stopover.ca

I was just reading an older blog entry I found on another website. It is an interesting and amusing travelogue, basically how to cross culture and attend a baptist church. I read it again and laughed. I will include it here after the jump (hit the ‘more‘ text below)

I just finished a google search to check out the name of the author and provide a proper link to the article, and as I was waiting for my site to refresh and allow me to spill these inspiring words, I checked out my outlook. Another missions friend had just emailed a notice about what church is like in his part of the world (Ethiopia) … he forwarded a church planters message that he was okay, although 5 others had just been killed for their faith that week. (again, to read that email, hit the ‘more‘ button below) The stark difference made me think.

I am happy to consider and work through the thoughts, dreams and ideas to discovering and understanding Canadian culture. To think how we as people of Christ are to involve ourselves in meeting others with true faith … I love words like emergent and pomo, yet I was yet again reminded that this all pales when compared to real need. Not just over there, but here as well.

Again perhaps some of my incomplete thoughts, I am writing up something that may (or may not) clarify them more so later … check back for my ‘why the church must die’ article. coming soon …

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This Website as suggested by FFWD (Calgary’s weekly) covers all the deities and their posses.

Have you ever had one of those embarrassing situations at a dinner party where you can’t remember Gilgamesh’s parentage or which Incan god is in charge of lightning? Me neither. But I’d hate to be at a function where I wasn’t prepared.

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Sometimes you just cannot get out of town. If it has been a while� maybe you should take a virtual tour around the globe.

Click on the link http://www.tripsource.com/ for some fantastic travel photos and interesting travel stories.

Supriya and I just returned from a quick trip out to Montreal for the last couple of days. Supriya’s sister was heading out that way for a course, so we took advantage of the extra space she had in her apartment. Montreal is great, we just went to relax, and fortunately the Just for Laughs festival was happening.

A great festival and a great town, the cliche is true … Montreal is the closest thing to Europe that we have in North America.

I just finished putting together a bibliography of the resources I am going to use for the Intercultural Studies class I am teaching at Vanguard College this winter session. It is a rather long list, but you may be interested in looking at it.

They say that, “Leaders are Readers“. So hit the ‘read more’ link to find the titles of some books I recommend.

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My wife Supriya and I just finished the orientation and informational training sessions at AIDS Calgary. I have often been in countries where this disease is the predominant killer, and thought that I should become more informed about the disease. Did you know that you can have HIV but not AIDS … but not the other way around – sort of like all puppies are dogs, not all dogs are puppies.

HIV/AIDS must be one of the most feared and stereotyped diseases out there … I was amazed at the subtlety of ways in which I categorised and prejudged people with it.

Something that I found sad, was that as a Christian, while training in that room, I did not personally feel that I was with a group of other believers … yet the incredible volunteers in the room were actually following Christ’s example to care for those who need the most. Why is it my experience that Christians are too seldom found in places where they really are needed, why are we most often found in our clubs?

I know that I am speaking with the zeal of the newly converted, and frankly as I just went to AIDS Calgary myself for the first time … self-righteousness is prbably crawling all over my words. I am not even planning on volunteering with them, I simply wanted to discover more information in order to help me internationally. But please take one minute before dismissing my words outright. Truthfully, where would/do we find Jesus today? Are we there with him?

What a culture holds together as group think, tends to reflect itself in the language choices of that group. What is spoken as fact, tends to become fact, regardless of the truth of reality.

This is the case in any culture. They all tend to follow similar lines of inclusion and exclusion in order to determine who can be a part of the culture. There are appropriate and expected standards of behavior, as well as language choices that tend to reflect the innermost and heartfelt belief systems of the individuals involved.

The church does this as well.

We have so often heard so many of the cliches, that we ourselves can no longer see them as such. In the same way that most Englishman of 1550 would know that the king had a divine right to rule. Or that many Americans from

They are the simple facts of our reality. Indisputable.

• This nation was founded on the principles of God.
• As a nation we are wealthy (blessed) because of our Godly foundations
• We are not allowed to pray in schools, Christians are not welcome on campus
• The primary call of a Christian is holiness
• Our faith is revealed in our behaviours
• There is no such thing as a gay Christian
• Why do we shout at a hockey game and stay silent in church
• We need to take back the media, we need Christians in the arts
• God wants to bless you

All the above phrases now have the shiny veneer of simple truth, the only unfortunate thought that occurs is when someone decides to challenge this status quo. Then we grow upset and ask why that person is taking a shot at Christian values. Are they Christian values? Or are they our religious cultural revision of history? Perhaps they are our perspective of what we think is true, or simply a mistaken idea? Maybe most insidious, they are our personal syncretism of societal beliefs that trump our Christian beliefs. The difficulty is that because we have lived with these thoughts so long, they take on the depth and breadth of capital ‘T’ Truth.

I know, I know – huge debate can ensue here – as this clearly shows my attempt to liberalize the gospel. (although even the word ‘liberal’ is now serving to prove my point as the word is often read as ‘non-Christian’ viewpoint. – are not all true Christians conservative? )

Ever wonder how far you are going to go?

here is a great link to discover the distance between where I am and you are. This tool determines the distance between major points on the globe (based on airport codes).

What I find interesting is that many common far off missions destinations (ie Central America) are actually closer to me in Calgary than my birthplace Corner Brook, Newfoundland is. We tend to think of travelling across the world in terms of distance travelled, but there is something more to crossing culture than kilometres.

I just had to translate some documents from French in order to find some information for one of my latest missions projects … i searched through some translation sites and came up with the Google translation service. So far it seems to be the best for my purposes …

Want to try it out? Cut and paste this text Este Web site é útil into the translate text box at this site. Choose translate from Portugese to English for a secret message!

Canada, one of the most diverse nations on earth, is having it’s birthday today! Here are some interesting facts about “the land of the free and the home of the brave”

The proportion of foreign-born Canadians is at its highest in 70 years � though it still does not match the record high levels which prevailed during the first quarter of the last century. Canada’s intake of immigrants has represented less than 1% of its total population through the nineties, while it hovered around 5% between 1911 and 1913. Nonetheless, at 18%, Canada’s proportion of foreign-born citizens is the second highest in the world, topped only by Australia’s 22%.

read more at this site

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