who woulda thunk it?

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 75% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Roman Catholic 64% Neo orthodox 61% Charismatic/Pentecostal 46% Classical Liberal 39% Reformed Evangelical 36% Modern Liberal 32% Fundamentalist 21% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Actually I thought that the survey was not that good. (probably characteristic of my post-modern bent not to be labelled - cough) I do not, for instance, feel alienated from older forms of church. But whatever?!

I was a little curious how Roman Catholic scored as high on the scale as it did - even though i made sure to strongly disagree with the pope being the head of the church...

anywho might be fun to see where the rest of you score on this...

Hey dad this a survey you could do...

Never Ending White Lights

Act 1: Goodbye Friends Of The Heavenly Bodies

Of All The Things You've Done Wrong
Whatcha gonna tell my daughter when my body comes home
Whatcha gonna tell her mother, her father was full grown
He's been out slaughtering babies in someone else's daydream
If god is on my side
Then god is on your side
I murder you murder me matter of personal pride
If god is on your side
He must be mistaken
He must have forsaken thee
Cause he watches you suffer believe
He watches you grieve
He sends his assasins
They'll get you when your sleeping, weeping.

Char said I needed to add a comment on the author's intention to make a comment on the American agenda in the middle east. I thought it was interesting given our recent discussion on the cartoons and US foreign policy...

The Hockey Church Saga

Recently my good friend Sterling invited me to help him with the provincial pee wee “C” tournament that he was organizing here in Coaldale. He asked me to do some announcing for the games – you know –
« Le premier étoile se soir
Da furst e-starr
Steve Shutt”
(my first exposure to public address announcers was the one who announced at the Montreal Canadians hockey games – the first team I cheered for…)
So I was jacked to do it.
He asked me if it would be okay if I announced a 9:30 am game on Sunday morning. Well I said yes (in addition to half a dozen other games that weekend). I loved it. I got to put on my booming voiced and mispronounce a bunch of weird names. It was fun and it seemed like it was well received.
So I show up at the rink at 9 am to get ready for the game and I must run into about three or four people from church.
“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere else this morning?” – they all ask with a widening grin.
“Nope! But shouldn’t I be asking that of you?” I said smiling back at them. Nudge Nudge Wink Wink…
I guess some of the people in community noticed that ‘the pastor’ was at the game as well. And apparently some good conversations were started as a result. Funny thing isn’t!
Of course as many of you know – there would be a strong negative reaction from the leadership in my church if I were to make hockey a regular part of my Sunday experience.
I think I kinda know what Jesus was talking about when he broke Sabbath conventions and social parameters by healing people and eating at ‘sinners’ homes. It’s the sick who need a doctor… the funny thing is that when I look at my friend Sterling I see anything but a ‘sick’ person. Here is a man who I think understands his own pastoral role better than many people…
So there you go. I hope more than just some media stunt maybe calling the goals and penalties this weekend helped a few people see legitimacy in their faith expression. And I hope they perhaps were challenged in a small way to ‘take it up a notch.”

identify...?

Slip sliding away, slip sliding away

You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away

Whoah and I know a man,

he came from my hometown

He wore his passion for his woman like a thorny crown

He said dolores, I live in fear

My love for you’s so overpowering,

I’m afraid that I will disappear

I know a woman, (who) became a wife

These are the very words she uses to describe her life

She said a good day ain’t got no rain

She said a bad day is when I lie in the bed

And I think of things that might have been

And I know a father who had a son

He longed to tell him all the reasons for the things he’d done

He came a long way just to explain

He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping

Then he turned around and he headed home again

Whoah God only knows, God makes his plan

The information’s unavailable to the mortal man

We’re workin’ our jobs, collect our pay

Believe we’re gliding down the highway, when in fact we’re slip sliding away

-Paul Simon "Slip Slidin' Away"

the hats...

yes i did this

imarobot is well on the road to earning a clear mug for this posting

By the way- these awards are handed out at random but there will be blog ceremony some time before Easter where we will hand out the hardware so get you submissions in...


Dale

if autism is the berlin wall he just cracked it

here is a nice little story about a kid overcoming the odds... (MARCH MADNESS!)

Good thing the lines are so clearly defined...

James Loney
Christian, and especially Mennonites, have embraced this man in somewhat of an iconic representation of the peace position that so many Christians take. I wonder just how well recieved he will continue to be once the details of romantic interest are more publically accessible.
"I need some time to get reacquainted with my partner, Dan, my family, my community and freedom itself."
Of course this cryptic remark in his first statement on Canadian soil suggests that perhaps we might have endorsed, prayed for and advocated for what MIGHT be someone with at least some variety of homosexual leanings...
How do you say squirm in Low German...
Even more interesting is how grateful Loney was in identifying how providencial the military intervention was in his release from captivity (along with his co-hostages) Ironic given his earlier statements about not wanting military intervention were he to be captured...
"A great of hand of solidarity reached out for us; a hand that included the hands of Palestinian children holding pictures of us and the hands of the British soldier who cut our chains with a bolt cutter. That great hand was able to deliver the three of us from the shadow of death. I am grateful in a way that can never be adequately expressed in words."

and

Loney made it clear he was opposed to any military rescue if he was kidnapped, says Doug Pritchard, the organization's co-director. Is that why CPT has been slow to express gratitude for the rescue, indeed referred to it as a "release" in its early statements?
Good things always get tied up in these neat little packages...

