It Has To Be Said

The sun was shining brightly today, and the temperature hit +5C (38F)!! Kill the fatted calf and let the pigeons loose!

I saw a bunch of teenagers walking down the road in hoodies, shorts, and running shoes -- the snow is still three feet deep all around them, but like all Winnipeggers when the temperature goes above freezing, they were really happy.

Of course, we all know from experience that there's probably going to be another couple of big blizzards between now and "real" spring (mid-April), but not even that can dampen the spirits of people who endured -62F just three weeks ago!

The euphoria is getting to me. I think I'd better sit down before I hyperventilate...

Besides, it's really difficult to type when you're jumping up and down.

The Passion...

I haven't seen "The Passion of the Christ" yet, although I hope to within the next couple of days. I think this movie could be powerfuly used in the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike. At the same time, this movie could be also have little if any effect at all, if either of these two possibilities gains prominence:

1. The "Passion of the Christ" will be waste of time if all it does is degenerate into a bunch of Christians having an academic/theoretical discussion on whether or not we approve of how Mel presented the story, in the way we think he should have.
   
   I think that any expectation that this movie should deliver "the whole enchilada" is missing the point. I'm looking forward to this being a great door-opener in discussion about Jesus. Any "filling in the blanks" on Jesus' life and teaching is our responsibility, not Mel Gibson's.
   
   
2. The other danger is if we get all anal-retentive and try to "force" conversations out of the movie to go in some sort of pre-packaged "steps to conversion" program (and there are already plenty of Christian marketing companies producing "Passion Evangelism" kits, t-shirts, and -- wait for it -- "Passion jewelry"; ugh).
   
   After a movie like this, we need to continue to listen, even more than before, to peoples' reactions and stories, and remember that the journey provides opportunity for many "little sowings" (Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23). This movie does not have to be the "make it or break it" point in evangelism (1 Corinthians 3:5-9), but it can provide an opportunity for much discussion and dialogue around pints or lattes. Let the Spirit guide you in your conversations, but relax, okay?

This is a chance to have our own souls stirred, and an opportunity for some further dialogue with our non-Christian friends -- assuming we're far enough out of the Christian ghetto that we actually have non-Christian friends.

Not that I feel strongly about this...

Watch Those Tax Grabs, Eh?

I just read today that Winnipeg Centre Vineyard (just a few blocks down the road from our house) managed to stave off a legal challenge from the City of Winnipeg (under our mayor's "New Deal" proposal) to change the tax exempt status of the church's facility on Main Street at the Higgins Underpass (where most City staff would be afraid to even drive past).

How could they, you ask?

Well, WCV has this great new building, four stories high, and they've renovated the first two floors for a meeting room, offices, food distribution, and children's ministry. Which leaves the two upper floors un-developed at present, although they're dreaming of turning those into some sort of rehab housing for the many street people that they're reaching out to.

So, the City of Winnipeg decides that these two floors aren't "technically" for the use of worship, so they want taxes (and back taxes) on this. The amount they were demanding would have completely bankrupted the church, effectively shutting down one of the most determined churches in our city, in the area of justice for the poor and the glue-addicts (the lepers of Winnipeg).

It had to be defeated in several levels of court -- because the City was determined to set a precedent for taxing "unused" space in churches (including basements, storage areas, fellowship halls, and gymnasiums). It makes sense:

1. pick on a North End church that doesn't have a lot of rich people attending, because
2. you think they couldn't afford the legal bills to fight it, so
3. you can get the legal precedent you want, and then
4. go after the big churches like Springs of Living Water, because
5. even with the large numbers of wealthy people who attend Winnipeg's larger churches, with legal precedence on their side, the City would have cleaned up.

Thank God it was defeated in every level of court that it went to!! This is one of those "How long, oh Lord?" kind of things that really disturbs me!

He Dared Me...

How's this, John?

Just for fun, really!

This one has nothing to do with anything other than teasing John Janzen a bit. He claimed that the greatest benefit to posting his blog messages in this format was that no-one could cut and paste it to their blog (which is another joke going back to an earlier post of mine). I just wanted to remind him that motivated bloggers can find work-arounds for virtually anything (pardon the pun). So, if you lacked evidence of my having what some have referred to as "The Brat Anointing", look no farther.

