Just a Black Sheep

Bored Christian... the ultimate Oxymoron

2012-02-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Is that too harsh?

I see a lot of people who claim to be Christ followers who are also eager to let the world know how bored they are.

I'm sitting here wondering if it's even possible...

OK so you claim to have a personal relationship with a God who created everything we see and know. A God who flung stars into space and paints dots on ladybugs... He's right next to you (so you claim) inside you even... and you're bored?

You claim to follow a guy who demonstrated and calls you to love the unlovable, to serve generously and give without restraint to those in need. There you sit surrounded by the hurt, the broken, the needy and you are... bored?

I know people who claim to be both "bored" and "Christ followers", who get wildly excited about going overseas to serve the pagans (though few would call them that these days given that it's not politically correct). We raise tens of thousands of dollars to send these bored folk (who have never done a days work or an hours worth of service at home) overseas to do things like build houses for the needy. We want them to "get excited" about their faith and so we feel that this is a necessary expense... even though they live within driving distance of people who are equally homeless and needy...

I know people who claim to be both "bored" and "Christ followers" who get all pumped up about going to conferences, or camps, to programs and events... as if the God they say they serve is somehow more present in those places...

I know people who claim to be both "bored" and "Christ followers" who actually seem to consider the senseless pursuit of wealth and fame as something to be admired. They stare lustfully after those who spend their life trying to accumulate the biggest pile of ...loot... thinking, "Man, it would be so-o-o exciting to be Bob Rock-star!"

It seems to me that boredom defines your values... a person who values family and friends will hardly be bored when surrounded by them. Those who value wealth are unlikely to be bored when the money is rolling in. Those who value fame cannot be bored when the cameras are rolling and people are pushing for their autograph. Ask the athlete who has given herself to excellence in her sport if she feels bored in the middle of competition. Ask the artist if they are bored when they are creating great art.

Those who value Christ will not be bored by doing His bidding...

No... we're not bored... we just have messed up values.

Put another way, we're not bored... we're disobedient.

Please don't get me wrong... I'm not suggesting that boredom is a sin...

I'm suggesting that it cannot coexist with faithful obedience.

but what do I know...

My 2c.

Growing old...

2012-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

The one constant from the time we are born to the moment we start trying to stay young is that everything is always changing. Everything is "er" but it's all positive "er". You know what I mean - we grow bigger, stronger, smarter... Then we reach this stage of life in which the "er" starts to work against us - we're older and weaker. Our memory is shorter... we suddenly want our possessions to be cleaner and newer (some sort of compensation?)

I saw a documentary the other day on people trying to fight the process of aging. They talked about extending life 10 maybe even 20 years as if that were a good thing. Thing is... I don't think it is a good thing.

Do we really think living to 150 has any upside? Even if I could stay 30 years of age what's the upside. What makes life worth living is that it's bracketed by birth on the one side and death on the other.

Please don't get me wrong, I don't have some sort of death-wish - it just seems to me that everyone who spends their life trying to extend the end of their life ends up wasting the only life they have... the present.

"Bob" exercises 4 hours a day and takes enough vitamins to choke a horse... really? That's living?
"Julie" eats the nastiest looking food for breakfast and the skimpiest tasteless supper imaginable... How is that life?

I'm not suggesting we shouldn't take care of ourselves. I'm saying there is a line when focusing on the future erases any benefits in the present and so life ceases to be life. We have the moment! I don't have my 150th birthday... there is no guarantee. I have this split second... and this one... and this one... why should I kill the joy of this moment in the hope of securing even one more?

I gotta run... life is waiting on me.

Just my 2c..

Season's Greetings

2011-12-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

Greets all.All the best of the season and a new year that sees a hundred-fold return on all that you did this year.blessing for blessing...etc.

When God says, "No." Part 2

2011-11-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

When God says, “No.” Part 2

So I never got around to dealing with the issue of God saying, “no” in my last entry.

Let me begin by saying better minds than mine have wrestled with this for centuries and I’m not even sure there is a satisfactory response.

It’s an emotional question. We only ever ask it when we don’t get something we really want. Actually, it’s worse than that – usually it’s not just something we want, it’s something we desperately need (or think we need).

If it’s something fickle or foolish our heart tells us right away we shouldn’t be asking for it… it’s petty, selfish or worse, self-centred. When these requests go unanswered we sigh and say, “Well, it’s all for the best” But what about when we think what we are asking for IS the best…?

I don’t know if I can articulate this well or not, but I don’t think God is up there like some sort of cosmic judge who decides on the basis of our bargaining or arguments whether or not to grant our requests.

We love to depict God in the extremes. Either He’s a stern-faced bully daring us to ask for what we need or He’s depicted as grandpa who showers us with (mostly useless) gifts.

He’s blessing and blessing or He’s looking to slap us down when we ask for things.

But what if God is neither the Grinch nor Santa Claus? What if God knows something that we do not?

What if God knows that “stuff” is the most useless aspect of the creation? I didn’t say “bad”… or “evil” only that it’s useless… it’s temporary. Look around you – everything you see is in decay.

Even you! …at least the parts of you that you can see.

If that’s true you can understand why an eternal being would be so desperate to wean those He loves off of what cannot last, in order to feed them what cannot be destroyed.

What if God is not concerned with stuff… but with people? Not with what you possess but your personhood …what you are becoming… not trinkets but transformation.

When we frame our questions within these parameters it becomes easier to see why blaming God for “No” responses or even “Yes” responses makes no sense. We think of life as a series of demands which need to be satisfied (I want.. I need…) What if life is more about journey… or put another way, what if life is not about stuff we accumulate but about actually living.

Consider the example of someone asking God for money to pay their bills.

“God, I need $1000!”

The thing is money is not life… it’s stuff. Maybe what you actually need is patience… or trust… Maybe rather than saying “Yes” or “no” God says, “Can I walk with you? Let’s see how this situation is going to play out? Let’s see how this is going to shape you… grow you… develop you.”

In other words, what if there is something greater than, deeper than, more powerful than $1000 at stake here?

Now I know that for some people their situation seems like hell… “I don’t need a walk! If I don’t get this money I’m out on the street!” or “I don’t need a friend… I need a miracle!” I also know that two people can face identical circumstances and one will walk away bitter and angry will the other seems so joyful… peaceful… together… you wonder if it’s even possible.

What if the life-shaping … that is the shape of your life is determined not by your circumstances but your reaction to your circumstances. And what if all of God’s responses are requests to be there with you as you react to your circumstances?

AUAUAURGH I have failed yet again to coherently articulate my 2c…

What are your thoughts?

When God says, "No."

2011-11-04T10:49:00.001-07:00

When God says, “No.”

Consider the assumptions balled up in that statement:

First, it assumes there is a God.
Second, it assumes that He can be contacted with a request.
Third, it assumes that He cares to answer.

There are, no doubt, a boat-load of other assumptions as well but let’s start with these three…

The existence of God.
I have no desire to belittle or denigrate those who choose to not believe in a God. I find that often discussions like these end up being about personalities… and one side trying to bully or browbeat the other. Insults are flung back and forth and in the end the sides are just two kids sitting in the playground yelling, “Yeah? Well you’re just a poopy-head!” at each other.

I choose to believe in God because the alternative is irrational to me. I was the kid who always wanted to know, “Why?” and “How?” If you tell me that 2010 came before 2011, I’m going to ask what came before 2010? … what was before Baroque? What was before Medieval? What was before 1 A.D.? You can take me back to some cosmic big bang if you like, I’m going to ask you what was before that? Something has to press “play”. I choose to believe the “something” was a Someone… so sue me.

I believe it’s G.K. Chesterton who talks about the existence of good and evil as evidence that there must be something beyond our physical world. He goes on to talk about the miraculous – nobody denies that there are anomalies in the natural order. Sometimes cancer patients survive, blind eyes do open, deaf ears can hear… doctors and scientists shake their heads and say, “There is still so much we do not understand.”

At least the qualified and honest ones do.

Call me an ancient mystic if you wish but I choose to believe that there is a Someone behind those anomalies. I am not opposed to pursuing understanding in science and medicine. I am not opposed to developing techniques and using cutting edge technology to better understand the world around us – I just choose to believe that in all my studying, learning, grasping for knowledge there will always be more beyond.. another “How?” or “Why?” and the God I choose to believe in does not run from my probing, my questions, my feeble attempts to understand the natural order. No! He welcomes it… He dares me to push harder… to learn more… dig deeper…

He, it would seem, is a better, truer scientist than I…

That’s a ridiculous over-simplification but if you want to discuss it more…

God can be contacted
So, maybe it’s just me… but I thought. If there is a God out there… a Somebody who pressed the play button, wouldn’t it be cool to get in touch?

Does that sound freakish to you? Consider the billions of dollars NASA has spent and continues to spend trying to contact extra-terrestrial life.

Any ways, as a kid I decided to try and contact Him…

You know what?

He answered.

I can’t explain it any more than I can explain the moment I suddenly figured out how to balance on a bike without falling over. It just happened. One minute I was trying hard not to fall and the next minute the wind was whistling in my ears as I tried to remember how to work the brakes.

He cares to answer…
I know it blows my mind too…

My 2c

God spoke to me...

2011-09-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm reading this script...

In one section it talks about "hearing God speak"

Anyone out there ever "heard God speak"? How do you know it's God speaking?

Through His Word -
Really? You "hear God" in stories of ancient blood-soaked battle? What exactly do you hear Him say when you read about entire communities being annihilated?

Listen in your spirit
Of course, by this you mean... listen to the ideas that pop into your head. If it's a good idea it must be God and if it's a bad one it must be ...the other guy...

The reality is I'm not sure I've ever heard my "spirit" say anything...

Through others
Uhm... if I'm listening to others, am I not just... well... listening to others? What makes YOUR ideas the voice of God?

I've heard "others" say and suggest some pretty stupid things you know...

Do what you know is right

That's great if the choice is between shoplifting something and paying for it. What if the choice is between Job "A" and Job "B"? What if rather than a choice between good and evil I'm trying to decide between "good" and "good"?

I'm sure there are more options. What do you think? This is just my 2c

In the words of a friend...

2011-08-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

I’ll confess that perhaps “friend” is stretching it. It’s not like we see each other regularly and like most guys I tend not to spend a lot of time maintaining the relationships outside of my immediate sphere (I know Mom… Sorry! I’ll call… honest!) The name is not important – I’ve asked permission to share what follows - I’ve done some obvious editing but I think the message still needs to heard…

<>
…I’ve done a lot of thinking about our chat – actually I haven’t thought of much else. I hear what you’re saying about church and all but that’s the ideal. Thing is, we don’t live in the ideal – we live in the real world. …and in the real world “church” doesn’t look like that. In the real world conversations in church are completely void of substance… “how’s your garden… how’s work… did I see you driving a new car? …I saw you downtown on Thursday…” People don’t want real conversations. People don’t want real relationships. People don’t want to encounter brokenness – especially in church. Somehow seeing broken people in church invalidates the whole Jesusistheanswer façade they are trying to keep propped up.

I want real! Real real! I know what you’re going to say… “You have to be what you want to see” or something clever like that (I don’t know where you come up with these sayings) but the truth is if I start “being” people start avoiding!

Imagine standing in a church foyer – the pastor, or deacon or whatever they call them in churches these days comes up with a great big grin! “How are you doing?” And you say, “Sh—ty! I’m addicted to ------- and I had a really bad week! Why can’t I get on top of this?”

One of two things is gonna happen – Fake smile and a promise of prayer or some cheesy trustgodanditllallbebetter b—sh--. Either way the conversation is going to end quick

By the way… I am addicted to -----.

Tell me that doesn’t change your view of me. There is no way you want me to be a Sunday school volunteer (do churches still have Sunday school?) and you certainly don’t want me as a youth leader… Nothing has changed – I’m still the same person struggling that I was before only now I’m trying to be accountable… trying to confess my sins to my fellow Christians… except now you know my addiction.

You know what’s funny – I could tell a bartender the same thing and at worse they’ll patiently listen and pour me another. I could walk up to a cop and say, “Officer I’m addicted to ------“ and he’s more likely to give me a number of some community self-help group with a name that ends in ‘anonymous’ than arrest me… but in a church?

<>

What struck me about this note is that I’m working on memorizing James and James tells us to confess our faults to one another. Unfortunately, there is a ring of truth to my friends comments – the church is not interested in the sins, addictions, failures, mistakes, brokenness of its members…

Just my 2c

I Don't Want to be Rich

2011-06-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

I don't want to be rich...

…don’t get me wrong I don’t want to lose the stuff I have and I certainly don’t want to be poor…

Here's my problem. Statistically, on the planet right now, I’m rich.

I have more clothes than I need (though not as much as I want).

I sleep in a bed every night… on a plush and comfy mattress bigger than my grandmother’s kitchen… seriously. And it’s in a house… in its own room no less!

Today I will eat… and eat… and eat… one ancient writer put it this way. “You eat as if every day is a feast day… a festival” He has no problem with feasts and festivals… but every day?

I write this surrounded by an insane amount of technology… expensive technology. The price of my computer keyboard alone could feed a third-world family for a week.

I drink purified water from one of my many stainless steel water bottles.

I’m educated… well OK I’ve spent twenty-plus years trying to get educated.

I wear glasses that were made specifically for me and went to the dentist the other day…

My dog has better medical care than a significant portion of the world’s population.

You get my point… I'm rich, though I'd rather describe it as "comfortable" that doesn't change the truth of it.
…and being rich comes with responsibilities. UGH!

A lot of people are like me – we’d prefer not to have the responsibility of rich-ness… without having to give up any of our loot.

The answer is simple.

Pretend you're poor...
Complain a lot (even though in my experience genuinely poor people are too busy trying to survive to spend much time complaining)
Look at someone who has more stuff than you and call them rich. Point out how they have so-o-o—o much stuff while people are starving. Gawk at their houses and complain about how they waste so-o-o-o much money on décor and cars and fashion.

   “I hear they have a maid!”
   “Really? Someone told me they get a new car every six months!”
   “I read an article once that said that people like that…”

One ancient writer claimed that at the final judgement we’ll all have to give an account of how well we cared for our suffering brothers and sisters… and that the evidence against us will be no more than the stuff we’ve accumulated.

…man am I in trouble…

my 2c
(which in itself is more than a lot of people can afford...)

The Seven Deadly Sins

2011-06-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a book on the seven deadly sins called "Glittering Vices" by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung.

_{The author begins her chapter on Sloth by talking about how she thought of all the vices this one was easiest for her to deal with... she thought...}

_{...then she started to study it.}

_{Sloth, she argues, is not physical laziness. Physical laziness may be a symptom... but being so can constant busy-ness. It is, she continues, a spiritual matter, not a physical one.}

_{If I understand her arguments correctly a slothful person is one who refuses to fulfill their "God work" [my phrase].}

_{Think of it this way - you are, where you are because God has placed you there for a specific purpose. For example, God may have positioned you in that miserable work environment working for that nasty boss in order to bring His light and grace to your fellow employees. He may have placed you across the hall from noisy tenants so that you can bring them some meals when the girlfriend gets diagnosed with a serious illness next week. That church that you are always complaining about? Maybe He has placed you there to make it a little more bearable for that new family that just immigrated to your country and your community.}

_{To spend your time complaining - rather than doing the loving, gracing, helping, service that God has placed and called you to accomplish in your specific life-circumstance is to be slothful. To long to be somewhere else... doing something else(often perceived as being easier, more enjoyable, more "me"), something other than the here-and-now work of God, is Sloth.}

_{I'm not sure I like that...}

_{...but it could be true.}

_2c

Social Media

2011-05-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

Seriously... what an oxymoron - social media...

Honestly, do all these media and technological tools bring us closer together?

Calm down, I'm no Luddite - I'm just asking the question.

I know proponents of social media talk about how it has the potential to bring us all together, strengthen community, increase health and bring world peace. Of course all this was said about nuclear energy too...

...just sayin'

Any way I was tempted to join YouTube today. I thought what a great way to make all my videos available to my myriad of friends who can't wait to see my cat chasing a ball of thread or a voice-over a wild goose as it chases the neighbourhood kids around the local park.

Think about it, rather than inviting my best friend over to fall asleep on my couch while watching a slide show of my holidays - they can fall asleep in the comfort of their own home watching it online.

Let's face it - humanity has a proven track record. Everything we do slides towards entertainment and trivia, self-centred competition and lust, self-serving greed. If you doubt me consider - we have the all the technology required to feed the world... We have the ability to grow the food, transport the food by land, sea or air and have more than enough funds to do it... and, here we are.

I've read estimates that suggest that every 2 seconds someone dies of starvation... on our planet.

...anyway I better finish signing up for YouTube...

...2c

How are you?

2011-05-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

How are you?

It’s been a while since we’ve chatted.

How are you?

Have you ever notice how glib we are with that question?

How are you?

Truth is, we probably use it more as an expression than a true question. When someone asks me I try to look in their eyes to see if they really want to know… usally they don’t.

“Fine…” That’s what I normally say… or something extreme like “awesome” or “fantastic” Given that it means nothing it really doesn’t matter what I say right?

Sometimes I don’t answer at all. I deflect. Since the question is not sincere to begin with usually the questioner doesn’t notice. We have a nice lite conversation about something entirely irrelevant and then we both get on with our “real” life.

I’ve decided to try and be sincere when I ask the question. I’ve decided to try to look each person in the face and follow up their response with a, “Really?” or “Liar!” especially when it’s clear that they are not telling me the truth.

I’ve tried other questions. “Are you feeling encouraged?” is one I’ve used a lot. Unfortunately, people tend to start talking about circumstances or about others when I ask it that way. So recently I started asking, “Are you healthy?”

So… are you healthy?

When I’m not healthy I find I become ingrown. I find myself acting selfishly, rather than selflessly. I find bitterness taking root as I wonder why nobody is paying attention to me.

“Why doesn’t anyone help me? Can’t they see I need help?”

I find myself being intentionally self-destructive. I’m not sure if it’s because I want attention or because of the self-loathing that seems to accompany disease.

When I am unhealthy I find myself pushing away the people I most need and moving towards those least helpful. I find myself avoiding the things I need to do to get healthy and wallowing in the things which keep me struggling. Like a person in the desert who chooses the mirage over the oasis – I refuse to eat though I am starving… while continuing to complain about my hunger.

When I am unhealthy I find myself not only susceptible to but actually drawn to laziness, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and pride (some of you will recognize this familiar list).

It’s not that I cannot work… I simply refuse to…

It’s not that I have unmet needs… I just want more stuff…

I become remarkably self-centred… I could care less about you and your needs. I go from wanting to help others, from looking for ways to help others to hoarding and fighting and… well… self-centredness.

I could go on but it’s too depressing

The remarkable thing is that the cure is simple. Get healthy!

My 2c…

P.S. - So… how are you doing?

TEOTWAWKI

2011-03-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, I got one of those emails…

You know the ones I mean –

DISASTER IMMINENT!! Forward this email to everyone you know, write a letter to your congresswoman, sign a petition and pray, pray pray…

This one made it through my fairly strict filtering system mainly because it came from someone I trust.

It was something along the lines of - There is an attack that strikes at the very core of all we believe to be true and holy. Forces are at work seeking to undermine our faith, misrepresent our God and turn the masses away from the Truth.

That’s not a quote but that was the heart of the message… Of course Hollywood was at the centre of this attack and to prove I was a true believer I was supposed to forward this email to everyone I knew, I was to petition, protest, pray, pray, pray and fire off emails in an attempt to put an end to this travesty.

Turns out it was hoax… one of those urban legend thingies that’s been floating around for decades (about 11 years for this specific one).

I got to thinking… something I like to do from time to time, and it occurred to me that many people who claim to be Christians are actually missing one of the key messages of their Messiah.

I replied to my friend with the following questions…

What’s the point? I mean, does God call us to defend His name or to declare His name? Seriously, does God need my help in preventing His name from being sullied. He’s God and I’m… well, I’m “bob”. And I’m going to defend Him? God’s being picked on by the school-yard bully and I’m (being comparatively the size of a gnat) going to protect Him?

Can I suggest that if a god requires my help to defend itself it’s not worth worshipping. You might remember a guy named Gideon in Judges chapter 6 (in the Bible) I’d suggest reading the whole story if you are unfamiliar with it (as an aside I think it would make an awesome movie) but focus in on the 31^st verse of chapter 6. Gideon has launched a direct attack against a local deity. When a mob of the faithful come to exact revenge Gideon’s father Joash shouts, “You idiots! You’re making Baal (the local god) look like powerless chunk of stone! The first person who stands up to defend Baal is going to lose their head… if Baal is actually a god let him defend himself!”

Maybe there is some wisdom in that… something for us to learn. Maybe we rise so quickly to defend our god because the god we worship is in fact powerless...?

I wonder if as Christians we spend far too much time yelling, "You should know better!" at people who can’t know any different, much less better.

It seems to me that when Jesus was accused of being a demon-possessed Samaritan (easily one of the worst possible insults that could be levelled against someone in Jesus’ position in His day) nobody petitioned or protested… Jesus basically said, “Look at the evidence! Look at the things that I am teaching, doing, accomplishing.”

I wonder if the reason we feel the need to protest, petition and put up a general stink in the media is because we have no works to show…

But what do I know… that’s just my 2c…

Wait a minute...

2011-03-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

OK, so perhaps my previous post was a little cheeky…

Might I propose something a little more reasoned… a little more…

I am convinced that it is important, healthy, necessary, critical and Biblical for every believer to live as a part of a community of believers that gathers together on a regular basis to:

• do the “one another” stuff spoken of so much in the epistles (do a “one another” word search to see what I mean) - Stuff like challenging, exhorting, building, loving, crying with, teaching, being taught, living grace, etc. These things cannot happen apart from bumping shoulders with others.

