Update Tuesday

Last week I began to share some of the things that have been impressed upon my heart and mind after spending time with words of Jesus in John 13:34-35. Last week I shared about what we have been learning about discipleship and how we intend to incorporate those ideas into our new work in Hamilton. The next important thing that we have seen in the above mentioned passage is community. The words "one another" have really begun to stand out as extremely important.
The new command that Jesus gives in this passage is to "love one another," and thus the most obvious place to start is to say that in order to live out this command there really must be a "one another," other people with whom to be in relationship. When we consider the context of the passage in which we find this verse we notice that Jesus is in the intimate setting of the last supper with just his disciples. Although we have many other examples of where we are called to love everyone in our midst, our neighbours, our enemies etc. in this example I believe that Jesus is saying something about community and fellowship with other believers. I have heard many people say over the years, that they can be a good Christian without church. I suppose that really depends on how they are defining "church," but if what they mean is that they can do it without other believers then I would suggest that they are not following this command from Jesus, and if they are not following this command, are they being disciples? And is there really being a Christian apart from being a disciple? Jesus seemed to start with his disciples by calling them to himself and then putting them into relationship, the group of twelve, with whom to work, serve, learn, make mistakes, encourage and find accountability. They were never perfect, and nor will we be perfect. They got mad at each other and offended each other (Mark 10:41), and so will we, but that did not seem to change things for Jesus - he still saw it as important and still continued to use community as a key in his approach. I think that the early chapters of Acts also give us some important glimpses into how the early church saw fit to continue to live out this command.
There is more to community, however, than just being a command. As it turns out with so many of the commands, there is much wisdom in them and much benefit for those who follow. I have had many experiences that have demonstrated to me just how powerful this idea of community is.
Our first experiences probably comes from our time spent at the Oakville Sanctuary where we worshiped and served before coming to Milton. We got involved in the small group ministry fairly early on, and as we look back on our time there, the best and most powerful memories come from the small group we were a part of. It is where we forged deep relationships, where we were able to not only explore questions of faith but had the opportunity to walk with each other as that faith hit the realities of life. Together we walked through birth and death, good times and tough times, family struggles and celebrations and even a few lost jobs and unemployment. We saw all that life had to offer and were able to walk with each other through each situation.
For Kim and I, we remember making the decision to go through the process to adopt children. It was our home church that prayed with us through every step. It was that same group who came and rallied around us and painted our house (interior and exterior!) and cleaned it and did all the things, including selling our house, as we moved to a bigger place preparing for whomever God might choose for us to adopt. I will never forget the night when our biological son Liam, age 3 at the time, got to announce to the home church that he had a new brother and sister and bring out a picture of Daniel and Caroline. We were able to laugh and cry and celebrate together that night, as God saw fit that we would receive the phone call telling us that we had been chosen to parent Daniel and Caroline just as we were preparing to host our weekly gathering. And again, it was our home church that threw us a giant "not babies" baby shower, inviting our family and church, as we prepared to welcome our new children into our life.
With these experiences behind us, we sought to bring something similar to Milton. We have had the privilege of walking with those in the worship team in a small group experience each week. One of the things that God had been impressing upon my heart was that if we were to be a worship band, then we needed to be growing as worshipers and thus early on we added a bible study time to our weekly band practices. It has grown to be the most significant part of our time in Milton. As we walk and grow together, similar to our experience in Oakville, we have been faced with life and death, unemployment, celebrations and struggles. Again, it has been this small group were we have experienced growth and encouragement, accountability and support. One significant factor in this has been our sharing a meal each week. No one can take credit for the idea, certainly not me. It came out of necessity and practicality. If you live in the GTA and commute to work then you know that the traffic is about as bad as you will find in all of North America. It was a real challenge for our group to get home from work, have dinner and then make it to our place early enough to have both a bible study and practice. Breaking it up over two nights would mean a commitment of two weeknights, Sunday morning (which includes packing your instrument at home, bringing it to church and setting up, playing for the service, tearing down, heading home and again unloading and setting up your equipment) and again at special occasions. So in order to meet the challenge, we offered to host a meal so that people could come straight here. Well, the meal has been far more significant then we could have imagined. It has forged much closer relationships, it had deepened our bible study and discipleship as people trust more deeply and share more honestly. It has even affected our music. Knowing and trusting each other more deeply somehow means that we play together better as well. Once again we continue to learn about what relationship and community can mean for those following Jesus.
I need to be honest, sometimes people bug me and get on my nerves, and often times I know I bug others and get on their nerves. Sometime we really blow it with each other and, yes, sometimes people in the church are downright cruel. I don't think that this, however, nullifies the need for community. We don't give up on it when we make mistakes. It was to important to Jesus and it has proven too important in my own life to give up on.

