Taking a breather!

Things are starting to move, change is everywhere! God grant me the wisdom and strength to make the right decisions and the faith to know that everything is in your hands.

peace

Taking a big step

For those of you who have been reading my blog over the past few months this will come as no shock, I have officially given my notice at Routes and I am moving on to work for the Freeway as a church planting intern. This is a really exciting and terrifying proposition as I am giving up the security of a full time permanent job for a one year contract, that will lead me to plant a church for potentially no pay. Even though commonsense (a worlds view of commonsense) would say this is a pretty stupid decision, I honestly couldn't be more excited. In fact, I feel like a kid going on his first roller coaster or going down the steepest hill on a GT snow racer, I am pumped!! I can't really explain the peace I feel knowing that I am following Gods plan and doing what I am supposed to do. I am still very aware that following Jesus may be tough, who am I kidding will be tough. I know it won't necessarily mean a middle class life style and it certainly won't mean success in the eyes of the world! It will on the other hand bring my family and I closer to the life Jesus is calling us to!

So I leave you with this, if God is calling you to something think about, pray about and then act, because you can't do anything until you do something! Deep I know!!

Peace,

Jason

PS I am always willing to chat with anyone who is interested in learning more about my vision and what God is calling me to and potentially what he is calling some of you to!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

December 1st - The beginning of Jacksons 1st Christmas!

Picking the Christmas Tree - We decided to go old fashioned and we went to a tree farm to pick out our beautiful 9 ft spruce (I'm actually not sure what type of tree it is)

it's finally up!

Jackson hanging his first ornament!

The finished product!!

Relaxing after!

Jackson posing for some Christmas photos!

The Calm before the storm -

When I was younger I worked a summer camp right on the Lake Erie coast. It was a wonderful experience, I made lot of great friends, met my wife and had a ton of fun. That being said, what I loved most about those summers were the thunderstorms. Sometimes they would roll in fast, and other times they would slowly approach over the water, and it might even be a couple of days before the storm would hit. But as the storms approached the sky would darken, the air would change, and right before the wind picked up there would be stillness, dark stillness. Hours before the rain came you new it was coming. When we felt a storm coming we would scurry around trying to figure out what to do with the campers, make sure all the windows were closed and just make sure we were prepared for the inevitable. The storms were often beautiful displays of thunder and lightning and cloud formations, but if we weren't prepared for them they would become chaotic times with angry kids floating around looking for things to do. The calm before the storm although annoying at times allowed us to prepare for what was to come.

All this to say, I am in that calm before the storm. I can see great things in front of me, but God is pulling back the reigns and making sure I am prepared for it. He is changing my mind and my behaviors to be more like his and he is challenging me on things I didn't even know I needed to change. He has been continually reassuring me that something special is going to happen, but he won't let me get there until the time is right, or should I say his time is right.

For a self diagnosed guy with adult ADHD I find this to be a terribly frustrating period as I am continually hit with self doubt and concerns. I am bombarded with issues that I would have never dreamed would be issues. I am thankful in this time of waiting for friends and family who are much wiser then me. Friends who are there to help me work through my frustrations and help me realize the vision God has placed on my mind.

So in these times I can only pray, pray for discernment of when I need to push a head and when I need to rest. Pray that I don't allow my fears and unconscious world view to stop me from doing what I know God wants me to do.

Peace,

Ottawa with the Boys

Just got back from the Imagine conference in Ottawa (actually Gatineau Quebec). The conference was alright but connecting with Jordan and Pernell along with a bunch of crazy Free Methodist church planters was by far the highlight. I was deeply challenged by their depth of knowledge, their experience and their creativity. Although the weekend presented some unexpected challenges, I was affirmed over and over again that I am called to be a church planter and I am excited about building/developing a new church community here in Hamilton! I don't have bunch time, but in the coming days I will go deeper in sharing about my personal paradigm shift that began almost a year ago now and was further challenged this weekend.

Peace,

Jason

A couple of Crazy Weeks

Here are some life updates for those of you who care:

Family -


Kristen, Jackson and I are starting to figure out the whole family thing! We quickly realized that life as we knew it was over (although everyone warned us, we really didn't understand). In fact Jackson has really forced us to reevaluate what is important, what we should and shouldn't be doing with our time! One thing I have learned is that there really isn't ever enough time in the day to everything you want and need to do, especially when you throw in a beautiful baby boy who you want to spend every waking moment with!

To help us remember just how amazing life is right now with Baby Jackson we asked Krista Jefferson to take some pictures of our little guy. We have only seen a few so far, but what we have seen has absolutely blown us away. Krista has an amazing vision for what will make a good picture and she is really good at telling a story with her pictures! check out some of the pics on her blog http://www.kristajefferson.com/blog/. Thanks Krista!

My Mom -

As most of you know my mom has been fighting breast cancer for the past 6 weeks, in fact she managed to squeeze in 3 surgeries in 5 weeks. Although, life isn't easy for my mom she has never shown anything but courage through the whole process. I thank God for my mother, for her strength, for her faith and for just being her! Please keep praying for my mother and father as they await Chemotherapy and Radiation.

Church -


The last couple weeks have also offered some great affirmation for the vision God has given me for a new missional church plant in urban Hamilton! I have started a church plant internship at FRWY and I am looking forward to the Imagination Church planting conference coming up in November. As for more details, I can't give you a lot because some things are hush hush right now but look for some updates on my blog in the next couple of weeks!

PS If any of you are looking to get involved in a new missional church community please drop me an email jasondockeray@yahoo.com.

Work

Routes -

Things are going really well at Routes! We have started a lot of new programs over the last few months and Dundas youth seem to be resonating with what we are offering and we are finding ourselves connecting with new teens! Like always we are in need of some quality volunteers and we may be looking for a new team member in the next couple of months so if you are interested in working in a missional environment, and are passionate about young people drop me an email! jasondockeray@yahoo.com\

Christian Horizons -

I have just recently started working for Christian Horizons as a relief staff. I work with adults with various disabilities. It is a job I never anticipated working, but it is one that I have enjoyed a lot. The guys I work with and for are extremely funny and inspirational!

