I feel that I am harping on a theme, but last night I spent some time writing down some mental correlations.
For any one of us living an average life in the Western World to wish we were wealthy, is a little like:
 K2 feeling that it is a small mountain, because Everest is higher.
 Paris Hilton to wish she was famous, because Madonna is even more so.
Michael Jordon to wish he was as tall as Shaquille
Martin Luther King to wish he was as kind as Ghandi
When looked at from this perspective, the comparisons are not relevant, we see both choices as great illustrations of being, in order: huge, over-exposed, tall/talented, or noble
In the same sense, all too often we consider our wealth only in comparison to Bill Gates or someone else in the uber-rich category, and yet we do not truly understand that we sound like debutantes complaining about the colour of the limo, to those who are truly poor.
it has been a while since i last posted. A busy week. I spent some time in Medicine Hat again, talked about the local church and short term missions.
It seems like more and more that the local church is really grabbing the whole STM movement back to itself, that is brilliant. We are seeing the missional aspect of what the church should be doing. The problem of course is, as always, when something becomes popularised and trendy. Then we see some shoddy work.
I was encouraged to be part of the STMNetwork meetings on Thursday, it really feels like we have moved to another level in terms of buy-in. The Lead team around the table, were eager to take on roles and responsibilities, and the new focus, I believe, is going to be catchy. I agreed to chair the training role, it is where my heart is and I think that it will be great to help facilitate what training might look like
I just had a great lunch meeting with a friend of mine from WestSide Kings church, part of the conversation revolved around culture (funny, two guys who love cross culture work, spending time discussing our culture!?) Anyways, we were talking about the significant cultural differences between Canada and the US.
Now, time for a disclaimer – I am not trying to create tension in an �us vs. them’ way … those that know me realise that I have US family members on both my side as well as on my wife’s. I believe America can often be a great nation.
But sometimes I think that as Canadians, we lump ourselves in with America in terms of statistics, and cultural understanding. To me, this photo of Jesus says it best. I am not sure that this would ever have first been done with a Canadian flag. Do you see that as a good thing, or do you see this in a sense of loss for ‘Christian Heritage’?
I am continually being struck by how we truly have the ability and responsibility to impact the poorest nations on earth.
What would it take to truly partner with the 50 poorest nations on the planet to create life-changing results. I know on one level it seems overwhelming and vaguely pie-in-the-sky to even dream of being part of that solution … let alone participate in it. But on the other hand, bigger things have been attempted and accomplished in the past. How are we to truly be part of that achievement.
In my first sentence of this entry I chose the words ability and responsibility purposefully. i do not think that we are dealing with impossibilities, I really think that we have all of the talent assembled to provide significant changes if we wanted to.
I know that God has had some dreams and thoughts racing around in my brain for a while now on how we can truly create change.
Do you ever wonder who the wealthy are? I know that I often teach, as a Canadian I truly represent some of the most unbelievable amount of excess wealth to most of the world … and yet in my heart I still am not sure that I believe it. I don’t feel wealthy.
When Jesus asked the rich young man to give up his wealth, we know that he was not talking to Caesar, or frankly to anyone that the man he was talking to would have considered wealthy. Jesus was simply talking to a man who was comfortable, well-off. When we hear the call for the wealthy to take care of the poor … do we hear our own name being called?
Here is a very interesting and FUN link that helps me put my life in perspective
It’s my wife’s birthday today … 26 years old. Much more beautiful than ever!
Supriya is a talented pianist and shares her birthday with someone else known for some piano skills Liberace was also born May 16. Just a different year – (1919)
Also of historic note, on May 16, Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit Mount Everest. Thankfully, Supriya has far loftier goals…
I am happy to say that CAUSE Canada has invited me to work for them.
I am developing a speaking tour for Women from Guatemala and Sri Lanka to share their experiences with CAUSE, the education and skills that they have learned, and the ongoing work in some of the most remote areas of our world.
So often in missions circles we are telling the stories of other people. This is going to be a phenomenal opportunity to hear the voices of the people who are on the ground, the true benificiaries of CAUSE Canada’s work
 Do you ever wonder … as I do … why anyone would possibly wear these … and using their own reasoning, how is this possibly a good “tool for witness”? Has a slogan ever changed a person?
In his book Into the 21st Century, world-renowned theologian Donald English writes, “The church which wishes to be ready for the 21st century has got to face the awful reality that its own unpopularity is used as a major excuse by those who say they long for God but cannot find him.”
Andy Harrington makes the case for our own cultural relevancy. We often get caught up in relevancy to the places we feel called to go around the world, how do we balance the relevancy we are called to on our street?
Recent Comments