So what does this mean for our future work in Hamilton? It means that what we hope to do will be highly relational. One of our core principles will be developing community. As we seek to live out the discipleship that I shared about last week, it will be done in the context of community. We will begin by having people into our home, sharing our lives and sharing meals together. We have been praying that God would lead us to people of peace. We hope to meet them as we meet people in our neighbourhood, have them over and build relationships. We will then prayerfully begin the discipleship and grow a home church in our home. We will share meals together, share the word together, share in prayer together and share our lives together as we seek to live out what we learn about God and all that He has for us. I cannot say with certainty where God will take it and lead it, and I certainly won't pigeon whole Him, but if you were to ask me now, I would suggest that what we will be starting is a network of interdependent house churches that will continue to spread across Hamilton.
Again, I hope that you can see why we have asked for prayer for people of peace. We hope also that you can see how strategic the right home in our community will be and that you will continue to hold that in prayer.
So, Discipleship and Community - two of the core fundamentals our our new work. Next week we will look at one further observation and the last core fundamental with which we will move forward.

Advent!

Can you believe it is already Advent? it is crazy to think just how fast Christmas is coming. As I think about my calendar, I can already see places that I am double booked and I know that if I am not careful with all this Christmas stuff going on I am going to miss Christmas. So in order that that does not happen we are going to try something a bit different this year. My wife has posted a few thoughts about this season over at here blog, including her most recent post in which she shares a bit of an experiment that our family will be doing this year. If you want to check it out then follow the link below:
www.zoo-ology.blogspot.com
Don't forget to check back tomorrow for Update Tuesday!

Free Art Friday

Another painting this time. This one was done at Ryerson Camp where my family spends a week each summer at family camp. My daughter T.J. loves to go to the craft shack and make crafts which is a perfect excuse for me to head in there and get out some paints myself. There is a little clump of red pines that I love. They sit atop the bluff overlooking lake Erie that is just outside the doors to the craft shack. So, I took a chance a capturing them with paint. They are far cooler in person, but at least my interpretation reminds me of being there.

BB King Christmas Album

If there is not a single sacred song, is a Christmas album really worth anything at all? Yes, if it is BB King. Although as a general rule I try to focus on the true heart of Christmas - which is Christ - there are some Christmas albums that have nothing to do with Jesus that I just can't help but enjoy (and then the flip side is also true, there are many albums with a lot of Jesus that I just can't stand!)
This morning I was walking to my bible study and so I took my Ipod along for the trip and thought I would have a listen to one of my wife's Christmas album purchases from a few years back - BB King's Christmas Celebration of Hope. This album is great, and here are a few reasons why:

The band - recorded a few years back when he ducked into the studio with his touring band, this group is great and the rhythm section, in particular, is tight.

The voice - the voice is the blues, and when you hear him sing there is a depth and experience that just makes everything sound like wisdom personified. So despite the trivial lyrics of most of the album, it still sounds like it should be meaningful, and that I could get a lot out it, and that I should be listening to what he has to say.

The guitar - when you listen to BB King you know that you may hear some guitar licks, and hear them often...but can there be too much of a good thing? And you know that there wont be any blistering moments of virtuosity but with that tone, and those tasty licks you want to savor every moment.

The strings - OK, so generally I hate string sections. Give me a fiddle any day, but a schlocky string section drives me crazy. But on this album everything else was so good I almost forgot that the Nashville String Machine was there.

The Lyrics - I have already said that most of the lyrics are nothing to write home about. There is some of the standard secular Christmas fare, which compared to the rich theology of the season always comes up short and trivial to me. But then there is the perverse side of my musical taste that had me laughing right out loud to the lyrics of Back Door Santa. They are terrible, but terribly funny, and having fun with the notion of Santa always makes me laugh.

So those are just some reasons tho check it out. I would love to hear what you think, or hear some suggestions as to great Christmas albums.

Walking

My family is a one car family. I admit that at times it is hard to be a family of 6 in the burbs and have one car. Sometimes it is a bit crazy, sometimes we make scheduling gaffs and have to scramble around or borrow a car or ask for a ride. That part probably drives me the most crazy. It is always humbling to have to ask for help, and in all honesty I would always prefer not to have to. But it is probably good for me to have to ask every once in a while.
Today we had one of those times where we had to be a bit creative with the schedule because I had an appointment booked at the same time that my wife had to work. It all worked out well however, as I had her drop me off early at the hardware store where I could then pick up a few things to finish a home repair project. I then walked from the store to my appointment. The one car thing creates opportunities to walk that in any other circumstance we would not take. My kids walked to art class yesterday, and today was my turn to walk to my appointment. Walking is good. Firstly, there is the physical benefit. It is so healthy and I love to be able to make it a natural part of what I am doing, as opposed to trying to fit in some exercise around an otherwise jammed schedule, probably in some fabricated environment like a gym that I would have to pay for. Secondly, it makes one slow down. Let's face it we live in a face paced hectic world, but when I have to walk somewhere I have to plan for some extra time to get to where I am going. That then leads to the last benefit, time to think. What a great chance to be by myself, be quiet and just think. There is something about walking that gets my brain active so being out there walking is a great creative time, even more than had I just been able to find time alone at home.
It got me thinking about how much Jesus walked, mostly because he had to I suppose. He was on to something however, and I wonder how much of that we, who live in the automotive dependent environment of the suburbs, have been missing.