Gloating From Victoria

This came from one of our good friends in Victoria, and was labelled "Winter Storm Damage In Victoria". We like our friends in Victoria (truly, we do!), but now we're getting a dose of our own medicine for all the smug comments we made to our Prairie & Ontario relatives and friends while we lived there during the 1990's. What goes around, comes around, eh?

Gleanings from Pub Culture

The other day at Prov, in our "Worldview & Culture" class, our prof was doing his weekly routine of playing some ethnic music in the background during our class discussion times. Often, it's been some really cool African traditional music which is absolutely beautiful in its richness and funkiness. This week, the CD that was playing was... the Celtic band that I play in(!). It was slightly surreal to hear the same songs that I had performed just the evening before in a pub, being played in a seminary classroom.

There were some questions asked of me during our breaks, wondering how you go about being a Christian witness in a band that basically plays songs that could be summed up as "drink and fight and drink and fight and drink and fight some more".

Here's some of the things I've learned over the years of playing in secular bands, on and off, since I was 19. (I'm 42 now -- you do the math):

1. Be slow to speak and quick to listen to their stories before you try to interject your own. (James 1:19-20) "Earn the right to be heard" was Crazy George's way of saying it. If you wonder how I'd apply the "slow to get angry" part of James 1:19-20, see the next point.
2. If you choose to follow Jesus' example and be a "friend of sinners" (Matthew 11:19), don't be surprised when you see and hear things that might normally offend you. Getting past being easily shocked, without hardening our hearts, is the skill that needs mastering here. Jesus went out of His way to be gracious and merciful to the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:3-11) -- surely we can learn to do the same in our contexts.
3. Lot gets a great deal of bad press because of the whole Sodom & Gommorah deal, but St. Peter recounts a different side of Lot: a righteous man whose soul was grieved by the evil around him (2 Peter 2:7-9). Yes, our souls at times may be grieved, almost overwhelmed, but we need to commit ourselves to not retreat into the false "safety" of a Christian ghetto.
4. Missionaries have often spent years sowing seeds before seeing results; in our fast-food-drive-thru mentality of ministry, we often give up if we don't see "results" in a relatively short time. Get used to a journey (process) that requires time.
5. Since the emphasis in a postmodern world is on "conversation", the seeds that get planted are almost never sown in a linear, point-by-point fashion. The seeds land haphazardly here and there, because in a conversation, topics bounce all over the place. But the seeds do land, and some will take root (Matthew 13:18-23). Relax. Don't jump on every "opportunity" as if it's your last, and try to shove people or conversations to a pre-programmed conclusion. The journey allows for many "little sowings".
6. Jesus asked more questions than He answered. Try reading through the Gospels and noting the number of times Jesus answered a question with another question. We need to learn the art of asking good, honest (non-manipulative) questions.

One last important part of the equation: pray tons. Pray for the individuals that you have regular contact with (the band members and their spouses/significant others, in my case). Pray for spiritual protection and wisdom/discernment for yourself before you go. Pray a cleansing prayer after you come out. Keep praying like the widow in Luke 18:1-8, and see what God does.

Excuses/Reasons/Fun

We've just spent the past ten days having a treasured guest from the Island staying with us, I'm buried with schoolwork, and Festival du Voyageur is in full gear last week and this. Which, being translated, means that this is why I haven't blogged much recently. Stay tuned. It'll get better. Really!


But I AM having of fun, although not much sleep.

More blogging later...

God Answers Prayer -- Right?

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.

The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." (Acts 10:1-6 NIV)

Most of us are familiar with the rest of this passage: Peter's vision of the sheet full of "unclean" animals, the conversion of Cornelius and his entire household, and the realization of the Jerusalem Church that the Gospel of Jesus was meant for all nations.

