May 2006

“I didn’t know we could do that…” That’s what I’m hearing as I bring up church planting to people.

When I’ve asked fellow students in my seminary what they plan on doing with their lives and dreams, there seems to be this linear answer of ‘well, i’m going to be a youth pastor, then an associate pastor, and then if things work out, i’d like to be a senior pastor one day’. It sounds like a great plan, and nothing wrong with that, but could there be more?

I went to Canada’s National Church planting congress last year and was the only person from my seminary there (the largest in Canada). I attended a breakout session and what I heard from leaders at all levels repeated asking was - where are all the young, catalytic, entrepreneurial, leaders of the next generation?

I’m convinced that the structures and processes that have been built for raising leaders by previous generations are only producing people who think within those systems (And I’m sure this applies to more than just the realm of ’spiritual’ leadership). Many of these frameworks are shrinking our hearts, leaving little room for the extraordinary possibilities that we are all capable of and must bring about.

I’ve decided that as I make my transition from work back to full-time school this september, I’ll be launching a new Church Planting & Kingdom Advancing Network on campus. More on this soon. Thoughts?

Well, i’m not, but my wife sure is pregnant. At first we were hesitant on telling anyone, since all the books and friends seemed to advise to wait at least three months. But we thought about it some more, and felt that keeping it to ourselves would have been more motivated by fear, and all the “what if’s”, rather than faith, hope, and love.

If anything did happen we’d want our community’s prayers and support throughout the process. I can not explain how excited I am!

Here’s our little one at 5cm’s (The black is liquid, the round circle on the right is his/her big head, and the body’s laying across to left). The process of life is so freaking phenomenal.

I was running outside the other day and just soaking up the beauty and creation around me (See my recent post on our ‘God soaked world‘ on the bookclub vox). I came across this incredibly stunning bird and quickly took this picture! Actually, not really, but I sure wish I did. This one was grabbed off of flickr at this dude’s site.

My bird was just perched by the side of the road doing a whole lot of nothing. The first thing that came to my mind, besides all its sleek and bright colors, was how that bird better be doing something more than just sitting there and looking pretty. I found myself hoping it knew just how distinct and attractive it was, and how it ought to be doing something spectactular amongst its fellow birds.

Then God spoke into my heart and reminded me that while He loves and embraces me as I am, He is not impressed by my ‘colors’. My natural gifts and talents don’t blow Him away. After all, He is the One who placed them in me in the first place.

However, what is astounding and marvelous, is when we use, however much or little we have, for the purposes of expanding good, inspiring others, and ultimately serving humanity and honoring God. That’s what God applauses, and that’s what I’m starting to become more and more impressed by when I look at those around me.

She has the most incredible smile.
She makes me melt inside.
She fills her prayers with my name.
She’s a creative force, reflecting beauty she can’t explain.

She’s tasted life she can’t get enough of.
She’s experienced things she can’t help but share.
She’s unable to separate what she does and what she believes.
She presses in to bring out the person I was created to be.

She can squeal and squirm at the slightest of discomfort.
She can do battle with darkness and not even flinch.
She can be fragile and broken and easily hurt.
She can make beauty from ashes and life from dirt.

She loves to run, run away, run free, run back to me.
She loves to laugh, at herself, at me, at the simplest things.
She makes me smile and laugh like no one else does.
She warms my soul and makes me more than whole.

She’s secretly shy, summoning strength each day to give herself to others.
She defends me and celebrates me when I’m not looking.
She takes on my struggles as if they were her own.
She takes on my passions as if they were her own.

and what I can’t get over, is that, she gives herself to me, as if she were always mine.

Update: I think there’s a chance she might even start occasionally blogging, check out her crazy pic and vox here.

… has been absolutely wonderful.

I’ve been reading again, growing, connecting with people, reflecting, imagining, dreaming and scheming, experimenting, sharing, and enjoying every moment.

I just started messing around with this gmail skin as a firefox extension that allows you to integrate google portal stuff like calendar, flickr, news, etc.

Up next, a post on my incredibly marvelous wife, yvz.