Dreams Unlocked

Felicia and I are going to see Bruce Springsteen on Monday. I am a pretty big fan - I still like U2 and Bob Dylan a lot more. I own 6 of his albums: "Greatest Hits" - the first album I ever bought of his - I think I had joined Columbia house when I was in Bible School, and it was one of the 11 cd's I got for free. It's a pretty good intro. Nebraska - This is an album that a lot of people talk about as being a classic like Marley's Exile, U2's Joshua Tree, Beatles Sgt. Pepper's or Radiohead's Ok Computer. It's one of those albums that every serious rock music aficionado feels he should own. And it's easy to see why. It is stark and stripped down. Easily, my favorite Springsteen album. 18 Tracks - This is a wierd album. It's extra tracks and cast-offs from other albums, including some very early songs never released before. I was reading a Rolling Stone interview with U2 once, and they were listening to this album in their tour bus. I thought...

We took Adam to see Horton Hears a Who yesterday. My mom and her sister are in town, just for a visit. So, that means - free childcare! So, while they took care of Sophia, we headed out to see the movie. The movie was very good. It is almost worth a second viewing to catch some of the subtle themes. Horton twice says, "A person is a person, no matter how small." I am sure that will be co-opted by pro-life groups, as they defend the fetus as being a person. Actually, wikipedia documents part of that here . There is also an interesting exchange between a mean kangaroo (voiced by Carol Burnett) and Horton. Horton is convinced that there is someone living on this small speck that has landed on a flower. The Kangaroo warns Horton that he should not be teaching the children about imaginary things. Children should only learn about things they can see and touch. This exchange brought to mind atheists who oppose any sort of faith based curriculum introduced into "public" sch...

I read that Eugene Peterson took his sabbath on Mondays. He and his wife would always go for a hike - they would pack a lunch and enjoy creation. I thought that that is a good idea. So, this morning Adam and I headed out. We took it easy - a painless jaunt through some of the Stanley Park trails. Adam did not stop talking, making comments on every single thing he saw. I think it is important for us to connect with nature. All the more since we live in downtown Vancouver - an environment of buildings, cars and people on the move. My kids need to be in touch with the natural world. I need to be in touch with the natural world. Because most of my life is consumed with the un-natural - cosmetic reality. So, I'm going to try to do this every Monday morning with Adam. But, here's where Eugene and I depart. I am an urban creature. I need traffic and noise and people walking around in a rush. So, this afternoon, I also went for a walk through downtown and saw the movie In Bruges - whic...

Well, this just might go down as the best Easter ever! Ok -the second best Easter - it's kind of hard to compete with finding an empty tomb. We had a "sunrise" service - which is always an act of faith in Vancouver. We also baptized a girl from our community - Kaelyn. The service was awesome - we sang some choruses acappela, and then I shared briefly on the message of Easter. Then Kaelyn shared her testimony, we prayed for her, and then off to the water! I knew the water would be frigid so we rented wet-suits and diving boots - Kaelyn went in just shorts and a t-shirt! The water was still pretty cold - it was the fastest baptism ever! After, we headed to Katie and Juan's place for brunch. The kids also had an Easter egg hunt. It was really a fantastic day to celebrate the resurrection. Like many people, I grew up attending churches that went over the top at Christmas and Easter time, putting on elaborate shows with drama and music. Although, I enjoyed them, today was ...

You see this guy? This guy is the opposite of me. He is white..... I am brown He is rich .... I am poor He is the pastor of the biggest church in North America.... I am the pastor of the smallest church in North America. He is a best selling author.... I write this blog. And here is my confession - I LIKE JOEL OSTEEN. Augh... the secret is out!!! I know, I know - I am supossed to be the emergent, missional guy with the funny church that meets in a coffee shop. I'm supossed to like other hipster pastors with cool t-shirts and funky glasses like Rob Bell or Erwin McManus. The truth is, I like Osteen. And the reason is this - he is the most motivating, positive guy I have ever heard. He is probably the worst preacher I have ever heard - he uses motivating biblical verses and stories to proof text his own particular brand of motivational speaking. He even admitted as much on a recent 60 minutes program. He actually said that his calling is to make people feel better and not explain the...

And while you're in the clapping mood... I love when he drops the mike at the end.

The McRib is back!!!! Hallelujah!!! I love me the tasty McRib!!! Also Shamrock Shakes!!!! Life is good again. I don't know if you take a Sabbath, or if you are familiar w. the concept. The Sabbath is based on the precedent of God resting on the 7th days after 6 days of Creation. It then gets hammered in through Exodus and leviticus, to be a special day to be set aside as holy. I take Monday as my Sabbath. That means I work Tuesday-Sunday. A lot of people ask me how I spend my time as a lone church planter. Here's a run-down for Tuesday - Saturday: 7:00 - Wake up. Pray walk through Yaletown. I usually walk about 6 blocks through my community, praying and keeping my heart, mind and eyes open for whatever God wants to show me. 7:30- Shower, Breakfast. 8:00 - Devotional time - Prayer, Bible Reading, Meditation, Study. I have been following Robert Murray M'Cheyne's bible reading guide for 5 years now. This particular guide helps your read through the entire Bible, New Testam...

