road of life RAGE

Mental pictures and fictional mentors

2008-11-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

In the spring of this year I got away to a place near the mountains to pray for a couple days. I really need to do that more often. Among the things God showed me was a picture of… get this; Jedi. I know – big surprise coming from me. But this picture was a way for God to show me something specific… something that has deepened over the months since that time away. Let me state here that I believe a mental picture is incredibly helpful in understanding and personalizing a profound truth.
My mental picture was a character in Star Wars Episode 1 “the Phantom Menace”, my favorite Jedi; Qui-Gon Jinn.

I feel that God was trying to tell me that He wants me to be more like Qui Gon in my leadership style, but I had been expecting myself to be more like the other Jedi hero of that movie; Obiwan Kenobi. Now if you are a non Star Wars fan – I hope you bear with me.
Qui-Gon is different from Obiwan in a few ways. First, he is older and wiser than his young apprentice. God was telling me I need to act my age, and recognize that I have some wisdom to offer. That it does not have to be prideful for me to step into a role of wisdom and authority in people’s lives.
Second, I was reminded of my calling – not to be the hero necessarily, but to be the one who mentors the heroes. The thought of mentoring and standing behind young disciples, calling them out to be heroes of the faith is humbling and inspiring to me.

Recently I had another thought. I have been really trying to spend time regularly in meditation. I find it is so centering and refreshing to my soul, mind, and body. In doing so I have been reminded by God of the need to be yielded to His Holy Spirit. I want to allow God full access to all of my life – to do as He wishes. In order to do this – God has really spoken to me – that I need to live in the moment, far more than I do. I am the kind of person who over-thinks everything. I plan and scheme, and try to anticipate every possibility. In other words, my mind is painfully aware of everything BUT the present. This leads to a lot of stress in my life. I constantly struggle with anxiety. So God in His love and faithfulness tells me to be “in the moment” – How the heck do I do that?! Well… God reminds me of my picture of Qui-Gon Jinn. Now, only the most nerdy Star Wars fans (of which I am one) will know that Qui-Gon’s philosophy of the fictional “force” was in opposition to the beliefs of other Jedi leaders of His time. They all believed in the “Unifying force” the aspect of this energy binding all, and unifying all. The focus was on using and directing the force in positive ways. By contrast, Qui-Gon believed in the “Living force”, asserting that the energy was somehow alive, and had a will that could be followed and obeyed… moment by moment, with complete trust and abandon. You see where I’m going with this? My living God has a will, and can speak to me! He is calling me to relax into His presence and be directed by Him with complete trust and abandon. I read the book of Acts in scripture - assuming that the apostles followed Gods Holy Spirit much the same way.
If I am successful in allowing God to change my thinking, and my patterns, the result could be a less stressful and more powerful life.
When was the last time you set aside time to give God space to speak to you? Has He given you any mental pictures to better understand and apply his profound truth to your life?

I am a shot

2008-05-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a picture comes to mind that helps explain something about life. Just such an occurrence happened to me the other day. Two separate trains of thought collided to help me understand... how our lives are like espresso.

Espresso is different from normal coffee in that it requires the beans be crushed/ground to a finer degree, it also requires alot of heat and pressure. But these things do not guarantee a great cup of espresso. In fact, you could have the best beans roasted in Italy, and a $30,000 espresso machine, and still not achieve a great espresso. It seems that it also depends on subtle little details that affect the result. The fineness of the grind, how compact the coffee in the filter is, the temperature, and purity of the water, and a host of other nuances go into making a great espresso. When you taste espresso made by a master... it is like nothing else.

Just like life – crushing, heat, and pressure are inescapable, but that does not guarantee that I will develop inner character that will enrich the lives of those around me. It depends on subtle attitudes I take daily while in the process that will determine the flavour I become. As I run to God, seek Him, and choose to live by faith even when the darkness and despair of life seem to prove that God is not just, or loving... an aroma begins... then a beautiful product starts to emerge. I slowly and sometimes painfully develop an inner character that shares the greatness of God to whoever “tastes” me.