• wrestle with what God is saying to them, how to interpret it and how it needs to be applied to their living. I don’t mean this as the intensely personal, subjective exercise that takes place in our “prayer closet” I mean the community needs to hear God speak to them as community.

• to faithfully respond to God’s work in their “living together”… what God is doing in their lives individually, their families, and their community. To respond to God’s character, promises and works past, present and future.

• to remind each other of God’s work of salvation in Christ Jesus and God’s works past and present…

…I’m beginning to believe that ritual is an important part of this community-living and I increasingly convinced that done right this regular gathering is what the scriptures describe as “Sabbath”

Both loaded statements in the circles that shaped me I know what are blogs for if not to be a little controversial from time to time.

The reality is that there are many “churches” that fail to accomplish this… some fail in most of this… most fail in all of this to some degree.

While I personally remain committed to the Body of Christ (big “C” Church) – I struggle with the organized gathering commonly referred to as church (notice the small “c”). Unfortunately, many believers continue to equate the “church” with the “Church”

The church is a culturally rooted, human attempt to create a structure, an organization… a methodology to consistently produce the work (ministry?) of the Body of Christ (big “C” Church).

That is, we say, “This is what the Church is supposed to be accomplishing! Here is a method, program, organization which will consistently produce these results.”

The problem is every human-made structure has a limited life expectancy. Everything that we create… eventually de-creates… dies, crumbles, stops being effective.

The Church (Body of Christ) is God’s plan… the visible representation of Christ in our communities, schools, workplaces… God has left no Plan B for the Church.

I am committed to Body of Christ, it’s work and… I was going to say “effectiveness” but the beauty of the Body of Christ (Church) is that it’s effectiveness does not depend or rely on me! Which is a great relief because lately I’ve been feeling guilty.

See, I told a couple of friends quite recently that if I had the time, energy and resources I would probably look at investing in… or developing the kind of community that I believe the Church is called to be. Going so far as to say that every believer has the responsibility to invest in the development of, the strengthening of, the health of Body-of-Christ Community… I am responsible to find a healthy church…

Wrong… I am responsible to BE Church… as are you. And if enough of us “BE” we end up (by the power of the Spirit who indwells each of us) finding ourselves participating in communities which do Body of Christ works:

• Hearing God…

• Responding to God

• Building, exhorting, challenging, serving, etc. one another

• Remembering God’s promises, character and works past present and future…

That we would probably find ourselves doing them in some sort of life-rhythm which some might describe as ritual and we would find that in this community of “BE”-ers that we are refreshed, celebrated, rejuvenated… Sabbathed…

This is all just my 2c…

I’d love to hear yours.

Church... and worship...

2011-02-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

I received a link to an article that was lamenting how what we do on a Sunday morning has no basis in scripture. In fact, it cannot rightly be defined as worship...

Here were some of my quick thoughts..

I agree with the sentiments expressed… but (you knew there had to be one right?) that doesn’t make ‘church’ a bad thing. True – very little of what we do when we gather for “church” can be described as worship (at least not by any biblical definition) but that’s not the problem. There is nothing in scripture that forbids believers from getting together, singing some songs, listening to someone pontificate, putting money in a money-box or money plate, listening to announcements or performed music or watching drama and media clips while sitting in theatre style seating. The problem is not with what we do when we gather… the problem is in claiming it is accomplishing something that it cannot. The problem is in our poor use of words and our poor understanding of theology. Our problem (as Jesus put it) is that we know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

What does it mean to worship?
What does it mean to be the Body of Christ?

Neither of these questions can be answered by what we currently call “church” …that doesn’t make what we currently call “church” wrong... sinful or even something to avoid...

Servant Leadership

2011-02-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

It’s a lie you know… “servant leadership”.

OK maybe “lie” is too strong a word. How about “deceptive”?

Religious folk spend a lot of time talking about “servant leadership” as something to aspire to.

“Look at Jesus,” they say, “He was the perfect “servant leader” …bald-faced lie.

Jesus was a servant - period!

But we are repulsed by the idea of servanthood. Rightly understood it is disgusting to us. Humiliating, degrading, beneath us (I could go on). So, our solution is to tag the word “leadership” to the end of it to make it more palatable.

I’m not interested in being your slave… but your “slave-leader”? OK, I can do that.

Leadership is something we want… not something to which Christ calls His followers.

Consider Matthew 20:25-28

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is a favourite passage among those who talk about “servant-leadership”. “Jesus is teaching His disciples that they must be servant leaders” we are taught. “Jesus is defining the type of leadership that must characterize Christian service”

Only that’s not what it says. I confess I may be missing some words in my translation – it’s so hard to tell these days but it seems to me that Jesus is NOT saying, “If you must be a leader be a servant-leader” what Jesus says is “The goal is NOT to become a leader, the goal is to become a servant!”
Jesus is not using “servant” as an adjective, He’s not describing leadership He’s rejecting it in favour of service. Am I the only one who sees the contrast here…(Notice how I highlighted the "instead" in the passage quoted above (NIV)?)

Gentiles rulers love leadership, they love the power and control that it gives them…
My followers pursue service… they don’t position themselves below in order to lead, they position themselves below because that is the position of a slave (check your translation of the Bible to see if they actually use the word “slave”).

Then the kicker. Jesus (to make sure we don’t miss it) adds, “I myself did not come to be served (to be a leader) but to be a slave… to the point of laying down my life.

I love the language of “laying down” here (OK to be honest I don’t like it all that much I hate the idea of being a slave). We react against the servant model that Jesus presents and calls us to because we do not want to be walked all over. We don’t want people to treat us like a carpet. We have rights… and we do not want to give them up (lay them down)…

How many times does Jesus refer to Himself as a leader?
How many times does Jesus try to take over the local synagogue or campaign to be made the High Priest?
How many times does Jesus try to claim for himself the throne of David as descendant and rightful heir?

In fact, when the crowds seek to make Him their King (John 6:15) Jesus takes off. It seems to me that would have been the perfect opportunity to be a “servant-leader”

…if that had been the goal.

But what do I know… it’s just my 2c

Groundhog Day meets Luke 4:1-13

2011-01-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

So I’ve had this idea for a Hollywood movie that’s been kickin’ around in my head for a number of years. It was inspired by movies like “1201” and “Groundhog Day”.

Believe it or not I heard about Groundhog Day in a church service… seriously, this guy was up there talking to us about God-stuff and then ka-pow right in the middle of his talk he drops in this clip from Groundhog Day. I’m sittin there in this hard pew when BLAM! a commercial.

It was like a little Hollywood whilst sitting on holy-wood

(sorry, I couldn’t resist)

Anyways, I had never seen the movie but the clip he showed tweeked my interest and soon after I went looking for a copy of the movie. When I watched it I was kind of shocked that a church would be promoting that kind of content…. but I figure they’re probably getting so desperate for people to fill those pews these days partnering with Hollywood probably seems attractive…

Anyways… the whole incident inspired some creativity (maybe that was the point) and I had this idea for a movie.

In my movie it’s Saturday and a Reverend is prepping for Sunday – doing whatever pastors do to get ready for Sunday (perhaps downloading his message from www.sermonswap.com... OK, OK I’ll try to be serious)

Let’s start again…

In my movie it’s Saturday a good, noble, faithful pastor gets up early to go to his study. Once there he goes over his sermon in preparation for Sunday morning when “poof” suddenly the devil appears before him. The devil tries to tempt him with some small sin… Something like using some of the church’s petty cash to buy lunch or something similiar. The good pastor resists the temptation and we follow him through his pious but otherwise insignificant day. He goes to bed and wakes up thinking it’s Sunday but it’s not… it’s the same Saturday he’s just lived…

He goes to his study…

Devil appears and tempts him…

We don’t know how long this goes on, perhaps years… but eventually the devil clues him in to what is going on. He (the pastor) is stuck in a loop of eternal Saturdays.

There is a subtle shift in the devil’s temptation…

“Go ahead… give in… it’s not going to make a difference you are going to wake-up at the start of this same day tomorrow. All of your “sins” will have been erased and no one will ever know. You can use the church’s money for lunch and it will be back in place when you wake up. Heck, you can empty the church’s bank account and fly to Las Vegas for the day and all will be back to normal when you wake up tomorrow. Not “forgiven” not “forgotten” it will never have happened.”

The perfect sin…

Great name for the movie now that I think of it… The Perfect Sin

So this goes on and on and on… perhaps for years… remember he’s a good and faithful pastor. He never ages, nothing changes… every day… every single day is the same blinking Saturday… the same sermon prep… the same blasted devil with a new temptation.

Like Groundhog Day the movie, the pastor is first fascinated and intrigued. He explores the possibilities of a re-day with a degree of childish joy. Still remaining true to his principles. He looks for opportunities to do good, he eases suffering, helps the needy, gives generously just to see the joy and relief on people’s faces. He empties his own bank account and gives to the homeless and charities.. it’s safe because he knows that come “tomorrow” the money will be back in his account the charges will be erased from his credit card and he will have opportunity to do it all over again.

The devil has moved on from the smaller temptations and is now tempting him with some biggies… seriously, who is going to know you don’t even have to ask for forgiveness or repent you are going to wake up tomorrow before the sin even takes place. If you don’t like it today you don’t have to do it tomorrow…

A hundred Saturdays pass… two hundred… a thousand and then without even thinking about it the pastor finds himself sitting at a little Bistro having lunch…

…with the church’s money.

He is wracked with guilt (I told you he is an honest pastor)… but he wakes up the next day and the money is back in place…

In my movie the pastor eventually begins to explore sin… I mean come on, it’s been three thousand Saturdays… the same Saturday. He has done all the good that he can possibly do in a single 24 hour time-frame. It will all be erased in 24 hours… I mean, didn’t the church money reappear each time he had lunch… each time he gave it to the poor… so he begins to explore…

Fast-forward another thousand Saturdays… twenty-thousand if that makes you feel better and our pastor is now steeped in sin… he’s found his Ground-hog Day groove and the devil his feeding him new ideas every morning. Every funky, filthy fetish you can imagine and Pastor Faithful is in the thick of it…

What do you think?

Is it possible to resist temptation when there is no consequence? (see my previous blog entry)

Is the only reason you don’t give in to your secret fantasies the reality of facing the consequences tomorrow?

…be honest now – it’s just you and the screen…

So the movie ends when the Pastor stumbles towards his bedroom late one Saturday night. His sermon for “tomorrow” has sat untouched through thousands of cycles.

He stumbles past his open study door and sees it lying there on his desk.

He catches his reflection in a hallway mirror and is stunned by what he has become…

…repulsed… disgusted… ashamed…

He falls on his bed weeping…

He doesn’t even bother to undress anymore he knows he will wake up in bed in his PJs on Saturday morning like he has countless times before…

He cries himself to sleep…

He awakens…

…It’s Sunday morning.

New Year’s Resolutions and Temptation

2011-01-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

So I have this theory about temptation which I think applies nicely to New Year’s Resolutions.

Is it possible to resist a temptation indefinitely or is it inevitable that once temptation has her teeth in me that my submission is a given? It seems to me that temptation has all the time in the world. The smoker or alcoholic or the person struggling with weight problems says, “I want to overcome this thing in my life” and temptation slips into a nearby shadow and waits… and waits… and waits… She does not need to attack the moment you voice your resolution. She is no fool, at that moment your resolve is strong…

She has all the time in the world…

Eventually your resolve weakens… or your commitment is forgotten… you grow weary or tired and then BAM temptation pounces.

I consider myself a pseudo-alcoholic… It’s my article I can make up whatever categories I wish.

What I mean is even though I have never had a beer, no vodka, no rum… no alcoholic beverages at all except a sip or two of wine I find myself with random, inexplicable cravings for alcohol. Over the years I’ve discovered that these alcoholic cravings come when I am stressed, tense or extremely fatigued.

…temptation in the shadows…

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve probably consumed a cumulative total of a single glass of wine in my entire life – but the craving is still there.

Is it inevitable that I will one day “fall of the wagon”?

I am not saying this to mock those who have taken the alcohol ride to hell and back, nor to make light of those who struggle with alcohol addictions of a more violent or serious nature in their own lives or the lives of those they love – and while this may seem petty it is for me a serious concern.

My question is – is it possible for me to overcome this temptation? Or is it just a matter of time?

Does that seem fatalistic? Should we all just throw up our hands and give in to our personal demons (and yes we all have them – anger, jealousy, alcohol, lust, fear…).

Is temptation all-powerful?

It’s that last question that gave me pause.

Is temptation all-powerful?

Patient but inevitable?

Because I don’t like that idea I’ve wrestled with this (for some years I’ll confess).

It occurred to me that there is a solution... a kryptonite for temptation. If temptation loves to sit in the shadow waiting… if temptation has “all the time in the world” the solution has to be a time solution.

Temptation waits for some future moment… thing is, I don’t live in the future. I live in a split second moment called “the present”. It is quite true that at some point in the future I may become a raving alcoholic… I cannot control that… what I can control is this exact moment which I am presently living.

…and in this moment I will not submit. In this moment I will resist the Siren's call

The problem with resolutions is that they put my battle (with weight, alcohol, cigarettes, greed, lust, anger…etc) into the future… into a space that I cannot control and do not occupy. I might as well talk about getting my crops in on the moon. When I bring that fight into this moment… the moment I am currently living… into the Light so to speak temptation steps deeper into the shadows and waits. Fine, let her wait, this moment is mine… and in this moment I can fight… and I can win.

Don’t make resolutions for the year… make them for the moment.

Instead of saying, “I will give up smoking this year” say, “I’m not going to smoke right now… in this moment.”

This is the AA method right? OK, I’m still an alcoholic, but right now at this moment, I’m not going to drink.

Temptation may be stronger than me tomorrow, or next year… or ten years from now… but this moment… this moment in time is mine…

…I own this moment

…I’m Superman in this moment

In this moment (in the words of MC Hammer) you can’t touch this!

…my 2c

Christmas... the Grand Pretence

2010-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

Can I make a request?

Can we stop pretending that Christmas has anything to do with a Baby born in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago... It doesn't.

It's about all about money in North America...
In some places it's about getting together with those you love...
In some places it's about getting together with those you can't stand but have some biological connection to...
For some it's about the food..
For others it's about time away from the office
For some it's a time when the kids come home... and you get to see the grandkids...
The Americans have their holiday...
The Jewish Community has Hannukah
The Blacks created Kwanzaa
The Chinese, British, Spanish, Russians... all have their own way of celebrating whatever it is they celebrate.
...I could go on... but my point is that this has nothing to do with the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes (whatever that means)..

I'm not saying I have a problem with that - I'm just asking why we can't just be honest and upfront about it.

Take me for example - I hate surprises... unless it's a gift.

For me Christmas is about getting loot... lots of it!

I love getting gifts. It doesn't have to be expensive (though that's nice).. I discovered recently that it doesn't even need to be something useful... it just has to be something that someone purchased or made for me because when they saw it they thought of me...

...I guess you could say it's the thought that counts.

What I don't get is why we have to associate the season... the tree... the treats with this Jesus baby? It's like we feel bad giving gifts to each other without an excuse. If you think I would like that sweater, why not just get me the sweater? Why do you have to wait until December 25th? If you think I would like a puppy, or a toaster, or an iPad (see how smoothly I slipped that in there?) why not just get it for me ... November, July, August even... why do we have to wait for December? And why do we have to create some religious association or excuse...

I sometimes wonder if those who are so adamant about "keeping Christ in Christmas" are equally adamant about keeping Christ in Ascension... or Pentecost... or any of the other key dates on the sacred calendar scattered through out the year.

What makes Christmas so special?

my 2c

1 Kings 19:9,13

2010-11-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

...and the LORD said to Elijah, "What are you doing here. Elijah?"

Good question eh?

What are YOU doing?

Elijah is eager to tell God how he was doing everything right ...but everyone was after him.
I'm so faithful but "they" are not...
I'm standing up for You God and defending Your honour and name while "they" are running around killing all the good folk (folk like me)
I'm all alone... it's me against "them"...

I'm surprised God doesn't just take Elijah's head off... or at least raise His voice, cause thunder to shake the earth and lightening to strike a nearby tree.

Remember, this Elijah guy has just called down fire from heaven in the name of his God. He's prayed the end of a three year drought. (If I had seen and done stuff like that I wouldn't ask for another sign for the rest of my life... calling down fire from heaven WOWS). Elijah should be strutting down the street. His confidence should be brimming. "Look at me people! I just went head to head with 400 false prophets and came out on top! Don't mess with me! Do you know that three year drought we've been having? I prayed the rain down! ME!"

Instead... What are you doing Elijah?

I'm on the run.... I don't know what's next.. I thought it was going to turn out differently. I thought that people would see Your power through me and would hoist me up on their shoulders chanting "YAHWEH! YAHWEH! YAHWEH!" with a few "EL-I-JAH! EL-I-JAH!" thrown in... instead I'm on the run... nothing seems to have changed.

What's your answer? What are YOU doing...?

I don't know what's next... I thought it was going to turn out differently.

I thought that my marriage would be different... that my spouse would love and adore me - understand my soul,
I thought my kids would grow to respect me... ask for my wisdom before every life choice and always take my advice
I thought my job would be completely fulfilling, rewarding and that people would shower me with awards for my innovation and creativity
I thought I'd be richer... happier... prettier... more respected... better...

I thought it would be different...

So what do you do? Do what Elijah should have done...
Remind yourself of where you've come from...
Remind yourself of what you've been through...
Remind yourself of who walks with you...
You are never alone...

My 2c

Manipulation...

2010-10-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

So the other day I had a conversation with a friend about manipulation and leadership. I'd had the conversation several times before so I was pretty confident (perhaps arrogant) in my reply.

The conversations generally go like this (I won't tell you which voice is mine... but you can probably figure it out)

VOICE 1:I hate it when religious leaders try to manipulate people. They have this "preacher voice" or certain words (or certain music) which they know will stir the emotions in people and get them to behave or react in a certain way... UGH!

VOICE 2:Isn't that what leadership is though? ~~Manipulating~~... encouraging people to do something that they did not want to do before? When a shepherd (using a biblical example) calls to his sheep to move them to another pasture, isn't that manipulation? The sheep won't just get up and wander to better pasture on their own... without a leader to encourage them to change... guide them to better they will stay put until all the grass is eaten to the roots and dies... then they die. Manipulating them to move before the grass is dead is important.

We don't like the idea of being manipulated but perhaps that's a result of our North American individualism and arrogance. In cultures where community is more important than the individual families, businesses, mothers, fathers, youth... individuals are manipulated into (or out of) certain behaviours all the time but the broader community.

I'm not sure how many people out there are reading this but what are your thoughts... is leadership manipulation? Is it OK for the evangelist or the preacher... or the prophet for that matter to manipulate? Could it be that we have a negative view of something that is not negative at all.. Could it be that our reaction to manipulation is due to the fact that too often the manipulator is seeking to fleece us rather than to help us or is it due to our ingrained belief that I am my own person and don't need or want your input...

...let the conversation continue...

Failure....

2010-09-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have found that often when I ask people what they want to do with the next five years of their life, they shrug, laugh nervously and mumble something that often sounds like, "I don't know..."

Often (not always) when I change the question and ask...

If you could do anything...
...and you knew it would not fail...
...What would you do?

The response is different. Even if the person does not have a ready answer, often there is a smile of relief, a tilted head and the dreaming begins...

We find it easy to dream when the possibility of failure disappears.

What's tragic about this is the fact that we cannot grow without failure... we cannot learn without failure...

I think I've only ever failed one test/exam in my entire life... (I know, I know... get over it...)

The thing is a test/exam is not life!

What I mean is this. Before I ever sat to write the test or exam I spent hours learning how to get the right answer. Hours erasing and trying again. Hours squinting my eyes and trying to remember elusive facts, dates, formulaes and the like... In other words... for every right exam question I logged hours of failures.

If you could do anything and you knew you would not fail... whatever it is would be the failure.

Success cannot exist apart from the possibility of failure. In other words, if the thing cannot fail... it cannot succeed either. If the only time an athlete competes is when success is guaranteed they aren't competing. If the only time a business trys a new product is when its success is guaranteed it's not a new product...

Success and failure are the two inseperable sides of the same coin...

Want some advice? If you do anything and it "fails" (whatever that means) get up and go at it again until you figure out how to get that coin to land success-side up!

just my 2c

So you think you can dance....

2010-08-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or did we suddenly see a plethora (I had to work that word in ) of audition-style "reality" shows in recent years...

America's Got Talent - contrary to the title more people think they have talent than really do...
So you think you can dance...
Last Comic Standing...
American Idol, Canadian Idol, German Idol, Bulgarian Idol... you get the picture...

If you're like me you find the early days of the "competition" much more entertaining than when it get's into the final stages. So that's when I watch - when people are coming out of the woodwork to sing, dance, act, play their heart out for the judges (one of which is invariably a real meanie)

I hate when judges play to the camera, when they are mean or when they play on the emotions of the contestants, telling them that they are amazing only after making them think they did not make the cut. Saying "Just kidding!" after attempting some clever play on words (and usually failing miserably). Really what's the point of saying, "You're terrib....ell... lee.. good!" UGH!

Other than that... I kind of enjoy these shows.