Anyways the last few months have thrown me some curve balls, both good and bad but all in all life is good!

Peace

PEAKS AND VALLEYS

Just got back from the X{CL}:8 conference and it was a wonderful experience. The emphasis of the weekend was on Mentorship. In fact all of the delegates were divided up and given an in house mentor (I was one of them) and then challenged to find one in their home faith communities. Along with Mentorship, over the course of the weekend we were blessed to hear from some great speakers including the Allens (Salvation Army officers in Mississauga) and Doug Hammond. Both were great speakers and were very challenging. In particular Doug really challenged me indirectly to get more into the word and to memorize scripture. His ability to recall scripture was absolutely remarkable and something I want to strive for.

This weekend was a certainly a spiritual high or a peak and it reaffirmed the fact that my Christian walk has been and is all about Peaks and valleys. God has been teaching me that I can enjoy the Peaks, but it is actually in the valleys in which we truly grow.

I am thankful to God for a wonderful experience and I am mindful of those close to me who may be in a valley. My mother who is going through cancer treatment. She is a trooper but I know it is hitting her hard, especially the waits in between operations and treatments. I pray my mothers faith and friends/family will help her through this.

I am also mindful of a good friend of mine a mentor and his family who just experienced the loss of baby. Having just experienced the birth of my first child and the anxiety associated with waiting for him and praying for his safe arrival. I can not imagine how it would feel to have lost a child in that process. I again hope that they are able to move through this in faith and even though they may not understand why, that they see the other blessings around them( their other beautiful and healthy children) and some how make it through.

I pray for all of you who are going through valleys. I pray you will find your way through them and be better off on the other side of the valley. I also pray for all of you on a peak and I pray that God will equip you for the next valley.

Peace,

Thanksgiving

What I'm thankful for -

• The arrival of my handsome son Jackson Thomas.
• My beautiful wife
• Great friends and mentors and strong Christian community
  
• A God who loves me even though I am a big screw up sometimes (most of the times)
• I am thankful that God has blessed me with enough that I can sacrifice for others.
• Most of all I am thankful for life and its twists and turns.
  

What I could live with out -

• Politics (not in the government sense of the word, although that can be annoying) but rather human politics and interesting personalities.
• Crying, I love my baby but I could certainly do without the exercising of his lungs.
• Other than that I'm loving where God has placed me.
  

All in all life is good and I have a lot to be thankful for! Thank you for reading my thoughts and commenting. My God bless you to bless others this thanksgiving!

PEACE!

Puke, poop and Pee!

It has been absolutely amazing to spend the last two weeks with my beautiful wife and son! I think at this point I have seen things come out of every orfus of little Jacksons body, getting peed on twice and pooped on once and yet I still wouldn't rather be anywhere else!

Monday real life starts again and it is time to play the game of balancing life, work and family. I pray for strength in this and wisdom!

I hope everyone is doing well!

peace

Jason


Here are some of Jacksons first bath(@home) photos!

The Baby is finally here!

Hey everyone the last week and a half has been the most amazing week of my life thus far! Watching Gods creation come into the world although scrary at times (a lot more blood then I thought) is absolutely amazing.

The hospital stay taught Kristen and I patience and we were lucky enough to return home on Saturday afternoon! Bringing the baby home has had its challenges, such as very little sleep it has been amazing to see this little life get accustomed to the world around him!

A special thank you to our friends and family for their prayer and support and to the Freeway for providing us with meals while we figure out life with our new family member.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful little guy!

STILL WAITING!!

For those of you who don't know my wife is pregnant (very pregnant) in fact she is actually a week over due at this point! I am glad to say she is handling it very well, except for being really tired she has done really well!

As we eagerly wait for the arrival of the little guy I have a healthy mix of excitement and fear! But I know everything will go well I just want it to happen sooner then later!

Stay posted for an excited update!!!

PEACE!

New Book

Just started reading "The Emerging Christian Way." So far it is an interesting book and offers some valid criticism of the current Church. That being said, the theology offered in the book is a little shakey. It appears that the authors (there are about 1o contributors) are arguing that Christianity "the church" must make a paradigm shift in order to survive. They believe this shift is already starting and in fact one of the authors argues that it is both "the best of times and the worst of times for Christianity." They believe Christianity should be less about a one time decision that will lead to heaven and more about a transformation. This argument I can cling to (although some of the other things in the book may not be as Biblically sound). Too often our faith revolves around a decision many of us made 10, 20 or even 30 years ago, and if we look at our life and the way we live not too much is different from that day. Except for the things you don't do anymore (get drunk, sleep around.....). I believe God is more concerned with the new things we are doing and less concerned about what we aren't doing anymore. Take Paul the Apostle for example, he becomes a follower of Christ and yes he stops persecuting the early Church but more importantly he starts to spread Christianity among the Gentiles. Certainly it was good that he stopped killing the Christians, but just imagine if all he did was stop with the "butterfly in the tummy feelings" and didn't put is faith into action.

Friends look at your life, if your life is as boring and crummy as it was before you were saved, or if all Christianity is to you is a set off "Don't Do's" make a change!!! Following Christ should be Transforming, remember the old has gone and the new is come.... Give the the world around you an example of how exciting following Christ can be and not how boring it is.

Just some random thoughts. The book although not the greatest certainly has made me think a bit deeper!!

Peace,

Jason

PS Remember if you aren't being challenged by Christ or the word your probably doing something wrong!

Are you are morning person?

Hey everyone as most you know when I am not spending time with my beautiful wife I am at Routes. So I though it appropriate to petition all of my blog readers for some help! We are starting a breakfast club on Tuesday and Thursdays, and I my guess is that when this gets rolling it could be huge. As a result I need some volunteers! If you can help give me a shout!!


PEACE

PS if mornings aren't good for you I run lots of programs in the evenings as well!!

