A Disciple's Journal

Blogs officially moved...

2007-05-21T08:37:00.003-04:00

I will no longer be updating posts here...

For updates on my life, family, photos, and other rants see http://onelife.solarcrash.com

For my reflections on faith, life, leadership, technology, creativity, church, and culture, definitely check out http://solarcrash.com also http://halfbaked.solarcrash.com for my lifestreams

or network with me via facebook here.

Peace!

Risky Leadership...

2007-05-17T07:53:00.000-04:00

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, if what Edmund Bruke says is true, then passive neutrality will never overcome evil in this world.

Risky leadership is unafraid of moving forward in the face of uncertainty. The apostle Paul went from city to city so that some may hear his message of hope. He became all things to all people so that he might save some.

When a leader is driven by core convictions rather than circumstances or consequences their visions and their future are not determined by their resources. In fact, Peter Drucker goes as far as saying that the best way of predicting the future… is to create it.

Leaders learn from their failures as well as their successes. The only real failures are those where one violates their own hearts and do not make the most of opportunities presented.

Leaders act not because something is easy, but because it is right. They are willing to die trying, knowing the streaks and stains of their blood, sweat, and tears, might point others to what it means to fully live; just as the living God did.

My wife and I have risked, and will continue to risk, to create the future.

For the latest comments and entries see SolarCrash

Stealing Grace...

2007-05-04T21:34:00.002-04:00

Years back as a young punk kid, a friend and I stole some video games downtown.

Even worst, we put it in the backpack of another friend, without telling him. I remember sweating as I watched him prance through the metal detectors completely oblivious he was carrying our stolen goods.

Needless to say my friend wasn’t all too happy when he found out. He would later become the best man at my wedding. That in itself is a testimony to grace.

The heart-pounding part of the story is when we were in the mall later laughing about how we just scored, and a security guard yells out ‘Hey you!”

We tried to ignore him and just kept walking.

He quickly runs up to us. I almost urinate.

and he says “Gung hay fat choy!” (It was the Chinese New Year).

We make some small talk and he wishes us all the best.

Sometimes this is how I feel when I enter the presence of God. I’m exposed with all my failings, and as if He was almost oblivious to them all, He sends me forward with all His best.

For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Wrist-slapped

2007-05-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we got pulled over by the police and were rudely slapped with a ridiculous $500 fine of tickets!

Because we moved, we never got notifications that Yvz license and our plates had expired, just last month. On top of that the insurance card was misplaced.

How’s a guy suppose to change the world, when I’ve got details like this bogging me down?

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Life Update...

2007-04-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

Yvz recently wrote me a stunning letter that has been fueling my heart through these draining days.

Stellar continues to be on of the most exhausting and exciting aspects of my life.

My community consists of some extraordinarily unique and interesting people. I’m amazed at how God has crafted each of them. Both of us being job-free the last while, we’ve been spending a lot of time (re)connecting with people and it’s just been fantastic.

The series I’m leading on creativity and spirituality kicked off yesterday. I takes quite a bit of work to be creative sometimes.

Today much of my life will revolve around a major paper on sex for my crisis counseling course that’s due tomorrow. I originally wanted to do it on ‘the crisis of apathy’, but I guess it’s not seen as a real crisis in our culture, yet.

I’ll need to go from 0 to 20 pages and find time for Heroes tonight.

Sometimes I question how busy my life is, but it’s hard to complain when I love so much of what I do.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Life without love...

2007-04-27T16:54:00.000-04:00

It completely floored me when Ruth Ewertt of Yonge Street Mission shared that from a survey she helped conduct that “if youth felt a sense of love or belonging at home, even with physical or sexual abuse, they most likely would not run away and end up homeless.”

Everything in me tells me that I would leave an abusive situation. However, looking back I myself was excessively disciplined and I never ran away.Reflecting on this, I can’t even call it physical abuse because as much as I hated it I always knew there were good intentions somewhere underneath it all, proving Ruth’s point.

Even the times I did leave home, I would always eventually go back, because as wrong as what I felt they did to me was, I still felt that there was still something right about home. If what Ruth says is true, I’m guessing some of the kids may have been abused even less than I was, but when they ran away, they didn’t feel that they had anything to return home to.

It scares me to think that a lack of love or belonging may be the greatest form of abuse because sadly it changes my notions of a healthy home. There are many people I interact with where there have not been any reported cases of physical or sexual abuse, but this statement forces to me to change my assumptions on whether they are in a loving home. It is not enough for my family, or the families I lead to simply prevent physical or sexual abuse.

Ruth statement makes me feel like I’ve been in shock of all the wrong things. As bad as news-headlining type of abuse is, I need to be shocked by the lack of love and belonging that is being fostered in our own homes. When I reflect on how much I am loved by my own family and closest friends, street children are no different. They crave a sense of belonging and love just as much as I do, and likely more because they have received so little of it in their lives.

I am amazed at the capacity of the human heart to long for relationship even amid abuse. I am saddened that it was so difficult to come by for so many of the youth on the streets. Of all the labels I naturally place on street kids, ‘unloved’ has never been one of them. Youth at risk are not just victims, they are the undesired, the unwanted, the unloved. I use to feel that it was naive for people to think that street children are not dangerous.Now I feel it is completely naive of me to assume that they have had just as much opportunity of experiencing love as I did.

Of all the things I’ve ever wanted in my life, for the first time, I want the unwanted.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

My little turd...

2007-04-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

Stellar has a bib that says “Saturday” across it. Look carefully at what it says when the car seat straps are around her.

It says “turd”! Someone else pointed this out at a baby shower party we were at.

Here are some other pictures with her new friend Cayden.

Leaders see people differently...

2007-04-13T15:10:00.000-04:00

Leaders see people as they really are, as God’s workmanship crafted with a unique purpose in human history.

Whether a believer or not, leaders see every human being as a reflection of the Creator, brimming with potential. Leaders look into people’s hearts and lives and help reveal to them their beauty and worth.

What do you really see when you look into the eyes of those around you?

(and yes, from the above photo, apparently leaders wear makeup as well).

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Faux-hawk or Faux-pas...

2007-04-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

Many people have been commenting on my Faux-Hawk recently. To be quite honest, since I shaved my head, my hair just started growing back this way. I wake up, and there it is. I’ve never put any product in it. I didn’t even know what a faux-hawk was until people started pointing it out.

Well, here I was feeling pretty good about myself having hair other guys go to salons for, until I decided to look up the faux-hawk on wikipedia.

It states: In most punk circles this hairstyle is frowned upon and considered a form of “selling out”, mainly because it allows the wearer to blend in with mainstream society when not gelled up, something that cannot be done with a true mohawk.

Now I’m walking around like a wannabe and a sellout.
Next up the No-hawk and the Skullet…

For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Ideas on Creativity?

2007-04-09T09:33:00.000-04:00

I’m teaching a series of classes of classes this March on “Experiencing God through the Creative Journey“.

If anyone else has any ideas on creatively teaching creativity, whether it’s through biblical foundations, practical expressions, or corporate experiences that can be facilitated, I’d love to hear about them.

The current session titles are:

Creativity through the Creator God
Creativity through Creation - Community & Culture
Creativity through Creating CrossCultural Environments

I have way more ideas than I have time for already, but after the series is over, I’ll be posting my thoughts and what comes out of the experience, especially if we use any of your ideas!

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Ultra-Fine Dining at Susur’s

2007-04-06T16:58:00.000-04:00

I couldn’t care less about Valentine’s day, but I sure do care about my wife. This year I went all out and took her to Susur. Susur Lee has a number of accolades including top ten chef in the world, with the number one restaurant in Toronto, and one of the top fifty in the world. He was also on Iron Chef, and was supposedly robbed with a tie.

My wife and I are the type of people who go to McDonald’s with coupons, so this restaurant was totally out of our league. The menu’s are set every night for a flat rate, so you never know what you’re going to get. We went on the night of Toronto’s first snow storm and was a bit worried that we wouldn’t make it on time, as they charge full price for no-shows!

The experience was phenomenal. We thought the service was ridiculous as they would do things like adjust our utensils and the menu to perpendicular angles throughout the night. We had fourteen courses of delicacies dancing in our mouths (We each had seven different courses which we shared). I’m not a very refined kind of guy, so a lot of the flavors and textures were totally foreign to me.

I’m not even going to try to repeat the elaborate details of the menu, but here’s a quick recap of what we ate: Bison striploin, Venison (deer), Seared Foie Gras, Duck, black truffles, coffee marinated Ostrich, Shrimp, Asian hot pot, Sable, Roasted Lobster, and something with dry ice coming out of it! Oh and check out the two-tiered dessert in the pictures below! Click on them for larger images.

Not all the pictures turned out as we felt a bit embarrassed because we seemed like tourists in such a high-class atmosphere. Some people in there seemed like they were so rich this was just every day dinner! If you’re interested in going or finding out more, you can find other bloggers reviews here, here, and here.

Chef Susur was making his rounds at the tables, but we didn’t have time to hang out. We had dropped Stellar off with some friends and while we were stuffed to the brim, she sounded like she was getting hungry!

Overall, an excellent night.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Dysfunctional Leadership...

2007-04-05T14:11:00.000-04:00

Christian leadership can often be a haven for dysfunctional people. Moral integrity is a primal baseline for leadership. Without an inward life that is whole and healthy, the act of leadership can often be merely an escape route. Leadership can become a way of avoiding issues of sin or even lead to unnecessary overcompensation in the good one might attempt to do.

The Scriptures call for leaders to “be above reproach”. Just as God is worthy of all of our lives, when our character is aligned with his, our character is what makes leaders worth following. Character must always be in the process of refinement.

Why do you lead, and what makes you worth following?

latest comments and entries at One Life.

Leaders take responsibility...

2007-04-03T23:14:00.000-04:00

Leaders must not only take responsibility of their own lives, but that of others around them. As leaders progress in their journey they see things as they really are. They become highly tuned to their own strengths and limitations. However against the backdrop of a dying world, what they see most, is their God-ordained role of bringing life to those around them.

This clear sense of reality drives them to serve others, as Jesus did. Jesus took responsibility of things that were not his fault – unlike Pilate who wiped his hands clean, Jesus had his hands nailed for humanity. Real leaders do not point fingers or blame circumstances or even their own inadequacies, but they take ownership of that which they can influence and serve with humility.

For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Back from the nation's capital...

2007-03-26T19:37:00.000-04:00

That’s the city of Ottawa for my non-Canadian friends. Quite possibly my future home.

As the years go by I’ve felt more tentative about church planting in Ottawa. Although I managed to see some excellent friends there, as well as fellow voxtropolitan Nate, my roots there seem to have shrunken and many people I once knew have moved away. Still, I love the city, and I always love challenges that start from scratch.

Check out the innovation of my mother-in-law. We demanded that she not spend money on a crib for the short time that we were staying there. So instead, she makes one out of an old desk, a headboard, some bungee cords, textbooks, a garbage pail, and some cushions!

Here’s my brother-in-law Norman, with Stellar standing tall

See the latest comments and entries at One Life.

Leaders need community...

2007-03-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

Leaders must feel that they need the community, as much as the community needs them.

Leaders must have the humility to acknowledge that they too are human beings with an intrinsic longing for community and belonging. Leaders need to allow others to speak into their lives and say the things that they may not be able to say to themselves.

Leaders must not mask their needs and their struggles from people. In doing so they lose out on the grace that God gives them through community. Not only that, seemingly perfect leaders can also indirectly demean the needs and struggles of others in the process. Leaders need relationships of all types from other leaders, peers, and followers in order to remain relationally healthy in the leadership journey.

Who do you need in your life right now? Who do you go to vent to, for encouragement, and how might we increase or deepen these types of relationships?

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Too much communion juice...

2007-03-16T15:06:00.000-04:00

Actually, it’s “gentian violet”, for treating any possible infections. It doesn’t come off for a couple days. We ended up calling Stellar names like little hobo, drunk, and sailor, during that time.

Here’s some other hilarious photos of babies with the purple beard on flickr.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Living someone else's dream...

2007-03-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

Last night Yvz was watching something on tv, where they were interviewing kids in the ghetto.

The reporter asked one kid - “What do you want to do when you grow up?”

boy resonds - “become a CEO”

the reporter is a bit shocked and says - “become a CEO of what?”

the boy then says - “actually i have a dream…”

reporter - “oh and what’s you dream?”

the boy says - “…I want to be batman”

My wife was commenting on how the boy probably got the CEO-part from his parents; but what was in his heart, was batman.

