Dreams Unlocked

On Leadership

2009-07-11T00:45:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday and this Sunday, I am not preaching. This is the first 2 Sundays in a row that I have not preached at church. I asked our elders board if I could have the first 2 weeks of July to do some thinking, praying and reading about the church. Primarily I had 2 goals:

1. Plan out all my sermons from Sept. 2009 - August 2010 - I have a good start on that, although there might still be a couple of changes to the preaching schedule.

2. Do some studying and thinking around the whole area of leadership and management, in regards to leading the church.

I have been reading books on leadership and management, and solicited some friends recommendations for leadership books. The 2 books that seemed to lead everyone's lists were:

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen and

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Incidentally you couldn't find 2 more different books! Nouwen is one of the authors I have read the most of, and I have read this particular book twice already - it is quite short and can easily be read in a few hours.

Good to Great is one of those books that have been on my radar for several years, but I never got around to reading. Last month I was at a friends house admiring their newborn son. I glanced over their book-shelf and noticed 2 copies of Good to Great. I asked, why they had 2, they said both had been gifts.

I then bluntly asked if I could have one! They said sure. So, I finally cracked it this week - man, I wish I had read this book much much earlier! The book is the compilation of a 15 yr. study of companies that had really taken off, while other companies in their same field stayed stagnant or actually declined. Collins and his team of researchers wanted to find out what the difference was.

This book is very easy to read - I started it yesterday, and will probably finish it tomorrow. His discoveries are very insightful, wise and practical. I am toying whether or not I will have the elders board read through it this year. I think instead, I might just present some of the findings over a leadership weekend away.

One thing I have discovered this past year is that leadership and management are both delicate art forms. Leadership can be learned, but a lot of it is inherent - you either have certain gifts in this area or you don't.

I have always felt I have had a gift of leadership - I have held student gov't postions from elementary school through to grad. school. But, I am finding that the art of management is basically having above par people skills, in navigating the intricacies of managing people.

Leadership is casting vision, and gathering a strong core who will rally around that vision, and then discipline themselves to get the job done. Managing is the daily grind of working towards the vision.

Anyways, its been a productive 2 weeks, and I am looking forward to preaching again next Sunday.

The Baby

2009-07-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

Hats that Adam and Sophia made at Golden Spike Days at Rocky Point Park today.

Adam loves his.

Listening to the new Coldplay son, "Glass of Water" - It's awesome. I'm still pretty buzzed by that concert last week.

Felicia is having a baby. Unplanned, but not unwanted. I was pretty shocked when she told me, but have now warmed up to the idea of having a third little one running around, and running my life. I come from a family of 3, and it is fun having more than one sibling. I'm pretty sure Adam and Sophia will prove to be good older brother and sister. Adam will keep Sophia from poking the baby's eyes out or trying to break his or her arm.

I have a couple of weeks where I am not preaching - I have planned out all my sermons from Sept. 2009 - Aug. 2010 which is pretty cool. Now I am going to re-format oops - Sophie is crying.

Ok - changed her diaper, and her shirt - it was soaked with sweat, put some cream on her exczema, had a brief talk on the greco-roman hellenized world of first century judaism wherein the early church was formed in..... and now she's asleep.

Now I am going to re-format our leadership team - any books or resources on how to have an efficient eldership structure in churches, please send them my way.

Been really hot around here lately. Looking forward to buying a bike (mine got stolen). I think I am going to buy a used bike on craigslist, for the same reason I will always buy a used car - chepaer, and apart from the smell, I can't really tell the dif. from a new one.

Still Listening to Snow Patrol

2009-06-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

Sophie leads the way.

I had this super long post about this church in Kentucky that hosted a "bring your guns to church day". But, the post got too long and convoluted and sorted of imploded in on itself.

Thus, you have this post instead.

I spoke at Trinity Western this past weekend to a Mar Thoma Youth Conference. It went really well - really enjoyed my time with them.

Preached on the Holy Spirit this Sunday - I said most Christians treat the Holy Spirit like the weird uncle you try to avoid at family reunions - he's family and all, you just don't really want him to do anything weird.

Someone mentioned to me at how rare sermons on the Spirit are in evangelical churches. That struck me as quite odd. Maybe we are over reacting to charismatic excesses. Personally, I hope our church has more manifestations of the Spirits presence in our congregation: healing, words of knowledge, etc.

I have seen first hand the destruction of the excesses. But, still the dry intellectualism isn't really getting the world attracted about our faith.