Next time you have a great espresso beverage, crack open your bible to Hebrews 12: 1-13, and Romans 5:1-5. And choose to trust the Master who is making something beautiful out of your struggle.

The Train

2008-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

I had a thought... the church is like a train that transports soldiers to the front lines of a war. The church is designed by God to disciple every nation (Matt. 28). To transport people to spiritual maturity, Godly character, and Christ likeness. We ship people to the front lines of ministry, life, art, culture, leadership, and servanthood. The Church exists to take people from where they are (wherever they are) to a life of meaning and effectiveness as a disciple of Jesus... to bless all people on earth (Gen. 12:3), and serve those people’s journey toward Christ.

Theory number 268473

2007-12-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have theories about everything. For instance, I spend time with people who WANT to be more acquainted with the teachings of the bible. They want to be the kind of person who digs in and studies the Word of God as an individual... someone who has at least a sense of what scripture teaches about the issues of life. BUT... they don’t do anything about it. They continue on unsatisfied, in a church culture where most people expect to be told what scripture teaches on Sunday morning. We want to be a person of the Word, but we don’t want it enough to live a little differently.

My theory is this;
...that we are actually too intimidated by the Bible to even try to dig in and understand it. For some reason we allow ourselves to be discouraged by fears of the bible being boring, or impossible to understand, or that we are too busy. None of these are true. The bible is not boring when we begin to grasp what it says. If there was ever a culture in the history of humanity that had a leg up – in interpreting the bible, it would be us. We have biblegateway.com, commentaries, and modern translations!!! And finally – no one is too busy to eat. At least daily. It’s all a matter of what is most important to me... and the reality that - I get to CHOOSE what is most important to me.

Wanna help me test my theory? If you do... try this: Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated – but for 3 weeks - actually read the bible – even study it a bit – just try. I suspect that if you try you will discover it is not as daunting as you feared. Perhaps it will even bring life! If you feel like you’ve tried that already and it didn’t work... try again. What do you have to lose?

What if we became a generation of people who were into the Word PERSONALLY, DAILY, DEEPLY. How could the world not be changed by such a generation?

Who IS the boss of me?

2007-10-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

So it’s been awhile. One of the reasons I want to blog is to discipline myself to write and record what is going on in my head and heart. I find it helps me process what I am experience when I write about it. That said, I have neglected this discipline of late. I’m back!

Over the last year, especially the transition of coming to Edmonton, I have been consumed by a single repeated question in my walk with God, life, and ministry. That question is:

“How do I know that I am in total obedience to God?”

As I read the scriptures – I am more and more aware of how huge obedience is. I see it everywhere in scripture, every time I see the word “LORD” spelled with all capitals. God is LORD and master of all. He is the LORD of my life – so my primary responsibility to Him is obedience.

Now, on any given day I don’t believe that I am disobedient. I mean – I’m not burdened by any big scandalous sins at the moment. I have not said “no” to God that I am aware of. I know I sin daily, and try to repent just as often, but am I “totally obedient”? Am I ignoring a subtle voice calling me to change something, to sacrifice something? Am I unaware of God convicting me, inviting me? I believe God is often speaking (not always), but am I listening when He speaks? In the same way I can get a ticket, even if unaware of the speed limit on that road – so I am responsible for what God is calling me to, even if I am unaware of it. Being aware only makes me slightly more responsible.

I am referring mostly to God’s personal communication with me. But what of all the things revealed in scripture. Not merely rules and regulations, but principles and values. In a moment the question of obedience becomes overwhelming.

So... How do I know that I am in total obedience to God? Can I even possibly hope to know? Is it a never ending, insurmountable question of achieving perfection? I don’t think so... here’s where I’m at right now...

God says "Be holy (perfect), because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:16). But we also know that God is patient and merciful – and all about the process. So I ask myself – “Am I in the process of becoming Holy-er?” Rather than be consumed by my failure at perfection (which is the whole point of the law - Romans and Galatians), I am inspired by His voice calling me to be Holy – ONE THING AT A TIME. In other words...

