John Mayer

So I don't have a lot of time, in fact I've been running all day, and will continue to run until late Sunday Afternoon when I will finally crash, and finish watching the NASCAR race, but until then there is only one thing on my mind, CAMP ARNES!!! Well that and the incredible concert I was at last night with my smokin’ hot wife!!! We went and saw John Mayer last night... well saw might be a bit of an exaggeration... We were about as far away as humanly possible... but still, it was so sweet! All I can say is WOW! He can shred the guitar! And it was soooo smooth. It really inspired me to save up and go guitar shopping, I think I need a sweet electric like that. It was by far one of the best concerts I have ever been too. So, if you have the chance... I recommend catching him somewhere.

Bye Bye Flames, Hello Vancouver

Well the Flames are done... after a less than stellar performance, it is sort of nice that I can now jump ship with a clean conscience... Go Canucks go!!! Anyway Maybe Kiprusoff should try to become a two sport man like, Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie (ht D'Caffeinated Pickle)

Youth Ministry in the 80's

So I have this large series from Youth Specialties called "Ideas" and it is exactly what it sounds like. 49 books full of ideas for youth ministry. There are games, skits, bible studies. You name it, it is here. But the best part of this series is that it is from the 80's, So it is hilarious to look at some of the things they suggest. You look at some of the ideas and say, "WOW!!! There is NO WAY I could get away with that now!"

For example From Ideas 13-16 Page 13 "FLOUR POWER"
"Select three girls and three boys for this event. The guys are sent out of the room. While they are out, one girl gets a mouthful of flour. One of the boys are brought in and told to try and guess each girl's favorite flower. If he is correct, he wins a kiss from that girl. Of course, whatever he guesses for the girl with the flour in her mouth is correct. She starts to kiss him, but instead spits flour all over his face. Do the same with the next two guys." Really??? I can just imagine this scene a few weeks later, "So Jon when was your first kiss?" "Oh, well it was at this youth retreat, and my youth pastor made me kiss these two girls, and then a third one was going to kiss me, but then she spit flour in my face instead." ... Like I said, I just can't imagine doing something like that today. Actually let me clarify… earlier I said I can’t imagine getting away with it… what I really meant was, this is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. Not only would I not want to get away with it, I wouldn’t even think of trying something like that…. However there are some other ideas that are super awesome… just highly unsafe… I came across a super sweet game though, and I would to love to play it, but safety would be a factor.

The basic premise, is one guy goes out and hides with a lit candle. You arm all your kids with a water gun, and a unlit candle. They then try and find the guy with fire, light their candles and sneak back to HQ without all the other kids squirting out their candle. What an awesome night game!!! But I can just imagine all the things that could go wrong... candle's in the face, hair on fire, all the brush around the camp on fire... yeah so I don't think we'll play this game with fire... but man that must have been sweet!
Anyway back to hunting down games for the weekend, any suggestions?

Youth Last Night

So last night was our parent and youth night at the Hub. And man did we have fun!!!! Now before the evening began there were a lot of youth who were saying that there was NO WAY, their parents were going to get in on the fun and games... well let's just say there were a lot of shocked kids! We had a guest speaker come out and talk about his 7 day transrockies race that he and his son did and the lessons that they learnt from that experience. It was really cool. And to go with the whole biking theme we did some relays on Tricycles outside in the mall parking lot. There were actually quite a few people who would stop and look at these crazy people cheering and racing back and forth across the parking lot. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures. For more head over to our Flickr site. All in all I would say the night was a great success and we’ll have to do something like it again soon.

Nickel Creek

So there is this band I've been hearing about a lot lately from some friends of mine called Nickel Creek. They were one of those bands that your friends rave about, but you never remember to go and check out... well anyway thanks to Jon, I found their link and checked them out on myspace. All I can say is AWESOME!! I'm not normally a bluegrass kinda guy, but wow! Go over to their myspace and listen to couple songs. Two of my fav's are Their cover of Britney Spears (she could never sound that good) and their song "Doubting Thomas" I'm not sure where these guys are with their walk with God, but there is some awesome stuff in these lyrics, check it out...