Bass Guitar oh how I missed you

Since leaving Kitchener 2 years ago I haven't had a chance to play Bass regularily until last Sunday when Pernell gave me a shout and asked me to help with worship. Although I sucked bum (which is pretty bad) they asked me to play this Sunday in Niagara Falls to support Pernell as he brought the word at Niagara Orchard Salvation Army. Again stinking the joint up pretty good it was just great to play and be an integral part of corporate worship again! My fingers are a little sore but they are starting to find the right strings!

Peace

A Free Happy Ending!

I was driving around Dofasco yesterday as I dropped my father in-law off at work and I was wowed by the number of "Massage parlours," "nudie-bars," and other similar establishments. This got me thinking about the emptiness someone must feel to go into a place like that. I am sure for a brief moment while the act is being administered an individual must feel fulfilled but that sense of fulfillment can't last for long. In fact that happy ending is probably the start of many unhappy things (disease, addiction.....). Then I thought of a happy ending that doesn't end, " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 cor. 5:17. Following Jesus can give you surges of happiness but more importantly following Jesus offers the happiest of all endings and a new way of living before the end the comes. I pray more people will find their way to Jesus instead of looking for quick "Happy endings"

Funny stuff

I saw this guy Gerry Phelps on Jimmy Kimmel laughed so hard! Check it out

From the all nighter!!!

Well its 3 am and my mind is starting to slow down so I thought it would be a good idea to start blogging!!

Tonight we are holding are second annual end of summer sleepover, although last year we vowed never to do it again I am really glad we decide to try it again! With a lot more staff then last year and some great kids we have had a fun night of connecting and developing relationships!! I guess somethings are better the second time around.

PEACE!

PS we are always looking for some great volunteers to help out some equally great kids!

You know what really burns me?

Human Nature...really burns me. The bible teaches that the tongue is worse then any sword and it can cut deep.

Over the past couple of months I have been burned several times by an individual who feels it is his job to pass on information to others without checking its validity. This gossiping has lead to some issues which are completely unnecessary and were totally avoidable. This need for gossiping while really pissing me off, has taught me a very important lesson. If I am going to share something with someone about someone else I need to first check my intentions and then make sure the information is correct. I challenge all of you to do the same. Like my mom always said "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Hopefully the individual I was referring to catches that message as well.

On a brighter note here are some life updates!!

The baby is not here yet, but it is still cooking and very healthy a long with his beautiful mother!

The Church plant is starting to come together (PS still looking for some missional Christians to help out!!) I am hoping to start meeting with potential leaders this september!!

PEACE!!

Camping with the Freeway

Back from a great weekend of relaxing with the Freeway at Valens Conservation area. Our days were filled with eating great food (thanks Natasha), and chilling out by the lake. It was really nice to connect with some great people and develop strong community! But, now its back to the grind of working and getting things ready for the baby!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend as well!

Peace

Glimpses of Real Church Community

After a couple of weeks of really slacking off and doing nothing but worrying about things that are completely out of my hands God has kicked me in the pants and told me stop focusing on the insignificant and start focusing on him.

As a result I have kicked off a personal study of Acts which is easily my favorite book in the Bible. I love the vision that Acts gives for what Christianity is and what it should be. Reading through the first 6 or so chapters yesterday I was again amazed at the growth of Christianity. A spreading of not only a religion but away of life that was starkly different from the culture of the day.

When I was reading through the opening chapters I started thinking about the complaint I here most often when I speak with my Church friends. For the most part they complain that their Church isn't growing. They often tie that lack of growth to something like crappy worship or bad preaching. Ironically if they would look at the ACT's church compared to their own community they may see some more realistic reasons why "Non-Christians" are not drawn into Church communities like they were in first century AD.

Check out this passage and see if you can see some differences between how we play Church and how they live out Church.

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. - Acts 2 40 - 47

These early Christians were practicing true community and were helping those in need and as a result their numbers grew exponentially. Their values and lives offered a stark contrast to the values of the day. They were truly new creations, their old values were gone. Is it really any surprise that Western Christianity is in the decline? Consider that Christianity over the past centuries in the Western world has moved away from a community based religion, a religion that is focused on the needy and has become a Church that shares more in common with a country club then the original church. The Acts church asks for nothing less then complete devotion to the Saviour of the world, in lieu of his sacrifice not really that much to ask for. In contrast todays Christianity asks for an hour to an hour and a half a week and may be an evening during the week. Is it really surprising that half ass Christianity has bread half ass Kingdom growth.

Sorry if my thoughts are a little scattered my mind is a bit shot today. My hope isn't to offend but offer a challenge, a challenge that God has placed on my heart as well. I think as Christians we need to join together devote ourselves to Christs work!! Let us all pray that we as a Christian Church can catch the fire that the early Christians had!

HELP WANTED!

As most of you know by now I have been exploring the possibilities of church planting. One of the first steps in planting is surrounding yourself with people who share a similar vision and who are willing to help out with the plant. I need people who are willing to be active participants. Basically I need people who are willing to join me in doing the grunt work doing the small things that go into launching a church community. Now I know many of you are probably saying I would love to be involved in some ways but I don't want to leave my current church. If thats the case and you feel God wants you where you are, you can still support spiritually and financially. If you are willing to help out by praying for the church or if you are willing to support it financially please drop me an email!

I guess the next thing I should do is let you know some of the non-negotiables about the church plant. The vision I have had for this church plant is one of a "community Hub" or a "Third place". Basically I am hoping to create a community that meets spiritual, social and physical needs. I want to create a community like we see in Acts. A group of people who come together often, who share there things when someone is in need, but most importantly they are a community that embraces the community around them with Christ's Love and Peace!

Please pray about it, and if God convicts you and you are interested I would love to meet with you for coffee. There are a lot of unknowns in this process but I know two things for sure. One I can't do it on my own and two God wants it to be done and I don't want to get in his way!!

