At times I think we live in a world where most people are pretty timid and only a few are game to take some risks and see what happens. This can happen in all areas of our lives: in our friendships, playing sport, while adventuring or travelling, in marriage, as a parenthood, in leadership (especially Christian leadership), in business or our jobs, and in our journey with the Lord. Eugene Peterson writes a stirring and almost poetic account depicting the battle that Jeremiah faced to live out the life that the Lord had install for him:
“Life is difficult, Jeremiah. Are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to retreat when you find out that there is more to life than finding three meals a day and a dry place to sleep at night? Are you going to run home the minute you find that the mass of men and women are more interested in keeping their feet warm than in living at risk to the glory of God? Are you going to live cautiously or courageously? I called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness, to sustain a drive towards excellence. It is easier, I know, to be neurotic. It is easier to be parasitic. It is easier to relax in the embracing arms of the average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant. Easier, but not more fulfilling. I called you to a life of purpose far beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate strength to fulfill your destiny. Now at the first sign of difficulty you are ready to quit. If you are fatigued by this run-of-the-mill crowd of apathetic mediocrities, what will you do when the real race starts, the race with the swift and determined horses of excellence? What is it you really want Jeremiah, do you want to shuffle along with the crowd, or are you going to run with the horses?” *
Jeremiah’s life became the answer “I’ll run with the horses.”
I have a good friend that is living courageously and taking a risk. He’s got a baby on the way, and he’s just walked away from his safe salaried job to pursue a dream that’s been in the pipeline for a while, starting up his own travel consultancy. The road ahead for him will be rocky, but I’m confident he wont give up at the first sign of trouble as many do. But, if you’re an Australian reader, he could sure use your help, by giving him a call and giving him (instead of the big-guns he used to work for at Flight Centre) the opportunity to arrange a flight, hotel, tour, cruise or travel insurance for you. I think it’s worth supporting someone who’s living courageously! Contact:
Evan Snow
Travel Director
33 Degrees Worldwide Pty Ltd
56 Berry St North Sydney 2060
P: +61 2 9455 0535
E: evan@33degrees.com.au
*Run with the Horses: the Quest for Life at its Best
Pg 18, drawing from Jeremiah 18
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
What are you thankful for?
wild boar shank at a great Italian restaurant
plenty of Fat Tire Amber Ale
a backyard hot tub
a bike ride with my wife along the Idaho River
going to a pro hockey game
an incredible feast
watching college football
playing Xbox with the men of the family (and the gay cat)
free alcohol on an American domestic flight
time with Jess’ uncle’s family who graciously hosted us for American Thanksgiving
Jess’ parents and grandparents joining the party, driving all the way from CA
and the opportunity to travel to Boise Idaho to enjoy it all!
This was my second thanksgiving in the USA, although since the first was spent riding roller coasters with a bunch of Aussies, Jess’ bridesmaids and her brother the day before I got married 4 years ago, I count this thanksgiving as my first.
I didn’t know what to expect, and am still sketchy on what “Thanksgiving” is beyond the survival of the pilgrims after they survived the Mayflower, and the turkey eating and football watching that is enjoyed to commemorate the pilgrims survival.
“What are you thankful for?”
I had my answer prepared, I thought it was part of the tradition to be asked around the banquet table, but I never was asked, and neither was anyone else.
My impression is, that America doesn’t get much time to ponder or answer this important question anymore. The Boise malls opened at 1am, only 1 hour after the “Thanksgiving” day was over. 80% of the sales that are made during the “Thanksgiving Sales” are made by 10am – I’m not surprised, after nine hours of shopping, I’m sure 80% of the shoppers would be pretty tired and would be thankful for going home to left-over turkey.
Maybe I don’t get it… but with so many things to buy tomorrow, it seems much harder to be thankful for what we have today.
The day before the trip, I had to read and write a response to a fellow students paper, written on the topic of “Measuring Wealth and Poverty”. I wrote my response knowing full well that a glorious week of indulgence and abundance lay ahead and also knowing that the paper I had just read was calling the church back to a “moral vision of poverty as manifested in the Eucharist”. That is, in our poverty, as sinful human beings before a Holy and wonderful God, we are brought to our knees as impoverished people, where being rich or poor (financially and socially) doesn’t matter, as together we receive the body and the blood of the one who became poor so that we could become rich (this is no prosperity gospel). It is when we are on our knees receiving God’s grace together, that we can be gracious towards one another, and lift one another out of our economic and social poverty.
