Dreams Unlocked

This afternoon I met with a friend who will be shouldering some of the admin. details of Urban Sanctuary. I handed over a bunch of files related to the business of running the church. As we were wrapping, the moderator of the elder's board of my new church called - he was downtown and was wondering if we could meet. So, I went directly from a meeting with the leader of Urban Sanctuary into another meeting with a leader of Heritage Mountain Church. Pretty symbolic of the macro-change happening in my life. Also - have you heard this term, "known to police"? as in the arrested was known to police. Or sometimes they are "well" known to police. I'm pretty sure I am unknown to police, except when I am driving fast - and then the police and I are pretty tight. I had to drive through East Hastings yesterday, which is Vancouver's show-case of open air drug use and all the accompanying vices. I saw 2 cops wrestle a guy to the ground and cuff him while he was screa...

Adam in Hawaii. Well, it was finally a warm day in Vancouver. No more hoodies (bunny-hugs) or jackets! Finally, and it's only June 25. I had a meeting in Burnaby, and then did some paper work at home. I went to the green space in the back of our building and played soccer with Adam and Sophia. Adam is actually pretty good. Sophia is good at picking up the ball and placing foreign objects in her mouth. There is a severely handicapped little boy in our building. He is in a wheelchair and cannot move any part of his body. He cannot talk, but communicates by smiling and grunting. He has a little sister who is quite cute. They were both outside in the backyard with their caregiver - the parents hired someone who helps them out. The little girl was blowing bubbles as her brother looked on and grunted his amusement from time to time. When we went back upstairs I talked to Adam about the boy's condition. I told him that it is very important that we show love and acceptance for people w...

I am re-reading a book I had to read in Seminary. It's called Glittering Images by Susan Howatch. It's a novel about a Church of England clergyman in the 1940's. Charles Ashworth is a bright likable minister - he's 37, like me. He is on the fast track to the top, gaining coveted positions. And then... he has a breakdown - he gets drunk and commits a moral indescretion, which uncovers a pattern of moral deceit. He enters into a therapy with an abbot, who acts as his spiritual director. They begin a journey together to uncover why Charles is the way he is. Charles discovers he is 2 people - the real person has been camouflaged by a "Glittering Image", which he presents to the world. This is a profound book that every Christian leader should read. Women and men who enter the ministry are not cut from different cloth. The disease of the fall continues to infect all of us. We all need help to deal with the false image that we like to project to the world. And figur...

I preached my last sermon at Urban Sanctuary last night. We ended a series on 1 Peter together. I preached from 1 Peter 5:8-14, which deals with being attacked by Satan, how to resist him and what God does for us during the battle. One of the last verses states "I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it." And, that's how I ended - I ministered among you briefly (3 yrs). I tried to encourage you. I testified that the gospel of Jesus is the true grace of God. Continue to stand fast in it. The church gave us a couple of gifts, which was nice. This week I wrap up loose ends for Urban Sanctuary, and start to prep. for starting with Heritage Mountain, which starts on July 1. Saw the latest Indiana Jones today - it was pretty good. Still had that weird supernatural element which is in the other films - although I never saw Temple of Doom, due to the terrible reviews.

Sophia and I checking out the waves. I watched 12 people get baptized today, from my new church: Heritage Mountain. It was so amazing - I don't think I've seen that many people get baptized before. It was a real celebration, as we had games beforehand, followed by lunch after. It was held at beautiful Buntzen Lake, near Port Moody. Adam and Sophia had a great time playing with the other kids. Felicia and I enjoyed connecting with some of the other young couples in the church as well. Came home and polished off my last sermon for Urban Sanctuary!!!

Jay Leno profiles The Shack in a comedy bit.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the surprise bestseller, "The Shack", by William Young. It is currently #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Shocking, for a self-published book that literally only spent $200 on marketing. (It has recently been picked up by the 3rd largest publisher in the States, and is set for a major re-launch soon). It has sold 1 million copies, and with the extra marketing muscle, is destined for even more. I'm pretty sure this guys going to be on Oprah soon. I read the book while on holidays. I had all my normal "pop Christian" defenses up and.... was pleasantly surprised. I found the book actually deeply moving in parts. I won't give too much away, but let you discover. The premise is this guy Mack's daughter is killed. Her bloody dress is found in an abandoned shack - but her body is never found. A few years later he gets a mysterious not in his mail inviting him back to the Shack for a chat. The note is signed Papa. W...

Sophia reaching for her father. Nice Father's Day. I spent most of the day cleaning up my office and unpacking. Got an Ironman watch for being a Father - nice. Had a good church business meeting tonight, as Urban Sanctuary starts to transition into a Ninan-less future. Some reps from the Canadian Baptist denomination were there to listen and ask questions. Looks like some good ideas for the future are starting to emerge. It will be interesting to see where God directs this small community of His. As for me, I left the meeting feeling fulfilled. Various people shared what Urban Sanctuary had meant to them in the past. It was very touching to hear some of the quieter people share some significant growth in their lives through the ministry of the church. It was like God was letting me see some of the fruit I had not seen in the past. Came home, bought a sub from Subway, rented Great Debaters and settled in for a nice end to a nice day. I think I used nice too much in this post.

The Ninans in Hawaii!!! Got back this morning, early. A night flight. Everyone slept except me. I find it hard to sleep when my body is all at 90 degree angles. So, I am basically in love with Hawaii. It is such an amazing place. A tropical lush place, but still a part of the good ol' U.S. of A. We had an amazing holiday. 2 weeks of total r&r. It couldn't have been better. The place we stayed was the Hilton Village Resort. It is a huge complex filled with towers, pools, shops and restaurants. They even have penguins, macaws, flamingos and swans on site! We rented a car for a couple of days and saw some of the other sites of Oahu island. There were only a couple of days that were overcast, but other then that the weather was perfect. It was hard to leave, but I am already plotting our return - probably not until 2011, for our 10th anniversery. Just Felicia and I will go back - the kids will be old enough to be in someone else's care for a week. After some rest in the mor...

Dreams Unlocked will be off-line for 2 weeks - returning June 14. The Ninans are in Hawaii!!! I am taking an internet fast and will not be posting while down there.

Getting Re-Hydrated Heritage Mountain Church in Port Moody voted today on whether to extend an official invitation to me to be their lead pastor. The vote was 100% unanimous in favor of inviting me. I have accepted the call, and will begin ministry there on July 1. Sadly, this means that our ministry at Urban Sanctuary will conclude on June 30. We plan on living downtown for the Summer. In September, we have already confirmed a home in Port Moody to rent for a year. As you can imagine, this has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make in my life. Felicia and I have lived in Yaletown for 7 years. We have come to love our lives here, and of course our beloved community, Urban Sanctuary! At this stage, in our family’s life, I simply needed to be in a full-time ministry position. Being part time at Urban Sanctuary was incredibly difficult for us as a family. Despite the profound sadness we feel at leaving, we are also extremely excited at the opportunities and chall...