Ten -- Twenty -- Thirty -- HUT!
Sorry, it just kinda reminded me of a football game... which is a perfect segue to remind everyone that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the semi-final yesterday. Look for Big Blue in the Grey Cup in a few weeks! Yeah, baby!
I was tagged not so long ago with the infamous "10, 20, 30" meme, which shows (A) that I'm a sucker for these memes, and (B) further confirms that I'm old, because I remember the "30" part just fine, and I wasn't in diapers at the time.
And just for fun, I'll do multiples of five instead.
I was tagged not so long ago with the infamous "10, 20, 30" meme, which shows (A) that I'm a sucker for these memes, and (B) further confirms that I'm old, because I remember the "30" part just fine, and I wasn't in diapers at the time.
And just for fun, I'll do multiples of five instead.
- 30 years ago I became a Christian at an old-skewl high school crusade; despite being raised in a good Christian family, it took me a few years longer than more spiritually sensitive people like, say, my little sister, to "get it"
- 25 years ago, I began my studies at Providence College
- 20 years ago, Wendy & I graduated together from Providence College; me with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, and Wendy with a B.A. in Christian Counseling, and we were all gung-ho about a future in pastoral ministry (and working alongside George Mercado for six years will always be a highlight of having a good pastor)
- 15 years ago, Wendy & I had our first "CLB" (Church Left Behind) experience, as we were shafted out of our first pastorate for being "too Vineyard" (no link this time -- why invite more abuse?); in some ways, I don't think we ever really recovered completely from that experience
- 10 years ago, Wendy and I left Vancouver Island after seven years, and crashed head-first into the wilderness known as "detoxing from church".
- 5 years ago, Gary Best (Vineyard Canada National Director) referred to me as an "ecclesiastical anarchist" during one of the keynote sessions at the pastors' conference in Regina, followed by the question "Is McAlpine on drugs, or is he on to something?"; judging by the reactions of those attending the conference, it appeared about a 50/50 split on how people would answer that one.
That was my last ever Vineyard conference, although to this day, I remain very Vineyard in my theology, and my understanding of the Kingdom of God.
posted by Robbymac at
10:23 AM
7 Comments:
Wow. Mine didn't take as long as yours... but fairly similar. Yeah, once your Vineyard, its a part of you, part of your spiritual DNA... but I'll never stop questioning and challenging... and sometimes people just hate that. My CLB is also... Vineyard. :/
i remember that conference - guess which 50 i was on :)
if it makes you feel any better, i've talked to gary a few times since then, and he was on the same 50.
i remembered something on the bus...
if it makes you feel any worse, at the next one of those prairie pastors things that i went to, one of the other pastor-types felt it was his duty to inform me during a meeting of how much i'm wasting my time on such a failed model as house churches.
;)
"Weird... weren't you just talking with Wendy on the phone?"
Yes, I believe I just was.
What is the weird part? That Wendy felt I was reasonably well on the phone, and yet my post was quite demonstrative of my recent pain?
Grace...it is all...I'd even take the name if it hadn't already been taken.
In a way, I believe I have already taken that name, and despite mainstream opinion, the name is still "Christian".
Toad
Oh, dare I share it? This youtube vid was an eye-opener for me:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector
Curse my Windows clipboard for betraying me. The link I posted was too general. I would rather it be linked to the stigmas of depression, treatment, schizophrenia and of shock treatment if I may. The more direct link would be:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZrAGdZ1i8
Its funny how long getting burned by a church sticks with you. My wife and I got the boot from a small church which we were doing p/t ministry at while in school. Those scars run deeper than I ever would have guessed.
-Tim Reed
Ronni,
Yes, Vineyard DNA tends to run very deep! Wendy & I still joke about "bleeding purple".
Sorry to hear that your CLB experience was Vineyard; while we've come across some unhealthy Vineyards here and there, our overall experience was very, very positive, and we can honestly say, "Thank God for the Vineyard".
Sean,
Funny that, eh? I've always thought that the Vineyard was ideally poised for an easy transition into 21st century, postmodern cultural ministry, but...
Toadster,
Grace is all that keeps us alive and well, in the final analysis, eh?
Tim,
I know what you mean. Generally speaking, Wendy & I are "over it" as far as extending forgiveness, feeling healed and freed up as time goes by, etc., but every now and then, we realize that we were pretty profoundly damaged by our first CLB.
Not that we're invalids or damaged-beyond-repair -- God is good, and He is our Healer -- but it really does exact a toll on you, even years later.
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