After nearly ten years at Stony Brook Fellowship we all agreed it was time for me to have a sabbatical. As part of this three month rest break our church offered to send my wife and I on a mission exposure trip to Mexico. The main purpose of this trip was to visit our adopted missionary Elma Janzen who works under the EMC Board of Missions in the Nuevo Pacto Church in Juarez, Mexico. This proved to be a wonderful and eye-opening experience. I was asked to write an article describing our experience. This is it.
To provide a proper context to our excursion it may help to explain a little about our mission work in Mexico. For many years EMC has had missionaries working in Mexico, primarily in the state of Chihuahua which is just south of El Paso, Texas. Their work has centered on reaching both Spanish and German speaking people and quite a number of churches have been established. I’m embarrassed to admit this but one of the first things we had to learn in our visit was to refer to all of these churches, Spanish or German, as Mennonites. These Mennonite churches are divided into separate Spanish and German conferences. The German conference made up of seven churches is known as the Conferencia Misionera Evangélica (Evangelical Missionary Conference) and the Spanish conference consisting of 17 churches and preaching points is called the Conferencia Evangélica Menonita de México (Mexico Evangelical Mennonite Conference). When you visit the area the need for this separation becomes evident as there are many cultural and linguistic differences.
Let me first describe our visit with the German churches. There are approximately 50 thousand German Mennonites living in and around the city of Cuauhtémoc. They moved to this area over the last century coming primarily from Canada and Europe. Some were fleeing oppression in Europe, but most came from Canada hoping to be able to live out their way of life unrestricted by government and worldly influences. They have organized themselves into colonies (somewhat like our municipalities) with numerous small settlements called campos. With some exceptions, these people live a conservative agrarian lifestyle and, regrettably, often are dominated by legalism.
Economically, the colonies seem to be prospering. We saw fields filled with wonderful crops of corn ready to harvest and the highway leading into Cuauhtémoc is lined with large businesses and industries run by local Mennonites. We even saw a hockey rink/mall with artificial ice. I guess some of them, at least, haven’t totally lost their Canadian roots.
We were able to visit with EMC missionaries John & Lorna Wall, who work half-time as pastors of the Hillside Gospel Church at Los Jagueyes and half-time in an advisory role with the CME, who toured us around the colonies. We met many interesting people and saw their church buildings. We also viewed the Steinreich Bible School which is doing a great job providing biblical and theological training in Low German. Near Cuauhtémoc we were allowed to visit the Luz En Mi Camino Rehabilitation Center which offers treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. This, sadly, is a pressing need in the area. Presently this center only treats German speaking men but additions to the facility are nearly complete so they will be able to treat women and Spanish speaking men as well.
The work among the German Mennonites is slow and difficult but progress is being made. While we were there we had the opportunity of attending one of a series of evangelistic meetings that were being conducted on the colonies featuring Walter Neufeld an evangelist from Paraguay. These services were being held on non-church sites so that more of the Old Colony Mennonites would be willing to attend. There was a large attendance the night we were there and the message was very good (as much of the Low German as I could understand).
Now let me describe our visit among the Spanish churches. We hooked up with Elma Janzen in Juarez and were able to attend a worship service at the Nuevo Pacto Church (New Covenant Church). Juarez, a city of about two million people, is just over the Rio Grande River from El Paso. Being a border city with the US is a mixed blessing. Many factories have been established which provide eagerly sought after jobs but there is also more crime, violence and insecurity due mostly to escalating drug wars between rival drug cartels. Job security is a huge problem. For example, while we were in Mexico, Carlos Martinez the pastor at Nuevo Pacto Church lost his job as a jeweler because his boss, who owns a number of stores, decided to close his stores after they had been repeatedly robbed. Carlos, himself, was robbed and nearly killed as he made his way to making a bank deposit. Deaths by suicide or murder seem to touch most families.
Other cities where we have Spanish churches are Chihuahua City and Cuauhtémoc. Churches and preaching points have been started in a number of smaller communities as well. We were not able to visit Chihuahua City but were fortunate to visit with Alvira Friesen who works in Cuauhtémoc. There are two Spanish churches in this city and they are working to establish a third.
The highlight of our trip was the five days we spent at the retreat centre at Santo Tomás helping with the Spanish youth camp. The camp consisted of sessions, games, breakout groups, two concerts and eating, of course. We were blessed beyond measure to see the earnestness with which the youth worshipped God. In Canada we are not accustomed to our young people crying out to God (literally), seeking God’s forgiveness and humbly prostrating themselves on the floor in order to do so. We saw young people who were serious about their faith and desperate to see God work in their lives and in their country. I guess turmoil, insecurity, financial struggles, and pain can drive people to this point. Inside I wept for them, but more for us.
When we made plans to visit Mexico we thought it would be a good experience for us but nothing anyone could have said before we left could have prepared us for the spiritual impact this experience has had on our lives. We will be forever changed. For us mission work is no longer a mere theory or a number in a budget, but faces, names and places. There is a powerful work of God going on amongst our Mexican churches that, for us, largely had remained a secret. But no more! So just like in Acts 4 when Peter said to the Jewish authorities after he was arrested, “we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard,” we cannot remain silent about what we have seen and heard in Mexico. We would encourage more pastors and EMC congregants to go and see first hand what God is doing in Mexico. We could learn a lot.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wow! What an Experience!
The panic that always sets in when you return home after a few weeks away has nearly subsided. We've seen the family, the grass has been cut, and the nearly dead flowers have been watered. But just when I thought we had recovered our initial panic a new kind of terror overtook us upon finding out the Bombers are now 1-5.
Finally I've found a few minutes to tell you how our trip to Mexico went for us. In a few words, it was awesome! God was so good to us. We saw things and experienced things that will stick with us the rest of our lives.
