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Dwell

Monday through Wednesday of this week I was able to attend the Dwell Conference in New York city.  The focus of the conference was on urban church planting. 

Here are some of the things I really enjoyed:

• The diversity in the presenters at the conference and the balance between the pragmatic and theological.   
• The appreciation that each of these unique personalities had for one another.  In particular I was taken by how Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll interacted with one another.  I can't imagine two people as different as these two and yet both showed a humility in their consideration of the other.
• Keller's presentation on the gospel.  He was able to say things that I have been thinking about succinctly.  I will have more on this in another blog in the near future.
• The passion of the many at the conference for starting new missional communities.  I consider it a great privilege to be able to interact with men and women who have a heart for Jesus, others, and the gospel.  If this conference is any indication the future of the North American church may indeed be a good one even while being a different one.

What I learned . . .

I am convinced that if you can walk away with one thing from a conference it has been a success.  I walked away with a couple of things.

• CJ Mahaney spoke the first day on "keeping watch over ourselves" (from 1 Timothy 4:15-16).  The learning point for me was that you can't keep watch over yourself without others in your life.  This reaffirmed my commitment to biblical community and in particular among the leaders in the church.  This is something I am going to give greater thougth to - the development of our staff and elders in this area is so vitally important.  Note Paul's words at the end of these verses - eternity depends on it.
• Tim Keller spoke of the nature of the gospel - one gospel but various biblical forms.  There is great theological reflection ahead for me on this but I have for a number of years lamented the simplistic systematic presentations of the gospel of the past and the unwillingness of many today to embrace a diverse biblical theology of gospel (in other words more than just the "red letters" of the synoptics). Keller's presentation was succinct, thoughtful, and made my heart rejoice.  The challenging learning point will be in how we train people in our churches to a greater understanding of one gospel but multiple presentations of this one. 

Anything else learned at this conference will have to wait for another conference.  I have enough to think about.

New York

Last night I came back from my first visit to New York.  My take on this amazing city is that it is a diverse country within the confines of a city.  It is busy, dense, and amazingly beautiful.  It is every urban childs dream.  There is something right about walking around your corner and being able to visit your own neighbourhood restaurant, deli, and of course Starbucks. 

One night we enjoyed dinner at a Korean owned "roadhouse" listening to a kind of Korean jazz fusion, the next we travelled by cab into the Theatre District to Carmine's (thanks Steve Chua for the suggestion), and our last night it was Thai right around the corner.  All of this, Letterman and yes even a conference.

There is just something about the energy of the city.

Harvest U

I went to Harvest "University" in Chicago last week.  The purpose of my visit was to sit through the elder learning track.  I have been attempting to think about the development of our elders team and thought that sitting, listening, and discussing for a couple of days would be the best way to come to some conclusions about our situation here at OBC.  The two days were helpful.  I am thankful that one of our elders went with me.  That made it even that much more enjoyable.

The learning was good but what was even more fun was finding out what the hotel staff thought of Willow Creek and Harvest.  Two mega churches within  short driving distance is amazing and the two campuses and approaches to ministry could not be more different (even with recent changes at Willow).  James and Rick (founding pastors) are my good friends and I am sure they will get  a "kick" out of learning what the hotel staff where we were staying knew about Harvest.

When we arrived at the Holiday Inn we needed to find directions to Harvest.  I asked one of the hotel staff if she knew where Harvest Bible Chapel was.  She did not but went to ask her manager.  Upon returning the manager said she did not know the location but with radio in hand contacted one of the shuttle drivers.  She then proceeded to ask the driver if he knew where Willow Creek was.  I, as a good Canadian and not wanting to offend my American Harvest friends, promptly corrected her and said, "no not Willow Creek but Harvest Bible Chapel".  Her response was a Master Card moment, "priceless".  She said, "they are the same thing aren't they?" 

It was both a hilarious and instructional moment.  I could imagine in those brief seconds those at Harvest rolling their eyes with thoughts of "are you kidding we aren't anything like Willow".  I wanted to tell this story to James and Rick but chose distance for means of safety (lol).  The more I have thought about it, however, the comment is instructional.  For most who are not into church the two mega churches are just really the same thing.  They don't care to know or don't see the philosophical or theological differences.  Whether we speak as one voice or not many perceive that to be the case.

