Dreams Unlocked

"What is this incomparable energy which appears first in one walking the earth like a living judgement and this energy which can die with a dying civilization and yet force it to a resurrection from the dead; this energy which at last of all can inflame a bankrupt peasantry with so fixed a faith in justice that they get what they ask while others go away empty; so that the most helpless island of the Empire can actually help itself?" - G.K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy.

I am a pastor. I traffic in a world of repentance and forgiveness. Both actions being central to my faith. This past week the world was treated to one of the most stunning acts of forgiveness ever caught on film. First, the background. On September 6, 2018, off duty police officer Amber Guyger entered what she thought was her own apartment in Dallas Texas. It was actually the apartment one floor above her own. Upon entering she saw someone sitting on what she thought was her couch. Alarmed, Guyger drew her weapon and asked to see the stranger’s hands. (This part is questionable as no neighbor recalls hearing any commands yelled out before the shots.) Botham Jean was in his own apartment eating ice-cream on his couch. He must have been startled by a strange woman with weapon drawn shouting commands at him. He did not respond fast enough and Guyger shot two rounds aimed at Jean’s torso. Her expertise in weaponry proved tragic as she aimed directly at the c...

I have sensed that I need to start writing again. I have written a lot in the past and am now starting to seek out magazines and journals that might want to hear what I have to say. Right now, I'll stick with the blog. For most of my life, I have been fascinated by the racial conversation in the United States. When I was in grade 8 in Canada, I wrote a bio on my hero - Jessie Jackson - my teacher didn't even know who he was. I have now lived in the States for almost 7 years. In that time I have come to see how deeply entrenched racism is in this country. It is simply in the air we breathe. You have to live here to truly understand the depth of it. And it is racism primarily against blacks and black men in particular. Over the past year, I have become a bit more outspoken in the pulpit about this issue. And the tragic thing is I have received more pushback on this issue than anything else controversial I have ever spoken on. It's incredibly depressing to see Christians...

A recent video reflecting on some wisdom from Henri Nouwen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsXq_lTsVfk&t=85s

National emergency? I’ve been living in the United States for almost 6 years and I feel completely removed from this emergency.  In the time I have lived here however there have been  300 000 opiod related deaths 400 000 gun related deaths (both homicide and suicide) And...... 3000 illegal alien related murder convictions - that is people illegally in America who were convicted of murder.  I know what I have written is simplistic - I am not accounting for other crimes committed by illegals - but if we look at death stats alone - it appears we have other emergencies that also need to be dealt with.  Note - I have used all government sources for data for the above stats.  

I've read 50 books in 2018 (so far). Here they are: 1.     Gray Mountain - John Grisham 2.     Joy Unspeakable - Martyn Lloyd Jones 3.     The Kingdom and the Cross - James Bryant Smith 4.     How to be Pentecostal without Speaking in Tongues - Tony Campolo 5.     The Great Giveaway - David Fitch 6.     Answering Jihad - Nabeel Qureshi 7.     Complete Book of Discipleship - Bill Hull 8.     A small Cup of Light - Ben Palpant 9.     Selection Day - Aravind Adiga 10.  The Great Evangelical Recession - John Dickerson 11.  The Following Plough - J. Neville Ward 12.  Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates 13.  A Mind Awake - CS Lewis 14.  Gift From the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh 15.  Experiencing the Trinity - Darrell w. Johnson 16.  Make Your Bed - Admiral William H. McRaven 17....

I  met with someone from my church this week for lunch. Nothing new there. I do that 2-3 times a week on average. What was different this time is I had no agenda for the meeting. Halfway through our meal - I thought - this is a "lunch without an agenda". And I thought I need to do this more often. Usually, when I meet with someone we are trying to meet a need - I might need them for something in the church or they might need my counsel, support or friendship. I am trying to talk them into something. They are needing something from me. This is rather utilitarian, isn't it? But this meal was different - we just met .... because. And it was very liberating to simply spend non busy and non programmed time with another human being. our conversation wandered from family to church to history. It followed its own path and we walked along beside it. I recommend pastors take up this practice - meet with your parishoners without an agenda or a plan for their life. Simply, si...

"Let's go." Eugene Peterson's final words. I'm listening to the Livestream of the funeral of Eugene Peterson on a rainy day in Ithaca NY. I should be working on my doctoral dissertation but I'm tuning in to this service instead. I first encountered Eugene Peterson through the book "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" - a reflection on the Psalms of Ascent. It was an assigned book when I was at Canadian Bible College in Regina Saskatchewan. To be honest, it didn't have much impact on me at the time. Probably just got diluted along with all the other work I did as a theological undergraduate student. Fast forward to the early 90's and a pastor who was (and still is) a mentor to me: Brian Buhler. I was just starting out in ministry. Brian was a well-known pastor in my denomination. He was kind enough to meet with me periodically for lunch. Over one of these meals, Brian recommended the book "Under the Unpredictable Plant...

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 ...