"DOUBTING THOMAS - by Nickel Creek"

What will be left when I've drawn my last breath,
Besides the folks I've met and the folks who know me,
Will I discover a soul saving love,
Or just the dirt above and below me,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I took a promise,
But I do not feel safe,
Oh me of little faith,

Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face,
Then I beg to be spared 'cause I'm a coward,
If there's a master of death I'll bet he's holding his breath,
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power,
I'm a doubting thomas,
I can't keep my promises,
'Cause i don't know what's safe,
oh me of little faith

Can I be used to help others find truth,
When I'm scared I'll find proof that its a lie,
Can I be lead down a trail dropping bread crumbs,
That prove I'm not ready to die,

Please give me time to decipher the signs,
Please forgive me for time that I've wasted,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I'll take your promise,
Though I know nothin's safe,
Oh me of little faith

Some Pics

So a couple weeks ago I got two new pairs of glasses, so I thought it was about time to put some pictures of them on. I got my dark "Rob Bell" glasses (as I like to call them). I figure it's a good idea to try and follow in the steps of such a brilliant guy. Then my other pair are more... normal? Sure that works. Well all I know is that I'm looking forward to looking back on these beautiful glasses in 15 years and going, "YUCK!! I can't believe I wore those and thought I was cool!" Oh fashion, how you make us all look like dweebs... speaking of being a dweeb, let's not make any comments on the cheesy myspaceish poses ...

I also have a few pics of when my parents were out with their dog, so it's Lennox and Sheila running and playing on their walk.

Spring Duds

So spring is here, you can feel it in the air. All you need to do is look at Lennox and see his eagerness to be outside in the sun to know that the nice weather is here. If we leave the door open even for a second he squeezes his way past and he's gone, running around on the grass. It's so nice. Well we all know that with spring comes spring shopping. So if it's time for you to pick up some new threads why not check out Randomshirts for some nice shirts, that make a difference in our world. Here are some of my favs.

Fun stuff on a Friday

For something fun do this.
1. go to www.google.ca
2. click on “maps”
3. click on “get directions”
4. type “New York” in the first box (the “from” box)
5. type “London” in the second box (the “to” box)
6. scroll down to step #23
(ht to Marko)

"I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices."

A while ago I felt like it was time to reread through all the gospels. I tend to spend most of my time reading in Mark (a personal fav) but I thought it was time to get the whole perspective on the story of Christ again. So the other day I read this cool verse from Matthew 9. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, 'cause they are trippin’ that Jesus would hang out with the likes of Matthew and as they like to label them "scum." So Jesus throws out this response. He says in verse 13 "Then he added, 'Now go and learn the meaning of this scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices (Hosea 6:6).' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." So this struck me, and I thought it was a cool verse. Jesus is quoting Hosea 6:6 so I went back and read through the whole chapter to see the context of the passage Jesus is quoting. Well today I was reading Matthew 12 and Jesus is back in hot water with the Pharisees because the disciples are grabbing handfuls of grain and eating it on the Sabbath (has anyone ever thought about how gross that would be to eat? Mmmm raw grain, yummy! I think I'd rather go hungry... ANYWAY) Jesus looks at the Pharisees and says, "But you would not have condemned those who aren't guilty if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices." So I'm reading and I go 'huh? I think I've heard this before. So I'm thinking that if Jesus is repeating himself, He probably thinks that this is a pretty important thing. The whole part of Hosea 6:6 says, "I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices. I want you to know God; that's more important than burnt offerings." So here is Jesus repeating that what He is looking for, what He wants us to be doing, be merciful, and know God. He’s not interested in empty ritual, he is interested in people. Not always the easiest thing in the world to do, but a good challenge as we go about our days, so let us be merciful, and not fall into the trap of thinking we are already good enough.

