Shane Claiborne & Jesus for President

I have been intrigued by Shane Claiborne ever since I read The Irresistible Revolution a couple years back. The book engrossed me while I should have been studying for exams I couldn't help finish it within a couple days. While in Canada the polarization between political parties is less than in the states and the religious connections between a particular party is less obvious. However, in recent weeks I heard the pastor at my former church made the comment he would be content with reading an editorial from the National Post as a sermon. The problem is not that I disagree with the pastor position, because in conversion with those who disagree with us we develop a greater understanding of complex problems in our society. The problem is when we as Christians aligning ourselves completely with the rest of society we cease to be a Peculiar People as Rodney Clapp asserts. Claiborne's reading of Jesus, which I believes he rightly reads, as one who always resisted all groups and all preconceived notions of what the Messiah will do on earth.

None of the political parties can replace the Church and in spite of the hope that Obama can inspire in people his idea that America can once again be the hope of people and the world. Christians must continually resist this idea no matter how attractive it may appear. If a nation is the hope of the world this is completely at odds with the Christian believe in the resurrection or maybe we need a more robust understanding of hope. Clairborne passionately believes that Christians need to be more imaginative and being involved in living the Kingdom of God on earth.

Jesus for President is a good starting point for all Christians what it means to be socially involved in the world. Many may be turned off by 'too radical' of his ideas and examples he gives in the book. I would agree with this point to an extend, but that is not the point of Claiborne's push. It is to rethink what our actions and believe tell the world. For example I don't think we can all start making our own clothes and to an extent that would require us to leave our jobs, but he is calling us to rethink our vocation as Christians and how that effects all aspects of our life. To simply follow the status quo is what Claiborne is question and all Christians should do the same.

Come to the Table

Recently I finished reading Come to the Table it is a interesting to read a book about the community to which you belong. Ever since attending St. Benedict's Table I've been drawn to the openness and acceptance of everyone. The idea that Jesus welcomes us all is very powerful, especially when I think of my cruise ship days and hearing countless stories of people not feeling welcome into a church setting. In reading the Gospels Jesus appears to be inviting everyone to join him and God's kingdom. Maybe the part of open communion that scares people as the book mentions is that it does not require anything of an individual. I guess the idea that anyone can receive the blood and wine, maybe consider it cheap grace. The one thing with a 'cheap grace' view is if everyone can have communion nothing more is require, but that is definitely not the case at St. Benedicts as discipleship is at the forefront.

I guess the other side of open communion is what kind of role does baptism play in such a community. Obviously baptism plays a key role in the New Testament. I wonder if there is a difference between theological/doctrinal belief and practice. What role does baptism have in churches in 21st century is it simply that one can not take part in communion. I know that was the case when I was growing up that you couldn't have communion if you weren't baptised or the very least accepted Jesus as Lord. We have had a couple baptisms at St. Ben's the past two years and I must say it has been meaningful to the community and an emphasis has always been on the communities responsibility in a persons life. I guess it comes down to what role does baptism play in a community, is a thing we are expected as good Christians to do or is there something deeper.

What St. Ben's accomplishes by practicing open communion is inviting everyone to participate or belong. It is a mysterious thing that people can gather together on a Sunday evening and feel they belong. I know for a long time in my former Christian circles that has been a desire of mine and expressed by friends. So many people have said that they feel out of place and having to put on a mask. Not a mask of hiding behind something, but that the language and practice did not have a bearing on other parts of their life. That Sunday is the day not for escaping life, but informing and influencing your life that you can be this peculiar life that Jesus invites us to be.

Thoughts on 'A Community Called Atonement' or why not to have high expectations about a book

I am a pretty big fan of Scot McKnight. Needless to say when I heard about 'A Community Called Atonement' it went straight to the top of my list. The book was marketed as a explaining Atonement for the common folk. I must admit that I've read a bit on Atonement already reading The Divine Conspiracy and Exclusion & Embrace, which both engage the topic in larger denser manner. Part of my excitement over McKnight is how influential The Jesus Creed was for me it was simple and profound. I always felt that the theory of Atonement was important, but has always been a bit too academic and the book appeared to be going in a different direction to bring the community into the theory.