“LORD, what is the one thing right now which I need to hear from you, and be obedient in?”

Now THAT question is simple, and freeing. It is just like all those stories in scripture where God asks one thing at a time. Look at the life of King Saul; “...go wipe out the Amalekites”. “But Lord – I kept stuff to sacrifice to you...” “But you didn’t do the one thing I commanded of you”. Then the famous passage “...to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). If I can take care of the one thing God has put His omniscient finger on, then I can know that I have been obedient.

I am cultivating this need; at the end of the day – I need to lay my head on the pillow and know that I am obedient to my King. I’m not actually looking for the voice of God saying – “You are finally perfect”. Instead – I am looking for my heavenly father to say. “I am pleased with your obedience today my son.”

“... because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Hebrews 10: 14

Building a Young Adults ministry

2007-06-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

As a rule in ministry – I stick to the time honoured leadership adage; “I don’t really know what I’m doing” (Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, etc.) I guess I know some things, but ultimately I want to stay dependant on God for all I aspire to do. Speaking of aspirations, I am presently trying to build a thriving young adult community that is characterized by a hunger for God, passionate worship, deep relationships, belonging for people of any kind, and a mind to change the world outside the church walls, as well as within.
So how is that done exactly? Well, I’ll share a little of what I am doing and we’ll see how it goes... I guess one of my ambitions is to “build it right” – like Mike Holms. I’ve seen too many Young Adult ministries get really big, and THEN try to add quality, and values to the community, with mixed success. I’d rather start small, KNOWING who we are and what we’re about – so that as we grow – we can fight to maintain and deepen that identity, that quality. For instance, the way we worship – with freedom. I ask myself; “what kinds of things are okay in our worship times? What do we value?” Then we talk about those things all the time, and act on them. In our case, values like, passion, risk, creativity, and intimacy have come up as we prayerfully form our gatherings. I guess the question is “who are we in worship?”
That question can be applied to a lot of key things. Who are we in reaching the lost? Who are we in following Jesus as disciples? Who are we in relationship with each other? I feel that, as we begin to answer these questions – THEN we have what we need to build our gathering. Instead of inviting people to an event – we can invite people into an identity. Be it an invitation to Thursday night, or lunch on Sunday, or a social event on Saturday, but it is all the same identity, the same family. We call ours “facechurch”. This thinking equips us to bring church to a friend – rather than just bringing a friend to church. In other words – we can take these values, this identity with us to work or school, or the mall!

To this end I have prayerfully looked for partners. Not just leaders, because I expect to have a good number of leaders. Partners are leaders who share a bond, demonstrating by their example – the kind of deep relationships we want to build. Partners share more than the work load, they share the spiritual and emotional burdens of life and ministry. They also share the joys and victories. With these partners I have formed a “Vision Team”. This is my cell group, my key leaders. Next, I hope to form a core group of people who believe in the vision, and own the identity. This, more than anything else, will be what draws people into fellowship with us. I hope that this core group will commit to radically follow Jesus. They can lead cells and reach out to friends. People will feel drawn to the love we have for each other (John 13:35).

Imagine a coffee house full of people, live music in the corner, and the sound of an espresso machine in the background. Fragrance and conversation fills the air. You’re a visitor – don’t really know anyone yet. Now imagine that this group embraces you – draws you in, but they’re unrelenting in their personal passion for God and their devotion to Christ. These people are the real deal, not perfect – but authentic... and they want you to journey with them. This is the kind of identity I hope to be a part of.

Pressure

2007-06-12T08:42:00.001-07:00

It’s so easy to get wound up real tight with all that is going on in life these days. I’m amazed at the amount of stress most of us carry around and think its “normal”. When I stop for a moment, I realize that much of the pressure I’m under comes from the expectations of other people. Sometimes these expectations are figments of my imagination. In other words – I allow myself to be stressed by things which may not even exist. I submit to expectations or opinions that no one has actually placed on me. Maybe they spring from my personal fears and insecurities. Or perhaps they are fashioned by that crazy human tendency... the one where I find ways to beat myself up in a misguided attempt to be better. Can anyone relate?
Well, if you are like me, then it’s worth remembering that I am performing for an audience of one. There is only one opinion that ultimately matters most. And I have it on good authority that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11: 28-30).