Are you living your dream? or someone else’s?

See the latest comments and entries at One Life.

Your life is Brilliant...

2007-03-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

I never explained one of the items in my Lon-gerie fashion line earlier.

A while back I had wrote on my MSN messenger tag “My life is brilliant”, inspired by the first line in the James blunt song ‘You’re beautiful”.

Someone wrote to me and said how it was so typical of me, and how easy it is for someone like me to say that.

After which I changed it to

YOUR LIFE IS BRILLIANT…

you

just

don’t

know

it

yet.

think about it.

See the latest comments and entries at One Life.

Thank you...

2007-03-05T13:19:00.000-05:00

Thank you for hearing his thoughts, commenting, interacting, and sharing your own life through this little space on the web!

After averaging a couple thousand unique visitors a month, my mommy and daddy (who both aren’t working) have made a whopping $12 the past two months through google adsense!

Feel free to spread the word by linking to this site, blogrolling, and subscribing to it!

My silly dad thinks he can help change the world! I still won’t be able to talk for a good while, so please keep tuning to either press his madness forward or smack some sense into him (even you lurkers out there!)

Muah! Life Rocks! I can’t wait to be up and running with my mommy and daddy!

Latest comments and entries at my primary blog on One Life.

Canada vs. The U.S.

2007-03-01T09:04:00.000-05:00

For five years I’ve waited and asked the administration for a church planting course at Tyndale Seminary. It still hasn’t happened. Church planting courses are in our academic calendar, but they haven’t been offered supposedly due to a lack of interest. This semester I decided to enroll as a visiting student to Heritage Seminary for their church planting foundations course way out in Cambridge.

A couple thoughts from my first class specifically regarding demographics between the U.S. and Canada. (Because so often many people try to plant ‘American’ churches in a Canadian context, when in fact many of our values are diverging).

- The state of California alone has more people than all of Canada

- Statistically the values of the most liberal states (New England area) are still more conservative than Canada’s most conservative province (Alberta)

- Where postmodernism is a philosophical system embraced in the U.S., it is intrinsic to who Canadians are - we are almost exclusively postmodern

- Canada has quickly surpassed the UK in secularism

- “In the U.S. it’s legal to bear arms, in Canada it’s legal to bear breasts”

- Some additional generalizations for the U.S. - Risk-taking, money is everything, winner takes all, higher standard of living, and aspiration

- As compared to in Canada - Risk-averse, money is suspect, income redistribution, best quality of life, and accommodation

Much of this and many more stats are found in Michael Adams’ books, Sex in the snow, and Fire & Ice.

For my American friends here’s one of our infamous Molson Beer “I am Canadian” commercials.

For my Canadian friends, who are oblivious to American politics for the most part, check out this awesome speech by Senator Barack Obama who’s in the running to be America’s first black president (though I’ve got my bets on Hillary).

What do you think?

Latest comments and entries at One Life.

Immortal longings...

2007-02-21T21:16:00.000-05:00

Shakespeare wrote: “I have immortal longings in me”. Don’t we all?

Latest comments and entries at One Life.

Some final thoughts of preaching in a postmodern world

2007-02-19T12:55:00.000-05:00

See the last three posts if you’re still catching up. Some people say ‘preaching is dead’. I often think so as well, but I still believe our post-Christian culture opens new opportunities for the ‘preacher’ today.

Postmodernity blurs the lines between everything - fact and fiction, on and offline, news and entertainment. Although there are inherent dangers to this blurring of boundaries, in many ways this cultural milieu provides the opportunity for us to preach a more holistic message. God’s story and the human story do not need to be separate. Faith and everyday life no longer need to be compartmentalized. The good news of the kingdom of God can be preached as a reality that can permeate every aspect of humanity.

Another new reality for our preaching today is the opportunity to call people to change immediately. Gone are the days where everyone requires all the empirical evidence upfront and then weighs out all the pros and cons. People today often only process information that they can apply immediately. Preaching to a postmodern world is conducive to action-oriented life transformation. Just as in the Scriptures James speaks strongly of acting on what we learn, when postmodern preaching offers people clear life applications, people have an opportunity to move towards faith, even if incrementally.

One of the most unique opportunities of our postmodern times is for preachers and followers of Jesus themselves. Being a post-Christian era, this offers us a unique time of humility, revisiting our roots and faith, re-placing our trust to where it belongs, and re-aligning ourselves back to becoming the church that Jesus had in mind when He was on the cross. As we do this, preachers have a rare opportunity to shake the culture again. Postmodern culture does not expect anything relevant to be coming out of the church. But when they are encountered by a church that is re-aligned with God and the voice of God is heard in a way that connects, it will be shockingly relevant, because that which is eternal is always relevant.

Spirituality is at an all-time high today, and religion is disdained more than ever. When we reveal to the postmodern world that Christ was very much the same way, this will immediately resonate. Though postmoderns want spiritual values without constraints, if we preach the radical values of Christ, they will form their own boundaries. Though postmoderns distrust institutions, if we preach that Christ did not come to establish a religion but a movement of followers that will change the world, the church will be seen differently. Though postmoderns stress personal fulfillment, if we preach that following Jesus brings people closer to the person they were always created to be, it can bring people to craving this deeper place of fulfillment. As Graham Johnston says, “Hope in Christ addresses the restlessness and arbitrary existence of the postmodern world”

The role of preaching in a postmodern world is just as crucial as ever. Although the challenges have changed since the modern era, the greatest needs of a human soul remain the same. Biblical and relevant preaching can transcend all of the negative stereotypes of postmodernity. Preaching is able to ask what no one dares to ask, dialog even deeper into the human heart, and proclaim a story that all are invited to participate in. Preaching is able to reveal to people what God is doing; in the life of the preacher, the world around them, and even in their own humanity. Preaching is able to integrate God with all the disconnected realities people live in today, calling them to change, while surprising them about the goodness of God. Preachers must learn to see the invisible and hear the inaudible, that the heart of the postmodern world is ‘preaching’ for us to preach Christ centered messages clearly to them.

For the latest comments on this and other entries see One Life.

Transformational preaching...

2007-02-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Some excellent thoughts coming from the discussion in the last two posts (1 and 2) on preaching. I’m going to continue discussing preaching as valuable in postmodern contexts where we still have an audience. However, I believe this must not be reduced to the transfer of information, which it often is. If it does not lead to transformation it is a waste of all of our time. I’ve been guilty of this when I’ve spoken in the past.

Preaching through questions

I see preaching as a genre of communication of which there are many methods. It does not have to assume only the traditional role of an expert communicator pounding truth into their listeners. With postmodernity no longer subscribing to authority figures having all the right information, a more helpful form of preaching may be one where instead we “raise the right questions”. Although this may seem like a counter-intuitive way of delivering truth, if the gospel is in fact true, if we continue encouraging people to ask the right questions and seeking, the person of truth is where they will ultimately land. This process of discovery facilitates learning and more convicting answers for the postmodern audience.

A preaching dialogue?

Although the form of preaching can seem like a monologue, effective postmodern preaching cuts through the superficiality of the postmodern conversations and can actually launch a dialogue at the deepest levels. When a postmodern preacher can properly exegete the culture that it is communicating in, through the monologue one can actually draw out things that the listener dares not ask out loud. By being aware of the internal conversations of the audience, a preacher can have a very effective dialogue through the preaching monologue. This cultivates a sense of safety and understanding for the preacher. Taking this one step further, the conversation when effectively facilitated can become a trialogue where both the preacher and the listener together interact with what God maybe saying through the Scriptures, the Spirit, or even Creation itself.

Storytelling

Another form in which preaching can take shape is through storytelling. The language of the postmodern culture is image rich and desperately lacking a coherent storyline. God’s story is “an intranarrative” connecting all people can be very appealing. Although a single grand story may appear exclusive, what if we invited people to universal story that can incorporate their own story? Are there ways in the preaching moment where we can allow people to immediately begin participating jointly in the greatest developing story ever told?

See the latest comments on this post and other entires at One Life.

The challenge of preaching today...

2007-02-15T08:32:00.000-05:00

I still believe in preaching, but there are its share of challenges.

Where the church has in many ways led western culture for most of the past millennia, during the past fifty years, the culture has leaped forward, lapping around the church; leaving it in the dust. Today the church is seen as the remnants of an archaic institution. The church did such a good job adapting to modern culture, with its rationalism, hierarchy, and structures that it has become irrelevant to the postmodern culture today.

In the modern preacher’s mind the surrounding culture is in complete and utter chaos. Today’s preacher often makes the tragic mistake of trying to answer questions that no one’s asking. This is a prime example of how broken the lines of communication are between the church and the culture. People no longer understand what the church is babbling, and the church has no idea how to communicate to a relative, subjective, pluralistic, and amoral society. All of these factors are no excuse for relinquish our mandate to preach the gospel.

Although it may seem like an uphill battle, in the mind of a missionary, this is a unique opportunity in history. Most of the emerging literature today attempts to expand the definition of what it means to ‘preach the gospel’, but if your gifting is to preach, then the church needs you to be the very best preacher that you can be. Preachers must take upon the mindset of missionaries in a foreign land where the culture we are engaging happens to be postmodern.

I still believe there is a place for biblical and relevant preaching in North America today and going forward… isn’t there?

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

The silence in church...

2007-02-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

I love my church, but an ear-aching silence hit me while I was sitting in the sanctuary trying to listen to the message today.

200 people sitting quietly in one moment in time. That’s an awful lot of people to not be expressing themselves.

However, I still believe in preaching. I’ll post a few thoughts on it in the coming weeks.

UPDATE: by the way this not a knock at my church, but the very act of the preaching moment to a postmodern audience in general. Our church often attempts to engage people in different ways (ie. forms of worship, response, skits, informal randomness, laughter, visuals, etc.)

As for now, does your church look anything like this?…

See the latest entries and comments at One Life.

The thinker...

2007-02-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

Stellar’s a thinker and a poser just like daddy.

Latest entries and comments at One Life.

Friday fix...

2007-02-06T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here’s a thought of the week:

Could we create a church of missionaries that sends out so many people it ceases to exist?

Sweet links for the week

- The entire Passion ‘07 event is available for viewing till midnight tonight. Speakers include John Piper, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, and of course Louie Giglio.

- A very interesting and humble response from John Piper on some ‘inappropriate’ language he used during the event.

- Free pdf download of Piper’s book When the darkness will not lift.

- Audio of NT Wright speaking in Toronto for the empireremixed in ‘06

- NT Wright article on Mere Mission.

- A Canadian social networking site for mom’s. I feel a bit excluded as all the pregnancy/parenting sites seem to be geared only towards mothers.

- The Evolving Church Conference featuring Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, and Shane Claiborne will be held march 24th.

- Church for men…?

- Off-Road Disciplines book FREE for bloggers thanks djchuang

- and Sweet and sour pork flavored stamps!

See the latest entries and comments at One Life.

A garden that's bursting into life...

2007-01-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

I dropped in on two other church planting network groups this past week. One was connected with Church Planting Canada out in Bowmanville (don’t ask me where that is).

Very cool, as all the guys here were in the messy midst of the early stages of church planting.

The other group was connected with the resonate, which they call greenhouses in downtown Toronto. Everyone there is in the dreaming and scheming phase of creating new forms of church. Very interesting.

I like the idea of a greenhouse

it makes me think of that overplayed Snow Patrol song, “Chasing Cars”. The one good verse that always sticks with me is where they sing “Show me that garden that’s bursting into life”

I see church planters as people who unleash cities that are bursting into life.

Update: If you haven’t heard it already, here’s an acoustic version of the song.

latest comments and entries at One Life.

Heroes...

2007-01-28T20:05:00.000-05:00

I’m not much of a TV watcher, especially after Alias ended. But I’ve found a new favorite show that I finally just caught up with online.

Heroes. It’s about ordinary people discovering extraordinary abilities. Sounds like a call to all of humanity.

One of my favorite characters is Hiro Nakamura. Besides the ethnic affinity, I love Hiro because he naively assumes that he can change the world and yet struggles to be brave enough.

One of the best lines from Hiro was:

“If I’m too afraid to use my powers, then I don’t deserve them.”

What powers have you been given?

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Friday fix...

2007-01-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

Some random links that might feed your online addictions…

You’ve probably seen the stats on the global village (ie. what the world would look like if it were shrunken down to a hundred people), here’s a flash video of it.

