Experiencing God at 11.6 Litres per 100 Kilometres
I love to drive long distances. It relaxes me. It quickly gets me into another world away from the intensity of day to day life as a lead pastor of a wonderful but often complex church family. Not to mention my own complexities that I add to the mix! ☺
The drive to North Bay to start the first phase of my annual summer study leave was no exception. The iPod was lined up with my latest playlist with worship songs ranging from Skillet’s “Awake” to Hillsong United’s “Aftermath” to Linclon Brewester’s “Real Life” and on and on with a little Coldplay and U2 thrown in as well. There were also a few podcasts to catch up on.
What I had not remembered about this drive is that on a couple of occasions in the past, God has used this time to speak very powerfully to my heart and set the tone for what we wants to do and how he wants my study leave to unfold. Unexpectedly this drive was to be another one of those clearly divine occasions.
My heart is always opened up to the majesty and holiness of our God as I view the spectacular beauty of creation, especially Northwestern Ontario. I love driving the along the north-shore of Lake Superior. I never tire of its beauty. And when God really wants to get my attention on a drive like this he throws in some wildlife. It started with a young buck that bolted daringly across the highway in front of my truck and stood momentarily in front of a sign that read, “Night Danger: Beware of Moose.” I’m not sure what point this buck was trying to make except to proclaim that deer are on the advance. A little later down the highway I did get to see that moose, the sign warned me about. Sweet! And then a spectacular highlight was a very healthy looking wolf, which you just don’t get to see that often driving along the Trans-Canada.
Those who don’t hunt find it hard to comprehend how stirred the average hunter is at the sight of these spectacular members of God’s creation. And for me it’s a way that God grabs my attention and gets me listening to what he has to say. I was tuned in.
Scattered between my iPod playlist were three podcasts. This first two somewhat coincided with the wildlife sightings about a third of the way into the drive. I listened to a young 30 year old speaker by the name of Steve Futrick speak on the 5th Anniversary of what has quickly become a mega Church called Elevation in Charlotte North Carolina. Listening to Futrick I heard both the joy and pain that deeply accompanies mission driven pastoral leadership. His story left me encouraged and inspired about my own role in Redwood’s journey.
I then listened to Mark Batterson from National Community Church in Washington, D.C. speaking on the “Battle of Jericho” with illustrations form the journey of his own church family as they seek against human odds to buy a piece of property in downtown Washington for the next step in fulfilling their mission. I was struck by his call to look to God to work in the long-term and not always to expect instantaneous miracles.
A theme was emerging. God was starting to speak more specifically to my heart. As I enter the 20th year of my leadership of Redwood, the call is to remember the original calling of creating a welcoming church family for those who are apart from God, and a church that would have strong impact throughout the city and Thunder Bay and beyond. It was a call to remember that God works powerfully and continually over time, even decades.
Well it was almost Canada Day, so time to listen to a good Canadian speaker. The theme God seemed to be speaking was trusting Him to continue to work miraculously through Redwood for kingdom advance. So when I saw the message title “Mission Impossible,” by Bruxy Cavy from the multi-site Meeting House rooted in Oakville, I went for it. While I was enjoying Bruxy’s preaching style, the message was not what I had expected. Burxy was taking the theme, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” (Luke 18:25, NIV) using the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke 19. I get that salvation is the ULTIMATE miracle, but this message just wasn’t in line with what I was “expecting” to hear.
But then it came, out of the blue, Bruxy took this familiar story gave it a twist and nailed it, leaving no doubt what God was speaking to me. Bruxy described the mission of the Meeting House, which should be the mission of all churches, as being like an easy to climb sycamore tree, where the spiritually intrigued can climb and get a better view of Jesus. That the church is to be a place where seekers can get a better view of Jesus who longs to enter into relationship with them. Yeah, so true. What a great picture of the church.
Elevation Church, National Community Church and the Meeting House all have a crystal clear focus on the priority of reaching people who are not yet Christ followers and leading them to a holistic faith that passionately expresses itself in advancing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. These churches think big, with citywide impact and influence that extends around the world. And as I listened, God reminded me that Redwood has a similar calling, with multiplied impact that is yet to be realized in Thunder Bay, with influence that will extend increasingly around the world.