Our trip down to El Paso and back home from El Paso was enjoyable and only momentarily exciting. Let me explain. You might assume that border crossings and check points in Mexico would create more drama but, truth be told, they were a snap compared to our experience entering the US from Canada. When we arrived at the border crossing our naivete regarding these matters very quickly became obvious for once we mentioned Cuauhtemoc, visiting Mennonite missionaries, and bringing mail with us this led to a lengthy visit with Homeland Security complete with interrogation and having our car checked out with detection dogs. Of course they found nothing out of order and after about an hour we were on our way. I was a little ticked by the whole affair but Caroline assured me that this was all part of the "experience" of going to Mexico. Going to Mexico, okay, but entering the US?
After a brief visit with Peter & Louise Hiebert and their adult children Kevin and Rochelle we arrived in El Paso on July 19. To travel to El Paso from Paris, Texas, where the Hieberts live, you have to drive through the heart of Texas. So, you guessed it, we drove through Midland the home of President George W. and Laura Bush. One of our surprises in travelling to West Texas was to discover how mountainous it is.
The next day we attended church with Elma at the Nuevo Pacto Church in Jaurez, Mexico, just over the river from El Paso. I was invited to share a powerpoint report about our church in the service. I was proud to do so. This is a wonderful church and they are led by a wonderful pastoral couple Carlos Martinez and Vanessa Lomas.
On Monday we travelled with Elma and her son-in-law Leslie Reinke towards Santo Thomas where the youth camp was to be held. They dropped us off at Campo 72 where we met up with John and Lorna Wall who are EMC missionaries serving amongst the German Mennonites. We spent the next two days with John and Lorna touring the German settlements and visiting Alvira Friesen (another of our EMC missionaries) in Cuauhtemoc. After visiting the world-famous Copper Canyon and the Basaseachi Waterfall they dropped us off at the youth camp on Wednesday afternoon.
Judging from our advanced years, you may be wondering what good could we be at a youth camp? Good question! Not only did we have our age working against us but we don't speak more than a few words of Spanish. But we did what we could. We smiled a lot, and hugged a lot, and swept floors a lot, and prepared and served food a lot, and did many other things we hadn't done before. We learned to love them and they were nice enough to love us in return. Caroline slept in a cabin with the other women staff and I slept in the adjoining cabin. The biggest excitement regarding the sleeping arrangements was when the ladies discovered that they had an additional occupant in their cabin of the non-human variety. They have a Spanish name for this creature but it looked a lot like a gecko. The young boys had a great time that day tearing the cabin upside down trying to find this unwanted occupant. Only to report later that, while they had seen the creature several times, they weren't able to evict it. The ladies were forced to sublet their unit to this guest for the rest of camp.
At eating time we usually found someone at our table that could speak a little English. So we got to know most of the young people over time. They are very hospitable with similar interests to youth in Canada. They dress just like youth in Canada do and, by my observation, the iPhone/cell phone craze has not eluded them.
We were able to sit in on most of the sessions with someone translating to us what was being said. Every session started with exuberant singing led by a band and was concluded with "ministry time." Many youth came forward for prayer. We were deeply touched by how passionate these youth were to experience God and how serious they were about their faith. Many of them had booked time off from work to attend camp which was no small sacrifice for most of them.
The highlight of the week of camp was Friday and Saturday night when two different bands brought concerts. Let's just say that had a rockin' good time. These were noisy, energetic and spiritually powerful events. Caroline and I had the opportunity to mingle amongst the dancing youth and pray with those who needed prayer. God touched many lives.
On Sunday morning I had the opportunity to accompany Carlos Martinez who was speaking at the Mennonite (Spanish) church in Santo Thomas. Again I was asked to share a few words. Carlos doesn't speak English but there was a person in the church who translated for me.
On Sunday Afternoon We headed back to El Paso. We arrived back in Steinbach on July 31.
This doesn't begin to describe how this trip has changed us. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity after I get back from my sabbatical where Caroline and I can share more about this trip. Thank you so much for sending us. We will be forever changed.
If you go to this link you can find some pictures of the camp (and of us).
http://guerrerofiel.com/kampa.html
Finally I've found a few minutes to tell you how our trip to Mexico went for us. In a few words, it was awesome! God was so good to us. We saw things and experienced things that will stick with us the rest of our lives.
Our trip down to El Paso and back home from El Paso was enjoyable and only momentarily exciting. Let me explain. You might assume that border crossings and check points in Mexico would create more drama but, truth be told, they were a snap compared to our experience entering the US from Canada. When we arrived at the border crossing our naivete regarding these matters very quickly became obvious for once we mentioned Cuauhtemoc, visiting Mennonite missionaries, and bringing mail with us this led to a lengthy visit with Homeland Security complete with interrogation and having our car checked out with detection dogs. Of course they found nothing out of order and after about an hour we were on our way. I was a little ticked by the whole affair but Caroline assured me that this was all part of the "experience" of going to Mexico. Going to Mexico, okay, but entering the US?
After a brief visit with Peter & Louise Hiebert and their adult children Kevin and Rochelle we arrived in El Paso on July 19. To travel to El Paso from Paris, Texas, where the Hieberts live, you have to drive through the heart of Texas. So, you guessed it, we drove through Midland the home of President George W. and Laura Bush. One of our surprises in travelling to West Texas was to discover how mountainous it is.
The next day we attended church with Elma at the Nuevo Pacto Church in Jaurez, Mexico, just over the river from El Paso. I was invited to share a powerpoint report about our church in the service. I was proud to do so. This is a wonderful church and they are led by a wonderful pastoral couple Carlos Martinez and Vanessa Lomas.
