Why God Loves Bald Guys

When I was a youth pastor and teens would tease me about my hairline, I would send them to 2 Kings 2:23-25.  If you are not familiar with the story, a bunch of youth start making fun of the prophet Elisha's baldness and then a couple of bears come out and kill forty-two of the youth.  A nice story for bald guys.

Last Sunday, we began our "You Asked For It" series.  I decided this year to open up the requests outside of our congregation.  Mike Ford from Dundas Baptist Church suggested 2 Kings 2:23-25 as a joke but I decided to take him up on it.  I believe that every passage of Scripture is preachable.

What I did was to take a look at the context.  When you look at the time of Elisha, and Elijah before him, we see that Israel was a place hostile to the worship and service of God under the reign of Ahab and Jezebel.  People were losing their lives for openly serving God.  Bethel, where these youth came from, was a centre for pagan worship and the persecution of God's people.  For almost fifty young men to approach Elisha in a hostile way, suggests that this story is more than just a joke about baldness.  Elisha's life was likely in danger.

I also saw two applications to this passage.  The youth's contempt for Elisha was a reflection of their contempt for God.  This passage challenges us to reflect upon God's holiness and power and how much we respect God.  Secondly, this passage teaches us about generational responsibility.  It is likely that the adults of Bethel had made choices to stand against God and that they were willing to pay that price.  But a basic principle of life is that none of us are isolated.  We can not pay the price alone, others will always pay as well.  These youth responded to what the adults had done and they paid for the choices of the earlier generation.  What choices are we making?  We may be willing to pay the price but are we willing for the next generation to pay the price for our choices?

I still think this passage is kind of funny but I also see that it makes more sense in context and that it does have practical applications regarding God's holiness and our generational responsibility.

  

The Noticer

I recently read a very interesting book titled the Noticer written by Andy Andrews.  The standards of Christian fiction have gone up since the Shack.  People are looking for more than entertainment, people are looking for tools to bring meaning to life without having to read a systematic theology or a philosophy textbook.  While different in style from the Shack, the Noticer does the same thing in helping people to bring meaning to the uncertainty of life. 

The story begins with Andy as a young man meeting a mysterious person named Jones.  Not Mr. Jones, just Jones.  Andy, whose life had fallen apart as a young man, receives some much needed perspective which results in a transformed life.  Fast forward a number of years and Andy has become a successful man.  After many years away, Jones also reappears and introduces his special brand of perspective into a number of people's lives.  

The reader is left with Jones' words not just as a part of some fictional person's experience but as a challenge to our own lives and lack of perspective.  Andy Andrews offers an interesting and enjoyable book that has the potential to help many people who feel overwhelmed in life's chaos.  While mentioning God and the Bible, the book is not pushy in its Christianity and non-Christians would enjoy the book as well.  A highly enjoyable read. 

Trip to Ottawa

Last week to cap off my vacation, Amanda and I went to Ottawa.  I had been there briefly when I was in high school (22 years ago!) but I was eager to see it again.  We had a great time.  We went through the Parliament buildings, national gallery, museum of civilization and even caught a movie.  It was nice in that we could walk almost any where, including going into Hull, Quebec.  I am absolutely amazed what a beautiful city Ottawa is.  I would go back in an instant.  We were blessed to have such a fun time on our vacation.

A Spiritual Potluck

I have always enjoyed a church potluck.  There is something about inviting everyone to be involved instead of just appointing certain people to cook a meal for everyone else to consume.  I thought that this was a good model for a worship service.  So on Sunday, at both Woodford and Meaford, we had a spiritual potluck.  Our biblical inspiration was Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:46.  People were invited to bring what they had to bless others in worship.  There were songs, poems, Scripture and stories to encourage.  There even were some pleasant surprises.  I was very pleased with how things went and I look forward to doing this again.

Seven Pounds

Last night Amanda and I watched an interesting movie called Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. At first it was a very confusing movies. It was one of those movies that waits until the very end to explain everything. If you start watching the movie, stick with it as it is worth it. The movie is about a man identified as an IRS agent who visits a number of people and begins to do things for them. He checks into their lives, determines if they are worthy and then blesses them beyond measure. In a world where selfishness reigns, this movie is a huge challenge with regard to the power of generosity. I certainly do not agree with the way that the character finally provides for the people he is interested in, but it does leave one wondering what our lives are doing for other people. There is even a sort of analogy to Jesus who was willing to give all for the sake of the many. Seven Pounds is a movie worth seeing.

Thanks Andrew!

Last Sunday was my second Sunday off. I am thankful for Andrew Scholl for taking the pulpit for me. Andrew is one of our deacons at Woodford and was Woodford's interim pastor before I arrived. He is also the director of R.A.Y. Ministries, a youth drop-in centre in Owen Sound. Andrew is a good friend and my fairly frequent sci-fi/superhero movie partner. Thanks Andrew for taking the services at both Woodford and Meaford.

I am looking forward to this coming Sunday. Both my churches have been known to have potlucks, it is almost a third sacrament after baptism and communion. Recently I had the idea of taking the principles of a potluck meal and applying that to a worship service. I have asked people at both congregations to bring what they can, whether a Bible passage, poem, testimony, hymn request or whatever. So far the response has been very good and I am looking forward to what people are going to bring. I am enjoying my vacation but I am also looking forward to this exciting worship service.

Why I Am Not a Calvinist

To celebrate Calvin's birthday, I thought I would explain I am not a Calvinist.  It basically comes down to the five points known by TULIP.