As I emailed the paper off, I couldn’t help but write a few off-the-record words to the author, sharing my experience of reading and responding to his paper in light of the rich week that lay before me. I was very aware of what I didn’t want to give up – my entitlement, my comfort, my security, my opportunities – the trappings of living this-side of any measure of poverty – yet knowing that the “conceptualising and measuring of poverty is a sombre yet important duty. It must start with the sad recognition that the pervasive reality of poverty is a manifestation of sin.” Is it my sinfulness that plays a role in others being poor?
I am not yet ready to deal with the reality of the quote that the paper ended with:
“not to share our wealth with the poor is theft from the poor”. From what I understand, the church fathers, who walked the journey of faith closer to Jesus’ time than us held similar convictions. I do think however, that taking plenty of time to ponder and answer that key question maybe the first step to loving our neighbor who we kneel beside in Eucharistic poverty.
So, what are you thankful for?
plenty of Fat Tire Amber Ale
a backyard hot tub
a bike ride with my wife along the Idaho River
going to a pro hockey game
an incredible feast
watching college football
playing Xbox with the men of the family (and the gay cat)
free alcohol on an American domestic flight
time with Jess’ uncle’s family who graciously hosted us for American Thanksgiving
Jess’ parents and grandparents joining the party, driving all the way from CA
and the opportunity to travel to Boise Idaho to enjoy it all!
This was my second thanksgiving in the USA, although since the first was spent riding roller coasters with a bunch of Aussies, Jess’ bridesmaids and her brother the day before I got married 4 years ago, I count this thanksgiving as my first.
I didn’t know what to expect, and am still sketchy on what “Thanksgiving” is beyond the survival of the pilgrims after they survived the Mayflower, and the turkey eating and football watching that is enjoyed to commemorate the pilgrims survival.
“What are you thankful for?”
I had my answer prepared, I thought it was part of the tradition to be asked around the banquet table, but I never was asked, and neither was anyone else.
My impression is, that America doesn’t get much time to ponder or answer this important question anymore. The Boise malls opened at 1am, only 1 hour after the “Thanksgiving” day was over. 80% of the sales that are made during the “Thanksgiving Sales” are made by 10am – I’m not surprised, after nine hours of shopping, I’m sure 80% of the shoppers would be pretty tired and would be thankful for going home to left-over turkey.
Maybe I don’t get it… but with so many things to buy tomorrow, it seems much harder to be thankful for what we have today.
The day before the trip, I had to read and write a response to a fellow students paper, written on the topic of “Measuring Wealth and Poverty”. I wrote my response knowing full well that a glorious week of indulgence and abundance lay ahead and also knowing that the paper I had just read was calling the church back to a “moral vision of poverty as manifested in the Eucharist”. That is, in our poverty, as sinful human beings before a Holy and wonderful God, we are brought to our knees as impoverished people, where being rich or poor (financially and socially) doesn’t matter, as together we receive the body and the blood of the one who became poor so that we could become rich (this is no prosperity gospel). It is when we are on our knees receiving God’s grace together, that we can be gracious towards one another, and lift one another out of our economic and social poverty.
As I emailed the paper off, I couldn’t help but write a few off-the-record words to the author, sharing my experience of reading and responding to his paper in light of the rich week that lay before me. I was very aware of what I didn’t want to give up – my entitlement, my comfort, my security, my opportunities – the trappings of living this-side of any measure of poverty – yet knowing that the “conceptualising and measuring of poverty is a sombre yet important duty. It must start with the sad recognition that the pervasive reality of poverty is a manifestation of sin.” Is it my sinfulness that plays a role in others being poor?
I am not yet ready to deal with the reality of the quote that the paper ended with:
“not to share our wealth with the poor is theft from the poor”. From what I understand, the church fathers, who walked the journey of faith closer to Jesus’ time than us held similar convictions. I do think however, that taking plenty of time to ponder and answer that key question maybe the first step to loving our neighbor who we kneel beside in Eucharistic poverty.
So, what are you thankful for?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sydney: from spectacular to uninhabitable?
Read all about it:
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1395
Pessimistic? Realist? Sensationalist? Prophetic?