Quick tool for generating rss subscription buttons like I have on my sidebar.

ziki - helps manage your onine visibility. For the first 10,000 people they will sponsor your name on google, yahoo, and msn for free.

Moby writes about those insane Christians in his journal

Mac Tablet finally coming. If only I didn’t quit my job…

At least I can watch hundreds of tv shows online for free.

Or I can start a charity for myself on Network for Good.

Remind me again why I should plant a church?

DJchuang’s set up an excellent wiki for those interested in Asian American Church Plants.

Otherwise we could just sit around and watch other people create America’s Most Innovative Churches

and twiddle our thumbs waiting for Transformer’s the movie to come out.

For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Great post on church planting…

2007-01-25T14:42:00.000-05:00

The following is a great nugget from Pernell

To all you young ‘uns (and other assorted riff raff) who have ever thought about - or are thinking about - planting a church: Before you embark on your “rock-star-like” career, I think your perception of church planting may be a little clouded by the bull crap you see in the church, and on blogs, and at conferences.

Allow me to wipe that crap away: being a church planter will not make you cooler nor will it make you any more popular or more attractive to the opposite sex.

It will not make you any more spiritual and almost no one will respect you more for your courage, risk taking, or intrinsic motivation.

It will not make you braver or more disciplined.

It will not teach you to ‘take it like a man’ or ‘be a real woman’, it likely won’t help you to get on TV and it won’t allow you to buy nicer clothes, shoes, or hair gel either.

It won’t allow you to finally be part of the perfect church, or to shed institutional politics, nor will it guarantee that people will accept you for who you are - authentic community.

It will, however, expose every limitation you have and defeat you at almost every turn.

It will bite you on the butt whenever it gets the opportunity, it will choke you, break you, wind you, bruise you, cut you and batter you, emptying any sense of self-sufficiency along the way. It’ll wind you up like a clock until you feel like tearing your own face off and walking away in snivelling submission.

It’s probably the most fun you’ll ever have.

Or maybe it’s just me.
For the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Urbana 2006...

2007-01-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

No I didn’t go this year. But Yu-ling’s been doing some live blogging from the event.

If you don’t know what Urbana is, it’s a missions conference with twenty-thousand or so students every few years. See here for streaming videos of the sessions.

In keeping with blogging more this year, I’ll be posting some archived posts as well as some yet-to-be published thoughts / articles.

I’m too embarrassed to post all of it, but here are some excerpts of an article I wrote after returning from Urbana six years ago:

God wants to do something for us, so that he can do something with us. Although He may be sending us to serve on mission, we are still His mission field.

We are called to be worshippers before workers – A.W. Tozer

Often the greatest thing that hinders us from worshipping God is our service to Him. We do not respond to him by our busyness for Him. God simply wants us, as we are, completely. God has enough burnt offerings. Don’t offer the sacrafice of fools. He wants our hearts.

God doesn’t want our worship… If we’re not going to repent. What has God done for us if He hasn’t forgiven us? How can we worship God while clutching on to sin?

Worship is not for the flawless, but for the broken. Worship is for the wounded. Worship is for the sinners; for those that desire God’s mercy.

“If you want to be a part of people’s healing in the future, be a part of people’s healing now. If you want to love and care for people who are different from you in the future, love and care for people who are different from you now. How you live now, will shape how you live in the future” - Susan Cho Van Riesen

Is what you’re living for, worth Jesus dying for?

Latest comments and entries at One Life.

2007 goals...

2007-01-21T23:59:00.001-05:00

Some goals for 2007

Family - spend lots of quality time with my two ladies. Become more and more a healthy and spiritual household of influence to our communities.

People - Consistently invest my time and resources into people - extended family, friends, maybe even some Christians

Ministry - I’ll be giving my time and energy for about a year to an yet-to-be-decided internship beginning this summer. If anyone has any good leads, recommendations, connections in the area that would fit a dude like me, please let me know.

Work - I’ve still got bills to pay. Hopefully the internship can be a payed one, but if not, I’ll definitely need to look into some new options. Starbucks is high on my list right now.

Network - I’ve had the aching sense the past year that I desperately need to connect with more people. I’m absolutely certain the dreams and visions I have on my heart are impossible on my own. I hope this year I can connect with more planters, pioneers, peers, heroes, mentors, and emerging leaders.

Club - as in join and be active in some type of non-ministry related club or group this year

Discover my voice by using it - There have been a few books on my mind that I’ve been wanting to write. I wasn’t planning on attempting to publish anything till my forties, but I feel the need to maybe get the process started sooner. I hope to be publishing more via the blog and speaking more as a baby-step towards this for the year.

If anyone has recommendations or suggestions with helping me along any of these goals, feel free to chime in!

2007-01-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

Some personal highlights from Neil Cole's Organic Church

People are leaving the church to preserve their faith

Most warm blooded-living things grow to a point and then reproduce

Many a church continues long after the soul of the church has departed because the building itself keeps them going. A building can become an artificial life support system that keeps a church alive even though it died long ago.

In many of the churches in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus.

Only 4 percent of churches in America will plant a daughter church.

See Tony's blog for a much more in-depth review and additional quotes.

Overall, the book helped me think through what the church really is and re-align myself to the Christ who builds his church.

Latest entries and comments see this post on One Life.

Maximum wage...?

2007-01-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

Flipping through an issue of the Futurist, i stumbled across this revolutional concept for closing the wealth gap (ie. how in the United States 1% of the population holds more wealth than the entire bottom 90% combined).

In an article by Sam Pizzigati (www.toomuchonline.org) he proposes a ten times rule for a moving maximum wage. In this approach, the income ceiling is tied to the income floor. The wealthy could increase their incomes even with a maximum wage in place. To realize this increase however, the wealthy need only to convince Congress to raise the minimum wage, because the higher the minimum, the higher the maximum. By advocating for the nation’s poorest workers, the wealthy would have advocated for themselves.

There is some innovative income tax guidelines along with Pizzigati’s propsoal, but that’s the gist of it.

Of course, this still doesn’t completely deal with the root issues of greed in the human heart, but at least it would be a step towards helping people see that they are a part of everyone else in this global community.

I find this principle applies in many realms; spiritually, organizational, environmentally, etc.

Can you imagine a future when people embrace the reality that the richness of their own journey in life was dependent upon the last, the lost, and the least that surround us?

for the latest entries and comments see One Life.

Some Christmas photos...

2007-01-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

Family…

A new generation of babies this year, Stellar, Carter, and Evan Noah

Home torched Creme Brule

And what’s Christmas without a present for daddy… Nothing like newborn poo shot out on the sleeve!

See the latest entries and comments at One Life.

Gandhi and Christmas...

2007-01-10T14:53:00.000-05:00

During this Christmas season as the story of God is tossed around, Gandhi has something important to say to us:

“You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilization to pieces, turn the world upside down, and bring peace to a battle-torn planet.

But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of good literature.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Nobody loves me...

2007-01-04T01:17:00.000-05:00

... like she does.

Yvz is the most amazing woman I have ever encountered in my life. Not only is she a passionate follower of Jesus, she's now a mom. Somewhere in there she finds a way to continuously bless me as my wife.

Honey, it would be impossible to describe how you amaze me... but I'm going to spend my life trying anyways.

Here's a shot of one of her most recent paintings for baby Caleb.

It's a ladybug in the grass reminiscent of the Biblical character his name goes by that chooses to venture into the promised land despite the giants that surround.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Holiday reading...

2007-01-02T15:35:00.001-05:00

During those rare moments Stellar is sleeping I hope to get ahead on some reading over these next few weeks:

Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens by Neil Cole
Worship Old and New by Robert E. Webber
Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer
Worship, Community and The Triune God Of Grace by James B. Torrance
Exploring the Worship Spectrum: 6 Views by Harold Best
Soul Cravings: An Exploration of the Human Spirit by Erwin McManus
Strategic Pastoral Counseling by David Benner

Anyone read any of these yet?

latest comments and entires at One Life.

2006-12-31T08:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read "Tracks of a fellow struggler" by John Claypool for a crisis counseling course I'll be taking next semester.

It was especially moving for me as it was the reflections of a pastor who watched his eight-year old girl die of leukemia.

Here are a few contextless snippets:

It has taken this long to get to the place I could handle this material without overwhelming pain. Just like a broken leg, a broken heart heals slowly and cannot stand much touching right after the break.

... Saturday afternoon she breathed her last breath and set out on a journey on which I could not accompany her.

There are no experts on the field of grief, for we all grieve in our own unique ways.

You alone can do your grief work, but you do not have to do it alone.

I had my moments when I understood how a person could raise one's fist to heaven and curse God.

One does not sow and reap in the same day, and, quite honestly, I must acknowledge that if this tragedy were my only conscious experience with God, I probably would not have come out where I did.

I did not realize just how hopeful I really was until that Saturday afternoon as I knelt by her bed and saw her stop breathing.

There were times, when Laura Lue was hurting so intensely that she had to bite on a rag and used to bet me to pray to God to ake away that awful pain. I would kneel down beside her bed and pray with all the faith and conviction of my soul, and nothing would happen except the pain continuing to rage on.

I fall back on the notion that God has a lot to give account for... I believe God will be able to give an accounting when all the facts are in, and until then, it is valid to ask.

The way of gratitude does not alleviate the pain, but it somehow puts some light around the darkness and creates strength to begin to move on

For every one of us - there is no way to avoid the trauma of loss if we love even a little.

A statement that struck a chord with the way I feel about my life, and in particular my wife, was a quote in the book by Hugh Prather during an illness his wife suffered:

She may die before morning. But I have been with her for four years. Four years. There is no way I could feel cheated if I didn't have her for another day. I didn't deserve her for one minute, God knows.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

Who will create and shape the future church...

2006-12-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

Stellar’s still completely consuming my life these days, but here’s a portion of an article I recently wrote for the seminary newsletter.

The church is dying in North America. Most churches won’t acknowledge this because there’s still enough money to keep the lights on. Half of all churches did not connect a single person into a life transforming relationship with Jesus in an entire year. The church today is seen as the remnants of an archaic institution for the old, the sheltered, and the fanatic.

Many churches talk about being relevant to culture today because they are on brink of irrelevance. If God is the creator God then the church should be the center of creativity. Churches ought to be leading the culture, not catching up to it. New churches are needed just as much as revitalized churches, if not more. Our country is desperately in need of churches of all shapes and sizes and types. There are homes, warehouses, cafes, pubs, clubs, theaters, and abandoned cathedrals across the country waiting to be redeemed into communities of faith, hope, and love.

The Apostle Paul’s entire strategy was on church planting in urban centers. Miracles, conversions, and lives transformed just happened along the way. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian states “Nothing else – not crusades, outreach programs, parachurch ministries, mega-churches, consulting, nor church renewal processes – will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting”.

It all begins with individuals like you and me; followers of Jesus who are unafraid of risk, adventure and launching into unmarked territory because we trust in a sovereign God who is good; men and women who have caught a vision of God’s heart for establishing missional and redemptive centers of faith – that relentlessly press against the gates of Hades, to bring light into the darkness, and hope to humanity.

Latest entries and comments at One Life.

We're doing better...

2006-12-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

It's hard to express all the concern, love, and support we've received over the last while.

We had another little scare with Yvz's health as she was going through some excessive bleeding, but things have quickly returned to 'normal'.

Stellar's very much a regular baby again, crying, feeding, and sleeping.

I've since found my keys a week later and finished my final exam for the semester. Best of all, tomorrow night, Yvz and I will be sneaking out for a bit to resume some form of a date-night. Thank God for in-laws.

It really does take a village to raise a child.

While Yvz was at the walk-in clinic on the weekend, I was roaming the mall with Stellar trying to avoid all the other sick people. Every parent with a child that I passed by I kept thinking in my head 'What an absolute miracle it is for your child to make it this far'.

I hope to remember this every single step of the way.

For the latest comments and entries see One Life.

3 Horrible days...

2006-12-26T09:22:00.000-05:00

Wednesday

We get called that Stellar needs to be rushed to the emergency unit.

I realized I've lost my keys as I'm speeding home to take our family to the hospital.

We get sent to the wrong emergency ward putting off urgent treatment that she needs for an hour

Stellar is diagnosed with severe Jaundice. Half of newborns get this but her level is debilitating and can result in hearing loss and brain damage.