YOUTH MINISTRY IS EVERYBODY'S JOB...

Here’s a quote and comment:
“Youth ministry, then, is not an appendage of the body, it is rather an expression of the whole body caring for specific group. Adolescents need adult community who will love them appropriately and with great care. This is the call of the church. Young adolescents need several second families, and middle adolescents need a safe place to explore peer relationships while knowing that there are many others in the wings committed and available to them. Older adolescents need to know that they matter to the other adults in the community. Youth ministry is everybody’s job.” – Chap Clark

Of course many of you know how passionate I remain in my desire to help adolescents through this turbulent time of their lives. And more than ever it seems that the expectations of this passion are left unmet. It is depressing really…
For as much as we have worked to establish an effective strategy in our youth ministry here – it often feels a little useless. I have to accept that likely I am to blame at least in part for the state of things. Ministry to youth has seemed to be so ‘diametrically opposed’ to the over all function of the rest of the church. So our youth ministry has squirreled away a spot to ‘do ministry’ beside and outside the rest of the church's function. I suspect this issue exists in many if not most churches. Basically it is like we have created two distinct independant spiritual bodies. And I know in some situations churches’ have carved youth out of the main meeting time. (a.k.a. YOUTH CHURCH) Auspiciously to give youth a version of church that is more in their context. Fine. But I suspect that we should not wring our hands in despair when most kids walk away from their faith after high school. Our system of fragmented ministry has ducked around the real issue. A sort of laziness and arrogance.
As a father I am increasingly aware of what I will leave for my children. So it disappoints me when people who have received spiritual nurture for years and years continue to greedily hoard the spiritual wealth. But far from asking every person in the church to become sponsors or volunteer staff, I just think we need to look past our collective noses and wake up to our responsibility to those who are growing up in this “Brand New World”.
The essence of the church is sacrifice. So to be clear I DO NOT think we need to Dumb Down the church to make it more youth friendly. I think that when adults accommodate youth they understand that it’s not just about meeting their perceived needs. It is good for youth to learn early the rhythms of sacrificial living. However, adults need to STOP the greedy spiritual engorgement that is so pervasive.
You know what I think?
The reason we create these ginormous events (YC / CREATION / Even to some extent Bible School “Retreats”) is because it is a relatively easy way to FEEL like we are ministering to kids. Gosh it is way more labour intensive to actually start a relationship with a kid. Nope instead we will gladly throw money and resources of all sorts at these events – which incidentally are not so subtle ways of teaching kids to perpetuate the greed cycle. Really when it comes down to it having a paid youth pastor is probably another great way of doing the same thing…

C.M.A. Self-Nomination

check out nathans contending story on his blog and vote there if you think he deserves the award...

The Clear Mug Awards

In the middle to late 90’s a trend emerged in glassware which provided hot beverage drinkers the inexplicable joy of seeing their potion of choice three dimensionally. While Humpty’s restaurants insists on using said clear cups to this day in many of its restaurants, the use of these containers has fallen into unfashionable disuse in most of the rest of society. With gentle covert lobbying, coffee enthusiasts pared the production of these translucent mugs away from manufacturer’s factories. It was revealed that individuals who chose to adulterate their coffee with sweeteners, cream, and ‘flavourings’, where taking special delight in seeing their coffee merging with edible oil products. Obviously this reality could not go on.
So now that these cups are no longer a standard part of each kitchen cupboard, they have taken on iconic status. Of course it helps that Gil is quite verifiably aggravated when he is served a drink in this type of chalice. Really the cup is an enigma. As an icon it serves to highlight the triviality of corrupt practices. Ironically it acknowledges how self effacement can truly reveal inner beauty. And so it is that the cup has climbed atop the bronzed statuette we normally refer to as a trophy.
The award really is just as inscrutable as the cup itself. Really it may be awarded to almost anyone for almost any reason. Typically though it will be awarded with an overall sense of irony or sarcasm. To limit the award in this manner may still be far too confining so allow me to identify some of the catagories under which people may be nominated for the award:
Trend of the Year
Political Quote
Regular Quote
Best Story about a Transformed Coffee Drinker
Best Picture of a Taxi Cab
Most Ridiculous Invention
These are but a few of the categories. You are welcome to nominate someone for any of these categories and to suggest categories for our selection academy.
So now you know…