I do fear for the reef...
Is Kevin'07 or Howard's 'Go for Growth' going to help?
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1395
Pessimistic? Realist? Sensationalist? Prophetic?
I do fear for the reef...
Is Kevin'07 or Howard's 'Go for Growth' going to help?
Friday, November 02, 2007
Trans-Gendered Prose
While googling something only distantly related, I came across the “gender genie” http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php, which will analyse a passage of writing and determine, based upon word usage, whether the author was a man or a woman. So, for fun, I put some of my writing through the genie. The result – I (jessica) write like a man!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
'Fall' on the UBC Campus
The last six weeks have been intense! It all came to brief interlude after spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday, literally chained to the iMac spitting out 6000 words, mostly for my Christianity and Capitalism paper - a Christian critique of Neo-Classical Economic Household and Consumption theories that affect our savings, debt, and exposure to consumerism and advertising - a really interesting paper to research and write, but I'm glad it's over!
To unwind and restore myself, I spent a glorious (and rare!) sunny and warm fall afternoon walking around the UBC campus - I tried to capture it with my camera, although it's hard to do - Fall is so BIG here! There's a few more pics on my Flickr page.
To unwind and restore myself, I spent a glorious (and rare!) sunny and warm fall afternoon walking around the UBC campus - I tried to capture it with my camera, although it's hard to do - Fall is so BIG here! There's a few more pics on my Flickr page.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ekklesia (gathering)
Jess and I have a new job (#3 job for both of us now). We are working as ‘interns’ for the 18+ college/careers group at our church, St John’s Shaughnessy. The group’s name is Ekklesia, which is a New Testament Greek word that means ‘gathering’, which implies more of a gathering in a house (church), than a formal meeting in an institutional church.
It’s a wonderfully simple model of Christian fellowship – we meet on a Wednesday night at 6:30pm where about 30 of us share a meal together. We do a few simple things as a group: we get to know each other better through some sharing times and ‘spotlights’ on individuals; we encourage each other with what we have been reading/learning in the bible; we pray for each other, sometimes we break-up in prayer-quads. Then we split off into 3 separate bible study groups, which wrap-up at 9:30.
Our role is great – we administer the group (the planning and legwork behind the scenes), we do a lot of the upfront leadership, and we share the responsibility of leading and shepherding the younger bible study group. Plus, we are given a Starbucks card to take Ekklesia people out for coffee! One big reason why we are doing the job, and also a joy of the job, is that we lead under Ken Moser – it is great to be working with Ken & Julie again!
I see some really healthy signs in this group: new people are welcomed and integrated quickly and we get new people every week; there is a hunger for God’s word to be taught; there is a desire to reach out and bless our community (although we are still working out how/what to do); people have time and care for one another. The Lord is doing something with this group – it’s great to be onboard when the Lord is working!
Another testimony to this group rang loud and clear this weekend … we were meant to go on a weekend retreat together. What would be a worst case scenario arriving at a campsite? Discovering the site had been double-booked with 90 boy/girl scouts under the age of 12 is one possible answer. We had to cancel the retreat. We went to a cold beach and hung out for a few hours, which ended up being a warm and enjoyable time together. Us leaders proposed meeting the following day a 3pm, have 2 of our 3 planned talks, have a great meal together and then go on, as planned, to our ‘mystery’ activity, Curling. Many people also met at 11am for a picnic on a glorious Autumn day in Vancouver, and the group hung out together in a home after Curling. All smiles, lots of laughs, no bitterness, but some understood disappointment. Ekklesia made the most of a potentially horrid situation, and we had a great time together!
It’s a wonderfully simple model of Christian fellowship – we meet on a Wednesday night at 6:30pm where about 30 of us share a meal together. We do a few simple things as a group: we get to know each other better through some sharing times and ‘spotlights’ on individuals; we encourage each other with what we have been reading/learning in the bible; we pray for each other, sometimes we break-up in prayer-quads. Then we split off into 3 separate bible study groups, which wrap-up at 9:30.
Our role is great – we administer the group (the planning and legwork behind the scenes), we do a lot of the upfront leadership, and we share the responsibility of leading and shepherding the younger bible study group. Plus, we are given a Starbucks card to take Ekklesia people out for coffee! One big reason why we are doing the job, and also a joy of the job, is that we lead under Ken Moser – it is great to be working with Ken & Julie again!