On Monday we travelled with Elma and her son-in-law Leslie Reinke towards Santo Thomas where the youth camp was to be held. They dropped us off at Campo 72 where we met up with John and Lorna Wall who are EMC missionaries serving amongst the German Mennonites. We spent the next two days with John and Lorna touring the German settlements and visiting Alvira Friesen (another of our EMC missionaries) in Cuauhtemoc. After visiting the world-famous Copper Canyon and the Basaseachi Waterfall they dropped us off at the youth camp on Wednesday afternoon.
Judging from our advanced years, you may be wondering what good could we be at a youth camp? Good question! Not only did we have our age working against us but we don't speak more than a few words of Spanish. But we did what we could. We smiled a lot, and hugged a lot, and swept floors a lot, and prepared and served food a lot, and did many other things we hadn't done before. We learned to love them and they were nice enough to love us in return. Caroline slept in a cabin with the other women staff and I slept in the adjoining cabin. The biggest excitement regarding the sleeping arrangements was when the ladies discovered that they had an additional occupant in their cabin of the non-human variety. They have a Spanish name for this creature but it looked a lot like a gecko. The young boys had a great time that day tearing the cabin upside down trying to find this unwanted occupant. Only to report later that, while they had seen the creature several times, they weren't able to evict it. The ladies were forced to sublet their unit to this guest for the rest of camp.
At eating time we usually found someone at our table that could speak a little English. So we got to know most of the young people over time. They are very hospitable with similar interests to youth in Canada. They dress just like youth in Canada do and, by my observation, the iPhone/cell phone craze has not eluded them.
We were able to sit in on most of the sessions with someone translating to us what was being said. Every session started with exuberant singing led by a band and was concluded with "ministry time." Many youth came forward for prayer. We were deeply touched by how passionate these youth were to experience God and how serious they were about their faith. Many of them had booked time off from work to attend camp which was no small sacrifice for most of them.
The highlight of the week of camp was Friday and Saturday night when two different bands brought concerts. Let's just say that had a rockin' good time. These were noisy, energetic and spiritually powerful events. Caroline and I had the opportunity to mingle amongst the dancing youth and pray with those who needed prayer. God touched many lives.
On Sunday morning I had the opportunity to accompany Carlos Martinez who was speaking at the Mennonite (Spanish) church in Santo Thomas. Again I was asked to share a few words. Carlos doesn't speak English but there was a person in the church who translated for me.
On Sunday Afternoon We headed back to El Paso. We arrived back in Steinbach on July 31.
This doesn't begin to describe how this trip has changed us. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity after I get back from my sabbatical where Caroline and I can share more about this trip. Thank you so much for sending us. We will be forever changed.
If you go to this link you can find some pictures of the camp (and of us).
http://guerrerofiel.com/kampa.html
Monday, July 14, 2008
Our Mexican Trip
We are leaving on Wednesday July 16 to visit missionaries in Mexico. We are traveling by car and will be gone about two weeks.
This is our itinerary so far. On the way down we plan to visit Peter & Louise Hiebert. Louise is my cousin. Some of you will remember them from their time in our church. They live in Tigertown, Texas.
From there we will drive to the EMC Guest House in El Paso, Texas. We hope to arrive there on Saturday evening.
Elma Janzen, our adopted missionary, will meet us there. On Sunday we will attend church with her in Jaurez, Mexico which is just over the river from El Paso. They have asked me to give a report. This will be done with an interpreter as this is a Spanish church. I'll also be showing pictures of our church and community via PowerPoint, would you believe?
On Monday we will travel with Elma to Santo Thomas where the Spanish churches have a camp. We will be helping out as they conduct a youth camp from Tuesday to Saturday. Santo Thomas is about 600 kilometers south of Jaurez. While at the camp we will be meeting another EMC missionary Alvira Friesen who serves nearby in Cuauhtemac.
We have also arranged to visit John & Lorna Wall who work on a Mennonite settlement. We look forward to seeing what that is all about. Should be interesting.
There may be a few other stops or visits that will be arranged later but this is what is planned so far. If all goes well, we will be starting back for Steinbach on Monday, July 28.
Please pray for us as we travel and especially that we can be of encouragement to Elma and our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mexico.
This is our itinerary so far. On the way down we plan to visit Peter & Louise Hiebert. Louise is my cousin. Some of you will remember them from their time in our church. They live in Tigertown, Texas.
From there we will drive to the EMC Guest House in El Paso, Texas. We hope to arrive there on Saturday evening.
Elma Janzen, our adopted missionary, will meet us there. On Sunday we will attend church with her in Jaurez, Mexico which is just over the river from El Paso. They have asked me to give a report. This will be done with an interpreter as this is a Spanish church. I'll also be showing pictures of our church and community via PowerPoint, would you believe?
On Monday we will travel with Elma to Santo Thomas where the Spanish churches have a camp. We will be helping out as they conduct a youth camp from Tuesday to Saturday. Santo Thomas is about 600 kilometers south of Jaurez. While at the camp we will be meeting another EMC missionary Alvira Friesen who serves nearby in Cuauhtemac.
We have also arranged to visit John & Lorna Wall who work on a Mennonite settlement. We look forward to seeing what that is all about. Should be interesting.
There may be a few other stops or visits that will be arranged later but this is what is planned so far. If all goes well, we will be starting back for Steinbach on Monday, July 28.
Please pray for us as we travel and especially that we can be of encouragement to Elma and our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mexico.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
You Can Learn A Lot About Churches Sitting in the Pew
Will Rogers once said he had never met someone he didn't like. I think I can nearly say that about churches. Usually, if I try hard enough, I can find something I like about any church I visit.
Some of you may think that if I'm on sabbatical I may be taking a sabbatical from going to church too. It's true you don't see Caroline and I in church but that doesn't mean I'm not attending somewhere. To the contrary, I enjoy corperate worship and miss it when a week goes by when I don't. Besides, I think a major benefit of a sabbatical is how it allows me to sit in the pew and be spiritually filled or recharged, and I'm taking full advantage of this opportunity.
