The Age Of Persuasion...At Church??

Wow did they evr nail the church in the West on this one. Terry O'Reilly has a show on CBC that I enjoy very much called "The Age of Persuasion" which explores the whole world of marketing in our world today. It was only a matter of time before the popularity of the show would allow it to go where, as Terry says, angels fear to tread. I gotta admit, it's pretty close to the mark. OUCH!!
Maybe this has some hints on where we went wrong......hmmm.
Here is a link to the show if you have just under 30 minutes to spare. He is a very engaging speaker.
The Radio Show

Maybe I Should Let It Go

I hope this doesn't come across as a rant, because it is actually more of a bone I have been chewing for a lot of years as I am sure many Christians do. Money is hard to ignore as one forms their worldview and harder still if you are seated week after week in a local church. I don't know about you, but we are reminded every single Sunday for about five minutes before the plate (or in our case the planter.....seriously) is passed around. I assume that this is done just in case we have forgotten. Pretty hard to do when we are faced with its reality every day of our lives.
My thoughts on money have stomped around my head for a long while now and I found out how close they are getting to the surface when somebody poked that particular area of my "thought-o-sphere" yesterday. We were listening to a podcast from a church down in Simi Valley California and this guy was talking all about our finances and the kingdom in a way that I had never heard from a pulpit before. I actually cried as I listened because it was like hearing of a victory in a long fought battle that has raged to and fro for many years. VM day, so to speak. (Victory Money, right) If you want to listen to it you can download it at iTunes. Just go to the store and under podcasts do a search for Cornerstone Simi Valley, the message is the latest on and it is called "Living to Display the Gospel" by Francis Chan. My buddy at work said that he disagreed with most of what Francis was saying and that was all it took to get me going. I won't go into everything I said, because I am writing this before I head off to work, but the gist of it was that I am so tired of hearing us ask "How much is it OK for me to have?" instead of "How little is it OK for me to have?". Now you may say that the one word is just semantics, but is it really? That one word changes everything, doesn't it?
Please don't get me wrong here. I am not talking about tossing your wallet in a plate, or planter, every Sunday and walking out with a smile. I say that because, now I am going into the public confessional, I don't tithe. I haven't for years. If you want all the reasons why I don't, just comment on this and ask for an answer, I'll email it to you. I have come to believe that the Lord doesn't want my little 10% nod, He wants it all. What that means for me is probably different than what that means for you, but that is what I believe and in the end it is far more dangerous a belief than the old 10% rule. This has radically changed the whole direction of our lives and set our eyes firmly on heaven rather than a cosy retirement here. Besides, don't we tip 15% for servers? What do they do that my Father doesn't do??
Anyway the basic meat of this post is the difference between those two questions up there. Let them knock around your head and see what happens. Who knows, life might just get a whole lot more exciting!

Men Of Honour

The time is at hand for us to be moving on. China has been on our hearts ever since we returned from there in '04, and now five years later we are finally on the verge of going back. Right now it looks as though the move will happen at the end of May, but this is still contingent on a few things happening. The thing that put us over the top, and also spurred this post, was a substantial donation from a dear friend and mentor. When I was thinking about what he did, and thanking my Father for men like him it seemed appropriate for me to post a brief tribute to the men who have been in my life to help move me along the Way.

