Upddate Tuesday 19/04/11 - Lessons from Bilbo

We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures.  Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!  Make you late for dinner!  I can't think what anybody sees in them..."

Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

I read the Hobbit this past weekend in preparation for helping my son who is reading it for school.  When I came across the above quoted statement from Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of the story, it made me laugh out loud.  Having read the whole book now, I see that the passage was really setting up one of the main themes to run throughout the book, that being the development of Bilbo's courage.  Even at the end of the story he is still a little hobbit, a bit odd, longing for the comforts of home and an unlikely hero.   We have, however, seen this rather ordinary person find his courage, raising to a challenge to become the hero on a number of occasions, proving that even he is quite capable of achieving great things. 

Next week my wife and I will travel to Alpharetta Georgia to the headquarters of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in order to be a part of a video they will be shooting highlighting some of the work being done across North America.  There has been a restructuring of their operations to focus on church planting in specific designated regions, of which Canada is one.  We will help to show a bit of what is going on in Canada.  The day after we return another film crew will be visiting us here at home where they will be collecting footage for a video that will be a part of the 2012 Annie Armstrong Easter missions focus for North America.  (If you are unfamiliar with the Annie Armstrong offering you can read more about it here: www.anniearmstrong.com  )  To be honest, I am honored to be a part of such things, but really wonder what we might have to offer.  I often feel like saying, "I don't know what your expectations are but don't set them too high...I am a pretty ordinary guy, not too flashy and probably the least likely poster child for 'church planting'."  But maybe that is the story that needs to be told.  If God could use me to do this, then he could use anyone.   And again, our church in Milton is quite the same.  We are a small group, we are not the slickest, the coolest, not the richest by far, nor are we the most obvious choice to use to plant a new church.  We do love the Lord, however, and do our best to be faithful, and have a real desire to be used for the sake of God's Kingdom.   So maybe like Bilbo Baggins, our story is one of ordinary people being called on to do extra-ordinary things.  The difference, of course, is that in our case we can explicitly state that we are called upon by the most extraordinary God, working in and through us.  It is He that is able to do amazing things for the sake of His name and glory.  We have only to be faithful as He leads us on the most incredible journey of adventure.

With all this in mind, I may not be able to post an update next week.  I will aim to let you know how all the filming etc. goes the week after that.  In the mean time I would ask you to pray as we travel next week.  I would also ask that you continue to pray for our family.  It was a very tough week last week and it seems that we continue to live in the lingering residue this week.  Please pray specifically for my wife as she is emotionally weary.   On top of everything else, there were some logistical snags in our mortgage process (having to do with the renovations being done) which just added to the stress.  We think that they have been resolved as of this morning and we are good to move forward, but it seems every step has a snag and requires much more time and energy than it should.     

On a more positive note I would ask you to also be praying for The Sanctuary Milton's annual Taste the World - Good Friday event.  We will once again be inviting the community to a service followed by an event that celebrates the diversity of our congregation as people prepare food from their ethnic backgrounds.  We have moved it to Thompson Arena, a larger location, this year and are expecting it to be a great event.  It is a bit strange for me as I have lead this event every year we have done it, but stepped back this year in order for others to take the lead.  They have done a great job!