Update Tuesday

Well, it is Tuesday again and time for another update. I have alluded to John 13:34-35 as being a very influential verse as we think about what we are going to be starting in Hamilton, so I thought that I would use the next few updates to flesh that out a bit. Hopefully it will help to bring a bit of definition to what we hope to be doing and will also help give a bit more direction to those of you who have been faithfully praying with us.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

As we were reading these verses that come from the lips of Jesus himself speaking to his disciples on his last night with them before his arrest, it struck me how important this command must have been to Jesus, and how central it should be for those of us coming after Him and in His name. As I looked closer there were three things that really began to jump out at me as we considered what it would mean to live out this command, the first of which were the words "As I have loved..."
I have come to see the words "As I have loved" as a call to discipleship. If we are to live out the command to love as Jesus calls us to do then it will mean doing so in obedience and in imitation of how Jesus himself did so. This really begins with learning who Jesus is and what He has done which then leads to a response, what He wants to do in us and through us including this command to love. I am indebted to my friend Mike for helping to show this simple but deeply important foundation of discipleship. Could it be that simple - Who He is, what He has done, what He wants to do in us and through us? I believe that it is, and again keeping it simple, the best way to get there is to go right to the source and read the words of Jesus himself and the stories about him as recorded in the gospels. I have noticed over the last few years, just how many people's ideas about Jesus are based on any number of things other than the life and words of Jesus. They have never had, or taken the opportunity, to go to the source themselves and thus make an informed decision about Jesus. They have notions about church or religion from what others have said, from the media or past experiences with the church or church people. They have not, however, had the opportunity to make a decision about Jesus from Jesus. So a big part of our "strategy" or plan is to offer people the opportunity to go to scripture and check Jesus out for themselves in order to make an informed decision and to walk with them through that process.
It is interesting as I think about it, that so many of the terms and ideas and definitions of church life that I once understood are bleeding into one another or dissolving. There is a de-compartmentalizing going on. Whereas I once may have seen evangelism and discipleship as distinctly different I am coming to see discipleship as much broader. I can introduce people to Jesus and walk with them as they get to know about Him with the goal of making an informed decision. I think that this may come closer to what Jesus meant when he encouraged people to count the cost of following him. So we don't see a very big difference between what we hope to do in evangelism and what we hope to do through discipleship. Rather, a key to our evangelism will be an invitation to discipleship.
As an aside, I see this same overlapping happening when I consider worship. Perhaps because I have spent much of my time in the last number of years "leading worship" (by which is meant music in the church), people are interested to know what we will do for worship in the new work. But again, where my heart has taken me over these last few years of exploring worship, is to a place where I recognize that discipleship and worship are not exclusive or different. As I read Romans 12:1-2 I recognize that worship is a wholistic response ("offer you bodies as living sacrifices"...) to who God is and what he has done (the "Therefore... in view of...", in 12:1 following 11 chapters of theology that culminates in the Doxology of 11:33) and that this is our "spiritual act of worship." I have not actually thought very much about the specific ways in which we will express our worship. I think that if we focus on introducing Jesus and helping people through a process of getting to know who he is and what he has done then together we can explore what he wants to do in us and through us, including our expressions of worship. So again, the distinctions that I once held seem to be dissolving a bit, or at least overlapping and I am excited to see what God may do with that.
So how do I sum up this rambling into something that will be helpful. Maybe I can summarize like this:

We want to meet people and invite them to consider checking out Jesus for themselves.
We want to take them directly to scripture.*
We want to walk with them through a process of looking at:
Who Jesus Is
What He has done
What He wants to do in us and through us.

* we will most likely use a simple approach to looking at scripture that I put together and have been working on (by which I mean I stole from multiple sources and mashed together) that you can read about in a previous post entitled Snowbirds: check it out HERE.

So that sort of summarizes how we see discipleship as one of the key foundations of our new work in Hamilton. I hope that it also helps to see why we have invited you to be praying with us for people of peace, those who are receptive to hearing about Jesus, as we move into the new community. We will not be starting with an event to which to invite people and from which we can then steer them towards discipleship opportunities but rather the opposite. We hope to invite them into discipleship, who Jesus is and what He has done and ,prayerfully, to the response of what He wants to do in me. From here God will have the freedom to work in hearts that are committed to Him to then grow whatever he wishes to grow.

