Ministry in the real world

Youth group at Woodville/Billtown starts on the 15th, and I’m looking forward to what God’s going to do with that.  One of the awesome things about being a “student pastor” (which technically I’m not, as I don’t have an area license yet – but there’s no other word for it) is that I’m truly, and transparently, both teacher and student.  Every single Christian (or human, for that matter) should always be a student, mentored by members of God’s family, and at the same time, a mentor to others.  In a perfect world, that’s how it works, but it’s very easy to become arrogant and think you know it all, and I can personally confess that there have been times when I’ve been in the company of those less mature in the faith and my britches shrank at least 10 sizes.  As a student pastor, however, I’m overtly advertising the fact that I’m there to learn, to be mentored, so my britches are likely to stretch with me.

Alyssa came home from New Glasgow today, and we also had a pleasant surprise when Katelynn, Shelby, and Shelby’s boyfriend came for dinner.  Even though I’ve got one of those nasty summer colds at the moment, that definitely was a great way to end the day.

Books, books and more books

The dreaded book list has arrived for the school year, so if your in any of my classes, here’s the Amazon links to the cheapest options.  So, before I get too stressed out about those costs and so forth, here’s some quotes to lighten the mood:

• Old basketball players never die. They just sit in front of you at the movies.
• My parents put us to sleep by tossing us up in the air. Of course, you have to have low ceilings for this method to work.
• Adults are obsolete children.
• Ever notice that we trust banks with our money, but they don’t trust us with their pens?
• Please don’t think of me as your boss. Think of me as your friend who is never wrong.
• When cows laugh, does milk come out of their noses?
• Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.
• Santa Claus comes to us under many names: Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, MasterCard.
• A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
• If you want to be sure you’ll always remember your wife’s birthday, just try forgetting it once.
• It’s always darkest right before you stub your toe.
• Death is God’s way of telling you not to be such a wise guy.
• I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and all I’ve lost is two weeks.
• Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice doggie” until you can find a rock.
• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, a couple of times more. Then quit. There’s no sense making a fool of yourself.
• Nothing seems to bring on an emergency as quickly as putting money aside in case of one.
• The ESP Society will not be meeting this month due to unforeseen circumstances.
• I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.
• I know that there are people in this world who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!
• No job is so simple that is can’t be done wrong.
• Behind every successful man stands an absolutely astounded mother-in-law.
• You know you’re getting older when in the morning you hear snap, crackle, pop, and it isn’t your breakfast cereal.
• Whoever uses the term “dirt cheap” probably hasn’t bought any real estate lately.
• A friend said, “I quit smoking cold turkey.” I said, “What do you smoke now? Ham?”
• My wife thinks I’m too nosy. At least that’s what she scribbles in her diary.

Why I’m a Calvinist: Part I

We go by many names – Augustine, Calvinist, Reformed, Tulip-sniffers – but it all adds up to the same thing. Today, Calvinists are a minority within modern evangelical protestantism, but such wasn’t always the case. At the height of the Protestant Reformation, we were the primary voices crying out for a return to the Scriptures and a renewed love and honour of God’s sovereignty, His grace, and His relationship with His people. I am a member of a United Baptist denomination in Atlantic Canada, which was a historic union between the Particular/Calvinist Baptists and the General/Freewill Baptists, and I spent a considerable amount of time last year describing and contrasting the two views (read Part I, II, III, IV, V).

I’m quite open about my theological position, and I certainly don’t dismiss those who disagree with me from the family fellowship, but I’d like to talk a bit about why I believe what I believe. You may agree or disagree, but it’s my hope that I can challenge you, and be challenged by you – but here’s the catch: There needs to be some ground rules.

First of all, I haven’t always been a Calvinist. In fact, at one time, I was vehemently opposed to it, but my mind was changed for me. Now, see the pictures of those four guys at the top of the post? I’m not a Calvinist because of any of them, and that includes ol’ Johnny boy himself. It was not the insightful writings of any of those folks that convinced me, so don’t worry about them.  I was convinced by one book, and one book alone: the holy scriptures, God’s inspired word, which I understand as the 39 books of the Judaic (or “Old Testament”) canon and the 27 books of the New Testament.

Lots of people like to argue against the Calvinist viewpoint from a philosophical standpoint, which doesn’t do a lot of good for someone who is adhering to a biblical teaching.  You could very well make medical arguments against the virgin birth, but that doesn’t change my conviction that it occurred.  Therefor, if you wish to argue against the Calvinist position, you either have to do it from the Scriptures or not at all, as I can be convinced by nothing less.