Doctor's tell us that babies that come in for treatment usually have half of her levels and don't move much. Stellar's strong and moving frantically which is good.

Stellar needs to go through multiple lamp phototherapy for the next 48 hours. Nurse's take 6 stabs at my baby trying to find her tiny veins to plug the IV into. They say she may need a blood transfusion.

Thursday

Yvonne and I don't get much sleep lying together on a single bed/stretcher for the night wondering what we could have done differently.

Stellar's bilirubin levels drop by 300 points which is excellent.

I find a way to finish my final paper in the hospital.

Yvz and I take solace in God, our praying friends, trusting that the medical staff are doing all that they can.

Friday

Stellar is taken off of her IV and the phototherapy treatment for monitoring.

We discover that she is missing an enzyme called G6PD that led to her jaundice. Because she's a girl they traced that the genetic disorder was passed on from me! It's a rare disease and somehow I managed to get through life this far without it showing up.

Stellar's been finger-feeding while in the incubator and is having a very difficult time returning to breastfeeding.

Yvonne and I both get food poisoning. She vomits once, I vomit five times.

Stellar's okay and we're released from the hospital. We need neonatal follow-up to see if she's going to have any development issues.

My keys still haven't turned up and I've spent over a hundred dollars on parking this past week at the hospital. But all that matters to me right now is that I'm back home with the two most precious people in my life.

Stellar in an incubator with IV and phototherapy lights.

Stellar with her goggles on looking like a superhero. And she is.

Latest comments and entires at One Life.

The finger and some funky smells...

2006-12-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

After Steller giving me one of these...

I had to give her five back-to-back diaper changes to clean up the constant oil slick coming out of her rear...

Just so she can peacefully do this...

Overall, things are just borderline insane. I don't mind getting up every hour, but feeding's been a huge challenge. I think we finally hit milk today though.

I can't believe this beautiful life I live is just getting even better.

Now if I can only get rid of those funky smells...

Here's one of the funniest 9 second video's I've ever seen that captures the essence of this post.

Sweet Links...

2006-12-21T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here's my latest round of sweet-links.

Video by youthwork.co.uk did an excellent video interview with Rob Bell, asking tough questions on how the church really started, emergent labels, and not becoming Ted Haggard. Hosted by premier.tv here.

Also here's a link to the entire Mastering the Art of Living series by Rob Bell. I'm not sure how long this one will be around for. I listened through it back in 2004 I believe and thought it was absolutely phenomenal.

Mac Tablet? I've been waiting for this, now if only I had the money.

Someone's daughter got a bit excited playing her nintedo Wii, check out what happened.

Article on Thom Wolf describing seminaries as being counterproductive.

A good listing of helpful church planting links

Seedstories - Appears to be a good hub /forum for church planters as well

Sketch - If you're in Toronto, check it out. I just visited yesterday. They do some extraordinary creative arts work with at-risk youth.

Mosaic Alliance has a preview of their members only site for free currently.

** This one just in. Monkey's kissing on you tube. You've gotta love this one!

Latest entries and comments at One Life.

Acts29 / Mars Hill Resources...

2006-12-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

Acts 29 is a church planting network that was founded by Mars Hill Seattle and helps plant churches that plant churches. It is a resource I draw on that I would say is very different from the Mosaic movement and Mars Hill Michigan. In fact Mars Hill Seattle would probably enjoy a street fight with Mars Hill Michigan.

Much of this is fueled by Mark Driscoll, who people simply love or hate. I have no problems seeing past most of the peripheral issues and drawing from most 'camps' in the church planting world. Whatever your thoughts on Driscoll are, he sure does make biblethumping almost seem cool again.

I visited Mars Hill during the summer when I was in Seattle. It's definitely a young crowd. And as anti-femenist as they are pegged to be, there were just as many girls there as there were guys. It's amazing what they've done in their short history.

I also had a chance to meet up with Scott Thomas the A29 church planting director the following day. I love how theologically-driven they are. Mars Hill Seattle and the A29 Network would consider themselves first Christian, then Evangelical,then Missional, and finally Reformed.

They have an adapted model of Leslie Newbegin's Gospel <-> Chruch <-> Culture and what they call a ministry matrix that shapes how they do things, from Christology -> Ecclesiology -> Missiology -> Ministry.

I've learned quite about both theologially and practically through their resources over the last several years. While I understand how many ministries need to recoup costs, one of the things I love about Mars Hill and all things related, is that they make their resources free.

There's much more if you dig through their primary websites, but I'll list off some of my top picks here. Again, I'll try to continually keep this page updated. Let me know if you've got some excellent finds.

ARTICLES

Here is a digital copy of the Acts 29 Church Planting manual that I acquired which gets handed out at the bootcamps.
Mars Bars - Article on Mars Hill and the Paradox Venue
Interview with Mark Driscoll 2006
Church planting trends as seen by Mark Driscoll - Notes from Steve Addison's blog

MEDIA - They are all audio mp3 links and video where specified

The Ox - Qualifications of an Acts 29 Church Planter - Mark Driscoll
Reverse Engineering your life - Mark Driscoll
Church planting resources and timeline - Steve Tompkins
Theology - Knowing God's mission - Mark Driscoll
On Mission as One - John Ryan
Art Gospel and Culture - Ed Marcelle
Jesus-Centered Reformed Theology - Chan Kilgore
Death by Love - Mark Driscoll @ Reform & Resurge 2006 / Video
Gravity: The weight of pastoring - Matt Chandler @ R&R 2006 - A must listen! / Video
Preaching the Gospel - Tim Keller @ R&R 2006 / Video
Humble Orthodoxy - Joshua Harris @ R&R 2006 / Video
Breaking the Missional Code - Ed Stetzer @ R&R 2006 / Video
Life and Death of the Missional Leader - Darrin Patrick @ R&R 2006 / Video
Mars Hill in Acts 17 - Mark Driscoll
The Whole Glory of the Gospel of God part 1 and 2 - John Piper @ Reformission 2004
Reformission: Reforming Christian Mission - Mark Driscoll
Holy Hospitality - Mark Driscoll
Theology of Alcohol - Mark Driscoll

Some pictures from my visit

Latest entries and comments at One Life.

Mosaic Ottawa Blueprint...

2006-12-15T21:46:00.000-05:00

In the middle of taking a break from writing papers in the library today, I did a bit of dreaming and scheming for the future church plant. Inspired by the leadership synergy diagram from origins, I decided to flip it around and plot out some values of what I've been imagining. It's been on my heart for so long, it only took a few minute once I had a framework to map it out in.

- At the core of every human being is the intrinsic desire to believe, belong, and become.
- We believe that these longings call people out on a journey towards drawing on Christ, deepening in Community, and being driven by the Cause
- Each of these are driven by values throughout in the culture. Both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, the individual purpose and corporate movement of the cause, and the unity and diversity of the community.
- This develops an environment permeated with visionaries, missionaries, and passionaries
- Collectively this is what forms a community of faith, hope, and love.

I wanted to take this a step further, and include another layer or additional overarching values of Reconciliation (faith + love), Beauty (love + hope), and Meaning (faith+hope), but it might be a little overboard.

What do you think? Any suggestions, tweaking, or major overhauling required?

Latest comments and entries at One Life.

Darth Maul...

2006-12-14T00:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo of me during Halloween. Yvonne painted my face to look like a zebra with the mohawk, but after playing around with the saturation in picasa I thought I looked a bit a Darth Maulish.

You can get Google Picasa free with the link near the bottom of my sidebar.

Latest comments and entires at One Life.

Focus Issues...

2006-12-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

I've got focus issues. I'm serious. Our small group did a test for A.D.D. earlier this week, and every single one of us are categorically A.D.D. We were so restless we couldn't even finish the test!

The mere moments I'm focused, I gun straight through things, and am fairly effective. Maybe I'm overly relying on my abilities? But this is something I really need to deal with.

It often takes me at least a couple hours before I can get to a level of productivity. Quite often I'll clean around the house, Make sure I'm on top of my news/blogs, optimize my desk, do my budget, scribble my daughter's 'secret' name, exercise, eat, anything but do the one thing I need to do at the moment.

Now I know many are like this, but I really need to get my act together. My pace of life is excellent, I'm definitely not doing too little or too much in my life. Over the years I've found a good balance of work and rest, but it frustrates me every time I set out to do certain things and take forever just to get started. I feel like I'm leaving time on the table and mockery of the moments I've been blessed with.

People tell me all the time how amazing it is the amount I seem to accomplish. I don't believe this is true in comparison to what I've been blessed with. I find most of these focus issues are usually tied to school work and non-urgent tasks. However with the baby coming and the pressure of ministry increasing, I really need to stop squandering my moments and maximizing what I've been given.

If everyone's got any life-transforming tips in this area, I'll take it. Please help. Now to get back to my paper.

oh look, I just found a few more mp3's and videos to add to the Erwin McManus and Rob Bell resources. Okay, now back to work, really.

Rob Bell resources...

2006-12-04T16:31:00.000-05:00

Alright. To follow up the Mosaic Movement Resources as promised, here's some articles, audio's and video's for you Rob Bell fans. I've been downloading all of their sermons since back in 2002, but again, to be on the safe side, all links here are just what's currently available on the web.

For those of you who aren't up to speed on Rob and mhbcmi, I'd say their the Mac of the megachurch world. clean and simple. Rob Bell's an excellent communicator who does his homework, especially with contextualizing ancient Jewish culture. Their church is legend for exploding by word of mouth as Bell preached through Leviticus the first year.

Nooma video's have been the latest craze. People thought I was being silly for spending money on them a few years back. Again, feel free to borrow them from me if you're in the area.

I will NOT be keeping this post up to date. You can find the latest updates, links, sermons, and videos in the equivalent Rob Bell post on my primary blog at One Life.

ARTICLES

Great wikipedia biography
Reviews on the Everything is Spiritual tour here, here, and here
Beliefnet interviews Rob Bell
Article on Christianity Today on mhbcmi
Preaching.org review of using Nooma

AUDIO
Last twelve messages at mhbcmi are always here.
Rob Bell at Mosaiek Church - Flames of Heaven
Rob Bell at Mosaiek Church - Barefoot and breathing
One of the best series that I'd recommend is "Mastering the art of living"
Catalyst interview with Rob Bell
Sheep and goats and you and me
Rob Bell interview on episode ten of x3church.com podcast
Jesus Wept
Audio Review of Velvet Elvis
Communicating Christ in Contemporary Culture Part 1, 2, 3
Suffering: Having nothing and having everything mp3
Also here’s a link to the entire Mastering the Art of Living series by Rob Bell. I’m not sure how long this one will be around for. I listened through it back in 2004 I believe and thought it was absolutely phenomenal.

VIDEO

These videos below are all from Willow, links courtesy of Yuling

The Nazarite Vow
Between the Trees
We're over here
Jesus and Domitian
A Day of Atonement
Covered in the Dust of the Rabbi

Full videos from the Nooma series

Rain
Flame
Sunday
Noise
Kickball
Luggage
Dust
Bullhorn
Lump
Rhythm
Matthew
Rich
Clip from the Everything is Spiritual Tour

Mars Hill bible Church
Nooma clips and study guides - You can by the DVD's here
Isn't she beautiful - seminar for leaders celebrating the local church January 2007
Velvet Elvis - First book
Sex God - Second book

Latest entries and comments at One Life.

Street walk through Toronto...

2006-11-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

Friday night Jake, Isabelle and I roamed the downtown core of Toronto for our youth-at-risk class.

We checked out some drop-in centers (Sketch, The Gateway, Seaton House, Sanctuary), Gay bars (Woody's, Sailor's, Churchmouse & Firkin), Other hang outs like Bovine Sex Club, Allan Gardens, The Falls, Hooker-Harveys, Boys town, and other nooks and crannies.

These are some pics I found off the web of a few of the places we checked out. I would've brought my own camera but didn't want to look like a tourist.

From Graffiti Alley (Some good sets here and here)

Woody's - Isabelle forgot her id and couldn't get in. We found out that by going through Sailor, which was way more sketchy, the establishments were connected at the back. No ID checks at Sailors!

Sailor's

A guy came up to us and said Isabelle was cute. Then he turned to me and said "you're cuter". My wife's a lucky gal!

Bovine Sex Club - It was really dark on the streets, but when we passed by this place it seemed to be even darker. Like it just sucked every bit of light that was once there. Doesn't look so bad in the day.