Maybe it's because I've spent so many years being auditioned and (even better) auditioning. In fact, in a week or two I'll be in the thick of auditioning once again - it's emotionally draining but also a load of fun. I know it's tough on the person auditioning and it's funny how some people handle the pressure. Some indivudals come with attitude. They are good and they know it... and if you can't figure it out you do not deserve their incredible gifts and talents on your team. Some come with this incredible sense of humility. They are gifted, they know it but they don't feel the need to rub your face in it. They don't pick the hardest peice they can find... they pick a piece that they love... and both their love and their skill shine through.

Others come insecure.. they listen through the door and hear "how good everyone else is" (though they have only heard one person) and start talking non-stop about how inadequate they are...

I've done auditions where the artist provided their own running critique of their performance (yeah... you know who you are) as if I couldn't tell whether that note was a mistake or should be informed that yesterday they played/or sang it "perfectly... I don't know what happened!"

OK so here's some advise for auditions... (feel free to pass it on to your friends and family)
1. Be yourself... in general who you are is as important as your artistic ability....

2. Perform your "passion" not your "ability" in other words don't pick your audition piece to show off your talent, pick a piece you love performing.

3. Don't lie... don't try to make yourself something you are not - if you've never played in public before don't pretend that you've performed before thousands.

4. Don't try to show off, or name-drop... your most amazing experience is often amazing to you only because of the journey you have been on. I really don't care if your band played a gig for 12 000 screaming fans... you're in my house now, trying to get on my team. All of your past experiences have brought you here... Put another way, your experience in front of 12 000 fans was only a stepping stone to bring you to this audition. Thank about that for a while...

5. RELAX... the worst thing that can happen is that you don't make the team and go on to better things. Maybe you improve and come back to try out again... maybe you go on to start your own, better team. Chill it's not the end of the world... or even the end of your ability... it's just another chapter in your story...

...just my 2c

Welcome Black...

2010-08-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

OK... so I thought it was funny...

Anyhoo, after many months (or at least so it seems) of friends telling me "You've GOT to see "The Book of Eli" I can finally say I saw it...

So... what was it about?

Religion (any religion) is neither good nor bad. It's bad people that make religion bad and good people who make it good. Kind of like, "guns don't kill people people kill people"

...or...

In a world robbed of religion evil still exists... murder abounds, rape, theft, violence and hatred.

...or...

In the end we're going to destroy our planet and blow ourselves up...

...or...

There is a point where Eli is asked, "What was it like before the war" his reply, "People threw out stuff that we're killing each other for now..."

...or...

We don't need to believe in a god to be cruel to each other

...or... and I like this one, is it about

A man so focused on his mission that he forgets that his mission is to live the mission and not to "complete the mission"

It works on so many levels...

just my 2c...

New and Improved

2010-06-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ever notice how things that are "new and improved" almost never are...?

Seriously, when was the last time you tried that new soap, new cookie, new pan-cake mix and went, "Whoa! this really is new... AND it's better than ever!" I don't mean trying a different product I mean the same product with the "new and improved" label.

Maybe it's just me, but I've found that if it's something you put in your mouth (food) it either tastes exactly the same... or worse... if it's a piece of technology it only lasts half as long, does half the work and no longer carries the best features of the original product.

Maybe I'm just getting old and can't stomach change like you young-uns... maybe cars are better, food yummier, clothes more durable, brights brighter and whites whiter than they have ever been.

Do you know what I do when I see "NEW and IMPROVED"? I try the competition. That's right... I figure if the company that makes my preferred brand cannot be loyal to me.. why should I continue to buy their product?

New and improved... means increased profit margins... cheaper materials, cheaper labour... raised prices. It means, "We moved our planet killing plant to a poor third-world country where we can pay the workers $1 a day and dump our trash out the back door in their drinking water... and unfortunately their conditions do not allow us to make the same product. The colour is different, the taste is different, the raw materials are not quite as safe but you're too stupid to notice... too addicted to stop purchasing it... to weak to try the competition...

seriously ...no body expects you to like our changes... we just expect you to keep buying it..."

my 2c

Are you a twit?

2010-06-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

There was a time when that was funny...

You know what I'm referring to right? The ever-present twitter phenomena.

I have a confession to make, I actually visited twitter.com today for the first time.

Honest! Today I made up my mind to go see what all the hype was about...

I still don't get it...

... or myspace...

...or facebook...

Remember when we used to talk to our friends? Sit down and have a real conversation...

Some of you weren't even born yet! But trust me, there was a time when talk about hairstyles, and shoes and the latest movie was just the peripheral stuff of relationships.

When "I'm brushing my teeth" did not count as conversation and "I dyed my eyebrows yellow" did not count as keeping in touch.

We've exchanged information for relationship...

Somewhere along the line knowing the names of your kids, your favourite foods, what kind of car you drive, your holiday plans and how many years you've worked at your current place of employment became "knowing you"

I'll say this... it makes relationship maintenance much easier... I don't have to share your pain or joy (even joy can be messy at times) I just have to tap into your information stream.

Even when we do have a face-to-face it's still all about information gathering.

This is going to sound shocking... knowing that I'm in the hospital isn't love!
Knowing how I got there, tut-tutting and talking about me over a cup of coffee with someone who hadn't heard yet is not care!

Sitting in the florescent awkwardness beside a sterile hospital bed, leaning back to read as you listen to the monotonous hum of the machines keeping me alive... that's relationship.

but that takes too much time...
...too much time to develop that kind of relationship
...too much time to maintain it...

...time we don't have...

We're twits afterall...

my 2c...

Then God...

2010-05-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

OK so it's right in the title... if you have an issue with God you can stop reading right now find something less intellectually stimulating... like advanced physics...

So, I'm reading the Christmas story... I know, I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet! Sheesh! I'm like that, It's a good book and I find myself reading it all the time.

Anyway, I'm reading the Christmas story and it occurs to me that one of the things that God must be trying to teach us through that story is that whenever He moves, the cosmos shakes. That He cannot do anything without it causing some sort of seismic shift in the material world.

So, if we want to know what God is about to do, the signs are all around us... we just need to be able to see and read them. Why couldn't Herod and Jerusalem see the star that the Magi were following in Matthew's Gospel chapter 2? Why did Herod send the magi on ahead and wait for them to return with news of where the baby lay?

How could the night sky light up with angels and thunder with the sound of their singing and nobody else in Bethlehem notices? Shepherds...

Think about it. What if I'm right? What if the signs of what God is about to do are all around us... but like Herod we just can't see them...

...just my 2c...

I wish I were funny...

2010-04-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I were funny...

You know... able to make people laugh whether they wanted to or not... especially "or not"

I've said it before, I'm a big fan of laughter - I only wish I could inspire it. I wouldn't need to be able to make a living at it like a stand-up comic (true comedians are about as rare as a two-headed calf) I just want to be able to tell the stories of life in a way that make my neighbour laugh... my kids... my spouse...

You know... my peeps.

I've watched a lot of "comics" in my day... lots of "comedies"... read lots of "funnies" and I've gotta say most of them are not truly funny at all. I'd call them, crass, crude, belittling, vulgar, stupid ...unfortunately, rarely funny. Rather than watch a movie, I prefer to watch a friend gut-laugh as I tell them a story... a child laugh so long and so hard that you know it's gotta hurt their face but they can't stop. I myself love being seized so powerfully by the laughter-drug that I'm crying with joy even though the surprise of the humour has passed me by...

It's a gift... being funny.

If you've got it, you're a gift... go give it away!!

...my 2c

Dying... and Living

2010-04-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking a lot about dying lately...

my last surviving grandparent just passed away.

She was 101... yeah I know...

So then I got to wondering... what does it take for me to take time to go visit friends and family?

You know how I got to that question right. Their comes a point when every family becomes a "funeral" family. Maybe I shouldn't say "every family" there are some small families who all continue to live in the same village or city in which they first discovered each other and they get together on a regular basis (usually at Mom & Dad's place ... or at the grandparents). They have a meal together or go to a concert or whatever... but for the most part families slowly drift apart... physically at least.

An effort is made to keep everyone uptodate on the growing kids, the academic and athletic achievements to remember to call or send an ecard on Birthdays... or a text message... maybe the odd holiday gathering every couple of years... usually with several people missing

You know what I'm talking about right?

Then one day you realize you've become a Funeral Family... you realize that the only thing that is going to get everyone together... ever

...will be a funeral.

I'm not one to easily make friends... I mean close friends... friends that are close enough to be family...
I'm too committed. If I call you "family" you're stuck with me for life...

I've got family all over... literally... I just never see them...

I need to do something about that...

...maybe you do to?

Just my 2c

Renovations...

2010-03-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Confession time again…

I love detective/cop/mystery shows… though I must confess the formulaic tripe that get’s churned out and aired these days is enough to make a body guelph.

We’ve all seen the scene where Bob and his wife Sara-Mae are arguing about the renovations they are in the midst of. She’s wearing a tattered, once-colourful scarf wrapped around her dirty blond hair and telling him that on second thought maybe they shouldn’t take out that wall after all. He has curly brown hair a small paunch and is holding the handle of the sledge hammer he has just put through the wall they had agreed to remove.
“You couldn’t have said that sooner?” He asks
“ I dunno, I just thought that… I dunno…”
He yanks the hammer out of the wall and turns to face her. His face is covered with dust but you can still clearly tell by his expression he’s about to blow his top. He already has the big breath needed to support the diatribe he’s about to unleash but her expression stops him cold.

He slowly turns to see what we have already noticed over his shoulder... the limp decomposing arm of some poor dead soul has fallen through the hole in the wall.

...cue some edgy, hip music as the show begins...

We’ve all been there right…

OK maybe you didn’t have an arm fall out of the wall but you know what I mean. You start work on a simple renovation but when the wall comes down there is black mold behind it and the $5000 renovation becomes $20 000. You decide to take the tile out of the bathroom (or kitchen) but when you have it down you discover that the tile was covering a massive hole in the wall.

The morale of the story is, never start a renovation without having at least three times the money you think you are going to need sitting in the bank.

Is there a point to all of this (That's why you read blogs right?) What's the lesson?
Well let me suggest some possibilities…
1. We all have secrets… holes hidden behind the tile…
2. We all look good with our holes covered
3. Some of us have better tile than others…
4. Some like DIY renovations while others always hire a pro…
5. Some pros are shysters
6. When you decide to “renovate” make sure you have enough “money” in the bank for the unexpected.

I found myself wondering the other day… Is there ever a renovation that should be left alone? Left for subsequent owners perhaps… or left to crumble with the house in 100 years…?

Just wondering…

Hey… may all your walls be free of bodies…

My 2c

B. T. BOW Day

2010-03-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

You're probably wondering who the heck was B.T. Bow and why do they have their own day?

I'm glad you asked. Let's start with a little background.

I hate winter!

No... no, "hate" is not too strong a word to use... In fact when it comes to winter, from my perspective other words come to mind like despise... detest... uhm... abhor... loathe... spit at... guelph (it just sounds nasty enough to apply)...

You get the point...

Winter gnaws at my liver, it rakes my flesh and drains my very soul.

I find myself growing lethargic and depressed... and one year I played along the edges of insanity.

So I created a holiday. A day when the back of winter is broken and hope springs anew. A day when the sun is up before I leave for work and sets after and not before supper. A day when the temperatures are no longer allowed to dip below -20 degrees Celsius and all my scars from -30 and -40 and windchills of -50 degrees Celsius are healed...

That day, my friends is today!

Happy Break-the-Back-Of-Winter Day!

the Office

2010-02-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

No... this has nothing to do with the show... which I cannot stand (shoot now I've lost my one reader!) I actually tried to watch a whole episode... I couldn't... wouldn't...

Anyhoo this is about my offices...

I was very proud of my first. I remember getting in before my first official day of work and getting everything ready. I had a big bookshelf graciously provided by new friends which I tried my best to fill up... with old text books and used books that I had picked up from friends or musty book stores.

I had a little stereo for music (it played cassettes) a couple of pictures for the wall and I remember standing there looking around and breathing deep thinking "Mine.... My office!"

It was very small but I didn't care... it had four doors, two stairwells, no windows and no computer but I didn't know any better... I loved it. The sweet thing about those doors is that one of them led into a dungeon... OK a basement... a profoundly dark basement... a great place to escape when you didn't want to be found.

One of the others led into a gym... I know! Too cool! My basketball skills improved greatly!

My second office had a large southern facing window which provided very little protection from the elements.

The elements were cold...

I hate the cold...

I missed being able to sneak out and play basketball but I got something almost as good! A computer! If I recall it was a second-hand desktop running Windows 3.1... I hooked it up to my Roland Raven PR2416 dot-matrix printer (I can't believe I remembered that...) and doubled my productivity!

My favourite office was number five... It was large with massive windows and a set of book-cases that were gorgeous. It had one door which led to a bunch of people I really liked and the windows were sealed properly so that I saw the elements but didn't have to feel them.

I think this was the office where I began intentionally to leave my door open... It's not that I didn't want to in other settings usually I had no choice. In one office I had to keep the door closed to keep out toxic substances (office number three. A year later I carbon black dust was still falling out of my books.

Anyway, I've taken to leaving my office door open... kind of like an invitation.

I am not a people person by nature (I heard that!) but for me the whole purpose of an office is that it is a place engage with people.

I don't keep stats on this but I like to think that sometimes people walk by my office, see the open door and stop in for a chat.. not because they have to see me for Form #B56-098 but just because they want to see me... That others pause for a second to listen to what is playing over my computer speakers and hesitate... shy but not too shy to poke a head in and ask, "What are you listening too?"

I know not everyone works in an environment where this is possible. Some of you are lucky enough not to work in an office at all... others work in an office but your type of work does not allow you the freedom to connect and engage with others.

I guess the challenge I want to throw out to those who have endured this rambling is this...

Look for ways in which you can extend an invitation to others that your "office door is open" that you are available for a chat... a conversation... a coffee (if you drink that stuff).

Maybe it's smiling at someone who is passing by... or better, smiling at everyone who is passing by... maybe it's offering a co-worker a ride home... or three co-workers a ride home... even if it's two blocks away.

Well... that's my 2c

Breath Slow

2010-02-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

So, I have enough music on my iPod that if I were to listen to music for 10 hours a day I could go for at least a month without ever repeating a song.

I'll be honest, there are probably songs on my iPod I have not yet heard... it's still early in the month.

As I got out of bed this morning the song playing on my internal iPod (it has much more memory and is far more sensitive to my moods) was "Breath Slow" off of Mars ILL's Backbreakanomics. I'm not like a big fan of Mars ILL... in fact I'm not a fan at all - I couldn't tell you what records they have out, what their most popular songs are and in fact I had to look up the song that was going through my head to see who it was by... but "Breath Slow" works for me right now...

Recently, I took a break from "my usual life" that slowed me down... way down. It's not that I wasn't still doing stuff ...I just did it slower.

When I returned from my break I had several colleagues and friends comment that I seemed to be moving at a more relaxed pace.

They were right... and I really really liked it...

Everyone else was whizzing by and looking very productive (I don't know if they actually were productive or not... certainly the ones in the ditch weren't). I on the other hand only had to move fast when I was getting out of the way of collisions between two "busy" people.

I noticed that all those fast moving busy people seemed very tired - and I wondered if they were actually accomplishing more for all their busy-ness.

I wondered when they found time to stop and ask, "Is this the best way to accomplish this task?" or "Does this even need to be done?"

Here are some other questions...
-Does this need to be done now?
-Do I need to be the one doing it?
-Is there someone out there who could do this better than me... and who would just love to be asked?
-Is this breathing life into me and into the people who are around me?
-What am I trying to prove?
-Who am I trying to prove it too?
-What would happen if I just STOPPED?

...What would happen if I dropped dead?

If life would go on with me dead... why can't life happen while I'm still alive?

I don't know what life looks like for you right now, but in the words of Mars ILL...

Breath slow...

my 2c

Prorogation and Democracy...

2010-01-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

Goodness gracious how low have I sunk... I'm commenting on politics!

So recently the govenerment of Canada pulled the plug on parlimament and took an extended vacation. There was a big stink on some guy's website which turned into a "massive" march of let's see... uhm 0.0045% of the population. There was lots of partisan yelling (I picked up on the partisanship even though what I saw was filtered through the completely unbiased news media). People said things like...
"Get back to work!"
"Give us back our democracy!"
"Save the whales... stop the seal hunt...!"
"Yes we can"
and "where is Jean Cretien when you need him!"

Honest... I heard someone say that!

You want to know what I think...?

I didn't think so...

...my 2c...

Lust

2010-01-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

Now that I have your attention...

Just the other day a friend showed me his new Kindle...

I want one...

Of course I also want a new Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin

You can see why...

Plus, I want a new iPod and a new laptop ...though there is nothing wrong with the ones I currently have... I want hi-speed internet at home and a big 50" flatscreen TV one of the new ones that was previewed at CES 2010... and have you seen the new Skiff reader? Check it out here http://www.skiff.com/skiff-reader_photos.html!

A fully loaded 2010 Ford Ranger 4X4 and a new house... and money... I want lots of money...

(insert heavy breathing here)

Lust...

It's hard to stop once you get started!

You can sit there reading and pretend you don't know what I'm talking about... that's OK nobody is watching you but we all lust...

For some it's all about possession... you have a list of stuff a mile long you want... for other's it's just money... still others are looking for power... land... and yes many battle with sex demon...

Lust...

I was thinking about this and it dawned on me that lust seems to concern itself with stuff that we cannot (or should not) possess. I mean, If I were a millionaire I wouldn't need to lust over a Skiff, Kindle, Godin guitar, new laptop, etc... I'd just go out and get them. I probably wouldn't even think about it... there would be no need to evaluate the "why" behind the purchase or to ask, "Do I really need this?" I'd just go out and get it...

The funny thing is I'd still find things to lust after... things just beyond my reach. It's human nature...

Lust...

It makes you do crazy things. For example, have you noticed how it makes you lie to yourself... and those you love?

Honey, I really need to buy that _____! I know we didn't plan to make that purchase but I need it! Sometimes we even convince ourselves that the lie is true... We cheat to possess and sadly, once we possess it our eyes have roamed on to other things...

Lust...

The one thing I don't want I have... lust...

Of course... maybe it's just me.
My 2c

Lateness

2010-01-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I'm a nerd...

OK I'll just come clean and say it, "I'm a nerd." When I was an undergrad student I decided I was going to skip one of my classes...

I'd never done anything like that before... In fact, in high school I received "perfect attendance awards" every year! But enough was enough.. I was going to live large and finally skip!

...so that I could spend more time in the library reading encyclopedias...

(told you I was a nerd)

So anyways... there I am...skipping for the first time, reading "Groves Dictionary of Music" in the University Library and feeling guiltier and guiltier as the moments ticked by. Finally, I could stand it no more and fled the library and rushed to class (late or not I couldn't stay away!)

...turns out I wasn't late... I actually made it to class before the professor...

Now I know what you're thinking ...and it's probably true but to my credit I did get better at the whole skipping thing as a grad student....

So what does this have to do with a new year and lateness?

Over the years my frustrations at people who show up late for meetings had been growing. When you're late for a meeting your're basically saying that your time is more important than the time of the people sitting around waiting for you. That the person on the phone or the memo or the email you are finishing is more important than Bob, Sarah, Julie and Ted who sit waiting for you to show up.

"I'm more important than you, so you SHOULD have to wait until i'm ready."

You don't have time to sit around doing nothing but they should sit around doing nothing until you are ready to come.

I used to show up 10-15 minutes early for meetings... I've wasted hours sitting around waiting for the self-important types...

So you know what I did? 2009 I decided I would show up late for every meeting. I decided my time was as important as everyone elses and if everyone was going to show up five minutes late I could work for 20 minutes saunter in late and take my seat... without an apology... because ...well you never apologized for the last 18 times you were late... and isn't it obvious that I'm busier than you because I'm more important and my time is more precious?

I'll admit, like my first skipping attempt, I got off to a slow start in January 2009... rather than being 15 minutes early I was 5 minutes early... by March I think I was showing up on time... but by late summer I was in full form walking in late for almost every meeting. Oddly enough I was rarely the last one to arrive - when I was I apologized (I couldn't help it).

I learned a couple of lessons...

1. Nobody cared... not once did anyone challenge my lateness. Not once did anyone say, "You seem to be having trouble getting here on time. You're wasting my time by your lateness.

2. At times the meeting will start without you - as if it's some sort of punishment... which of course it isn't - quite the contrary (usually it's a blessing)
3. All those years I was showing up early I was wasting a LOT of time - Being late allowed me to get more work done.

OK, to be honest at first I just sat in my office looking at the clock willing myself not to show up early but eventually I began to use that time a little more productively...

4. Being late sped my life up... A person who is early does not need to rush... late people are always in a hurry, they fly by you on the highway, bowl you over going down the escalator... they are stressful, busy people on the road to burn-out.

Now, in some cultures ontime people are the stressed ones and the late people are the laid-back ones. But this is just not the case in North America. Here, people who give themselves enough time to get to work, or leave their office in time to get to a meeting don't feel the pressure or stress of lateness... It's that whole "margins" thing...

5. being late is rude... still rude...

As much as I enjoyed the extra minutes to myself - I don't like what my lateness says about my care, respect and thoughts about the people with whom I have scheduled a meeting.

Does that sound harsh?

So... this year - If I can remember how it is done, I'm going back to being on time... to slowing down my life and respecting my colleagues even if it means a little bit of frustration for myself. I probably won't aim to show up 10 or 15 minutes before a meeting (I've got too many things that need doing to be able to afford that) but a minute or two...

I'm not expecting this to be an easy transition back, I've kind of become used to being late - but I resolve to try... I liked the old, ontime me better.

a confession and 2c

Unions

2009-12-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

Did you hear about this?