PEACE

Sorry about the delay

Life has been crazy as per usual, and looks to only get busier with the arrival of my little guy at the end of the summer. That being said I couldn't be happier, and it is amazing to see God working through the chaos. Over the past couple of weeks Kristen and I have settled into our new church community "the freeway," which has been a lot of fun. I have accepted a part-time position selling for a tech company Emrose in T.O to help with the bills as we prepare for maternity leave. On top of which Routes has been pretty busy with lots of programs and trips! BUT Life is good and more importantly GOD is good!

Peace!

The Beach

2 days on 2 different beaches + No sun screen = one serious burn.... So I am a bit of a lobster right now and when I say a little bit I mean a lot. As I am typing my back feels like it is going to peel right off. Ouch I just moved. Turns out I learned the age old lesson again "Every decision has its consequences." The past months have been filled with decisions and I pray I am making the right ones as opposed to the ones that are going to get me burned!

Peace

MONEY MONEY MONEY

I was reading Pernell's blog yesterday, and he went off on something I have been interested in for a while. This whole idea of the "Prosperity Gospel," the idea that if we are good little middle class Christians God will reward us with more money then we could ever imagine. I don't buy into that one iota. You see I agree that God can bless us with money and material possessions but he doesn't want us to use it for selfish reasons or hoard it. God wants us to give it away. This is certainly an area of life that is difficult for many of us to give over to God, because we want so desperately to cling to the resources "we earned with our own hard work" we need to remember in this screwed up world, the richer I get or you get the poorer someone else gets.

If you are blessed to have the nice house, the great job, the good cars remember most of the world isn't and give God what is God after you "give Caesar what is Caesars (taxation - completely unrelated but I love it when Jesus throws stuff in the "MANS" face)."

Remember the rich young ruler, Jesus called him to give up everything and he couldn't. The more we hoard and cling to the harder it is to separate our selves from money. Its not a sin to make money, its what we do with our money that truly shows where are heart lies.

Peace

Funny Army stuff

Here is some funny SA stuff Kristen found on youtube,

CLASSIC

Faithfulness

What if we were truly faithful, what if we actually believed that God works for the benefit of those who love him. What if we gave him everything believing he would fulfill all of our needs. We would find the peace that surpasses all understanding. This week God has proved over and over that when there seems to be no way he will find away. Its premature to announce what has happened this week on my blog but stay tuned, I will share it next week!

peace

Jason

Baby = No money

So on top of trying to figure out how we are going to raise our soon to be son, what to teach him, how we will discipline him.... the reality of the looming maternity leave is coming. So it turns out taking 50% of one income out of the equation leaves about enough money to either eat or fill up the car. lol! So this will end up being the summer of saving! Which also means I may be taking on a second weekend job. If anyone is looking for someone to work for them on Saturday's I am available! On a positive note I will work for diapers.

In all seriousness we are a little scared but we do find comfort knowing that God will provide all we need (mostly likely less then we want).

"He is able, more then able to do much more then I could ever dream"

PEACE!

"Small is the new Big"

A few weeks ago I was chatting with Pernell Goodyear and he said something that stuck "small is the new big" he was referring to the benefits of smaller churches versus mega churches. I was reminded of that tonight as I was sitting at Routes. The results of a high school graduation and a party at someones house meant Routes was pretty empty most of the night. Although we only saw about 30 kids (half of our normal turnout) throughout the night, it was still one of the most rewarding nights I have had in a while. Because there was less people it was a lot easier to make good solid connections.

So often we get caught up in numbers... when your are in the business of following Christ one great connection is worth more then a million unconnected bodies!

Routes this Summer -

Are you hanging out in Hamilton and looking for a rewarding way to give back to the community or get involved in youth ministry this summer? If so, come check out Routes! We are always in need of strong/responsible volunteers, especially in the summer when many of our University volunteers go home for the summer! We basically run some kind of program Tuesday Thru Friday every week so if you have a free night you are willing to give up, give me a call!!


Hope all is well!

Jason

Some thoughts from the couch

2nd last Sunday at my old Church first time leading a worship gathering at my new church. Yesterday was a great affirmation that I have made the correct decision. It started in the morning when I realized my uniform pants had ripped forcing me to wear old black khaki pants (yeah they look as bad as they sound) then at church my uniform shirt popped open at the neck. It seemed as though my uniform was telling me it was time to move on. Then Sunday night, I lead discussion and gave several small messages, and I have to say I was a bit nervous before I spoke, but while I was speaking I felt more comfortable then I had ever felt speaking in a church. I thank God for giving Kristen and I the strength to follow Christ even though it would have been easier staying put.

I was reminded again that following Christ is an amazing journey but it certainly isn't and shouldn't be a comfortable and easy journey!

Peace,

Random Thoughts

Sorry for the time away, the last couple of weeks have been crazy as I transition out of Meadowlands and into FRWY, as well as having a busy Routes schedule. What you have missed, well last weekend, I had the "privilege" of playing in the Hamilton international Tattoo, Pipes and military bands from 9 am to 10:00 pm good times lol! I am not saying I don't like brass music, I actually enjoy it, but there is something mind numbing about standing in Copps coliseum surrounded by hundreds of pipers and military bands playing as loud as they can. But I found solace in knowing that it will be my last Tattoo!

This week God has really been impressing on me that just because something is good, and Godly it doesn't mean I should be doing it. I have come to the realization again that one can become overwhelmed with Holy busy work. For instance, the Tattoo, not a bad thing, and may be even a good thing to play spiritual music in a secular environment. But, when the "means" becomes more important then the "ends" we can get ourselves into trouble, in other words when the prestige of playing in front of 5000 ppl becomes more important then growing the Kingdom of God we can get ourselves in a little trouble . Another example from my Salvation Army tradition is the uniform. The uniform is a wonderful spiritual symbol of full Salvation and a life of devotion, but when instead being a symbol of Christian service it becomes a tool to play in bands/choirs or take on leadership while hiding behind it, its original purpose has been perverted and what was good and can still be good, has become bad.

Oh well just some thoughts from this crazy week.

Peace!

PS I am writing this at 9:00am after doing a presentation at 7:00am @ Rotary for all of you who don't think I have to work before 1 in the afternoon! lol!