Throughout scripture, there are words that are used frequently of God and his relationship with His creation that we often dismiss or try to interpret away.  The Old Testament is dripping in references to God’s “chosen people,” the Jews.  Jesus tells his disciples that they didn’t choose him, but he chose them (John 15:16).  Paul uses the word “predestine” in describing God’s choosing.  There are several references to God’s elect, and of course the Scriptures speak plainly and repeatedly of God’s sovereignty over His creation.  You may also be surprised to learn what is NOT mentioned in scripture.  It is often said that God gave mankind a unique gift, namely free will, yet you will search in vain for any such explicit statement in the Bible.

Lastly, I’d like to conclude this part of the discussion by answering an accusation that was once levelled at me.  An individual I know once accused me of being a Calvinist in order to “feel special” as if God chose me, and that God loves everybody the same.  While the individual wasn’t overly rational at the time, making reasoning somewhat difficult, I can state plainly that his conclusion was completely opposite of the truth.  Part of the Calvinist view is that God is sovereign in salvation, and that his election is entirely without any merit of our own, just as Paul says to the Ephesians:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.   (Ephesians 2:8-9)

What I’ve frequently found among those who have a strong opposition to Calvinism is that they usually believe, consciously or unconsciously, that they made the right choice when they chose God.  They believe that they did something that the unbeliever did not do, and therefor they have every right and reason to feel “holier than thou.”  That’s not always the case, mind you, but I’ve seen it frequently enough to see the correlation between theology and attitude.  Next episode, I’ll start breaking down what led to my own convictions and we’ll investigate some scriptures.

Down, Pluto, down!

Watching the media report on scientific matters is a lot like watching a moose describe the feeling of winged flight. The mainstream media’s only goal these days is to have you, the consumer, look at their story over and above anyone else’s so that your consumer eyes will also lap up the advertising that funds their efforts. So it is no great surprise that when the International Astronomical Union began meeting to vote on a resolution to determine the criteria that defines exactly what a “planet” is, the media began reporting the resolution as decided fact. The resolution’s criteria were:

1. A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet.

2. We distinguish between the eight classical planets discovered before 1900, which move in nearly circular orbits close to the ecliptic plane, and other planetary objects in orbit around the Sun. All of these other objects are smaller than Mercury. We recognize that Ceres is a planet by the above scientific definition. For historical reasons, one may choose to distinguish Ceres from the classical planets by referring to it as a “dwarf planet.”

3. We recognize Pluto to be a planet by the above scientific definition, as are one or more recently discovered large Trans-Neptunian Objects. In contrast to the classical planets, these objects typically have highly inclined orbits with large eccentricities and orbital periods in excess of 200 years. We designate this category of planetary objects, of which Pluto is the prototype, as a new class that we call “plutons.”

4. All non-planet objects orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as “Small Solar System Bodies.”

News sources all over the world began reporting that Pluto had been officially recognized as a planet, as well as possibly three other large bodies in our outer solar system; Ceres, Charon and the poetically named UB313. Yet for all the bluster, the media neglected to read the fact that this was simply a resolution to be voted on – not the defining moment, itself.

So it is that poor ol’ Pluto – the smallest, coldest and drooliest of our traditional solar system – has lost its status as a planet after the vote on the resolution. Now it’s just another one of many large rocks that have been caught in the gravitational tether of our sun. There’s been a fair amount of debate on the decision and its repercussions, but what concerns me most is that classic old memory sentence, “My very educated mother just showed us nine planets,” is no longer helpful for remembering the planets names and orders. Someone needs to come up with a new one… perhaps “Moose viruses enter my jowls softly under neck?“

Leave a comment with your best memory-sentence! Quick! Before we all forget their names! Here’s the list to help you: “Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.”

Homestar Mets

As if the fact that I can now proudly wear my Mets ball-cap because the Metties are still numero uno in the National League (the number 2 spot in both leagues after the AL’s Detroit), and not only are they riding a 6-game winning streak, but it turns out there are Mets fans popping out of the woodwork all over!  I caught the latest Homestar Runner cartoon, celebrating 10 years of silliness by slapping a fresh new look on the original storybook that started it all.  Six people… er… things compete for the “Strongest Man In The World Contest” that they might become the proud owner of the coveted Golbol (which is how Homestar says “gold bowl”).  At one point, the Grape Fairy mentions that Mookie Wilson gave him the Golbol.  Mookie was my favorite player for the Mets ‘86 World Series win, so I thought the reference was great.  To punctuate it, the Brothers Chaps slapped an little easter-egg at the end of the cartoon that displays the Golbol…

If you look at the background of the picture, you will see the New York Mets “NY” logo.  No, it’s not the Yankees logo, and let me tell you how much I like when people mistake me for a Yankees guy.  About none much!  Here… study the two logos for about an hour, so you’ll have them permanently burned in your retinas.