But what about the fact that God was listening to the prayers of someone who knew nothing (as far as we know) about Jesus? I remember being taught during high school that "God doesn't hear the prayers of the heathen (nice term for our non-Christian friends, eh?), until after they pray the 'Sinner's Prayer'." I didn't buy that back then, and I don't buy it now. Cornelius is but one biblical example of God hearing, and answering, the sincere prayers of someone who didn't technically "know Jesus" -- at least not yet.

And how many times have we heard testimonies of people saying that their first prayer was "God, if You're real, You've got to show me"? And then God answered their prayer, and they later became followers of Jesus.

Recently, my son bought me the concert DVD "Bruce Springsteen: Live In Barcelona". It was recorded last year during "The Rising" tour, and there are numerous overtly "spiritual" moments throughout the concert. During the song "My City Of Ruins" (which is an awesome song of intercession), as Bruce sang the lines:

"With these hands, I pray for Your strength, Lord
With these hands, I pray for Your love, Lord
With these hands, I pray for the faith, Lord
C'mon rise up! Rise up!"

...over 20,000 people raised their hands to the sky and sang these words at the top of their lungs. Imagine: Bruce Springsteen led literally thousands of people in prayer during this tour! Church cynics would disparage this with comments like "yes, but who were they praying to?" To me, this kind of comment represents the height (or depth) of evangelical arrogance. The same God who was so quick to respond to Cornelius' prayer in Acts 10 is the same God who heard the prayers in Barcelona, and the other 82 cities that "The Rising" tour came in contact with.

Think of it: thousands upon thousands of people, all over the world, calling out to God in prayer. I wonder how God will answer? I wonder how many of us Christians will get out from behind the safety of the four walls of the church, and actually witness how God is already moving among the nations?

I couldn't say it any better!

Len Hjalmarsson has done it again. He's beautifully captured the essence of what I think a lot of us have in our minds, even if we haven't found ways to articulate it as well as Len does. Definitely give "A Dream... a New Kind of Tent" a read. It'll stir up some vision and longing, to be sure.

Wonder which denomination (referring to Len's post) would ordain me? Probably none of them, but it's an interesting question that will probably go perpetually unanswered!

Back to my Old Testament Theology paper. Yes, blogging can also be a form of procrastination...

The Why's & What's of this Blog

Thanks for all the comments! I wasn't really looking for any specific kind of response to the previous post -- I was mostly thinking out loud, but I appreciate the input.

Here's some thoughts on why I blog (which many of your comments help me clarify just a wee bit more in my own thinking), and what my hopes for this blog are.

The Why's

1. While I can relate to the frustration that Mitch mentioned in the comments from the previous post, I do feel "called" to be a postmodern missionary. Actually, "compelled" is probably the better word, because it connotes a sense of "I couldn't not do this!"
   I've never called myself, nor do I want to be called a "prophet", although I hope this blog does have some sort of prophetic edge in calling people to a deeper walk with Jesus and greater intentionality in reaching our own society. "Missionary" is a label I can live with, and one that I think better describes the approach to postmodernism that I am seeking to live out.
   
2. I think blogging, as limited as it can be sometimes, does provide a forum for discussion, and given that 99.99% of the commentators here have been gracious and thoughtful, and genuinely questioning and seeking to figure out how to impact our postmodern society, it's a postive interaction.
   Not to forget that the majority of the people who visit here are from outside of Winnipeg (and given last month's weather, who can blame them?), and none of us would be conversing at any level except for bumping into each other here.
   
3. Because a number of people who visit here (who don't necessarily comment but have told me privately or in emails that they're here frequently), are wrestling through similar things, the articles that I'm posting in the Drydock, as well as the blog entries and the comments attached to them, are proving to be a resource for others. That alone is reason enough to put more effort into this blog.

The What's

1. The whole point behind this blog is to provide a forum to provoke thought and discussion on the positive side of deconstructing/reconstructing. There's already plenty of "McChurch-bashing" sites out there, and also some good restructuring sites as well. This blog is meant to be one of the places where people can say "yeah, we know what the problems are, let's start looking at solutions. What does this look like for you?"
   