Love

I have been thinking a lot about choices these days, especially with the baby coming. And there are lots of choices to make, what will we teach our little guy, what colour will we paint his room, how will we teach him to love Jesus. What will we do if he is rebellious? What will we do....

And as I was looking for video clips to do with choices as I prepare for my message in a couple weeks at FRWY ironically on choices, I came across this clip from Bruce Almighty. And the last line really made me think. Jim Carrey says about his ex-girlfriend, I want her to be happy and find someone that will see her the way I see her right now through your eyes (Gods eyes). Eyes of unconditional love, eyes that see the good when all we can see is the bad. I pray I will always look at my child through God's eyes!

Finally a day to relax

Nothing like taking a break after a really really really long weekend...

I spent the day regrouping and relaxing. This morning was spent looking into the word, and trying to pull some thoughts together for my first opportunity to speak at FRWY. I am really excited but a little nervous as well.

The afternoon I got to hangout with my bro playing catch, and other then almost hitting a few cars it was a good time.

Anyways, thought I would blog since I haven't for a while.

Peace,

Crazy Week leads into crazy weekend!

Sorry for the inconsistent blogging, this week has really busy and the weekend looks to be even worse. Here is what I am up to

Friday - Routes --> we will be having a live band performing in Routes to attract kids from Buskerfest. Plus Meadowlands is having a Carnival and outdoor concert.

Saturday - Morning - Meadowlands is having a community breakfast/open house from 8am - 11am

Routes - Afternoon BBQ (FREE)

Meadowlands - Evening concert

Sunday morning Church

Afternoon at Routes

Evening at FRWY

I will be at all of this so if you are interested in checking it out, I would love some company!

Peace!

Jason

Are you being Brain washed

This weekend I had an interesting question posed to me that at first really insulted me and really disappointed me. To be honest I am still a little disappointed by the intentions in the words but on a positive note they have made me think. On Saturday I was asked by Christian friend if I really believed I was being called or was it just that I was being brainwashed by someone. The implication certainly was that they believed I was being brainwashed. I am glad to say that I don't feel like I am being brainwashed by a person but rather I am proud to say I have drank the 'Koolaid' and that if anyone is brainwashing me it is GOD and truly I pray that he continues to envelop my thoughts and place me where he wants me to be! Also, it is worth noting that I am thankful for the person accused of brainwashing me, he has been a good friend with great spiritual maturity, and continues to help me grasp and understand ideas which are new and unfamiliar.

This quote really helped me frame my thoughts,

"Don't do anything until you are sure Jesus is with you. Like Mose's tell the Lord I am not going to take one step forward unless you go first." (Niel Cole)

I am more than conifident that God is one step ahead of me, and no matter where he leads me he will never leave me! That comment from a friend although initially upsetting helped affirm my recent decision. God is not asking me to stay somewhere and be comfortable but rather he is asking me to go places that can only be attempted with his help.

I pray that as I continue down a road, a seemingly impossible road without God that I will always stay focused on the vision God has placed on my heart, and that I stay on the heels of the King! My hope is that no one can say Jason did that but rather I hope they say there is no way Jason could have done that with out GOD!

PEACE!

What a morning

Should have stayed in bed this morning! After a really long weekend that couldn't have been busier I was looking forward to a glorious sleep and may be even an opportunity to sleep into 9 am. Sophia (our dog) had other plans. She had a serious case of the "Trots" and she decided to defile the carpet in our loft (which is open to our master bedroom). All of a sudden I was woken up by a pungent smell, it was 5 am. Kristen being pregnant her sense of smell is extra sensitive so I had to clean it up right away. As I walked up to the loft (barefoot) I couldn't see the "present" until I heard squirt, it was the sound of me stepping in the stinkiest wettest poo you have ever seen. Lets just say I have never been so disgusted!

After cleaning that nastiness up I thought my terrible morning was over until I went to leave for work around 9 this morning, only to realize Kristen has my extra set of keys, as well as my set of car keys sitting in her car in Oakville.

Oh well what can you do! As terrible of a day I am having, I can't help but smile knowing, my terrible morning was no where near as terrible as it could have been. I am still blessed to have a car to have keys missing for a beautiful pregnant wife, an annoying dog but terribly loving, a crazy cat, a gorgeous house, a loving GOD and some great friends!

I hope you have a good morning with plenty of mental pictures of me with Crap on my foot!

MY BOOKS ARE FINALLY HERE!!!!

I have been waiting and waiting for the books I ordered on Amazon.com back in February to get here, and 2 out of the 3 are here!!! "Organic Church, Growing faith where life happens," and "Planting Missional Churches, planting a church that is biblically sound and reaching people in Culture". Both look to be exciting reads as I try and feel out how to create a Church that will shake things up and grow the Kingdom of God.

Here is an interesting thought from "Organic Church"

"Before one speaks about starting or growing churches, one simply must wrestle with this question "Who is Jesus to you?" You must also find the answer from your father in heaven rather then a how to manual or a seminar workshop. Church is spiritual. There is a sense of mystery and revelation in the church."

He goes on in the opening chapter to talk about shifting the churches current "defensive" mind set to an "offensive" mind set. He argues that you can't separate yourself completely from the world, go to Christian; amusement parks, schools, restaurants and expect to win the war! He likens this to the Denver Broncos showing up to a football game with only there defense, although the other team may not score, the Broncos can't win with out scoring a point. They need the offense to push forward and win.

Offensive Christianity for Cole (author) means putting himself and pushing others into positions where they can be the light in the darkness, as opposed to lights in the light!

There are a few points as I start to read through this book, and start to pull together ideas on what God is calling me to do here in Hamilton.

