Sunday, May 31, 2009

Shivering in the shed


Where is God when disaster strikes?

That's one of the conversation topics we'll be tackling at tonight's coffeehouse gathering.

The whole "you never know when things are going to turn bad" thing is a running theme these days at HMC. 

This morning we held all three of our services in the church shed.  Normally the shed houses the bus and some odds and ends.  Today it was used as a massive illustration for the question of the morning: would we still love and serve God if we lost everything?  Paul (HMC youth pastor) talked about Job and he used the financial meltdown in North America to challenge us to store up kingdom of God treasures, which are eternal rather than material wealth, which evaporates quickly in a bear market.

So, if you want to have a conversation about this theme, why not join us tonight at the White Rose Coffeehouse in Walkerton @ 7pm.  It's open to everyone and I promise it'll be warmer than the s-s-s-s-shhed.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Formation @ Home wraps up


Yesterday marked the last Sunday in our church's Formation @ Home series.

It was a profound experience for me.  It's the first time I've been able to design an extended sermon series (5 weeks) and preach all but one Sunday.

I've been awakened.  I don't think I'll ever be the same. 

I'm grateful to Peter, our interim lead pastor.  He asked me to craft a sermon series for the post-Easter season.  He asked me to design something for the summer, too.

The latest is a fall pulpit series.  Yes, that's the third one since Easter.  I'll be working on that one in July and August.  I'm planning on developing some small group material that will compliment the Sunday morning messages.  It will be made in Hanover, rather than some large church in the U.S.

June-August I will also be working on a distance education course for EBC.  I wrote New Testament 1 (Gospels-Acts) last summer.  This summer I'll write New Testament 2 (Romans-Revelation).  

Oh, and I'm taking some vacation too.
 

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Institutions vs. Movements


Tomorrow is the conclusion of the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada national assembly.

That means I get to see my family after being away from them for 4 days straight.

I've met a lot of great people and I've been inspired to follow Jesus.

In a quiet moment I snuck away to my hotel room and read some of a book called The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch.

Here are a couple of statements that stand out to me:

"God's people are more potent by far when they have little of what we would recognize as church institution in their life together."p. 23

"All great missionary movements begin at the fringes of the church, among the poor and the marginalized, and seldom, if ever, at the center." p. 30

They are fairly bold statements.  Convicting.  Especially the second. 

What are your thoughts?

Monday, May 4, 2009

Gener8 reflections


Gener8 is now over and it was a powerful experience for me.

I was privileged to be in on the ground level of something God is doing across Canada.

24 young leaders were divided into small groups to listen to each other's stories.  I was amazed as our leader intuitively and prophetically called out dreams and obstacles to our dreams as we shared together.  Tears were shed, future visions were carefully painted, and we spent time praying for one another.

More than anything, I felt affirmed.  

Here are some of the things I've been chewing on:
1.  Don't make life too complex.  Simply follow Jesus.
2.  God is still proud of me when I fail miserably.
3.  I have a dream but I might be settling for selling tea in a crystal shop.  (you'll have to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho if you want to know what that means).

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Gener8

Today marks the first day of a weekend training event aimed at young leaders in my denominational tribe, the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada.

30 leaders, mostly between 20-30 years old, have been invited from across Canada.

I was invited.  I'm glad they didn't check ID's at the door.

I packed up my stuff, kissed my family good-bye, backed up my computer, and made the trek to Paris.  Ontario, not France.

I'm not sure what to expect but here's some of what the invite said:


• Share your dreams in an eclectic environment

• Hear echoes of affirmation in the voices of like-minded peers

• Develop your dreams for service to Jesus

• Expect inspiration and challenge

• Think and act missionally in your own context

• Venture on paths no one has traveled before


I'm looking forward to the untravelled paths. 

Related Posts with Thumbnails