I am on a 2 week study leave, which basically means, I have 2 Sundays where I am not preaching. I haven't had 2 Sundays off in a row since starting last year. (By the way - tomorrow will be one full year as pastor of this church).

I plan on doing some strategic planning around our leadership structure, and also try to map out all my sermons for the coming Sept - August time line. Right now, I am thinking the following:

UnChristian series: a 6 week series in the fall focusing on 6 of the biggest objections that 20somethings have towards Christianity.

Old Testament Series: Leviticus

Advent Series

6 week whole church series in January - home groups will all do the same curriculum and I will preach on it on Sundays

Gospel Focus - maybe Matthew - life of Jesus

Lent Series

I suspect that the series on Leviticus might be 1-2 months, and the series on Matthew could go on for a long period of time.

I'm really looking forward to charting these all out, and doing some preliminary work on each series, and possibly even each sermon as well.

Prayer Request

2009-06-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

I am speaking at this conference tomorrow:

http://www.bornagainidentity2009.com/

I finished writing my message on Tuesday, and am going over it one last time. There will be a few hundred south asian young adults there from up and down the west coast - from California to BC.

I am excited about the opportunity to speak to this group.

Please pray that the Spirit empowers my words.

My friend on the plane

2009-06-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Walking Together.

My post today is part of a larger initiative of more than 50 bloggers all sharing their thoughts on how to ‘bridge the gap’. You can check out the other links at: http://www.btgproject.blogspot.com/

Ten years ago I was flying back to Vancouver from Saskatoon. I started chatting with my seat mate. I was reading a book on spirituality by M. Scott Peck, so we also started to discuss spirituality.

I asked him if he had a religious background. He said "Yes, I was raised fundamentalist." I was quite taken aback by his response. As we kept talking we discovered that we had attended the same evangelical churches at different times in Saskatoon. He said in college, he abandoned his faith and the church and has never looked back..... until now. He said in the past few months he had felt like he was missing out on something due to the lack of any kind of faith in his life.

As the plane began to land, we exchanged contact information and promised to be in touch. A week later I went for coffee with him in the westend part of downtown Vancouver. He was an artist, so he invited me to first meet him in his home studio to see some of his work. His art was very good.

We headed to a local Starbucks and kept talking. I explained to him my own faith journey and where I was at in terms of my beliefs in Christ and the church. He shared a bit more of his story, and the abruptly blurted out, "But.... I'm gay!"

I said "Ok. But your sexuality is only a part of who you are. I don't think it defines you completely, does it." He said, "No." At this point he related his journey towards the acceptance of his homosexuality. He was currently single and feeling lonely.

It was time to wrap up, and we promised to meet again, and he even expressed interest in attending a worship service sometime. As we were leaving, he stopped me and asked me, : "Why are you so open to keep talking to me? Most Christians I know would have ended our conversation when I brought up my sexuality, but you have just sat here and listened to my story."

I responded that Jesus never had any criteria for who he would meet with, so why should I have pre-requisites for the people I will have coffee with. He was quiet as we left the shop together.

What my encounter with my friend taught me is that people on both sides of this dialogue are not really engaging other human beings. Instead we are engaging with media caricatures of each other. Evangelicals think the gay rights lobby are a bunch of rabid promiscuous people who want to recruit our kids. The gay rights lobby thinks all evangelicals are a bunch of narrow minded bigots who want to sweep them back into the closet.

But, it is not until we actually engage one another IN PERSON, will true dialogue and understanding be possible. My hope by my post today is that people on both sides will seek out a friend on the other side of the debate. And have no prior "conversion" agenda - simply enter into a relationship with the hope of understanding one another's perspective.

Who know? Maybe you will make a friend among a group of people you had written off a long time ago as the "enemy."

(Note - I lost touch with my buddy after a few months of meeting together. But I trust he is staying true to his own spiritual journey, and moving closer to discovering his place as the beloved of God.)

New friend

2009-06-19T23:09:00.001-07:00

Check out Jason Boyle. He's another blogger that I have started reading on a regular basis. I think most of you will like him. He is a thoughtful young Christian thinker and writer.

http://blog.jasonboyett.com/

Also Beth Malena wrote an awesome post on dealing with our confusing relationship to money:

http://bethblogever.blogspot.com/

"Father"

2009-06-17T00:20:00.001-07:00

Sermon notes and Starbucks.