Peace,

Music

Yesterday I blogged about language and how we need to speak our faith in different ways to different people. That idea got me thinking about a transcendent language that can reach/touch all people. For instance take the top 10 no matter what country you are in the top 10 is still the top 1o, Britney, Madonna and friends have a knack for transcending culture. The same can be said about classical music, the works of Bach and Beethoven although European in origin are listened and loved throughout the world. Although it must be said, not everyone likes/enjoys the same music, but music does seem to be a unifier of different cultures. When it comes to spreading a message or values music has a strong ability breakdown walls. As a body of believers I believe we need to look strongly at the way we use/can use music to spread the good news.


Peace,

Were back!

Kristen and I got back around 8 last night, just in time for our street fireworks (one of the neighbors was shooting fireworks off his front porch).

The trip was great! I hadn't been to Quebec City since I was in grade 8 and fresh out of French immersion. It turns out French is like anything if you don't use it you loose it lol! It was really interesting being the minority, trying to communicate with waiters and hotel attendants that spoke very little English. Trying to order food especially on the outskirts of the city where English is not spoken at all was difficult.

It was amazing that even though Kristen and I were on a vacation God chose to teach us something. When we were at Dairy Queen I was trying to order, I was saying the right things, but the waiter didn't understand me, we weren't speaking the same language. This is like the gospel, it is always the right thing to say but how you present it needs to be different for different ppl! Because of different life experiences people respond differently to different approaches, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try, it just means you have to be creative and "relevant" in the way you do. In order to do that you need to be willing to invest in someone and bring the gospel to them where they are at!

PEACE,

Here are a few pics from the trip, I have posted more on Facebook!

A spur of the moment vacation!

So Kristen and I are heading out on what will probably be our final trip sans baby. We are going to hit the road early tomorrow morning in hopes of getting to Quebec City in the early afternoon. In any case if anyone is wondering where we are this weekend, thats where.

We will be staying over Friday and Saturday night and travelling back sometime on Sunday. After a terrible weak with car problems, grant problems at work and life, it will be nice to spend some quality time with my wife, and having a chance to just chill out with no responsibilities and polish off a couple of books I have been working through!

Stay tuned for pics and potentially even a video journal of our trip (thats if I can figure out how to posted stuff on youtube).

Peace,

Things that make you go hmm

I saw this advertisment on the window of MACs store advertising there new WTF slurpie. This didn't sit well on a couple of levels, thought I would post it just in case you hadn't seen the promotion.

Why do you got be like that?

Have you ever had one of those moments when you just had to ask yourself why did they have to do that? Today I had an experience which forced me to ask that question. I arrived to my intended destination, got out of my car went inside, and before I was able to say anything I walked into someones bad mood. I was torn a new one for no apparent reason, my response was to smile nod and walk into the other room. But I was left perplexed, "why did that just happen" I mumbled to myself. I did nothing (this time lol) to insight any negativity and yet I received an ocean of sarcasm. I guess its not just this incident that has me a bit rawled up, in fact I pride my self at being able to shrug off negative or destructive comments. I guess what got me today is the fact that this comment came from a person who tends to act/react like that on a regular basis.

Part of me wanted to rip right back at that person, but I didn't. But should I have?

Oh well just needed to vent.

Here is something that made me laugh!

Funny Stuff

I found this on my bros blog its pretty funny and inspiring, enjoy

A thought from the tub

I had a insight while I was sitting in the tub this morning (I know I am a bit of a loser, I would rather have a bath then a shower, what can you do).

If I truly want to reach out to a group of people, if I want to witness to them, in some sense I need become them.

Follow me for a second, when God wanted to reach out and save a group of people, he became human. Fully man and fully God. He ate with those he witnessed to, he partied with them, he even slept in their homes. God for all intense in purposes became what he came to save. But while doing so he managed to stay in tune with his vision and his purpose, being tempted in those situations but not breaking.

For me I am called to the fringes of society, if I am going to be able to relate to them, to build relationships with them, to help them and hopefully lead them to Jesus. I have to experience what they experience, I need live where they live, sacrifice like they sacrifice, eat what and where they eat. I need to get passed the fact that I was blessed to be raised in a middle class home, blessed to be educated, blessed with a good job, and realize that I am not better then others because I have been blessed with the capacity to acquire more material goods.

Someone once told me that rich people don't really want to worship with poor people and poor people really don't want to worship with rich people. At first I was taken back and I thought thats ridiculous we should all be able to worship together. And may be we should.

But the story of the Salvation Army tells us that that person was right. William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) stirred things up by reaching out to the marginalized, the poor the drunk, he went into dirty nasty bars looking to share Jesus by helping those in need. The people he attracted were not welcome in the traditional Church culture of the time, so a new Church was created a poor mans church, the Salvation Army. This Church was created not to exclude the rich but rather embrace the poor. People who joined were asked to live a life of sacrifice. (very broad overview of the beginnings of the army) Over the years I have talked to many old officers (Sally Ann Ministers) about the early days, and they talk of going with out food, of sickness, of giving of themselves fully to serve the lost. Of living a truly sacrificial life.Arguably much of the Army has moved away from this early vision, I believe strongly that I am called back to it, I wonder how many others who are reading this right now are called as well?

Interesting to note those officers I talked to, talked about those days with a huge smile on their faces, with sincere conviction that they wouldn't have changed the experience for anything. They were living the Full LIFE!!!

Welcome to the conversation

After one of my first attempts at blogging someone made a comment, "welcome to the conversation." He was responding to my Blog that emphasized the need to rethink some of the ways we do church. The more and more I read, the more I appreciate the wisdom in that comment. I have come to the realization that this whole idea of rethinking church is really just a series of conversations. This way of thinking is articulated well in the book I am currently reading "Adventures in Missing the Point" by McClaren and Campolo. In this book each author writes a chapter and the other responds to the chapter. Sometimes they respond in defense of key points and other times they challenge them.

Here is a parable McClaren quotes while presenting ideas on Salvation. This parable stirred up some great conversation between Kristen and I, and hopefully it will make you think as well.

The parable of the race.

This is the response of people who have just been informed of a race which will have no end and will end boredom and be exciting.