It’s a good way to start the summer. It’s a clear reminder to seek God to fulfill the mission and vision He’s given to those of us in the Redwood community, “to bring the message and life of Jesus to our city and world.” I have a renewed sense that our God is strongly committed to taking Redwood to the next level in our missional journey, and that this summer is part of my preparation for the next leg of our journey together. I’m pumped!!
Oh and on a side note. Not only do I love the drive, but I gotta admit, driving a Dodge Ram makes it all the more sweet! At 11.6 litres per 100 kilometres from Thunder Bay to North Bay, I made it to within 250 kilometres of North Bay on one tank! For a half ton, that’s not bad!
C3 2011, Ed Young & Fellowship Church
We have a huge value at Redwood to get our staff and key leaders exposed to the best practices as well as solid leadership and biblical teaching from other churches in their context. It’s one thing to watch these guys on video, it’s a totally more powerful experience to be there with often hundreds even thousands of others and experience not only good teaching and training but to be infused and encouraged by the manifest presence of God. So often these events are profoundly transforming experiences helping us not only to take the next step forward in leadership, but to journey further and deeper in our relationship with God. In many ways they are like ancient pilgrimages where folk travel far, not because God wasn’t where they are, but simply because he often is better able to connect with us when we are well beyond the distractions of our home environment.
So myself, our Student Ministries Director Paul Ireland, our Children’s Ministry Director Heather Poulter and our Middle School Pastoral Apprentice Jesse Hochstetler took off for a 3-night 2-day conference sponsored by Fellowship Church in Dallas, under the leadership of Ed Young.
For those of you who know us at Redwood, our pilgrimages don’t often stray that far from places like Willow Creek Church in Chicago or Saddleback Church in Orange Country. So heading to Fellowship was a bit of a leap outside of our normal circles moving into a much less seeker sensitive environment, as well as a substantially more classic evangelical environment than we are used to. It’s good to shake things up a bit and be exposed to styles outside of your own. It’s also good to separate the good stuff form perhaps the not so good stuff!
Our primary purpose in heading to C3 (where C3 stands for Creative Church Culture), was to expose our children’s and student ministries leaders to new ideas and best practices from a church that is very effective in these ministries. Currently we use the “Elevate Curriculum” produced by Fellowship in our children’s ministry. Our expectations here were not only met, but exceeded. This is a church that as it works with the emerging generation understands the ethos we have at Redwood for “Life, Passion and Adventure.” They understand the need to connect at the heart level with a sense of adventure, encompassed with passion, on the foundation of what it means to become fully alive in Christ. I was impressed on how they introduce a strong sense of adventure into their children’s ministry right from Kindergarten. Their understanding of the mind and culture of kids and students and how to connect there is in my estimation, leaps and bounds ahead of most churches, even most contemporary mega churches.
Now the theme of the conference was, “exce3ed: go beyond what you are allowed.” Fellowship and C3 are an interesting mix of rebelling against the way most churches do church in the US south, while actually emphasizing some elements of that culture which in my view not only grate against the sensitivities of unchurched Canadians, I suspect as well, a lot of Americans without a churched background. But it sure works with a good number church raised folk from the south! There is a clear market or demographic they are effectively targeting, a demographic in abundance in the south, but sparse in Canada!
These guys take hype and pragmatism to whole new level! For me, uncomfortably so. They totally crossed the line with their nightly offerings that employed crass emotionalism and manipulation that sadly worked really well for them. And while I am convinced that it is over the top as an effective tool for reaching the average unchurched person, and while it comes across as inauthentic within the culture I serve, I get that these guys are totally sincere. The hype is not just put on, it is at the core of who they are and how they just naturally operate. What you see on the stage is how they interact off stage and with each other. And it works at reaching a key segment of the churched raised but turned off of church demographic they appear to be targeting.
Overall it was a most worthwhile experience. We were able to affirm who we are as Redwood and why we do things differently, while at the same time grappling with a few new ideas and learning’s that we would not have encountered by staying closer to our comfort zone. And like pilgrimages of old, we were able to have a fresh encounter with God that has left us inspired, encouraged and strengthened for the work he is call us to.
