Advent is Coming (Click here for 2007 Visioning Survery)

Advent is coming and I find myself reflecting on 2007 as we're about to begin a new Christian year. 2007 - in a word would be growth. As a congregation and as a minister/preacher/pastor/colleague/mentor/father/life partner/friend, that's really what 2007 was all about. As a congregation, Christ United has grown in numbers, in passion, in openness, in awareness, in commitment and in faith. We've taken a number of risks together and folks have walked with one another as we've transition from a board to a council; analogue to digital worship; and small CCK program to growing and expanding. We've added more opportunities for fellowship and sharing our faith. We've welcomed new music into our midst and celebrated as young voices fill the air and our hearts. This really has been a year of growth.
So what do we do with that momentum? One of the reasons for the visioning survey is to perpetuate the momentum we've created while at the same time endeavoring to make sure that we're not simply madly going off in all directions. We have something very special here in our church family and we certainly do not want to lose that, yet at the same time we need to build on the successes of the past and the work of our fore bearers so that we create and sustain a legacy of faith. The survey is one tool that will help us to do that. Please take a moment to fill it out and send it or drop it off at the church.
So if 2007 was "growth" perhaps, if together we seek to discover what God is calling us to become, 2008 will be the year of possibilities.

Christian Vs. Christ Follower

I was at a meeting this week where one of my colleagues talked about his memory of doing sword drills as part of his youth group experience and I was reminded of this video. Sword Drills was a game where the leader would call out a biblical citation: Luke 3:27 (or any other) and people would race to find it and then the winner would read it aloud. In essence it was a game that promoted the idea that s/he who knew how to use their bible the best was the winner.
Its odd for me to look at it this way. If I accept that we live in an age of Christian illiteracy - then I need to ask how this game helped develop followers of Christ. It seems to me that somewhere along the line we've lost the common unifying factor we once had: Jesus our Christ. We've gotten caught up in the debates of the 80's and 90's arguing over right and left; conservative and liberal; correct and wrong; and somehow lost what being a Christian was/is all about. To put it simply and succinctly, Christianity is about living out ones faith in Jesus our Christ. Notice though that there are three components to this definition, all of which are essential. There's "living out;" "Faith;" and "Jesus our Christ." Without any one of these Christianity becomes nothing more than an elitist social club where the members claim moral superiority over others. Christianity = faith + action + Christ. Simple, yet so difficult.

Tribute for Constable Douglas Scott

This week, as a community and as a nation, we buried one of our own. While many families have and will experience the tragic and violent death of a loved one, there is something particularly shocking when that person is a member of our police services. In Doug's case it was all the more so because of his age and the amount of time that he'd been a Constable in the RCMP. His death has caused many to ask serious questions about the security risks police officers take every day when they arrive for their shift; about the rational of sending such a young person to such a remote location; and of the general publics safety. There are no simple answers to these questions. The reality of life is such that people will commit violent crimes. The reality of life is such that people will continue to die from such crimes. Yet in the midst of the mourning around Doug's death perhaps a light has been shone on the plight of northern communities and the conditions in which they live. Our country has many demons to deal with and perhaps, just perhaps, Doug's tragic death will help us come face to face with the necessity of right relations with our aboriginal sisters and brothers. He stood shoulder to shoulder with those who call the great white north their home and regarded them as equals, how can we do any different?
The clip us from YouTube and is a tribute to Doug. May his family and the two communities directly affected by his tragic death know the healing potential of God's Holy Spirit and may we all work towards right relations within our own families and communities.