The big disappointment was how the book was fairly basic and while it was a relatively short read(156 pages) it was not simple. Actually just as dense as any other book on Atonement, but instead of building the theory out over a lot of page it packed a lot of information in a little span. The biggest disappointment was how half through the book it still was just going over a lot of standard Atonement theory stuff and I found the best part of the book was when McKnight would quote N.T. Wright, which is never a good sign.

While McKnight did bring the community into the theory towards the end of the book overall it was a disappointment. Maybe if I had never read anything on Atonement it would be a food introduction and definitely worth reading for a community attempting to rediscover Atonement in a real way. I must admit the book did have sparks, but never the full enthralment and excitement of The Jesus Creed.

Thoughts on 'Gone Baby Gone'

I recently watched Gone Baby Gone a film directed by Ben Affleck, which got rave reviews from the critics. Some about anything Affleck makes me weary of being hugely disappointed. Needless to say Gone Baby Gone engrossed me in the tragic neighborhoods of Boston. An impressive cast consisting of Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck, Ed Harris give their standard performances. What was most impressive is how Gone Baby Gone engaged a topic that's been a struggle of mine this past year.

What if a child is born into a situation that their almost doomed to enter into a cycle of substance abuse, family violence and crime. In meeting so many parents who are unfit to provide for these teens, it is hard to hear stories of ten year olds providing and supporting for a family. Gone Baby Gone does an incredible job of putting this struggle to film, what if you could give a child a new life and at the same time break the law. Who in our society decides when a mother should have her child taken away.

In reading so many social histories at The Behavioural Health Fondation one is left with the impression that anyone growing up in this environment would have ended up in a similar situation. This haunting struggle hit its head when A.J.,one of my 'Keykids' parents came for his graduation and did not appear to care about the him.

What Gone Baby Gone does so well is if given the chance to give one of these 'doomed kids' a real chance at life would you do or allow it to happen. Much of the movie tugged at my emotions, but at the same time showed both sides of the situation. Too often movies that tackle a touchy subject give a one-sided approach or answer to the situation. Affleck should be commended for the honest and fair approach in showing the honest fact when a person does what they fee is 'right' it still puts the child in jeopardy.

A quote on Pre-destination from St. Ben's

One Sunday night our Priest at St. Benedict's Table spoke briefly about predestination. He gave this quote from Paul Achtemeier on what Paul might have meant by 'predestine'.

"As Paul uses the words 'foreknow' or 'predestine,' they do not refer in the first instance to some limitation on our freedom, nor do they refer to some arbitrary decision by God that some creatures are to be denied all chances at salvation. They simply point to the fact that God knows the end which he will bring his creation, namely redemption, and that destiny is firmly set in his purposes. God has already set the destiny of creation: the destiny is redemption, as Paul has just told us(vs. 21). In that sense Paul can speak of 'pre-destination.' It means, just as the word says, that the destiny has already been set; and that destiny is the final redemptive transformation of reality

Thoughts on 'Lake of Fire'

This past week I watched Lake of Fire , a documentary about abortion by Tony Kaye of American History X fame. The film was stunning and honest in their unloading of information. What I most appreciated was that the film never took sides, which is rare for documentaries.

The entire film was shot in black and white in order to show that this subject has no grey or at least the media is unwilling to show the grey areas. Maybe more a statement of how we discuss complicated issues in western countries and our conversations about abortion, homosexuality, war, etc are more yelling our views than an attempt to grow in understanding and being open to that the other side has many valid points.

An unsettling part of the film was the anti-abortionists profiled and how different they viewed the Christian faith. I know many people will want to dismiss them as religious extremist, but I think that is dangerous and almost justifies their actions. Many of them made statements that people should be stoned for various behaviours and maybe most puzzling is that they don't believe in religious freedom. This one was a bit confusing or maybe I just don't understand America. In my conservative Christian upbringing there was always an understanding that one shows respect and dignity to those who disagree with you. However, the anti-abortionist did not feel that was important and as many of you know have killed many doctors performing abortions.

I guess my problem with the politically motivated pro-life agenda is that once the baby is born these people who so vehemently fight for the babies right don't seem to care what kind of environment they live in. I think for the pro-life stance to have merit they need to oppose all forms of war and persecution of all people.