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2010. That’s about 13 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 8 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 21 posts. There were 20 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 15mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was August 12th with 79 views. The most popular post that day was The 2010 Willow GLS: Leadership in Transition.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were redwoodpark.org, facebook.com, insideredwoodpark.org, twitter.com, and northernboy.theadvancecommunity.ca.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for u2 album, u2 no line on the horizon, bill hybels, missional canadian, and arthur guinness christian.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
The 2010 Willow GLS: Leadership in Transition August 2010
4 comments
Perhaps St. Guinness? March 2010
9 comments
Surprised By Hope in U2′s “No Line On The Horizon” March 2009
2 comments
The Bible: One Big Story June 2010
Halloween: Let’s Enjoy it!! October 2009
6 comments
I Love Sundays!!!
For those who think that larger church services where committed believers gather with those who are not yet committed but are exploring the Christian faith is a relic of the past, I beg to differ. Sunday after Sunday I see this very eclectic mix of ages, races, and all levels of faith or no faith, gather at Redwood for worship, community, and for some, just to see if there is any reality to this “God thing,” or not.
This past Sunday was no exception. Although the fact that we got an extra hour of sleep the night before with the return to standard time, definitely boosted attendance. Especially among those who are tire kickers, just checking out the buzz that they might catch a glimpse of God in a church worship service of all places.
As I prepared to speak at our Sunday morning services, I had one of those experiences where God was calling me to abandon the nicely laid out worship schedule and really focus on the communion table with a bit of theology about what it means to inherit a “sin nature,” from Adam and how the reality of the Evil One only complicates our desire to overcome this propensity we have to do wrong. We celebrated the provision of our “new nature,” provided by Christ’s death on the cross, that while we won’t experience it fully until His return, we can begin now as we discipline ourselves to stay in the flow of the Holy Spirit, to see more and more of that “new nature,” expressing itself in our lives.
Really just the good news, that life transformation is possible because of the cross. We don’t have to stay the same. And the response was amazing!! Folk from seekers to veteran believers identified with the struggle and committed or recommitted themselves to accessing the power of the cross and living in the flow of the Spirit. Worship around the communion table following the message was electric. The presence of God was tangible! Wow!!
But it didn’t stop Sunday morning. I got to speak to about 140 of our high school through college-aged students at Plunge Sunday night. Problem was, changing my morning message plan midweek combined with a much larger number than usual of people needing to connect with me during the week, left me short of time to really prepare adequately for Sunday night. The result was a message that was not as tight as I wanted it to be. I rambled much longer than I had meant to. I simply wouldn’t rate it as one of my stronger speaking experiences.
But my weakness didn’t appear to stop God from working. Worship following my speaking was simply intense, as the young people responded with passionate hearts. In the hang out time after Plunge, all sorts of folk got into conversation with me about issues of what it means to be called to work with God in the building of His Kingdom on earth and “how unsafe is God when you follow him in building his kingdom?” Some very cool discussions where a number of young people are grappling with life directing ideas.
And then to top off the day was a little beer and pizza with our adult ministries pastor Darryl Buckle at Boston’s. A time to bond in our relationship together as fellow servants at Redwood and a time to mutually express awe at the obvious work of God throughout the day.
Yeah, I really love Sunday’s!!
On The Shores of Lake Clearwater …
As I write this little blog I’m out on the dock of a friend’s cottage across from Ontario Pioneer Boys’ Camp with Girls’ Camp to north and Adventure camp to the south. The Boys Camp Band is doing an amazing job of leading a couple of hundred young men in worship as a part of their time of Bible study. I love the fact that I can clearly make out all the words and hear the passionate singing right across the lake. It’s stirring. It’s nostalgic. It evokes some very deep and raw emotions … the guys are singing, Mighty to Save: “Saviour, He can move the mountains, He is mighty to save, mighty to save!” And it’s echoing with power across the lake. Wow!
Yesterday I tweeted a few of my thoughts, as I enjoyed this cottage across from Pioneer. The response I got back spanned the decades from recent campers to those who haven’t really been a part of camp for decades. And their comments were every bit as emotional as I was feeling right here at the cottage.
Comments included, “Truly a magical place;” “Oh, I wish I were there;” “So jealous. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy;” “Man I miss that place;” “If I could get a cottage on that lake, I probably would!” My daughter Meagan reflected on writing her application for Med School at the Girls’ camp site, crediting the location with the writing of an application that got her in!
