Two places at once

One of the difficulties of being a pastor is when things happen and you want to/need to/should be at two places at the exact same time. I wish there was a way in which I was able to do this. Tonight, I had planned on going to an Ordination service of a colleague in the United Reformed Church. Now, there have been tensions in the past between our denominations. Most of my colleagues in the CRC in Southern Alberta feel this is an important step in helping to build bridges with them again. I think it is a nice gesture to welcome him into the ministry and into the ministry in our area.

The other thing is there is a funeral in our church tomorrow. Now, in Ontario, and California, and almost everywhere I have lived it is the tradition to have family visiting the night before the funeral. This happens so people can come and visit with the family and offer condolences and such. Coming to Alberta I have found that this is not practiced as much, which I have found awfully strange. When these visitations happen, I generally like to go and open with devotions with the immediate family and offer a word of prayer. In Ontario, often times an elder would then come at the end of the evening and close in prayer.

The thing I have found here, however, is the fact that since family visitation is not practiced all that much, it is not in their DNA to have such a practice. So tonight I have the dilemma of being in two places at the EXACT same time. It would be okay if they were both in the same town. But the fact that they are about 45 minutes to an Hour apart, it makes it impossible.

What I have decided to do was then to have an elder go and lead devotions with the family at the visitation and I would go to the Ordination service representing our church. Is this the right decision? Should I have sent an elder to the church instead, and myself go to the visitation, since it affects a large number of people in our church? This is the struggle that I face, I hope I have made the right decision. Let me know what you think.

Collegiality

The church that I serve is in a rural area. When I say rural, I mean RURAL! We live 5 miles from the closest "town" which mainly consists of a post office, a bar, and a gas station. Which, if you have ever seen the Canadian comedy show "Corner Gas" it really reminds me of that! Anyway, it seems as if our church is in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

With that being said, I am really blessed to live in a part of the country that has a number of churches within our denomination close by, relatively speaking of course. I am blessed by this in a number of ways. First of all, having colleagues close by to bounce ideas off of is helpful. To have people close by to help out when I get busy is also a major plus.

The one thing that I appreciate the most, especially as a young minister, is the fact that we get together once a month with the other pastors and their wives if they are able to join us. It is a great time of refreshment for myself. It is a time to sit and get to know my colleagues, but also to share struggles and joys with each other. We get together and we share with each other and we pray for each other. Yesterday we were able to get together for a BBQ to end our year as we will take a few months off. Even though the weather wasn't conducive for a BBQ, we still had a great time. We had time to laugh, but we also had time to challenge each other. One of the things I appreciate the most is the collegiality that is in the group.

I am richly blessed to be in a place that has such a group. I am thankful to God that he has placed me in an area where this is possible.

Running for the Kingdom

I have always struggled with finding the motivation to go running. There is always some excuse. Oh, we live in the country, there is nothing to see. Oh, it is too early. Oh, it is not that fun by yourself. There are a lot of reasons as to why I choose to be lazy and not run. Lately I have been proud of the fact that I at least would walk at least a mile a day with the dog. I have tried to play basketball once a week, but only for 3 weeks at a time due to a meeting. I wish I could play basketball more, but I need to find something to keep me in shape.

This past Sunday I met a man who was incredible. His testimony was amazing. His name is Tim Borland, you can check out his website: www.timborland.com. What was so amazing about this guy is not just the fact that he is a runner. In 2007 he ran 63 marathons in 63 days! To most people, running 1 marathon in their lifetime is a major achievement. He ran to raise awareness for A-T which is an incurable disease that affects motor skills and mobility in kids and it is a fatal disease. They did a documentary on this and they hope to get it to mass release, it is called "Feat." Not only did Tim run 63 marathons in 63 days, he met someone at the last one in New York that invited him to run "Ultra-Marathons" in Canada for a different cause. So in 2008, he ran 50 miles a day in all the Canadian provinces and territories in as many days. That is 50 miles a day, plus traveling in 13 provinces and territories in 13 days. Next year he hopes to run 143 marathons to raise awareness for the 143 million orphans in the world.

In talking to him, I asked him how he got connected with A-T. He shared a story with me about wanting to use the gift God had given him to further the kingdom. He shared with me how he came to meet a pastor whose daughter had A-T and that is how he got started with A-T. He has a powerful testimony.

It was amazing to see how he wanted to be led by God to run for something to make a difference. He recognized his gift and wanted to use it. This is something I would like to see more of. It was a great encouragement to hear his story. It has motivated me to do some running on my own. I dont think I will ever do 1 marathon, much less 63. I think it is great to be reminded to use the gifts God has given us to further his kingdom in anyway possible. If that means running 63 marathons, do it. If it means playing basketball with people you dont know, but come to build a relationship with, do it. If it means, hanging out with High School kids and showing interest, do it. If it means golfing with your work buddies and being able to connect with them, do it. If it means going out for coffee with someone who just needs to talk, do it. There are many different ways that God can use you. Be open to the possibilities.

Almost Canadian

I had some exciting mail today when I went to the post office. I received a letter from Canada immigration saying that they have reviewed my application for permanent residency and an exemption to the immigration act had been granted. But a final interview will need to be had on June 30th. This is exciting news, as we applied for this back in December. The problem is it said I had received earlier notification about this decision, but I never remember receiving anything, oh well.

So now, on June 30th, I have to have an interview, luckily it is right here in Lethbridge. Brenda has to join me as she is my "sponsor." I pray that all may go well with that interview.

Truth vs. Grace

You might think this is an interesting title. Truth vs. Grace, shouldn't the two be together? What do I mean by this title? There is something that I have been struggling with for a while. The thing that I am struggling with is how the church, should address certain issues with members within a given church.

The problem is, that in this day and age, "Church discipline" is not something that is really practiced very much. Many people are not comfortable with confronting people. We don't want to stir the pot, we want to let everything be as it is. The church tends to lean towards a "hands off" approach. We don't want to upset people.

The thing that bothers me about this way of doing things is that we seem to be afraid to stand on the truth. We are afraid of upsetting people to the point that we would rather not say or do anything. Even if it is complete and outright sinful, we would rather not say or do anything. Even if is directly contrary to what the Word of God has to say, we still don't want to get involved.

When I write, "Truth vs. Grace" I mean that many people would rather see grace then stand for the truth. Even when people are living lives in a sinful way. How should the church respond in these times? Should we continue with a "hands-off" approach, or should we take a stand for what is right and true?

As I am writing this, I am thinking about some of the reasons why we are afraid to stand for the truth. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think maybe one reason might be we are afraid of people calling us "hypocrites." Are we afraid that people will say that we are too "judgmental." I don't really know, just some of my thoughts. What do you think??