If you want to have some fun, walk up to the next Yankees fan you see wearing a ball cap with the NY logo and say, “Hey, is that a Mets hat?”

Quick Update

I have a couple posts in progress that deal with lengthier topics, but here’s a quick update in the meantime. The folks out at Billtown Baptist have made Marsha, Alyssa and I feel very welcome in their family, and we’re looking forward to the next couple of years working with the folks there. It’s a substantially different environment than I’m used to, and there’s lots to learn and do.

Meanwhile, my dear Christian brother Dave and I have been meeting with two Latter Day Saint Elders for the past couple of weeks at his apartment. This has been the first time I’ve had the opportunity to sit in with someone who’s heard my little LDS theology survey, and it’s been a great experience. It’s been a fruitful, challenging dialogue, and since they eagerly desire to return each week, I consider that a successful discussion. I’m very thankful for David who not only desired to dialogue with these folks and invited them to his home, but was committed to a relationship – meeting with them regularly in order to nurture a good exchange. What greater testimony to Christ is there than the genuine desire to nurture caring relationships?

Speaking of good dialogues, I had some great discussions with a extended family member last night. Jason has been a friend of my younger brother since… well… almost since we moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario, I think. He’s just as much family as any blood relative, plus he has a great sense of humour. The conversation was spurred by a mechanical pencil…

My brother picked up a cool mechanical pencil for me, as I’d been complaining about having difficulty with all the hand-writing I have to do with exams and Greek assignment. Very few people know more about good stationary than my brother, who’s a full-time graphic designer and artist. I thanked him and mentioned something in passing about exams. Jason, justifiably curious, asked “Exams?” and Dan mentioned I was going back to school. Jay (as we call him) asked me what school, and I said ’seminary’ (which is easier than saying Acadia Divinity College and trying to explain what “divinity” is). Jay, looking for a good argument, came at me with some challenges. The most ironic part of the discussion was that his objections were extremely similar to those I have raised in the past.

A classic no-win question is to ask a devoted husband “Have you stopped beating your wife?” It’s a question that desires a yes/no answer, but since the question itself contains an assumption, there is no way to provide an answer without incriminating one’s self of spousal abuse, past or present. So too was Jay’s first question: “You’re not one of those fanatics who take the bible literally, are you?” It’s one of those questions that, like an unstable chemical, needs to have a neutralizing agent added to make the reaction safer.

My answer was, “I believe the bible is true, and understand it as literally as the author intended. For example, a psalm is a poetical form of writing and uses all the common tools of the poet.” Take Psalm 18, for example, which includes these passage:

6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him– the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

Is it the author’s intent to describe God’s physical attributes as witnessed by David? Does God have nostrils that smoke? Does he ride about on clouds? Well, yes he does – in the poetic sense. David is poetically describing God’s sovereignty over all creation by equating violent natural phenomena (volcanoes, earthquakes, storms) with God’s anger. For David, the point is that God is sovereign and that God delivered him from his enemies, bringing His wrath upon them through His creation. Verse 16, for example, isn’t attempting to describe that David was physically in a body of water, but is a poetic allegory of the verse immediately following – that God rescued David from his enemies.

As Jay and I continued talking a bit, he quickly recognized that I wasn’t a ‘blind believer.’ While the Christian faith is indeed a faith, it does not follow that it’s a blind faith, and our discussion revealed that. I had the opportunity to share the reasoning and enquiry that Jesus often used during his earthly ministry, and talked a bit about the greatest commandment as described by Christ: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” God gave us some pretty awesome brains, and they’re not just there to keep your skull from collapsing.

We talked for quite some time, and it was certainly one of the highlight of my week. I enjoy talking about my faith, my reasons for believing, and most importantly, about my Lord. It’s even more awesome to talk with someone who is open to dialogue, and as I recently shared with Woodville and Billtown, you never know where a spoken word will travel. Our job is just to speak it in love.