Online Community, Part 2

2007-05-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

It’s been 6 weeks since a bunch of us joined facebook. I have some observations, and many more questions. Pick one and comment away!

We have 35 people on our “WECA Young Adults” group page, about a dozen more than the number coming out on any given Thursday night (to have community in person). Online - we send cute messages, post bizarre pics, and find long lost friends... When we get together, we joke around about the popularity of facebook, and explain it to the people who haven’t heard about it yet. But does this conversation piece lead to any deeper connections? I suppose it could, I’m just not certain it has. I do find that when we see each other (Thursdays, Sunday etc. We do talk alot about facebook topics... coffee in church, that funny photo of you, Stephen Harper is my friend etc. So maybe this online community could be a spark igniting deeper stuff? Is it like any other common interest... be it a favourite TV show, NHL playoffs, or the weather? Which leads me to the following question...

Is it possible that we just don’t know how to make the leap from surface relationships to meaningful community? We’d like to, we just don’t know how.

Does facebook fill a void in my life created by my inability to deepen my relationships?

Or am I making too much of this whole thing?

Inspired

2007-04-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am setting aside time on Wednesdays to study the Word, pray, and read. Every few months I visit Ron Cole's Blog. Each time I do I find myself confronted, inspired, and occasionally confused... but it's so good for me (thanks Ron). I just read an article that Ron highlited called; "the iGen manifesto" by Rex Miller. This is my first exposure to him as an author, but I like what I read. It's all about this generation's uniqueness, and how it relates to church. Read the full article here. He proposes a list of distinctives that help us understand the culture of this generation. I'd love to read your thoughts on them...

Every revolution needs a manifesto. Here are opening salvos for the iGen Manifesto. But Web 2.0 is collaborative, so I expect to see many additions to the Manifesto. Check out these first 11 items, and see if you can add to them:

We expect content on demand! Access to plentiful, accessible content—when, where and how we want it.
We expect Open Source resources! Content needs to be readily available to rip, mix and burn for novel use.
Amateurs are cool, professionals are old school. The root word for amateur is “to love.” Amateurs play because of their passion, not because of their position. Content is easy—passion is rare.
We expect a Participation Context in every phase of church life. We, the congregation, want to co-create our experience. “Let everyone come with a psalm and hymn and a spiritual song.”
We want a Platform for involvement not a viewer’s forum. We want church transformed from a place of attraction and content transfer to a platform of resources to connect, create and grow.
We do not need more content—we need more Mentors! We want leaders to shift from being prime movers and “franchise” attractions to mentors and catalysts—this was once called “servant-leadership.”
We want contexts for social networking and a radical shift away from the current activity machine. We want church to be more like an extended family and open bazaar of exchange and service to one-another.
We want to redefine the local church as the local church! We want to see ourselves as one congregation interconnected and interdependent with the other congregations in our community.
We want to talk and act globally not as though there were three separate worlds (the good people, the communists and those poor developing countries).
We want to see artificial boundaries dissolve and a convergence of church, charity, community and commerce.
We are the Long Tail. We want to be taken off the shelf and to make a difference. We want to move away from a mass-market approach.

What could church look like? Seriously I want you to dream with me, and help build it!

Partners

2007-04-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

If you’re like me, you spend too much time worrying about what people think. Most of it doesn’t matter at all, and much of what I fear people think, isn’t really thought by anyone. The enemy is always after me in this regard. So I repeatedly do battle for my mind – to re-align my thoughts to the truth that... it is what God thinks of me that matters, a distant second is what my wife thinks, and a remote third is everyone else.
In one of these almost daily battles a thought occurred to me...
I am trying to partner with Godly men and women to build a spiritual community of Young adults. BUT, I have actually been worrying too much about what the un-involved people think, and rarely considering what my “partners” think. The people who are investing in the vision with me. How messed up is that? It actually goes against one of my aims... to assemble a community of people who are on the same page FIRST. Then reach out to and include fringe people, seekers, sceptics, and outsiders, from a place of strong identity.