Billboards throughout the downtown core remind us of everything we need and all that is beautiful for those moments we forget

Hooker Harvey's on Jarvis - Jake and I doubled back to 'check out' the response we'd get from a prostitute. She was clearly underage. Immediately after, I felt like we degraded her just as much as anyone else that night would.

Filmore's strip joint and 'hotel' upstairs - supposedly they're celebrating their 25th anniversary right now and returning to 1981 prices.

Street chalk drawings are always a great part of downtown

The condom shack - this place has been around for ages. Has anyone in Toronto not been in here just out of shear curiosity? It's crazy how many people looking underage were in there - they did kick one guy out though. Sex hops have sprung up everywhere now, it's amazing how sexuality, as important as it is, has been brought to the very center of our culture.

I lost track of how many hemp and drug paraphernalia shops we saw

I don't think a picture could have captured the atmosphere late at night at the Seaton House (Hostel for men) . It was the only moment I think any of us felt a bit panicky. 30-40 guys were loitering around like inmates. One guy started bolting for directly towards me. I had no idea what was going on. Sad thing is, I was relieved when I discovered it was because someone else was chasing after him. A real bloody fight was about to break out, and we just kept walking totally unsure of how to respond.

I wish I could share more, like the coked up gal up almost got hit by a car, the dude from the church of satan, the huge goth youth culture, the density of the gay district, the desperation at drop-in centers, the hope and beautiful places that were seen, but i'm still processing it all. We thought our prof asking us to go to the gay strip joint (remington's) was a bit too far for us.

Anyhow, definitely an interesting night. Right now, this is my city, and I'm learning to love it.

Latest comments and entries at One Life

Lon-gerie...

2006-11-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

I've been anti-brand name for most of my life, especially when it comes to clothing. I've always felt that brands were just another way of outsourcing our creativity.

We spend those extra dollars in exchange for some sense of assurance, that at least someone out there says it's okay, normal, legit, fits-in, acceptable, etc.

I've begun my own clothing line. It's called "LON-GERIE", get it? The tag line is:

"FASHION THAT BRINGS OUT BEAUTY IN OTHERS"

Here's two from the 'portfolio'.

I'm not sure how long my iron-on will last. Here's two interesting companies that beat me to it and can help create clothing with a personal touch.

Mondonation
Zazzle

May every one of us find ways to creatively contribute rather than conform.

For the latest entries and comments see my primary blog on voxtropolis at One Life...

Saturday Sampler...

2006-11-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

Mark Batterson of evotional/NCC is reverse gifting and giving out free copies of his new book (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day) to church planters for his birthday.

You've heard latest craze of Chuck Norris jokes. Chuck responds. (Thanks Albert)

Zaadz a new social-network gathering those who intend to change the world. I think it's got potential. Join! Here's mine.

Ode Magazine - Magazine for intelligent optimists, who also intend to change the world.

Zooomr Photos keeps developing and has just upgraded their pro accounts to 4GB/month! Get a pro account free here. Here are my sets.

Things really aren't looking good for Ted Haggard. I hope I'm wrong but I can't say he looks convincing to me on the video clips. Mark Driscoll writes some good thoughts on the matter.

Update: Looks like the decision's final on the NewLife church website.

Here's an excerpt from Ted Haggard's wife Gayle that I thought was very powerful.

Dear Woman of New Life Church,

I am so sorry for the circumstances that have led me to write this letter to you today. I know your hearts are broken; mine is as well. Yet my hope rests steadfastly in the Lord who is forever faithful.

What I want you to know is that I love my husband, Ted Haggard, with all my heart. I am committed to him until death "do us part". We started this journey together and with the grace of God, we will finish together.

If I were standing before you today, I would not change one iota of what I have been teaching the women of our church. For those of you who have been concerned that my marriage
was so perfect I could not possibly relate to the women who are facing great difficulties, know that this will never again be the case. My test has begun; watch me. I will try to prove myself faithful.

I'm amazed she has the strength to say something like this so soon.

Update2: Audio mp3 message of the sunday service at NewLife Church. It's loaded with insight in terms of grace, trials, church polity, and discipline.

Latest blog entires at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Nachos and I...

2006-11-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Quick hide there's scary people outside...

2006-11-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

It always saddens me when I see Christians in a docile, defensive position; just trying to hold on to what they've got, while they ride out the storm. I think this is especially true of Halloween tonight. Probably more than any other night, Christians across North America are turning their lights out and hunkering down inside. All the while, darkness literally covers our cities.

There's an awesome quote from Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing"

Evil people do not wait around and ask for permission. Evil can be compelling and magnetic, and it moves forward with every inclination.

And the truth is that hunkered down, inward-focused, well-meaning, passive neutrality, will never overcome evil.

Workaholic?

2006-11-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

Excellent insight from InsideGoogle, definitely helps justify any bit of workaholism I have...

Googler Niniane Wang is vacationing in Egypt, but she had enough time to blog this exchange, which resulted when a traveling companion was typing away on his Sidekick, instead of enjoying the vacation.

Me: [after some silence] Do you think Google does this to people? Where we work so much?

Dan: No. We do it to ourselves, at Google.

Me: Surely it’s not normal to work like this.

Dan: It’s also not normal to do amazing things.

Mosaic Movement Resources

2006-11-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

This is a collection of resources that tie to the Mosaic movement out of L.A. While I don't necessarily resonate with everything that has come out of it, it has been a tremendous impact on my life and my visions for church planting.

I've got a bunch of other resources (CD's, DVD's, etc.) that I've bought over the years, that I'm tempted to put up, but I don't want to infringe on any copyright issues. If you're in the area, you're more than welcome to borrow them off of me. All the resources here are just what's readily available on the web.

I won't be updating this mosaic resource page - the latest updates will be available at my primary site on One Life.

Here's a snap of my wife and I as we visit Mosaic LA (at the previous night club) and connect for a moment with Erwin McManus

ARTICLES

Interview with Erwin McManus on Infuze 2006
Article on whether Mosaic and Bethel are part of the 'emerging church' by Alex McManus 2006
Article on the history and culture of mosaic through an Asian American lens
Article and another article on Erwin McManus at Catalyst 2005
Article about Erwin McManus and Creativity 2005
Interview with Erwin McManus on thinking differently
Q&A with Erwin by La Bodega 2004
Response article to me from Mosaic insider Soundchick 2004 part 1 and 2
Article on wholeness by Erwin McManus
Article on friendship by Erwin McManus
Article on a cause-driven church by Erwin McManus
Article and video by fresh ministry on postmodern ministry
Article in Relevant Magazine on Erwin McManus' Barbarian Way
Interview with Alex McManus on pray247
Article on Origins 2004, Recap on Origins 2005, Origins 2006 notes
Outline of Emerging Leaders program offered at Bethel
Article on An Unstoppable Force
Article on Mosaic and a vision for the world
Article on Ethos
Blogs of interns at Mosaic, here, here, and here.
Mosaic Navigator Eric Bryant's blog

AUDIO RESOURCES

Weekly podcasts
Alex McManus on a hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy @ Kensington 2006
Catalyst Interview with Erwin McManus 2006
Erwin McManus Chapel @ California Baptist University 2005
Mosaic Leadership Advance Message 2005
Erwin McManus - Prepare for Impact 2005
Erwin McManus The future has arrived @ Richland Hills Church 2004
C&MA 2004 Council Session 1 and Session 2 by Erwin McManus (both messages are on the second half of the mp3)
Parable of the Talents by Erwin McManus @ Rock Harbour 2002
The Great Commission and Discipleship by Erwin McManus @ Woodland Hills 2002
Erwin on The Fingerprint of God @ The Veritas Forum 2001
Erwin on Character Matrix @ The Veritas Forum 1999
Odeo - Seems to keep the last 10 or so messages archived from the podcast in case you missed any.

VIDEO RESOURCES

5 Messages by Erwin McManus in Korea on CGNTV 2006
Mosaic on CNN 2006
Television Evangelist Mosaic Rap video 2006
Chasing Daylight trailer from BlueFishTV
Alex McManus at APU Chapel 2005
100 Huntley Street interview of Erwin McManus2005
Awesome clips from UrbanPoets 1, 2, 3, 4
Excellent Mosaic 2004 Recap Video
Erwin McManus Chapel 4 @ APU 2004
Erwin McManus Chapel 3 @ APU 2004
Clips 1, 2, 3, 4 from Barbarian Way @ WillowCreek 2003
100 Huntely Street interview on Creativity and Spirituality 2003
Erwin McManus Chapel 2 @ APU 2003
Montage of Erwin McManus on Heroes 2003
Erwin McManus Chapel @ APU 2001
Erwin on The Fingerprint of God @ The Veritas Forum 2001
Erwin on Character Matrix @ The Veritas Forum 1999

WEBSITES

AwakenHumanity.org

TheOriginsProject.org

ErwinMcManus.com

Yelo.AwakenHumanity.org

Mosaic.org

Mosaic.org/podcast

Int’l Mentoring Network

www.fight4humanity.com

www.alexmcmanus.org

www.urbanpoets.org

www.mosaicalliance.com

http://www.shecommunity.org/

http://mosaic.org/terranova/

BOOKS

Soul Cravings
Barbarian Way
Chasing Daylight
Stand Against the Wind
Uprising
An Unstoppable Force

MISCELLANEOUS
Here's an image to just sit and think about..

Google co-op site searching Mosaic-related content

Latest entries and comments on One Life.

Busy and Beautiful...

2006-11-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

Life's been busy and beautiful. I've been trying to stay at least 3-4 weeks ahead of school in anticipation of our baby, and I think I'm actually on track.

Our doctor charges $10 to print out an ultrasound picture, so Yvonne and I decided to just bring our camera in and take our own pictures! Here's our first baby's first video! It's not the greatest footage, I'll do better at our next visit in another week.

If you haven't seen it already, Steve McCoy's got an excellent post linking a smack of Tim Keller resource post. Keller's probably one of the most level-headed biblical and missional church planting catalysts out there. Over the years I've tucked away my own set of resources from movements that I've been following. So in the spirit of sharing and inspired by Steve, I'm going to consolidate and post up some resources on the Mosaic Movement, Acts29, and maybe some Rob Bell stuff...

Here's a pic of a flower by the side of the road we saw in Maui

Latest comments and entries at One Life.

Short-term Missions...

2006-11-08T07:34:00.000-05:00

...is the Crack-Cocaine of this generation of Christians.

(posted around my seminary currently)

Comments and latest entries at One Life.

What's catching my eye...

2006-11-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

I'm still in shock that this girl I met six years ago, is pregnant with my first child.

This is us at Urbana 2000. It's on again this year in St. Louis!

I'm linked as a "Maker of Fire" on the Fight4humanity.com site, way cool. Join Erwin and Alex McManus at Humana 2.0

The Canadian National Church Planting Congress 2007 details are up. I'll definitely be there, book your calendars! (Let me know if you're interested in a 50% discount)

I'm not a gamer, and I have absolutely no time for this, but I can't say I haven't had my eye on the new Nintendo Wii.

On that note, you can play your favorite classic nintendo games in your browser here.

Some free videos from the Innovative Church Conference are available

I finally joined facebook. Seems like an interesting network...

And my vox of the week is Dave, a fellow seminary student at Fuller blogging about his experiences there.

Latest entries and comments for this post at One Life.

Unconditional love...

2006-11-05T08:29:00.000-05:00

Rick Tobias, CEO of Yonge Street Mission in downtown Toronto, teaches my Youth at Risk class.

Rick stated that "We abandon our kids when they abandon our values. Whether they are gay or chemically dependent, they are still our children and worthy of our love."

How easy is it for us to withdraw our love when people disagree with our values? When those we pour our lives into don't adopt the things we treasure most, why is it that our love for them as human beings is often the first thing that goes?

Many youth on the streets today likely have a physical home in which to return, but the one thing they need most, unconditional love, is nowhere to be found there. The reality is we go where we are most loved, and as bad as it may be on the streets, children are finding more love and acceptance there, than in the warmth of their own homes.

My first child is on her way in eight weeks. I have no idea what she will be like, but I know that I would already give my life for her. I love her right now, not because of her values or capabilities, or even her character, but simply because God blessed me with her. I suspect that I will need to continually remind myself of this for the journey ahead.

My Mohawk...

2006-10-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Reclaiming youth at risk...

2006-10-29T16:15:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Reclaiming Youth at Risk. I had my doubts at first. It uses Native American child-raising philosophy in helping create redeeming environments for our youth today. It has caused me to have a much deeper respect for the natie american people as well.