Then again this is not an easy subject and both sides have valid point. It is interesting how so many people realize life is lived in the gray areas, but when it comes down to these political topics its all or nothing. At times I fear that Canada is becoming more like America and not willing to see the other's point of view with an open mind.

Thoughts on 'The End of Memory'

Our memory is funny thing. Why do we remember events in a certain way and does this memory do the events justice or injustice. Miroslav Volf tackles this subject in The End of Memory, a semi-biographical look at how to remember rightly.

We all have had wrongs committed against us. Whether these have been wrongs of the physical, emotional or countless ways people wrong each other. What we do with these wrongs will determine how healthy we live. Not that all wrongs are the same, but how does one integrate these wrongs to our larger story or identity. If these wrongs make or define our story will evidently have a negative effect on our lives.

One question do all our experiences or memory needed to be integrated into our life as being meaningful. Volf states that this is clearly an axiom during the 20th & 21st century, but is this possible. He goes on to state that not all experiences can be successfully integrated into having profound meaning and that we need to consciously forget events.

My thought was how often do we remember events dishonestly or unjustly. What I mean by that is do we demonize the other person's action and remember our actions innocently?

Volf's ideas are still floating around, but he does put forth a systematic and broad proposal of how to remember. In closing Volf attempts to integrate all our memory to the after life and how we will be reconciled to everyone. What role will our memory play in those mysterious and hopeful days.

It is refreshing to read as Volf attempts to struggle with this profound question and look to any and all discussion of the question in a distinctly christian manner.

Thoughts on Organic food

Well the world is in definitely in a 'Green stage.' Obviously this green and environmentally friendly movement can be co-opted by consumerism and greed like many other good and fruitful endeavors. However, the main thrust of the movement is live in harmony with the world and that is an endeavor I think we all can join.

Recently I checked out an organic market. Every since Trisha and I attempted the 100 mile diet last fall we have been looking for ways to live in a connected way with our food. The farmer's market in St. Norbert was a great way to connect with the producers of the food we eat. My thought was that the organic marker could be our permanent home for food during non-farmer's market season. Unfortunately this is not a financial reality due to the prices of all the produce. I know that money is part of the reason for the great divide between producers and consumers of food, but the prices were astronomical (ie $3.50 for a head of lettuce).

I got to thinking what does a producer needs to do to receive the 'certified organic' label and why were the prices so high. I can go to the Canadian Superstore and buy organic bananas that are only two cent/per pound more than non-organic. Recently I was at a local meat shop that only sells Manitoba grown meat, which to me seems like a good think to keep the money local and support local meat producers. When I inquired about if the meat was organic the owner explained that to get the 'organic label' the grandparents needed to be fully organic. This does make sense to a degree, but how much more are we as consumer's willing to pay for 'certified organic' product compared to those merely produced locally and the producer does not see the point of getting the 'certified organic' label.

Personally I think buying locally is a start and for those who can afford the 'certified organic' products be my guest. My last thought is where does this leave the millions of people living in poverty. Where the 'conscious citizens' are buying food at a premium to have the organic label and others can't afford any kind of food. I guess it all comes back to community and the effect our actions have on other. Well just a though

Minneapolis you have good coffee....

Well I love coffee. A lot of people here love their Tim Horton's Coffee, which can barely be counted as coffee in my opinion but to each their own. During our stay in Minneapolis Trisha and I discovered Caribou Coffee, a regional coffee shop that appears to be concerned about the environment. Caribou Coffee was our coffee of choice in Minneapolis, we stopped in three times on Sunday. I must admit Caribou puts a lot of espresso in their specialty coffee's, which I really enjoyed.

Trisha and I were reading about Caribou Coffee in a coffee shop near Solomon's Porch and they have set a goal of being 50% 'fair trade' by 2009. It was refreshing to see that goal set in comparison to Starbucks that appears to only care about the bottom line. I guess it is the imagination of this 'small' coffee chain that is trying to make a difference that impressed me.

Some thoughts on Solomon's Porch

The only part of the weekend that was disappointing was that I didn't get to spend as much time at Solomon's Porch or get to hear Doug Pagitt speak. Trisha and I had a hard time following the direction I got off travelocity so we didn't go to the Mockingbirds Nest, which I was really excited about.

