Finding Pastors in Your Backyard

Finding a good fit in a pastor is not an easy thing. Meeting a congregation’s present reality and the hopes for the future is a daunting task for a search committee – given that we task ordinary people, doing ordinary jobs with the job. Granted, they love the church and are deeply committed to the life and health of the future church, plus they have the ever present young person on the search committee who represents the future (but doesn’t have a clue as to why he or she said yes when asked.)

Thankfully there are lots of places to advertise, and each Area Church Minister has access to a list of people who have said they would like to pastor somewhere within half an hour of Winnipeg. Okay, lots of these potential candidates are more open than that. But have we looked in our backyard lately?

It was only a couple of generations ago when we expected that our pastors would be raised up from within the fellowship of our congregation. And, back then, the bonus was that we would just call them, they would keep their day job, and we would find ways to say thank you throughout the year.

In the last few years in Mennonite Church BC we have found ways to call people from our backyard and pay them too! Some are fulltime, while others are in varying measures of part-time. In each case, full effort was given to looking in all the available places, but in the process, God began to reveal a candidate right near at hand, who ultimately became the one to fulfill the calling.

If February of this year, First Mennonite Church in Kelowna called Kevin Barkowsky to be their lead pastor. I introduced him to the chair of the congregation more than a year ago as a friend in Kelowna who had previously pastored, gone back to his former employment, but was open to re-engaging pastoral ministry. They courted each other for that year. It was one of the most serious discernment processes I have seen – ending with a joyous commitment to the marriage.

The road to Granisle - May 1st, 2011

On May 1st, Rob Wiebe was installed as pastor of Church of the Way in Granisle. Rob attempted pastoral ministry just out of Bible School, years ago, and it did not go well. He has had many years of volunteering and developing his ministry gifts in his home church, First Mennonite Church Burns Lake (which is an hour down the road from Granisle). The Church of the Way people love him and he loves them, so after an eight month courtship, they too made the marriage official. They went the full route of a proper search, but soon it became clear that this was Rob’s time to re-enter the pastoral ministry. It was time for Church of the Way to extend the call.

Look hard – far and wide – but keep your eyes open to your backyard.
(Look for this article in an upcoming Canadian Mennonite under "From our Leaders")

Rhythm/Balance in a Smartphone Age

I made a note to myself to blog about rhythm/balance in a Smartphone age. When I sat down to do it, it occured to me that I thought I had already written about rhythm. I checked back, and sure enough, a year ago, almost to the day, this was my topic. Check it out in the sidebar. I won't re-write it, but I will expand on it.



You can get an App for almost anything on a Smartphone. This includes: a fitness counter, diet monitor, time and travel tracker, and of course, keeping your finger on all of your favourite sports teams instantaneously. There are so many more Apps in which I have not taken any interest, but may be just for you! Many of them are free, too. Surely our lives should be fully under control by now.

Yet, how easy it is for the rhythm and balance in our lives to be totally out of control. Do we admit it? Of course not, because there must be just one more App to finally fix it all! I must admit that it is kind of handy to have almost my whole world saved into my phone, safely tucked away in the pouch on my belt or in my pocket.

The trick is to turn parts of it off in certain settings. If I am engaged in a meaningful conversation with someone and the smartphone rings, there is a wonderful button to hit called "Ignore." It sounds rude, but I think it is more rude to answer it. How can that person in the phone be more important than the person I am with? After all, they can leave a message.

Another button that is well worth it, and is never more than two clicks away, is the "All Alerts Off" button. It is so simple. When I am in a meeting, the people in the meeting have my full attention. When I am in church, I can still check my Bible on the phone, but never interrupt my worship experience (or that of my neighbour's) with a vibration, buzz, or - heaven forbid - a full-on ring! Sorry if I have ignored your call, email or text for more that a 1/2 day - it's because the "All Alerts Off" feature has been directing you to leave me messages.

Then there is the option of turning it completely off - what a concept. It sure makes for a good night's rest. And, you know what, the smartphone actually likes a rest too. Seriously, it works better after it has been given a rest!

Blessings in finding the rhythm and balance in your multi-sensory life.

Water Under the Bridge

There has been a lot of water that has passed under the bridge since I last contributed a blog entry! The river of life keeps moving on, even if we don't pause to talk about it every once-in-awhile.