I see some really healthy signs in this group: new people are welcomed and integrated quickly and we get new people every week; there is a hunger for God’s word to be taught; there is a desire to reach out and bless our community (although we are still working out how/what to do); people have time and care for one another. The Lord is doing something with this group – it’s great to be onboard when the Lord is working!
Another testimony to this group rang loud and clear this weekend … we were meant to go on a weekend retreat together. What would be a worst case scenario arriving at a campsite? Discovering the site had been double-booked with 90 boy/girl scouts under the age of 12 is one possible answer. We had to cancel the retreat. We went to a cold beach and hung out for a few hours, which ended up being a warm and enjoyable time together. Us leaders proposed meeting the following day a 3pm, have 2 of our 3 planned talks, have a great meal together and then go on, as planned, to our ‘mystery’ activity, Curling. Many people also met at 11am for a picnic on a glorious Autumn day in Vancouver, and the group hung out together in a home after Curling. All smiles, lots of laughs, no bitterness, but some understood disappointment. Ekklesia made the most of a potentially horrid situation, and we had a great time together!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
I love this guy!
That’s kind of a weird thing for me (Andrew) to write, but let me explain …
I enjoy all the courses I am doing this semester, but my Christian Education and Equipping class is a real joy! The course has a simple aim: to equip us (both laity and the 'pro’s') to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will make disciples of Jesus Christ. Darrell Johnson believes the best way to make disciples is by helping people engage with texts of scripture. We spend a lot of our time looking at how Jesus makes disciples in the gospels.
Darrell Johnson who shepherds us through is amazing! He preaches with the kind of authority that Jesus talks about, he cares for his students, but most of all the love he has for Jesus spills out of him. I think this is why I love this guy, because he is so deeply in love with Jesus, and we can see it, and it’s contagious!
This week, Darrell went the extra mile for his students … he wrote a 10 day devotional packet on the Psalms and Ephesians for us to linger in during our upcoming reading week.
To share some of Darrell’s love for Jesus around, here is a link to the devotional pack for you to linger on as well. Darrell also wrote us an email with some additional thoughts after he did his first devotion today. I will post this email and any further ones he sends as comments on this post.
Enjoy lingering …
More on Darrell: Bio / Free Sermons / Regent Audio / Books
More on Jesus: listen to Darrell / read your bibles
I enjoy all the courses I am doing this semester, but my Christian Education and Equipping class is a real joy! The course has a simple aim: to equip us (both laity and the 'pro’s') to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will make disciples of Jesus Christ. Darrell Johnson believes the best way to make disciples is by helping people engage with texts of scripture. We spend a lot of our time looking at how Jesus makes disciples in the gospels.
Darrell Johnson who shepherds us through is amazing! He preaches with the kind of authority that Jesus talks about, he cares for his students, but most of all the love he has for Jesus spills out of him. I think this is why I love this guy, because he is so deeply in love with Jesus, and we can see it, and it’s contagious!
This week, Darrell went the extra mile for his students … he wrote a 10 day devotional packet on the Psalms and Ephesians for us to linger in during our upcoming reading week.
To share some of Darrell’s love for Jesus around, here is a link to the devotional pack for you to linger on as well. Darrell also wrote us an email with some additional thoughts after he did his first devotion today. I will post this email and any further ones he sends as comments on this post.
Enjoy lingering …
More on Darrell: Bio / Free Sermons / Regent Audio / Books
More on Jesus: listen to Darrell / read your bibles
Friday, September 14, 2007
reflections on an outlook for a new semester
This may sound odd for a Masters of Divinity student to say, but I am being re-awakened to the importance of God's word.
I walked in on the end of a passionate talk Ken was giving at VYLC a few weeks ago, where in the context of not employing 'fun and games' youth programs and instead taking God's word seriously by teaching it to youth, I caught a vision that distracted me. My mind flashed back to The Last Samurai movie, where I remember being taken through the process of layering and crafting the steel in a Samurai sword, the result being a weapon that was razor sharp and impenetrably strong. That is what God's word is really like, our orthodoxy affirms it and Hebrews 4:12 captures it:
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The next image that came to my mind was a rubber sword, that instead of striking through to the heart, weakly bounces off someones chest in a 'play war'. It is no weapon at all, rather a toy. This is how we often treat God's word, our orthopraxis.