We did however go to Solomon's Porch on Sunday evening, but left early so we wouldn't be late for the concert. The set up for the gathering area is completely unique, you need to imagine a lot of old sofas(think about your grandparents sofas) arranged in a circle with the middle having two swivel chair. The feel was more like a friend's basement where you would meet to hang out. I wonder if that is how the first century church would be have done it, just hanging out in some one's house. In November at St. Benedict's we did a 'Going to the 1st century church' the feel was similar. The service started with a brief introduction by Bob who was sitting in for Doug and explained the why the palm tree branches were handed out.

While we only heard 3 songs they were very intense, even haunting. The lyrics, especially the song about not belonging to anyone were heart wrenching.

I am not sure if this was a standard week at Solomon's Porch, but a lot of the time was spent on being an abolitionist church(fighting against human trafficking). I thought the ideas were good, definitely nice to see a church in action and giving their community an outlet to share their passions. One of the speakers called human trafficking slavery, which I thought was very important, too often in our culture we have names for terrible things and the name is vague or do not convey what is happening.

I imagine a lot would have happened after we left maybe even the 'sermon' portion, as a guy on the other side of the room kept looking through his Bible. Anyways I thought it was interesting experience, one would need to spend a week at Solomon's Porch and involve yourself in the community to really grasp their journey and the beauty.

Springsteen was amazing!

The Springsteen show was amazing. I had to resign myself to the fact that I wasn't going to hear all my favorite songs, but knew I was going to love the show. When Bruce and the Gang entered the stage they set the crowd into a frenzy, as the antipicipation had been building the last hour for the show to start. I was in a constant state of bliss throughout the concert, needing to pinch myself that I was actually at the concert.

The concert had many personal highlights and the energy that Bruce and the band gave was contagious. As I write this I know any description of the concert does not compare to being at the show, it is amazing how much energy Bruce gives out at such an old age. I would say my favorite song was Waiting on a Sunny Day, The Rising, and Born to Run. During Waiting on a Sunny Day, Bruce was all over the stage and since it is one of Trisha's favorite songs I was happy that he played it. The Rising is filled with so many memories of what happened after 9/11 and how to be hopeful in a time of despair. I vividly remember listen to that song over and over again during my time working for Celebrity Cruises that time was a time of change in my life. Born to Run is definitely the quintessential Bruce Springsteen song and the song most people know so the arena was vibrating and all of us were sing along.

I am still feel the energy of going to see Bruce, definitely worth the many hours on the road.

The Politics of Minneapolis

One thing that kept popping out during our trip to Minneapolis was how political things were in the states. Trisha and I kept running across pro-life billboards on the highway. I thought the pro-life billboards were pretty tacky and unimaginative they had saying like 'God know their soul from inception.' Maybe it is how Americans use God or religious language to guilt or convince others to your point of view. I would say I am pro-choice, not to say that abortion is a good choice, but I think the pro-life choice is only concerned with a baby till it is born afterwards who cares.

In the city a lot of homes had peace, anti-war, and support our troops signs on their front lawn. Trisha and I found that interesting how political things were in the U.S.A compared to Canada. I wonder if Minneapolis has a broad political range of these ideas(pro-life, peace, anti-war, and supporting the troops) or if it is simple part of the complexity of life. That we can have a mosaic of view that appear to be in contradiction or live in a society where two views are colliding with each other.

A weekend with Bruce and Doug

This weekend Trisha and I are going to Minneapolis this weekend, I am brimming with excitement. In November I bought tickets for the Bruce Springsteen show. Springsteen has been one of my favorite artist for a number of years now, while the tickets aren't the great I think simply being at the show will be a memorable experience. I am pretty giddy right now just thinking about the show.

Our other plans for our weekend in Minneapolis trip is to check out Solomon's Porch. An emergent church that appears to be doing some exciting things in the city. I first encountered Solomon's Porch through an assignment for my Pastoral Theology class at Providence College, where my assignment was to read Church Re-imagined. The book is a fascinating look at a group of people trying to make sense of the faith during changing times, one of the strengths of the book is that it is written by the entire community not only the pastor.