Toronto the Good

Our church is a rural/suburban church and we have really sensed God's leading to be involved in regional outreach as part of a vision to be used by God to transform our region.  It is an amazing privilege to try to navigate the complexity of life with those who are in need while attempting to be a blessing of redemption and reconciliation. 

We started our journey with "The Externally Focused Church" and after engaging in this journey the last couple of years we are looking for ideas and expertise that will help us better be ambassadors of Jesus Christ.  I was intrigued recently to read "Toronto the Good " and many of the related articles about church and city interaction from the Work Research Foundation.  There are many great resources here and the positive tone of how the church can indeed make a difference is refreshing.

One of the things that the research has found is that churches have a harder time working together than they do with other faith groups or even city hall.  While working together can pose challenges the benefits of blessing for the community are enormous and of course the expression of unity of Spirit and the love of Christ life changing.

If you are interested in these kinds of practical expressions of gospel ministry I would encourage you to read on.  May God use the ideas to spark a divine initiative.

Reasons for God

I am just finishing Timothy Keller's, The Reason for God.  This book is worth the praises it has received.  While Keller recognizes that there are different barriers to people believing in God he spends most of his time investing in the intellectual reasons.  The first half of the book deals with many of the well known "doubts" that people have regarding the existence of God.  The second half of the book deals with the reasons for faith in God.

This is a good read.  I found it intellectually stimulating and very affirming.  In particular I found three  chapters helpful.

"Intermission", the in between chapter that is between doubt and reason, gave a great apologetic visual.  Keller talked about C.S. Lewis' metaphor for knowing the truth about God as the risen sun.  His point is that instead of looking directly into the sun (which will burn your retinas) for proof that the sun exists why not look at "what the sun shows us".  Keller says, instead of looking for irrefutable proofs for God why not look at what account of the world (worldview) makes most sense of the world and ourselves.  Seems obvious but not to most. 

"The Clues for God" reminded me of the power of beauty and creativity as pointing to the existence of God.  You can read the chapter for yourself but I was again reminded of the importance of art as a window to the soul.  This is what it means to be a human created in the image of God.

"The Knowledge of God" chapter speaks to the issue of morality and who decides what is moral.  The evolutionary arguments to morality seem to leave us with a "bad taste in our mouths" where as the understanding that morality is rooted in God while not an irrefutable argument certainly is a strong argument for the existence of God and a certain type of God.

Thanks to Keller who not only gives reasons for but also explains the story of scripture.  Those interested in apologetics would do well to read this.  It reminds all of us that giving a defense for the hope in us is not primarily about answering everyone's questions and objections as it is about pointing people to Jesus.

William P. Young in Kitchener

I have blogged about "The Shack" back in October and since then many of my friends have read the book and been impacted just like I was.  William Young (Paul) is coming to Kitchener next Friday and Saturday.  I am thinking about attending Friday night because I am very interested in his first talk on the Trinity which I believe is the essence of the issue that this book addresses.

The following is the schedule.  Brad Watson tells me there are lots of tickets still available.  Which may not be such a good thing for Brad but great for you.  For more information go to www.grandviewchurch.ca

William Young Friday Session

7 – 8pm            "Why How We Understand God, His Nature and Relationship Within the Trinity Affect The Way We Live Our Lives: Why The Story of the Shack Is So Incredibly Powerful."

8 – 9pm            Roundtable Discussion:  William Young, Ian Campbell, and Dr. Barker.  “Papa, The God Who Roars, and the God Who Weeps!”

William Young Saturday Session

9 – 10am           "The End of Future Tripping: Joy's Companionship" 

10 – 11am         Q & A Session with the Author      

11am – Noon     Book Signing

Brad Watson

Pastor of Learning & Reaching Out Ministries

Grandview Baptist Church

250 Old Chicopee Drive,

Kitchener, ON, N2A 4J2

519-894-5513 ext. 246.

