They’ve started already. Actually, they’ve been arriving for quite a while already. We received our first “Holiday Gift” ad in the mail the first week of October – a full week before Canadian Thanksgiving. One local retailer had Christmas displays up the same week they put out their Halloween displays. And it has not been without effect: two of our kids took it upon themselves to pull our Christmas decorations out of storage and liven up their bedrooms with the seasonal decor. Twice now, another one of our kids has turned on a selection of our Christmas music. And in the interest of full confession, I have already purchased and (mostly) consumed the first 12-pack of candy canes. Continue reading
Other People’s Thoughts: from debate to dialogue
Over the past week, I’ve read three different posts all advocating for a shift in the way the church engages potentially contentious conversations. Essentially, the authors are calling for a shift from debate to dialogue. In many ways, I think each of their articles are presenting a perspective on how the church can embody our apologetic through the character of our conversations, rather than just with the verbal content of our faith.
I’ve linked the articles below with a short summary. I’d love to hear your thoughts and reactions to these articles. How do we make these transitions well? Does one of these articles resonate with you more than the others? Continue reading
Filed under missional church, Other People's Thoughts
Why I Came Back
“I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you’re right: I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See that’s where I belong. That’s home. That’s why I came back; because you don’t have one – a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”
– Biblo Baggins to Thorin Oakenshield, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
It’s a good movie. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s not been my favorite of Jackson’s renditions of Tolkein’s Middle-Earth. Even after watching The Hobbit a half dozen times or so since it’s release, it’s still not my favorite. But there is something compelling about this story – or this part of the story – that has continued to resonate with me and my understanding of the church’s mission. Continue reading
Filed under missional church
Other People’s Thoughts
I thought I’d try a new angle with posting this week. Rather than my typical approach of serving up my thinking on a particular topic, this post highlights a few of the blog posts and other readings that I’ve been considering over the last couple weeks. My hope in this post is to share a bit of what is stirring my imagination and reflection at the moment, and then to invite you to add your voices…or posted responses as it were. I’ve included links on freedom of religion and sexual orientation, African-American experiences of Christian colleges, and a “Slow Church”/”All-Things Church” conversation on approaches to community engagement. So, here’s the first (and so far only) edition of “Other People’s Thoughts.”
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Filed under Other People's Thoughts
More Than Our Need to Be Right
James 1:19-20 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”
It was one of those extended arguments that we couldn’t let go of. We had only been married for a couple years and it seemed like every conversation we had over that particular three or four day stretch would result in one of us choosing sides against the other. One of us would see the bright side of the cloud, the other would point out the grey. One of us would want the window open, the other would walk past and close it. Yes, it got that ridiculous. The tension permeated everything. Though I no longer remember what we were really fighting about, I can still recall that sense of anger and disbelief and frustration and self-righteousness mingled together. Continue reading
Filed under discipleship, missional church
A Monday Morning Prayer
God,
I’m waking up today in the relative quiet of our rented home.
The sky is blue with a few clouds slowly drifting by.
The windows are open. I’ve heard seven distinct bird calls –
there’s a crow and a jay
but I can’t name most them by their chirps,
yet, you know them.
There is a cricket, too –
no, wait; it’s not a cricket, it’s some other small insect
declaring its presence
above the background noise of a squirrel chattering
as if something has just caught its attention for the first time.
An occasional car or two meanders past our house,
otherwise the hustle and bustle of the world around me this morning
comes from the stirring of your creation.
I pray that I might have eyes to see and ears to hear
the goodness of your creation today.
Yet, I must admit,
that prayer seems daunting, almost impossible.
Continue reading
Filed under missional church, prayer
Your Daughter’s Hand…
I remember making that nerve-racking phone call.
Me: “Mr. H., I have a question to ask you.” Mr. H. “Hold on. I think Mrs. H. better be on the other phone for this one.” Mrs. H. picks up the other phone. Me with trembling voice: “Okay. Mr. & Mrs. H., I would like to ask your permission to ask your daughter for her hand in marriage?” Mrs. H. “You only want her hand? What about the rest of her? Don’t you want all of her?”Yep. That was my (now) mother-in-law’s quick-witted response to my nervous fumbling over how to ask them for their blessing on our plans to get engaged and married. “Don’t you want all of her?”
How do you respond to that?! I am sure I stammered out some sort of response – though even now, I’m not sure that it was even halfway intelligible – and they graciously helped me finish the conversation and gave us their blessing.
My mother-in-law’s question “Don’t you want all of her?” has stuck with me. And though the context is somewhat different, I have found myself reflecting on it quite a bit lately.
Filed under discipleship, missional church
How Will They Taste & See?
Sometimes, a disclaimer is needed right up front. So here it is: I am not a youth pastor or a specialist in youth ministry by any stretch of my imagination. I suspect that some who read this post will be smerking knowingly because whether through personal experience or through professional training, the thoughts and questions that follow are all too familiar. My thoughts and questions on young adults – which at 40 years old, I can no longer rightfully claim to be – and faith emerge both as a parent of teenagers and as a pastor of an “established” congregation. What follows is an extended version of questions and comments I raised in our congregation’s spring 2013 Family Ties newsletter. Continue reading
Filed under discipleship, youth/young adults
Acts of (Missional) Intimacy
(This post continues yesterday’s thoughts on “How Far is Too Far?” It’s probably helpful to read that one first.)
A few weeks ago, I hand delivered a letter from our church Council to City Hall, expressing our deep concern and opposition with a proposal to locate a casino in downtown Hamilton. I made the seven or eight block walk there, texting with my wife and one of my kids as I walked. I delivered the letter to the City Clerk’s office and turned right around to head back to the office. As I cut across the parking lot entrance, I put my phone away and looked up. Something about the buildings caught my attention. So I stood there between Jackson and Hunter, looking up and down one of the high rise housing complexes. It’s a pretty plain building. Nothing remarkable in terms of design or decor. But I looked it over still the same. I slowly wandered down the street. Continue reading
Filed under missional church
Muddied Prayers 