Does anyone know what I mean?

As is often the case, a coffee with one of my “partners” has helped set me straight. And several loving boots to the butt from my wife. Thank you honey.

Finally...
GO FLAMES!

Online community

2007-03-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking about a couple things...

First... Acts 2: 42-47 is a sweet window into first century Christian community, wow. I’m envisioning what a modern translation of this looks like. Do we sell all our stuff, do we worship together every day. Why does food seem to matter so much? Do we really understand how to break bread with each other? Are we ready for people to be saved DAILY?

Second... how significant is online community? I’ve given in to the sweeping pressure to join the Facebook world. I’m such a lemming. But I have a secret agenda (that makes being a lemming OK). My secret agenda is to get into as many online communities as I can with young adults in Edmonton. Perhaps if we are all on the same platform, and begin to enjoy some measure of online relationship – maybe that can help draw us into actual face to face community. What do you think?
If you’re not in the mood to think, just go make a facebook (use the link above) and join the community.

Dating

2007-03-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Thank the creator, I've found the person I will date for the rest of my life. But most of the people I work with haven't. So I hereby declare it - "Romance Week" on my blog.

To start the conversation off, take a look at this article I found on MSN. Then leave your feedback... especially if you are a person looking for a Godly mate. And remember - the opinions expressed in the folowing article are not neccesarily those of the blogger...

Click here to read the article

Kingdom of church?

2007-03-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Alot is being said about the church these days. So I have a question for you...

Is the Kingdom of God synonymous with the Church?

Really think about it - it's not as easy to answer as you might think. Then post your thoughts.

House Pictures

2007-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to those of you who keep praying for us. The adjustment to a new life is slow, and very hard at times - but worth it. God is doing something here - and we get to be in the middle of it!

More pics of our new place here:

http://www.photosite.com/rpetkau/Album6/

Alien vs. Chameleon

2007-01-30T12:06:00.000-08:00

I was reading in 1 Peter, and I noticed the word “Aliens”. This comes at a time when I am thinking about the way people see us as Christians. A lot of emergents like to talk about being relevant, and so do I. but Peter here uses imagery of, aliens, foreigners, immigrants, to describe our place in the world. This is clearly his way of fleshing out what it means to be “holy”. Holy means “set apart” in most New Testament applications.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

So the apostle Peter tells me to stand out from the crowd, to NOT fit in, to live a life that reflects the moral perfection of God (an Old Testament definition of “holy”).

My question is… does this contradict the move to be relevant?

A more prominent biblical writer Paul, says in 1 Corinthians 9: 22-23

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Do these guys agree? Does the bible contradict itself?
I have my own thoughts on this, but what do YOU think?

Emerging Truth?

2007-01-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve recently spoken with someone, who is of the impression that elements within the emerging church want to throw out the literal interpretation of scripture. He’s a brilliant and gifted bible teacher, and it seems he is not alone in his opinions. He called the emerging church “a group within the ranks of evangelical Christianity that is attacking the sufficiency of scripture”. I asked him where he got this idea – he points to some things said by “leaders” in the emerging church… things like “we can’t know what scripture really says/means”. Apparently these people want to decide for themselves what scripture says. He's getting me some info on it.
At any rate, I felt pigeon-holed, painted with the same brush as some wack job. As a part of the emerging church I embrace the literal interpretation of scripture. I want to build my life on the Word of God, it’s my bread, my light, my life. However I’m eager to challenge taboos of my day that are based in tradition and church culture rather than on scripture. I’m willing to investigate and even re-evaluate things that I was taught about what the bible “says”. I wonder if this is the kind of sentiment my academic friend might be misinterpreting. I’m gonna ask him.

a REAL Blizzard

2007-01-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hello from Edmonton!
Jaime and I arrived last week, after a harrowing 3 day drive through blowing snow and slush. When we got here it was sunny and above zero... but alas, not any more. Today is apparently the worst blizzard here since 89!
At any rate - God has been faithful, and we are now moved into our new home YAY!!! Everything is still in boxes, but that takes time.