A quote from poet Edwin Markham:

He drew a circle to shut me out.
Heretic, rebel a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win.
We drew a circle that took him in.

Latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

The movie "Kids"...

2006-10-25T16:49:00.000-04:00

One of the 8 papers I wrote in the past 2 weeks was a reflection exercise for my "Youth at Risk" course on the movie "Kids". If you haven't seen this, it's as close to child pornography as it gets.

People actually wrote letters to our seminary president to not allow our prof. to show it in class. It was shown anyways. It's shocking to me that they people could act this out for a movie, what's more shocking is it's a vivid picture of reality.

Below's my write up. OR, I just attempted to do my first ever podcast on it. It's not quite like speaking to a crowd, felt a bit lame speaking to myself. Not sure how other podcasters do it. Anyhow check it out here if you'd like to listen. It's a bit confessional.

The movie “Kids” exposed me to the wonder and the horror of my own humanity. The youth captured in the film were foul, offensive, jaded, destructive, and all too much like me underneath it all. While their outward practices, language, and behavior I must admit are mostly foreign to me today, there is something within their culture that is more like me than I care to admit.

While watching this film, I felt that in many moments these ‘kids’ were having a better time than I was. How can I compare sitting in classroom full of strangers, to skinny dipping with a bunch of good friends? These youth have a camaraderie together that is rare in my world. They literally fight for one another without question or judgment.

Although many of their actions are unhealthy, I can feel they are reacting to the same human longings for acceptance, community, authenticity, and love that I desire myself. These ‘kids’ just happen to act on their overly sexualized and abusive compulsions; blatantly saying and doing the same things that I think about, but hide from everyone else. Beneath it all, they are not just an embarrassing cross-section of our society, they are human beings. They are not stupid. They are spirits like me who are trying to get by with the best options that we are aware of.

I have hopes of planting a missional church that proclaims Jesus in every relevant way possible. As it stands today, I am completely irrelevant to these ‘kids’. If I was them, I would not want to be friends with someone like myself. I am so far removed from their world there is no way that I could ever get ‘in’ with my natural presumptions and civilized front. Reflecting on this film has helped change my view of them. However it is only the beginning, and not enough, because I still see these at risk youth as ‘them’.

My ministry must move beyond simply awareness of ‘them’. I cannot see transformation happening without real, intentional, friendship involved. My faith community must know them as fellow human beings on the journey through life. Their rampant sexual behavior must be gently won over with persistent and extraordinary love. Their violence must be overcome with a people with an even more violent desire; a community that would rightly fight on behalf of them for their futures.

The film was a snippet of what God sees every day, both on our streets and in our hearts. If these children are merely a reflection of my own humanity and God still chooses to give hope and a future to me, then I must choose to give hope and a future to these children.

Latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

thoughts of the week...

2006-10-24T15:53:00.000-04:00

Been totally drained, finally settling back into some level of functional normalcy today.

- monday I had classes from 8:30am-9:30pm. Arrived in Ottawa near 2am.
- Woke up at 6am to make it to Montreal for the IMN regional 9am-5pm.
Drove back to Ottawa by 8pm. Crashed after hanging with Andrew & Lisa at midnight.
- Wednesday. Woke up at 6am to make the drive back to Toronto for a 1pm class to do a presentation for preaching class and ended class at 9:30pm last night.

The makers of fire event was great. Shout outs to Niza, Alex, Dean, Patrick, Norm, Jerome, Jim, Joel, Nick, Morine, and Lorenzo. Always great meeting like-hearted people. Great connecting.

Some thoughts from Makers of Fire...
- opaque vs. transparent strategies - not having methods block the message
- Jesus calls us to the primal essence of humanity
- There is no territory excempt from kingdom influence
- Missional reasons for de-planting churches
- The bulk of the work in reclaiming humanity will not be done by paid staff, pastors, or theologians, but by every day people who's hearts are following Jesus into the culture.
- When you are doing things that are new and innovative, don't ever be surprised when no one shows up.

A few other thoughts picked up through this week...

- I need to spend some serious time backtracking and reflecting more on what brought me on to the journey of where I am. I think it'll go a long way in articulating and seeding thoughts on church planting with others.
- We talk about grace quite a bit, but rarely present ourselves as people in need of grace.
- Our culture values youth, without valuing youths themselves
- The price of our families having good things, is often no family at all.
- Young people often ask why, not out of rebellion, but to try to figure out our value systems behind our demands and 'traditions'
- Treating the discipline of Sabbath as a day off, is a 'bastard sabbath' (Eugene Peterson).
- There are traces of beauty everywhere if you stop long enough to look.

latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Makers of Fire...

2006-10-18T10:33:00.000-04:00

I'm heading to Montreal monday night after class for a regional meeting with the IMN team. Last call if anyone from Toronto wants to head down there with me. You can register to here and shave $20 bucks off the at-the-door tuition costs.

Finished 3 papers this week. Plenty more ahead. The weekend's been just grand. Too bad it's already over. Peace.

Latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Failure... when your best just isn't good enough

2006-10-17T00:13:00.000-04:00

So things didn't work out this week.

Last week I was reading a book, and it was talking about how "success in God's eyes is defined by faithfulness".

I shared this with my wife, and half-jokingly said, only 'losers' say this.

The truth is, I do take some solace in this. God looks to the heart and knows our best of intentions. He doesn't expect us to be able to be able to control every outcome.

Still. I can't help but feel like this is the motto of those who give up before the battle's really started.

I've got to work on somethings in terms of clarity and execution. And one thing I've learned from following Jesus, is that even the things that aren't your fault, you take ownership of. That's what He did. That's what I plan on doing as I continue to stumble forward.

I'm too young right now, to not be failing like crazy.

Grace & Peace to all my fellow leaders who live in the fringes of failure.

latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

First week of seminary...

2006-10-14T09:17:00.000-04:00

After four years of taking part-time classes, I've finally taken a much anticipated step of entering full-time studies. It was difficult integrating with the community as strictly a night student because those classes by nature were always over-sized with predominantly other students who worked full-time like I did and were in and out with our other obligations.

I'm just starting to scratch the surface of the community here. I know I'm forgetting people, but shout outs to Sharon, Grace, Troy, Adam, Carolyn, Bernard, Amy, Yuling, Morgan, Peter, Jake, Jeremy, Joel, Brian, Natalie, James, Ivan, Anita, Leo, Selwyn, and Jason. I'm glad we were able to connect, if even for a moment.

On a more disappointing note. My first attempt at starting a church planting and kingdom advancing student network completely flopped.

I'm going to need to process this some more, learn from it, and try again.

On the brighter side, my classes have been phenomenal so far. I'm taking five this term (some thing that's ridiculous, but with the baby on the way, I'd like to get as much as I can done to lighten the load later). My classes are:

Practice & Theology of Ministry

Youth at Risk

Old Testament Theology & History

Preaching

Leadership Development

I've been hammering away at the more academic core and language classes all these years so I can finally take some of these more practical sessions that I've been waiting for. Content for all of them look fantastic and the profs are excellent as well.

Leaving my job this summer I have to admit I teared up a bit. It was a life I loved, that I know I will never be returning to. At the same time, I felt that God had poured something new, something extra, into my spirit as I made the transition. Walking through the halls of school now, I still shudder at the tremendous blessing and privilege of having the hand of God guiding my life.

Who is this King of Glory, that pursues me with His love...

latest entries at htpp://onelife.voxtropolis.com

An excellent question...

2006-09-21T08:49:00.000-04:00

A while back, I was corresponding with Jack Popjes (With Wycliffe Canada, who spent a bulk of his life as a missionary in Brazil), and discussing my future. He asked me a fantastic question that I ask myself every year.

Where would you honestly put yourself right now on a scale from 1 to 10. With one being the lowest risk and the most comfort, and ten being maximum risk, pain and possible reward. And why?

latest posts at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

For the geeks...

2006-09-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

If you've been using skype for free long distance this year, check out Hullo. It's much like the Avaya, which I use to use at work. You type the number via the client, it calls you locally, then calls your other party locally, and the conferences you together, phone to phone, for free!

For those of you who followed me into the land of zooomr, a bulk uploading tool just got released for it. Check out juploadr here.

Calgoo lets you take your google calendar offline.

For those of you who are wondering how to keep site stats on voxtropolis. You can paste html code from different stat providers into the 'text' sidebar widget when you hit 'look and feel'. I just started using statcounter.

And to top it all of, it looks like Jesus is back and living in Miami.

*Update. I just made my first 'portal' on Zooomr. It's a neat little new feature that allows you in a sense to place a picture within a picture. Click below to see one of me getting slapped and a portal into the split second reaction afterwards.

See the latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Rampant reading...

2006-09-12T06:39:00.000-04:00

With the time off and in an attempt to get ahead of school before the baby comes, i've devoured several books the past few weeks.

Working the Angles - Eugene Peterson

Confessions of a Reformission Rev. - Mark Driscoll

Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher

The Story we find ourselves in - Brian McLaren

From Paradise to the Promised Land - T. Desmond Alexander

Being Leaders - Aubrey Malphurs

Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson

Preaching to a postmodern world by Graham Macpherson Johnston

Anyone else read these before? I often feel quite affirmed in my own thoughts after reading books, but wrapping up this latest set, I feel like I know less than when I started and more challenged than ever.

See http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for the latest entries

My lightsaber...

2006-09-09T23:14:00.000-04:00

I just got back today from visiting Ottawa for the past week. I was beginning to develop migraines from having zero internet access. Anyhow, it was a fabulous time of family and friends.

One of the highlights was fiddling around with my brother in-law's lightsabers. They are so very cool. Here's my first ever youtube video. A short video of me rescuing my pregnant wife, it's so very very lame.

I can't figure out how to embed it, but check it out here.

We're back...

2006-09-01T02:02:00.000-04:00

We're back. Refreshed, and ready to take on the world.

Lots to catch up on, and more updates to come.

Latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com. Best viewed in anything but IE.

Leaving work...

2006-08-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

After giving my six-weeks notice, I finally packed my stuff and left the office today. I was flooded with words of appreciation and encouragement as I leave behind this fantastic place I've worked the past four years. It's easy to leave something behind when you hate it anyways, but to pick up and leave something really good in hopes of something even more extraordinary is no easy task.

I'm going to miss the friendships and the actual work itself. It's still a bit of a surreal that I won't be seeing many of these faces again. I'm even missing the tedious parts of my job already. I'm very happy with the work that I've accomplished and the people I've connected with along the way. I've taken just about every chance to grow professionally and to point people towards a life beyond the visible. It's one of the few things that I've felt good about from start to finish.

I hope to finish this next leg of the race strong as well as I head back to school.

More immediately, I'm about to fly out to Vancouver, celebrate our anniversary in Whistler, explore Seattle, and really just get some time to rest and reflect. Life's been incredible, but I have no doubt the best is yet to come.

The latest at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Confessions...

2006-08-10T06:17:00.000-04:00

I'm adding a new category to my vox called 'confessions'.

I think there's something liberating about confessing. Just as the scriptures call for us to confess our sins, and as Peter confessed that Christ was the Son of the living God, I believe that confession is something that is raw and profound.

I love writing and teaching and discussing, but there's something to be said about simple confessions. Maybe in doing so, we come one step closer to who we really are. Maybe in the midst of it, we discover the person God's always seen and still continues to embrace.

Here's one.

"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." ~ Michelangelo.

I'm not sure what context Michelangelo said this, but it resonates with me deeply. I tend to make things look easy. I wish raw talent just naturally flowed from me, but anything worthwhile I've ever done, has usually been a result of a painstaking amount of work.

I often sleep less than most people, just to get done what regular people do in a normal day. My superman complex brushes off any effort as if it were nothing. Though seemingly humble, I've found what it really does, is set unrealistic standards for others, and devalues and belittles any effort they make.

and yet the Creator of the universe still embraces me.

latest entries at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

Free Zooomr pro account...

2006-07-31T17:54:00.000-04:00

VOXers - I posted a while back about Zooomr, a photos hosting site like flickr but considerably slickr... v2 of it just relaunched and right now bloggers can get a free pro account offering 2.5 GB of uploads per month!

Instructions are here. It just involves posting a single picture on your site like I just did below. See my zooomr site here. I'll be flooding it with many more pictures as they release their bulk uploading tool soon.