I have attended six different church services so far. Let me describe these experiences for you. In most cases I will not mention their names (to protect the innocent) but if you try hard hard you may guess who at least some of them are.
The first Sunday we attended a small church in the country numbering about 20 people. We enjoyed the simplicity of the service very much. In some ways it reminded us of the first church I pastored with one glaring difference. While the church I had worked at back in the eighties was made up of mostly older people who had no vision to reach their community for Christ, this church was the exact opposite. This was a fairly new church that was doing everything it could to reach their community. They served a lunch after church and we had a chance to visit with the people. They shared their burden for their community and wished they could provide some sort of child care during the service. They even wondered about offering Sunday School during the service. They had been told by parents of the children who came to their Vacation Bible School that they would consider coming to church if there was something for their children during the service. This was somethng they presently weren't offering but were strongly considering doing in the near future. I hope they continue striving to reach the lost of their community.
The next Sunday we attended a church with about 70 people in attendance. We also enjoyed this service. They had about an hour of singing and prayer to start the service. Then they had a energetic message from one of their pastors. They also had a lunch afterwards. We didn't stay but the people were encouraged that we had come.
The third church we tried was in Winnipeg and was very large. It was Father's Day and they did it up in a big way including the pastor driving in on a "big hog." I think I still haven't fully removed the scent of exhaust fumes out of my nostrils. They had the stage decked out with everything from a Dewalt tool display to moose heads. There was hardly room for the band. They only did a couple of songs to start the service. I quickly discovered why. Right after the singing came a lengthy series of testosterone laced movie clips including Indiana Jones, Blazing Saddles, Rocky, Die Hard and Terminator I, II, III. I'm confident this church has a big budget to put on special effects like these and they seemed to be working, judging by the 2000 odd people in attendance (only one of three week-end services), but Caroline and I came away saying "We'll take the 20 over the 2000 any day!" No lunch was served after church and we walked out without anyone shaking our hands.
The next Sunday we visited another large church in St. Paul, Minnesota called Woodland Hills Church. I described our experience at this church in my first post so I won't repeat myself other than to say we enjoyed the atmosphere in this mega church over the previous week's service. We were impressed with the friendliness of the people in spite of its large size. There was a genuineness about the worship that was refreshing. And they spent a significant amount of time in prayer which we liked. The message was solid, meaty stuff. They showed us that even a purpose-driven church can still provide a service that is truly Christ-focused and edifying.
On another Sunday we visited a church in Steinbach to witness the baptism of Caroline's nephew and his wife. It was a thrill for us to be there to witness something for which we had been praying for many years. PTL!
Today Caroline and I and friends of ours drove out to visit our friend's daughter at a camp she is serving at. We attended the service there. It was very plain and youth orientated.
So there you have a rundown on some of the churches we have attended so far. We found that the people were quite different in each setting as was the style of service. We picked up a few things from most of the services that we thought were worth trying some time. That's a benefit of visiting churches, even churches that are different from what we are used to. We found, while we enjoyed some more than others, that we could worship God in each situation. We were blessed.
Some of you may think that if I'm on sabbatical I may be taking a sabbatical from going to church too. It's true you don't see Caroline and I in church but that doesn't mean I'm not attending somewhere. To the contrary, I enjoy corperate worship and miss it when a week goes by when I don't. Besides, I think a major benefit of a sabbatical is how it allows me to sit in the pew and be spiritually filled or recharged, and I'm taking full advantage of this opportunity.
I have attended six different church services so far. Let me describe these experiences for you. In most cases I will not mention their names (to protect the innocent) but if you try hard hard you may guess who at least some of them are.
The first Sunday we attended a small church in the country numbering about 20 people. We enjoyed the simplicity of the service very much. In some ways it reminded us of the first church I pastored with one glaring difference. While the church I had worked at back in the eighties was made up of mostly older people who had no vision to reach their community for Christ, this church was the exact opposite. This was a fairly new church that was doing everything it could to reach their community. They served a lunch after church and we had a chance to visit with the people. They shared their burden for their community and wished they could provide some sort of child care during the service. They even wondered about offering Sunday School during the service. They had been told by parents of the children who came to their Vacation Bible School that they would consider coming to church if there was something for their children during the service. This was somethng they presently weren't offering but were strongly considering doing in the near future. I hope they continue striving to reach the lost of their community.
The next Sunday we attended a church with about 70 people in attendance. We also enjoyed this service. They had about an hour of singing and prayer to start the service. Then they had a energetic message from one of their pastors. They also had a lunch afterwards. We didn't stay but the people were encouraged that we had come.
The third church we tried was in Winnipeg and was very large. It was Father's Day and they did it up in a big way including the pastor driving in on a "big hog." I think I still haven't fully removed the scent of exhaust fumes out of my nostrils. They had the stage decked out with everything from a Dewalt tool display to moose heads. There was hardly room for the band. They only did a couple of songs to start the service. I quickly discovered why. Right after the singing came a lengthy series of testosterone laced movie clips including Indiana Jones, Blazing Saddles, Rocky, Die Hard and Terminator I, II, III. I'm confident this church has a big budget to put on special effects like these and they seemed to be working, judging by the 2000 odd people in attendance (only one of three week-end services), but Caroline and I came away saying "We'll take the 20 over the 2000 any day!" No lunch was served after church and we walked out without anyone shaking our hands.
The next Sunday we visited another large church in St. Paul, Minnesota called Woodland Hills Church. I described our experience at this church in my first post so I won't repeat myself other than to say we enjoyed the atmosphere in this mega church over the previous week's service. We were impressed with the friendliness of the people in spite of its large size. There was a genuineness about the worship that was refreshing. And they spent a significant amount of time in prayer which we liked. The message was solid, meaty stuff. They showed us that even a purpose-driven church can still provide a service that is truly Christ-focused and edifying.