There’s the old Camp Song that we used to sing with passion, yes all three verses, that today occasionally they sing the first verse. I get it, the tune and words are a bit geeky for today’s sophisticated youth, but hey, it says a lot:
On the shores of Lake Clearwater
Stands the camp I love
Where in sparkling water glistens
Blue of skies above
Chorus:
Hail to thee, Camp Pioneer
Camp of camps the best
Where in fellowship united
Every heart is blessed
Far from burning heat of city
Here the woodland dreams
Darkling pines and silver birches
Shelter cooling streams
Chorus …
Hear the glories of the Northland
Praise the Lord of all
Here we too can learn to love Him
And obey His call
Chorus …
Geeky or not, the Pioneer Camp song captures the ethos of what’s been happening at Christian camps like Pioneer for the multiple decades of the Christian camping movement. For so many camp is or has been a place where deep life long friendships have been forged, where personal growth has catapulted forward and self worth has been bolstered. And most of all it’s been a place of spiritual encounter and life transformation, discovering that the God of all creation is irrationally in love with me, wants to walk with me personally and has a mission, a purpose beyond my wildest imagination for me to pursue.
For me it’s been camps like Pioneer and Mini-Yo-We in Muskoka where I have been a camper, served as staff member in my formative high school and college days, and later had the privilege to serve full time, being the Director of Mini-Yo-We for two years and the Administrative Director of Ontario Pioneer Camps for almost five years. For many in the Thunder Bay area where I now serve, it’s camps like Dorion, Round Lake and Manitoba Pioneer that evoke that same deeply raw and wonderful emotion.
I really like the Celtic concept of “thin places.” In the days of Patrick of Ireland and the Celtic spirituality that he spawned, the Celts had a deep appreciation for special places of spiritual encounter, where the line between this world and things of God are indeed very thin, an environment that invites us to experience spiritual transformation. Camps are truly “thin places.” So much so that I’m convinced that one week at camp can have a far deeper and more profound impact on a life than a couple of years in church – and hey I believe in church!!
As I wrap up writing this little blog, the boys are singing, “Oh happy day, happy day … I’ll never be the same, forever I am changed.” That’s my story. Because of my experiences at camps like Mini-Yo-We and Pioneer, my life took on a whole new trajectory and I was forever changed. My calling to and passion for full time ministry came from camp. Even how I approach ministry is profoundly shaped by camp.
Thank you Barb and Jim for letting me use your cottage, it’s truly been a “thin place” for me. And all of you on staff at and leading various Christian camps, know that as a part of my study time away form Thunder Bay, I’m praying for you and the great work you do!
Rancorous Times!
Eighteen years ago it was my privilege to take up the role of what we’re now calling the “Lead Pastor” of the Redwood Park Church. I entered into Redwood at a time of seismic paradigm shift that was a source of great tumult not just for Redwood but also for evangelical churches all across Canada. Some, particularly some over 50 who had invested their lives into building the church, struggled with the new and sometimes unfamiliar paradigms that were emerging. Others clearly understood that for the church to remain effective in its mission to reach those apart from Christ as well as the next generation, they would have to sacrifice their own comforts for the sake of prioritizing the needs of those we are called to love and impact with the message and life of Jesus.
The late 80’s into the early 90’s for many Canadian churches with an evangelical heritage were a time of what’s been called “the worship wars.” Some churches moved through them well, others have still held onto old paradigms, creating greater distance between the local church and the average Canadian. Redwood did not move through this period unscathed but eventually moved through to the other side and was sometimes viewed as a positive example within the evangelical community of a church that was effective at prioritizing the needs of those apart from faith in Christ.*
Twenty years later those who study culture and the church like George Barna in the United States, Alan Hirsch formerly from Australia and Alan Roxburgh here in Canada are all telling us that we are the midst of a much larger shift than any of us have experienced in our lifetimes. Roxburgh calls these “rancorous times!” Here we are for the first time in Canadian history, watching churches with an evangelical heritage not just in decline, which has never happened before, but in many cases move into steep decline, while the more progressive churches over the last 20 years think they are still relevant because of the changes that have been made.
Roxburgh led me to look at a book by Joshua Cooper Ramo called “The Age of the Unthinkable.” Roxburgh wants us to understand that title is a great description of our time. He passionately says to the Canadian church that we live in the age of the unthinkable, a time of massive cultural change where the real driver of change is the unexpected, where “focusing on well established categories and measurables is worse than useless.” He goes on, “The standard answers operating in our churches and among our leaders today can only misdirect us … focusing on improving worship, developing better evangelism, getting more imaginative discipleship programs or creating a passionate spirituality will no longer get at the levels of change we face … living in an age of the unthinkable.”