"Excitement grew as the day of the race drew near. Thousands gathered in the appointed town, at the appointed place. Most came to observe, skeptical about the news. "Its too good to be true," they said. "It'sg just a silly rumor started by some teenage troublemakers. But let's stick around and see what happens anyways."

Others could not resist the invitation, arriving in their running shorts and shoes. As they waited for the appointed time, they stretched and jogged in place and chattered among themselves with nervous excitement. At the appointed time they gathered at the starting line, heard the gun go off, and knew it was time to run.
Then something very curious happened. The runners took a step or two or three across the starting line, and then abruptly stopped. One man fell to his knees, crying, "I have crossed the starting line! This is the happiest day of my life!" He repeated this again and again, and even began singing a song about how happy this day was for him.

Another woman started jumping for joy. "Yes!" she shouted, raising her fist in the air. "I am a race-runner! I am finally a race runner!" She ran around jumping and dancing, getting and giving high fives to others who shared her joy at being in the race.

Several people formed a circle and prayed, quietly thanking God for the privilege of crossing the starting line, and thanking God that they were not like the skeptics who didn't even come dressed for the race.

An hour passed, and two. Spectators began muttering: some laughed. "So what do they think this race is?" they said. "Two or three strides, then a celebration? And why do they feel superior to us? They're treating the starting line as if it were a finish line. They've completely missed the point." A few more minutes of this silence passed. "You know," a spectator said to the person next to her, "if there not going to run the race, may be we should."

Others heard them, and soon many were kicking off their dress shoes, slipping out of their jackets, throwing all this unneeded clothing on the grass. And they ran-past the praying huddles and past the crying individuals and past the jumping high-fivers. And they found hope and joy in every step, and they grew stronger with every mile and hill. To their surprise, the path never ended-because in this race, there was no finish line. So they were never bored again.

IS SALVATION A ONE-TIME EXPERIENCE OR IS IT A LIFELONG JOURNEY?

When I read this passage, I first thought of which type of person I was, and then which type of people we have been developing in our churches. This parable has really challenged me in my personal walk but more importantly in the way I should share my faith and disciple those around me.

PEACE

PS I probably shouldn't be writing blogs this late at night but oh well I apologize for the many grammatical errors which I am sure I will find tomorrow morning when I read it over.

Living the Good life

I think sometimes as Christians we can get caught hiding behind the idea that we are storing up our rewards in heaven. Don't get me wrong I believe in this spiritual truth, and I definitely believe that heaven will be an absolutely amazing experience. That being said, I believe that God is calling us to an abundant life here on earth. This abundant life doesn't necessarily mean material wealth or fame (it mostly likely won't) but we should be extremely happy no matter where we find ourselves. Cito Gaston (former Blue Jays manager) said about missing a flight "you need to be happy where you are because where you are is where you are supposed to be.


God calls us to be new creations to live with the fruits of the spirit, if we call ourselves followers of Christ we should be we should be "Happy People." Often times as Christians we find ourselves fighting between the world and God and as a result we can sometimes be pretty stressed and strung out. If you are not living the Good life their is probably something God is calling you to give over to him.

At this point it is essential to clarify, that being a Christian doesn't mean we won't ever struggle or experience pain, but it should mean that through everything we should be able to see God working and rejoice that we are living in tune with Christ.


In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct or path. (proverbs 3 and something)
*** Its hard to say that without smiling isn't it?

Listening to the Bible

I am not sure if any of you have heard of this before, but this morning when I was doing my devotions I stumbled upon a link that allowed me to listen to the Bible while I read it. Other then that corny narrator esq voice I found it quite interesting listening to the words as I read them. I just started studying proverbs, which historically I have just glanced over, but today I found it much easier to really grasp what the author was saying.

Here is the link http://www.ibs.org/bibles/audiobibles.php

A reassuring quote

Here is an interesting quote I stumbled upon this evening while I studying,

"Have you been deeply hurt? A lover has disappointed you. A marriage that started out with much promise has turned sour. A person you invested much in has betrayed you. Go to Jesus! He knew what it was to be betrayed by his close friend. But He will never betray you. Lean on his gentle breast. And weep away your bitterness as you release your burdens upon him."

"Jesus will not only heal you; he will also draw you nearer to himself then you ever were before."

Ajith Fernando

Isn't it amazing to know we have a God who has experienced all the feelings good/bad that we have, no matter how big or small he understands! This impacted me tonight, I hope it has impacted you as well

Peace

I'm officially retiring from moving people

The past few years it seems at least once a month I have been moving or helping someone or organization move. Well I'm officially retired from the world of moving people or at least charging for my services lol! This season of moving was capped off this past weekend when I helped my current church family move from a temporary location into a new building up on the mountain, and then moving my brother in-law from London to Toronto. Its not that I don't like helping people its just that my back is really sore. Oh well, I guess the only good thing about moving people is there is always a funny story to look back on. For example, when I moved Martin this past weekend we were waiting with the loaded truck at a service centre for over an hour (long story) but while we were they we watched a senior citzen assault the pavement with his nose, he missed a stepped and fell and there was blood everywhere (in the end he was fine) then while we were waiting by the truck another truck parked to close to us and ripped off our mirror. Ironically it was another rental truck from the same company. And to top things off we watched a lady empty out her van filled with like 7 dogs of all shapes and sizes (it was like a clown car, one after another), interestingly enough she didn't clean up after the dogs (my pet peeve!) In retrospect, I will probably help out again, just so I can see what other crazy stuff will happen!

PEACE

Seasons - A time for change

The bible talks about everything having its season. Last week at the Cultivate Seminar a gentlemen their related that familiar verse to where God has currently placed him and where God is going to place him. He warned that we need to be willing to change when God calls to change. Seasons come and go, but God remains the same.