The first of these is Scott Fortnum who was my College and Career pastor back in Abby. Scott was the first pastor I remember who not only spoke to my potential in God, but he backed it up with actions. I was a very troubled and difficult person to get a handle on and yet he very purposefully took steps to see that I was getting discipled through the issues that were hindering me. This included looking into some things that were even somewhat doctrinally challenging for him, and when it became apparent that this was an avenue that had some merit he sought outside help and was there to help walk me through it even after I caused at least two aborted attempts to see it through. It is Scott's dedication and desire to see young men discipled in Christ that gave my life the first major push it needed in the right direction and I can honestly say that if not for his obedience to the call of God I may have ended up in a ditch somewhere back in my home town.
The next fellow that crossed my path was Dennis Melzer. This fellow kept the light in my eyes for the first year or so that I was in Kelowna and even though I was kind of the anti-Dennis in so many of my behaviors he persevered in friendship and prayer. He was instrumental in God positioning me for the big tackle. Though our friendship waned and we went our separate ways it was never due to any kind of conflict, it just seemed to be that he was the man that God used to pray me into the next season.
That season was the spring of '94 when a lady, who to this day remains nameless, prophesied over me and led me back to the kingdom for good. I am still not entirely sure whether this was the day I got saved or if it was the prodigal finally coming home, but either way it is the touchstone of my faith and the place I go back to when the storms close in. It was the Jordan crossing and I dearly love that little heap of stones that remains by the waters even now.
The next man that God put in my way to shepherd me to the places He had always intended for me to go was Kerry Donovan. For some reason that I can only attribute to God, Kerry picked me out of the crowd of God-rockers in Kelowna to be the next wag to move into the Joshua House which was a loose association of young men who wanted to be mentored into a deeper relationship with Christ. I cannot overemphasize the impact this had on my life's direction. Seeing Christ lived out in the life of Mr. Donovan has been a lasting impetus for direction and action in my life. Kerry always lived out the faith that he spoke of, and when you live with someone for 2 1/2 years you surely get to know if they are for real or not. His dedication to mentoring young men in grace and truth is a cornerstone of my desire to go to Hong Kong and mentor the young men of the Christian Zheng Sheng school. His emphasis on character over personality still resides in me today, and is a large part of what helps me get up again when I screw up. Kerry and I are still best of friends and I always look forward to chatting with him about what God is teaching us today. We are thousands of miles apart, but I still feel that we fight side by side. I thought it was so cool that God gave him a dream about a year before we heard about this opportunity in Hong Kong and he said that in the dream I was leading a squad of young men in the jungle. I sent him these pictures and asked if this was close to what he saw.

The last man I will mention is a friend who believed in me enough to tell Alman Chan (the principal of the school)about me and my family's desire to return to China. Unfortunately he and his family will be moving to the mainland shortly after we get to HK, but at least we will be in the same timezone again.
His name is Steve and he too is following God as best he knows how. I guess this is the uniting attribute of all these guys.
I am so very grateful for the influence, commitment, and friendship each of these guys have poured into my life. I know I would not be who and where I am without them.
Thanks guys.

Typhoon Season

I guess we'll have to get used to this just like all Hong Kong residents, but wow, what a change from the Okanagan Valley. Might have to take up windsurfing.
The first video is of Typhoon Hagupit the edge of which struck Hong Kong when I was there in September at my friends' place. The second one is of a typhoon pounding Cheung Chau where we will be living.




The storm got much worse that evening and we could even feel the tower my friends live in shudder every now and again. It was a pretty cool experience really and they were very nonchalant about it all, but were obviously peeved by all the water getting through the windows. Next time I think I'll go for a walk, or maybe some sidewalk surfing, who knows.

Over Halfway There!!!

I just had to do our taxes this year as I was expecting a fairly good return from last year. We just got our T4's at work and I finally did the hard part tonight and the total we are getting back puts our total at 51% (you can follow the counter on the sidebar for updates). This includes cash in hand and committed funds. This is exciting news for us and it really seems to pull the curtain back just a little bit more. Kind of like spring after a long (if you're from Kelowna) winter.
I shared with a friend at work today about the journey that God has had us on ever since we have been married and it was good to look it over again from that perspective. It is somewhat like reading through the bible and realising that the stories we read have so much more spaces between the lines than there is life lived in the lines. Our lives have been so much like that with seasons of God just downloading on us and moving us around the globe at what sometimes seemed to be His whim. In between, though, there have been much longer seasons of holding patterns and 'cloudy sky' waiting. Abraham knew what this was like. He tried to make it happen and had Ishmael. God actually gave us the leeway to call the company that I worked for in China back in '04, and nothing happened. I think He just wanted to assure us that that door was firmly shut. I can thank Him now, but it sure hurt back then (that was 2 years ago). I thank Him because we don't have an Ishmael now. I thank Him because He let us see.
So now we work towards the goal of getting to Hong Kong this year and He encourages us everystep of the way. He really doesn't have to, but He does anyway. He's a good Dad. I love Him. I want to show Him off to the boys in HK. I want them to know they can have a good Dad too.