Sophia and Daddy keeping it real. My sabbath starts Sunday after church and ends Tuesday morning. That means I unplug my phone, log out of my e-mail and am basically unreachable, much to the chagrin of certain people who wonder why I don't answer their phonecalls/e-mails/face book messages. Too bad. Tonight, we had a very important meeting about the future of Urban Sanctuary. Basically, we're broke. I will get one more pay check, and that's it - barring some miracle manna from the skies. So what do we do? Shut 'er down? Keep going w. no full time pastor? I brought up the always fun topic of tithing, and how there were some people in the community who never tithe, and what that says about us as a community. The meeting went very well, with everyone enthusiastically saying we should keep going and committing to giving more. It is obvious at this point that we need to connect and partner with at least one other larger and more established church, in terms of financial, peo...

"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family." The biggest scandal in New York's political history is still leaving after shocks. Elliot Spitzer, the governor of New York was caught during a Federal investigation of a high-end escort agency. Spitzer admitted his guilt and resigned. Details began to emerge. The tryst that got him caught cost him $4500 - which made Lewis Black speculate that for $4500 he should have had a couch thrown into the transaction. Spitzer is alleged to have spent $80 000 over the past 10 years on prostitutes. I don't think it's any fluke that the cover story of the latest Christianity Today deals with sexual addiction. Although the CT article focuses primarily on this addiction in the church, sexual addiction is now rampant in our society, with over 70% of men aged 18-34 having viewed porn in the past month. I believe S...

The plastic meat at Morton's. Felicia took me out for dinner tonight. There was a cover story in the latest Vancouver magazine on steak houses. It whetted our appetite for some big fat pieces of meat. We went to Morton's - which is a famous chain from the states. Our waiter asked if this was our first time at Morton's, we said yes. He said, well I'll be back with a menu presentation. I waited with baited breath. The guy comes back with - I'm not kidding - a tray of plastic food. These things seriously looked like things that Adam has in his play kitchen. There were plastic potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, onions and tomatoes. Then there were plastic cuts of steak, which made more sense. The whole thing was a bit silly. But, the food - lemme tell you, I like my meat sweat and meaty - and did they deliver! Best steak I've ever had. The desert was so-so - a grand marnier souffle - couldn't taste any grand marnier. Then we hung out at Chapters. We came home and wa...

Listening to the Once soundtrack - killer, killer. Makes me want to head back to Dublin and wander around Grafton Street looking poetic. And U2 is recording in the same studio, when I met them 3 years ago. I was sitting on my couch last Tuesday, reading my Bible. I have followed Murray M;Cheyne's bible reading guide for the past 5 years. It helps you read through the whole Old Testament and twice through the New Testament and Psalms. After I read the passages, I pray for awhile and try to quiet down in order to hear from God. It was during this time of quiet reflection that I was overwhelmed with this desire to pray for everyone in my church , which is easy to do if you have a church of 20 people. The prayer was specific - I had to pray that God's light would flood into any aspect of darkness in their life. That God's love and grace would enter into their life, and the darkness would have to flee. It was quite an experience. Adam told me that he wants to be a pastor when he...

Do any of have skype and a web-cam? If so, we can video-chat. Search your contacts for Santosh Ninan in Vancouver BC.

Apologies to Andrea and Jeff (and any other curious voyeurs out there) - the tooth is fixed. There is no record of my disfigurement. Felicia went back to work today, which meant I was entrusted with the care of the kiddies. Things went quite swimmingly, except for Adam's constant moans of "I miss Momma", which would lead to demands to phone Momma. I think we called Felicia a total of 8 times. Meals, naps, diapers, milk and bath time went without a hitch. I actually managed to get 4 hours of work in as well! The only mis-step was when I took Adam for his hair-cut. We take Adam to a salon around the corner run by an Iranian woman - Every time I've been there, there has only been Iranians speaking loudly in Farsi to on another. So the lady gave Adam his haircut. And then after, she walked towards Sophia with the scissors. She said she just wanted to cut a little bit. I thought, maybe the bangs on the front because they were pretty long. Instead, she cut all around her he...

I was chewing my nails today, when I felt a crack. I looked down and one of my front teeth was cracked in half. Such is the power of my finger-nails. I now look like I should be brewing my own ale in a cave somewhere. I was shopping on Robson today, trying not to open my mouth and scare off all the posh folks. Day of phone calls: Edmonton, Calgary (twice) and Regina. Not much else to report. Going to the dentist tomorrow, so I can rejoin the undisfigured part of the human race.

Sophia Grace Leela Ninan So, I'm starting to love this book "The Shape of Practical Theology" by Ray Anderson. Basically Anderson liberates theology from its confines of systematic thought. Theology needs to have a practical outlet. Anderson teaches at Fuller. And so do at least 2 other profs that I like: Eddie Gibbs and Robert Johnston. And Fuller also has a DMIN with a missional leader track. And all this makes me wonder when I'm going to go to Fuller for my DMIN. Fuller is where a lot of Regent MDIV's end up. But I'm torn on obtaining a doctorate. My dad has one and so does my brother, which leaves me as the non-doctored Ninan. Ouch. The reason I'm torn is that I read a lot already. And I read hard books with big words and no pictures. Books with words like "hermeneutic criterion" and other poly-syllabic terms that I have to look up. And also education is expensive and I'm poor. And I have kids that have gotten used to eating food and wear...