Thanks again for all the support and prayer. We look forward to this journey together.

If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It

So, I was reading in Matthew again today when I read that "From that time Jesus began to preach and say 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 4:17) What struck me is that it is exactly the same message that John the Baptist had been preaching just a chapter earlier. It struck me that not even Jesus himself saw the need to really improve upon it or make a more grandiose statement. He kept it simple, didn't change it for the sake of changing it and really demonstrated the principle that if "it ain't broke, don't fix it." So how about us today? Are we willing to keep it simple? Are there things that we change just for the sake of change? Are there things that ain't broke that we insist on fixing? How many times have we tried to reinvent the wheel as we do church, or take our message to the world? Has our message suffered because of it?
Just some questions that I found myself thinking about today.

Free Art Friday

In an attempt to keep things different, today I have some photos. I was backing up my hard drive, but in order to do it I had to partition my external drive so as to keep the things that were already on there (are you impressed by the techno wizardry? My cousin is laughing right now because of the flury of e-mail back and forth yesterday morning as she walked me through the process...and all my problems). Anyway, I was going through some of the older photos on the drive and came across a few of my favourites that I took at a barn that is just a short walk down the street.

Here's to Uncle Muzz

Last night I had a great chance to visit with my cousin Sarah and her partner Joe. She is most often jet setting around the world so we keep in touch through technology, but it is always great to be able to see each other in person. We were fortunate that our families were pretty close growing up so there was a lot of funny stories and reminiscing going on. Thinking back to last night I am noticing how many of our crazy stories revolved around her dad, my uncle Muzz (no that is not his given name, but it is what almost everyone I know has always called him...which says a lot I guess). They say every family has one... you know... that uncle. Well he is ours. Now in all fairness it might to be right to classify Muzz along with all those other uncles, because truly, there is no one quite like Muzz.

So here is to Muzz, my self declared tone deaf uncle who taught me to sing my first Buck Owens song (a la Ringo)
So here is to Muzz, and jalapeno peppers (remember Adam?)
So here is to Muzz, and late night drive by's of Niagara Falls (remember Leenie? - no you wouldn't, you were lying down and missed it and we never did go back.)
So here is to Muzz, and candy rocks (or are they candy...better watch you teeth kids)
So here is to Muzz, who is making the ukulele cool again.

And these are just a few of the stories that came out last night, but I am sure if my family reads this it will bring to mind so many other great stories.
So for making life so memorable we say...

Here's to Muzz!!

Bob Dylan Christmas Album

Ok, so my wife comes home from the library with yet another Christmas album being the Christmas music freak that she is. I see it sitting on the dresser for days, with this weird looking old fashioned cover that looks like it came form the bargain bin at Zellers full of bad, no name recordings of Christmas favourites. Eventually we are standing in front of the dresser together and I make a crack about her obsession over Christmas music when she says "no, this is Dylan..seriously look..." and sure enough I take a closer look and it is a Bob Dylan Christmas album. I have to admit that I was in a bit of disbelief as that is a combination that I would never have thought of. My wife says, "I had to see what this would be like," a bit perplexed herself. Well, last night she headed out to take the girls to dance and took the CD to listen to on the way. When she returned she had an even more perplexed look on her face. The best response, however, was from my daughter who barely had words to describe it, but whose face had a look that said, "I don't know what kind of experience I just had but I think it was traumatic." Bob Dylan, whose voice just seems to get more raw and raunchy with each passing year, and Christmas music is just a odd combination to experience.
As soon as they got home, it was my chance to head out to a meeting so I took the CD with me, by this time very intrigued. I have to admit it is the best Christmas CD I have heard in a long time. I might even go as far as to say it comes second to "A Charlie Brown Christmas"... maybe. Regardless, I loved it. What I found was an beautifully weird juxtaposition of the sacred and the secular, the graceful and the gruff, the cherished and the cheesy, the consecrated and the campy. Now, I know that I have a bit of a perverse streak when it comes to music so these things, which might be all the reasons to hate this album for others, are what bring me to love it.
The album, entitled "Christmas in the Heart," is an album of 15 songs, some sacred and some secular. It has the usual secular fair including "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and some campy numbers like "Christmas Island," but what I found myself drawn to most were the secular songs. First off, kudos for including them, and so many. It doesn't shy away from the religious roots of the season. It is also here that the the sacred songs, with the wonder and awe of the story that the lyrics communicate, so abruptly collide with the gruff, gravel, I gargle with razor blades voice. But after all the versions, sung by the greatest, most refined voices in history, these versions were refreshing. There is something so real about it, and as I think about it, there is an added dimension that is missing from almost all other recordings. When he sings something like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," the lyrics capture the wonder, the arrangements and instrumentation bring us to this sacred moment in time when God, in human form and as a helpless baby, breaks into our earthly existence to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and just then Bob's voice becomes the scratchy straw, hay and wood of the common feed trough into which this Mighty God would be thrust. to me, it captures the brilliant biblical juxtaposition that is the incarnation, that is...Christmas. That and it is just plain weird at points.
Have you heard the album? What are your thoughts?

