Church

I preached a sermon this morning.  Like I do every Sunday (except when I don’t!). 

The sermon today was on peace.  I talked a bit about peace brought by the world around us.  This peace includes racism (of the benevolent type where we separate warring factions); religion (let everyone develop their own approaches to God); rationalism (the world around us is a closed system, just figure it out and make peace with it); and righteousness (tip the scales of good and bad hoping that enough good is good enough).

On the other hand, Jesus provides peace.  All Christians are brothers and sisters together with Jesus — we have an obligation to work together.  There is one way to God — Jesus is the Lord of all.  The world contains mystery because we are not God — we can have the mind of Christ to help us know God.  One wrong thing is a conviction of evil — but Jesus provides forgiveness of sins.

When we live in the ambiance of either system, we begin to develop actions and activities that reflect that system.  A worldly system will lack trust and a sense of truth, a lack of mystery and people who seek to do good only for the sake of overcoming what they do wrong.

A Christian system works from trust, is based in certainty, invites God and his activities into our daily lives and does good because we love others.

Quite a contrast that needs further development. 

20 years ago I was researching archives for a book some professors were writing.  I just saw a footnote for the book in a recent article.  I guess someone is still reading books published in the 1980’s (tangent — who reads books now that the internet is here?  Well, I do, but there is a great share of my reading that is done on the Net — a point a computer friend of mine made a decade ago — libraries will soon become “bookless.”)

The book (getting back to where I started) was called Birth of a Vision.  The theme was the life and thought of Albert Benjamin Simpson.

Simpson was the founder of a society called the “Christian and Missionary Alliance”, so named in 1893 after a decade of existence as two separate societies.  The society has moved on to become an international family of churches.  The largest national group of churches is actually said to be in Vietnam.

Where did this man start?  Believe it or not (and Ripley would love this), he was born in Prince Edward Island in Canada.  I understand his father was in the ship building business.  When there was a depression in that business shortly after Albert was born, the family moved to outside of Chatham, Ontario.  His father was said to be a poor farmer.  At the same time he took seriously his responsibility to lead his family in spiritual matters.  Albert knew Scripture and the Westminster Cathecism.

Why mention this?  First, I am a strong Canadian and alway willing to celebrate our native sons!  Second, there is a resurgence of Reformed thinking in response to what is often called the Emerging Church.

I think the North American church would be well served to examine Simpson’s life.  You will find that he echoes the stability of theology brought about by his upbringing.  At the same time, he was aware of the immigrant population, social stirrings, and the emerging life of the country.

A challenge for some of you if you have time!!

I wonder how life on the PInta would have been.  No, I’m not referring to the good, old PInto car of the 1970’s.  I’m going back further to the 1490’s.

I’ve been handpicked to sail a boat.  I’ve struggled for weeks to stay afloat both physically and emotionally.  This is not a familiar voyage.  We are just headed “that way” every day.  And every day begins to look the same.  Oh, there are weather changes.  But no green meadows or rolling hills, no new friends while the old companions on the voyage wear thin.

The day land is sighted, I silently cry in excitement and curse in confusion.  The habit of awakening to the same horizon confuses me when new pieces are added.  And yet, at the same time, I’m excited because boredom saps life from living souls.  Small routines, done just to do them, become huge lifesavers.

And in the irony of a conquest achieved,when I see land, I immediately wonder how the return voyage will go.  Will we see familiar faces when we return?  Will we return or will we be tossed aside by an uncharted sea? 

A sailor’s life is complicated and yet simple — stay afloat and get where you are going.  Simple directions with a multitude of reasons you will never see home again!

Well, that’s my story!  I wonder how the centuries will see me??

Three conversations with men.  One around their job, one around their family and one around their church.

None of  them  would profess to be spiritual
stereotypes.  They have no Bible College background.  They
have been small town boys.  They live life as life comes.

I was refreshed.  A breath of air steals into a room when you
least expect it.  You don’t know where the wind is coming
from.  Nor do you quite understand how it escapes.

But standing in the room, you know.  You know life has replaced
staleness.  You know movement that replaces rigidity.  You
know the clarity of the unseen replacing the haziness of the seen.

Thanks for the opportunity to hear of life and decisions, directions
and deviations, the down and dirty of life — conversations that are
more than talk about the weather.  I listened, I prayed, I
advised, I blessed — and I was blessed.

May your tribe increase!