On another Sunday we visited a church in Steinbach to witness the baptism of Caroline's nephew and his wife. It was a thrill for us to be there to witness something for which we had been praying for many years. PTL!
Today Caroline and I and friends of ours drove out to visit our friend's daughter at a camp she is serving at. We attended the service there. It was very plain and youth orientated.
So there you have a rundown on some of the churches we have attended so far. We found that the people were quite different in each setting as was the style of service. We picked up a few things from most of the services that we thought were worth trying some time. That's a benefit of visiting churches, even churches that are different from what we are used to. We found, while we enjoyed some more than others, that we could worship God in each situation. We were blessed.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Books, CD's and Other Stuff
Some people must really care about me. That, or they're worried I won't have enough to do on my sabbatical. Just before I left on my sabbatical someone (you know who you are) gave me a bag full of stuff. I timidly peeked into the bag half expecting a jack-in-the-box to pop me in the eye but nothing happened. I was deeply disappointed. But what I did find in the bag were four or five books one of which I promptly gave to my wife. It was titled Marley and Me and had a picture of a dog on the cover. Sheesh! How fitting. Also included in the bag was a double Stuart McLean Cd of Vinyl Cafe fame.
Cd's are my kind of thing. You plug them into the player, sit back, and enjoy. No need to hold the book (closer all the time, I find) or turn the pages or shift body positions or even endure the tedium of actually reading the words. No siree! Sit back and enjoy. That's just what we did on our trip to Minneapolis. Unfortunately we were laughing so hard when we arrived at the border crossing I think the officers were suspicious what our smirks were all about.
But I'm happy to report I have read quite a few books despite getting a stiff neck and sore back as a result. Reading wins 2-1. You'll notice that listening to comic Cd's only gives you a sore stomach from laughing, while reading produces a stiff neck and a sore back, so reading obviously is more virtuous. Based on this premise, some would say faulty premise, I have turned to reading with a passion and as I finish reading a book I stack it on a pile with the others I have read for Caroline to see if she happens by. I'm hoping she's duly impressed. So far the stack measures about a foot high (you figure out how much that is in centimeters).
All kidding aside, I've read some very stimulating stuff in the last month. So interesting that I have to share some it with you.
The first book I took on was by Paul Tillich called Dynamics of Faith. I'll say it right up front I didn't get much out of this book but I had to read it because my son Andrew was reading Tillich and he goaded me into reading Tillich too. Tillich is what is known as an existentialist. Don't you dare make me explain this term. I thought I had gotten over the pain of all this theological jargon when I finished Seminary in '89 but then along comes my son, who I admire very much, and he wants to know what Tillich is all about. I suggested he check Wikipedia to find the answer but, no, he suggested I actually read one of Tillich's books so we could discuss it together. Well, I'm done and he's in Japan so I have to keep this existentialist stuff in my brain till he gets back. It's painful, man!
The next book I read was Irwin McManus's An Unstoppable Force. I thought this would be a great tonic after being pilloried by Tillich. Well, that partly happened. McManus pastors a church called Mosaic in Los Angeles. I have found him very stimulating when I've heard him speak but somehow some of his inspiration doesn't carry over so well to the written form. The subtitle to his book is: daring to become the church GOD had in mind. He had a lot of wonderful and stimulating things to say but his metaphorical style doesn't connect with me too well. But if you are interested in getting a picture of a cutting edge church and approach to ministry this is the book to read.
The third book I tackled was Church: An insider's look at how we do it. A number of us from the Spiritual life & Care Team were exposed to John Strackhouse, the author of this practical book, at last winter's Leadership Conference hosted by SBC. This book has the appearance of being Stackhouse's long-gleaned collection of peeves with the church. That is not to say that he doesn't often hit the mark with his observations. Based on pure volume he's going to succeed some of the time. In the book he fires off on 43 different subjects arranged in 9 categories. I found his mild scolding and otherwise sage advice very useful. In fact, there were several points he made that we could apply to great benefit in our church.
Another book that I read with interest was Leadership and Self-Deception put out by the Arbinger Institute. Someone in the church gave me a copy to read and I'm glad he did. I had heard of this book from Gord Penner at a meeting with local pastors hosted by Rob Reimer president of Steinbach Bible College and was looking forward to reading it. This is not a Christian book per se but much that is contained in it sounds very biblical. It's written in a novel form but don't let that fool you. It packs a powerful punch. The story line is of a new manager hired at a large company who, after he is at his job for a month or so, is called in to a "session" with the boss of the company. The majority of the book is used up to describe this session between the new employee and his boss. The gist of the book, as I see it, is how to deal with relationships in such a way that serves to the benefit of all involved. Human nature being what it is, we tend to mete out scolding, discipline, blame, punishment, whenever we feel slighted or wronged. This seldom works well in bettering the relationship or the actions of the one being put down. And, secondly, doesn't help the person who feels wronged either. The answer to this conundrum presented in this book is what they call "getting out of the box." I would highly recommend this book. By its title this book seems to be intended for leaders or managers but the principles taught in it apply wherever there are relationships; employer/employee, husband/wife, parent/child, neighbour to neighbour, and many others.
The most interesting book I have read recently is The Shack written by William P. Young. This is a novel that speaks more powerfully about the nature of God and how he relates to his people than any theological text ever could. Eugene Peterson says, "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his." I think he may be right. I won't give away the story line but this is how the book is described on the back cover: "In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?"" I was deeply moved by the story of deep pain and loss but more so by the answers it provided - they sounded true to how I see God working. Of all the books I've mentioned, this is one you should, dare I say, must read.