Update Tuesday

Wow, is time flying. Only how many days until Christmas? Only how many days until January when we switch to half time at the church and start to focus more on Hamilton???!!!!???
Apparently that math got away from me a bit. Here is some math that I am getting a pretty good handle on:

6 people+2 dogs X 5 years / 1 house = big mess

One of the things we will be focusing on in the new year will be all the arrangements for our relocation to Hamilton. That, of course, means selling our current house and there is a lot of work to do in order to get it ready for the market. One of the big to do items, however, was just recently crossed of the list. In the war that had been waged between our family and the carpet on the main floor, our family came out squarely on top. There was no doubt at all that the carpet had been soundly defeated and it bore the many scars and wounds of defeat. The good thing is that a few months ago some laminate flooring came on sale at an incredible price and so we bought it and had been storing it until we had time to install it. That time came last weekend when a number of guys arrived from the church to help us install it. My kids and I spent time during the week lifting all the carpet and padding, my father took it to the dump with my son Daniel on Friday, and then the crew arrived Saturday with saws and skills etc. ready to get down to work. It went so smoothly, and we had enough help, that we got the entire floor done, including trim, in one day. This was aided in no small part by the contribution of another friend who brought over chili for dinner so that our family did not have to break to prepare a meal.
To me, the day was another great reminder of the importance and the blessing of community. It is one of the key lessons that I have learned over the last few years, and that I have seen in action over and over again. It is also one of the lessons that we will take to Hamilton with us. There is a verse in John in which Jesus states:

"A new command I give you: 'Love one another'. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."
- John 13:34-35

It is a verse that I have spent a lot of time with, that has profoundly influenced how I think about what we are to be doing in Hamilton and one that I am sure you will read more about here at the blog in the coming months. Today, however, I will just mention the obvious, Jesus commands us to be in relationship. If we consider the context in which we find this verse, Jesus with his disciples at the last supper, I think we can see that he means with other believers . Although we in North American Evangelical circles focus a lot upon a personal relationship with Jesus (and rightly so) this is not to the exclusion of community. Jesus put his first followers into community, modelled it for us, commanded them to continue in relationship and we see amazing examples in the early church. I can add to the biblical witness by sharing that I have been profoundly effected by such communities of love, the least of which is not my current church in Milton. Like many of the commands we read in scripture we see that it really is for our best and is an amazing blessing for those who follow it. It is not always easy, we don't always get things right and , in fact, sometimes we down right mess it up, but it is still worth striving for and risking for.
A big thanks to Bob, Gerald, Will, Gerry, Daniel and Bev for being community for us this past week and beyond.
thanks you also to each of you who have been reading, supporting and praying for us. We are truly blessed by your love and community as well. Please don't hesitate to follow the label "Hamilton Updates" on the left of this blog to see past posts and prayer requests if you have not already read them.

Next up, painting...and then painting...and then a bit more painting!!

The Geneology of Jesus

I have recently begun reading through the Gospel of Matthew again after quite some time. I have been looking forward to reading through it again with somewhat fresh eyes. It didn't take very long before I was struck by something, in fact, it was the first section of the first chapter. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, His family line. It has the big ones, tracing His line through the exile, then back to David and finally to Abraham showing Jesus has the proper lineage and is the fulfillment of promises and covenants. There are a few interesting additions to the genealogy, most notably perhaps is the inclusion of four women. Much has been written about how unique this is and what it means to have included women. Much has also been written about the fact that three of the women are Gentiles while the fourth was married to one. It hints towards, and helps to reveal the universality of God's love and His gospel, that His intention was that Jesus would be the means by which people from all tribes and tongues and nations might find access to the kingdom. What stood out to me this time, however, was the particular stories of these women, and what it might reveal about God's heart for the disenfranchised.
The women in Jesus' genealogy are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah's wife who is Bathsheeba. When one looks closer at these women, who they were and what they did one notices that in each case, with perhaps the exception of Ruth, there are some very questionable things about them. Bathsheba committed adultery with David, Rahab was a prostitute, and Tamar seduced her father in law in order to become pregnant - not necessarily top choices to intentionally include in your genealogy if you didn't have to. What I have been struck by is the fact that they were included, that there stories were not glossed over or ignored and that by inclusion in Jesus' genealogy we get amazing stories of God's redemption. The best example is perhaps Tamar.
Tamar is found in Genesis 38, and is the daughter in law of Judah. Basically, the story goes like this, Tamar gets married and her husband dies without any children. Because this would leave a widow in a very vulnerable position with little or no means to provide for herself and her future, there were family obligations to be performed by her husband's family to take care of a widow. When her husband's family would not honour their obligations, it left her in a desperate situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures and thus she enacts a plan to pose as a prostitute, seduce her father in law, and get pregnant which would then ensure a future for herself. Now, to be clear, scripture never excuses sin. It does not shy away from calling it what it is, and despite the situation, Tamar's actions cannot be ignored or excused. But having said that, toward the end of the story we see that Judah recognizes that there is blame to go around. It was his sin, and the sin of his family that created the desperate situation in which Tamar found herself. I find myself wondering about the situations about the other women. In what situation did Rahab find herself, for which prostitution was an answer? What would it have been like for Bathsheeba to have the most powerful man in the known world to trying to seduce you? Again, it does not excuse the choices made by the women, but it does have me stopping to consider the reasons. It is here that I think about the numerous people in my life who are engaged in prison ministry who are often confronted with such stories. They work with individuals who are paying the consequences for their poor choices, and in most cases, rightly so for they have in fact broken the law. But how often do we consider the situations that put them into those positions of having to make such choices in the first place? The cycles of abuse, poverty and the list goes on. I am wondering if the story of these biblical women speaks to this at all? Does it speak to God's heart for the disenfranchised? Does it give hope to such desperate situations? Does including the story of Tamar in Jesus' lineage tell us about God's heart to bring redemption to even the most desperate of situations? If the offspring from such a sordid union as that of Tamar and Judah could go on to eventually produce the Saviour of the world, what does that say about God's grace and redemption?
Those are just some thoughts from the first chapter.

