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...

This article in the National Post made my blood boil - actually, if that happened, I would probably be dead. It just made me really really angry. Here is my response to Rodney Clifton: Rodney Clifton's article is one of the worst editorials I have ever read. Clifton seems blinded to the overall tragedy of the residential school system, namely, the cultural genocide of entire people groups. The major intent of the schools may have been benevolent, but was seriously misguided. There appeared to be no attempt to understand and interact with the existing aboriginal cultures. Instead, children were taken from their homes and straight-jacketed into a white “Christian” culture. Clifton states that the children “learned reading, writing, calculating and the principles of democracy which would help them participate more fully in Canadian society.” Clifton fails to add that the children were taught to read and write in ENGLISH. Mr. Clifton, there are other languages in the world in which ...

Sword fighting at 2nd Beach. Well, Lost completely flipped me out tonight. Why is this the weirdest, most addictive show on tv? We are headed further down the rabbit hole, Alice. Had the kids today. Pretty harmless and no injuries. It is getting kinda sad - whenever I have the kids during the day, we always end up at McDonalds for lunch. The same Mcdonalds in Library Square at Robson and Hamilton. And we always get the same table. Adam saves it, while Sophia and I get the food. It's always funny to look back and see this tiny little guy sitting at the table by himself. Got some of my sermon done, which was nice. We had a meeting of Urban Sanctuary last night, where we made a few decisions about what happens if Felicia and I leave. It appears as if the church will dissolve - no money and no leader. So June will likely be our last month together as a church. I suspect that everyone will stick together, start attending a new church, but be a home group of that larger church. I will pr...

Nice pic from last summer. Appacha enjoying his grand kiddies. Well, it appears BIG changes are ahead for the Ninans.The past few months we have been really struggling with our beloved Urban Sanctuary church plant. We love our little church, but despite a lot of hard work and sacrifice, it has simply not grown beyond the original small core group of people. On top of that, I have been part time for the past little while, which has led to some pretty intense financial pressure on our family. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a Mennonite Brethren church in Port Moody to consider candidating as their lead pastor. Heritage Mountain Community Church is a fantastic church located near the top of a mountain! I have preached there 3 times previously as pulpit relief when their pastor was away. Every time, we have been warmly received and have enjoyed a warm response to my preaching. There are 2 couples that are very close friends of ours. This weekend was a big one - brunch w. the leadershi...

Brian Mclaren - The Anti-Doctrine Doctrinizer.... or New Reformer? I appreciated Derek and Craig's comments on the previous video. Like Craig, I also watched these videos several times, and this particular one the most. This is the first time I have heard Ravi Zacharias speak on the Emergent church and Brian McLaren in particular. It was interesting for me, because Ravi is a family friend. When I first heard Ravi speak I was 12 or 13, and for the first time I felt that I too could go into Christian ministry, because there was an Indian (like me!) preaching and speaking. It was so empowering. And also, I have met Brian McLaren, although just briefly, like a hand-shake at First Baptist Church. The discussion and the attitudes displayed by the three men are exactly what many in the emergent church are reacting against - a sort of smug confidence that we evangelicals have cornered truth. Personally, I believe the Kingdom of God is pretty wide. Wide enough to include the post-modern tin...

Evangelical conservatives, Mohler, Sproul and Zacharias take on the Emergent Church.

Spent most of the day working on my sermon. It's pretty much finished. Romans 1:8-16 - Paul's passion and desire to get to Rome, culminating in v.16 which is my life verse -being unashamed of the gospel because of the power therein for the salvation of everyone who has faith. I had to take Sophia to get her 1 yr. shots, which was the single most traumatic event of both of our lives. She had to get 4 shots, one in each leg and arm. Needless to say, she was thrilled. I didn't even like looking at the needle going in. In the waiting room, a lady gave Sophia her keys -there were probably 2 dozen on the chain, along with an automatic car door opener which was so big, it probably doubled as a toaster. Sophia roamed around the small waiting room proudly waving her new toy. The room's reaction ranged from amusement to numbness. If you cannot respond to a smiling child, then you probably need to be seeking medical help. Friends of ours gave us this child carrier that hooks onto ...

Felicia and I are in a season of discernment right now. We have been presented with another ministry opportunity in another part of Canada. This is an excellent opportunity where I would still be employing my primary gifts of preaching and leadership. But..... it would mean leaving behind our beloved fledgling seed of a ministry - Urban Sanctuary. We have shared this new opportunity with Urban Sanctuary and they have entered into this season with us. The response has been mainly positive, with a few people upset at the prospect of us leaving. Right now, I feel as if the tectonic plates are shifting under my feet, and I am just waiting for them to settle. They say that the most insecure a person ever feels is during an earthquake - because the ground beneath your feet starts to move. The one thing you could always rely on - the ground - is now insecure. In some ways, this is how I feel - a bit of anxiety, until things are settled one way or another.

Soph having a tough time taming her mop. Here's the thing - things have been pretty slow lately. There haven't been any big admin. type stuff I have needed to be on top of. I haven't preached in a couple of weeks. There have been a few behind the scenes things spinning pretty fast, but on the whole, I have been faced with some major down time. This is the first time since September where I have encountered more then one day in a row where I haven't sort of had some kind of pressure hanging over me. About 9 months of frantic sprinting. This new found leisure time is frankly a bit disconcerting. I feel a bit guilty and anxious that I'm going to be found out. I cannot sort of allow myself to just let go. I do have some biggies coming up. But for the last 2-3 days nothing too major to occupy my time. How do we face leisure in a culture on perpetual hyper-drive? Even if I take a retreat of solitude, I still have pragmatic reasons floating around in my subconscious. We ar...

The Boat People Well, today was one of the 4 or 5 days in the year, where you wished you had an air conditioner. The weather in Vancouver is usually quite moderate, with tons of rain. But today we reached 30 celsius. We spent the bulk of the day at Granville Island - one of the top tourist destinations in Vancouver. The nice thing about where we live is we can can just jump on an aquabus and take the short trip across False Creek to the island. We went to one of our favourite restaurants: Go Fish. It is basically a shack next to the marina. It is run by a very successful resteranteur in Vancouver. They have the most amazing fish and chips and fish tacos. We usually get one of each. Today the line up was very very long. When we were near the front, someone walking by asked how long we had been standing there. In a straight face I said "4 hours". She took one looks at me and then scurried away. After lunch we went to feed the ducks, and then pick up some groceries and then back...