Today in Christian Education and Equipping (a course centered around making and maturing disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, who in-turn can make and mature disciples of Jesus through engaging texts of scripture), Darrell Johnson read us this quote from Cal Thomas (a syndicated columnist in the USA and a guy I have met during my stint with the fellowship in Washington DC):
"The problem in our culture isn't the Clinton Administration. It isn't the abortionists. It isn't the pornographers or drug dealers or the criminals. It is the undisciplined, undiscipled, disobedient, and Biblically ignorant Church of Jesus Christ. Several years ago, a USA Today/Gallup Poll found that only 10 percent of the people who claimed to be believers read their Bibles every day. There's your problem. If you're ignorant of the Word of God, you're going to be blind to the way of God and disobedient to the will of God."
I admit to: loosing sight of the importance of God's word; not reading it daily, and often less regularly than that; for thinking that something else I have to offer would be more effective at influencing people for God's Kingdom than God's Word would be. I repent today, but the chances are that through the busyness, all the other reading required of me, the paid work we must do to keep us here, my preference to disengage... I will stumble again tomorrow.
I remember John Woodhouse saying that he was sick of hearing about Christ Church's (the church of my youth) reputation for 'good teaching' (John has a reputation as a good teacher). John's point was good teaching would be seen in the lives that were pierced and transformed by God's Word, not by reputation. I am still wary about holding up 'good teaching', I would rather see good living - I guess that's the difference between our orthodoxy and our orthopraxis.
I am excited about this renewal of the importance of God's word and it's ability to strike to the heart, rescue the captives and usher in The Kingdom. I need to stand under God's word this semester (and this lifetime). Instead of blogging about it, I need to go read it, study it, dwell on it, memorise it, be changed by it. Jess and I now also have an opportunity to teach it each week at Ekklesia.
I walked in on the end of a passionate talk Ken was giving at VYLC a few weeks ago, where in the context of not employing 'fun and games' youth programs and instead taking God's word seriously by teaching it to youth, I caught a vision that distracted me. My mind flashed back to The Last Samurai movie, where I remember being taken through the process of layering and crafting the steel in a Samurai sword, the result being a weapon that was razor sharp and impenetrably strong. That is what God's word is really like, our orthodoxy affirms it and Hebrews 4:12 captures it:
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The next image that came to my mind was a rubber sword, that instead of striking through to the heart, weakly bounces off someones chest in a 'play war'. It is no weapon at all, rather a toy. This is how we often treat God's word, our orthopraxis.
Today in Christian Education and Equipping (a course centered around making and maturing disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, who in-turn can make and mature disciples of Jesus through engaging texts of scripture), Darrell Johnson read us this quote from Cal Thomas (a syndicated columnist in the USA and a guy I have met during my stint with the fellowship in Washington DC):
"The problem in our culture isn't the Clinton Administration. It isn't the abortionists. It isn't the pornographers or drug dealers or the criminals. It is the undisciplined, undiscipled, disobedient, and Biblically ignorant Church of Jesus Christ. Several years ago, a USA Today/Gallup Poll found that only 10 percent of the people who claimed to be believers read their Bibles every day. There's your problem. If you're ignorant of the Word of God, you're going to be blind to the way of God and disobedient to the will of God."
I admit to: loosing sight of the importance of God's word; not reading it daily, and often less regularly than that; for thinking that something else I have to offer would be more effective at influencing people for God's Kingdom than God's Word would be. I repent today, but the chances are that through the busyness, all the other reading required of me, the paid work we must do to keep us here, my preference to disengage... I will stumble again tomorrow.
I remember John Woodhouse saying that he was sick of hearing about Christ Church's (the church of my youth) reputation for 'good teaching' (John has a reputation as a good teacher). John's point was good teaching would be seen in the lives that were pierced and transformed by God's Word, not by reputation. I am still wary about holding up 'good teaching', I would rather see good living - I guess that's the difference between our orthodoxy and our orthopraxis.
I am excited about this renewal of the importance of God's word and it's ability to strike to the heart, rescue the captives and usher in The Kingdom. I need to stand under God's word this semester (and this lifetime). Instead of blogging about it, I need to go read it, study it, dwell on it, memorise it, be changed by it. Jess and I now also have an opportunity to teach it each week at Ekklesia.
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