Fathers day is this Sunday. I've recently been thinking about why Catholic priests are called "father". I think it is because pastoring is a lot like parenting. From my vantage point, I see a lot of mini squabbles taking place between people, and sometimes I have to try to keep the big happy dysfunctional family from either imploding or exploding.

Most "fights" I am not directly involved in - I just observe, and offer counsel if asked. It is the toughest part of my job, trying to be empathetic and sympathetic to people who are processing their own hurts, by attacking or hurting others.

But then, I also get the joy of baptizing people and walking alongside them as they wrestle with their faith. I also have the awesome privilege of opening up the Word of God on a regular basis, and helping a community journey through what its implications are. And for those things I am grateful.

Good day today overall - had a meeting with a couple of other pastors about some minstry opportunities during the coming olympics. Then I did some admin. and then took Sophia for a walk to a nearby playground.

Adam and I

2009-06-16T01:49:00.000-07:00

Possibly my favorite pic of Adam and I. We are playing some game on the internet at a resort while on holiday. I look grumpy, but I wasn't. I really like Adam's expression and the way he is so relaxed.

Aaaah - that funny little kid - always makes my day!

The book I'm reading

2009-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

A fragment of the gospel of John.

I read a lot - like all the time, all kinds of books. Every once in awhile, I like to tackle a book that is difficult - like academically hard. Well, I've found one: "Scripture's Doctrine and Theology's Bible" is a collection of academic papers that came out of a conference held at St. Andrews College in St. Andrews Scotland (the school my brother presently teaches at).

So, they collected a bunch of New Testament heavy weights to chat about how the church formed their current doctrine by what is written in the New Testament. Karl Barth and Albert Schweitzer get dissected, along w. a bunch of other major dudes. The book is quite a challenge, but I am enjoying it as it reminds me of many times at Regent College, when I would be in the library battling it out with some book that made no sense at all, but then clarity comes, and I feel happy.

We are still at the resort - we head back tomorrow (told you it was a short trip). It was really a perfect day today, spent time on the beach, napped, Adam and I played mini-golf and then Felicia and I had a nice meal at the restaurant in the resort.

I guess everyone is buzzing about the new iphone. With the new iphone, I guess my current iphone is now old. Now, the new iphone's biggest draws are 3 meg. video camera, faster operating system and ...... a compass.

Hey, apple - I don't need a compass on my phone. I have my own compass which I carry around w. my protractor and epi-pen. And I carry these items in my fanny pack, along w. my lunch sometimes.

I love Pixar (and I can see the ocean from wher I'm sitting)

2009-06-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Adam and I went to see Up! last weekend. I started to think back to all the Pixar films I have loved over the years. Here they are in chronological order:

Toy Story

Toy Story 2

Finding Nemo

Incredibles

Ratatouille

Wall-E

Up until Up!, Nemo was my favorite. It was Adam's favorite movie for a long time, and is currently Sophia's favorite. So, I have seen/heard it in the background of my life quite a few times, as it has been played over and over in our home.

I liked Nemo because there were several grand themes that were part of the story:

the quest of a father to be reconciled to his son, sending him on a Ulyssian journey

the wounded hero (Nemo has a small fin)

the gift of companionship to meet life's battles (Dory helps Marlin find Nemo)

There are many more grand life themes in this film. But Up! seems to go a bit further, in its challenge to carve out an adventure in the life we have been given, and that nothing in life need be wasted. The characters are great, the animation is great and the story is great. I have really not been so moved by a film in a long time.

I don't know how Pixar keeps doing it - they just keep churning out, not good, but GREAT films. They haven't made a lot of films, but the ones they do make are of the highest quality - pure entertainment without the need to be vulgar or violent.

In other news, the fam and I are currently staying at a resort on a beach in Parksville, on Vancouver Island. I think I mentioned that we have been in a vice of pressure for about the past 2 months, and just needed a break - this is a mini holiday in a beautiful spot. We walked on the beach and the kids discovered crabs, clams and shells. Tomorrow, Felicia and I are going for dinner at the resort - this place supplies baby-sitters which is pretty awesome.

Time to de-compress.

Moved

2009-06-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Finally moved in to our new place. I have a temporary office set up in our over-sized bed-room. We had some contractors come in and look at our basement. They are going to start next week, and said it should take them a couple of weeks to get it done - so thats pretty cool. We are going to put in a large office, kids play area, storage area and bathroom down there.