While the water keeps flowing, we need to make sure we give attention to most important things. I think we often have distractions that allow us to avoid the important things. For some it may be Facebook. For me, it is just simply email. I think there are many of us who would say that if we gave a careful response to every email that comes our way, we could actually spend our whole day - every day - on email. Given that Facebook and email are both communciation tools that help us keep in touch with people, as well as accomplish things, we have to figure out how to manage them as tools to use rather than the master that rules us.

This season of Spring is a time, for many places in Canada, where the rivers that have stopped flowing for the winter because of the ice on them begin to melt and break up. It is amazing to see (and hear) the power of the spring break up of river ice. But, for today's thoughts, I am led to the possibility of the river stopping its flow and taking a rest.

It may look like I took a winter break from blogging because I let the constant flow of water under the bridge freeze up and stop. But reality, as you might well imagine, is that the real water of work, life, and technical support has been flowing so hard and fast that I have not found the time to stop and write.

While I haven't yet figured out the function, value and usefulness of Facebook, I've been thinking about Twitter. It seems like saying things is smaller soundbites, and saying things more often might be the ticket. But then, maybe just figuring out Facebook makes more sense. What do you think?

By-the-way, what are you doing for Lent? I have taken a cue from one of my colleagues to write every day about "Where have I seen God's hand today?" It's great to just pause to think about big and little things that appear to have been touched by the guiding hand of God. Yesterday I wrote, "I see God's hand in the beauty of another rainless day to allow me riding pleasure. In the sacrifice of a certain individual (name removed) in rearranging her schedule to make the Sunday meeting work - it is the amazing nature of God's people to be unselfish."

Dutch Blitz - Family Style

It would have been great to get a photo of our family's - after Christmas dinner - Dutch Blitz game. Picture this - eight adults around the dining room table playing with eight decks of cards. That's right, 8 decks of Dutch Blitz cards at once. Fortunately there was a new deck and an well-worn deck of rags. We still marked the rags to make it easier to sort after each round.

Yes, Christmas dinner was settled. We had taken time to sing carols, read the Christmas Story, open gifts, go for a walk around town to look at Christmas lights, and clear the table.

With that many decks and people it made for a whole lot of piles out there at once. Those with faster hands and minds prevailed. A lot of blitzes happened with the winner having only 11 or 12 cards out there. Those of us who aren't known to be super fast never got the experience of a positive score. I'll just say that my son-in-law and I ended up tied at minus 45.

If you don't know how this game works, google it at www.dutchblitz.com and learn all about it. I'll include a picture of it below.


This was on Boxing Day, and we did it all again 3 days later upon returning home from Diane's birthday dinner at a favourite local restaurant. Actually this time we only went with four decks, dividing the responsibilities for each deck between two people. It was still a riot!

Oh, by-the-way, did I tell you about this year's new Christmas Tradition. It is our married kids dividing up the leftovers to take home. Actually it started as a Thanksgiving Tradition, and will carry on as an Easter Tradition as well!

St. Pete's Beach 2010 Toy Run

We do Toy Runs in Vancouver and Abbotsford, but it has never worked out for me to go on one. I have no idea how big they are. For those who may not know what a Toy Run is, it is an excuse for motorcycle riders to go on a ride and also contribue a toy to charity.

The St. Pete's Beach Toy Run is done with a Christmas theme. There were 2000 motorcycles participating. The run took 45 minutes. Just standing in one place and seeing a steady flow of every kind of motorcycle going by was quite a treat (actually about 90% of them were Harleys.) The run went right by the inn where we are staying, so we just went down to the street and took it in. I guess it's kind of obvious from the photos that helmets are optional in Florida.

Bonfire of the Beach - Florida Style!

Wow, that was quite a fire!
They dig a big hole in the sand on the beach and then throw pallets in. These are great because they allow for a lot of air flow. We did get worried when they started throwing on pallets with K3 board on them - not too sure how much glue was going up in smoke. Oh well, it didn't seem to affect us. People were having a great time. It was an event with a good mix of locals and visitors - 20th Anniversary. Santa Claus was a big hit for the kids! Enjoy.

How much Christmas can there be - in Florida?

