Dreams Unlocked

2 Eugene Peterson fans hanging out. I started theological studies at Regent College in the fall of 2001. In December of that year, Rolling Stone magazine published an interview with Bono. In the interview Bono said this: there's a translation of Scriptures -- the New Testament and the Books of Wisdom -- that this guy Eugene Peterson has undertaken. It has been a great strength to me. He's a poet and a scholar, and he's brought the text back to the tone in which the books were written. I seized on this quote and wrote a brief article for the Regent student newspaper at the time. After awhile NavPress got permission to quote Bono and it started showing up on the back of later editions of The Message translation. Bono had mentioned Eugene and his writings in the past - but this was the most explicit and straightforward comment that he had made. He had also mentioned that the band would read the Psalms from the Message backstage before a concert and then go out ...

This Sunday I will preach for the fifth Sunday in a row - something I have never done since arriving in Ithaca 5 years ago. My max was 2 Sundays in a row. I preached Easter Sunday and then I started a 4 week series on evangelism called "Going Public". This is part of my ministry project for my DMIN program. My lead pastor Eric was kind enough to share the pulpit for these 4 weeks so I could do this project. But, this much consistent preaching along with the normal parts of my job has been quite a test! I was hoping things would slow down but instead I have even more things cooking in May. The first week of May I head down for an elective class on preaching. This class requires quite a bit of work both pre and post class. And then the final week of May I am heading to Egypt, Palestine and Israel! Also for a class with my seminary. I can't really believe I have this opportunity! This class takes place in both Palestine and Israel. Prior to my class I will be in Cairo ...

This morning I preaching on Proverbs 7 which is basically a diatribe against adultery. It describes a simple young man in the bad part of town who gets seduced by a promiscuous woman. He ends up dead or as Proverbs graphically puts it "slaughtered like an ox". The sermon  was actually about life and death. At the beginning of Proverbs 7 the writer boldly proclaims "keep my commands and you will live". Completely audacious claim. I preached about adherence to the Word of God is an entry into life and will keep us from spiritual death. But, then I went on to discuss how the gospel has been weakened and cheapened in America. The gospel as preached in pulpits across America is basically a variation of this: Got a bad life? Accept Jesus. Have a better life. Got a troubled marriage? Accept Jesus. Get a better marriage. Job problems? Accept Jesus. He'll help you out. This is not the gospel. This is a crime. This is taking the greatest news in the world...

I don't think I can recall when I first heard of Billy Graham or heard him speak. He was always in the background of my life growing up in a Christian home in Canada. Maybe it was watching a crusade on television. Here are some reflections on the man and his impact on my life.... When I was in high school, my church hosted a crusade by one of his associates, John Wesley White. I volunteered to be a counselor at the youth night of the event. I can't remember much except that the guy I prayed with to receive Christ called me the following week to tell me he got a new job and he felt his life was finally back on track. The next brush with the Billy Graham organization was when Franklin Graham held a crusade in my hometown of Saskatoon Saskatchewan. My mom was the prayer coordinator at that event and got to know many of the leaders with the Billy Graham association along with other pastors in the area. I was living in Vancouver Canada at the time so was not involved. This par...

2017 will likely go down as one of the most “News filled” years in modern history. From the election of Trump to the exposure of systematic sexual harassment, the hits just kept coming. I am not a prophet or a fortune teller but I am guessing the following trends will continue to shape America: Continued exclusion of white high school educated men from economic advancement which will lead to more unfocused anger and frustration Rural to urban exodus will continue on pace Increased immigration, despite bans and walls - America actually does welcome a large number of immigrants and refugees every year and their influx will transform what it means to be an American As the social makeup continues to diversify this will lead to continued anger and fear about a future we can no longer predict Added to this, the church in America will continue its internal dialogue about what it means to be an evangelical. 2017 was the year where we realized that the Christianity practiced in many...

I read 67 books in 2017. 19 of them were related to my doctoral dissertation. Looking over the list is like remembering good friends I got to spend time with. I will probably post a bit more about which books stood out to me and why. The best Christian book I read was "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis. This is the third time reading this book for me. This book is almost like a sacrament in terms of being able to draw someone in into the presence of God. It is a book to be read slowly and prayerfully. The best novel I read was Home by Marilynne Robinson. She is currently my favorite living writer. Her writing can best be described as poetic soul craft. She is truly unparalleled in terms of skill and gift. Here are the books I read: 1. Ultimate Prizes - Susan Howatch 2. The Imitation of Christ - Thomas A’Kempis (3rd time) 3. Welcoming but not Affirming - Stanley J. Grenz 4. The Bible and Homosexual Practice - Robert Gagnon 5. Bible Gender Se...