Until then, I have to work up here, which is fine.

Started a new sermon series today on the book of Galatians - looks pretty promising. Already had 2 e-mails of people excited about the series, including one woman who said she was "jumping out of her seat" that we are studying Galatians. Never really had that kind of reaction before.

We are taking a mini holiday this week to a resort on Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. We have been going through some pretty intense times for the past 6 weeks, and just felt we need a respite.

Going for a much longer break in August to Banff in August to meet up with the rest of my family in some big chalet in the mountains, so that should be fun.

The Murphy's Law Day

2009-06-02T11:08:00.001-07:00

Why did you go to Winnipeg?

I have this inner practice of gratitude that I try to carry on throughout the day. What I do, is I silently try to thank God for everything that goes RIGHT during the day. I find this helps prevent me from being side-lined from everything that can go wrong.

So, today, I am thankful that the coffee maker worked, that the shower worked, that my lap-top and wireless connection work.... you get the idea.

Today's problems: My current iphone has something wrong w. it - it drops pretty much every call that I make or receive. Rogers has tried countless times to fix it, and have finally decided to simply send me a new one.

They sent the new phone on May 25, from Delta to Port Moody. Should've taken a day, right? On May 27th the phone was scanned in Winnipeg Manitoba, and was labelled as "out for delivery". And that is the last anyone has heard or seen of the phone - it is out for delivery in Winnipeg Manitoba.

I spent yesterday and today on the phone w. both UPS and Rogers to try to find this prodigal phone. Today, Rogers finally put a trace on it, which they informed me would take 7-10 days to resolve. So, I asked, what do I do in the mean time? My only phone, which is also the church phone doesn't work. I get a loaner phone for the time being.

And then the movers called saying they are going to be an hour late - so everything is pretty much working out.

But, I am grateful for the sun outside, a new home to live in, friends.... This gratitude thing is basically the only thing that is staying my tongue and blood pressure from going through the roof.

Amen

Moving

2009-06-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Good-bye 2 Spruce Court.

My office and the rest of the house is packed up in boxes.

We move into our new town-house tomorrow. We're all pretty excited about moving into our OWN home. I will miss certain aspects of this house - it is certainly the largest house we will ever live in at almost 4000 sq. feet! - 4 X larger then our yaletown apt. and twice the size of the town-home we move into.

The Froeses had a nice flat-screen tv and bose sound system which made watching movies really great. Back to our old non-flat-screen tv w. no sound system. There was also a very nice deck off of the master bedroom w. commanding views of Mt. Baker and the rest of Port Moody. It was very nice and peaceful to sit there and read and pray - will miss that.

The new place will present some significant challenges at first - namely the fact that my office is not yet built! I will have to work in an unfinished basement for the first couple of weeks - a long way down from my 26th floor office overlooking false creek in downtown Vancouver! At least, its only temporary.

Another chapter in the Ninan family begins tomorrow - will keep you posted.

Also - some new music to check out: Silversun pick-ups, Phoenix and Bat For Lashes.

Finally, a Mennonite!

2009-05-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

Santosh and Sophia - Mennonites.

I had my credentialling interview with the Mennonite Brethren denomination today. Felicia, the chairman of our church's leadership board and I sat before a council of 8 pastors and denominational leaders. We were peppered with a variety of doctrinal and personal questions.

The interview lasted an hour and a half, and the questions were varied in their scope from my views on divorce and remarriage to how I would help a church escape the idol of consumerism. I was pretty drained after.

After the questioning, they confer with the chairman from our church for a few minutes, while Felicia and I sweat it out in another room. After about 10 minutes, they all came out and affirmed that I am credited and licensed with the denomination.

A lot of people have asked what this actually means. Being accredited with a denomination, is akin to passing the bar exam or being admitted into the royal college of physicians - it is basically being recognized by a professional academy of your peers. It also gives you a little bit of accountability.

So, that's it - I am a Mennonite. goodbye Christian and Missionary Alliance and goodbye Baptists. It feels good to be tied in with a denomination like this - next year I will be ordained, so then I will be Rev. Ninan!

In other news, I am still juggling a variety of potential explosives, which I guess is par for the course for a pastor.

24's Post-Modern Confessional

2009-05-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

2 weeks since my last post. The lapse testifies to the sort of craziness brewing in my life. Dead-lines, and people to meet.

Last week was the season finale of 24, which is normally one of my favorite shows, but found this years season to be rather dull.