Free Art Friday

Yesterday was remembrance day and the rest of my family had an amazing experience at the Legion's service held here in Milton. You can read about that experience here. I had an appointment in the morning and was unable to make it there, so I found myself at home alone with some moments of quiet to remember. I watched a bit of the service from Ottawa on T.V. long enough to hear the The Last Post, a moment of silence, Taps, the bagpipe lament and the last verse of the famous poem In Flanders Fields. I was thinking about that poem that I have heard so many times, and as often happens, my reflections began to take a musical turn. Sometimes art is as much about the process as it is the final product, it is a natural part of how I reflect and explore and yesterday, in the quiet, that is what I found myself doing. I took a couple of moments to record a rough demo of the outcome. If you follow the link below you can listen to In Flanders Fields set to a tune that I wrote yesterday.

www.myspace.com/jasonmcgibbonproject

November 11

Lest We Forget

T.J.'s First Job

Yesterday, was my youngest daughter's first job! With the help of her aunt and uncle who are both in the business, T.J. got an agent a few months ago and has been auditioning for acting work. Yesterday, was the first official job and so she and her mom spent the day on set for a commercial. She was actually the stand in (the backup actor) on this job and so she won't actually be in a commercial that airs, but she totally used the day for all it was worth. She got a ton of on set experience, learned all the lingo and proved that she is a total natural in that setting. She also used her time to do her usual schmoozing and networking, learning the names of almost every crew member on site and ensuring that they all knew her by the end of the day. She came home with names and e-mails and has already got messages in her inbox. The crazy thing is just how opposite a personality she is from everyone in our family! If she didn't look so much like her brother Liam, and have so many other family resemblances, I would have serious doubts about which of my kids are the adopted ones.
Here are a few shots my wife took:Nice job T.J.!