“Unthinkable Times” … Roxburgh just might be onto something. As we move into the 2010’s, there’s a complexity to doing kingdom work here in Canada that is deeper than most of us have ever experienced. The transitions that led to the worship wars of 20 years ago, pale in comparison to what we fact in the next few years. My fear is that we will move into this future with grasping the enormity of what’s before us and in the end become increasingly irrelevant to and out of touch with the average Canadian.
My prayer is that the passion that has clearly marked Redwood for at least the past 20 years, that we would be like the Old Testament, “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do,” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NIV), would remain core to who we are. And what that means is that I like many others need to be careful that in our deep and irrevocable passion to hold on to the truth of God’s Word, that we don’t hold onto other “stuff” that gets in the way of mission in an age of the unthinkable.
* (Side note: Both Faith Today published by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada as well as the denominational magazine Alliance.ca have published articles about Redwood’s missional focus. You can download a pdf of the Alliance .ca article here.)
Perhaps St. Guinness?
As we approach St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate the passionate Christ follower God used to lead so much of Ireland into the Christian faith, it got me pondering another interesting character in Irish history, Arthur Guinness. Both Patrick in the 400’s and Guinness in the 1700’s used beer within the context of Christian mission and ministry. Patrick employed a brewer in his household and often brought beer as a gift to village leaders he was seeking to evangelize. (And try not to read into that any motivation other than beer was truly an appreciated gift!)
I first got a hint about what an amazing individual Arthur Guinness is when the Doyle family in a vacation last spring checking out our ancestral heritage, toured the amazing Guinness Brewery in Dublin. But I never really knew the full Guinness story until Darryl Buckle, our new Pastor of Adult Ministries bought me a gift, a newly published book by USA Today columnist, Stephen Mansfield. It’s titled, “The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World?” It was written to celebrate the Guinness Company’s 250th anniversary.
Who would have thought that a book about an iconic Irish stout and the family that had made it famous would actually be a riveting and inspiring read, challenging us how to live and do business for the glory of God. While it might sound strange to some from more traditional evangelical settings, Arthur Guinness was motivated by his deep personal commitment to God to develop a product that would contribute to the good of society through a company devoted to the well being of its employees.
Here are some interesting thoughts that have come from reading Mansfield’s book:
• Arthur Guinness was deeply impacted by John Wesley’s preaching in Dublin. With Wesley he accepted the idea from Psalm 104 that alcohol in moderation was a gift from God “to gladden the heart”. However Wesley deplored the use of distilled beverages such as gin, brandy and whiskey because they led so quickly to the sin of drunkenness. Guinness came to see the brewing of beer as a way to promote the God honouring moderate use of alcohol, while leading people away from the “Gin Houses” that were such a blight in Irish and British society. Brewing beer was part of his mission to make a positive difference in Irish society.
• Guinness founded the first Sunday Schools in Ireland. He fought against dueling. And he chaired the board of a hospital for the poor. He had a huge Christ centred social conscience. As a Protestant he fought for the rights of the oppressed Roman Catholic majority in Ireland.
• The generations that followed Guinness produced not only some very God honouring businessmen, but some passionate pastors as well. In the 1890’s, Rupert Guinness, future head of the brewery, received five million pounds from his father on his wedding day. Shortly after, he moved into a house in the slums and launched a series of programs that served the poor.
• The Guinness brewery routinely paid wages that were 10 to 20 percent higher than average and had a reputation for being the best place to work in Ireland. Guinness paid for all of his employees’ ages 14 to 30 to attend technical schools if they wanted and more advanced school if they qualified. He provided medical and dental health care to the whole family, with doctors and nurses on site; subsidized meals; provided a company funded pension, sports facilities, free concerts … And the list of way over the top generous employee benefits goes on and on. Guinness believed, “You cannot make money from people unless you are wiling for people to make money from you.”
• And then in 2003, scientists at the University of Wisconsin reported that a pint a day of Guinness is good for the human heart, confirming that call to drink a little wine in 1 Timothy 5:23, is relevant today and can be extended to beer!