The last book I want to talk about is written by Gregory Boyd called The Myth of a Christian Nation. I admit the context for this book is the American Evangelical church but Canadian Christians can read it for equal benefit. If you ever had questions about the degree to which the Christian church should enmesh itself in the political system or have ever questioned the extent to which governments can bring about God's purposes on earth, you need to read this book. Boyd's primary point in this book is to show the stark differences between the kingdom of God that Christians are part of and mandated to establish and the worldly kingdom. He would say that as Christians we should place no hope in worldly governments to establish God's reign on earth. Worldly governments, whether they be democratically elected or not, can do some good and are ordained by God to "bear the sword" (punish evil, etc) but this does not make them Godly. In that sense he would say that the American government is no more Godly than Iran's (An interesting side note is that when he preached the sermon series Cross or the Sword, upon which this book is based, he lost about 20% of his congregation). He's not saying that Christians shouldn't participate in the political process but that they shouldn't call what they elect or what they serve a Godly nation. He would say, no matter the preponderance of Christians in a government this doesn't change what it is: a government that uses power over people to achieve its ends, including many tactics inconsistent with the ethic of Jesus. Boyd would say that Christians are people of the cross: followers of Jesus Christ, people who are called to be like Jesus. Jesus never used his power over people, or did he ever use violence - he died coming under and loving, and serving others. I have not read many books that measure up to this one in describing more powerfully this dualism between the spiritual and the worldly kingdoms. A statement the author makes repeatedly resonates with me: when you raise the sword you lower the cross! It may be of interest to you that he repeatedly makes reference to Anabaptist writers in the text of the book and in his footnotes. In an email exchange I had with the author he told me that Mennonites come the closest to living out how he understands Christ's call on the believer.
So there you have it. The prophet of old said, "To the writing of books there is no end." I'm finding out just how true this is!
Cd's are my kind of thing. You plug them into the player, sit back, and enjoy. No need to hold the book (closer all the time, I find) or turn the pages or shift body positions or even endure the tedium of actually reading the words. No siree! Sit back and enjoy. That's just what we did on our trip to Minneapolis. Unfortunately we were laughing so hard when we arrived at the border crossing I think the officers were suspicious what our smirks were all about.
But I'm happy to report I have read quite a few books despite getting a stiff neck and sore back as a result. Reading wins 2-1. You'll notice that listening to comic Cd's only gives you a sore stomach from laughing, while reading produces a stiff neck and a sore back, so reading obviously is more virtuous. Based on this premise, some would say faulty premise, I have turned to reading with a passion and as I finish reading a book I stack it on a pile with the others I have read for Caroline to see if she happens by. I'm hoping she's duly impressed. So far the stack measures about a foot high (you figure out how much that is in centimeters).
All kidding aside, I've read some very stimulating stuff in the last month. So interesting that I have to share some it with you.
The first book I took on was by Paul Tillich called Dynamics of Faith. I'll say it right up front I didn't get much out of this book but I had to read it because my son Andrew was reading Tillich and he goaded me into reading Tillich too. Tillich is what is known as an existentialist. Don't you dare make me explain this term. I thought I had gotten over the pain of all this theological jargon when I finished Seminary in '89 but then along comes my son, who I admire very much, and he wants to know what Tillich is all about. I suggested he check Wikipedia to find the answer but, no, he suggested I actually read one of Tillich's books so we could discuss it together. Well, I'm done and he's in Japan so I have to keep this existentialist stuff in my brain till he gets back. It's painful, man!
The next book I read was Irwin McManus's An Unstoppable Force. I thought this would be a great tonic after being pilloried by Tillich. Well, that partly happened. McManus pastors a church called Mosaic in Los Angeles. I have found him very stimulating when I've heard him speak but somehow some of his inspiration doesn't carry over so well to the written form. The subtitle to his book is: daring to become the church GOD had in mind. He had a lot of wonderful and stimulating things to say but his metaphorical style doesn't connect with me too well. But if you are interested in getting a picture of a cutting edge church and approach to ministry this is the book to read.
The third book I tackled was Church: An insider's look at how we do it. A number of us from the Spiritual life & Care Team were exposed to John Strackhouse, the author of this practical book, at last winter's Leadership Conference hosted by SBC. This book has the appearance of being Stackhouse's long-gleaned collection of peeves with the church. That is not to say that he doesn't often hit the mark with his observations. Based on pure volume he's going to succeed some of the time. In the book he fires off on 43 different subjects arranged in 9 categories. I found his mild scolding and otherwise sage advice very useful. In fact, there were several points he made that we could apply to great benefit in our church.
Another book that I read with interest was Leadership and Self-Deception put out by the Arbinger Institute. Someone in the church gave me a copy to read and I'm glad he did. I had heard of this book from Gord Penner at a meeting with local pastors hosted by Rob Reimer president of Steinbach Bible College and was looking forward to reading it. This is not a Christian book per se but much that is contained in it sounds very biblical. It's written in a novel form but don't let that fool you. It packs a powerful punch. The story line is of a new manager hired at a large company who, after he is at his job for a month or so, is called in to a "session" with the boss of the company. The majority of the book is used up to describe this session between the new employee and his boss. The gist of the book, as I see it, is how to deal with relationships in such a way that serves to the benefit of all involved. Human nature being what it is, we tend to mete out scolding, discipline, blame, punishment, whenever we feel slighted or wronged. This seldom works well in bettering the relationship or the actions of the one being put down. And, secondly, doesn't help the person who feels wronged either. The answer to this conundrum presented in this book is what they call "getting out of the box." I would highly recommend this book. By its title this book seems to be intended for leaders or managers but the principles taught in it apply wherever there are relationships; employer/employee, husband/wife, parent/child, neighbour to neighbour, and many others.