Wal-mart, the world's largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., opened its Jonquiere, Quebec, store in 2001. In September 2004, the employees unionized becoming the retailer's first employees in North America to form a union.

In April 2005 Wal-Mart closed the store...

Three or so days ago the Supreme Court of Canada said that they were within their rights to do so...

If you think this is going to be a Wal-mart bashing session... it's not. Don't get me wrong I think that there is much that is distasteful about Wal-mart but that's a topic for another day... perhaps...

Let me tell you my "union" story. As a student I got a job working for a large company. The company had made a decision that one of the ways that they could contribute to future leaders was to provide good paying jobs to young university students. A number of us were hired at the same time...

The "union" put up a fuss... they didn't want students working in the facility... the union members told their union leaders in no uncertain terms that they thought the idea was brilliant and when the idea was put to a vote well over 90% of the full-time workers supported the hiring of part-time students.

Faced with this strong support the "union" flipped their decision and demanded that the new workers be required to pay union dues ($50+/month)... on a 10 hour work week... I know....

It was agreed and the students were forced to "join the union" though the union had never done a single thing for us AND had actually failed to act on our behalf!

A little over a year later the while in negotiations with management the union threatened to take strike action unless the company agreed to a series of demands. Buried in the legalese of the document was demand that all students be let go. Because of the intensity of the negotiations... and because the union leadership was so out of touch and far removed from the people in the trenches nobody caught it until the day management sent out pink slips to all students... The rest of the workers were furious but the deed was done...

I do not doubt that there was a time when unions were needed... I do not doubt that there are times and places to this day where unions help improve conditions for workers... I do not doubt that there are some brilliant and caring union-folk out there...

I'm just sharing my story...

What did the union do for the 190 now unemployed former Wal-mart workers?

my 2c...

I'm tired...

2009-11-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm also thinking I've blogged this before...
but I'm too tired to check...

I don't know if you know what I mean when I say I'm tired... it's not the physical fatigue that comes from a good workout. It's not even the brain-drain that comes from finishing an intellectually stimulating book, or lecture, or class... it's soul fatigue.

I suppose I've known it was creeping up on me for some time but I seemed to always have a good excuse for what I was feeling. Truth be told I still have some good excuses but in a fit of honesty they fell away and left me with the stark truth...

I'm tired...

I know I'm tired because I feel like I could sit down and watch TV all day... but I'm too tired to get the remote. I'd read a book but that would mean going to the book shelf... I'd make some music but the instruments are all out of reach and I'm too tired to open my mouth and sing...

I know what your'e thinking, "If you're so tired why are you blogging..." It's taken me 17 months to type to this point in the blog...

Tell me... what is your cure for soul-fatigue?

Money

2009-10-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

I love money...

There... I've said it...

Now if you are a friend of mine you are no doubt already planning an email to remind me of one of my favourite quotes... "You love PEOPLE and LIKE things..."

Yep... still if I'm being honest I have to admit... I love the green stuff.

I know in my heart that I would be a terrible rich person. It's true... I know it - I know I would not be generous millionaire.

I would try to be...

...at the start...

...but would eventually give up. After say... a couple of hours.

I would spend the bulk of the money on myself and perhaps those closest to me... Actually, it's more likely I would spend it all on myself and assume those closest to me would feel blessed to benefit by their proximity.

I'm not saying I'm proud of this, I'm just calling it like it is...

I would build a nice house, get some brand new wheels and travel the world looking for paradise.

Which, once found I would buy...

I know what you're thinking... you're thinking you would be this incredibly generous person who would share the wealth, solve world hunger and bring peace in the Middle East...

Yeah... I wonder why Bill Gates hasn't thought of that...

I'm no different from you - I think of how I would divvie it up and give to charities, help some poor orphans, feed the hungry, clothe the naked - but the reality is (and you know it's ture) we'd be buried with requests from every imaginable agencies... conned bu smooth talkers... pursued by shady investor types... and in the end...

Well maybe not you but I'm no hobbit...

Eventually, I would become a shrivelled up, cranky old man who would yell at anyone who came too close to my stuff...

"Don't scuff my carpet fool!"
"Don't ding the door of my new Mercedes!"
"Get off my perfect lawn! Go fly your kite somewhere else!"

I'd die alone and be buried (as per my instructions) in an expensive coffin laid into a chuck of ground far to big to be occupied by someone who no longer needs it...

I'm not saying every rich person has to be miserable... only that I probably would eventually...

But you know what? I'd still like to be rich!

...just my 2c

Yep... I'm one of "those"

2009-09-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm one of those religious types...

Unashamed - I figure we are spiritual beings why should I be ashamed to explore the truth about spirituality...

But I'm also one of those who likes answers... real answers... not the easy... cheap answers... not the kind of answers we give to kids to comfort them when the cat dies -

...real answers.

Answers that can hold up to the extremes that life seems to always be throwing our way.

Thing is... some things in life don't have answers...

Like death...

My head tells me it is inevitable, that everyone of us will face it one day... god or no god.

Death is not paralyzed by the truth about God...

Think on that for a while...

This summer I sat across from a specialist who had told me a couple of years ago that I could wake up blind one day...

That'll keep you up a night staring into the darkness.

Anyway as I sat across from this specialist this summer he calmly confirmed that things were deteriorating... He said it so calmly and soothingly...

"Don't worry... we'll try some meds."

It took a while for that "try" to sink in... This might not work... it might get worse... you could go blind...

One of my favourite biblical stories is found in the Gospel of John Chapter 9. You don't have to be religious to appreciate the humour in the story though the more you know of the context the funnier it is - The story is about a blind guy.

Some of the people following Jesus just assumed God was punishing this guy with blindness because he ...or someone in his life was wicked.

Think of the picture of God that would have Him striking people with blindness because they did something He did not like... UGH!

I love the way how Jesus answer, "You idiots!" (OK maybe He didn't call them idiots but I'm sure He was thinking it) "This is not about punishment... what kind of person do think God is?"

Jesus the healer gives this guy back his sight.

Will Jesus heal me?
Will it change Truth?
Is He without power if He doesn't take note of my plight?
Is He uncaring if this is the last blog I can ever write?

...this could be my last blog...

...that takes real to a whole other level...

but I still believe...

my 2c

Storms of Life

2009-08-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

Those of you who know me know I love questions. Here are a slew to chew on.

You know the biblical story of Jesus and His disciples? The one where they are in this boat blissfully sailing …or rowing on the lake when a storm suddenly breaks on them and threatens to destroy their boat and send them all to a watery grave. Can you picture it?

The boat is being bashed about by the waves.

It’s taking on water.

In my imagination I hear sails snapping in the wind.

It’s chaos!

The disciples who have sailing experience jump to what it is that sailors do in a storm while the others – Matt the former Tax Collector, Simon the Zealot, Tom, Bart, etc – probably grab a pail and start bailing… Or maybe they just grab something that’s fastened down and hang on for dear life.

Jesus meanwhile is sleeping… in the boat… on a cushion… in the middle of a storm that has experienced fishermen screaming like girlie-men.

Terrified the disciples wake Jesus

“Jesus, we’re dying! Don’t you care! Wake up!”

I’m not sure how Jesus managed to fall asleep in the midst of this pandemonium… I know this though. If I’m ever in a boat with you and a storm threatens to kill us all… and I’m asleep… DON’T WAKE ME UP! I for one would rather die in my sleep under such circumstances rather than be awake for my demise.

Anyway, Jesus wakes up and yells, “Quiet down!”

I’ve often wondered whether He was talking to the wind and waves or yelling at the disciples…

The wind stops blowing the lake goes smooth like glass and the disciples mouths go dry with sheer terror. It’s one thing to be on a lake in the middle of the storm… quite another to be stuck in a boat with a guy who snuffs out storms by talking to them…

Lots of preachers have preached on this passage…

Trust Jesus in the midst of the storms of life…
Jesus the miracle worker can calm the storms you are facing…
If Jesus is “in your boat” you will make it safely to shore…
When you’ve done all you can do God will do the rest…
Obey Jesus. Even if it get’s stormy it will all work out in the end…

Here’s my question… in the midst of the storms of life am I supposed to bail water like the dickens and trust that Jesus has it “all under control”? Or am I supposed to scream like a girlie-man and “wake” Jesus up? When I’m going through the storms of life does that meant that Jesus is “sleeping on the job”? If I “wake” Jesus is that a sign of my lack of faith… or is that what He is waiting for me to do? Is faith curling up beside Jesus and falling asleep?

OK that’s more than one question…

What’s your 2c?

Tired Pigeons

2009-06-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

The following article appears in the most recent issue of the Bethany Sun as "Birds and Bs"

Given where we live we get to see lots of interesting birds. It was american coots one year, grebes another, a pair of northern pintails in the dugout, and one year more snow geese than a guy could count. We have a great horned owl that returns to our pine trees to nest every year, a pair of merlins and a number of mallards which do the same. One Sunday morning as I got up to have breakfast.

A pigeon.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen a pigeon before – although this one was quite pretty. It was that this one sat pecking in the middle of the driveway. Launching into the air to let us drive by, it flew in a large circle returned to the same spot once we had passed by. It turned out to be a racing pigeon (I won’t bore you with the details of my investigative process). By the time we discovered it perched and pecking among the pebbles of our pathway the race had long been won. If I recall correctly it had been at least a week since the other racers had returned to the comfort of their coops.

Now, I’m no pigeon expert but I understand that sometimes outside forces can cause a pigeon’s internal GPS navigational system to go bonkers. Lost, confused and exhausted our friend had paused to do what (so I’m told) pigeons do in these circumstances. They find a gravel road or driveway and peck small pebbles which somehow aid in their recovery. Once they are strong enough and regain their sense of direction they head for home.

Early in the morning, about five days later, I watched our new friend take off and head in the direction of home…

…that afternoon he returned.

…a day or so later he headed off again and as far as I know, this time, he made it safely home.

(In case you’re wondering how I know it was a “he”… if it had been a “she” it wouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place… according to my wife…)

Have you ever felt like that pigeon? One minute you’re in with the pack (or flock) the next you’re flying solo. One minute you’re on track, the next you’re lost. You had a real shot of winning… yesterday… a week ago… You’ve given up trying to reach the finish line… now you’re just looking for home.

I’ve been there. In fact, this past year was a lot like that for me in many ways.

What do you do when you find yourself there? What do you “peck” at?

For me I turn to the Word.

Now I know what you’re thinking but it ain’t like that… I don’t pile up the commentaries and dig into the “deep” truths of scripture. I don’t do word studies and mull over Greek grammar. I don’t parse or pick apart phrases while ploughing for principles. I simply read the stories.

I peck.

Honestly, sometimes I don’t even read the stories – I just lie back in a comfortable chair, or in my hammock, and think about the stories.

You were perhaps expecting more from the guy who pastored a dozen years and now teaches Spiritual Formation? You were hoping for a method perhaps? A spiritual discipline which would get you through the disorientation? Ten-steps to get on track… Five steps to win… Seven steps to Christ-likeness. Well… I could give you a list but they don’t work for me. I peck.

Do you know what I’ve discovered. I almost hesitate to say this because some of you are going to turn this into some sort of method. You’re going to go back over the article looking for the fine print, reducing a story to a 12-step program. DON’T DO IT!

I memorize Word and sit with it as story. What I’ve found is that when I sit with the stories I discover anew why I’m on this spiritual journey. I rediscover the One I so desperately want to be like and the One I’m trying to reach. …and I discover that I do not have to reach Him… He is with me still.

I discover I am not like that pigeon, lost and alone (though I still feel like it).

When I called the owner of my pigeon-friend he was completely unconcerned. I thought he was going to thank me effusively, rush out and rescue his bird and maybe give me a cash reward or something. But when I called him his response was something like

“…ah yeah… that bird… well, if it’s still there in a couple of weeks give me a call I might come out with some other birds to help coax it into a cage…”

A couple of weeks??? Might???

The stories of scripture affirm that no one needs to call the One I am pursuing and tell Him, “I think I’ve found something that belongs to you.” No one needs to provide Him with directions or offer to call again in a couple of weeks. No, not my Master. My Master sits in the gravel with me… and tells me stories.

Somehow that’s enough for now.

HIDE AND SEEK

I stop
trying to find
what’s not mine

I give up
the chase or race
I fall from the sky
not grace

where
is He?

He is not lost
but then
neither am I

How can I be lost
when the One I seek
has promised never to leave me?

I'm embarassed...

2009-06-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

so... I don't get embarrassed... much...

I'm not saying I don't do embarrassing things... or that people around me don't get embarrassed... nor even that I shouldn't be embarrassed by some of the things I do...

It's just that... well... I don't get embarrassed... I could tell you some stories which would make you blush but left me totally unfazed - that's personal stuff. I don't get embarrassed by stuff I do or say - mistakes happen, words come out wrong and sincere apologies are usually sufficient to turn embarrassment and anger into moments of belly-laughter.

D'ya want to know what embarrasses me...

"christians" not people who are doing their best to live like Jesus but "christians" people who are following a bunch of outdated rules in an attempt to secure a harp and a cloud in the hereafter... Preachers who think I'm more interested in their brilliance than in dialogue...people who shake my hand in the pew and scowl at me in the parking-lot... people who harass me to come to "God's house" but have never invited me into theirs... people who find different things funny depending on whether they are standing in the workplace or their worship-place... or depending on if another "christian" is nearby or not...

Don't get me wrong... I'm not suggesting that I'm perfect or above doing any of these things... when I see it in me it's not embarrassment I feel though.. it's shame...

my 2c...

So...

2009-06-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

So... it's official! We're in the middle of an economic downturn.

Do you know what I find amusing about this... and I'll be honest there is precious little amusing about an economic downturn...

1. The Experts - Ever notice how experts can't make up their mind. One moment they say, "It's only going to get worse... it's going to last for years... we're all going to die!" and then the next week they are saying, "It'll be over soon... spending is up... whew that was a close one." Just once I'd like to hear a real expert... a REAL expert. You know what they would say right... they would say, "I have no idea what is going on... I can tell you why... I can tell you we should have seen it coming... but I can't tell you what is going to happen next.

OK maybe that's not amusing... it's just sad...

2. The rich just get richer - this isn't really amusing either I guess. I've noticed that when things get tough economically the rich benefit even more. Somebody explain to me why bankers and CEOs who caused their companies to tank got to keep their jobs? Don't give me this nonsense about "their experience" and wanting to harness their "expertise" it's their experience, expertise and greed that brought us here in the first place - fire them all! Rather than give them90 days to come up with a plan to restructure, give the brightest minds in our Universities 3-6 months to propose a plan to help turn these companies around - You'd wind up with much greater innovation, creativity and would eliminate the greed factor.

3. I know there are a lot of people experiencing dire need around the world as a result of these tough economic times - but I've noticed that for the most part - unless we personally feel the icy finger of downturn we tend not to change the way we live. We don't trade in our big SUVs for fuel efficient cars... we don't produce less garbage... we don't stop eating out... we don't shop wiser...

I guess I should have used the word "tragic" rather than "amusing"

I'm not proposing any answers here this is

just my 2c

The problem with church music...

2009-05-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking about whether I should post this or not. I've been sitting on it for close to two years. I figure that I've been silent for so long that no one is reading my blog anymore so I can post with great freedom...

1. we have a lower standard of music making excellence for the church than we do for music-making (and listening) in just about any other area of life...
2. it's uncreative
3. it's 80s soft-pop - can we please stop saying that our music is targetted for the younger generation... please!!!
4. it's often insincere (not in YOUR church of course but in many others)most times the people on stage don't look like they really mean what they are singing... and the people in the pews are so disinterested they don't seem to even know what they are singing much less believe it...
5. the band, singers and leaders are often obviously reluctant to lead... reluctant to prepare... reluctant to practice... and it shows... I know, I know, life is busy and none of us have the time we would like to give to this sort of thing... right? Think about that statement for a little bit.

I'll stop there - that's probably enough to lose my one regular reader...

my 5c

so much for a series

2009-03-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

OKaeey...

so I knew this was a dumb idea when I started it... this really is not the forum for a "series" for me... it's more of a spontaneous, random, wandering thoughts kind of a forum...

So... let me get the "series" out of the way by giving you my 2c on why we gather...

Four reasons...

Revelation – God speaks to the community
Response – The community speaks to God
Remembrance – the Community remembers the work of God on their behalf (past present and future)
Relationship – the members of the community build and encourage one another

I need to add that I personally don't believe that these four occur on a regular basis in the average North American Christian church. Notice the word average... so I'm obviously not talking about the above-average church in which you worship...

I'd go further and suggest that the way in which the average church does ...church actually prevents the above four things from happening as effectively as they could but that for the most part church leaders are too hesitant to ask the hard questions. Those who do ask the hard questions lack the motivation to bring about the necessary change...

But hey... that's just my two cents

I'm more than willing to engage more around this theme and/or on these four in particular but I'll wait for specific questions before I do that...

by the way if you ever read that I'm planning a "series" again ...stop me... somehow...

Church...

2009-02-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

I’ve been doing some thinking lately about why we gather. OK, that’s the spiritually mature way of putting it – in laymen’s terms the real question is: Why should I go to church?

There… I’ve said it…

Have you ever thought about it?

Why do you go to church?

I have vivid memories of one particular Sunday in my teen years. I worked Sunday mornings at a local gas bar and so attended church Sunday evenings at a church about ten minutes from where I worked. On this particular Sunday evening the speaker was a young church-planting pastor who was hoping to plant a church in our community. I remember the pastor distinctly, and the church, but they are not pertinent to my point. See, I also remember that on that particular evening a ferocious storm hit. Lightening, thunder, funnel clouds and even a tornado or two. Being in a sanctuary without windows, aside from the thunder, we had no idea what was happening with the weather.

Then the power went out.

The auditorium was large and there were perhaps 200 or so people loosely scattered about. The emergency lighting quickly came on but even so it lit only the exits and left us with no sound reinforcement. What I remember is that the service did not stop. The young preacher preached on, and when he was done we turned and knelt at our pews and cried out to God for the salvation of our city. At no point did it occur to us that the service should end or be let out early because of the power outage… electricity was irrelevant. We were the people of God in the presence of God and that was enough.

Fast-forward a number of years (OK-OK, decades) and I’m standing in another church on another Sunday – this time a morning service – when the power goes out. This memory is equally vivid mainly because my emotional response caught me off guard.

Do you know what was the first thing I felt?

Joy! Pure unbridled joy! What surprised me even more was that as I looked about in embarrassment, hoping no one had caught my expression, I caught the same joy-filled expressions on the faces of others. I’ve wrestled with this for some time. At first I thought my joy was rooted in the thought that we might actually get dismissed early. I remember smiling to myself after overhearing another congregant express their disappointment when the power came on a few seconds later. I may be wrong, but I think the ripple of excitement was actually the result of a hope that something memorable… something dynamic… something that we would be talking about all week was about to happen – even if it was just a sudden power outage.

In recent years I have heard a number of pastors tell their congregations something I never imagined I would ever hear from a pastor in pulpit, or in print. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making any statement on whether I believe this to be right or wrong… at least not yet. These days it’s not uncommon to have a pastor tell their congregations, “You don’t have to come to church every Sunday. Faith is not about church attendance – and anyway every week can get to be too much. Take the time to be with your family, play some games, relax, take a Sabbath.”

When the topic comes up in my conversations with pastors I suggest to them if anyone ever developed a “guilt spray” that would prevent people from feeling guilt when they missed church – churches would empty.

I could be wrong.

So why do you go to church?

I know, I know… I can almost hear those voices out there saying, “We don’t go to church we are the church. Yes, yes I know – In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve actually used that exact line while preaching.

My issue is not with what we are called to be, my issue is with how we are going about doing it.

There the four most popular answers I’ve heard over the years:
1. I go to hear the Word of God! To be fed from the Word!
2. I go because I love the Music. I just love to “worship”.
3. I go for the fellowship. It’s like a big family.
4. I go for a weekly boost… to be encouraged and given the strength to face another week…

There are people for whom these answers are the honest and unbridled truth. There are people who sincerely attend their local church facility week after week for one or any combination of these reasons and they receive nine-times-out-of-ten exactly what they went for.

If you are one of those people stop reading… I don’t want to disillusion you. For those of you who choose to read on, feel free to label me a disgruntled ,old, complaining codger who probably still uses the King James… or if it makes you feel better you can just consider me a freak… your pick… I don’t mind…

…so long as you answer the questions.

See the fact of the matter is many people… most people…? Maybe we can settle on “an increasing number of congregants”

An increasing number of congregants don’t experience true Word, true Worship or true fellowship.

Now, I’m obviously not talking about YOUR church… of course… but visit one of the other churches.

Over the next four weeks keep track of the number of verses of scripture which are read in the service. Let’s be honest – we spend more time on announcements than we do reading Scripture. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve taken my Bible to church and never needed to open it. And although the worship wars seem to have settled to a low simmer music is still far from recovering its position as a tool for fostering unity and joy in our communities. Fellowship and family is nice terminology but I grew up in a close knit family – perhaps that is why I am not fooled by what passes for “family time” in a lot of sanctuaries these days.

I’d love to hear your 2c

I'm dying...

2009-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know....

People who don't know me are thinking, "this oughta be good..."

People who know me are thinking, "How tragic!"

People who know me well are thinking, "We're all dying bud... what makes you so special.."

Yeah...

I know we all age at the same rate (it's just that some people started earlier than others) and I'm ready to die - or I'm delusional ...not sure which...