Diane and I are in Florida this week. This year's North American Mennonite Conference Ministers meetings were scheduled for St. Petersburg, and I immediately considered it a no-brainer that Diane would come along and we would extend our time here with a week of vacation. I mean, in December 2009 when the decision was made, we started making plans! Funny - of the approximately 40 people at these meetings, and all of them north from here (except the hosting conference minister) - only 2 other couples sensed a Florida vacation as a no-brainer opportunity to connect to these meetings. None of the other Canadian conference ministers (5 of them) saw it this way.

Also funny - this week has set record low temperatures for Florida! We have been sitting inside and reading a lot of the time - but hey, the view we have from our room is a beautiful ocean view of the Gulf of Mexico, framed by palm trees. If it is not too windy, we sit on the lounge chairs on our deck. For exercise we walk as far as we want on the white sand beach.

We are in Florida from November 30th to December 12th. Oh, by-the-way, since we were given an upgrade on the car rental, we chose to rent a Chrysler Sebring convertible. It was 80 F. when we arrived; actually, I'll translate all the temperatures in celcius. Our first day was 26 C. The second day peaked at 22, but we drove the whole afternoon with the top down - granted we put the heat on. Then the chill set in with daily highs of around 14. Besides the first 2 days, we have only put the top down a couple of times. But, we are in a warming trend. We drove with the top down this afternoon. It was really nice. Diane's dream is to actually have a convertible! Tomorrow and Saturday, our last 2 days here, the forecast is for the temperatures to be in the range of 20 - 23; absolutely top-down weather. 5 out of 12 days being convertible friendly, that's not bad for being in a record setting cold spell - but hey, we are Canadian. AND, THE FLORIDA SUN HAS BEEN BRIGHTLY SHINING EVERY DAY!


Our Beach

The View from which we read books on our bed

So, on to the promised topic - How much Christimas can there be in Florida or, how many things can be said about Christmas anyway? Diane loves endless Christmas, and I can appreciate that, but I need a break now and then - like from January to November. But even during December, no-stop is a bit much for me. While I am pretty good with it all, Diane is loving it. I mean, first of all, endless songs. In Vancouver there is a radio station that has committed all of its music, from at least the beginning of December, to be Christmas. Well here too - in St. Petersburg it is a Christian station that is solid Christmas music, and this is the only station available in our car - I mean, I dare not try another! Then the movies; how many Christmas movies are there? The Hallmark channel has Christmas movies all day long - although it sounds like there are many repeats. There's another channel that is doing the same. Since switching from meeting to vacation mode, we have watched a Christmas movie every night, usually 2 and I think even 3 one night. How many men are out there who really think they are Santa Claus - and actually turn out to be him? We have 3 nights left.

One of the largest Christmas light displays in America is right in St. Petersburg. This one takes a distinctly Christian angle on Christmas. In fact, it is a very evangelical emphasis, including a strong denouncement of other religions; for someone who believes relational evangelism is most effective, it would seem that this judgemental message isn’t helpful. But there we a lot of lights. See below.





I just found out the real meaning of the 12 Days of Christmas at our Sherbrooke Christmas banquet, then I heard a “Christianised” version on the radio here in Florida which included “5 shopping malls” and many other references to our commercialised North American Christmas - what a second rate version compared to the original! Take a look at what's behind this song...

From 1558 until 1829 CE, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning; the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church.

Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

1. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
2. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
4. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
7. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
8. The eight maids a milking were the eight beatitudes.
9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Ghost: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.
10. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
11. Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.

So there is your history lesson for today. I found this interesting and now I know how this “very strange” song became a Christmas carol.

To conclude my wondering about how much Christmas there can be in Florida - tonight, in 1/2 an hour, Diane and I are going to a Christmas bonfire on the beach put on by the local community; tomorrow after breakfast we are going to a Christmas parade; yesterday was the Jingle Bell Run in St. Petersburg (all the runners have bells around their ankles) and last Sunday was the Christmas Toy Run (This is a motorcycle ride that came right past our place, with many bikes and riders dressed up in Christmas decoration. There were 2000 - 45 minutes of watching. See my next blog with some pictures of the Toy Run.)

Fun in the Snow

Apparently by tonight and tomorrow, we are supposed to be back to normal - rain and plus 8 degrees. My window in the MCBC office in Abbotsford looks across a nice litte grassy area and then right into the Columbia Bible College dining room. Well, this grassy area is now blanketed in at least 8 inches of snow, but also covered with partially filled-in foot prints and snow angels.