This is me in San Diego during one of many business trips. I'm going to miss all expenses paid business trips!

more at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com

What have we done...?

2006-07-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

If you have ten minutes today, watch/listen to this photo essay on Chernobyl.

Feel free to share what it made you think or feel.

And so I handed in my resignation letter...

2006-07-14T08:15:00.000-04:00

It's been four years since I graduated and began working at IBM and it's been 4 years since I've known that this is the summer I'll be leaving it all behind. Much praying and planning has went into this journey. I recently extended my thirty year plan into a sixty year plan… just in case I live that long.

I've never had a doubt that this is what God wanted me to do, though I've got to say, that a twinge of nervousness has crept up on my recently. With this next step I'll be leaving the common and familiar for the seldom and unfamiliar. I'll be trading a steady and solid income for unknown periods of debt. Most of all, I'll be giving up a job I love and daring to live a life of love.

One of my managers was relieved it wasn't due to any type of job dissatisfaction. "Well, I can't compete with God", he exclaimed. It turned out my other manager was on staff with Willow Creek earlier in his career. We ended up talking for a couple hours about life, discipline, and vision. It's interesting how as I've talked to others about this, what I'm hearing is that I'm "one of those people" who actually try to do something different; something they love in this life.

I've got a lot that I want to do in my life, but the truth is, after looking at my life from a sixty year perspective, I was starting to draw blanks on what else I might want to do. Most of us over estimate what we can do in a year, and drastically underestimate what we can do in ten or twenty years. The way I see it, with the pace of life as it is these days, we have the opportunity to live multiple life times, having different and worthwhile careers and passions during our time on earth. I know plenty of people who have things they want to do in life, but the reality is, they're just wish lists. Real dreams must be attempted.

I'm leaving this career, and taking the next step towards my dream of unleashing hope in others because I must. My heart demands it. And anything less would be a violation of who I'm called to be.

See the primary blog at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for comments and other entries.

Links of the week...

2006-07-07T21:40:00.000-04:00

- One voxer ponders the increasing evil in the world...

- If you haven't heard already Buffet's giving away his billions

- Guy Kawasaki's keynote speech on the Art of the the Start

- Download google and youtube videos with this

- inbreaking - Social bookmarking for the emerging church... do we really need a seperate service for this?

- Some sad statistics on Pastors

- PastorHacks - Productivity tips particularly for those in ministry

- 20 reasons why you should plant a church

- Clips of Mark Driscoll and Tim Keller on the coming DesiringGod conference

- ELI - Emerging Leadership Initiative for church planters. I'm usually assessed as a prime candidate for church planting but didn't fair as great on ELI's. Supposedly I don't have enough experience doing actual church planting. odd.

- The Evolution of Dance - both brilliant and hilarious

- Google Picasa Web Albums. I've mentioned this one before, but I hope enough people get on this that they really invest in creating more features. Here's my current album.

- And finally. Tabblo. I thought this was kind of neat, as it gives you slick templates for storytelling through pictures. Below's an example of one of mine

Will took the plunged and joined me in the monk look for the summer. ... See my Tabblo

Being Superman...

2006-06-23T15:09:00.000-04:00

Quotes from the upcoming Superman Returns movie.

Jor-El to Kal-El (Superman's father to his son):

"Even though you've been raised as a human being you're not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all - their capacity for good - I have sent them you… my only son."

Superman to Lois Lane:

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior… but every day I hear people crying for one"

Many articles and articles have already been written about the comparisons of Christ with Superman, but what about the followers of Christ and Superman?

In the Scriptures they mistook John the Baptist for Christ, anyone ever mistaken you for Superman?

What would it look like if followers of Christ, though different from those around them, were the leading examples of what it meant to be fully human? to be the very best of humanity?

How might we impact and influence others if we saw the greatness, and the beauty, the hope, and the good within them?

Where would you be today if you were living as a person sent to bring light into the darkest crevices of humanity?

What would happen if you heard the inaudible cries for a savior from the people around you?

When people saw the extraordinary life John the baptist was living and calling others to, he was able to point them to One even greater than himself.

What would happen if we became heroes in our towns and cities, and before people began calling us super men and women, we could point them towards the greatest Hero to ever walk the earth?

See the primary blog at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for other entries and comments

Church planting and kingdom advancing network...

2006-06-16T14:54:00.000-04:00

I plan on launching a Church Planting and Kingdom Advancing network (I need a shorter cooler name) on campus at Tyndale this Fall term. See the post that brought this about here.

Knowing next to no one, as I begin my first year full-time there as a student, I'm trying to make things 'legit' with student council, and hope to find a way to draw out those that might be interested in something like this.

i'm currently imagining the gatherings to be provide and be driven by...

Networking - Awakening and connecting with like-minded and like-hearted people.

Equipping - through Students, practitioners, professors? Material from Acts29, IMN, or others?

Resourcing - Tools, books, sites, experiences, networks

Visional Environment - A place to pray, dream, innovate, create, cultivate, and inspire one another.

One of the first experiences I hope to connect this group with is via a road trip to the IMN (International Mentoring Network) Regional conference in Montreal in september.

Here's what's happening for it:

- Strengths assessment and training

- Steps for guiding people through life transformation

- Voxtropolis–new paradigms for mission and ministry in our cyber-electronic world

- guidance for leaders of the church in a 21st century post Christian west

- access to new networks and relationships

- multi-sensory experience

What do you all think? I'm going to need lots of help with this and hope many can get involved. Anyone interested?

See the primary blog at http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for other entries and comments

Toastmasters...

2006-06-12T14:03:00.000-04:00

Is anyone else part of this cult?

I just joined recently. I've been wanting to go for years, but the constant clapping and procedures always scared me off. I finally mustered the courage to become a part of this odd little community that we have on site at work, and delivered my first speech there yesterday.

I actually wish now I had joined this years ago. People tell me i'm a natural (i think raw and unrefined is more like it), but the practice really does help.

Here's the toastmaster's interational link - it's a fairly huge global organzation.

While i'm at it, here's a few other hot links.

Audio's from the consumption of faith and faith in consumption conference

Google Video of a crazy face plant

Audio's from the latest Acts29 church planting regional sessions

Dynamic Church planting international

Allelon - Center for missional leadership

givemeaning.com dedicated to fundraising and philanthropy

Article comparing Rob Bell as the next Billy Graham

Article on how 'God' is the new drug of choice for rebellious youth

yelō awakening the human spirit

lulu.com enabling you to self-publish

From the reform and resurge conference - audio message on how jacked up punks will change the world.

http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for the latest entries / comments.

Baby names...

2006-06-08T23:37:00.000-04:00

We still don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, but here are few preliminary names. And yes, i'm serious about them, but I can't say Yvonne's approved of all of them... yet.

For a boy...

Optimus Prime. Hear me out on this one. Leader of the Autobots. Brought hope to humanity, even though he was not like them. Defender of good. Always at the frontline of battles. Empowered others. Rallied the troops.Experienced pain, death, and resurrection.

Maximus - from Gladiator

Freeman - I love Morgan, and it's a great word combo

Luther - for both Lex, and the Martin's out there.

Crash - Great film, forward moving, and unafraid.

For a girl...

Hunter - Imagine guys saying, dude, stay away from her, her names hunter!

Stellar - as in stars and spectacular

Sashimi - I was thinking of some type of sushi theme because it's both raw and refined.

Liv(e) - short, sweet, and a constant reminder of what to do when she wakes up.

Ashling/Asher - I was thinking of something that starts with A, since she'll likely be a december baby, and might be at the end of the line for a lot of things, this might even things out. I like something starting with Ash, but Yvonne thinks it sounds too much like 'ass'.

For middle names, I'm really leaning towards these two...

Ruach - Hebrew meaning spirit, breath, wind, courage... for a boy.

Ecclesia - Greek for sent out, or called out, as in called out from darkness to light... for a girl.

What do you think?

http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for the latest entries / comments.

I didn't know we could do that...

2006-06-03T20:42:00.000-04:00

"I didn't know we could do that..." That's what I'm hearing as I bring up church planting to people.

When I've asked fellow students in my seminary what they plan on doing with their lives and dreams, there seems to be this linear answer of 'well, i'm going to be a youth pastor, then an associate pastor, and then if things work out, i'd like to be a senior pastor one day'. It sounds like a great plan, and nothing wrong with that, but could there be more?

I went to Canada's National Church planting congress last year and was the only person from my seminary there (the largest in Canada). I attended a breakout session and what I heard from leaders at all levels repeated asking was - where are all the young, catalytic, entrepreneurial, leaders of the next generation?

I'm convinced that the structures and processes that have been built for raising leaders by previous generations are only producing people who think within those systems (And I'm sure this applies to more than just the realm of 'spiritual' leadership). Many of these frameworks are shrinking our hearts, leaving little room for the extraordinary possibilities that we are all capable of and must bring about.

I've decided that as I make my transition from work back to full-time school this september, I'll be launching a new Church Planting & Kingdom Advancing Network on campus. More on this soon. Thoughts?

http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for the latest entries / comments.

I'm pregnant...

2006-05-31T12:44:00.000-04:00

Well, i'm not, but my wife sure is pregnant. At first we were hesitant on telling anyone, since all the books and friends seemed to advise to wait at least three months. But we thought about it some more, and felt that keeping it to ourselves would have been more motivated by fear, and all the "what if's", rather than faith, hope, and love.

If anything did happen we'd want our community's prayers and support throughout the process. I can not explain how excited I am!

Here's our little one at 5cm's (The black is liquid, the round circle on the right is his/her big head, and the body's laying across to left). The process of life is so freaking phenomenal.

http://onelife.voxtropolis.com for the latest entries / comments.

God is not impressed...

2006-05-24T13:05:00.000-04:00

I was running outside the other day and just soaking up the beauty and creation around me (See my recent post on our 'God soaked world' on the bookclub vox). I came across this incredibly stunning bird and quickly took this picture! Actually, not really, but I sure wish I did. This one was grabbed off of flickr at this dude's site.

My bird was just perched by the side of the road doing a whole lot of nothing. The first thing that came to my mind, besides all its sleek and bright colors, was how that bird better be doing something more than just sitting there and looking pretty. I found myself hoping it knew just how distinct and attractive it was, and how it ought to be doing something spectactular amongst its fellow birds.

Then God spoke into my heart and reminded me that while He loves and embraces me as I am, He is not impressed by my 'colors'. My natural gifts and talents don't blow Him away. After all, He is the One who placed them in me in the first place.

However, what is astounding and marvelous, is when we use, however much or little we have, for the purposes of expanding good, inspiring others, and ultimately serving humanity and honoring God. That's what God applauses, and that's what I'm starting to become more and more impressed by when I look at those around me.

My wife...

2006-05-18T06:31:00.000-04:00

She has the most incredible smile.
She makes me melt inside.
She fills her prayers with my name.
She's a creative force, reflecting beauty she can't explain.

She's tasted life she can't get enough of.
She's experienced things she can't help but share.
She's unable to separate what she does and what she believes.
She presses in to bring out the person I was created to be.

She can squeal and squirm at the slightest of discomfort.
She can do battle with darkness and not even flinch.
She can be fragile and broken and easily hurt.
She can make beauty from ashes and life from dirt.

She loves to run, run away, run free, run back to me.
She loves to laugh, at herself, at me, at the simplest things.
She makes me smile and laugh like no one else does.
She warms my soul and makes me more than whole.

She's secretly shy, summoning strength each day to give herself others.
She defends me and celebrates me when I'm not looking.
She takes on my struggles as if they were her own.
She takes on my passions as if they were her own.

and what I can't get over, is that, she gives herself to me, as if she were always mine.

Update: I think there's a chance she might even start occasionally blogging, check out her crazy pic and vox here.

Life...

2006-05-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

... has been absolutely wonderful.

I've been reading again, growing, connecting with people, reflecting, imagining, dreaming and scheming, experimenting, sharing, and enjoying every moment.

I just started messing around with this gmail skin as a firefox extension that allows you to integrate google portal stuff like calendar, flickr, news, etc.

Up next, a post on my incredibly marvelous wife, yvz.

The world is flat and invisible children...

2006-05-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

I just finished my last paper for the term, and it looks like there's no appropriate classes I can take in the summer, so I've got a couple months of living and working like a normal person.

I've gotten back on reading. Currently going through "The divine conspiracy", "The secret message Jesus", and I just picked up 'The world is flat" from the library.

A couple early quotes from it.