The most interesting book I have read recently is The Shack written by William P. Young. This is a novel that speaks more powerfully about the nature of God and how he relates to his people than any theological text ever could. Eugene Peterson says, "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his." I think he may be right. I won't give away the story line but this is how the book is described on the back cover: "In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?"" I was deeply moved by the story of deep pain and loss but more so by the answers it provided - they sounded true to how I see God working. Of all the books I've mentioned, this is one you should, dare I say, must read.
The last book I want to talk about is written by Gregory Boyd called The Myth of a Christian Nation. I admit the context for this book is the American Evangelical church but Canadian Christians can read it for equal benefit. If you ever had questions about the degree to which the Christian church should enmesh itself in the political system or have ever questioned the extent to which governments can bring about God's purposes on earth, you need to read this book. Boyd's primary point in this book is to show the stark differences between the kingdom of God that Christians are part of and mandated to establish and the worldly kingdom. He would say that as Christians we should place no hope in worldly governments to establish God's reign on earth. Worldly governments, whether they be democratically elected or not, can do some good and are ordained by God to "bear the sword" (punish evil, etc) but this does not make them Godly. In that sense he would say that the American government is no more Godly than Iran's (An interesting side note is that when he preached the sermon series Cross or the Sword, upon which this book is based, he lost about 20% of his congregation). He's not saying that Christians shouldn't participate in the political process but that they shouldn't call what they elect or what they serve a Godly nation. He would say, no matter the preponderance of Christians in a government this doesn't change what it is: a government that uses power over people to achieve its ends, including many tactics inconsistent with the ethic of Jesus. Boyd would say that Christians are people of the cross: followers of Jesus Christ, people who are called to be like Jesus. Jesus never used his power over people, or did he ever use violence - he died coming under and loving, and serving others. I have not read many books that measure up to this one in describing more powerfully this dualism between the spiritual and the worldly kingdoms. A statement the author makes repeatedly resonates with me: when you raise the sword you lower the cross! It may be of interest to you that he repeatedly makes reference to Anabaptist writers in the text of the book and in his footnotes. In an email exchange I had with the author he told me that Mennonites come the closest to living out how he understands Christ's call on the believer.
So there you have it. The prophet of old said, "To the writing of books there is no end." I'm finding out just how true this is!
Monday, July 7, 2008
My Sabbatical So Far
This winter my church decided to provide me with a three month sabbatical. It was intended to give me some uninterrupted time to rest and recharge my batteries. It began on June 1 and will last till August 31. It's been a little over a month since I began my sabbatical. Let me describe how it has gone so far.
I have served Stony Brook Fellowship for nearly 10 years so this sabbatical was timely and needed. But at the same time I've never received a sabbatical before in my 21 years of ministry so I wasn't sure what to expect or know how I would enjoy the time off. So far I have enjoyed it very much.
The first week I did pretty much whatever I wanted to (besides completing the "To Do" list my wife keeps creating for me). I got up when I wanted to, went to bed when I wanted to, mowed the lawn when I wanted to, went for a walk when I wanted to, watered the flowers when I wanted to and so on. My most frequent activity was reading (look for a review of some of my reading in a future blog).
The second week was mostly taken up by attending the Believer's Church Conference. I chose to attend this conference not because I wanted to so much as that I thought it would be good for me. It was more academic than the conferences I usually attend. In fact, some of the lectures and presentations were well over my head but as the conference wore on I began to pick up the theological jargon pretty well and even dared to ask the odd question when feedback was called for. It was a stretching experience and one I don't need every day but it broadened my perspective on the christian community, especially the Anabaptist interpretation thereof.
The third week I hung around home mostly, reading a lot and helping out my wife in her home based business. I'm discovering that one of the things that shapes the course that a sabbatical will take is how available your spouse is to drop what she is doing and accompany you on your moment by moment "inspirations." My wife runs a bookkeeping business and is very busy attending to the twelve or so clients that she presently has. But my sabbatical has also been a pleasant experience for her as, for the first time since I entered the ministry, her work has priority and she has my undivided attention. For example, unlike when I'm working, we are able to make whatever plans we wish for our evenings. In fact, I have to admit that the first few weeks I had to remind myself not to feel guilty when, after supper, I didn't have plans to attend to some kind of church work. What, I don't have a meeting tonight? What am I going to do now? This has been quite an adjustment, and a rather pleasant one, I might add.
The fourth week saw us take four days off to travel to Minneapolis to see some ball games. We had a great time. We enjoy doing this at least once a year. Many people will be surprised to discover, however, that shopping isn't a big part of these excursions. Yes, we did spend half and hour at the outlet stores in Burnsville but, these are my wife's words not mine, stopping at the outlet shops was a colossal waste of time (do you hear me cheering?).
Another reason for our trip to Minneapolis was to attend Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul where Gregory Boyd is the pastor (During my sabbatical so far, we've had the pleasure of visiting a variety of churches). I have come to appreciate Gregory Boyd's writing and wanted to check out his church and hear him preach. We both came away very impressed both with the content of his sermon as well as the worship service as a whole. This is a mega church, not something that attracts me at all, but somehow they are able to stay free from the glitter and glamour so often associated with mega churches. The music was good, but not over the top. There seemed to be a concerted effort not to draw attention to the band and worship singers but to focus the attention on God. Greg's message was great. He was talking about the return of Christ. He, being an American Evangelical, and a Baptist, led me to expect a typical premillenial approach with all kinds of extrapolations from the books of Daniel and Revelations. But this is where he blew me away with his presentation. He went to great lengths to warn against clinging to "we'll escape the tribulation" theology. His main point was for us to be the kingdom in the here and now, loving people like Jesus does, and identifying with people's suffering. Very refreshing. Gregory has written a number of books but a book of his that I read recently is The Myth of a Christian Nation. This sermon and the book I just read lead me to say, he may be Baptist but He sounds like an Anabaptist (more about this later).