Yes a whole wack of CBC students had a friendly snow ball fight, and when tired, collapsed on their backs to make snow angels. It looked like a lot of fun, but I left my snow boots at home today. Of course, these young men and women (or old boys and girls) were building relationships.

Do we take enough time to get out and have fun in the snow? Probably not - at least not me. While there won't be any more snow by Sunday, Diane and I plan to play. After church we plan to just hang out in Vancouver. We were planning to walk around the Vancouver Christmas Market, and then eventually end up at some place to watch our beloved Roughriders play in the Grey Cup game with Mark and Lisa. But, since the Christmas Market had a fire on opening day (yesterday), it has been closed until Monday. Boo! Anyway, we'll have a fun afternoon - and may the right/best team win.

Of course, going to Florida next week will be fun too!

First Nations Ministry for MCBC?

Together with Mennonite Church Canada Native Ministries and in partnership with MCC BC, we have hired Steve Heinrichs for a three month contract to research the possibilities where Mennonite Church BC might engage in the story of First Nations people in the Lower Mainland.

Steve was pastor at Church of the Way in Granisle, BC for three years. While pastoring the congregation, he was also partially funded by MC Canada Native Ministries to work with First Nations people up there. So, when Steve became available, he was clearly the right person for this research project. Steve, and his wife Ann, have a strong interest in multicultural ministry, especially with First Nations people.

So, we don't know what the results will be, but Steve has already shared his initial learnings with me. There are at least two things that have been interesting for me. First, we as Mennonites have been neighbours with First Nations people ever since the first Mennonites came to BC. This has been both knowingly and unknowingly. Secondly, there is basically one First Nations people group throughout the Lower Mainland with different branches - the Sto:lo. This fact helps to see the larger picture more easily as well as the connectedness across the region.

Steve has prepared a sermon that he would like to preach in our congregations. It would be good for each of our congregations to make the effort to welcome Steve on a Sunday sometime between now and March 2011.

Installing Pastors

Almost every time we are getting ready to install a new pastor, somebody comes up with a wise crack about installing a light bulb, a dryer or kitchen cabinets.

I agree that it is a word with multiple meanings. I also agree that it seems like a bit of a strange word to use. But, it is also the best word. Some may suggest words like: commissioning or blessing. These words have good meaning, but they don't say it right and they don't say it all. What we are recognising is a new start for a new pastor in a particular congregation in a particular place. Similarily, when light bulbs, dryers, and kitchen cupboards are installed, they represent a new start in a particular place.

So, we installed Aaron Roorda as associate/youth pastor at Eden Mennonite Church in Chilliwack. We installed Jonathan Deng as fulltime (previously half time) pastor at White Rock Mennonite Christian Fellowship. We installed Gordon Carter as pastor at United Mennonite Church in Black Creek (on Vancovuer Island). And, we installed Tim Froese as associate pastor at Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver. So there you have it.

Heading Back to Saskatoon

The Mennonite Church Canada Fall Leadership Assembly was in Saskatoon this year (November 10-12, 2010). I go there because as Executive Minister in MCBC, that makes me an Area Church Minister in one of the five regions of Mennonite Church Canada.

Of course, this also gives opportunity to see the parents. I took an extra day and drove to Rosthern to spend a day ahead of the business meetings with my parents. I was able to help Dad get his minivan ready for selling - cleaning it out and doing a few other things. You see, Dad is almost 93, and he decided to let the insurance expire on his vehicle in October. He did take it for one last drive the day before expiration. Mom and Dad are doing fine - both at the Rosthern Mennonite Nursing Home, with Mom in nursing care, and Dad in assisted living.

I stayed with Diane's parents for the days of the assembly in Saskatoon. It was really good catching up.

It is always good to be about the business of the church - both the challenging and frustrating stuff, as well as the inspiring stuff. This assembly is the body that discerns what the most important conversations on theology and church life are these days, and then figures out the time and place for the larger church to engage these. The theme that has caught our attention is, "Delighting in the Word of God" (both the Written Word and the Living Word). As we delight, we then also discern - what the Word is saying to us in our day. We were deciding what topics would be good to spend some time on in discernment at our annual MC Canada Assemblies. Last year the topic of discernment was "peace". We are still figuring out what we will do in 2011 and 2012, but it will probably be in the area of human sexuality. It's because there are so many sexual distractions right at our fingertips, that they are destroying our society.

