring for one another. Do I ignore this command because I don't want to become attached to others and have to grieve over a potential severing of the relationship? How would our lives be different if we cared for each other as much as I cared for this cat?

I cared for this animal, protected it, cuddled it, played with it, enjoyed it. And the result? I became attached to it. God created me, protects me, comforts me, enjoys me. He's attached to me. How much more does He grieve when one of His creation walks away from Him?

Chilli depended on me - did he know that? Do I know how much I depend on God? I had control over the cat's life and when he was in too much pain and not able to recover from his cancer I made the decision to end his life. It hurt me to do that. How much more does it hurt God to have to correct us so that we can be all He planned?

I will miss my cat. But I have no doubt that I will see him again and enjoy his company. The Bible says that all of creation groans for the return of Jesus - not just humanity - all of creation will benefit.

God is Good!

The Diversity Culture

What a great book! I recommend this book for anyone who might want to figure out how to talk with people who are "different" from them but primarily for those who call themselves Christians and want to have a positive - God-focused influence on those outside their Christian circles.
The author ties Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman with an encounter the "average" church-going person might have in a "post-modern" cafe.
What an excellent job of creating a story where Biblical principles can come to bear on how we interact with each other outside of the standard church event.
When people have asked me how to talk about Jesus to their friends and co-workers, I've shared methods that I've learned over the years but, until recently, rarely did I suggest that they listen to their friend's story before bringing the Gospel to bear on their need.
The author demonstrates how Jesus heard beyond the culture the Samaritan woman exhibited and was able to meet her where she really needed Him. He then builds principles that we can utilize today if we really care for those who are without Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
The simple idea is that everyone has a story, everyone has a need, and everyone has a mask. How then do we hear, meet needs, and share Jesus? It's up to us (Christ followers) to learn how to take steps to be given an ear to share the truth found in God's Word. We must get outside our Christian bubbles and meet people on their level and be able to hear their stories and questions so that we can give direct and focused answers to their earnest questions.
The best chapter in this book (in my opinion) is chapter nine (9). This chapter was the "ah-ha - I get it" chapter for me. The author talks about two styles of conversation- ideological and relational. Ideological involves a debate-style attack where the opponents try to get points for making better arguments. This style is characterized by attack, defense, and spin (page 122). The relational style is characterized by trust, openness and risk (page 123) and the risk is often taken first by the one opening up the conversation but is reciprocated by the one answering or entering into the conversation.
Ideological conversation most often says: I don't care about you - I just want to make my point. Relational conversation, on the other hand says: I care about you - my point is less than the health and authenticity of our relationship - you matter to me.
Get this book (or borrow mine) and let's talk.

What I really Miss

What I really miss is time with my family. I miss coming home to three children and a wife. It's not that I don't like coming home to my wife alone - that can be a lot of fun - it's that I miss the "coziness" of a family time. Maybe I've idealized it - well, I have - but that's not the point. The point is that the way my family is right now, I don't get to communicate much with them or enjoy good times with my children.

God gave me three beautiful kids! They are true gifts from Him and I love them. I guess right now I miss them.

You see, it's like this ...

Danielle doesn't talk with us. She doesn't phone or email or text. When she passes through to go to places like Toronto, she doesn't even call or drop in. It's like we don't exist to her anymore. I often find myself wondering what we've done to alienate her so much.

Chris is doing okay but he's in Barrie and seems to be struggling to find a job and settle into something we'd call "normal" as far as living life is concerned.

Sarah, well, let's just say that, in my opinion, she seems bent on ensuring that she has no productive future potential.

I wonder what it'd be like to go back in time and just enjoy the family times. I know I'd sure change how I approached those times. Less stress and control and more enjoyment.

Oh well - I have my memories.

Book Review

The book A Lovers Quarrel with the Evangelical Church by Warren Smith is both stimulating and somewhat disappointing. It's stimulating in that I am glad that some people are aware that the evangelical church doesn't seem like she has a handle on our culture. The church seems like it is loosing or has lost her influence on our culture. More later.

I also was disappointed with this book because I was expecting more ideas about what to do about this "lack". I suppose that we could "go back" to what worked before the second great awakening (as the author seems to suggest) but it seems to me that we're past that and rather than instituting an archaic way of doing things I'd like to be able to take what we are already doing (or should be doing) and re-work it so it can be what God wants.