Up until now Trisha and I were at a loss about what to do on Saturday evening within our budget, but just today I was checking out Doug Pagitt's blog and Solomon's Porch will be host something called Mockingbirds Nest. It sort of looks like an open mic thing for expression of faith, the weekend just gets better. Well I should start packing for the weekend.

Work....

I've been writing a lot about work lately, I guess that is because lots of things have been going on. This week works was sort of odd, my first 'Key key' graduated, so that was really great to see. I had a great bond with him and good talks about getting away from small town Manitoba and how to drink in moderation. Team meetings, which are usually the worst part of the week, actually went fine--my incident with another staff wasn't brought up. I am still a bit torn if I should stay, I like the work..but I keep on thinking I can find similar work in Winnipeg.

So yesterday I got a call from a job I applied for last week, so I'll check it out. I think a lot of it depends on money and stuff as bad as that sounds its a reality of life. One benefit would be the proximity, it would be in Winnipeg..therefore I wouldn't be spending 150-200 on gas each month. I guess we will see, I know the work will not be as rewarding...I think...at BHF we have various educational seminars (Anger Management, Substance Abuse Awareness, Life Skills, Grief & Loss, etc), so I think it would have to be considerably more money. I also just got my benefits through work, which are free so Trisha and I can see the dentist for the first time in along time. I am a bit torn...I am planning to see my good friends Joey and Jen in Yellowknife in April, if I switched companies that would have to be put on hold. I guess there is just a lot of things to think about...I always come back to that I would leave BHF over a staff not the teens. I always thought that BHF and me are a great fit, the kind of place I can stay for along time. Oh well I am rambling, things will have played themselves out within a week.

Life at BHF

Well I must say working at BHF has been a roller coaster as of late. The bad is a co-worker who at time is very good, particularly as it relates to one on one counselling and organizing and helping new staff understand paper work. However, I think she gets stressed out very easily and reacts strongly in certain situation and uses words without thinking about the consequences. This past week she used the word blackmail in a situation, if that is the correct use of the word then blackmail happens everyday in schools around Canada. So anyways I laughed a her use of the word in front of teen, who took offense to my laughter. I am definitely at fault for that, which followed by me getting sick the next day due to stress at work. Thankfully we've had a couple of chats not related to that incident, but the conversations have been peaceful. I guess just part of working with peopel who have a different temperment than I do. The good is on Wednesday I will be graduating my first 'key kid', which is pretty exciting and stressful at the same time.

So I started looking for work elsewhere, but at my core I do not want to leave because I am skeptical that working with teens in a different setting will not compare to the healing and restoration that happens at BHF and at the same time if things continue I can't stay and with having to drive 45 min each way to work just adds to my motivations to leave.

I guess we will see how things work out....

A interesting chart on emergent...

I know we all hate labels in regard to emerging church stuff, but it is helpful at times to look at these, espeically when you hear people talk about emerging christians/church all beleive the same things. Scot McKnight has posted an interesting chart on his blog . I think depending on the day I would belong anywhere from emerging to emergent, but definitely to the right of Mark Driscoll. I wish that Driscoll would have been left out of the chart, because he is so easy to be made an example of because of his conservative side, he is basically John Pipper with an iPod.

I guess I'm an addictions worker

So my life has taken me on many journey's. During my years at Providence College, I constantly fought about what it means to feel 'called' to youth work, but having a particular passion for the church. I guess this last statement needs to be qualified, church has been a struggle for me. I guess once you go down a certain path a lot of 'mainline' churches are no longer an option for you, since you are thinking about life and church so utterly different. Providence was a place I was able to fall in love with the church again(maybe for the first time), but the church I fell in love in with belongs on the fringes of soceity.

After my intership at a fairly conservative church in Winnipeg, it was clear that I needed to take a step back from 'ministry'. Just a quick word on that word 'ministry', I feel most Christian are involved in ministry and how many Christians use this word is crippling to the work of the Kingdom. In spite of many struggles during my internship including a periode of depression and seeing a counselor(I must admit my counselling session were extremely helpful for 'reclaiming my story'), I got through my internship with a better understanding of what it means to be a Christian in postmodern/pluralist world.