These meetings have the strange rhythm of always being over Remembrance Day. So, on Wednesday I was caught in a nasty traffic jam on my way to the meetings, then on Thursday there was nothing. I commented to my passenger, and he said, "It's a holiday." Oh yeah, we have our meetings on a holiday. Anyway, we made the most of it. The local churches have a "Remembering for Peace" service at the Rotary Peace Park along the South Saskatchewan River. We surround the Peace Plaza Monument, which had a flame burning at the top, and had a beautiful service of prayer, remembering and committing ourselves to work for peace.




Since I had a block of extra time after my last session and before the flight home, I headed down the the Rider Store in the Centre at Circle and 8th. It's a new store for this year. I stood in the middle and wanted to phone somebody (but everyone was at work). It was like being a kid in the mall at Christmas.

IMPaCT

International Mennonite Pastors Coming Together happened between September 23rd and October 7th, 2010. Four pastors from the Fraser Valley were paired with four pastors from Asia for two weeks. While IMPaCT seriously took two whole weeks out of my life, they were two great weeks! The impact was primarily intended for the participating pastors, but many others of us were seriously impacted for life. The four local churches were also deeply touched by the presence of these celebrities in their midst. It was a lot of work for me (also Janette at the office and a number of others), but the rewards were all worth it.







If you want to see all the pictures, copy this link and paste it into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/117168908545129289254/IMPaCT2010#

Building a Core Group to Revitalise a Church

Here's an idea that came up at our most recent MCBC Evangelism and Church Development Committee meeting. When there is a congregation that has lost its growth edge or is aging, and is in need of revitalisation, build a core group that is energised to both belong to the existing congregation and to take that congregation into a revitalised future.

Is this a new concept? We thought that it might be. There are a few existing concepts of revitalisation. (1) A congregation could bring in a younger pastor to bring the new growth. (2) The denomination can shut down the plateaued or aging congregation and then after a brief period of time, start a new congregation at the same location; the former members would be invited to come, but clearly this will be different. (3) A church planter could be brought in to start a completely new congregation, using the existing congregation's building as their location.

So, starting a new core group to revitalise an existing congregation involves a few serious commitments. A key understanding is that the congregation wants to be revitalised and that renewing a congregation to be a multi-generational church once again is worth it. Here are some considerations. People would have to relocate into the neighbourhood - buying or renting homes, moving from elsewhere in the city, or from an entirely different city. There would be a commitment to walk with people who have gotten tired (leaning heavy on their love and prayer support) while also walking into the neighbourhood and loving a whole new group of people. The commitment is radical...but so is the Good News!

I would love your engagement in this discussion. Throw out some more radical thoughts. Wet blankets are welcome too. If the idea is a God-thing, there is no wet blanket that can smother it!

What's Up This Fall?

What is happening this fall in the world of Mennonite Church BC?

A big project happening from September 23rd to October 7th is IMPaCT (International Mennonite Pastors Coming Together). IMPaCT is an initiative of Mennonite Church Canada that is co-sponsored by one of its area churches (by Mennonite Church BC in 2010). We are planning to bring together 10 pastors from several countries in Asia in order that they might grapple with issues of being the church in the world today. Guest pastors will be paired with MCBC pastors from the Fraser Valley. By being hosted in the host pastor’s home, friendships will be forged, support and encouragement will be offered, challenges will be shared and extended, bread will be broken, and all will come to see Jesus more clearly through the eyes of the other.

The core group of pastors will spend two weekends involved in a local congregation, a week studying and reflecting together on the theme of "the church as a prophetic voice in our world today", and several days interacting with the broader constituency and a variety of leadership persons.

Please pray for IMPaCT 2010. We are planning a public event at the Level Ground Mennonite Church in Abbotsford on the evening of October 3rd. Come and be energised by this experience.

Dovetailing with IMPaCT will be our annual Pastor/Spouse Retreat at Camp Squeah. The last 3 days of the IMPaCT event will be at the retreat. This will give a broader opportunity for building relationships and learning about God's activity in the world, extending to all our MCBC pastors and their spouses.