You're probably wondering where this is coming from so let me "cut to the chase"

I'm losing my memory - not my mind just my memory... I won't tell you the most embarrassing incidents... HEY! Are you listening? I said I'm not going to tell you so don't send emails or call me up to ask...

It's disconcerting to say the least - I've always had a good memory. I'm convinced my university scholarship was a direct result of my ability to retain and recall even the most useless data... seems that "gift" is disappearing.

One of my greatest fears is of waking up one day and not remembering who I am... not remembering those I love. It's a stupid fear so I don't give much time to worrying about it. Truth is if I wake up not remembering anything of my life as it exists... I won't know what I've lost... right? It's just that my memories are things that are most precious to me... I know who I am, where I am and where I'm going because I carry certain memories... rob me of those memories and I'm lost... who am I? Where am I? Where was I going when I found myself on this road...

UGH!

Then I started thinking... What if my memory fades slowly... what if I lose bits of my memory? What will be the last memory I hold?

Ever thought of that? I know, I know I'm a strange bird with strange thoughts...

I read an article once that our last memories are our earliest memories.

wha...

Man... I've lost my train of thought... what was I saying...

What are you looking at?

anyone got change?

I'm no Luddite...

2009-01-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

I'm no Luddite...

Honest... I'm not...

But I had a thought recently as I hung up (semi-politely) on yet another automated tele-marketer... at least I think it was automated.

Technology is great in that it allows us to keep in touch with the those who matter most to us... but on the other hand it also makes me available to those who matter least to us...

Technology allows us to keep in touch with people we love who are thousands of miles away... but it also allows people we wish were miles away to keep in touch with us...

Technology allows me to work faster.. be more productive... get more done... which only means that I have more time to do more with technology...

You remember in the 50s (some of you do) that the driving spirit behind technological advances was that it would give us more time to be with the ones we love. Unfortunately, in retrospect it seems technology has sucked up all that free time we were supposed to have to spend time with family...

I saw a report the other day about a woman who is so consumed with "Second Life" or what ever that internet 'life' game is called that she spends 14 hours a day playing it on the computer... she is a wife... (for now) and a mother of 4 young children... hmmmm...

Sounds to me like she has traded life for non-life.

Extreme example? I don't know... try trading "second life" for "cellphone" or "email" or "Blackberry"... or TV and maybe you're spending more time with tech than you are with those you say you love too...

Rather than asking "how can technology make my life better?" maybe we should be asking... "Is lifeless technology causing me to miss out on life?"

'course I could be wrong...

it's just my 2c

I hereby resolve...

2009-01-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

So... it's New Year..

What that means in this neck of the woods is that... well... that the sun went down (like it normally does) and came up the next morning (like it normally does)... and ...well... I don't know.

Face it... it's just another day - a day off from work and school... but still, just another day.

I don't know if you engage in the ritual of writing out resolutions or not...
...stop smoking
...lose weight
...spend more time with family
...make more money
...spend less money
...get out of debt
...find a job
...move out of Mom's house and find a place of my own...

the usual...

Here's my question. When you make those resolutions what are you actually saying? It seems to me that a resolution is an acknowledgment of a couple of things
First... that something in my life is busted. Something needs to be changed. an unhealthy habit needs to be broken or a healthy one needs to begin. Right? Resolutions are a call for change...

Secondly, I would say that resolutions are also a plea for help. You waited for this magical date... January 1st. Why didn't you quit smoking on December 8th or started the diet on the 17th? ...because you didn't have the strength to... but now... after January 1st... the year is new... the sun is new... you are new and you suddenly have the strength to go through with that diet..

No you don't... you need help... more help that a fresh calendar can provide.

So stop what you're doing.. stop what you were going to back to after reading this... and call someone close to you... a sibling, parent, child, friend, spouse and tell them, "I need your help with something.. this year I want to... and I cannot do it on my own. Will you help?"

If you don't do that now - then print this off and put it somewhere where you will find it January 1, 2010.. you're going to need it again...

my 2c

Christmas...?

2008-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

What is Christmas? Ever thought about that? We don't do "Christmas" as much anymore we're much too "multicultural" for that -- we do "Seasonal Greetings"...So.. what is Christmas...

I know the history… I know the earliest believers thought the resurrection was far more important than the Bethlehem birth… and in fact in the first 200 years after Christ’s death and resurrection there was strong opposition in the church to recognizing any birthdays.

I know it wasn’t until much later and probably as a response to the pagan solstice (winter celebrations) that Christmas was invented… I know that.
…that’s not my question… my question is…

What are we celebrating?

I remember one year in one community there was a huge controversy because someone had stolen the baby Jesus from a traditional and prominent community nativity scene. You’ve probably heard stories like this too – it’s not uncommon.

…you don’t want someone to come and steal God from your manger…

What do you think would happen to the way you celebrate Christmas if we were to remove the “Christ-baby” from the season. Would it have any impact on the way the holiday unfolds…
Honestly, what difference would it make to Christmas celebrations if we removed Christ…

• We’d have fewer carols – but that’s no big deal there are plenty of other Christmas songs… right?
• We could still exchange Christmas cards that talk about Joy… Peace… Best wishes and Season’s Greetings… pictures of winter scenes… snow-men, poinsettias and snowflakes…
• We could still exchange presents… people all over the world do that even those who do not worship the same God we do…
• We could still talk about peace and good will to all men…
• We could still engage in acts of social justice and caring for the needy…
• Visiting friends and family…
• Stuffing our faces with stuffed turkey…
• Extend wishes of good cheer and the best of the season to friends and neighbours
• Selecting and decorating Christmas trees…

Think about it – you could take the baby out of the manger and all the “good stuff” of the way we do Christmas would remain…

Think about it… Take Christ out of Christmas and what difference would it make in your home…

Just wondering...

my 2c

Grace...

2008-11-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

I know a guy who says he doesn't believe in God...

Says he can't believe in any god who would allow the kind of suffering he's seen.

I get that... I mean I'm not going to pretend to have suffered to the same degree as half the planet. I wasn't a child soldier... I didn't crouch trembling in the bushes watching my parents...or village butchered by rebels... guerrillas... or the army that was supposed to be protecting us...

I've never watched children die of starvation... except for those manipulative non-profit infomercials on TV...

I have a TV... two actually...

So... I get it when people who have faced, felt and survived the worst humanity has to offer struggle to believe in a god of any kind...

There are however lots of things that draw me towards belief in God.

Grace is one of those things....

Just as every time one sees cruelty or hatred it affirms the reality of evil - for me every instance of grace... true grace... not mercy or charity or good will but GRACE - every instance of grace to me is fresh proof of the existence of God.

There is no way we could have come up with the concept of grace apart from a God to suggest and model it...

In its simplest form - grace is giving someone an extravagant and totally undeserved benefit...

I was going to list some examples: the thief who get's caught... and is allowed to keep what he stole... from the poor widow...

Yeah... I know

No one who truly understands grace likes it…

until they need it…

Grace is unfair... it rewards what should be punished...
It blesses those who least deserve it
...and punishes those who least deserve it...

Only it's not punishment - because for grace to be truly grace those who take on the burden of the punishment do so willingly...

Think of the most extreme case you can - and you'll see why I say, grace is not something that spontaneously evolves... grace is not something that humanity would, or even could, create...

Grace is a brush with the Divine...

Just my 2c

I'm gonna live forever!

2008-11-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Why am I here?

Sure… go ahead… pretend you’ve never asked that question.

Why did you end up in that neighbourhood? That house? That city? That job?

True, if you’re “lovin’ it” you probably don’t pause to ask the question much… you’re too busy lovin’ – And if you hate the space you now find yourself in you probably ask it more than is healthy. It’s OK to face it now though because someone else is asking you.

Once you’re through chewing on that, face the bigger question… the “cosmic” question. Why are you here on planet earth? OK, go ahead get it out of your system giggle over the obvious…

…well… mommy loved daddy and…

Finished?

Now answer the question. Why are you here?

I’m sitting here trying to remember where I heard this – recently I heard this guy talking about how as a kid he got really ticked off at his parents and “God” …or whoever… for having conspired to create… make… produce him…

“Nobody asked me if I wanted to be born!” he said…

The audience chuckled…

“Nobody asked my permission and yet here I am now… stuck forever!”

OK that stung…

I suppose there are still people out there who think that we are essentially advanced animals and that once we die it’s all over. We are a mass of cells and organism miraculously self-aware… we die and slip from the cosmos… from existence.

Maybe it’s my upbringing but… I just can’t buy that! There is a part of me… the truest part of me that will be there after the part of me that you see ceases to exist. Some of you will consider that an irrational belief but I say it’s a safe bet. Think about it… if I’m wrong… I’ve lost nothing – I die and… nothing…

Anyway… I’m thinking about what this guy said… that nobody asked my permission to bring me (an eternal being) into existence… and although he had moved on from that point (or joke depending on your perspective) I got stuck there.

If I am an eternal being… what right does anyone have to bring me into existence against my will… from nothing to living forever…

I know… I know before I exist I have no will to violate… but you get what I’m driving at right?

Now, if my life is wonderful this is a non-issue… but what of the children I see starving around me… what of those trapped in an abusive relationship… what of the drug addict… the manic depressive… what of those for whom life is hell – what right does anyone have to bring me into hell?

The only valid answer that I can come up with is that maybe… just maybe…

…something is better than nothing…

Selah

my 2c

Ten Reasons Preaching is Dead...

2008-10-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

1. More often than not the words spoken by the preacher are borrowed... from someone who borrowed them from someone who borrowed...etc...
2. Too often the borrowed words have little to do with Biblical texts...
3. Very little Bible seeps into our religious ceremonies...
4. Preaching has become part motivational speaking, part self-help, part entertainment - it's obvious God has little of relevance to say... so...
5. We read... no... we listen to... a couple of verses read from sacred texts and listen to 20... 30... 45... 60 minutes (depending on your church) of someone attempting to apply those verses to (again depending on your church) 100 or 50... or 200... or 500 individual lives.
6. Genuine preaching is risky business...
7. Genuine preaching is a communal act... and we no longer understand community
8. Preaching assumes the existence of Truth... There is no such thing as "absolute" truth ...either a thing is true or it's not!
9. We all believe we know more than the preacher... right?
10. We don't want to preach... don't want to be preached at... don't want to pay someone to preach at us - the alternative?

No this is not me...

2008-09-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Role of Women

2008-09-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

The question was - Is it correct (Biblically) to have women as head pastors...

OK... so, you can only read this next line if you read the whole post..

Women need to know their place!

I have lived my whole life surrounded by strong women - women who knew their place. See, strength comes not from you acting like me but in you knowing your strength and living it.

..in knowing your place...

This isn't a female/male thang actually, everyone needs to know their place - the most effective leaders I know (male or female) are those who know their place. They have the wisdom to discern the times... their time. They ahve the incredible foresight to see where things are going but more than all of that they understand where they stand and the role they can play to shape things one way or the other...

Strong people are strong because when everyone else is trying to stand in someone elses shoes... or trying hard to pretend that they are something that they are not - they stand up confident in who they are and chart a course while everyone else stumbles over themselves trying to act like they saw the way out first...

Leadership is not about gender - never has been. Even in the the most patriarchal cultures strong women have always risen up and done what needed to be done for the good of their community... their country... and the world. No culture... no rules written or otherwise... no traditions good or bad is able to keep down a person who knows their place!

Some of the best leaders I have had the priviledge to know... some of the strongest leaders I know - people who have charted the unknown and changed the world, have been not those with the titles... not CEOs in big cars and fancy offices but women who knew their place and so refused listen to those who did not know their own place...

So.. what about the church? What about the role of women in the male driven-world of Judeo-Christian religion...

Here's how I understand scripture...

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ - you have an empowerment that comes from the Holy Spirit within. God calls you to live out that calling regardless of titles... regardless of recognition... regardless of opposition... it's not a gender thing - I could be wrong but I don't read in scripture that God gave some MEN certain gifts and other gifts to WOMEN. I read that God gives gifts as HE chooses to whom HE chooses for the fulfilling of HIS purpose...

So... if you are a woman with the gift of leadership... lead...

Much ink has been spilt on this topic over the last decade or two - so I'm not going to belabour the issue - I would like to ask the question as it relates to children though...

If God gifts every believer I'm assuming that includes children... why aren't we allowing children to use their gifts leadership and otherwise in the church?

just askin'

my 2c

Depression

2008-09-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

A little while ago some friends (I trust they are OK with me calling them friends) submitted a number of questions on a number of issues. Over the next number of weeks I’m hoping to deal with some of these questions in this forum. The first two questions deal with depression.

OK… first things first… Even though my nickname in some circles is “Doc” I’m no medical doctor… not even close… I’m no shrink and am probably the least qualified person on the planet to address this question but somebody asked so here are the questions asked followed by my 2c.

If a Christian takes antidepressants is that “show lack of faith in God?” Again, I’m no doctor so this is not medical advice or anything… it’s a blog by a someone who refers to them self as a “black sheep”.

I understand there to be a difference between depression as an emotional response to loss and clinical depression resulting from chemical/biological imbalances in the body. It seems to me that if there is some sort of imbalance in the body that can be corrected or mitigated by medication one would be unwise not to avail themselves of that help. We take medicine for coughs, colds, flus, headaches and a host of other serious and non-serious medical ailments without making it an issue of faith – why should this chemical imbalance be any different?

…just asking…

Where is God in all of this? Can He heal depression? Is depression a “spiritual” thing?

I want to be clear - my comments below refer only to depression as an emotional response not to clinical depression.

When it comes to a person suffering from depression as a result of a loss (significant or otherwise) the best medicine… or healing if you will is you. A friend… someone who loves and will continue to love them. Someone who will walk with them through the “dark valley” and “shadows of death” Why do you think God offers this as a promise for us when we are going through dark times in our lives?

Unfortunately, more often than not instead of alleviating the suffering of those wrestling with depression we often make things worse by saying nonsense like, “Snap out of it!” or “Shouldn’t you be over that by now?”

Why is it that we think we need to talk at people who are suffering? Why isn’t it enough to just “be with”? I have never known clinical depression (and pray I never do) and to be honest I’m just not wired for long bouts of emotional depression. I will say this though – when I’m depressed I don’t need my friends to come to me with advice… or with poetry… or with verses… or even with hugs (some people are into all of that and if that works for you great!) What I need is someone who is willing to pull up a chair and sit in the same room with me. You don’t have to say anything – just sit there with your mouth closed and “be with”. Bring a book and read if you like – when I need to talk put the book away and listen…Don’t answer my questions – you can’t… you’re not the one suffering – your job is to “be with” so you listen… actively… and offer to go out and get me some apple pie and ice cream…

Too often our care for people who suffer loss is to talk a lot.. to try and get the scoop on what they are feeling so that we can “pray” by which we mean go around and blab to everyone else how much we know about the person suffering… “Did you know that B.J. said that he was…blah…blah…blah?” Do you really care what B.J. said or are you more concerned with impressing everyone else with how you got B.J. to “open up” to you? When I’ve suffered a loss don’t come asking me questions about how I feel… course that’s just me…

Now I know everyone is not like me – some people need the hugs… others like it when their friend tears up and cries with them… others need a physical shoulder to cry on… you know your friend think about what they might need. Maybe you ring the doorbell and run away leaving a pail of their favorite ice cream on the step… You get the point right? CARE… LOVE… be with!!

You cannot undo their loss… you cannot feel their loss as deeply as they do what you can do is love them. This is the healing that God offers those who have suffered loss. Community! People who love them and are prepared to walk with them. This is why God repeatedly calls us to love one another. It’s not just joy it’s medicine.

Well… that’s not the half of it but it’s my 2c

Preach it preacher!

2008-08-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

So... I have a confession to make... that last post about the olymics? It was supposed to be about preaching...

I couldn't bring myself to post it though...

See... I believe preaching is dead...

just my 2c

the Olympics are dead...

2008-08-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

the Olympics are dead...

I don't mean that they are not making tonnes of money! I don't mean that no one is watching them... I mean they are no longer fulfilling the purpose for which they were designed...

It's all about politics baby!

When an athlete from Nigeria can train in the USA with a Russian coach and compete for Australia ...really what's the point?

When the winners are essentially those athletes which can get away with doping because their country has the technology... the money... and the power to make the rules...really what's the point?

When the athletes are not the best of amatuer athletes but multi-million-dollar professional athletes... really what's the point?

When a seven-year old singer... the best child singer in a country of 1.3 billion can be told "you're not pretty enough to represent your country..." ...what's the point? If a child at the "top of her game" can't compete what does that say about the athletes...?

When an athlete is told, "If you don't win gold... none of your other medals, accomplishments or championships will matter" ...tell me, what's the point?

when...

when...

O, what's the point?

Just my 2c

If...

2008-08-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

If there is a God why doesn't He just make it obvious?
If there is a God and He is all-powerful why doesn't He just put an end to all hunger, disease and war?
If I was created for freedom and joy where is it?
If there is more to life than this life why can't we just jump this current crap?
If God is love why do the people who say they believe in Him always fighting?
Is what comes next really going to be better than this?
What if it's not?
What if there is a God and I've wasted my chance by not believing in Him?
What if there is no God and I've wasted my life believing in Him?
What if there is a God but He is not interested... at least not in me?
What if He is all powerful... and is interested in me... isn't that a little frightening?
What if there is a God who really does believe the freedom to choose is more important than forcing His will on us?

I'm back...

2008-08-01T07:46:00.001-07:00

Greets all...

I decided since I was on holidays I would really go on holidays... take a real break!

So... no internet... no emails.. no blogging.. sorry for those of you who check back regularly (hahahahahahhah... excuse me while I wipe my eyes). Don't worry I'm a realist - I know that most people who read this blog either stumble upon it in a fit of boredom...

"I'm so bored.. click...click...click... - Hmmm let's see where this link will take me..."

So anyway, I took a break from technology and focussed some time on the people closest to me - i.e. the people who live in the same house as me.. same neighbourhood you know... the people whose faces you see and names you recognize but you only ever discuss the weather.. major news events, sports and American politics...

it was good times...

but now I'm back stay tuned for my latest entry in a week or two entitled "If..."

Why can't we talk about religion?

2008-06-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to talk about religion? For some reason any attempt to discuss religion turns into a mud-slinging, name-calling, pharisaic shouting match...

The problem is (as Bill Cosby likes to say) , Sayin' it loud don't make it right.

The victory goes not to the person who is loudest.. nor even to the person with the biggest congregation or the flashiest TV show... the winner is the person who looks most like Jesus -- ...and (in case you haven't noticed) there ain't much that's happening in 'religion' today that looks like Jesus...

Here's my 2c...

1. Stop trying to be right and work on being like Jesus
2. Stop trying to be right and focus on doing right. A person can be right without doing right.. which of course makes them wrong. In other words, you can be right, wrong... which makes your wrong...
3. Stop trying to be right... you're not! Take regular opportunity to say, "I'm not perfect. My theology is wrong." Go ahead say it - your theology is wrong... it's wrong because you don't know everything - nobody does - we have only a piece of the puzzle - if you have a puzzle that is missing 50% of it's pieces you might be able to get half the puzzle done... you might have a general idea of what the puzzle is trying to depict but you don't know the whole picture so STOP ACTING LIKE YOU DO!
4. Be a student rather than a teacher (see James 3:1)
5. If someone is saying something you don't want to listen to... turn it off

my 2c

On a scale of one to ten...

2008-05-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

So the other day I came across a website that had the following question on it's homepage (I won't tell you the site because there is other stuff on it that I'd rather not advertise...)

On a scale of 1 to 10 how fulfilling would you say your life is? Hmmm...

About a week ago a friend essentially asked me for my "bucket list" - you know, the list of things you want to do before you kick-the-bucket.

I don't have a bucket list... WOW... you must rate your life a 10 on the 'fulfillment scale'

Actually, I think "personal fulfillment" is an idiotic gauge for measuring life... I can't imagine Mother Theresa or Marin Luther King (or Martin Luther for that matter) Ghandi, Nelson Mandela or a host of others who made a real difference in this world measuring the value of their lives on the fulfillment grid -

Fulfillment measurements are reserved for self-centred, self-serving, narcissistic cultures... like ours...

Cultures that make heroes out of cardboard cut-out stars like actors... and athletes... and pop stars... cultures who value money and image, possessions and personal accomplishments more than relationships...

Want a good scale...

If you find yourself in trouble... real nasty trouble - how many people could you call at 3am? How many would come to your aid...

That's just a warm-up question - Here's the real question...

How many people would call you for help at 3am?

my 2c

What did Jesus REALLY mean?

2008-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

So the other day someone stood up in the church I attend and asked a question. (It’s actually encouraged from time-to-time in this church). I can’t remember the question word for word but I remember it was centred on Jesus words in the tenth chapter of Mark’s gospel.

Mark records the story of a guy who comes up to Jesus with a question. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the guy only that he was young, he was rich and he was involved in community leadership. He wants to know how to get into heaven… basically (it can get more theologically complicated than that but we can save that for another blog). After some initial chit-chat Jesus breaks it down for him – “Go sell everything you possess, give the proceeds to the poor…etc…etc… (there’s more theological stuff but this is the part that concerns the question that was asked)

“What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?”

That was the question - I mean, it’s obvious that Jesus didn’t mean for us to take these words literally right? He didn’t mean for us to sell our houses, cars, cottages, clothes, etc in order to follow Him.

The pastor – a young, progressive, athletic, theologian (he’s going to kill me if I say more than that) responded that he had heard it explained this way, “Jesus is encouraging us to hold our possessions lightly… that we should be willing to give up anything, at any moment, should He require it of us.