This Morning

So this morning I got the pleasure of hearing Tony Campolo in Winkler. He was doing a Youth Workers breakfast/session. This is now the third time I have heard him, and i have to say, he is so amazing! I love to hear his insights into our culture and into the world we live in. He had many good things to say, some that were super funny, and others that were very profound. Essentially though he said there are three issues that need to be dealt with in Youth Ministry.

1) That our Youth know the REAL Jesus.
Bernard Shaw said, "God made us in His image, and we turned around and returned the favor." It is important for us to take a careful look at the Jesus we worship, and make sure that we are actually worshiping Him, and not what we would like Him to be like. Perhaps obviously to us, is the United States and their blend of Patriotism and God. However, we aren’t free from turning God into our image either it just manifests itself differently in Manitoba
2) Youth need to have faith that there are great things in life.
Essentially he says, our youth need more than what society tells us is important. i.e. Get married, live a good life, make money, and keep your nose clean. These are good, but it isn't enough. To me this brings back the whole discussion of 300, the idea that these men buck society, and live for something greater than themselves.. It isn't enough just to make money and have a good life. We need a cause that can move us to die, it is what we all really want. It is also important to remember that what is in our past DOES NOT define who we will be. Campolo points towards those who survived the concentration camps during WWII. The only thing that those people had in common was that they hoped for the future, and had things they wanted to accomplish. It is interesting that there are more Nobel Peace prize winners that survived the concentration camps than any other group of people. We need something great to live for.
3) Sexuality
This is obviously an issue that we need to talk about. How do we teach our youth about sexuality in a healthy way. Campolo talked about those chastity pledge cards that a lot of teens in the states sign. The problem with those is that teens who sign them are 10 times more likely to engage in oral sex. Campolo also suggested that we as a church need to teach our young people how to break up lovingly. Often break ups are incredibly painful, and are made more painful, because we don't know how to do it. So sex is a big issue that needs to be dealt with.

So like I said, it was awesome, and there was lots of brain food and laughs. And as usual after hearing him speak I wonder if I should sell everything I own and go and live in the slums somewhere. I guess I still have to wrestle with this whole materialism thing.

Mmmmmm Nice

Anyone have an extra $80,000 US that you don't need? The Edge's 1975 Cream Gibson Les Paul Custom is up for sale on ebay to raise some money for Music Rising. I just wonder... would owning a guitar by a guitar great make me a better player? Or do I still have to practice? Anyway if you have a few extra tens of thousands of dollars that you need to get rid of, you can give me a call. And if you want to check out some of the other pieces for sale you can click (here). There are some of Bono's glasses, an Eric Clapton guitar and much much more.

Happy Birthday

That's right, today is Lennox's First birthday!!!! He has been a great part of the McCorkindale House. Two pics of him (the first from last fall when we Got him, and the 2nd from just a few days ago.)

No More Anonymous Comments

Hi there readers, first off I want to thank each of you who comments on my posts. I have really enjoyed the discussion in the last while, especially on my post about God's blueprint. However, the thing that I really don't like about the blog world is the Anonymous comments. I have enjoyed what people have said and are saying, however, I think that people need to put a name to it. So from this point on I will no longer publish a comment that doesn't have a name on it. For the sake of keeping conversation going, and allowing people to share without creating a blog, I will still leave the Anonymous option there for publishing comments, but I would appreciate it if you would sign your name at the end of your comment. If there isn't a name I will simply delete it, and move on with life. Thanks so much

-Nathan

I went and saw 300

So on Saturday I went out with some of my friends here in town for Ribs and 300. The ribs were AMAZING!!! I'm telling you, no one makes a rack of Ribs like good 'ole Tony Roma! After stuffing ourselves full of meat, we went and saw 300.