Finally got around to taking the family to “The Last Jedi”. I have mixed feeling. At times it get the timing of the story was a bit off. There were a few odd directing decisions as well. There were some compelling story points and some familiar action scenes. It was nice to see the continuation of Luke Skywalkers story and the new progression of Kylo Ren and Rey. I thought this was the weakest of the three most recent Star Wars films, so that was a bit disappointing. My kids liked it, even my 10 year old daughter who wasn’t very thrilled about going. My score : 6 out of 10.

A male and female pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped by. I couldn’t tell if they were married.  They asked me if I thought about the future. I said yes, right along with the present and past.  They asked if I had a Bible in the House.  I said yes.  They said “Great!” In such perfect stereo it was like they practice saying it together.  They asked if they could leave some literature with me.  They handed me a copy of the watchtower. That magazine has not changed since I was a kid. Same cheap paper and same illustrator.  With their mission accomplished, they left.  Jehovahs Witnesses are kind of like polite home invaders - but they leave stuff, instead of taking stuff.  

I still consider myself an evangelical Christian. I wrestled all year with identifying with this term as it has been co-opted and is used more to describe a political voting bloc, instead of a follower of Jesus Christ. But, then I realized every expression of Christianity has its challenges, its blind spots and will be syncretistic. So, I continue to hang on to the title, despite the cultural baggage it forces me to carry. Evangelical Christianity in America needs to realize it is syncretistic in terms on combining a civic national religion largely founded on myths, materialism and a feeling of cultural superiority. The amazing thing is that God continues to use and bless this form of Christianity. Indeed, for all its faults American Christianity has done a great amount of good globally. The funding of overseas mission efforts, schools, hospitals, etc. Does she have blind spots? Of course! But the challenge comes in if we choose to be refined and developed o...

Our two youngest children are attending a new school this year. This change requires that they need to be picked up and dropped off every day. A 10 minute commute each way. Yesterday I got there pretty early. I was parked behind a small grey car. After some time a man got out of the car and opened the trunk. He pulled out an orange safety cone. And then he fixed a neon reflective green vest around himself. He walked to the cross walk and placed the safety cone down in the middle of the road. He walked back to the sidewalk. He is the crossing guard.  As I still had time, I thought about this man whose name I do not know. His job does not pay well. It does not appear to be very significant. You likely do not need specialized education to do it. And yet, he makes sure the kids and their parents cross the street carefully. His very presence, visible from passing cars is an added measure that they keep their speed down. He has a very important job. He is the crossin...

Newbign and a friend in India. I love Leslie Newbign. I read and re-read him over and over. He is one of the top 2-3 leaders and thinkers who have shaped my own thinking. Here's a piece of dynamite: "To work for the reformation of structures, to expose and attack unjust structures, and, when the point is reached at which all other means have failed, to work for the overthrow of an evil political and economic order is as much a part of the mission of the church as to care for the sick and to feed the hungry." - from The Open Secret, pg. 109

For the past 3 months I have been attending monthly meetings with several hundred other Ithacans to discuss and learn about the issue of mass incarceration. This is an issue I had never heard about until I saw the documentary "The House I live in" and then 13. The theory is that the war on drugs started in the 1980's under Ronald Reagan has actually been a tool of social and racial control. By creating lengthy sentences for very minor drug offenses and then targeting African American offenders we now have an extremely unbalanced incarceration rate of blacks vs. whites. I have lived in the United States for 4 years. Every country in the world has racism and prejudice of various kinds. In America, white supremacy has been built into the very fabric of the nation. When America was founded, blacks were defined as 3/4 human. Abolition of slavery came. Jim Crow laws were passed - and then Jim Crow was outlawed. After Jim Crow came mass incarceration. As one acade...

I read 59 books in 2016. Here they are: January River Dwellers - Rob Reimer - DMIN Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness- Tim Keller Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling Pursuit of God - AW Tozer Into Abba’s Arms - Sandra Wilson - DMIN Fasting - a Neglected Discipline - David SMith How to Read the Psalms - Tremper Longman III February 8. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made - Paul Brand and Philip Yancey 9.  Invitation to Solitude and Silence - Ruth Haley Barton 10. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill 11. Prepared to Preach - Greg Scharf 12. Hipster Christianity - Brett McCracken March 13. Secrets of the Vine - Bruce Wilkinson (2nd time) 14. Road to Character - David Brooks Introduction to the Devout Life - St. Francis de Sales Continuous Revival - Norman Grubb How Can I Get Through to You? - Terrence Real - DMIN April 18.  Strengthening the soul of leadership- Barton - DMIN 19. Leading Across Cultures - James Pluedemann ...