Whew! Was I relieved! I mean, no one can seriously believe that Jesus meant for us to give up everything and live in poverty – If we all did that who would support the church… who would support our missionaries overseas? Who would pay the pastor’s salary and fund youth programming? Who would support our Bible Colleges and buy my CDs and books?

…but it bothered me… I’d been bitten and I cannot shake it… Don’t hate me I’m still trying.

Three things bothered me…

First, the question itself – if the person who asked it happens to read this please do not take this personally, your question is my question. And if the religious folk of North America are honest we all have to admit that we have either asked this same question at some point or cut that story out of our Bibles…

What bothers me about the question is that it suggests that Jesus couldn’t possibly have meant what He said. That He somehow mis-spoke (like Hillary Clinton on being shot at) somehow His tongue got tied or His words twisted… Now, I’m not expert in the Greek language but I’m quite certain that there are ways of saying, “One thing you’re missing… a willingness to give up all you possess.” if that is what Jesus had meant to say (the Greek experts can correct me if I’m wrong). Thing is Jesus did not say that – and when the young man turned away he was not thinking, “Whew! Of course I’d be willing to give it all away… for a good cause.” And Jesus disciples got ticked off because if Jesus’ words were true that meant the Kingdom was a tough place to be rich and they were all hoping to ride Jesus’ coat-tails to fame and fortune.

So… did Jesus actually say it? Did Jesus actually mean it? Couldn’t He have thought of a better way to say what He meant if He didn’t mean what He said?

The second thing that bothers me is the answer (I’m guessing if my pastor reads this I’m going to get a phone call this week). You cannot contextualize this… if you do then you should do the same for Jesus’ call to love your enemies. “Your enemies” in first century Palestine would have been Rome – an iron-fisted, brutal, oppressive conqueror. I know there are parts of the world where “Romes” are still felt but not in my neighbourhood. If I contextualize this I can pretend that Jesus doesn’t expect me to love the neighbour who snow-blows their snow onto my walk-way. I don’t need to love the person politicking me out of my office …or raise …or promotion at work. All I have to do is “love Rome”. In fact, with a little bit of effort I can get scripture to support my lifestyle… my North American affluence… bigotry… immorality… hatred… people have been doing it for years. Besides, there is no need to contextualize this – the words are universal… the meaning is universal! Every culture has rich, young, community leaders… and poor, oppressed, downtrodden who would be… could be better served by a more just distribution of wealth. The setting and the command are universal!

The third thing that bothers me… – is that I liked the answer. I want it to be true. I want it to be enough to be willing to give up anything… enough to live life, holding possessions loosely. That’s not easy for me but it’s a heck of a lot easier than what Jesus is proposing!!

Truth is all the evidence points to the fact that Jesus was serious… check this out…

Jesus modeled it…and then said “follow me!” What did Jesus possess when He was crucified? One seamless robe… the shirt on His back.

Truth is the evidence suggests that the twelve disciples believed Jesus was serious too… When Jesus says to Peter, James, John and Andrew, “Come follow me.” They turn their backs on the family business and follow. Peter would later say, “Jesus, we left everything to follow you!”

Truth is believers throughout the centuries have proved the power of modelling their life on this teaching of Jesus’.

So what if …what if Jesus really meant it?

Hey! I wonder what’s on TV? I just got a sweet deal on a 52” flat screen high def beaut! I was praying so hard that there would be one left in the store by the time I got there and guess what? I got the second last one! Answer to prayer!

…just my 2c

I'm the best!

2008-03-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

So recently I was informed about this contest...

It's called, "Christian Idol" ... just kidding it actually goes by a more subtle name like "Bright Angels" or "lights in the Night sky" ..or something like that.

Basically what happens is a pastor writes and submits a one page recommendation... reference... promo piece about certain individuals in their churches. People who they think should be awarded the "night-light" award. I'm not sure what the award is perhaps a discount on their next purchase of an indulgence... or maybe it's a free pass - like I said I'm not sure. Perhaps they get to attend church for a year without putting anything in the offering plate...? better yet... maybe they get a refund!!! ...gee I'd sure like to win if that were the case...

Anyhoo...

the Pastor submits names to the discerning body of judges - who based on the pastors ability to sell their choice, select winners.

OK, so a few questions... the winners... are they winners because they are better people or because they are more like Jesus? It has to be the former since the Jesus of the Bible would have never qualified for an award - certainly not one offered by the religious establishment. If I am correctly recalling my historical facts it was the religious establishment which pushed to have Christ crucified...

Secondly, there is something patently underhanded by taking people who love to serve quietly behind the scenes, placing them on a pedestal and giving them an award - essentially, you end up doing the very thing they try so hard to avoid.

Isn't the thing we find the most commendable about genuine servants is that they genuinely serve without a spotlight?

It reminds me of a story I heard once - I don't recall where I first heard it...

There once was an old deacon in an old baptist church. Nobody knew how old he was, when he had started attending the church or even why everyone called him deacon. What was known was that he was by far the most humble of all servants. For as far back as anyone in the church could remember this man had faithfully served individuals, families and the church itself in a quiet unassuming humble way. He encouraged the young, the pastor, the leaders, the newlyweds he was grace, love and patience in human form.

Pastors came and pastors went but the old deacon remained ... and remained faithful.

One day the current pastor decided that it was high time some form of recognition paid to this individual. Didn't everyone in the community recognize his ongoing contributions? Hadn't they all at one point or another benefited from his ministrations?

In secret they plotted and planned a day to honour the old man and recognize his years of faithful humble service. When the day arrived it was obvious that they old deacon had expected nothing - he was stunned speechless and with great humility accepted the honours heaped on him. Many kind words were spoken, stories of faithful service told, a meal was served and eaten and some say they saw a tear trickle down the deacon's wrinkled cheek.

At the end of the evening the pastor concluded the event with a speech that rivaled the best of his sermons..He too spoke of the incredible humility with which the deacon had served, placing others above himself - leaving an example of selfless giving for all to strive towards. The pastor concluded by calling the deacon forward and presenting him with an award - a lapel pin inscribed with the words.

"to the most humble of Christ's servants"

The first day the old deacon wore that pin... they took it away...

well... that just my 2c

What if we've got it wrong?

2008-02-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

Tell me something... what if we've got it all wrong? The church thing I mean...

What if church is not supposed to be about "worship"? What then?

What if music is supposed to play a minor role and not a major one (excuse the pun).

What if God doesn't care for self-focussed, romantic lyrics sung to boomer, 1980s, soft pop music...

What if we have moved so far from what church is supposed to be that Jesus no longer sees His Bride in us?

What if I'm being extreme...?

Whew...

What if I'm not...?

What if church is supposed to be less about music, monologue, lecture-style teaching in theatre style auditoriums and more about living life with people who share the same questions, struggles, joys and challenges that I do?

What if God wants to speak when we gather ...but He's speaking softly and the music is too loud?

What if the community gathered wants to say something to God but there is no opportunity.. and they are being led by leaders who are too busy loving the sound of their own voices?

What if the community wants to celebrate God's mighty deeds past and present but nobody is keeping track...

What if there are people in our midst who have much to share about God's past deeds but we've silenced them... the very ones who lived it...

What if the real church is supposed to be providing money to struggling families, single-parent homes or homes where grandmas and grandpas are struggling to raise their grandchildren who have been abandoned by parents who were to young, too drunk, to drugged to raise their own children?

What if we are supposed to do this even if they are not members... not in our community... not of the same faith?

What if God was serious about expecting us to meet the needs of the widows and the fatherless?

What if spending 10s of thousands of dollars to go over seas for a religious experience is actually a sin?

What if it's a sin to own a motor-home... or a cottage... or a house that is bigger than you'll ever use... or a new SUV... or a second car...

...or more than one guitar...

...ouch!

Just wondering...

my 2c

Bill Hybles was wrong!?? Say it ain't so!

2008-01-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

So apparently... last year Bill Hybels and Greg Hawkins after a multi-year extensive survey of Willowcreek ministry results admitted that they were wrong.

It seems that the Willowcreek machine thought that creating big and expensive programs and encouraging people to be involved in these big expensive programs would... could produce fully devoted followers of Christ... according to their study... this is not the case...

So what do they do - what they've always done they figure out where they've messed up and move on.

The critics loved it - they immediately grabbed onto Bill's words, "We were wrong..." and jumped with great glee...

...we've been saying that for years!
...what took you so long?
...so entertainment doesn't work?
...this is just another ploy to sell some new books...

All from people who haven't had a fraction of the impact that Bill personally and his ministry have had.

Rather than jumping on the bash Willow band-wagon wouldn't it make better sense to sit down and re-evaluate your own ministry? To ask - WOW if they can get it wrong... and confess to it... is it possible that I might need to do some evaluating and confessing of my own?

So they made a boo-boo are they not human like the rest of us? Some of us belong to churches that have been doing it wrong for longer than Willow has been in existence - we have no cause to fling stones.

Here's the thing - admitting they've missed the mark is nothing new for Willowcreek - they are always evaluating what they do... whether they are being effective... whether they can accomplish their purpose more effectively - get over it people it's called doing church...

just my 2c

Since we're talking about church music...

2008-01-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Do you know what my greatest fear is?

Well yeah, that would be frightening but I mean in terms of music (work with me here). My greatest fear is that I will become one of those old guys who sits at the back and complains about "that crazy music those young folk are listening to these days!" I'm scared not that I'll wake up one morning and find that everything has changed - that seems to be happening enough already - my fear is that I won't want to change. That I will want to turn back the clock to the way things used to be (which for me isn't all that far back.. honest!)

I actually have wildly eclectic tastes when it comes to music. My Ipod has everything from Chant to reggae ... Classical to country (OK it's only two songs but it's a start)... some thumping house music... rap... R&B... gospel... Mozart... Vivaldi.. Bach... Rachmaninoff... old fashioned Rock... swing... I could go on but the point is I'm not going to turn into an old complainer easily... at least when it comes to musical styles...

When it comes to volume however... that's another thing...

That's when it occurred to me - musical styles won't turn me into the chronic belly-acher... do you know what will? VOLUME.

These young guys are listening to their music and doing their "worship" at db levels which exceed 110 -

Here are the problems

younger people have better protective mechanisms than their elders... which means they can handle higher db levels...
with the cultural popularity of mp3 players, Ipods, etc... younger people are more accustomed to higher audio levels than their elders who grew up leaning close to the old RCA LP players (hehehe) ...or 8 tracks... or systems which played cassettes (remember the Dolby NR switch?)

Thing is I need my hearing to make my living... I have no desire to go to church to have my hearing damaged - if you want to listen to your music at home or with your earbuds at volume levels which exceed the threshold of pain (and I'll be loose with the numbers here... around 120-140 db) go ahead but how is that "worship"?

Seriously... is your god deaf? Is he maybe daydreaming? Cry out louder maybe he is relieving himself... or maybe he took a trip or fell asleep... (1 Kings 18:27)

This isn't about worship for me... and it's not about musical styles (I'll wager I have tastes far more... eccentric than most)... it's about health...

well... that's my 2c.. I'll just take my cane and make my way to the back of the church...

Concerning Worship...

2008-01-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

It's a poor story... and poorly written... and though it is but a fragment it stands as the begining of a parable on the state of our corporate worship leadership...

A long time ago and further than you and I have ever traveled there was a kingdom of great renown. Gouhm was ruled by a patient, just but loving King who was well loved by all his subjects.

Had you stumbled on this kingdom you would have marveled at its beauty. Artisans from the world over travelled to this small dot on a map to bask in the sheer beauty of it's architecture, it's art, it's music and literature.

I've heard tell - though to be honest I cannot remember from whom - that there are a few pieces of Gouhmie art still to be found in tightly guarded, highly prized collections. Though I have never seen any... I recall this same source answering a question which must have been asked a billion times during the era of this great kingdom.

"What was Gouhmie's secret? How could such an otherwise insignificant and historically unimportant place become so distinguished and unrivaled in it's art?"

Easy... skills were passed from masters to student. Students appreciated... understood the significance of that which was entrusted to them - they recognized their responsibility and their role as keepers of a thousand years of history. Each apprentice understood that "their" art was not their own but was the culmination of hundreds of years of experience, refinement, advancement, expression... Creativity was not about repainting the picture or finding something new to paint. Creativity was about adding their own individual stroke or two to the overall canvas. As each student became a master they understood how critical it was to pass this truth, the traditions, and the lessons they had learned onto the next generation...

The next inevitable question - "So what happened? Why has this greatness disappeared? Where has this accumulated knowledge vanished?"

Many years passed in this fashion - great students became great masters who taught great students - until one day there arose a King who cared not for the old ways - though still a lover of beauty. He felt that there would be greater wisdom in finding the greatest of the great and making them teachers in a great school.

So he removed the teachers from their communities - brought them together in a wonderful structure he had built for this very reason and sent word that any wishing to study art could come to this new and wonderful centre of learning.

...and so they came, and were taught by the best - and all was well except that a subtle lie began to fester among the Gouhmies. Soon the lie was considered logical... then it was considered the best way... then considered the only way... then the lie became truth.

It did not happen overnight but eventually the Gouhmies came to believe that only those who were trained at the school were artists - soon it was believed that to become an artist one must travel to the great school.

is anyone listening?

my 2c

Christmas... BAH Humbug...

2007-12-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Whew... it's been a long time - sorry for all those fans out there who regularly check back...

...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

So, I've been wrestling with the whole Christmas card thang... Mainly because people don't seem to be into giving Christmas Cards anymore. Seriously, there are some who are still faking it but I think they are doing it mostly out of guilt... or something... Here are the current options...

Christmas Card - back in the day someone would send you a Christmas card and it would have a personalized greeting in it - 9 times out of 10 you knew who had sent it because of the stamp or the return address or the handwriting on the envelop - if that didn't clue you in the message inside would - Now you get a cheap card with a couple of names scratched on the inside (all in the same hand-writing so you know the 5 people listed inside didn't even have the time to write their own names... UGH!). There have been times (honestly) when I couldn't read the names... and other times when I could read the names but still didn't know who had sent the card... Other times when I wondered if perhaps they had sent it to the wrong address...

The family photo with the Wal-Mart greeting - These have become hugely popular in my neck-of-the-woods. They are cheaper than cards, a heck of a lot more convenient and you don't even have to rubber-stamp your name on it... they have your picture. Now, that's convenient for me - I'm better with faces than with scribbled names-... plus that way I get to see how you're aging because I keep those photo chards and string them up with my cards for Christmas decorations each year... right. I'm not trying to be rude I'm just trying to figure out what to do with them all after the holiday - you feel bad throwing them away but honestly I've got trouble organizing and finding places for my own family pictures much less yours...

The phone call... I love the Christmas phone call - if I could get my family on skype with web cams I'd love it even more. It's the next best thing to being there...

The family letter - You know... I've sort of fallen in love with the family letter. Even if it's once a year it tells you that you're still one someone's list of friends. A personal friend who thinks that you would be interested not only to see junior's latest school picture but interested to know that he's dropped out of football and is now taking ballet... good for him! In addition if the person has moved you get their new address, get to see pictures of their new house - it's great! Not only that - it gives you something to ask/talk about when you make that Christmas phone call!
...and it makes you commit to keeping in better touch next year ... an instant New Year's resolution!

The family DVD - I keep saying I'm going to do this one year but I just don't have the time - I generally get one done for those closest to me and never get around to doing one to send out. you know what I'm talking about right - you put a bunch of you pictures and movies together using some random readily available video-editing software - you add in some titles, text and voice-overs if you're really into it - and then you send of the DVD to those closest to you. I love the thought of getting (.. uh... yeah and giving) a DVD of key events from the past year. I tried it once before the technology was as advanced as it is now and the results were... well let's just say maybe it's time to try again...

Anyway that's my 2c for 2007

Have a great Holiday!

War and Peace

2007-11-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

I'm a pacifist...

Don't look at me like that you're a pacifist too -- given the right conditions.. So, OK maybe that should read -

I'm a pacifist ...given the right conditions.

Now I've gone and made the other half of you mad...

Big urban centre. Gas-station manned by a lone, skinny, teenage pump jockey. It's a quiet night but it's been a busy day so there is a fair bit of cash on hand. This is not one of those hi-tech gas-stations with video cameras and bullet-proof glass. There is no safe... the cash is in a filing cabinet ...or rolled up in the teenager's pocket.

A car rolls onto the lot - does a circle and then backs up to the door... You don't need the low rumbling music like in the movies - this is trouble. One person get's out of the car - the driver shifts it into forward and keeps his foot on the brakes.

Spidey senses tingling the skinny teen looks for a way out... there is none - tell me Miss Pacifist what do you do?

Well that one's easy... you wake up the 100LB well-trained guard dog sleeping at your feet behind the counter. He stretches, perks up his ear when the door opens and slowly pads over to greet your visitor who quickly sizes up the situation and decides to rob the Shell station down the street instead...

OK so how about this...

A young couple in love... again in the big city... make a quick stop at a convenient store. Unfortunately, what makes it convenient for them also makes it convenient for the two hooded thugs who come in waving a gun... They want all the cash - this time there is no guard dog...

This one's easy too... give 'em the money. They ask for your watch - hand that over too... and the ear rings, necklaces... etc...

One more? A young man and his lovely girlfriend arrive at her place after a late supper and show - the lobby, elevator, apartment halls are all well lit - but there is something suspicious about the shabbily dressed, fuzz-faced stranger who is walking up the hall trying EVERY DOOR he passes to see if it's locked. This is not some new security technique.

The couple gets inside and locks the door - none too soon. There's a knock on the door.

"Go away!" the young man shouts through the door.
"We don't want any!" the young lady yells before they both erupt in giggles...

The knocking is persistent and gets louder.. and then annoying...

Carefully ensuring the chain is in place the young man opens the door a crack to tell the intruder to 'buzz off'... mistake...

The stranger steps back and levels a kick at the door that pulls the chain right off it's mounting... delivers a blow to the young man that sends him reeling and goes for the young lady...

"I know you want what I got!" he says as he closes in...

There is no way this is going to end pretty... still want to pretend you're a pacifist?

One more thing... just so's you know - there is very little fiction in these three stories...

just my 2c

Why God is not Good

2007-10-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

So the other day I sent out an email...

All it said was, "Isn't God good?"

Now for all the atheists out there who are moaning and lamenting, "But there is no God..." You don't believe in Santa either but I don't hear you making a big deal over every child who does so get over it... or go Google something that interests you...

Anyhoo... I got a response back... "How good is God?"

I don't know if it was meant as a deeply theological question or just a casual, "What makes you say God is good?" But it got me thinking...

Those who don't believe in God and have read this far... imagine He does exist. Imagine there is an all-powerful being... ALL-POWERFUL , living, personal, active being...

I would suggest to you that He would be neither "good" or "bad" ... these are cultural terms. They have emerged out of our own existence and experience. We define "good" and "bad" based on what we like.. what we think is good for us (or others)... God... if He exists as GOD cannot be constrained by these categories... He's GOD...

If He does something that you do not like there is no High Court of the Cosmos to which you can appeal... You cannot say to Him, "Bad god... bad... flooding that little village is bad!" He's GOD... What He does or decrees or decides may be bad for me... might not feel good... but I have no recourse.

To be honest with you I think this is what turns people into atheists - the alternative scares the heck out of them - A Being that I cannot control... that is not bound by laws... and "reason" Which explains why the reality of a God seems illogical, fantastic... unreasonable... simply because the idea is outside of reason- GOD is un-reason-able - He exists in a different category!

For the record, it seems to me that the person who hides under the bed saying, "God does not exist... He does not exist... He does not exist... does not exist" Is far more of an intellectual whimp and a life-coward than the person who says, "If He's out there I'm going to hunt Him... pursue Him!"

The former is the atheist, "I cannot reasonably believe in Him... the thought scares the heck out of me. Therefore He does not exist (thumbs in ears loudly singing "la-la-la")" The latter being a pursuer of God...

The religious fall into another category... they neither wish to pursue.. nor reason... but are terrified all at once...

OK so my point in all of this is...

God isn't good... He is something else altogether...
God isn't bad... He is something else altogether...
God is un-reason-able... that is we are not able to logically reason His existence... His reality If I can then He is not God... I am!

Talk about eclectic ramblings...

my 2c

Silence the Box

2007-10-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago I discovered that a number of people that I knew were cancelling their cable/satellite subscriptions...

"Too much money!" some of them said
"There's nothing worth watching on TV." others said...
"I have better things to do with my time and money..." and etc... you get the point...

Now before you get all bent out of shape this is not a rant against TV... you like TV good for you. Me? I like stories. Good old-fashioned, well told, well crafted stories. What attracts me to TV is not the explosions, car chases and love scenes but the stories. Even when a story is poorly told on TV I find myself sitting there wondering what the story is behind the story... That actor or actress.. what's their story. When they dreamed of acting was this what they had in mind or does this "pay the bills"?

The guy in the commercial.. seriously.. did he dream of becoming a ..."guy in a commercial" when he was running around the playground at 6 years old...

I do this when I'm out in public too... I look at people in the mall or sitting in their car in a traffic jam and I wonder...

I wonder about their story... I wonder what it is and if it will ever be told or if it will die and be buried with them? I wonder how long it will be remembered before it fades into the abyss of the past - How many visits will there be to their tombstone before it becomes just another marker in a field of markers...

OK this is getting morbid...

So... I really like stories - although I've abandoned cable, satellite and other forms of connecting 'the box' to the outside world I still enjoy watching - if only just to create my own storylines...