OTHERWISE, at MCBC we are just doing what we do. We only exist for the congregations and their leadership. If we are able to help our congregations and our pastors to be stronger and healthier, then we have a reason to exist. That's what it's all about. So this summer, MCBC has been helping congregations find new pastors. This fall we will celebrate 70 years of ministry with Cedar Valley Mennonite Church in Mission. We will also get the monthly pastors gatherings going again. In the 3rd week of each month, don't try to book a lunch meeting with me, because I'll be hanging out with pastors - Tuesday in Vancouver, Wednesday in the Fraser Valley, and Thursday with the Youth Pastors. It's all about building a community experience where we can belong and be open with each other.

This fall the MCBC Leadership Board is taking a good look at our priorities and deciding to what we should be giving our greatest attention. This will carry into a Leadership Board Retreat in January and to our annual meeting in February. This also gives opportunity for Janette and me (the 2 MCBC staff) to sharpen our focus as to what are the things that should receive our highest priority.

We have our fingers in a lot more stuff, but I'll encourage you read the greater story in our September edition of the News 'n Notes.

Mennos Ride Again

The Third Annual Mennonite Church BC Motorcycle Ride took place last weekend. It was a long time putting it together. Commitments came early, but then lots of coming and going took place in the last week, even the last day. We planned it as a 2 day ride, in the end we had 12 bikes with 3 going double, so 15 riders (12 men and 3 women). Then, we had a group of 5 bikes from South Abbotsford MB Church decide to start at 6 am on Sunday and make it all the way around in one day. They met us in Lytton, and from there we were 17 bikes and 20 riders. Hence the impressive photo at the viewpoint on the Summit of Jackass Mountain in the middle of the Fraser Canyon. Our route was the Duffey Lake Road (heading up through Squamish to Whistler, Pemberton and staying the night in Lillooet; then to Cache Creek and down through the Fraser Canyon, back to the Lower Mainland and home).

Pray for Wendell Martens. He was committed to come, but 2 days before the ride he had a motorcycle accident and is pretty banged up.

To see more photos, go to picasaweb.google.com/117168908545129289254, click on the first photo, then all the rest of the photos will appear. Double click on any photo and you can scroll through them manually, clicking on the arrow buttons above the photos, OR, click on the first photo, then click on Slideshow, and watch. The album is growing as more riders add their photos.

Kids Getting Married

What, we have had 2 days of rain this summer, yeah, that's right - last weekend ... the weekend of our son Mark's wedding. Look at the weather today and the forecast for this weekend - clear, sunny and hot.

You know what, since we prayed long and hard for a beautiful weekend for the wedding, we have to look at where the real beauty was. It was a marvellous wedding, beautiful in absolutely every way (except for the weather)! Even the gift opening on Sunday afternoon was a wonderful time (except for the weather) of at least 35 people over at our townhouse. Actually, the weather dried up Sunday afternoon, winding down the only 2 days of rain all summer.

Yes, Mark and Lisa's wedding was a wonderful time. A lot of work went into preparing for it, and the preparations were all worth it. I had the special privilege of actually marrying them. Their pastor, Adam Wiggins (from Pacific Church in Yaletown), did the message. He had some great words for Mark and Lisa - and for all of us in attendance.

I'll put up a few photos, but we left most of the picture taking to the professsionals - to be seen later. You'll see that we hosted the guys as they got ready.

Mark's on the right.


Jonathan is on the left.



I love the 1967 Camaro SS - owned by a friend of the bestman.



The head table


Mark & Lisa with Grandpa & Grandma Falk. The cake topper was from their wedding, 57 years ago.

Thinking about our Young Adults

What is it that today's young adults are needing in a church experience? My biggest concern is that while young adults are looking for the right fit, they may lose connection. I'm thinking about early 20's people who have grown up in our churches - churches that have tried to be the church for all generations. I would like to start a conversation. This conversation is not to be about reaching unchurched and unbelieving young adults, but about being a church that feels like home for the adult children of those who are often giving leadership in these churches. Even new church plants that are filled with young couples in their late 20's and early 30's are not the community that the early 20's are finding to be the right fit.