Update Tuesday

As mentioned last week I am reserving Tuesdays at the blog for updates about our new work in Hamilton. I shared some of our thoughts and the things that God has been using to lay Hamilton on our hearts a few weeks ago. We have continued to pray about where that would mean more specifically. As we have been considering what our work will look like, we have begun to have a bit more clarity and direction and we will be sharing some of those thoughts in the coming weeks and months. One of our key goals, however, was to determine a neighbourhood in which we could plant ourselves as we seek people of peace with whom to begin discipleship and grow a fellowship. We have narrowed our focus down and have begun to pray very specifically about a particular area in the southwest section of the city commonly referred to as the Locke Street area, referring to the funky developing commercial strip in the heart of the neighbourhood. As we were praying about where we might begin to focus, a number of interesting incidents occurred that I thought I would share with you today.
Narrowing in on Hamilton was one thing, but then to try to figure out where specifically in Hamilton was another thing, and number of months ago we were a little overwhelmed and a bit discouraged. Where could we go where we would be able to make connections and most be used by God? We had been visiting the city, going to neighbourhoods, playing at parks with the kids and praying etc. There is no shortage of neighbourhoods or needs in Hamilton, so how do you look at a large city and determine where to plug in? Well, with all of this going on in our minds we decided to head into the city to attend a street festival that was in one of the neighbourhoods that we had heard about. We had actually visited the street once before and while we were in the cheese shop, the lady gave my son a free sample. I think that he had been sold on the neighbourhood before any of the rest of us would come to the same conclusion! Well, it was the Locke Street Festival during which the whole street is closed down and the neighbours, community groups, retail shops and restaurants get together and host a street party. There are booths and rides and entertainment etc. all along the street. We started at the south end of the street and began to make our way north. We were even not a block up the street when we met someone that we knew from Ryerson Family Camp where we have helped serve for the past number of summers. As it turns out, our friend lives in the neighbourhood, and although he goes to church in another part of the city, he began to introduce us to friends and neighbours, and by the time we were hitting the second block we had already begun to make connections and build relationships! We had not yet announced anything about our plans to move to Hamilton so our friend knew nothing about it. I was able to share with him a few weeks ago just what an answer to prayer he had been.
Well, as we continued down the street we made it to the end and then began to slowly make our way back south as we checked out the booths that lined the other side of the street. As we hit the half way point we came to the main stage on which a number musical acts were performing throughout the day. As we got to the stage there was an amazing acoustic group playing and so Kim and I stopped the kids so that we could listen. The musicians were incredible and so we stayed for a number of songs. It was the third or forth song when one of the lady performers began to sing. As I listened there was something really familiar about the voice and part way through the song I turned to my wife Kim and said, "I know that voice." So we waited around until the end of the set and I approached the singer to ask if she had sung in the Toronto band called Rang Tango back in the 80's. As it turns out, she was the lead singer in a band that my uncle had played bass in, the last band that he played in before leaving for Austin. It was a band that made quite an impact on the Toronto scene at the time. And for me of course, who remembers going to see my uncle at festivals and shows, and sneaking up to the Labatt tent at the EX (the national exhibition - a huge annual fair held in Toronto) to hear him play, it was an influential band in developing my own love of music and desire to play. So here I was, twenty some years later, meeting this person from my past in the heart of a Hamilton neighbourhood. We shared with her that we would be moving in the new year at which point she began to give us some advise about neighbourhoods etc. and then made a plug for the Locke area. As it turns out, not only was she playing there, but she lives there just a few streets over from the stage! She began to share about when and why she moved to Hamilton and it began to sound like the list of observations that Kim and I had begun to put together. She was a musician, she had begun a family, Hamilton was more affordable, the neighbourhood was great for kids and yet she could still be part of an urban arts scene etc. We were amazed.
So, we consider that day a real answer to prayer and have begun to focus specifically on that area. We are praying, continue to visit and prayer walk and are excited about what God may have for us there.

We want to thank all of you who have joined us in prayer. As I shared last week we continue to seek guidance form Luke chapter 10 and pray for workers, finances and people of peace. If I could add one more specific prayer we would appreciate prayer for a home in that area. Specifically we are praying that God would provide a home in our key target area and one that has enough space that we could rent out a part of the home. Our goal, as part of our financial plan, is to find a home that will pay for itself (cover the mortgage) through rentals which will significantly bring down our family's monthly payments.

I actually have another story about the neighbourhood that happened when we took some friends who were visiting from a church in the States for a tour, but I will save that for another time.

Thanks again for all the continued prayers and support!

Random Question of the Day

Ordinarily, when I work my part time job at the warehouse I bring a coffee in my travel mug and refill it from the coffee maker at work as the day goes on. On Friday, however, the cream curdled and when I checked, sure enough, it was past the expiry date. So off to McDonald's I went (just a short walk from the warehouse) at morning coffee break. When I got there I was feeling a bit peckish and so when I saw the deal that would get me a coffee and a muffin, for just about the same price as a coffee, I took the deal. I returned to the warehouse with a coffee and a double chocolate muffin (chocolate muffin mix with chocolate chunks) and crushed Oreo on the top. A colleague took notice as he drove by on the fork lift and shook is head. A little while later he drove up again with the question of the day, the question that I now pose to you:

"What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?"

I thought about some possible answers but had to admit that when your muffin is double chocolate with Oreo topping, any differences would just be semantics.
Thoughts?

Free Art Friday

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am trying to update the blog a bit more frequently. I thought that having some theme days may help me a bit. Tuesdays will be updates for our new work in Hamilton and I thought Fridays could be Free Art Friday. This will help me ensure that I am finding time to work on some artistic endeavours. In the past, I have shared songs and lyrics, which is my main artistic focus, but I thought I would share something a bit different today. I am not much of a painter, but I love to do it. Here is a painting I did while on vacation at my parents cottage this past summer. The cottage is on Georgian Bay and there are two things about the view that are just incredible. Firstly, is the Island called "Giant's Tomb" which is a pretty amazing piece of geography. Secondly, are the breathtaking sunsets that we get each night. This is my interpretation of the island during one of those sunsets.