I started this thing though a couple of years ago - every six months I silence the box... I turn off the TV put away the remotes and put that energy into my own story. For 30 days no TV... no DVDs... ...no VHS... no movie theatres...

I wonder what would happen if we all decided to do that? If for 30 days NOBODY anywhere watched TV, DVDs, movies and so forth...

Honestly... I think we'd change the world...

Ambitious perhaps... so I'll just focus on changing 'my' world...

my 2c

I know I was wondering about that...

2007-10-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

You'll never believe this...

If you take a string and put it in a box! Got that? A string in a box...

And you put a lid on the box... still with me... string...box... lid...

...and you turn the box over and over.. this is so-o-o-o cool...

you turn the box over and over... you will get...

No wait... I gotta tell you this first - this is so-o-o-o cool I heard it on the news this morning. Turns out these scientists were doing this study and discovered this...

You'll never guess - seriously I thought you would end up with gold or something... you know a string in a box...with a lid and you turn it over and over - you ought to end up with a new form of energy or something but no... you end up with... wait for it... knots!

Yeah that's what I thought too...

Really what the heck did you think you were going to get when you put a string in a box and tumble it around and around...

You'll never guess what else they discovered! Are you ready for this? Make sure you're sitting down!

The longer the string ...the more knots... Like, NO WAY... knock me down and pour cold water on me who'd a thunk it?

Seriously, they did this study WITH VARIOUS LENGTHS OF STRING... I'm thinking what the heck! I'm working for a living while these guys are playing with strings in a box.

Honestly, this is no joke! People get paid to discover this stuff...

So you know what I'm thinking now... How does one go about getting this grant money?

I'm wondering... what would happen if you put rocks in a box... and shook it - would it make noise... or would it make me more money than I make at a real job?

my 2c

It's Happened Again...

2007-10-01T12:32:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you're like me or not...

If you're reading this I'm assuming you're human so I guess we do have that in common. (If you're not human let me give you a word of advice... STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLANET!).

There are attachments... stuff in my life that is... well, let's say "unhealthy" I know these things are unhealthy... I also know I want to be healthy. So I make wonderful bold commitments to remove these things from my life and live more healthy...

I know you know what I'm talking about because you have those things in your life too...

At any rate, I usually do pretty good with keeping these things at bay... Thing is, they seem to sneak up and bite you when you least expect it...

Right now the "thing" for me is busy-ness...

I'm pausing to write this blog because it is my way of reclaiming my time - of saying that I am not controlled by the mountains of things left undone ...piled around me and my life-space. If it were people... relationships I would have no problem with the busy-ness - but it's not. It's stuff! How did I get to the point where stuff was so important that I let it control me to the degree that it does...

Some wise person once said, "When you're up to your eyeballs in alligators it's easy to forget you came to drain the swamp."

I feel like I'm up to my eyeballs in alligators!

This is why I am taking a break ...to regain control... to remember what I came "here" to do...

It would be easier if the last person had at least left a chain on the drain-plug...

my 2c

I love stories...

2007-09-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Did you hear the one about the lawyer and the rabbi?

One day a lawyer stood to ask a popular Rabbi a question. It should be noted that to earn the title ‘lawyer’ this man would have been among the most highly educated of his nation responsible for the preservation, maintenance and for educating others in both the law and the ancient traditions

His question? What must I do to attain eternal life by rights – to live forever as a right of inheritance?

The Rabbi answered with a question – What does the law say… and how do you interpret it? (Remember the lawyer is a specialist in these two things).

We all know the answer he gave… right? … "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbour as yourself."

the Rabbi (perhaps with a touch of condescension replied, “Very good.”

I’m not sure if this was going as the lawyer had planned but he risked another question, “I understand the ‘love God’ bit, but who is my neighbour?”

the Rabbi told a story - given that this happened hundreds of years ago the story probably would have been told differently if he were telling it today... In fact, it might have gone something like this....

A politician in town for a leadership convention found himself with some free time late one afternoon and decided to take a walk down the quiet streets of an inner-city neighbourhood. It was in that quiet time between the busy-ness of rush-hour and the emergence of the night crowd and as he hurried back to the convention a couple of crack-heads jumped him from behind. They panicked when he fought back and beat him unconscious before running off with the contents of his pockets. As daylight faded a homeless man walking down the street saw no need to pass by a perfectly good outfit-he managed to strip the politician of his shoes and outer coat before some noise or the other scared him off. Quickly he threw his tattered, lice-infested old coat over the politician and ducked into the shadows of a nearby alley.

Later that evening a youth group on an ‘inner-city missions trip’ came chatting and giggling up the street. One of the youth pointed to the crumpled heap on the sidewalk and as they got closer one of the girls thought she had heard a moan. The youth leaders knowing that this was a dangerous part of town and not wanting to expose his young missionaries to danger quickly shepherded them along. It wasn’t long before they were safe in the youth room tossing chips at each other and talking about how they had become the hands and feet of Jesus by handing out stale sandwiches to those in need… in safer communities.

While they were reminiscing about their spiritual maturity a small group on a service project also happened by the battered politician. Assuming that he was pan-handler who had fallen asleep, one member of the group suggested they buy a meal for the homeless man and put it beside him as a surprise blessing for when he woke up. Their leader reminded them of the many public-service announcements on TV which encouraged individuals to give to organizations rather than directly to the poor and so they too hurried off to serve in a ministry that already had too many volunteers being one of the few that enjoyed the benefits of a dynamic and popular leader.

An hour or so later with the night-life in full swing a love-struck couple meandered down the street, hand in hand, cheek to cheek, walking so close they sometimes looked like one large person rather than two. Their conversation consisted of low murmurs and childish giggles and they were so wrapped up with each other they practically stumbled over the politician before they saw his body. Though he was still covered with the shabby coat - evidence of what had happened was obvious to see. In an instant one man, Robert a medical student, had knelt to administer basic medical care while the other, Steve had pulled out his cell-phone to dial 911. Unfortunately, the man died at the scene – what the EMS attendant called a cruel and unnecessary waste. If we’d gotten here just an hour or so earlier we could have saved his life.”

When Jesus told the story the "good" guy was a Samaritan - when he turned to the lawyer after that surprise ending Jesus went on to ask, "So... you tell me – who is the neighbour in this story?”

The lawyer was so prejudiced against Samaritans he could not even say the word ‘Samaritan’ ‘The one who helped!” he finally choked out

What's the lesson here?

When you see someone who is in need and it is within your power to help – they are your neighbour, love them as you would yourself?

or maybe it's... You become a neighbour by serving those in need... neighbours are made not found?

What do you think?

The New POI (minus the short tie)

2007-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

The song is called Incredible God, Incredible Praise - the group "Youthful Praise"

Big Brother...

2007-08-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Big brother is out there watching... he is me... and you...

There has been much hoopla of late concerning the amount of personal information that is floating around on the web - if you know where to look there isn't much that would be left to your imagination about this person or that person... frightening...

The news lady did this report about how people are so loose with information these days. She talked to people on the street who talked about how they discovered Julie had broken up with Gordie and how Frank was seeing Sue by logging on to a blog or through facebook.

There is this interesting exercise I like to do from time to time - you know that link up in the top left hand side of this page "NEXT BLOG " I click that sometimes - just to see where it will take me. I am amazed at how open people are with their blogs. For some it's a very intimate journal. One young lady documented her entire day - hour by hour... conversations with her ex about custody of their daughter... Grandparents document time spent with grandkids... families have blogs to keep siblings up-to-date on the events of their lives... There really is a lot of personal stuff out there... and not just text either - people post pictures - sometimes intensely personal pictures...

The only thing that makes this whole thing more funny than frightening is the fact that you are not that important... (me neither) We can safely post all the details of our lives on the web because there is nobody out there... nobody is listening.

What I mean is that nobody cares enough to do anything (good or bad) about most of the information... Maybe it's just that there is too much information out there... or maybe it's just too much apathy...

Quite frankly, I find it more frightening that nobody cares...

Like I said in an earlier post... makes you want to walk out on the street and hug someone - just to remember what it feels like to be real...

my 2c

Who me??

2007-08-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I have another confession...

I've started writing a post on a particular topic... three times. Each time I take a few moments to think about how it might be read or perceived I chicken out.

I hesitate not because I do not believe what I am writing... I hesitate because there is so much at stake and this is not a good forum when there is so much at stake.

In my mind relationship is everything. I say that often when people come to me with a concern about a friend who is doing something that is unhealthy... or about a situation with a collegue at work ...or their boss.

"Whatever you do" I say as if I'm some wise guru, "Remember that relationship is everything."

Being true to who you are is important... freedom to speak freely is important... excellence is important... learning, influence, wisdom even power... important, important, important... but relationship matters the most. If you remove relationships the whole thing collapses.

This forum is lousy for relationships. It's great if you know the person well... In fact, the better you know the blogger the better the medium... but if you don't know the person well... or at all... the medium stinks - You don't get the jokes... you don't know what is serious... you mis tongue in cheek and think, "what a loser" ...or worse...

In each of the blogs that I eventually deleted I did so after re-reading what I had written considering the importance of relationship. Considering how it might be percieved by someone who thought they knew me... but didn't...

my 2c

Sounds like church...

2007-08-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether this is legal or not - quoting a paragraph from a published article in a blog - if it's not the editor of the magazine or the author of the article can let me know and I will remove it...

...of course they would have to know that this blog exists... and would have to care to read it...

So, the other day I'm reading this article when I came across this quote...

"The ethics of --- became slippery. Marketing focused on profitablity. Books were published to sell. Right theology was less important than popularity. Christian music became an oxymoron as bands sold out to advertising and demand. Christian subculture took on a life of its own in the name of the almighty dollar."

I read that and thought - "Bumbye! That sounds just like the church!"

I can't imagine that the author failed to recognize this - The article is actually purported to be about "Christian bookstores" Turns out the author is a pastor. That would make it kind of awkward to say these things about the church don't you think. People in your congregation would read it and think you were talking about them... so let's pretend we're talking about ...Uhm... a bookstore...

OK that was tongue in cheek and perhaps not fair to the author.

Marketing focussed on profitability... How do churches measure success these days? Is success determined by the number of hungry children who are fed? How about the number of youth who drop into an after school program to get tutoring? Families assisted? or is it the number of bums in the pew and dollars in the plate?

How important is theology...? Do we really want to know what Jesus meant by the story Luke records in the twelfth chapter of his gospel (vv13-21)? Do we care?

What if scripture is serious about the fact that we own nothing... serious about the call to give it all to and for Christ... serious about sacrificial living...

What if proper theology... a true and faithful reading of scripture means that I have to get rid of my DVD collection and all my CDs and give 60% of my income to feed the poor, house the widow, clothe the fatherless... what if they don't give me the gratitude I deserve for having sold "all of my possessions"

...and Christian music? You don't even want to get me started on that...

Confession

2007-07-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

So I have a confession to make...

It's a little embarrassing - but I hear confession is good for the soul...

OK here goes...

OK...

OK...

I...

I love...

Well... it's something I love to do... love to watch too...

The rich do it... though usually they force it...
The poor do it... even though they seem to have no logical reason to...

The people who do it the most are those who have learned to be content... What is this thing I love?

I love laughter...

There it is I've been outed - I just absolutely love laughter - Like I said, I love to do it, love to watch it and I love to hear it. I love it's wild abandon. In its truest form it is complete primitive - uncontrollable. Some people tilt their heads back and roar. That's the only way you can describe it... Other people chirp like birds... Some people their whole bodies get into it... Others, only their shoulders (right Jordan?). Some cover their mouths, others hold their head. Some flap their arms like wings, others clutch their sides. Some stamp their feet, others flail their legs about. Some double over forwards... others backwards. Some stand... others collapse in a heap. I really don't care what the style is... I just love it...

This is one of the reasons I like comedy... good comedy... which is about as rare as the Dodo bird. Maybe that would make for a good future post... comedy I mean, not the Dodo bird.

As I alluded to before, there are various kinds of laughter. There is the polite laughter of someone who knows that it is proper etiquette to laugh... now... There is the giggle of embarrassment... there is forced laughter... and cruel laughter... all of which I hold in contempt. There is however a laugh that comes from somewhere deep... your sides hurt, your eyes water but you cannot stop it - You think to yourself, "Why the heck am I laughing, this is not even funny..." This is the laughter I love...

I love laughter because it is contagious
I love laughter because it is an explosion of pure joy
I love laughter because it cannot be controlled
I love laughter because it is free
I love laughter because it costs so much and returns way more than give...
I love laughter because I do not... can not understand it
I love laughter because it is eternal...
I love laughter because it is a living thing... it must be because the dead do not laugh...
..it is unexpected, loud, brash, embarrassed, fatiguing, invigorating, life-giving, healing, humbling...

I just love laughter!

May your day contain one really... really... REALLY good laugh!

my 2c

Want a good tip?

2007-07-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

So the people who do studies have discovered that people can be cheap tippers...

Are you a cheap tipper? I sure hope I'm not one...

Now you got to understand I'm not particularly fond of eating out. I'd much rather sit down at a table in my own house surrounded by my 'own' people sitting in my chair eating my kind of food. Eating in an establishment where the person who prepares your food is hidden in a back room and the person who brings it to your table really doesn't want to be there isn't what I would define as enjoyable. Surrounded by complete strangers... (I hate movie theatres too by the way)

A tip is reflection not of the quality of the person serving but of your perception of your own self-importance.

It is not your right to be served by another human being. It is not your right to have your food prepared for you 'just how you like it' and served to you with a smile. It is a blessing which should be acknowledged.

I worked in the service industry for a number of years. It takes a person of real backbone to day after day face people who think they have the right to treat you like a slave simply because...

I had a customer once who felt that because they were the customer and I was the one in uniform they had the right to make demands. I set them straight - explaining exactly what they were paying for and exactly what they were going to get.

They threatened to tell my boss... Fortunately for them they didn't. My boss was one of those hard-working types who had risen through the ranks and he congratulated me on standing up to "people like that."

I once watched my boss provide a service for a customer which he frequently offered for free. When the customer failed to acknowledge or even say, "thanks" my boss made out a bill and charged him for the work. To this day I don't think the guy realized how much money he could have saved by saying, "Thank-you"

I have this dream that one day I'll be stranded by the side of the road and some waiter or waitress who served me in a restaurant will come driving by. They'll see me there and remember me - help me out and say, "I remember you - you gave me a great tip years ago!" Then they'll return the favour and buy me a new house or something...

...like I said, it's a dream...

Until then I'll continue to do my best to be a generous tipper.

One more thing - I'd love to get my hands on some of the money that goes into doing these studies... then I'd tip more...

my 2c

Blame it on the rain...

2007-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Remember that song?

It seems to me that we live in a society that has taken this advice to heart. Everything that happens to me is someone else's fault. Have you noticed how no one can be held responsible for the actions anymore.

It's not my fault ...it's a disease...
It's not my fault ...when I was three years old my mother... or my uncle... or my first grade teacher...
It's not my fault ...it's the government...
It's not my fault ... the equipment malfunctioned...
It's just not my fault...

You remember St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock who died in April after he drove his car into a stationary tow truck on Interstate 64? According to a police report, Hancock was intoxicated, speeding, un-seat-belted, and talking on his cell phone at the time.

Guess what? In May, Hancock's father filed a lawsuit claiming that the causes of the crash were (1) the tow truck operator, (2) the driver who was being assisted by the tow truck operator, and (3) the manager of the restaurant in which Hancock had been drinking. [Houston Chronicle-AP, 5-25-07]

ye-e-e-e-ah....

Don't get me wrong - there are plenty of things in life that are beyond the scope of our control - there are tragic circumstances which occur every day. The child born with AIDS, the victim of a tornado, the elderly trapped in a fire, flood victims, farmers in a drought-zone

...too bad they don't have someone to sue...

just my 2c...

Eye Doctors...

2007-07-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell you I hate going to the eye doctor... it's worse than the dentist for me - I psyched myself up two days in advance for the eye-drops and the puff of air in the wide-open eye... I tell ya I was ready - only this time they had thought up new tortures.

The sweetly smiling assistant comes in and explains the test (there were several but this was the worst one)...

"First I'm going to put some drops in your eyes..." OK I was expecting that...
"it's going to burn a little..." Whoa... whoa... this is a new one - burning eye drops... hmmm.... let me think about this a little bit - like for 50 years or so...

Inside I'm screaming ("AGAHGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGH KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!)

"After we get the drops in I'm going to put this on your eyeball..." she shows me something that looks like a ball-point pen... "I'll hold it on your eyeball and you will hear it click 10 times - then we'll do the other eye..."

Did you catch that? She thinks she is going to put something ON my eyeball - literally rest it on the part that sees... I will see this thing resting on my eyeball... I'm thinking, "Lady you come anywhere near my eye with that thing and one of us is leaving here in an ambulance (probably me but she doesn't know that)!"

"Then I'm going to put this one on your eyeball..." - she shows me what looks like a Sharpie with the cap removed "then I'm going to put another set of drops in your eye..."

I'm smiling through all of this because I'm trying hard to find my "happy-place"

...it's not working...

"Are you ready? ...OK open your eyes...

...You have to open your eyes for me to get the drops in...

...Ouuu... we got a squinter."

You got that right!

She manages to pry my eyes open...

So in go the drops - here comes the burning... (AGHAGHAGHAGAHGAHGAHG IT BURNS... IT BURNS...) Here comes the ball-point pen on the eye-ball... happy-thoughts... happy-thoughts... happy-thoughts (AGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGH....)

"Excuse me sir?"

"What now?" I ask

"You have to breathe... if you don't breathe our pressure readings of your eye will be off"

Uhm lady... you are trying to poke me in the eyeball with a ball-point pen - excuse me if I forget to breathe!

"OK... let's try again..."

I open my eye... the pen gets closer and closer... then the clicking starts - "Hey is that thing on my eyeball? CO-O-O-O-O-OL!"

...When I came to... she was still smiling... "Ready to start?"

When the ballpoint pen was finally done she came at me with the Sharpie... My eyes clamped shut. Complete lock-down - she does the pry thing again but this time it doesn't work as soon as the thing touches me my eyes lock up like a bank vault. No word of lie she asked me, "O... can you feel that?"

So I poked her in the eye and asked her if she could feel that."

Normally this is the place where I would say something like... "actually it wasn't all that bad..." thing is - it was!

Questions

2007-07-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

So... I knew this girl once.

She had a lot of questions...
but she couldn't find answers.

Truth is she couldn't find people who would even acknowledge her questions...

We were kids - maybe she more than I (does that sound arrogant?)

Her parents assumed it was teenaged rebellion - her questions I mean - then they just labeled it rebellion... then they labeled her a rebel... then trouble-maker.

Once you do that of course you have to deal with the 'trouble' (not the trouble-maker mind you... the trouble). What I mean by that is that in general 'trouble-maker' is just another term for a person whose behaviour needs to be ...adjusted.

They (her parents) sent her to a religious counsellor. She retaliated by adding some words to her vocabulary that were not in the religious handbook, started dressing 'inappropriately' and ...well... making trouble.

They clamped down with more rules...

She just kept asking the 'wrong' questions and acting in 'wrong' ways...

They reacted by 'enrolling' her in 'real' counseling...

She responded by naming her dog "Jesus"

That was the last straw - they uprooted her from her high school and sent her to a Christian school to be 'fixed'... neutered ....silenced.

Even that didn't work -

She in the end stopped asking her questions and just became bitter and angry.

Somehow I don't get people like that... people who stop asking questions. It doesn't make sense to me that a person would stop looking for answers simply because they don't know anyone who has the answers. It no one has the answers maybe it is because no one has asked - which makes me something of a genius for having found a brand new question!!!

More likely than not they don't have the answer because they have spent their time thinking of different questions. My search should not be for 'answers' (anymore than dealing with 'trouble-makers' should be reduced to attempts at behaviour modification) my search should be for people. People who have had the same questions... people who have the same questions... people with whom I can journey...

I don't know what happened to this girl - I don't know where she is. I hope she took up the search for answers again and I hope she's found fellow-pilgrims...

As for her parents - I hope they are seeing that 'real' counselor...

just my 2c

Who-who-who...

2007-07-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

So I stood there, more than a little awe-struck snapping pictures as this owl posed for me.

click-click-click

Wow this is awesome....

click-click-click

Oh man...

click-click-click

(I really did take a lot of pictures)

She turned her head one way and then the next... then around... I was hoping to see her take flight - then I noticed the claws on this baby.

This image doesn't do justice - I reduced the resolution to upload it here - but I started to think, "If she wants to this bird could do me some serious damage."

So, I took a few more pictures and then slowly backed away.

Speaking of TV...

2007-07-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

So have you seen the new "America's Got Talent"

I watched the first season and thought, "Now here is a fun... and funny entertaining r-tv type show that I like... " well mostly liked. Brandy was... how can I put this... annoying.

The premise of the show was that ..well... that somewhere out there among the 30 some-odd million americans there was talent. People would sign up for their chance on the stage to prove to the three judges and me... (in TV-land) that they talent. There were jugglers, magicians, singers, one-man-bands, a rapping granny, child prodigies and a kid who could play harmonica like I've never seen... Performers sat in the audience (an audience of their peers) and waited on the edge of the seat to be called to the stage. Once onstage they performed and then stepped forward to hear the comments of the judges. It was fun because, for the most part, the judges and the audience were kind, the talents were varied and every once in awhile some one... or act would absolutely blow you away.

...I'm giving my age away here but it was basically an updated "Gong show" remember the Gong Show? No there were no "dirty sock" awards and no "Jean-Jean-the-dancing-machine" Still it was fun...

Guess what...?