One of the things I am learning is the importance of quality - especially in the music, but also in the whole experience of the worship event. Secondly ... authenticity. I would say that there is an interesting line between these two. Authenticity can be understood by some as going with the people that we have, and if they try to do their best, then everyone will appreciate the experience. Well, for many of these people, this is just not going to cut it. I would say that "trying to do our best" and "striving for excellence" are not the same. I think authenticity has to do with being yourself and not being pretentious, but also not being lame - in other words, striving for excellence. I invite responses to this definition.

Trying to do our best may end up very much short of our best, because not enough time has been put into planning, preparation and practice. When it comes time to lead, the response may be, "Oh well, it's good enough." As soon as someone begins to call for excellence, there may well be a push back of resistance. I remember a person in a worship team a number of years ago saying that our calling is to give our absolute best for God, and to prepare ourselves so as to be able to do that. This mindset did receive some resistance and criticism for trying to be too professional.

Striving for excellence includes a commitment to work well in advance so as to give ample time to plan well, and to practice long and hard. After leading, the group meets to discuss what could be done better next time. In striving for excellence, I am not suggesting hiring professional musicians; I still see this as working with the people you have. Although, having an associate pastor with a good portion of time given to working with worship, has its merit. Looking for and drawing people in with the right gifts is a constant commitment.

I invite any responses to my thoughts. It might be a good idea to set up a Facebook group discussion of things that are working; what do you think? I have just touched on this conversation. There are many angles to it. I invite them all.

My concern is that we be authentic, and that we know our people so that everyone feels they belong. But, my concern is also that once our young adults leave the home church in pursuit of a better fit, they may drift into an individualised "me and God" situation. Once you slip out of regular involvement in a particular church, the drive to be in Christian community every week can weaken pretty quickly.

Many, many years ago, Bono wrote the song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." This song was a response to a challenge for one of U2's producers, Daniel Lanois. Lanois told Bono that he had not written a Gospel song. He reminded Bono that he had written many songs that spoke about God in various ways, but not one that expressed the Good News of the Gospel. This song was Bono's response to that invitation. When I first heard what was behind this song, I was cut to the heart. Bono was saying that, while he loves Jesus and is seeking to follow him, this world doesn't show enough evidence of God's people living out the Good News. There is way too much hatred, greed and injustice, and so he was saying that he is not satisfied with these conditions, and that he will long for and strive towards the inbreaking of the Good News into these situations.

Making Every Opportunity to Connect with Parents

Our trip to Saskatchewan was built around the church anniversary celebration, but with the opportunity to spend some time with our parents, me made the most of our days. We got there a couple of days early and stay an extra day afterward.

We had intentions of taking my parents up the Anglin Lake - the place where we had a cabin for 18 years and a place of many summer memories on the lake. Dad had a bad cold and decided not to come, but Diane and I took my Mom for a whole day of going to familiar places.


This is the place where we always docked our boat. Also, just out a little ways, where the point is jutting into the picture on the left, was a great spot where we sometimes stop the boat to jig for pickerel (walleye); or, we might cast off the dock for jack (northern pike).



We bought Subway sandwiches in Prince Albert, brought them up to the lake and had a picnic at a table just in front of the Anglin Lake store, and over looking the water. These experiences brought back great memories - too bad the soft ice cream machine was not working.



The next day we took my Mom and Dad out for lunch to a lovely spot in Rosthern called the Station Arts Centre (build around the old train station). Dad didn't see anything on the menu he liked, so he ordered two different pieces of pie. At 92 years of age, we're not going to make a big deal about his sweet tooth!





Diane's Mom celebrated her 78th birthday while we were there - the 8 on the cake is made from her favourite licorice candy.

My Dad is feeling much better now, so we expect all of them come to Vancouver for Mark and Lisa's wedding on August 7th. Please pray for God's grace so that all of them may be able to come.

100 Years of Church

On July 17th and 18th the Zoar Mennonite Church in Langham, Saskatchewan celebrated their 100th Anniversary. I pastored there from 1989 to 1998. There were lots of festivities all day Saturday, starting with a pancake breakfast and ending with a coffeehouse in the evening. We really didn't bring our camera out much until Sunday, but we spent the whole day hanging out with old friends and eating! The one thing that Diane did take a picture of was the horse-drawn wagon on which she took ride around town. It was probably as much fun being with friends on the wagon as seeing the town from this perspective.