Let me conclude with some summary comments about my sabbatical so far. First the positives. I'm getting the rest I so badly needed. I have also been able to free myself of the burdens and concerns that come with church ministry at least to a great degree. In fact, I can now go several days without thinking, "I should really visit so or so," or "I should give him or her a call." Even potential sermon outlines and ideas pop into my head less frequently. Also a renewed hopefulness about church, myself, my world, is mushrooming inside of me. I'm learning to relax. I now actually join in on conversations with friends, telling stories, adding humorous comments (at least I think they're funny), and actually laughing out loud. These are all good things that I'm experiencing because of my sabbatical.
But there also some negatives, at least right now I see them that way. Time may change this perspective. We'll have to wait and see about that. For one thing, I'm dying from info starvation. Sometimes I can hardly stand it that I don't know how things are going in the church. I long to know how certain people are doing. Are they progressing spiritually, and so on. I genuinely miss the fellowship in the church and seeing the people, all the people. Sometimes I don't think I will make it to September 1. Then I remind myself that this is good for me and for the church. We're all learning that SBF is not my church and neither does it need me to survive. And that may be the biggest positive of this whole experience. Learning experientially that I am not indispensable. God doesn't really need me, it just gives Him pleasure to use me.
And then there is the 0-2 start for the Bombers...
I have served Stony Brook Fellowship for nearly 10 years so this sabbatical was timely and needed. But at the same time I've never received a sabbatical before in my 21 years of ministry so I wasn't sure what to expect or know how I would enjoy the time off. So far I have enjoyed it very much.
The first week I did pretty much whatever I wanted to (besides completing the "To Do" list my wife keeps creating for me). I got up when I wanted to, went to bed when I wanted to, mowed the lawn when I wanted to, went for a walk when I wanted to, watered the flowers when I wanted to and so on. My most frequent activity was reading (look for a review of some of my reading in a future blog).
The second week was mostly taken up by attending the Believer's Church Conference. I chose to attend this conference not because I wanted to so much as that I thought it would be good for me. It was more academic than the conferences I usually attend. In fact, some of the lectures and presentations were well over my head but as the conference wore on I began to pick up the theological jargon pretty well and even dared to ask the odd question when feedback was called for. It was a stretching experience and one I don't need every day but it broadened my perspective on the christian community, especially the Anabaptist interpretation thereof.
The third week I hung around home mostly, reading a lot and helping out my wife in her home based business. I'm discovering that one of the things that shapes the course that a sabbatical will take is how available your spouse is to drop what she is doing and accompany you on your moment by moment "inspirations." My wife runs a bookkeeping business and is very busy attending to the twelve or so clients that she presently has. But my sabbatical has also been a pleasant experience for her as, for the first time since I entered the ministry, her work has priority and she has my undivided attention. For example, unlike when I'm working, we are able to make whatever plans we wish for our evenings. In fact, I have to admit that the first few weeks I had to remind myself not to feel guilty when, after supper, I didn't have plans to attend to some kind of church work. What, I don't have a meeting tonight? What am I going to do now? This has been quite an adjustment, and a rather pleasant one, I might add.
The fourth week saw us take four days off to travel to Minneapolis to see some ball games. We had a great time. We enjoy doing this at least once a year. Many people will be surprised to discover, however, that shopping isn't a big part of these excursions. Yes, we did spend half and hour at the outlet stores in Burnsville but, these are my wife's words not mine, stopping at the outlet shops was a colossal waste of time (do you hear me cheering?).
Another reason for our trip to Minneapolis was to attend Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul where Gregory Boyd is the pastor (During my sabbatical so far, we've had the pleasure of visiting a variety of churches). I have come to appreciate Gregory Boyd's writing and wanted to check out his church and hear him preach. We both came away very impressed both with the content of his sermon as well as the worship service as a whole. This is a mega church, not something that attracts me at all, but somehow they are able to stay free from the glitter and glamour so often associated with mega churches. The music was good, but not over the top. There seemed to be a concerted effort not to draw attention to the band and worship singers but to focus the attention on God. Greg's message was great. He was talking about the return of Christ. He, being an American Evangelical, and a Baptist, led me to expect a typical premillenial approach with all kinds of extrapolations from the books of Daniel and Revelations. But this is where he blew me away with his presentation. He went to great lengths to warn against clinging to "we'll escape the tribulation" theology. His main point was for us to be the kingdom in the here and now, loving people like Jesus does, and identifying with people's suffering. Very refreshing. Gregory has written a number of books but a book of his that I read recently is The Myth of a Christian Nation. This sermon and the book I just read lead me to say, he may be Baptist but He sounds like an Anabaptist (more about this later).
Let me conclude with some summary comments about my sabbatical so far. First the positives. I'm getting the rest I so badly needed. I have also been able to free myself of the burdens and concerns that come with church ministry at least to a great degree. In fact, I can now go several days without thinking, "I should really visit so or so," or "I should give him or her a call." Even potential sermon outlines and ideas pop into my head less frequently. Also a renewed hopefulness about church, myself, my world, is mushrooming inside of me. I'm learning to relax. I now actually join in on conversations with friends, telling stories, adding humorous comments (at least I think they're funny), and actually laughing out loud. These are all good things that I'm experiencing because of my sabbatical.
But there also some negatives, at least right now I see them that way. Time may change this perspective. We'll have to wait and see about that. For one thing, I'm dying from info starvation. Sometimes I can hardly stand it that I don't know how things are going in the church. I long to know how certain people are doing. Are they progressing spiritually, and so on. I genuinely miss the fellowship in the church and seeing the people, all the people. Sometimes I don't think I will make it to September 1. Then I remind myself that this is good for me and for the church. We're all learning that SBF is not my church and neither does it need me to survive. And that may be the biggest positive of this whole experience. Learning experientially that I am not indispensable. God doesn't really need me, it just gives Him pleasure to use me.
And then there is the 0-2 start for the Bombers...
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