It’s only been in recent years that major evangelical denominational families like Christian & Missionary Alliance that Redwood Park is a part of, have been officially willing to go back to a balanced biblically grounded understanding regarding the consumption of alcohol. The latest edition of the Manual of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada states:
“The Bible contains guidelines regarding the moderate use of alcohol and warnings regarding its misuse. The misuse of alcohol is damaging to individuals, families and society. The C&MA expects its credentialed workers to exercise their Christian freedom responsibly within the framework of God’s Word.”
Guinness, Wesley and St. Patrick would all have approved.
But what’s most fascinating about the life and legacy of Arthur Guinness is not the novelty of seeing beer as a tool in Christian mission, as much as it’s simply to see how a Christian businessman worked out his faith so holistically through his business. We truly need to see God raise up a few more Arthur Guinness’ in the world!! Oh and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
A Christmas Carol
It’s been amazing to watch Charles Dickens’s beloved story, A Christmas Carol impact people so powerfully through Redwood’s six night’s of sold out dinner theatre. It’s a story that touches churched and unchurched alike with it’s simple but powerful call to care for those who have less in our society, to learn how to live beyond ourselves and own selfish wants and needs.
The passion with which a young 31 year old wrote this story is huge. It reflects Dickens’s own journey of fascination with many of the basic themes and values of the Christian faith found in the birth and life of Jesus. At the same time Dickens’s appears to have really struggled with church folk who didn’t look at all like Jesus, who went to church while at the same time being the very folk who exploited the poor and made their profits on the backs of the marginalized.
Dickens’s was raised in a nominally Anglican home, briefly attended a Baptist church that he found quite boring and for awhile in his adulthood he hung out in a Unitarian setting before moving back into Anglicanism. He never settled well in any church setting. Dickens’s, like many Canadians today, liked Jesus, but not the church. Yet Jesus remained fascinating and important to him. So much so that one of the last books he wrote was on the life of Jesus, called “The Life of our Lord.” It’s a retelling of the four Gospels so that his children would be familiar with Jesus. It was not published until 85 years after his death at this request.
When you look at A Christmas Carol you find a story about conversion and transformation, where conversion and transformation cannot take place apart from an encounter with the supernatural. The Gospels would remind us that it is ultimately through an encounter with Jesus Himself that our lives can be touched and changed forever. The Apostle John in his telling of the Christmas story, in the opening of his account of the life of Jesus, invites us to receive Jesus, the Word made flesh into our lives by believing on his name thereby having a supernatural encounter where you become a child of God, reborn of God so to speak.
A Christmas Carol is an eloquent cry for social justice, a plea to care for the poor and the oppressed. This theme is strong throughout the Gospels that teach spiritual vitality is linked to care for the poor. Mary the mother of Jesus when she found out that she was pregnant with God’s son in a psalm of praise we call the Magnificat, said, “My soul glorifies the Lord … he has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:46 ,53, NIV) Jesus himself early in his ministry, used the words of the prophet Isaiah to describe his mission: “The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly.” (Luke 4:18, NCV)
Another underlying theme in this Dickens’s classic is that call for life to be enjoyed to the full, not just by the rich, but by the poor, that we are all to “eat, drink and be merry!” It reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 10:10 that he has come that we might have life, and have it to the full. Life that is full of joy and purpose now, and life that goes on forever in eternity bringing glory to God.
Certainly Dickens’s is not overt in directly pointing people to the desire of Jesus to empower our lives so that we live lives of love that impact those in need around us and around the world. But ultimately that is what Christmas is all about, that God so loved the word that he sent his one and only son, that we might experience conversion and transformation through a work of the Holy Spirit that causes us to be people who bring the transforming love of Jesus to people wherever they are.
Halloween: Let’s Enjoy it!!
Creative Redwood Pumpkin Carving!!
From time to time myself, Henry our children’s pastor and Jarret our student ministries pastor get emails or notes of concern about how we at Redwood appear to really enjoy Halloween!! Pumpkin carving parties, costumes, decorations, lots of candy all turn up every year. Don’t we know some ask, “that this is the devils holiday?,” inferring that somehow we might be doing something spiritually dangerous.
The good news is there have been no complaints this year, perhaps the start of a new trend of understanding. In the past I’ve spoken on the issue, written on the issue … and so with the desire to help anyone else understand why we do what we do, here are a few thoughts that I or our staff usually share ever year at this time.