Mario As A Family Cohesion Substance

So we have been playing Super Mario Galaxy with the kids for the last month or so and have found that it is actually a pretty cool interactive kind of activity. It does lack the shoulder jarring athletics of some of the Wii family of games, but we all have fun. The latest breakthrough was when Sammy finally collected enough stars to get the observatory flying through space again. The excitement was off the charts as Sammy came charging upstairs to declare his final victory over the evil Bowser. What a moment. That was just today so now he has a whole new realm of galaxies to explore and levels to conquer, most of which will require at least some parental aid. Drat, you mean I have to play Wii again =] .

Not Sure Who We Sent This To

Here is a Youtube video of a report that the South China Morning Post did on the school I will be teaching at. It is a very accurate account of what is currently going on there. I believe it was done shortly before I was there last September.



A friend of mine had a dream about me before we had heard of this school and he said that he saw me leading a squad of young men in the jungle. Hmmmm, you think God was telling him something??

My Son's Murderer

I know that is a bit of a heavy title, but it is the thought that was on my mind today. There was some music playing that spoke about the love and holiness of God, and while I gathered up the tools for the job this thought came careening into my heart. It saw the Father watching His Son as He formed the first human being from the dust of His newly created sphere. The Son, by, for and through Whom all things were created crafted the limbs and shape of this man. This dust that had never known the pulse of life received the very breath of Yahweh, and it responded by breathing in, and out, and in again. The eyes opened and at that very moment they looked up into the eyes of eternal love, but this is not what set my tears to flowing. It is the eyes that looked down with love on the one who would ultimately murder Him. Somehow this context had eluded me until today.
This is one of the ones that will be shined up and safely tucked away in my pack. Perhaps the next time I get up and brush the dust off I will take a moment to remember the One who knew from eternity past the cost of loving me, and yet belied not a hint of regret when His eyes first laid eyes on me. And you.

Homework (here too)!!!!

Homework abounds and the time slips by so stealthily. The course load is a bit heavy for me but not completely unmanageable. There is just so many other things to do and to want to do.
Sigh....I was told to prepare well. This means that I must, and not with a heavy heart. So I remember that it is my Father who calls me and He will make me able.
If you are a praying person and you read this, please pray for this week as I will be doing some catching up and also prepping for my research paper.
When we are in HK it will be so worth it. Even now it is so worth it; just a lot of it to do.

Resolution

As a photographer the word resolution means a lot to me. It gives me the ability to crop and zoom without losing focus and clarity. I think a true resolution at the New Year should do the same thing, bring clarity to the smaller matters of one's life. To resolve in this fashion is to make a strong determination while in the camera it is to bring the viewer as close to reality as possible, again a great crossover. I really want to find myself closer to reality this year than last and that means I will need to set my sights differently.
A friend said that he felt that God has been shifting His people's focus off of the things of this earth in a renewed way lately. The first thought that popped up was that this is the business that God has always been in and perhaps it is just a place we (40+ years old) are in where we start to take in our perspectives with the goal line slowly coming into view. Not to say that there isn't a lot of track still left to lay or that we are at death's door, but the view ahead is seen with the understanding of how quickly the view behind us has already passed by. This puts the mind onto things of eternal value and also shines a disturbingly bright light on the temporal things that surround us and take so much of our time and considerations. It seems that any time I spend time thinking about our finances, our vehicle, the house we'll never afford and all the other stuff clambering for my attention this light slowly breaks through and the gleam or gloom starts to fade away. Of course if I don't pay attention to the light all that I am left with is the stupidity of bending myself out of shape for things that will never last. There is also the despair that awaits my thoughts when I ponder all this without the eternal in mind. Really, what would the point be then anyway! It might seem grandiose to think that my life has made some impact on the future, but that only assuages my anxiety in the now and is completely pointless from a personal standpoint if who I am ceases to exist in the end. It's like the people who think about suicide and then fantasize about the people's reactions at their funeral. Pointless. Pointless because it has to involve two or more people to actually mean anything at all.
Blah, blah, blah.
Point is that I want to keep the eternal in focus and live it with other people. That to me is resolution. Eat your hearts out Nikon!