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

1. I accept the doctrine of depravity in that I accept that human nature has been corrupted by original sin.  But what Calvinist normally mean by this is that no one would ever look for God unless they were the elect and God revealed Himself.  What do we do with the fact that there are thousands of people who seem interested in God but never become Christians?  We can redefine seeking and redefine God all we want but people still seem interested in God.  What about what Paul says in Romans?  We must remember that Paul was not writing a systematic theology but was responding to a specific situation at Rome.  He was trying to show that the Jews and the Gentiles were on a level playing field, neither group could meet God's standards.

2. Unconditional election means that God chose at the beginning of time who would be saved, separate from any willingness of the individual to put their faith in God.  Election is spoken of in the Bible and I will confess that I do not fully understand it.  What I do know is that the Bible puts expectations on people to believe and to follow and to be obedient.  The Bible seems to take seriously the need to choose God.  How does this fit with unconditional election?

3. Limited atonement means that Jesus only died for the elect and not the whole world.  1 John 2:2 says "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

4. Irresistible Grace.  I am not sure what to make of this one.  I am not sure that it takes seriously the biblical command to choose who we will serve.  How can we choose if we don't have a choice?

5. Perseverance of the Saints.  This means once saved only saved.  I am not sure this takes seriously Hebrews 6 which describes the consequences of someone who loses faith.  Calvinists would not deny that there are people who seem to fall away.  Instead they would say that membership in the elect is confirmed by those who remain faithful to the end.  In fact Calvinists and Arminians would say that only those who remain in Christ (whether they were ever there in the first place) receive eternal life.

This is not meant as an attack on Calvinists.  Some of my best friends are Calvinists.  This is only an explanation of where I am in my journey so far.  Who knows?  God may change my mind yet!   

Beware of Cooties!

As a child I knew they were dangerous but I had no idea how serious! This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Happy Birthday John Calvin!

Today is John Calvin's 500th birthday!  Calvin is one of the greatest leaders and theologians of the Reformation and his influence continues greatly today.  Now I am not the most reformed Christian and I struggle with the five points of Calvinism (TULIP) but I do respect Calvin as a theologian and a Bible scholar.  Happy birthday Calvin, you are look good for 500.

Battlestar Galactica

As a child, I thoroughly enjoyed the 1970's Battlestar Galactica.  It was a classic in science fiction even if the Cylons looked a little cheesy.  A few years ago they remade Battlestar Galactica into a mini-series.  This was what is called a re-boot, that is it starts from scratch, re-imagining the original and not requiring continuity with the past.  I was blown away.  They took of the best of the past and introduced many new concepts (they even redesigned the Cylons).  That made for TV mini-series was better than most big budget movies.  Thankfully they made Battlestar Galactica into a TV series.  That series has since ended and I watched many of the episodes but unfortunately missed just as many.  I have now picked up the first three seasons and am currently watching the first season.  There is some things that I do not like about it.  They struggled from season to season with how much sexuality to include.  However, the quality of the stories more than make up for the few head turns required during the series.  I am enjoying watching the series, re-watching some episodes now that I know some of what happens.  This is science fiction at its best.      

My Adventure

On Saturday, Amanda left for Calgary to visit family and friends.  That means I get almost a week of quality time with the kids.  I remember when I thought it was a lot of work looking after just Logan and that was when he was young and we did not know he had autism.  Now I am looking after five, each of whom can be faster, stronger and smarter than I am.  There have been some challenges.  Logan, who is most often easy going and well-tempered, had a major meltdown which also set off Abby.  Had to call in help on that one.  I also have to be very careful as Logan has been known to try and leave the house.  I keep the front door locked, alarmed and barricaded with heavy boxes.  He can get through all three measures but it at least slows him down.  Oh the joys of autism!

But there has been lots of fun as well.  The other day Logan was very proactive in playing with Justus, Emma and Faith.  I opened a toy for Abby and she responded with an encouraging "Good job!"  Justus insisted that instead of pooping our poop, he was pooping out meatballs.  So that is where they come from!  Emma was cranky and crying and Logan had already had enough and responded with a loud squawk of protest.  Emma yelled back "Fine!" and then stopped crying and ate her dinner.  Faith has been falling asleep at the same time each day, no matter what position she is in or what toy she is lying on.  Every day the kids have done something to make me laugh.

I am glad that Amanda has had a chance to get away and I hope she enjoys the rest of her time in Calgary.  I will be looking forward to her return.  Unfortunately she will not be home until Friday instead of the expected Thursday.  A friend of hers died this week in an ATV accident and her funeral is on Friday.  She was only around 30 and we saw her and her husband just a couple of weeks ago.  Please pray for her family.

First Sunday Off

I am now on two weeks of holidays.  Sunday was my first Sunday off of my vacation.  Preaching for me was Jim Neale.  I first met Jim when he was pastoring at First Baptist Church, Thornbury.  After his retirement, Jim and his wife Iris began attending First Baptist Church, Meaford.  Although Jim has done quite a bit of interim ministry at Durham Baptist Church, he has been a great blessing to our church.  I appreciate Jim's wisdom, humility and overall balance.  I greatly appreciate Jim bringing his message to the people of Woodford and Meaford.

My Journey So Far

One of the rewarding projects I have undertaken recently is to write out my faith journey.  It was amazing to see how often and how differently God has intervened in my life.  If you are interested in my story, you can find it here.  The cost is purely for the printing and I do not make any money.  You can also download it for free.  Feel free to pass this on.