We don't have internet at the house yet - so don't feel like we are ignoring you.

People are really grat here, but it feels so weird to not know anyone. So please keep praying for Jaime and I. this adjustment will be hard, and take some time. We miss Sidney... but that is normal I guess. We know God has brought us here, and we are glad.
Pray for God to connect us with those who will be partners in vision, "spiritual stomes" which God will build us in with, to form real community (2 Peter).

I'll post more later.

WE BOUGHT A HOME!!!

2006-12-13T17:18:00.000-08:00

You don't even understand!
The idea of owning our own home has been a dream for Jaime and I for years. We prayed, we saved, we were blessed with help from our parents... and this last weekend God led me to the house. It's a brand new 1/2 duplex in Edmonton, 3 min. from the church! we prayed that God would hold the place for us. As I saw it I knew that God had miraculously kept THIS place from being sold... for us. Thank you Lord. The deal has gone through and the documents are being signed!

On another note... does anyone want this stereo?

FREE STUFF!!!

2006-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is your chance to own a piece of “Rob and Jaime” memorabilia! Seeing as we’re moving, we have stuff to give away, and stuff to sell!

Free Fan!

Womens Medium rain jacket!

Various Jedi Garments... FREE!

Virtually new Dehumidifyer for sale... $100 or best offer!

Stay tuned, there may be more crap… er… I mean, priceless items available.

Moving On

2006-11-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

At long last God has led us to the next phase of our life and ministry. On January 7th 2007 I will start my new position as Young Adults Pastor at West Edmonton Christian Assembly www.weca.com
God has been so faithful to lead us to this church. He has systematically opened all the doors one by one, and led us to an amazing opportunity. WECA is a big church, but is a place where ministry and leadership are real, and not bogged down with religious baggage. Jaime and I are so excited that we get to help lead a great group of young adults into a revolution of what “church” can look like! We get to take action in all the things we have been learning this year about church and culture. The struggles of 2006 are beginning to make more sense as we glimpse a snapshot of our future. I am so exited that I will get to “run” in my giftings and calling in ministry.
I’ll admit I’ve grown soft – living on the Island. I will have to adjust to Alberta winters… but Jaime – she’s lived here her whole life (although born in Edmonton). The coldest she’s ever experienced was – 20. She’s in for a real adjustment. We’re taking this as an adventure. I just think of the ice planet Hoth from Star Wars.

We’re going to miss so many people. We have made relationships here in Sidney that run so deep – they are like family! Thanks to those of you who have been praying for us, it means alot – God is SO faithful. Pray that we can buy a home (we’ve already put an offer on a SWEET townhouse!)

And to our new friends in Edmonton – I really hope you like us! Let’s change the world together!

Stay Tuned…

Living Stones

2006-11-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

So I’m working out this thought about biblical community. I found a couple of passages of interest. Rather than try to compose a teaching based only on this, I'll just ask a few interesting questions. Give me your input and let's see where we end up.

1. Do you think that there is a connection between these two things:

First, in Matthew 16:18 Jesus re-names Simon – Peter, (or “Rock”).

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18

Second, Peter’s illustration (later in his life) of the church as a building made up of “living stones” in 1 Peter 2: 4-9?

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
1 Peter 2: 4-9

2. If these two things are related, what is the significance to Peter? To us?

3. Is Peter teaching that our very relationships are in fact a temple, containing the presence of the Living God, and enabling us to perform priestly sacrifices of ministry?