Reflections on Easter Sunday

Yesterday was a great day.  Celebrating the resurrection is always a highlight but yesterday was special.

It all started with one of our elderly men sharing with me his own story of life change.  Before the first service this gentleman waited patiently for me as I finished a discussion with another individual and once I was done asked if we could speak somewhere in private.  When we got to my office he proceeded to tell me how that on Tuesday morning of this past week at 4:00 a.m. he had become a follower of Jesus.  I did not know that he wasn't a follower of Jesus.  On his own admission he told me that all his life he has been a religious man but that the last couple of months our teaching on Sunday mornings has clarified for him that following Jesus is not primarily about believing about but believing in Jesus. 

I learned a lot from my brief time with him . . . things like

• It is never too late to experience spiritual life change
• No matter how many times you say the same thing . . . you just have to keep saying the same thing
• The Spirit of God is the difference maker

I wish you could have been with me in my office and seen tears of joy flow down a 74 year old mans face as he acknowledged Jesus as Saviour and Lord of his life.  I wish you could have seen my tears as God used his testimony to reaffirm in my life the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And this is how I started my day!

Both of our services were packed.  I have no idea how many people but it was a lot.  So many visitors and it was my privilege to talk about how the resurrection matters because it means that there is "more than this".  Our worship was dynamic.  Having so many people singing helped but the design to our service and our focus on lifting Jesus high was honoured.  As we always pray we trust that God was pleased with our gifts of praise to Him.

We baptized seven . . . all of their stories were impactful, showing all of us that the resurrected Christ changes lives. 

God is good. 

 

Off For A While

I have not blogged in some time.  I had a hard time connecting with Type Pad last week. 

Since returning from Jamaica I have learned that Lloyd or "Lyde" (Jamaican pronounciation) is in hospital suffering form the effects of a severe stroke.  This is a humble reminder of how even our best of plans can be changed in an instant.  The impact of poverty around the world is an enormous issue but it is brought home when you learn a name and meet a face.  Lloyd is a squatter who has for many years lived in a "tin shack" (if you can even call it that).

Today he is in a hospital bed in Jamaica with a very uncertain future.  We continue to pray for him that he will acknowledge Jesus as Lord of his life and that God would heal him.

Lloyd with construction materials for his new home . . . donated by OBC children.

I Met Lloyd Yesterday

Sunday David and Nancy Harper took me on a walk up into the hills behind the YWAM base.  Nancy had prepared some food for a local family that lives on the side of the road in the most basic of living conditions.  I was struck with how much this little walk reminded me of my time in Uganda.  Poverty is no respector of persons or countries.  I was impressed with the relationships that Nancy and David have developed with some of the local people.  God is blessed when we share our lives with others.

After climbing up a steep incline into an area that is being cleared out and purchased for the rich we stopped by and met Lloyd.  Lloyd has been living in the hills for a number of years and as a squatter has some rights related to living and relocation.  The BLAST children of OBC have been collecting money to help build Lloyd a small shack that will keep him dry and provide better living conditions for him.  Lloyd suffers with arthritis, has great strength for his age, and the fortitude to go along with that.

I was struck again of how people around the world, rich or poor, need to know Jesus.  There are so many questions with very difficult answers inside of each shack or hut that we pass by the side of the road.  Family breakdown, political turmoil, lack of infrastructure.  These are not problems to be fixed but people to be loved.  May God allow all of us the privilege of expressing the love of God through our hands and the words that we speak.

Safely in the land of "Mon"

Left Toronto below 0 and arrived four hours later to 28 in Montego Bay.  I am staying at the YWAM Base and teaching Biblical Worldview for a DTS this coming week.  David and Nancy Harper our missionaries to the Caribbean oversee this ministry. 

Highlight of the night for me was walking with Jack Harper (David's dad) and talking to him about life and its various challenges while overlooking Montego Bay and all the lights.  I am grateful for great men of the faith like Jack Harper who continually remind me of how to put life in perspective. 

As Jack told me tonight, the outer man may be suffering but the inner man is being renewed every day.  Thank God for his work on the inner man.  God bless us all with his amazing work in our lives.  Refresh, renew, reenergize us with the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.