On Sunday we packed the church. Having a choir made for a wonderful opportunity to fill every seat in the building. The choir and the worship was very good. I shared some stories from our years at the church for about 5 minutes, and others did the same.



Now, you need to understand that while I was pastor at Zoar, I challenged the congregation that if we ever reached 200 people on a regular Sunday morning worship service, I would eat my lunch on the roof of the church! Well, there was one time, back in the day, when we had a special celebration and filled the place with over 200 people, but I reminded them that the challenge was for a regular worship service. 12 years later there were some who still remembered this story, and they were not letting me get away with it this time. I don't know where Menno Zacharias got the ladder so quickly, but in no time he and a few others had rallied the support of the crowd, and I was up to the roof (I had finished my burger, but still had my desert in hand). Diane was not really paying attention, but when she heard the people laughing, she turned around and saw me on the roof of the church entrance, siting and eating my desert. How does the saying go, "With friends like these you don't need any enemies!"




Well, it didn't take long and the people wanted all the pastors up there who had served since my time. Abe Buhler bounded up like nobody's business - with his plate in hand. Soon to follow was Herman Wiebe. It was a great time. There was some talk among the people that an ambulance should be called to be on standby!



Since I have this feeling that one of these pictures will end up in the Canadian Mennonite, I thought I would give you the first viewing, and the true story.

There is so much to see

Some of you may know that I rode my motorcycle to Calgary for the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly. My brother, Howard, came from Saskatchewan on his motorcycle and joined our closing session of the conference. He also joined me at my billet on Friday night. Then, right after breakfast on Saturday we hit the road to the mountains to ride for 3 days. Just past Banff, we turned off the Trans-Canada Highway and headed south to Radium Hot Springs. The weather was actually a little wanting - with cold and rain - causing us to fill up with a bowl of hot soup and a good cup of coffee at Radium. Everything started to improve after that.

We ended up in Creston the first night. After taking in a local Baptist worship service, and having lunch, we embarked on the most popular motorcycle-riders stretch of road in all of BC. In the Destination Highways book, it is No. 1. This is the road from Creston to the ferry crossing Kootenay Lake. It is #1 for the twistiness of the road and the beauty of the surroundings. It was great, although there are a number of other great roads that rival it. In fact, I would probably say that both the Sunshine Coast Highway, the Sea to Sky Highway, and the Duffey Lake Road all are contenders for #1. Sunshine Coast and Sea to Sky both have the ocean views which just add a little more majesty than any of the inland waterways.

We stayed the night at a bed and breakfast called "On the Cliff". The name gives away the beauty of this location. Just a side note - if you're ever in this area, take in Ainsworth Hot Springs ... or make it your actual vacation destination. It is unique like no other hot spring in that you go right into the caves in the mountain to enjoy the water.

On our last day we headed west from Kaslo, and immediately were on another amazing road (okay Destination Highways does rate it a #5 - out of 85 roads rated in BC). To make a great story short, Howard and I wound our way to Revelstoke and parted ways there, each taking two days to head home - one to Saskatchewan and the other to Vancouver.

Back to work. But there is more to come. Two friends and I had prepared to do a two day ride through northern Washington State on July 23 & 24. Erich Krause knew the way, a friend of ours, Howard Obrand joined, then Erich added a third friend, Ted Neufeld to make a great foursome. They weather also was great. We went down the west coast to where state highway #20 heads east through the mountains. Some amazing beauty that I was seeing for the first time. The only problem was that I had to deal with these 3 Harley riders the whole way - they speak their own language! Once the heat started rising and the terrain turn to desert, we turned north and made our way to the Krause cabin at Oroville, WA. Erich had promised 2 things - a dip in the lake to cool down and a steak barbecue. He came through on both. It doesn't get much better than this.


Erich, Howard and Garry at the Janzen house at the outset of the ride (Ted joined us in South Surrey).


On Saturday we took the Canadian route back, through Princeton and Hope. But, we were not to end our time in the US without one more beautiful ride. The short run from Oroville to the Nighthawk border crossing is a desert road, but it winds alongside a river straddled by greenery, ending up at this quaint, one horse border crossing in the outback. It was great. Well, I'll leave it at that.