There was an interesting scene in the finale, which I believe is a good reflection of the state of religion in the west. Jack Bauer is laying in a hospital bed dying. He is told that he has a visitor. The visitor turns out to be a Muslim cleric, who had helped Jack find some bad guys in a previous episode.

The cleric is quite nice and sensitive. Bauer becomes emotional and the scene transforms into a bed-side confessional. Bauer talks about all the bad he has done. Finally, the scene concludes with the cleric saying theses words, Let us both forgive ourselves for all the wrongs we have done,

Brilliant! Here we have a non-believer (as far as we can tell, there has never been any allusions to Bauer having any kind of religious faith), "confessing" to a Muslim cleric. And the cleric implores that THEY each forgive themselves.

In this post-modern confessional, human beings forgive themselves, in order to die in peace. I though this was a fascinating commentary on the state of belief in America today. The classic forgiveness of sins recited by a priest is now replaced with an anthropocentric general confession, that apparently we can all do ourselves.

I'm really not sure what it means to "forgive ourselves". This speaks as if there is some sort of bifurcation in the human person, where one part can do wrong, and another part has the power to forgive. Maybe there is some truth to that. I guess forgiving oneself really means being at peace with oneself, after examining our erroneous behavior, words or thoughts. But, I don't believe we can have peace within ourselves if we do not have peace with others, and ultimately peace with God.

I hope that when I find myself near the end of my life, I will have someone beside me who can assure me that I am forgiven, and that I have also made peace with others that I have had conflict with. i sense that will give me much more peace, than simply forgiving myself.

Wine and Fruit

2009-05-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

Beauty.

I am enjoying a bowl of Fruit Loops with a glass of Chilean Chardonnay, cuz that's just the way I roll.

Been enjoying the weather lately: tennis, hiking, etc.

I am nearing the end of our series through Exodus. I think I started preaching on Exodus in September - so we have been studying it as a community for almost 9 months. Still unsure on what series we will do next.

After the Regent Pastors Conference, I am thinking I should do a series on the life of Christ. Summer is always tricky for a church - you have a lot of people away, and attendance is pretty sketchy. I myself will most likely not be preaching for at least 4 sundays between June and August.

I am taking a 2 week study break in July, where I will chart out all my sermons from September - May of the coming year. And then in August, we are taking 2 weeks vacation to Alberta - my family will be in Banff celebrating my parents' 40th anniversary.

The Pastors Conference was really good - Earl Palmer and Fleming Rutledge were the plenary speakers. I have heard Palmer a lot - he is fantastic. I had never heard of Rutledge before - I thought she was sort of just ok - good content, but delivery was about average. There were quite a few old Baptist and Regent friends that were fun to see.

The big take away is that our preaching needs to be centered on Christ. Sounds simple enough, but it is easy to get distracted in our preaching.

River of Love

2009-05-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

There's a river of love that runs through all time
But there's a river of grief that floods through our lives
It starts when a heart is broken into
By the thief of belief in anything that's true
But there's a river of love that runs through all time

There's a river of love that runs through all time
But there's a river of tears that flows through our eyes
We fight through the night for freedom as it fades
Into a jail where we fail everytime we make a break
But there's a river of love that runs through all time

I had to run before I knew how to crawl
The first step was hard
But I have had trouble with them all
But now the night grows darker
And the day grows dim
Cause I know I never will see you again
And I almost made you happy

There's a river of love that runs through all time
But there's a river of fire that burns with no light
The flame is the pain of dreams gone up in smoke
From the lies we deny and breathe until we choke
There's a river of love that runs through all time

-T-Bone Burnett

Top Dylan Albums

2009-05-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the top 10 according to Rolling Stone readers (followed by my commentary)

1. Highway 61 Revisited - Lauded for several reasons: marked Dylan's full transition from folk to rock. Like A Rolling stone becomes one of the greatest songs of all time.

2. Blood on the Tracks - one of my favorite albums of all time by any artist. This album and The Joshua Tree are albums that I can listen to straight through form beginning to end. Dylan's post divorce ruminations are startling in their honesty.

3. Blonde on Blonde - Not a huge fan of this album, although it is part of the trilogy of Bringing it home and Highway 61.

4. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan - One of my fave albums - pure folk. Contains Mr. Tambourine Man. His second studio album, and the songs are way more polished than his first album.

