Mohandas Gandhi, considered these traits to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity…
* Wealth without Work * Pleasure without Conscience * Science without Humanity * Knowledge without Character * Politics without Principle * Commerce without Morality * Worship without Sacrifice
Just finished off my speaking duties at the CCCC Annual Conference. I really enjoyed it and had fun ministering with Mike.
One thing I tried at this conference was to speak for no longer than 30 minutes and I think my internal clock is getting more accurate - I was 28, 29 and 26 minutes!
I left feeling quite encouraged by the hundreds of Canadian ministries that were represented - so much great work is being done across the country! Made some neat connections with a few other people who have India, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Yellokknife and my Uncle Dave in common.
We had a full week last week with Mareesa's (3rd) and Sydney's (6th) birthdays! Rebecca always does such a great job of making their birthdays special!
Yesterday we hosted our annual Ministry Fair at Oak Park which is also a nice break from me having to speak. The sanctuary setup was awesome and people engaged so well in the morning. We also announced our new communications plan for the congregation which includes making regular use of www.mypark.ca and ditching the weekly bulletin. I'm thankful for the saved costs and trees!
Last night Rebecca joined her sister at a concert/presentation by Carol Burnett which she loved!
This week I'm speaking three times at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. I'll be talking about "Life's Remains: Faith, Hope and Love." Which should be a fun time! My friends Mike, Malcolm and Shawn will be leading the worship before each talk - I'm looking forward to that. On the weekend I'll be doing a wedding so this week will be fly by!
As I become increasingly aware that I am now aged somewhere between "young" people and "old" people I am seeing church change things a little differently! This post by Tony Morgan was timely:
-------------------------- "Last Sunday at our Greenville campus, we had an older couple, probably in their 60s, accept Christ. That's worth celebrating. I love to watch life change happen.
"Here's what's amazing about stories like that. Our services in Greenville aren't designed for people in their 60s. Our services are designed for a much younger audience. It's an audience that loves loud music. They are comfortable with video teaching, because video is already a huge part of their lives. They love the coffeehouse atmosphere.
"Here's what we've learned. If we design our service experiences for a younger audience, we're more likely to reach that younger person, and we'll reach older folks. The reverse is not true. If we designed our service experience for an older audience, the younger crowd would not show up.
"Now, here's the reality. Most churches in America are designed for an older audience. In fact, the more-seasoned folks in those churches are sitting on committees telling the students and young adults how they can and can't do ministry. The result? Younger people are leaving churches in droves.
"Here's what I know to be true. If the church is going to continue to reach the next generations:
* I have to be willing to give leadership to people younger than me ... and let them make mistakes. * I have to be willing to let younger folks lead me in worship ... even when it's not my favorite style of music. * I need to embrace new methods of ministry ... even though it makes me uncomfortable. * I need to pray and encourage and finance the next generation church ... and stop trying to make church a place that I like to attend.
"It's not about me. It's about the people who desperately need to know the hope, love and forgiveness found only in Jesus Christ. For the ministry of the local church to remain effective, I need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
The art of being sick
is not the same as the art of getting well. Some cancer patients recover; some
don't. But the ordeal of facing your mortality and feeling your frailty
sharpens your perspective about life. You appreciate little things more
ferociously. You grasp the mystical power of love. You feel the gravitational
pull of faith. And you realize you have received a unique gift—a field of
vision others don't have about the power of hope and the limits of fear; a firm
set of convictions about what really matters and what does not. You also feel
obliged to share these insights—the most important of which is this: There are
things far worse than illness—for instance, soullessness.
—Journalist Tony Snow, who died of cancer in July 2008 after
a three-year battle with the disease, in The Jewish World Review (2005)
In a rather emotional affair (at least for the females in our family) we laid to rest one of our pets this afternoon. Here are the words written by Brownies primary caregiver...
Eulogy for Brownie the Gerbil
Brownie
was born just over 2 years ago…..perhaps on a lovely fall day like this
one….quite possibly on September 19th, 2006…..the same birthdate she
likely shared with her beloved owner, Miss Sydney Rae McMillan.Brownie was purchased from Petland on April
19th when she was 7 months old (which was really already like a
teenager in gerbil years) and given as a gift to the McMillan children on
Aiden’s 7th birthday.She
caused quite a ruckus coming into the McMillan home and enjoyed loads of
attention for several months.The
children proudly showed her off the every guest who came over.They all thought she was lovely.Brownie lived with her best friend, Shadow.The two of them got along great and did
everything together. They shared nibble
sticks, the water bottle, a cage, many seeds, and several lettuce leaves.They especially liked to cuddle up together
at night in a fuzzy ball as they slept and dreamed sweet gerbil dreams. They
had many adventures learning to climb up the tube together and run on the
wheel.They always took turns and shared
well, except when they got bored, they would wrestle until one of them bonked
their head and squeaked loudly making the other one stop.
As
Brownie got older she did not like to be held. She did like to poop all over
the place and then kick it and all the wood chips out onto the floor.She was a real pain in the butt sometimes,
but we loved her anyway. She enjoyed the exercise ball occasionally….until one
day little Mareesa accidently kicked it and the ball dropped over into the
sunken livingroom!That was a jolt she’d
like to forget JBrownie also liked to jump a lot and many times tried to jump out of the
box while mommy was cleaning the cage. Her greatest accomplishment and adventure was
when she magnificently chewed through the roof of her cage and made a daring
escape one evening.She enjoyed freedom
amongst the children’s shoes, dirty laundry, and coloring books for hours
before she was discovered and quickly scooped up by mommy and daddy and put
back in her cage.Oh the stories she was
able to tell Shadow that night!
A
week before her death, Brownie knew she was getting old, so she, with Shadow’s
help, moved her bed downstairs under the running wheel where she would be more
comfortable.It was her favourite
spot.She died peacefully in her sleep
on Sept.10 surrounded by Shadow and all the memories of her gerbilhood
days.Brownie lived a good life; a full
life… for a gerbil.She added joy and
laughter to our home, and lots of clean up work too.She leaves behind the McMillan family and her
friend Shadow, who now can enjoy all the nibble sticks and running wheel to
herself!Brownie enjoyed her
life……..and teaches us that we must enjoy our lives too.So, now we say farewell to our furry friend,
Brownie McMillan.Adios amigo, saya nara, alfeder seign, adieu,
goodbye.
Rest
in Peace and Bon Voyage Brownie!
(We
will now have the laying of the flowers….by the McMillan children… followed by
a moment of quiet remembrance of Brownie.Please make donations to mommy for the purchase of some new toys for
Shadow to keep her busy in the coming days. ;)
Just got back from speaking at the Calgary Church of Christ Annual Men's Retreat. It was super to get together with guys that I have known for many years but haven't seen in a long time. We all hooked up out at Pioneer Ranch by Sundre to enjoy golf, horseback riding, ultimate frisbee and various other "this is what guys do when they are away from home" kind of things!
I spoke about Faith, Hope and Love and was really thankful to have some great conversations and discussions about important things. It was encouraging to have younger guys stepping up to ask hard questions, challenge leadership and commit themselves to being involved! It seems to me that Jack Ashby (the Associate Minister) did a really good job planning the weekend and coming alongside people to support and equip them.
A great weekend - so thankful I could be a part of it!
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