I am like Warren - I love the church. I believe that God has called me to help prepare His Bride (the church) for His return. One of the things that frustrates me is that people come to know the Lord and then when times get tough (or easy) they leave the church and blame (or forget) God. I agree with Warren in that we (established churches) have watered down the Gospel and made it easy for people to "be saved" when in fact people really need to understand what they're signing up for when they receive Christ as Saviour and LORD.Too many people have simply made a 'decision' to follow Christ but have no desire for or understanding of the commitment necessary to allow God to be your LORD and Saviour.

This book presents a very real problem (the lack of influence the church has on our culture and the operating mentality a lot of churches utilize to 'market' themselves to an apathetic culture). As a pastor in a church I am pleased with the call to be more Scripturally based in the discipleship options that we implement at our church. It disturbs me that we are quick to utilize books and methods that are written about or based on Scripture but rarely do we simply use Scripture to properly disciple our adherents.

That said, I am a bit disappointed that the author doesn't seem to go far enough in helping to create a solution to the dilemma that we face in the modern (or post-modern) evangelical church. He seems to be suggesting that our culture and the "Great Stereopticon" have diluted (or even twisted) the Gospel message. In some ways - at least as he points out in his book - I agree but at the same time I believe that a lot of good has come out of the church. People do find wholeness. People do find peace. Peple do find a life-long purpose. People do enter into real community. People do have a life-changing experience with God. I have met these people and I am one of them.

The book is a good 'wake-up' but left me wanting more time to work out a better solution to our issues. I would recommend the book but I want to believe that we can redeem the times and this culture through the church - Christ's Bride - so I'm not sure it's a good book for someone to read if they already have an axe to grind with the faulty church and simply want more ammunition with which to continue to break down the church.

I'm back!

Hey folks (not that anyone's reading this)!
I'm back! It's been an interesting couple of months. Lots has happened. I'm now the only 'full-time' pastor at Bayridge Alliance Church (not a position I thought I'd find myself in). Our Senior Pastor up and resigned at the end of May. We have a great Board of Elders and they (along with me) are continuing on the work of God here at BAC. God says He will not let the gates of Hell win over His church and we trust Him for that. We are currently in the process of re-defining and refining our Vision and Mission statements so that they more accuarately reflect who we are as a church body and what our mission is in this city (Kingston, Ontario). Summer is a great time to begin this process because it is fairly slow around here. I anticipate great things to come from this process and eagerly look forward to what God's going to do with us.

The Furious Longing of God

From the introduction:

I’m Brennan. I’m an alcoholic.How I got there, why I left there, why I went back, is thestory of my life.But it is not the whole story.

I’m Brennan. I’m a Catholic. How I got there, why I left there, why I went back, is also thestory of my life. But it is not the whole story.

I’m Brennan. I was a priest, but am no longer a priest. I was amarried man but am no longer a married man. How I got to those places, why I left those places, is the storyof my life too. But it is not the whole story.

I’m Brennan. I’m a sinner, saved by grace.That is the larger and more important story.Only God, in His fury, knows the whole of it.

Wow! What a way to start a book! This book is for everyone – everyone who wants to know that God loves them, that is. It’s great to read (and re-read) Brennan Manning’s books. They provide the much needed perspective that many churches and Christians are lacking in today’s culture – GRACE coupled with a deep and un-restricted LOVE! It’s amazing how much we allow the thoughts and expectations of others to cloud the knowledge that God loves us in a furious and un-stoppable way.

I’m with Brennan (and many other authors) who call us to live a life that is worthy of the Love lavishly given to us. Brennan says (on page 119) that “we have all experienced the sadness of a Christian life that is secure, well regulated, but basically impoverished. We long, at least occasionally, for a generosity that would lift us above ourselves.” This book is another call to recognize the Love of God in our lives and to live that Love out in our everyday-ness.

We no longer have to live a defeated life and the expectations and limitations placed on us by our society no longer have to contain the love that should (and will) overflow from our hearts as we experience the Furious Longing of God to LOVE us with an unreasonable love!

Whew! What a reminder!