2. I will continue to develop the "Drydock" section, adding some more articles that I hope will spark some thought, creativity, and also provide the encouragement that comes from discovering other people who are thinking/wondering/experimenting like you are.
   
3. Pointing out the problems in "church/leadership as we've known it" isn't off-limits, but my hope is to practice Hosea 6:1:

   "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." (NIV)

   If anything is posted here pointing out problems (wounding) in our current understanding of church, culture, and leadership, it will be with the intent of finding solutions (healing).

Did I miss anything? Well, that's what the comments box is for, eh?

Interesting Trends

I've been looking at a number of blogs recently (other than just the ones I list here that I check almost daily), and I'm noticing some trends among ecclesiastical anarchist bloggers, what have caused me to wonder, "has pomo/emergent blogging hit the wall"? Here (not in order of importance) are some observations in blogdom:

1. Less articles and thought about postmodern ministry, and more on social/political activism (Nothing wrong with that, but it makes me wonder if we are becoming an army of arm-chair critics with blogs? Or now that the "rush" of self-righteous anger at "McChurch" has worn off, the only way to keep the buzz & adrenaline going is by turning to political ranting instead?)
   
2. An increase in church-bashing and "Modern" bashing
   
3. A mystifying worldview assumption (A) that the "Modernistic" church has hopelessly compromised the purity of the Gospel (that's called "pomo-centrism"), but that (B) postmodernist Christians somehow have rescued the Gospel in their house churches and coffeehouses (that's called a "blind spot")
   
4. If anyone comments something that doesn't agree with the blogger's opinion, they get slammed and ridiculed, or simply ignored, and they stop commenting after awhile
   
5. If someone posts something encouraging and postive, a few people comment
   
6. If someone posts something harsh (against "McChurch"), then they get lots of "give 'em hell, Harry!" kinds of comments from approving "insert-pet-peeve-here"-bashers
   
7. If someone tries to find a middle ground between the extemes, hoping to spark some serious thinking about reaching our society with the Gospel, people stop visiting their site because, like all else in life, controversy gets attention (just ask Janet Jackson) and a conversation about proactive restructuring doesn't allow people to rant and complain, so they go to blogs where they can rant and rave to their hearts' content (except that ranting and raving never makes you "content")
   
8. A growing tendency for bloggers to simply cut and paste other bloggers' work into their sites, instead of creating original content; it used to be done as an intro to the blogger's thoughts (and I've used some this way myself), but now it seems to be done mostly to give the appearance of consistent blogging without the blogger having to interact even with the post they've pasted from somewhere else
   
9. "Dialogue" and "conversation" have really diminished in recent months -- it seems to be everyone just ranting their own opinions and not interacting with the other commentators -- more like a collection of monologues
   
10. I keep reading (and occassionally getting an email) on how to "increase traffic to your blog", and hearing about "getting on the 'A' list of bloggers" -- why are we blogging anyway? For notoriety? Hoping for invitations to Pomo-Emergent conferences where we can be the new Illuminati? To take pride in how many people link to our blogs?

Either I need some more sleep (which I think is totally true), more coffee, or maybe blogging is starting to lose its appeal for me.

I feel like God is allowing me to make a difference in the lives of the college house group that I co-lead. I believe God is going to use me in the Celtic Rock band that I play in, to perhaps see some of the band members and the extended Celtic community in Winnipeg come to follow Jesus.

I enjoy playing on one of the worship teams at our local church, and believe I am making a positive contribution to the Body there. I have a great family that I love and enjoy spending time with. I have good friends that I go out for pints with, and we sharpen each other spiritually. And working towards my doctorate, as intense as it's proving to be, is also rewarding and sharpens me in other areas.

I don't know anymore if this blog is making a difference as it once did. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and humbled/honoured to have had some honest, real conversations with a very diverse group of friends here about being postmodern missionaries in our Canadian and American contexts. And 99.99% of the visitors here have been honest, respectful, and commented in ways that were gracious and without rancor. It's been a blessing in the truest sense of the word to have "met" and conversed with all of you. But if the pillar of cloud & fire is moving on, I don't want to keep slogging away at the blog if it's no longer being useful.