'Musings' Tagged Posts
The defect free church
A couple of year ago one of my sisters-in-law bought a remote-control car, I think at an airport, for my son’s birthday. At the airport, the car was capable of great speeds and, if memory serves, it climbed the wall a little bit before flipping over and landing perfectly and continuing along its path. You probably know where this is going. When the car was unwrapped and the expectations of a 4-year-old set sky high…it didn’t work. I don’t mean…
I heart Valentine’s day (and I’m not scared to say so)
I will not ignore Valentine’s day. I will not pretend to hate a day devoted to love. Given the state of the world and current affairs neither should you, and if you hate it I suggest you learn to appreciate what it can mean beyond the cards flowers, and money. Can you tell me the world is so full of love that it needs no more? Today my oldest son will declare love for his classmates and offer a token…
an example of love for all of us
If Facebook, Time Magazine, and Macleans are right then we are living in troubled times, times that appear to lack mercy, compassion, and love. This is distressing for many folks, and (perhaps) especially for Christians. The gospel writer John teaches us that Jesus told his followers, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” It is…
Christian, how are we to engage the world today?
My wife and I recently subscribed to Texture, an app that permits us to read about 150 magazines a month (not that we read all of them, of course). In the app you can scroll through the covers of magazines to see what you might want to read. The covers suggest the news is bad right now. There is the general: faster, fitter, leaner, smarter, tidier, better you, covers that are always there and always a little bit irksome. There…
Kindles and Bibles
Those of you who read a lot of them will know about the problem of kindle books. They are also the strengths of kindle books. They are often cheap, so cheap that when someone suggests one in a compelling way you buy it immediately and think no more of it. Then one day you turn to read a book, you aren’t sure what to read and you tell yourself not to buy anything, you have plenty of books, many unread,…
Office Coffee VS. The Coffee Shop
Here at St. Andrew’s, thanks to the amazing generosity of many people, we recently opened a new administrative wing. It is a delight to work in and the extra space helps us not feel so cramped in our daily digs. The “big Luxury” of what some have come to lovingly call “The Pastor’s Palace” is a Keurig coffee maker. Before you get mad at the waste you should know we bought re-usable pods for all the staff. We also bought…
A short word on age and finishing strong
Without belabouring the point I would like to ask you, dear read, to read these notes on two levels. The first level is regarding to your age. If you are young then see what you are preparing for and if you are old (however you define it) see the important role you still have to play. The second level is if you are tied to an old denomination, like the Presbyterian Church in Canada, read the notes with eyes to…
5 Reasons Not to Copy the Successful Church down the Street
I have four boys living in my house and nothing is more tedious and annoying to listen to than when they start to copy each other. I know it’s part of regular development and that younger ones learn from older ones, but man can it grate the nerves to listen to and witness. I so desperately want them to discover who they are, to take pleasure in their own voices, and uniqueness. I pray they unfold like butterflies with a…
Video Games, Violence Against Women and Christianity – Here Comes Thanksgiving
Talking with younger folks, and some not so younger folks I notice a growing issue in my life as a Christian leader. I am encountering more and more violence against women, as well as a general increase in violence and degrading hate speech. Something caught my attention during a recent television advertisement for a video game and I can;t help but write about it. Video games are a big business these days. Thousands are employed in the industry (including some…
10 Things I’ve Learned in Two Years of Ministry
Things I have learned after two years in full-time ministry, in no particular order: It is such common knowledge it is almost nonsense to write about it: millennial leaders are more co-operative than their predecessors. I have noticed that this isn’t really about age of body but rather of mind. Some young stallions are as closed-minded and isolated as anyone ever has been and some older fellas are as open as a kitchen window facing the ocean on a warm…
Applesauce and the #s of Ministry