• The word “Halloween” itself is not an evil or bad word. It simply comes out the old Christian church calendar used by mainline churches including the Anglican church that comes from All Hallows Eve, or the Night Before All Saints Day, with the word “hallows” meaning Christian “saints”. It was a time when we celebrated great Christian leaders who God used to change history. Over the years the concept of “venerating” or honouring saints, like we honour great heroes of the faith today, took on some unbiblical baggage that contributed to the Protestant Reformation.
• Martin Luther chose Halloween in the year 1517 as the symbolic day that he would nail 95 Theses to the Door of the Church at Wittenberg that started the Protestant Reformation. In essence the Protestant Church was born on Halloween. Luther was not opposed to the celebration of the heroes of the faith, but he was opposed to how that celebration had developed into something like “praying to the saints”, that they might intercede to God on our behalf, when we have direct access to Christ in prayer.
• The pagan practices of the Druids that some connect with Halloween were not initially associated with Halloween. They happened around the same time of year (late October/ early November) and over time the “days” did end up both being October 31st. But the Druid Samhain festival eventually came to compete with Halloween and in many places overtake it. But Halloween, from All Hallows Eve, is still a Christian not a pagan word, even if Samhain practices now take place on Halloween.
• The fact that some folk do bad stuff on Halloween, mimicking the Druid Samhain festival, is no reason for Christians to withdraw and not have a great party full of fun, costumes and the like. When we withdraw and condemn the Devil wins. Far better for Christians to take the day back and turn it into a great God honouring party. And as we know from Scripture, Jesus was not party adverse!! In fact he would turn up at parties that the religious’ folk thought were too pagan for good believers to be at.
• You may remember the old Larry Norman phrase, “Why should the Devil have all the good music?” He pioneered the use of rock music in the church at a time when you could statistically show that there was a connection between rock music and drug use. In some ways you still can. God used him to redeem something that devil was using. Just because the devil uses it, does not make it wrong. So too we can participate in Halloween in God honouring ways and again take it back from the Evil One.
• December 25th, the day we celebrate Christmas on, was originally a pagan festival to the Sun god, that Christians decided would be great day to celebrate the birth of the Son of God. But the day was originally very pagan. And it still is in some parts. Would we withdraw from celebrating Christmas if Satanists decided to revive old pagan Sun god practices on Christmas day, and police stats went up on that day??
The bottom line is we simply will not allow the Devil to win by taking what is good and positive and fun about Halloween. The colour, the candy, the costumes, the games … Jesus loves them all. And I’m convinced He’s right there in the middle of the party with us. I’m looking forward to All Hallows Eve – both enjoying the colourful party and remembering the birth of the Protestant tradition.
WHAT’S REDWOOD READING? Twelve Books of Influence
I’m often asked what authors, theologians and perspectives are influencing us in our thinking at Redwood. Like many churches that insist that they are committed to the authority of the Bible, we realize that we all view Scripture through lenses that we believe most accurately reflect what God intended to communicate through his Word.
As a church that is part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance family of churches we recognize that one of the lenses we look through is that of the holiness tradition. Like all traditions is has its strengths and flaws. Bernie Van De Walle’s, “Heart of the Gospel,” is a wonderful overview of that lens. We’re also absolutely committed to the passion of the Protestant Reformers to question all traditions, including our own, in light of Scripture. That has led us to rediscover the “whole” Gospel, that the over arching plan of God is to rescue not only individuals from their sin, but this entire planet: that we are responsible to bring the whole gospel to the whole world. The book list that follows reflects those themes and a little bit more. So here goes …
The Hole in our Gospel
Richard Stearns (Thomas Nelson, 2009)
World Vision’s American president articulates well that the Gospel is far more than announcing how an individual can experience salvation, it’s bringing God’s kingdom wholistically into this word.
Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection and the Mission of the Church
NT Wright (Haprer Collins, 2008)
A refreshing look at what the Bible teaches about the new heavens and the new earth, and how what we do now will have eternal impact. A call to not stop at just leading individuals to faith but to anticipate the eventual renewal of our world by bringing healing and hope in this present world now
Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
Scot McKnight (Paraclete Press, 2004)
A clear articulation of Jesus vision statement for his followers, that we are to passionately love God and passionately love our neighbours. Get this right, and you get the Christian faith right.
Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible
Scott McKnight (Zondervan, 2008)
Could be the best book out there to help you make sense of the bible as a whole, and how to approach difficult passages.
Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality and Politics
Adam Hamilton (Abingdon Press, 2008)
A call to live in the middle between fundamentalism and liberalism. Whether we agree with Hamilton or not, and I don’t on all issues, he helps us understand where we draw our boundaries, calling us to learn how to see gray in a world of black and white.
Spirited Leadership: Empowering People To Do What Matters
Thomas G. Bandy (Chalice Press, 2007)
A great primer on governance and staff relations, calling us to put the emphasis on empowering others to serve well. Quite profound, it’s not an easy read.
Re Jesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church – The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch (Hendrickson, 2009)
A good read about current thinking on the emergent/missional church movement that passionately wants to see the church be Jesus to the world.
Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election
Norman Geisler (Bethany Press, 1999)
A great study on the relationship between divine election and human choice, from a classical evangelical scholar.
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
Hugh Halter and Matt Smay (Jossey-Bass, 2008)
Another well articulated call that the church is to reach back to some of it’s ancient roots and become again a community, that is truly the arms and legs of Jesus to a world in need.
A Community Called Atonement
Scot McKnight (Abingdon, 2007)
A wonderful exploration of how robust and multifaceted the doctrine of the atonement is, taking us beyond a traditional focus on penal substitution, helping us to better understand the breadth and depth of the work of Christ through his death and resurrection.
The Heart of the Gospel: A.B. Simpson, The Fourfold Gospel, and Lake Nineteenth Century Evangelical Theology
Bernie A. Van De Walle (Pickwick Publications, 2009)
A compelling read about what theologically shaped the founding vision of the Christian & Missionary Alliance of which Redwood Park is a part. Helps us to better understand what the holiness movement was all about and how it differs from other perspectives like the Reformed viewpoint.
Simply Christian : Why Christianity Makes Sense
NT Wright (Harper Collins: 2006)
Simply a great place to start if you want to understand a summary of what it means to be Christian.
About
Doug has just recently accepted the position of Lead Pastor of the Fort McMurray Alliance Church in the bustling Oil Sands region of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta. Fort Mac Alliance is a church with a passion to tangibly make Jesus visible to our municipality and world, serving as a grace filled community that is welcoming and sensitive to people whatever their faith background and wherever they may or may not be at in their faith journey. It’s an adventurous community that is willing to think outside the norm while prayerfully wrestling with what it means to be involved in ministry both within and beyond the walls of the church facility. This results in a passion to see individual lives and the city as a whole touched and transformed by the love of Christ. Being in a city with global influence, Fort McMurray Alliance is seeking to be a unique global influence for Christ in partnership with it’s denominational family, the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Doug is also involved with Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, Saskatchewan, where he teaches two courses a year as an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology. From his home base in Fort McMurray, Doug serves as the Program Coordinator for Briercrest’s MDiv (Master of Divinity) program, with an urgency to see the next generation of ministry leaders raised up up to serve effectively within our ever evolving Canadian culture, as well as our vastly changing world.
Previously Doug served for 20 years as the Lead Pastor of Redwood Park Church, a multi-site missional community that is committed to seeing the message and life of Jesus impact Thunder Bay, Barrie and beyond. LIFE, PASSION and ADVENTURE are three words that both Doug and Redwood uses to describe the nature of Christian spirituality.
Doug is married to Jane, who possesses an amazing gift of hospitality and the ability to cook for hundreds! They have three young-adult children. Meagan is a pediatric resident at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Susan who is married to Chris Groenheide, among other things supply teaches at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School and promotes “eating local” through a variety of greens and specialty vegetables from her market garden. Graeme who has been involved in an eclectic mix of insurance and financial planning, working for a highway line painting company, and ushering at Thunder Bay’s Community Auditorium is heading off with a generous scholarship to the Vancouver Film School. Each of them in their distinct way has a yearning to be difference makers in this world.
Meal times at the Doyle household tend to be a bit of a party, but you might want to ask what it is you’re eating – as sometimes Doug enjoys a hike with a good friend and a gun in the beauty of our rugged Canadian outdoors, or maybe a paddle on a remote lake with rod in hand. He’s thinking that with the move for Fort McMurray, he might have to break down and add an ATV to his toys.
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