I have now lived in the United States for 3 and a half years. I, my wife and 3 kids are all Canadian citizens. One of the most interesting things I have discovered while living here is the sharp racial divide that exists here. There is nothing similar in Canada. Even the systematic racism against First Nations people is not the same. There is simply not the same amount of large populations of First Nations peoples living in urban centers. There does not seem to be a very large or significant First Nations middle class. And Canada is simply not an old enough nation to have the lengthy history of race relations as America does. First Nations peoples were not brought here as slaves but they were subjugated to European colonialism in their own land. Felicia and I just watched a very compelling documentary called 13th on Netflix. It is a history of the black experience in America since the passing of the 13th amendment outlawing slavery. It is a fascinating piece that chronicles th...

On Monday this week I was invited to speak on a panel about the proposed "Ithaca Plan", put forward by the Mayor's office in the city of Ithaca. This is a comprehensive proposal to treat a drug epidemic in our county which claimed 3 lives over Mother's Day weekend this year. It was a meeting which ran from 12:30-4:30 (My involvement was about an hour long.) I sat on a panel with a clergyman from Chicago who leads a national movement of Clergy for Drug Renewal, and a former District Attorney from Washington D.C. who also campaigns for drug law reform. Here are 2 things that I shared that I think are worth passing on to you: My motivation to speak out -  One is the nature of God. The God of the Bible is revealed as a God on the side of the poor, marginalized and rejected. Constantly choosing the younger and weaker to accomplish his purposes. Another  motivation is the nature of humanity. Human beings are created in the image of God and because of that fact both de...

I am currently teaching an adult education class in my church called "Personal Spiritual Formation". It is based on material put out by the dean of the seminary I currently attend, Dr. Ron Walborn. 25 adults signed up for the class and I ended up having to turn away others who showed interest. As we have been working through the material someone commented to me that this class is not what they thought it was going to be. This class covers things like grieving and honesty. I think what has happened is that for many of us spiritual formation simply means learning more things - head knowledge. But, the material I am teaching goes deeper - it goes to the heart. The reason I feel this material is important is because there is something missing in contemporary Christianity. We have lost our hearts. What I mean is is that we have absolutely excellent academic training in areas of theology, hermeneutics, exegesis and biblical scholarship. Almost anyone can now access some of the ...

I got a Bible! I am having an identity crisis. For almost my entire adult life I have self identified as an evangelical Christian. But, my identity has been hijacked. Evangelical Christianity has been severed from its roots in the gospel and has been replanted amidst very confusing political soil. And I don't know who I am anymore. This dilemma traces its origins back several decades. In the 1980's progressive Christian Tony Campolo was loudly declaring that evangelicals in America no longer believed in the Jesus of the gospels, but instead they had transformed him into a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Republican. And THAT Jesus is impotent to do anything for us. (Because he is a figment of our imagination). Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention has renounced the label and now calls himself a Gospel Christian. Evangelical traces its roots to the word evangel - which in turn traces its root to the Greek word euangelion - which means "good news...

A couple of weeks I used an illustration in a sermon concerning the anthropologist Margaret Mead. In a University lecture, Mead asked the students what was the first sign of civilization? She held up various objects: a bowl? a weapon? the forging of iron? Mead said none of these were the first signs of civilization. She then held up a human femur bone. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the bone had been broken and then had healed over. She said - the healing of this bone means that someone cared for this person. Someone hunted for them. Fed them. Insured their personal comfort. .... all at expense to their own needs. Civilization began there and is only sustained if human beings can continue to display these same acts continue on through our line. To care for the broken among us is the sign that the body of humanity is still healthy and functioning. This story that I have shared via my friend  Selina Robinson  shows us what will be part of the downwa...

My band of brothers in the DMIN program. I got back Wednesday evening after a 10 day intensive of the first module of my Dr. of Ministry program at Alliance Theological Seminary. Classes ran from 8 AM - 5 PM everyday except for Sunday. My cohort has 11 students and then I was in a smaller group of 4. We will study together for the next 3 years, gathering twice a year for this same immersive experience. My journey to this particular seminary is quite interesting. I was actually prepared to study at another larger and better known seminary. But God stepped in and changed my direction. It happened through a Christian family camp in the Adirondacks that we attend every summer.   Camp of the Woods is a beautiful Christian resort that brings in top rate speakers and has an excellent children and youth program. This year Dr. Martin Sanders of ATS was one of the speakers. He spoke on "the soul". Felicia, my parents and I were profoundly moved by his messages as he spok...