Now having read a few reviews of this movie, I knew exactly what we were in for. 105 minutes of bloody violence with a few naked women thrown into the mix. But still in the three weeks since its release the movie has grossed over $162,354,000, and continues to dominate the box office. Now obviously I don't think that we should just go along with whatever culture does, but when something makes such a splash, I think that there is something worth checking out. Why are people seeing it? So we went. Now I will say this about the movie; There, were a few minutes where we all spent some time studying our shoes (but the movie wasn’t nearly as sexual as I had been led to believe). And second there is a lot of blood (although it looks pretty fake). With that said, at the end of the movie all of us were wishing that we lived back in 400 B.C. and we had what it took to be a true Spartan. What was it about this movie, that inspires? That draws a longing deep within us? What this movie does is it shows us a world were things are simple. It shows us a world where honour, respect, and glory are held above everything else. It shows us a world where there is something greater than ourselves to live and die for. It shows us a world where men discipline their bodies, and make it their slaves. It shows us that our lives can mean something, even if we are small and it seems like everything is against us. It shows us a community of people who will stand by each other and sacrifice their lives for each other. Essentially it shows us the world that we wished we live in. Now most of us would rather do without all of the violence and battle, that came with this era, but we want something to live and die for. We want honour, respect, glory, discipline, community, and a cause. And that is what draws us to this movie.

Of course there is more too it than that. Cinematically it is stunning, and the stylized fighting is amazing to watch. But I believe that at the heart of it, there is a longing that this movie creates in us. I know that even days later, I still have a longing to be a warrior, to have a battle that demands my life.

And so.... the question is, where do we go from here? I believe that within Christianity there is a place for honour, respect, glory, disciple, community, and obviously there is a cause that we have. But how to we draw that out? How do we inspire men to grab hold of the faith, and become warriors? How does Christ, become our battle of Thermopylae Pass? And how do we live Sparta today? How does the church meet the longing that a movie like 300 brings out in so many of our young people today?

For more info you can read Relevant Magazine Plugged In Magazine and Ben Witherington
for their reviews of 300

Youth Pics

Hey if you want to see pictures from our scavanger hunt last night copy and paste this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmcyouth/
There is also a link on my sidebar if you would prefer

Youth Last Night

Here are some clips from last night's youth event

God's Blueprint

So on Sunday I preached on the guidance of God in our lives. (you can listen to sermon here). In that sermon I mentioned that I don’t believe that God has a perfect blueprint for my life. I believe that I have choices in my life. There wasn’t just one person I was supposed to marry. But I chose Niki, and now I committee to live out the rest of my life with her (By the way I think it was an excellent choice). There isn’t just one school for us to go to, one church for us to serve in, one…anything. However, believing this does raises some interesting questions. What I’ve done here is laid out three of the main reasons why I struggle with the idea that God has a perfect plan laid out for my life. I would love to hear your responses and your thoughts. Hopefully we can discuss and learn together.

1) God Can Change his Mind, so then the plans Change.
First we are told in Hebrews 6:18 that it is impossible for God to lie. With this in mind when we read the story of Exodus 32:9-14 we are left with a clear picture of when God’s mind can be changed by his people. Because his threat to destroy the people was either, real, or a lie, God was clearly ready to destroy the Israelites, but because of Moses’ intercession, and arguing God relents and changes His mind. So if it is possible for us as humans to change God’s mind, how can He have a blueprint laid out for my life? Clearly there are things that can change His mind and make new plans.

2) We must have choice (To choose and reject)
God is Love, God created us for love. In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis says,
“Free will is what has made evil possible. Why then, did God give (creatures) free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.”
Because God wants real love from us, it means we must have a choice. This choice is clear to us through the scriptures. It is repeatedly affirmed that God loves the whole world and does not want one person to be lost (1 Tim 2:4 4:10; 2 Pet 3:9)! And yet at the same time it tells us that many people will be lost. The possibility of saying no to God must be there just as the possibility of saying yes. People can and often do resist God. Choice is part of the fabric of who we are. So in my life I must have choice in the decisions I will make, if God has a blueprint of everything I will do, and am supposed to do, I become nothing more than a robot. It also raises questions about those who choose not to follow God. Either they have a choice, or God has a blueprint that says they will not choose to know Him. And so now He is the one responsible for them being lost. Seeing as we have already established that God cannot lie, and the God wants all people to be saved, so this clearly isn’t an option.