5. Bringing It All Back Home - Probably my favorite Dylan album. Great lyrics - hard rains a'gonna fall is some of the best poetry ever written.

6. Love & Theft - Part of the second great trilogy in Dylan's career. This album seems like further exploration from the Time out of Mind sessions.

7. Desire - I don't know this album at all. Contains the song Hurricane, about the boxer.

8. Modern Times - Love this album. Cutting lyrics for the twilight of the Bush administration.

9. Time Out of Mind - This album made me a Bob Dylan fan. I don't know how I got a hold of it. I think I read an interview w. Elvis Costello - there was a picture of him holding this album to the camera, saying it was one of the greatest thing he has ever heard. The album opens with the line "I'm walking through streets that are dead", which sets the mood for what follows. I was in the front row when Dylan played Saskatoon on this tour. Will never forget the way he looked straight at me during one of the last songs.

10. Oh Mercy - Don't like this album very much either. Curious it was on the list.

Other albums I like by Mr. zimmerman:

Another Side of Bob Dylan

The Times They Are A'Changin'

John wesley Harding

Basement Tapes

Slow Train Coming - This should have really been on the list.

Church Goers More Likely To Support Torture

2009-04-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is troubling:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/churchgoers-more-likely-to-back-torture-survey-finds/

Evangelism in the Pub

2009-04-27T23:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to my favorite dive bar in Vancouver - its called the pound. Its right across from BC PLace, and a block from our Yaletown apt. Despite the great location, the place is pretty dumpy inside.

Its special to me, because it is also across the street from the school that i took my ESL teacher training, and every Friday, me and 2 other students would go there for a beer. It became "our" bar.

Last night, I met up with one of those other students, who is now pursuing a career in journalism. I had witnessed to both of these guys when we were students with about average results, meaning they didn't hate me after, but neither did they become missionaries after.

Anyways, my buddy contacted me because he wanted to talk to me more about my faith. So, over a couple of lagers we discussed the incarnation, the atonement, wether there was a logical consistency in the doctrine of the trinity and the nature of faith. You know, basic seeker questions..... right?

Anyways, the combo of lager and John Donne references landed me w. a headache. As we went up to settle our bill, a girl at the bar who had had more lager than Donne, asked us how our night was going. Then, she saw the book I had given my friend, "The Case For Faith" by Lee Strobel. She said her mom had told her about that book. I smiled and nodded wondering if this was actually the worst pick-up line in the world.

But then, she said she was currently reading the shack. We had discussed that book tonight, and I asked her what she thought. She said hold on, and dug the shack out of her purse, and proceeded to read some of her favorite parts.

At this point, I knew that I had stumbled into a pre-arranged divine encounter and that someone somewhere was praying for this young woman. I gave her my card, told her I would pray for her - we ar enow in touch through facebook.

I pray that this was a small advancement for the Kingdom.

For the Active Muslim Woman

2009-04-24T17:45:00.001-07:00

http://www.bodykini.com/

The Blogger vs. The Beauty Queen

2009-04-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

Part of the national conversation right now is a feud between Perez Hilton and Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean.

The low-down is this - Perez asked Prejean a question as part of the competition. His question was:

Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?”

Part of Prejean's answer:

I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage. I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”

Now, notice - the question was do YOU think every state should follow suit. Hilton was soliciting her OWN PERSONAL OPINION, not what should be actual legislation. So Prejean answered the question directly - she does not believe every state should legalize same-sex marriage.

Hilton went on his blog that night and posted a video response which included the following:

”the worst answer in pageant history“. ”She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage, she lost because she’s a dumb b****!” The answer he suggested was “Perez, that’s a great question and that’s a very hot topic in our country right now. I think it’s a question that each state should answer for themselves because that’s our forefathers designed our government. The states rule themselves and then there are certain laws that are federal. If she had even half a brain, she would have said this."

Hilton later apologized, but then retracted apology and said he actually meant to call her a dumb c**t.

So, do you see what has happened here? Hilton asks a direct question, Prejean answers. Hilton doesn't like her answer and verbally explodes. Apparently, voicing any opinion that does not tow the contemporary liberal platform is viewed as intolerant.

The fallout is Prejean didn't win, but was first runner-up. She went on to do a few talk shows and continued to defend her answer and said she had no regrets. When told that Hilton called her a dumb c**t. She winced and then said she would pray for him. She has received overwhelming support, with the typical liberal detractors.