They went and messed it up... Regis was replace with Jerry Springer - which actually was a good move. Jerry is actually a warm and caring host (you really feel like he wants these people to do well...(sorry to spoil your image Jerry)

Brandy is gone... yippee...

Unfortunately, now instead of an audience of performers the audience is made up of people from "off the street"... probably they pay to get in - anyway they are rude - super-rude to the contestants many of whom are up their giving it their best shot. I've seen performers drowned out by boos and laughs and cat-calls before they could even start. Granted some of them are ba-a-a-a-ad - but since when does an audience (even a paying one) have the right to be so rude?

In addition the judges have been having personality feuds which have caused some acts to go through to the next round that really shouldn't - especially in view of some of the acts that have been rejected...

If you're interested in taking a look... go here...

http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/

Happy Canada Day...? hunh?

2007-06-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm watching TV the other night and this ad comes on...

"Celebrate the birth of a nation...
...and the people's princess...
..with special guests - Elton John... P.Diddy and so forth...

What???

What does a dead British princess and American 'pop' starts have to do with Canada Day? Seriously have we nothing to celebrate? Have we no talent in this country? I realize one may come to that conclusion after watching hours and hours of Canadian Idol but Jeesh...

This is supposed to be Canada day... a day when we celebrate things Canadian.

Diana was not... is not my princess. I do not claim her as mine - You want to raise money to support the poor and needy around the world? Fantastic I'm all for that. You want to do that on Canada Day - again, you have my full support. There are a gazillion organizations in Canada that could be featured and just as many Canadian individuals who generously give to support the needy around the world - why couldn't we feature one of them?

And why are we importing tal... I was going to say talent but ugh!... I'd rather watch a special that features kindergarten choirs from Newfoundland to BC from Nunavut to Great Lakes singing O Canada...

Having said all that... I usually don't watch Canada Day specials - I like to get out in a park and mingle with Canadians... eating big hunks of massive flag-shaped, red and white cake... drinking pop and having BBQ hotdogs while local arts and ethnic groups do their thing...

Happy Birthday Canada...

My Predicament

2007-06-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

So a little while ago I needed to take my vehicle into the mechanic... I needed new tires, a balance, a clutch bleed... it's an old vehicle.

It occurred to me that rather than fixing it - I could sell it 'as is' and maybe look for something a little better. So... I ran an ad in the paper for a week (ending the day before my appointment with the mechanic)...

Did I say I was going to sell it 'as is'...?

It sold... 'as is' That was part of the ad and written on the documentation...

A couple days later I get a call from the guy who bought it and he tells me "I just about got killed by this vehicle 2 minutes after I picked it up! It has major problems! You sold me something that doesn't work..."

OK so the vehicle was pushing 25 years of age... and was sold 'as is' He tells me a mechanic has told him that I should have known about it and that the part to fix the vehicle is going to cost more than he paid...

I reminded him that I had been open about the things which I knew needed to be fixed on the vehicle and that he himself had test driven it and had been pleased enough to purchase it...

It occurs to me that this would be a great way to get some money back on a vehicle you had just purchased - buy it... drive it away... claim that it's busted and have a mechanic say that 'it had to have been like this for years'... how can you fight that?

On the other hand - we all know what it is like to make a purchase and end up with product that doesn't do what we wanted or needed it to do - We know what it's like to try to return product only to get jerked around by the people who were so friendly when we bought it from them...

I suppose that's why we say "as is"

anyone got 2c they want to share?

Isn't life...

2007-05-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

WONDERFUL!!!

I tour...

One of the great things about touring is meeting unique and interesting folk.

The other day I met this guy and his wife. Successful... very successful - regardless of how you define success. As I've gotten to know them I've been hearing some of the things they have experienced in life. Later when I'm alone I lie back on my bed and think to myself... "Man, do I have it good or what!"

Don't get me wrong - I've had my share of lumps and bumps and life-hurdles - but when I hear the stories of by-gone generations - how they struggled for survival.. not for fame... not to be rich... just to get by - I have to give thanks to God!

OK so some poor atheist has just stumbled upon my website and got turned off because I said 'give thanks to God'. Grow up you doofus! Quit being so immature. Don't you sometimes look around you and think, "Man, am I ...grateful!"

So atheist person - when you are thankful to whom do you give thanks? It makes no sense to thank yourself - you and I both know that you are not responsible for the things which make us most grateful... are you going to thank 'luck'... by definition luck did not do anything to position you where you are - If 'luck' had intentionally acted on your behalf it wouldn't be luck would it...

Somebody once said that the most frustrating thing about being an atheist is being overwhelmed with gratitude and discovering you have no one to say 'Thanks' to...

Anyway... I'm just saying that I've done more than survive life - and for my part I choose to express my gratitude to One who I believe has journeyed with me. I say thanks not for the activity or events (because they have not always been what I would term as 'good') I give thanks for His presence on the road.

just my 2c

Get a Life...

2007-05-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here...

...waiting for my mid-life crisis (MLC). Not that I'm old or anything. It's not even that I'm due for a MLC - it's just that everyone talks about how these people have one and suddenly rush out to buy a new, red (it has to be red) sports car... or quit their job... or get a new wife... basically a new life.

so I'm sitting here trying to figure out what fantastic, life-giving, fun thing I will do when it hits. Know what? I can't think of anything that I'd like to do - nothing that I would like to add to my life to make it more ...interesting or adventurous.

It seems to me MLCs are for people who feel trapped. People who are disappointed with where life has brought them... Depressed by the end result of all those little choices that they have made over the years. They feel life is passing them by and all they can do is get up and go to work... again ...and again ...and again...

Suddenly golf doesn't seem exciting. They finally clue in that after buying a newer bigger house every 3 years they will retire with more money owing on their present house than they paid for their first one...

Their kids treat them like they don't know what's up... and truth be told it's getting harder to know... harder to even get up... and go to work... again...

They wake up one morning and think - I can't keep doing this indefinitely - so they take a week off and go mountain climbing or bungee jumping... or buy that new car... or start flirting with that neighbour or colleague who's half their age...

You know what... MLC repugnant. It is the result of wasted years, of sloppy living and 'play-it-safe' choices which result in a bland life of missed opportunities. MLC is for people who haven't lived... Seriously... you think a red sports car is going to bring fulfillment? You really think that making a couple of idiotic financial, relational and holiday choices now is going to make up for a life-time of mediocrity. GET A LIFE...

Get a life...

What to know how? Start with little choices... Try some spicy chicken or something! OK seriously risk it all on the things that matter. Call up that friend you had a falling-out with two years ago and apologize... Want to live on the edge - commit 20% of your income to help those less advantaged than you... Start dating your wife again - No stupid not mutually agreed upon 'date nights' - I mean spontaneous stuff... If you can remember back that far try to recreate your whole dating experience (where did you go on your first date... do it again).

Instead of buying a sports car.. buy a beater... restore it... then give it away -

Become a foster parent...

Baby sit neighbourhood kids...

LIVE!

I don't know... I don't get mid-life crisis stuff... my critics will say, "that's because you haven't hit mid-life yet."

I say..."No... it's because I actually have a life..."

but hey, that's just my 2c

Depression

2007-05-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Ever been depressed?

I ask because it seems to be the sickness of choice these days. Everybody is depressed. Maybe it's just the people that I hang out with but it seems to me that everyone is fighting depression.

Recently, I heard a news report which talked about children as young as 7 and 8 years old experiencing depression. Wha???

I'm not wired for depression. I'm not saying I have never been depressed - I'm just saying it doesn't stick to me. I get depressed I go to bed wake up and get on with life. Now, don't get me wrong I'm not saying if you battle with depression you should just 'shake it off' or 'sleep it off' or 'get a life' I'm just saying that for me personally depression doesn't stick. Maybe I'm too busy, maybe I live a sheltered, protected life... AAAAAh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha well it was an option...

Thing is depression and I... we don't get along. When I get depressed, I do the whole self-diagnosis thing, figure out why I'm feeling the way I do, and then get on with life.

I'm not sure why I'm blogging this - It can't be any help to you if you are experiencing depression...

I don't know... maybe I'm depressed...

I'm not sure that's enough of an opinion to qualify for 'my 2 c'

It's the little things...

2007-05-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me but have you ever noticed how it's the little things that can make or break your day?

I have some people in my life who can make my day with a phone call, an email... for some, all they need to do is smile.

I finish typing that line and then realize... you know somewhere somebody is probably thinking the same thing about me...

...maybe I should go find them?

my 2c...

Holdiday...

2007-04-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry all... gotta take a little break ... check back around May 15th...

Why I am against religious missions...

2007-04-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Whoa...

Yeah... my thoughts exactly! I don't even know where to start...

I gave my name and address to the wrong organization - now I get lots of glossy magazines - which when it comes down to it - are designed to encourage me to give money to missions. I'm quite sure I am not the only one who receives these magazines - they must send out what... a thousand? ...ten thousand? I wonder why they don't take all the money that goes into publishing glossy magazines... into paying editors... writers... and postage and put that towards missions... it it's so important...

...I've been trying to figure out where Jesus went wrong in His ministry - He didn't have a wide enough distribution network for His glossy magazines...

I sometimes open up these magazines and read. I'm not sure why I do it - it only makes me angry... or sick. I read about 'missionaries' living in palatial, gated communities talking about how they are so grateful for their loving maid - They guy used to live beside me in a small middle-class home - we used to talk about the rising cost of heating our homes and how the rising cost of gas meant we wouldn't be able to take a vacation this year - now his kids are in a private school where they wear uniforms and he has a maid... a maid!

I got a letter from one couple who thought I should give them support - they needed (their letter said) $50 000 a year before they could go 'serve' the poor 'lost' people in some third-world country. The fact that I don't make that much doesn't make them hesitate to ask me to give towards supporting them... and the fact that $50 000 in North American currency is something like $850 000 in the currency of the country they are going to doesn't seem to faze them either... apparently they pay their servants well...

I have another friend who's teenage daughter asked if I wouldn't mind supporting her short-term mission trip. She was going to Haiti to build a school. It didn't occur to the agency she was going with or the leaders or the church that sending $5000 to Haiti to hire locals to build the school might actually be more beneficial than sending 10 teenagers who have so far only complained when told to clean their rooms much less build a school.

Maybe "against" was too strong a word... maybe I'm just confused with religious mission. What's the goal again?

I asked that once and someone answered - "Well, Jesus, the one we follow and obey told us to 'go' - so we have to go with the good news." So I read up a little bit on Jesus. It turns out He didn't live in a gated community... didn't hang out with the religious... didn't have a maid... didn't raise support before He 'went'... and didn't build any schools. In fact, as it turns out - He told his followers to "go" with only the clothes they were wearing, to knock on doors and ask for hospitality and lodging (seems people might be more willing to listen to your message when you approach them asking for help, rather than if you come in asking them if they want to work in your compound... or if they know a good maid). For Jesus mission involved washing the feet of people who thought they didn't deserve it... accepting invitations to supper from people who didn't always act graciously...

You know what... your Jesus wouldn't make a very good missionary...

Where were you when it happened...

2007-04-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

So... where were you?

I know what you're thinking. Your running through all the major events that have occurred during your lifetime and remembering where you were... I'll give you a few moments to wrap that up...

...

...Done...

The event to which I'm referring is our sudden shift to a culture of political correctness. My first exposure was (I think) a bright, sunny Sunday morning... OK I'm not really sure if it was morning... or bright... or sunny for that matter but I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday. Just as the TV went on some text appeared on the screen and a voice (that to my memory sounds eerily like Peter Mansbridge) came on and said: "The opinions expressed in the preceding program are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Television Network"

Duh!! The opinions expressed are those of the participants - to whom else would these opinions belong if not the participants?

...and the network has an opinion?

Why do we feel the need to live out lives in sound-bytes and disclaimers?

The sound-byte thing is a whole separate blog post... the disclaimer part is easy. We don't want to be sued. We don't want someone coming after us and trying to make us pay for an opinion we expressed or something we said... for "pain and suffering" or "mental anguish" or for trampling on my "rights and freedoms"

For all our talk of freedom of speech we don't really mean it... or want it. Let me rephrase that - we don't want others to possess it. If everyone has the freedom to say whatever then my feelings might get hurt - I might get offended...

Duh..!!! turn the blinking TV off if it offends you!

Are you crazy?? Turn my TV off??? It's my right to watch my TV... and if you offend me I'm going to sue you for having hurt me as I exercised my rights!

Out of respect to the children who may be reading this blog I will refrain from providing an honest and colourful description of this kind of nonsense. I will state what should be obvious.

We've crushed freedom of speech by asserting our rights and freedoms.

(the opinions expressed in this blog do not reflect those of blogger.com, my employer, my nation or race, my family and the people who live next door to me. These words were not in any way intended to offend, shock, hurt or distract. Please do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog, do not drive or carry on a conversation. The reader accepts all responsibility for having engaged in this discussion - there has been no attempt or desire on the part of the author to offend any member of the global... universal world in which we live and breath... If anything has offended you in please click here or get a real life).

All I want...

2007-04-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not old - or at least that's what people who are older than I am tell me...

I'm not old but I'm definitely old-fashioned.

I heard a story once - a report on the news. I'm not sure if it's true or tabloid but it goes something like this. A reporter asked an aging movie star what she would do differently - you know - if she could go back and do it all over again.

This woman who had by all definitions lived it all, had it all and done it all. Had money, popularity, lasting fame and had survived multiple marriages replied...

I wish I had one of those marriages that lasted a lifetime. I wish I had married one guy and that it had lasted for 50 years.

Wows...

I don't get jealous much... OK I try not to get jealous. I know it's not good for me (causes ulcers and overdrawn credit card accounts). There is however, one group of people that never fails to make me feel the teeth of the green-eyed monster. People in their 40s, 50s, 60s even 70s who have friends whom they have known since their age was single digits. There is something deep and profound and comforting... and rare about a friendship that has lasted that long.

There was a time when everyone had those kinds of relationships - you grew up surrounded by people who knew your name... all your sibling's names... and your parent's names... even your grandparent's names...

Then we got all sophisticated and "smarter-than-all-that" we woke up one morning and found ourselves surrounded by strangers - but making more money than our parents ever dreamed possible...

I want community... I want a place where I don't need to get babysitters for my kids because if I need someone to look after my kids there are a half-dozen young people who will do it ...for free! Not because they can't use the money but because that's what it means to be in community.

I don't need to hire a baby-sitter because there are a dozen seniors in the neighbourhood that my kids call grandma and grandpa...

I don't need to lock my doors because everyone knows when a stranger is in town ...and knows why they are there, who they are connected to... and after 12.4 minutes everyone knows their name and some of the older ladies know their family history...

I want a place where when I have to evacuate my house because of a fire or because of high CO levels I can walk across the street or make a phone call ..even at 2:45am and have my bleary-eyed neighbour say, "What the heck - come in out of the cold! You didn't have to knock... you know where the spare room is - do you want me to put on a cup of coffee?"

A place where the next day I get 5 calls from different neighbours who say, "You can stay with us until your house is ready to move back into..."

I want a place where I don't have to "share my story" because everyone knows it... and they know it because they lived it with me... or at least took the time to learn it by getting to know me one-on-one...

I want a place where "adults only" is considered insulting, rude and mocked as being idiotic... Where "kids only" makes people suspicious... where youth refuse to attend "youth only"

...you know... in the absence of such a place - I'd be willing to settle for

If I had ten million dollars

2007-04-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

I really... really like questions... It's how I learn (and apparently one of the ways in which I make myself annoying to people)

One of my favourite questions is: If I gave you ten million dollars right now what would you do with it?"

Now before you read further - you should pause to answer it...

...go ahead pause...

...no really... pause...

It's even better if you write your answer down - that way you can not change it based on the rest of this blog... and no I'm not setting you up - you're doing a good job of that all by yourself by not pausing to answer the question!

Your answer says a great deal about you - what is currently occupying your mind. If your basement is flooding for example one of the first things you will think about spending some of that money on is a new house...

If your car has been giving you trouble getting a new car will be among the first things you think about (unless you are a teenager in which case just getting a car will be on your mind)

If you are passionately in love with someone who lives far away - your first thought will be to take a trip and visit... possible get married...

Once the first blush of excitement has passed your spending will shift to things that you value - that new house - will be energy efficient... some of the money will go to charity... perhaps - some of the money will be invested for the future.... you start thinking about family and friends and how you can 'help them out'...

all this is going through your head - still if I ask you the question you will answer...

"Well, ...I don't know..."

Mainly because you know your answer will expose your heart and with all our talk about wanting community and genuine relationships few of us are really willing to be that naked with each other...

but hey... that's just my 2c

P.S. - In all my years of asking the question - I've only had one person who answered without hesitation.

I used to go to church....

2007-04-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

So here it is... one of those posts which made me want to keep my blog invisible! I don't expect to get a flurry of responses... I do expect some of ya'll might stop readin' m'blog...

I used to go to church...
I used to go to church dressed up... now I go in jeans. I used to wear a shirt with buttons and a tie no less. I have this old picture of me as a kid dressed in my 'Sunday best' (it's obvious from the picture that my parents were encouraging me to dress myself at this point). I had on my red plaid cotton pants, a bright lemon-yellow shirt, a brown houndstooth jacket and a sky-blue tie which I had tied myself (windsor if you must know).

I'll be honest with you I look at that picture (I think my parents were thinking "He's going to laugh about this one day!") and even though I think we'd all agree that it looks worse than blue-jeans and a tan t-shirt - there was something to be said about the care with which I put the ensemble together... I was dressing my best... I really thought it looked good - and I believed in my child-like way that God was worth my best... even if it didn't really matter to Him what I wore...

Now, I go to church looking like I'm going out to walk the dog... like I'm going to hang-out with my buddies down at McNeilies Pub on the corner of 15th and Mairish. I look like I'm lounging at home... like I'm going to the game...

I know, I know... God (if He is God) really doesn't care about how I dress - it's the heart that matters. Thing is - my heart is reflected in what I'm wearing.

I know some people who went to a visit a congregation of a different faith. That faith required individuals to come dressed in certain specific ways. There were rules for men and rules for women. Violate the rules and you could be denied entry.

"Your dress reflects a respect for the community, the worship space and the one we worship." They were told.

I went to church and Billy-bob got up on the platform to lead me in worship with frayed and tired blue-jeans and a t-shirt that was a billboard for some third-rate fashion manufacturer. His ball cap was down so far on his forehead I couldn't tell if his eyes were open or shut. He mumbled into the microphone something that sounded like, "yea.. like... we're gonna sing - if you want you can stand or... whatever... or stay seated... whatever... yea."

Maybe we don't need to respect the community or the worship space - and maybe it doesn't matter to the One we worship what we wear... maybe...

You know what I think?

I think we don't care what the community thinks... we don't care about the worship space... and we don't know the One we worship well enough to pretend to know what does or does not matter to Him...

but of course... that's just my 2c

Time for some bad poetry...

2007-03-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

I know this guy
I won't say his name
every day for him
is same ol' same

I asked him once
you feel no tug
he turned around
gave a shrug

who cares? whatever
what's done is done
don't help to stand
don't care to run

I stood up then
to get away
this kind of talk
just doesn't pay

but wait! he called
before you go
what makes you think
that I should grow

a fruit once ripe
stays not that way
it grows or rots
we're the same way

We all need a hero...

2007-03-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

I heard a story the other day...

If I remember right it takes place in Toronto. Toronto is a big city in Canada - It's no London England or New York but it tries hard...

I immigrated to Toronto to go to school - it's a busy, international metropolis where people walk with their heads down and look shocked or bothered if you say, "Hi" - If Canada is a friendly place... Toronto is the anti-Canada...

(Yes... yes... I know not everyone in Toronto is like that - get over it!)

So anyway, in this story I heard - which takes place in Toronto - this guy falls (or was it 'got pushed') onto the subway tracks in front of an on-coming subway train. He can't get out and while I'm sure there were lots of screams and machine-gun prayers (Oh my g__!) everyone knew what was about to happen - train meets flesh... train wins... story gets buried on page 5 of the newspaper.. unless the guy is famous - by the end of the day the story is forgotten -

I still find what happened hard to believe... a complete stranger (obviously not from Toronto... I jest... seriously) A complete stranger jumps down onto the tracks pushes the panicked and struggling guy down between the train rails and (get this) lies on top of the guy... He risks his life! He doesn't yell down, "Hey buddy! Lie down between the rails" He doesn't stop to calculate whether there will be enough clearance for two bodies to fit under the train - and if he guesses wrong it's his head that will be smashed open by an axle... his family that will go father-less... his wife will be a widow...

The train passes over the two of them - he gets up and disappears into the crowd - that's a hero folks...

So here's my question - If we are surrounded by people like this subway hero - why the heck are we making heroes out of movie stars who can't put a coherent thought together if it's not scripted? Why are we plastering our walls with images of people who can't write decent lyrics about the human condition and can barely sing the lyrics that get written for them...

Why does a guy who can 'go to the hoop' get paid more than a teacher in the inner city who has been held at gun point once and knife-point twice by her own students and yet still shows up for work?

Why is a celebrity a hero because he talks about 'saving the planet' while using twice the average amount of electricity in his own home?

Why does a company become a champion of the oppressed because it offers $10 to charity on a $200 purchase?

We don't need heroes people! We need common sense!

Why are we continuing to pollute our water supply so that we can change the color of our hair?

Why are we still buying clothes made by child, slave labor while we write minuscule checks to 'help the disadvantaged'

Why the heck are we still watching Reality TV and the "Idol" franchise -

...I guess it's safer than jumping onto subway tracks and saving lives...