"Those who get caught in the past and resist change will be forced deeper into commoditization. Those who create value through leadership, relationships and creativity will transform the industry, as well as strengthen relationships with their existing clients."

In a conversation with a leader of an outsourcing firm in India: "We are in the middle of a big technological change, and when you live in a society that is at the cutting edge of that change [like America], it is hard to predict. It's easy to predict for someone living in India. In ten years we are going to be doing a lot of the stuff that is being done in America today. We can predict our future. But we are behind you. You are defining the future."

A lot of this sounds like the usual globalization talk, and sometimes I think there is a perception that this is how things will always be. That developed nations, like America, will constantly lead and innovate while 'helping' other nations through outsourcing while they race ahead. What I believe, and hope Friedman gets to in the book, is that this won't always be the case. If it's true that every soul longs to create, express, dream, and innovate, then in a 'flattening' world, there could come a time, i hope, where every nation leads and innovates, and no person is reduced to a commodity. Sadly, I think the thought of this frightens some people, corporations, and countries.

Speaking of corporations, I know I'm late on this, but I finally watched "The corporation" with Yvonne last night. It really is a must-watch.

Right this moment, we're raping the earth, and one another, and we barely feel a thing.

We also watched "Invisible Children". I'm completely distrubed by it. Though I am amazed at the type of resiliance and hope these children have with the conditions they live in... especially when I compare them to the punk kids I've come across.

Something in these kids, that I'd like to believe is the image of God in every human being, allows them to still experience glimpses of joy while longing for better days. For them, not being murdered, raped, or abducted is cause of celebration. What does it take to make you celebrate?

Caleb...

2006-04-27T20:53:00.000-04:00

Our small group just had it's first baby. Chris & Sharon just gave birth to Caleb. what a great name...

Caleb was one of the spies who explored the Promise Land, but because the Israelites didn't listen to his advice, they ended up wandering aimlessly for fourty years inthe desert. In Joshua 14, Caleb is an octogenarian. He says, "Here I am today, eight-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out: I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then." And then you can hear forty-five years of pent-up conviction in his voice. "Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day." Caleb doesn't want Joshua to simply settle on a piece of property and retire. He's still passionate anand willing to fight even in his old age. He wants the hill country - the land of giants.

Here's a picture of the family. Below it seems like a favorite on my flickr site, of Sharon comparing her belly with my dad's.

From the tomb...

2006-04-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

On the front page of the Toronto Star newspaper today was an essay by James Loney. He was abducted in Iraq by Islamic militants and held hostage for three months and shares his life-altering experience. Full article here.

I felt the below excerpt was deeply profound:

I am learning many things from my captivity, and have a universe of things to be grateful for. Among them is a new and deep appreciation for the women and men who wear the uniform of military service. I likely would not be writing this today if it were not for them. Thus, I am confronted with a great paradox. I, the Christian pacifist peacemaker, am alive, am free because of the very institutions I believe are contrary to Christian teaching.

Christ teaches us to love our enemies, do good to those who harm us, pray for those who persecute us. He calls us to accept suffering before we inflict injury. He calls us to pick up the cross and to lay down the sword.

We will most certainly fail in this call. I did. And I'll fail again. This does not change Christ's teaching that violence itself is the tomb, violence is the dead-end. Peace won through the barrel of a gun might be a victory but it is not peace. Our captors had guns and they ruled over us. Our rescuers had bigger guns and ruled over the captors. We were freed, but the rule of the gun stayed. The stone across the tomb of violence has not been rolled away.

I'm learning that there are many kinds of prisons and many kinds of tombs. Prisons of the mind, the heart, the body. Tombs of despair, fear, confusion. Tombs within tombs and prisons within prisons.

There are no easy answers. We must all find our way through a broken world, struggling with the paradox of call and failure. My captivity and rescue have helped me to catch a glimpse of how powerful the force of resurrection is. Christ, that tomb-busting suffering servant Son of God, seeks us wherever we are, reaches for us in whatever darkness we inhabit.

May we reach for each other with that same persistence. The tomb is not the final word.

Google calendar...

2006-04-15T10:19:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting forever for this. finally just got in the beta.

try logging in with you gmail at www.google.com/cl2

there's a couple bugs still and not all features are enabled yet, but just an update on how much I love this already, here's a screenshot of my current month.

What I love are the calendar overlays so I can click off certain calendar types, ie when I don't feel like looking at work stuff. I made a calendar for tasks / so it's like a to-do list of the day as well that I can turn on/off. I'd love to hear how other people are using it and what mash ups come out of this.

Hot Stuff...

2006-04-12T23:43:00.000-04:00

Head down in another paper again... but here's some hot stuff I've stumbled upon while constructively avoiding school work.

Mosaic's began video podcasting!

Windows will run on Mac's now.

Zooomr - Like flickr but seems even slickr.

Criswell Theological Review is now available. Articles from both Mclaren and Driscoll on the emerging church.

"Under the overpass" - dude who voluntarily went homeless for five months and wrote a book about it.

Mary J. Blige and U2 team up to remake "one", see the video here.

Join us at the Vox Book Club as we've just started reading Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.

And finally, another home made burger shot. It seems like every time people have come over the last while I've cooked these up. My wife loves'em. They just keep getting bigger. The burgers patty alone weight in at about a 1.5lb's.

My friend Kavin...

2006-03-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

Kavin was one of my best friends throughout high school. I think we met while slacking off in a grade 10 business class. He wanted to be a fashion designer. I wanted to be a rock star. We both didn't belong. We connected immediately.

It may have helped that he was one of my first friends with a car. I still think about that beautiful car. It was a junkie burgundy k-car that you could put your feet up on. It didn't only take us places - just being near it was a good time. Sure the door would come out and the muffler would drag while driving, but Kavin's car was freedom from that place called home, which meant a lot as a teenager.

Kavin introduced me to Depeche Mode, and we'd talk about music for hours. Radiohead, nine inch nails, smashing pumpkins, even brit-pop littered our conversations. We'd loiter everywhere we go. We even saved the cups at Taco Bell in the trunk of his beater for the free refills every time we went back. Yes, they were good times.

Looking back I wish I could say that I was a positive influence. I'm sure we had constructive conversations about girls, life, and God, but I really wasn't doing so well myself those days. I recall being a jerk to Kavin on multiple occasions. Still, he stuck by, and I still wonder why.

Kavin was smarter than me and taller than me, and rightly so I think he had better ambitions than me. I think he actually wanted to be somebody. I was a dark cloud never wanting anyone to be anything. I'd laugh at those who were 'involved' and mocked those who 'tried' in life. I find it was so easy being and influencing others to be apathetic, cynical, and aimless. The thought always haunts me that Kavin was one of those people who crossed my path during these darker times.

What I love about Kavin is that he has a spirit that wrestles with things. Sometimes it was hilarious when the feeling of angst was mutual. Other times, when I was more oblivious to what was going on, I think that the angst led him to moments of despair. Before it was cool to have a tortured soul, Kavin had one. He has one because underneath it all, he actually cares deeply in a world that tells him not to.

Kavin is a creative spirit, ridiculously funny, a searcher, and the dude who used to drive me around.

Here's a picture he made of himself. Yes it's all him.

In North Carolina...

2006-03-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

I'm in Raleigh, NC this week for business.

It's amazing how the roads cut through the tall trees here.

Check out Riya for photo hosting with facial recognition.

Books i'm reading this week as I travel:

Church planting roadmap

Practitioners

Generous Orthodoxy

Updates...

2006-03-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

I just added a couple of my feeds to the sidebar.

Flickr badge allows for a glance at your photos online randomly or chronologically. I've got it set on random right now.

And Del.icio.us if you don't know already is a great online bookmarking/tagging tool. Using 'link rolls' the latest links as i scour the web are dynamically placed on the sidepanel as well.

Experiential Storytelling...

2006-03-20T09:47:00.000-05:00

I've just returned from a few days of rest and relaxation in Ottawa. It was much needed and so very cherished. Didn't do much of anything, except enjoyed ourselves.

For those who were interested in my small group leadership training 'book', let me know and I'll pass what I have along. I've got a hundred excuses why not to show it to anybody just yet. But after much thought, it'd be silly not to risk allowing people to have a glimpse into this work in process, no matter how unrefined.

Here's a photo of me and The Rock back in 2000 that reminds me to suck it up and be bold.

I got a bit further in several books, one of them being Mark Miller's Experiential StoryTelling. A few notes from it.

- The real beauty of experiential education is that it places trust in the learner to derive meaning from his or her experience. As a learning environment is created, the active focus shifts from the educator to the student.

- Truth divorced from experience will always dwell in the realms of doubt. (Henry Drause)

- We were created with a curiosity, a complexity, and a need for meaning

- Whether we are Christian's or not, our hearts were created to vibrate with the story of God.

- Every child is an artist. The child is how to remain an artist once he grows up (Pablo Picasso)

- Never let formal education get in the way of your learning (Mark Twain)

- Embracing this new mode of communication means worship becomes collaboration, faith now becomes a journey, and the gospel is now communicated in multiple forms of media

Free at last...

2006-03-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have been brutal. Work's been busy, school work skyrocketed, and silly me, refused to bail out of any community events.

I can't seem to understand why my productivity never kicks into gear until its the very last minute. It's 2 am and I'm driving out to Ottawa tomorrow morning. I should be tired, but I'm so excited to be finally free!

Here's a few interesting links i've collected as my A.D.D. has acted up during this time of busyness.

Goolge Calendar will be coming out. I've been waiting for this for ages.

Life in the Googleplex photoessay. If I was a tech geek and not going into ministry I would totally find a way to join google.

Malcolm Gladwell just started blogging

Anne Rice - the latest on her and... Johnny Depp? If you haven't read it, definitely check out her latest "Christ our Lord"

Secret Message of Jesus - excerpts from Brian Mclaren's coming book.

Clips of MoleMan - yes the guy from the simpsons

Vox book club - join it - Divine Conspiracy will be our first book in April.

my book...

2006-03-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a screenshot of my book. It's more of a 50 page booklet or manual on small group leadership, but let's call it a book for now since i've always wanted to write one.

There's a zoom function on Microsoft Word that lets you see all of your pages. None of it is legible of course, but I just like looking at it and saying to myself, 'look at what you did'.

It still needs some editing, and is by no way complete, are books ever? I wouldn't say it's an even effort throughout, and like an artist, I know the parts that I slaved over and what I rushed through. Anyhow, it's good enough for a school project, for now.

Just one more major paper and a speaking engagement to go, and I'll be able to start sleeping again monday.

A Disciple's Journal

Blogs officially moved...

Risky Leadership...

Stealing Grace...

Wrist-slapped

Life Update...

Life without love...

My little turd...

Leaders see people differently...

Faux-hawk or Faux-pas...

Ideas on Creativity?

Ultra-Fine Dining at Susur’s

Dysfunctional Leadership...

Leaders take responsibility...

Back from the nation's capital...

Leaders need community...

Too much communion juice...

Living someone else's dream...

Your life is Brilliant...

Thank you...

Canada vs. The U.S.

Immortal longings...

Some final thoughts of preaching in a postmodern world

Transformational preaching...

The challenge of preaching today...

The silence in church...

The thinker...

Friday fix...

A garden that's bursting into life...

Heroes...

Friday fix...

Great post on church planting…

Urbana 2006...

2007 goals...

Maximum wage...?

Some Christmas photos...

Gandhi and Christmas...

Nobody loves me...

Holiday reading...

Who will create and shape the future church...

We're doing better...

3 Horrible days...

The finger and some funky smells...

Sweet Links...

Acts29 / Mars Hill Resources...

Mosaic Ottawa Blueprint...

Darth Maul...

Focus Issues...

Rob Bell resources...

Street walk through Toronto...

Lon-gerie...

Saturday Sampler...

Nachos and I...

Quick hide there's scary people outside...

Workaholic?

Mosaic Movement Resources

Busy and Beautiful...

Short-term Missions...

What's catching my eye...

Unconditional love...

My Mohawk...

Reclaiming youth at risk...

The movie "Kids"...

thoughts of the week...

Makers of Fire...

Failure... when your best just isn't good enough

First week of seminary...

An excellent question...

For the geeks...

Rampant reading...

More videos of me...

My lightsaber...

We're back...

Leaving work...

Confessions...

Free Zooomr pro account...

What have we done...?

And so I handed in my resignation letter...

Links of the week...

Being Superman...