4. Where and how are we to live out this “temple community”? (Hint 2: 12).

Foreign Policy

2006-10-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Something came into focus for me while I was watching TV news coverage of the national NDP party voting on their position regarding the war in Afghanistan.
The sentiment of most members seemed to be that we (Canada) have no business waging war in some other country. Their affairs are their own, and we are interfering. I could not disagree more. Let me phrase that another way… that’s crap! The fact that some wars are a mistake is not in dispute. My opinion is that while war is horrible, it is necessary in today’s world. Perhaps we will someday reach a place globally where war is done away with, but “it is not this day”. So… it remains that whatever democratic countries able to afford a military, are morally obliged to serve the world by defending the helpless and destroying oppression and injustice. The question is not if we should be at war, but where we should be at war. If not Afghanistan, fine, but then where?
I hate seeing images of coffins draped with my flag on TV. But I know that those young men and women signed up to give their lives to a Canada that will make a difference in the world. They signed up to FIGHT bad people. That is a noble thing, not a barbaric act. Many ignorant Canadians dishonor their sacrifice by believing that war is not necessary. If those dreamers would go live in Iraq, Iran, North Korea, or Afghanistan, I wonder if they would learn appreciate a little rescue.
The world is a giant neighborhood, complete with rich and poor, police and criminals. I want the police to have guns, and know how to use them. I don’t agree that the US is the world’s police. But someone has to be! And Canada must be represented on that force. If the UN won’t do it, then we have to find another way.
The biggest problem with my sentiment here is that it relies on our government to decide where to war against evil in the world. Where to pay the cost of our young blood and know that it is well spent. I don’t envy them those decisions, but they have to rise to the challenge and lead with integrity, and determination.For a hundred years Canada has fought injustice and oppression around the world. It is part of our history, our identity. I for one am proud of that. I challenge you Canada, read the papers differently, vote differently, or at least, buy a soldier a coffee.

What Would a Smart Person Do?

2006-10-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me will undoubtedly have heard me utter this question a thousand times. Recently I was musing how this has become part of a life philosophy for me. Not just trying to be a “smart person”, but actually asking myself the deeper question “who do I want to be?”
Character is huge – it is at the bottom of all I am and do. I want to live out the pure man of God that my Creator designed me to be. I see character in three ways…

The first facet of character is the actual reality of who I am, the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is the real character I am regardless of how I might see myself. My true character will eventually come out of me and show who I really am – so I better work on being real to the core, and not a fraud.

Second is the way I see myself. I’m sure we all can agree that on any given day – our self-image can get pretty screwed up. The challenge is to learn ways to see clearly. Good friends, mentors, accountability partner’s etc. will help. Most of all I want to se what God sees when he looks at me. This requires that I ask Him, and learn how to listen, regularly!

The last way I see character (and this is my point) is who I want to be. Special thanks to Switchfoot for the song that goes “…this is your life, are you who you want to be?” So I need to ask myself; “who do I want to be?” This picture in my head needs to be the identity God has created me for, or as much of it as I can see. This allows me to envision my growth. It equips me to deal with choices in life by asking; “what would the person I want to be - do in this situation?” Kinda’ like “what would a smart person do?” These questions help me act on who I want to be, rather than on selfish impulses, or sinful nature patterns. I have the choice to act from my growing character! Don't ask "what would Jesus do?" Jesus lives in you! Instead ask "what would I do?"

This philosophy has been snowballing in my head for a while – thanks Reid for helping me decide that it’s worth writing down.

Train naked

2006-09-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started comparing my journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ to the life of a Jedi, I have been enamored with the verb “train” (training, trained) as it appears in scripture. I assume this is because of the obvious Jedi context. The training of a Jedi is a mysterious journey, undertaken by a student (padawan), and facilitated by life itself, and the living out of the mission of the Jedi (guardians of peace and justice). The “training” is guided by a master Jedi, who has himself been trained, by another before him (ie. Mentoring). So I envision my training as a disciple of Jesus much the same way, and the training I offer to those coming up behind me.

Recently I was intrigued by a passage in Hebrews, and when I dug in deeper, I found this word again “train”. I decided to keep digging, because that is what a disciple of Jesus does with the Word, especially when there is time on his hands.
Note: The Bible is like picking your nose… you gotta dig deep, and you have to rub it of on someone else!

