Dreams Unlocked

I am actually completely stunned at the continued fallout of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. The latest wrinkle is that 9 CURRENT pastors have now publicly stated their opinion that Mark Driscoll should step down for an entire year instead of his current 6 week staycation. Now, one of those 9 pastors has been fired. Swell. The most damning observations of the church comes from respected pastor, speaker and author Paul David Tripp. Tripp served on the accountability board of Mars Hill for awhile until he realized the board could not do very much, least of all provide actual accountability. Here are some snippets from Tripp: "I don't think even now that there is the recognition of the depth of what Mars Hill Church and Mark is actually dealing with. This is without a doubt the most abusive, coercive ministry culture I've ever been involved with." "What is happening is they are managing a crisis, instead of dealing with the deep personal sin at the bottom of t...

I hate kids. I believe the most famous atheist in the world is losing his mind. Last month Richard Dawkins wrote that we shouldn't condemn what he called "mild pedophilia". The term itself is a stunning. Pedophilia might be a lot of things but the one thing it can never be is "mild". And now Dawkins has stumbled again in the twtterverse. Some misguided seeker mentioned that they would be in a real dilemma if they found out the child in their womb had Down's syndrome. And here the ever compassionate anti-God professor let's loose with this missive: Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice. It is more moral to terminate a Down's Syndrome child, than to give it a loving family. I wonder why stop at the womb? In Dawkin's world, perhaps it is moral to terminate any kid that doesn't measure up to whatever standards Dawkins deems worthy of life. Children with Down's Syndrome...

When we lived in Vancouver for awhile I had the interesting fortune of meeting celebrities - I never sought them out - they would just sort of be where I was : grocery stores, video stores, etc. In 2005 Felicia and I were out for a movie. After locating our seats I got in line for popcorn and soda. As I was standing in the line, I glanced over at the man next to me. He was short but very muscular - I thought he might be a body builder. I looked at his face and thought he looked familiar - he returned my gaze and I thought he looks a lot like Robin Williams - his chin is much more pointy than in films and tv. A few more seconds and I was confident it was him - I asked him "Are you Robin Williams?" He said yes. Then I fumbled into verbal idiocy as I wasn't sure what I should say now. So I said "I'm a big fan of your stand-up". which is true. He said thank you. At this point, I should have shut up and focused on the line. Instead, I kept going. ...

Felicia and I visited Mars Hill Church in Seattle in 2005 when we were starting to consider church planting in Vancouver. Mars Hill Ballard (at the time), met in a retro fitted warehouse. It had a very cool vibe and was filled with young people. The worship I think was good - but I can't remember it now. Mark Driscoll spoke on an unpopular passage of Judah and Tamar from Genesis 38. I remember that Driscoll made a remark that women should not go to night-clubs because they are at risk for assault there. The way he said it sounded like he was insinuating it was their own fault if they were assaulted. After that visit, I kept track of Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll. There seemed to be no stopping them. They continued to grow and expand at an incredible rate. Driscoll was writing a lot of books and speaking in a lot of places. In 2007 two popular elders were fired when they voiced disagreement with a new governance structure which centralized the power to Mark and I think 2...

We have now been living in the United States for over one year. One of my first observations is how political this nation is. People have very strong political views and feel propelled to voice them loudly at times. The Middle East always raises some strong pitched points of views - especially among evangelical Christians. There is a branch of evangelicalism which is completely and totally blindly pro-Israel (I mean this in terms of being completely and totally supporting Israel's claim to their land in the Middle East AND full and complete support for any and all military campaigns carried out by Israel). There are other Christians who are moderate. And there are some whose support for Palestine borders on a soft anti-semitism in terms of viewing Israel. Where do I stand? I am pro-Israel - I support the Israeli people to have a nation and land, like every other country. But, this support of Israel needs to be balanced by a concern for the Palestinian people and the hu...

We just got back from a week long family camp in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The camp is called "Camp of the Woods". It has been operating continuously for some 100 years. It is quite an organization running week long camps all summer. They feature well known Christian speakers such as Alistair Begg, Erwin Lutzer and Ravi Zacharias. The week we were there we enjoyed the teaching of both Crawford Loritts and Tony Evans. Next year we hope to go back and hear Ravi Zacharias. (My parents might even come). Several observations: 1. Facilities - this is closer to "glamping" than roughing it in a tent somewhere. We stayed in a cabin that had a 2 separate bedrooms, a fridge, microwave, coffee maker and full bathtub. There is even daily maid service for clean towels and linens. You eat meals in a large dining hall - the food is very good. 2. Recreation - you really can't keep up with the amount of activities offered. Apart from the regular wat...