So I got married and after going through two horriable jobs I stumbled upon my dream job, a Treatment worker at a therapeutic community in Selkirk. So a therapeutic community is a treatment centre(aka rehab) that does not believe in the disease model. So we feel that addictions and behaviors are largely due to learned behavior( an example is if you grow up seeing you parents drink their problems away and turn to drugs for stress relief a child will see turning to drugs as a viable copping mechanism, this model is very much aligned with the family systems model I learned in counselling class at Providence). Anyways I love the job, I am able to use all my gifts and develope a better understanding about addictions and aboriginal culture, which I feel more called to ministering with than any middle class setting.

I guess in the last little while I feel blessed to have this oportunity to be involved in the healing and restoration process in these teenagers. I keep on meeting amazing people, commited to being a positive presence for these teenagers, who honestly were born into family and situations where they have very little supports and are thrown to the wolves of life. I keep thinking to myself that if I had been put in a similair situation, I'd gotten into drugs, sleeping around, involved in crime without friends and family to give me direction.

My world is definitely changing, learning a lot about the effect of addictions and growing up in a world where teens are left to be the adults in a culture that almost encourgages addictions as normal. Sometimes I wish we could just keep these teens at the centre, because even though they accomplish so much during treatment we are throwing them back to a world that is going to eat them up, where everyone is addicted to drugs in some form or another..maybe the most heart wrenching fact is that most of the teenagers are exposed to drugs by their parents and some of the time before the age of 10. So I am an overworked, underpain, underappreciated, but hopeful addictions worker......

Work is really hard at the moment....

Well I should start off by saying I love working with teenagers. I'm not sure if I would say I am 'Called', but definitely have a gift. This gifting is part due to experience and part personality. This was always a struggle at school when asked when you were called, because in part I believe everyone is called to do good work. To separate those in full time ministry and those not merely put up walls for christian conversations on the Christian life.

I am a treatment worker at treatment centre for teens with addictions and co-occurring disorders. I guess sometimes I wonder how people get into this line of work, because one does not get a lot of money. In reading Donald Miller, I started to ask more why questions that many of the people at work have answered similarly. However, it seems we have a few staff who have lost that visions and because a job not a way of life. One of the staff constantly engages in power struggles with the teens and get them kicked out of the program, if she doesn't like them. I struggle how to address this because I think she does a good job as a counsellor. However, she does create tension and conflict for the teens and hinders the healing for redemptive work that can happen.

Well we have team meeting tomorrow, I believe a lot of the tension will come to head tomorrow. This weekend everything came to a head as the staff got a teen discharge for basically swearing at her, when she called a house meeting on rumors. To make the story short she started accusing the guys of obtaining drugs, which led the guys to react strongly and swear at her. I am not defending the guys for swearing, but being sworn at is an everyday occurrence at work.

I guess this is sort of a prayer request. I've been doing a lot of praying about the situation, mostly how to address the situation in a loving, peaceful, and Christ like fashion. I firmly believe that this staff is a toxic influence for our therapeutic community.

Why I love Bright Eyes...

Well in November Trisha and I went to see Bright Eyes, the concert was amazing!!!! The band played for almost 90 minutes. I've been thinking a lot lately why I enjoy his music so much. A lot of the songs are cynical and jaded, which I don't think I am. I think my life has taken me to a place where Christian music is dishonest to real emotions and life experiences. To listen to CCM music is like everyone is on cloud nine with their hands raised and no worries about life or what is going on in the universe.

I think the reason I like him so much is that I see lots of how I view life in his songs. I think my main difference is that I had loving parents and a somewhat positive experience of church/ministry growing up. I am not sure I would be a Christian if I didn't have those experiences. I think for a long time I have felt out of place in the church, many times I heard if I don't love the church I don't love Jesus. Somehow that hurts, since the church can do whatever she wants without being held responsible for anything.

Bright Eyes allow for honesty and truthfulness of life that can't always be explained away by slogans or reciting verses. Bright Eyes has beauty, honesty, and passion..all the parts of creation I see and would like to emulate in life.

With all my critics of the Church I must admit that many of my struggles with the Church is really with a stream of the Church I was brought up in, but those years are over. I now belong to a community that does not suppress questions, simplify following Jesus, or even believe in the after life the way i was taught.