The word train appears in Hebrews 5:11 - 6:3… feel free to crack open your bible and follow along (in the voice of Strong Bad). The author of Hebrews is rebuking the readers for not progressing in their faith. They are not equipped to deal with the teaching he wants to provide for them, almost as if they are too spiritually immature. Apparently it is their own fault. As a pastor, this is a passion of mine – to see people take responsibility for their own discipleship! If you think that going to church is how you are discipled (trained to be like Jesus)… think again!

“…But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (V. 14, italics mine)

You and I can equip ourselves for advanced teaching of scripture by training ourselves! Constant study and use of scripture trains us.

This word “trains” is the Greek word “Gumnazo”, ( goom-nad'-zo). It means essentially to train naked… Weird? Not really…

to exercise naked (in a palaestra or school of athletics)
to exercise vigorously, in any way, either the body or the mind

As you may have already heard, athletics of this era (like the Olympics), were all done in the nude. Competitors performed un-hindered (Heb. 12) by clothing. Not that I am recommending you do this today (especially not in ice hockey), it just helps to understand what the author was referring to. The author of Hebrews could have used another word but he chose this one… interesting. Consider that you and I can exercise with the Word of God in a devoted and un-hindered way, as if we were preparing for an Olympic event! What a challenge! Notice that this training prepares us to hear the Word (say on Sunday), it does not result from hearing preaching. The responsibility to train like this is mine alone – it’s not the pastor’s fault if I’m not growing!

I own a bible that used to belong to an elderly woman of God who died a couple years ago. Just seeing her scribbled notes tells me that she took responsibility to train personally. It’s almost like this approach has skipped a generation in the church. The next generation of disciples must bring it back! Train naked!

Note:
This Greek word (Gumnazo) is also the same word used by Paul in 1 Tim 4: 7-8. He urges Timothy to train himself to be godly in this same way.

Velvet Elvis

2006-09-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

I am reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. He’s the guy in the Nooma videos. I just read the portion titled “Yoke”.

I am being rocked by what Rob Bell has written. I find that assumptions I have held for over 20 years about the bible are being challenged. That doesn’t mean my assumptions are wrong (although some have to be – no one has it all right). But it does mean that once again, I have to re-evaluate what I believe about the Word of God. I think that is part of the author’s point… that the Word is “alive” and therefore I must have a living, changing relationship with it. Unfortunately I, like most people, want to find hard and fast “rules” to give myself a sense of security… a sense of; “I have this figured out so no I can move on”. A sense of “this is what the bible is, this I what the bible says – therefore I know how to live my life”. I guess it’s a desire for an unhealthy sense of closure regarding the “Living and active” word of God. This must change for me… what about you?

Rob bell explains “binding and loosing” as the wrestling with, and deciding on, what the scriptures mean and what to do about them. Action is a key. I initially feel very uncomfortable about the idea of giving everyone license to interpret the scriptures for themselves and live accordingly. But really, that is what we are doing anyways? I guess I feel uncomfortable with this because most of us have not developed the skill or discipline to interpret the Word for ourselves. That, in my opinion, is a crying shame. Unfortunately we as a culture have surrendered the power of interpreting scripture to pastors and leaders who make these crucial decisions for us. Don’t get me wrong – it is a good thing to learn from those who are devoting themselves to study, interpretation, and communication of scripture… BUT, that can’t be our only means of processing the word of God and making decisions. I’ve always assumed that there IS a right interpretation for every passage – I just have to find it. Rob doesn’t seem to discourage this theory – he just shows how it is meant to be done in community and humility. And that it is my responsibility as a disciple to “bind and loose” and then live it out. I still have an overwhelming desire to “get it right”, and that is a good thing. But I have to admit that I am often less than accepting of other peoples journey of interpretation. I am very frustrated about how some people use the scriptures to promote their “revelation” or agenda. I guess that is part of the call of leadership – to do what we can, to get what God is intending us to get from His Word, by all means necessary… and to teach it, and hold people to it. This has driven to study more and understand more about His Word. And to know His Holy Spirit who will guide me into all truth.