Yesterday I was making some apple sauce. I mean I was making it good and plenty. I was peeling and coring and boiling and trying not to spill as I poured it into jars. I was so engaged in it. A kid was there helping me, counting apples, moving apples around. I was excited. There might as well have been two kids making apple sauce (except, of course, we actually succeeded in making sauce in a way no two kids…
Mass Shootings and an Old Promise
You may or may not know that I have two boys 6 and 3 and another due in a month, and a foster child (age 6) in my house. What sort of world are we making for the children, we being us, the adults? I am as biased and confused and frustrated as anyone about the goings on in the world today, the number of news stories I struggle to explain to the boys makes me feel small, less-than-intelligent, and…
4 Keys to a Vital Congregation
People seem to dig the list when it comes to blogs and ministers and lay folks alike seem concerned about the decline of the church and wary of the future. More important all of us are trying to figure out how not only to lead the church but also how to be the church. Many people have pointed out that these days feel a lot more like the church of the Book of Acts than like the church of the…
3 Reasons Pastors Struggle With Comments
No one really likes criticism, especially if it’s not constructive, not given in a manner meant to help. We have all received feedback that was meant to demonstrate the intelligence of the one offering the criticism, or meant to tell us about what they value, that contains nothing on which we can build. I want to do my job well, and so do you, whatever you do. I think ministers often have a hard time with criticism because: We have…
We Labor Not in Vain
In my currently preferred sport, running, one of the really nice things is the culture of acceptance. If you go to a running event the absolute elites can be there, and you and I can be there too. A recent running magazine issue was dedicated entirely to what it takes to finish last…but to finish. To be in the running community is to receive grace and acceptance, regardless of ability. In other words, to be a runner is often a gift.…
Too Many Christian Books
This morning I attended what I imagine is only the first of many school concerts I will attend as my boys grow up and work their way through the schooling system. I was as proud as any parent in the room (every seat was taken) as I sat beside my wife and younger boy Thomas and watched Oliver sing and try to do the actions on time (especially proud that he wasn’t the kid in the front row center picking…
A Word of Encouragement (Or the Church as a Trapeze)
I used to teach snowboarding at a high level. I would take snowboard instructors to the biggest steepest run at our resort and ask them to ride it fakie (with the wrong foot in front). I enjoyed hundreds, if not thousands, of hours snowboarding. In order to improve and in order to help others improve I had to push both them and myself beyond the ordinary comfort zones. As we progressed some people took notice of us and recognized the…
God Fulfills His Promises
This past weekend I was reminded of how frustrated many of our churches are these days. I sometimes think I create bogeyman in my head when it comes to the troubles we are facing as a denomination; I pay too close attention to the numbers and the seeming struggles of my brothers and sisters in ministry. I want so badly to help them. Despite what one woman said to a member of my team recently “I know your church is…
Walking a Dog…What’s That Smell???
What’s that smell? It’s spring here on Vancouver Island and the flowers are budding and many tulips have already blossomed and many others stand sentinel straight waiting for just the right moment to grace the earth with their blooms. I was walking my dog this morning amidst the splendor and sunshine when we had an inauspicious start. She laid a deuce that scented the air with sickness and my alert brain immediately discerned that something my bubbly 2-year-old mutt ate…
Some People Will Wash Each Other’s Feet and Others Will Go Skiing
As a parent of young children I have known quite a few people, church-goers and non-church-goers, who have had questions about how to handle the big holidays on our calendars. Thanksgiving is relatively easy, as is Valentine’s day; but for Christians and non-Christians what to make of Christmas and Easter? Easter is fast approaching and bunnies are apparently magically dropping chocolate deuces all around. Some kids are about to get presents, seemingly everyone is about to get a bit of…
I Worry Too Much, How about You?
Sometimes I feel like I am a real sentimental guy. There are days when I look at my boys (aged 5 and 3) while they are climbing on me, asking for hugs and running around, yelling in high pitched joy-filled voices that hurt my ears. At these times, I feel compelled to think about the future; the times when they are going to be quiet, the times I will have more time on my hands to take up the various…