Public Confession

I hate Christian music. I know, it is an odd confession for a musician and worship leader, but it is true. 90% does nothing for me and a good 75% really bugs me. Now I mean this in a totally subjective way. I am not judging its quality, value or its message or anything like that, I just really can't stand the sound of it. Now I know that there is a lot of independent music out there that I never even get a chance to hear, and that there is probably much more diversity in this music, but most of what we hear and have access to sounds exactly the same. It is a commercial industry, and a small one at that so that means a lot of production, style and sound is exactly the same. I don't like it at all, and that means I don't like most of it. I know, for many of you this amounts to blasphemy but there are a least a few of you cheering me on!
So, I hate Christian music (for the most part), but one thing I do love is my wife. My wife often likes to have music on in the background and often chooses a commercial free Christian channel through our satellite T.V. The other day I was working form home when she went to turn on the T.V. I actually had the thought, "here we go, this is going to be a rough day" and it only took a few seconds before even the thought of it was making me cranky. I realized quite quickly however, that there was only a few bars of that music that drives me nuts before I heard it no longer. Instead my wife had switched the channel from her usual first choice to the folk channel, just for me. One more reason to love!!!!!

Should I be Concerned????

It is just a few days after Halloween and this is how I found my son. Yes, that is the candy bag he collected...how do you tell when someone has a problem? Is it time for an intervention?

Update Tuesday

As you may have noticed, I have changed the blog a bit. I am experimenting with new formats as we consider our new developing role for Hamilton and how best to communicate what is going on in our lives as well as with the new work in Hamilton. In order to stream line the process a bit, because I am terrible at multi-tasking and primarily because as we think about our lives and the new work they are so intertwined and I truly feel that our call and or lives are one in the same and not compartmentalized, I am going to use this blog to share about it all. With that in mind, I am going to aim to dedicate Tuesdays (give or take) to share something about the new work in Hamilton. Please check back each week for updates, stories, prayer requests and for thoughts and insights into the new work.
I am also aiming to do a bit more blogging on other things that come up throughout the week so make sure to check back more frequently, or scroll through a few posts when you visit weekly.
So...about Hamilton. I have been doing a lot of thinking and writing those thoughts down and so have a lot to share over the next few weeks. I thought, however, that the best place to start is with prayer. There is a passage that I have been looking at a lot over the last little while and have been using to guide my daily prayer about our new work. The passage is Luke 10:1-12 and it is where Jesus sends out the seventy-two. It has been a reminder to me of the expanding nature of Jesus' call to join him in His work. He originally sent out the twelve, but here the work has expanded, and in verse two He commands the seventy-two to pray for even more workers. It is a reminder to me that His call to go out is expanding and includes me. I am also struck by the statement that there is in fact a harvest ready to be harvested. As we pioneer a new work, a lot of our job may be preparing soil, pulling up weeds or planting seeds etc. but I don't want to forget that I believe God is saying that He has been at work and that there is a harvest as well. As I continue to read the verse there are three other things that have stood out to me the most and that I have been using to guide my prayer.

Firstly, there is the call to be praying for workers to go out into the harvest. I believe that we are among those workers going out, but I also believe that even now I can be praying for those that we come into contact with and eventually disciple. If our work is to grow, be sustainable and then multiply it will require others to sense that call to join us in the work. My heart's desire is that it would be people whom we introduce to Christ and walk with in discipleship that then see responding to this call as a part of their response to Jesus through discipleship.

Secondly, I am taken by the fact that in both verse 4 and 7 Jesus refers to provision for the needs of His workers. In this case He tells them not to take provisions (v4), and to accept provision from those with whom they work (v7). Certainly, their context and that specific journey was different then ours. I am also aware that in Luke 22:36 Jesus tells them that this time they are to take provisions. It does come, however, after a reminder about the time before when He sent them without. He asks them to recall that time and asks if they ever went without. I believe that He is asking them to remember what he did for them, and that ultimately we are called to trust in the Lord for out provision. What I take from this is that I too must trust in the Lord for our provision, and that even though the circumstances are not exactly the same, I trust that He has a plan and that just as he did for the seventy-two, He will communicate that to us. We are praying for faith to trust in His provision and for sensitivity to discern the plans that He communicates to us about how they are to unfold.
Lastly, we have begun to pray for people of peace (v6). We are praying that God would lead us to those in whom He is at work and with whom He is calling us to begin our ministry. We are praying even now, so that when we finally arrive in our new neighbourhood we might meet those with whom we can build a relationship and begin to disciple and eventually work with as we reach out to others.

So, this has been a bit of a long one, but I believe important. We would invite you to join us in this prayer even now, with joyful expectation for all God will do in our new work. For those who have been skimming (like I often do) however, here is a brief, to the point summary:

Please pray:

1) For workers to be sent into the harvest.
2) For financial provision and discernment for God's plans.
3) For people of peace.

If you have any thoughts and comments I would encourage you to leave a comment.
Thanks for all your support.