It is obvious to me that Prejean comes from a home where the Christian worldview was taught and instilled - so much so, that when put to the test, she refused to compromise her beliefs, no matter how unpopular they are.

The other thing I noticed was the difference in the reactions between Hilton and Prejean. Hilton reacted with ugly bile, Prejean reacted with grace and composure - and remember - she's the one who LOST.

I didn't post this blog in order to wade into the gay marriage debate, but simply to show that actual "dialogue" is dead in the media - its either the social liberal platform, or nothing.

Twitter Explosion

2009-04-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

My new celebrity twitter friend.

I had another 60 people start following me on twitter just today. When I looked at who they were - they almost all had some sort of on-line business they were promoting. So I am not following them - I don't care if they follow me, don't know what they will get out of mundane posts of my life.

One interesting celebrity twitter encounter. Mike Scott is the lead singer of the waterboys, one of my favorite bands - they are a sort of celtic rock band. I bought their album "Fisherman's Blues" - 21 years ago (on cassette!) when I was a student in Bible College. They've always had very interesting lyrics, with some pseudo- Christian imagery thrown in there.

Anyways, I follow Mike Scott on Twitter - the lead singer of the band. He had a recent post that said his wife had never heard U2 - frankly I find that near impossible to believe - they live in Ireland and The Edge said that the waterboys was one of the 3 best concerts he had ever been to. So, I'm pretty sure he was kidding.

So, I sent him a message, telling him I didn't believe him and he actually replied to me directly! He said, its true, his wife rarely listens to any music, and had never heard U2's music, even though they are friend with Bono and Ali!!!! Weird, huh? I'm still pretty shocked that this guy wrote me.

Mike - The only Anne Rice I have read are her Jesus books - I'm not into vampires. Her Jesus books are really fantastic.

Twitter

2009-04-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

This lake is 5 minutes from our house!

Oprah joined twitter, instantly escalating it into middle American mainstream reality. Over the past couple of years I had joined, quit and then re-joined twitter. I could never really figure out want the point of it was.

Now, I update probably 6-7 times a day and I enjoy seeing what other people are doing throughout the day.

On Twitter, people can "follow" you, that is, start getting your updates, and conversly you can follow others, and get their updates. For the past few weeks, I would get 2 or 3 notifications that someone was following me - I would then start following them.

In the past 2 days, I have had over 100 notices that people are following me. I feel obliged to follow them - it turns out the majority of these people are some kind of networking, marketting blogging types. So, I end up actually not following them.

Weird Stuff.

Another good Sunday. Preached on Sabbath - the lost practice of evangelicals - sure we go to church, but what do we actually do to mark the day as holy? Played the clip from Chariots of Fire, where Liddel refuses to run his Olympic heat, because it falls on the sabbath.

Oh - please pray for Sophia - she has a high fever and has been throwing up a lot - poor thing.

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

We had our service at the Inlet Theatre - which is appearing to be our church's next venue - hopefully starting this summer.

The service - good worship, I also brought 3 "witnesses" on stage at different times. These witnesses gave testimonies of a variety of ministries in our church. We also watched a video of a song ont he work of Christ - it was shot in black and white and went back and forth between a ballet dancer and an elderly priest serving communion - very powerful, simple piece.

I preached on the cross, the empty tomb and the difference it makes. I essentially answered 3 questions:

1. Why did Jesus have to die?

2. Was the tomb really empty?

3. Who cares? What difference does this make for contemporary life?

Got a good response from several people after. There were a number of new families there, who used to attend the church in the past, and are starting to drift back in.

After the service we had a pot-luck brunch in the foyer of the building. It was a great way to celebrate Easter. The whole day has been my high-light since starting at Heritage Mountain Church last year.

The week leading up to Easter and Easter itself were a huge confirmation for Felicia and I that we are in the right place for ministry. I had been struggling in the "slough of despond" for the past month - a combo of illness and certain inter-relationship stresses. But, I appear to have emerged on the other side.

So, today, being one on my beloved days off, I thought I would head downtown. I thought I would catch a movie in Coquitlam and then drive downtown to do some shopping. I settled on the movie "Adventureland" which had a respectable 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.

My popcorn was gross - really salty. I sat through the first half hour of the movie, and was stunningly bored and was finding the dialogue kinda irritating - it was a bit too ironic a'la Juno. So, I left the movie. I also got a fresh bag of popcorn and got my money refunded for the movie.

Went home and flew kites with Soph and Adam which was fun.