3) If God is responsible for everything that means evil as well
One final reason (although I’m sure I can think of more) I see a problem with the idea of God’s blueprint of my life is that then there is, “A specific divine reason for every particular event that transpires, including the activity of Satan, then the ultimate explanation for evil cannot be found in Satan. It must rather be found in the reason that God had for ordaining or allowing him to carry out that specific activity, The problem is that the New Testament doesn’t point toward that. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus “Went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.” In fact Jesus always treated disease as a work of the enemy.” If God has a plan for everything in my life it means that He is also in control of all the sickness, disease and disasters that happen in this world, that He NOT Satan is the perpetrator of these events. To me this is irreconcilable with God as good, and the pictures we see in the scripture as God’s kingdom fighting against the powers and principles of this world.

In Conclusion, I find the evidence of God’s ability to change His mind, His gift of choice to choose or reject Him, and the fact that a good God cannot be responsible for evil, is enough that God does not have a single plan for our lives. It seems to me that if God has a plan for our life it is that we will Love Him, and that we will live Holy Lives.

Now I also have to say that all of this doesn’t make total sense to me yet. I am just a pilgrim searching for answers. And while I don’t think that God has a specific plan for my life, I also believe that God calls people and commissions them for things. I believe that it is good to seek the guidance of God, and walk in His steps. So how that relates to what I’ve said before I am not totally sure yet. But this I do know, without choice, we stray too close to predestination for my liking.

Menno in Med School Part 1: Representeth

Rest

I've been thinking a lot lately about rest. What does it mean to be resting in God. a couple of things have led to this thinking. The first is, as a staff we are reading "The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath" by Mark Buchanan. I also just finished Contemplative Youth Ministry by Mark Yaconelli in that he talks about his son who started a club called the "Slow Club" the whole point of the club is to slow down and not be rushed no matter what you had to do and who was pushing you to go fast... did I mention that his son was 4? Anyway to me this is such a good idea. And I have been trying to slow down my pace. To enjoy the half block walk from work to home without rushing. The final thing that I have been thinking about is the guidance of God. Psalm 46:10 says "Be Still and Know that I am God." Isn't it true that we get so busy that we miss God. We are so worried about doing that we forget God is more interested in us just being. How can we find God’s guidance when we are so busy that we never pay attention to Him? Niki was talking on her blog about how she was resting, and in that rest she was busy doing things, and then she talked about how the tree outside our window is a reminder to her of how God is present. But I wonder if there isn't another illustration from the tree.

It seems to me that the busyness in our life is like a wind that shakes our extremities, and threatens to knock us down. But when we have learnt to rest in God, all the wind does is shake our branches, but WE are firmly rooted and are able to rest. So we are active, but not busy. But when we have lost the ability to be still and know God, the wind/busy times in our life come and blow against us, and we shatter like an old tree in a strong storm. Busyness will kill you. Think about that word, what comes to mind? For me it is the bee going from one flower to the next, flying around in circles. Busyness will destroy you. It will separate you from God. Unless we can slow down, rest in the presence of our creator, we will break under the speed of life. So stop for a minute, take a breath, tune into the presence of God, rest....... and then go back to your work, but do so remembering that the wind is only shaking your branches, not you. Remember that you can be active, but not busy.

They're here!!!!

Got these baby's in the mail yesterday!!! Two Tickets to sit at the opposite end of the arena for John Mayer!! Can't wait!!!! And to get you in the mood you can check out Neon live and acoustic down at the bottom..... so amazing!!!