I am approaching a huge change in season, an about face. I am about to give up something that has been a huge part of my life and development. Ever since I was old enough to hold by arms up I have been playing the cornet and aspiring to be just like my dad and his dad before him, a desire to play well and to be active in the "ministry" of the band. This pursuit has lead me to some amazing experiences, tours of across Canada and the United States and even over to Europe, but probably more important it gave me opportunities to meet some great people and to develop some life long friendships. As a young man trying to figure out what God was calling me to the band acted as a place to meet with friends and discuss some of the challenges associated with following Christ. I will always be thankful to my parents for starting me out in the band and thankful to the band for helping develop me into what I believe is a fairly well rounded individual. I have come to realize that as much as I felt at the time I was doing some amazing outward ministry I was truly the one being ministered to.

In point of fact, I have come to realization over the past couple of years that as much as I love banding and I do, for me it is actually standing in way of what God is calling me to. I definitely believe my Season(s) spent in the band and "traditional" SallyAnn ministry has prepared me for something else. It has taken a lot of wrestling with God for me to realize that in order to be faithful to God I have to give up something I never thought I would ever want or be called to give up. That being said, I am so excited for the new Season which is approaching, where I pray God will continue to tear down anything in me that is separating me from fully experiencing what He has to offer. I trust that God will at some point provide an opportunity to use the musical talents he has given me, but I have been brought to a place where I know that even if I never play a cornet again I can be content knowing that God is going to provide opportunities far beyond my understanding that will take the place of the hours of time I have devoted to banding and do some new and amazing things.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
Eccl. 3:1


The challenge for us all is to be faithful to God when he is telling us it is time to change seasons and not cling onto things because they are the only things we have known.

It's a Boy

So it turns out in an earlier blog I referred to my soon to be here baby as a girl oops, its a boy. Kristen and I had the privilege of seeing our baby through an ultra sound and he is perfectly healthy almost a foot long and about a pound with defined feet, hands and well since we know its a boy you can guess what else was visible. As the doctor said he is not shy about showing it off lol!

Anyways, Kristen and I couldn't be more happy, I will scan the ultra sound pic over the next couple of days and post it!

Thank you friends for all of your support and prayers as we get closer to the arrival of our first baby BOY!!!!

Peace

Conversations

Lately God has really been impressing on me the value of relationships and through those relationships the life changing conversations you can have. In a society where everything has to be fast, immediate and fit to a schedule, good conversations are hard to find. I believe God is calling us back to friendship and back to conversations. We can probably all remember a conversation we have had with a loved one or a good friend when we were upset or depressed. A conversation where you knew they were supposed to be somewhere else yet they chose to stay with you. Those conversations build true/strong relationships. God has really been impressing on me the importance of giving of my time to people even if that means being late for work, church, whatever but I need to be willing to take that time. I guess the challenge is, are you making time to have those conversations with loved ones, neighbors, friends?

An eye opening Birthday

So it turns out I am a quarter century today (not that I feel any different), most years my birthdays come and go with little excitement. This year I had the amazing privilege of spending my birthday at the Cultivate Missional Living Conference @ the Freeway. The conference was an amazing opportunity to share with some other crazy Jesus follower types pursuing this idea of what the Church should look like in a Post modern world. For a guy like me who really likes to hear himself speak it was amazing to just sit back for a change and be humbled as others shared the stories of how God is moving where they are, and how they are actively impacting their various communities in a very real and authentic way. This event showed me again the importance of conversation both to affirm us in our paths, but also to impact our communities. And best of all God continued to confirm the vision he has placed on my heart.

After the conference my parents took Kristen and I out to "Tuckers Market Place" and for once I didn't eat till I puked (sorry inside joke) in all seriousness it was a great way to spend my birthday. My prayer is that God continues to challenge me in my Kingdom pursuits and that he continues to bless me with opportunities to spend time with my beautiful wife, our soon to be here baby girl and my wonderful family!

Many Blessings

An Interesting Finding

Hey everyone, I was searching the net and I came across this initiative Kiva, I haven't had a chance to investigate it in too much depth but at first glance it looks like an amazing opportunity to help specific needs in the developing world.

Routes Youth Centre - Summer student positions

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that we are starting the process of hiring summer staff. If you enjoy working with youth and have a knack for relationship building this is an opportunity you should look into. We can only hire two students so if you are interested get your resume in quickly (you have to be returning to school in the fall to qualify).

We are going to be doing some amazing stuff this summer and it is sure to be a summer you will always remember. Plus you get to work with me all summer lol!

Look forward to hearing from you. If you aren't looking for a summer job but will be working/living in Hamilton this summer we are always looking for passionate volunteers!

Drop me an email if you are interested,

jdock68@hotmail.com

"Much of the church is stuck in the 50's and what isn't is stuck in the 60's" - Jamie Potter-Miller

I have been thinking about the role of the church in the 21st century a lot lately as a result of conversations with Pernell Goodyear (freeway) and reading through a lot of interesting stuff from authors like Leonard Sweet and Shane Claiborne. All of that discussion has lead me to the conclusion that there is no single answer to what the church should look like. What might work in Hamilton may not work in Brooklyn, and probably wouldn't work in Silicone Valley, yet there is something different that will work everywhere. Something that God is calling someone to do, something that may cause other "Christians" to shake their head at, but something that is authentic and specific to the community in which it is spawned.

Over the years we have seen churches try some pretty whacky and unbibilical things to try and bring non-Christians into their churches. Such as, wavering on their theology, questioning basic principles of faith such as the emaculate conception and the Easter story. Leanard Sweet in his book Aqua Church argues that we need to change the container in which we dispense the message but the message needs to remain the same today as it has always been. I have realized that we need to be authentic and socially conscious but in that we need to protect the sanctity of the message. In Pauls letters he tells us that we need to be everything to everyone, in order for us to fulfill that calling we may need to do somethings that we would never have thought of doing and may not want to do in order to share the message of Christ and his love. For example, in the 18o0's that call call lead William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) to share the message of Christ in the Pubs. For the Apostle Paul it meant taking the message to the Gentiles and doing things like eating food he would never have dreamed of eating. For the Meeting House it means worshiping in Movie Theatres, and for the Freeway it means sharing the message of God and building community through a Cafe. In all of these cases the message of Gods love and grace is the same but the "Church" or "Container" looks different. I believe more today then I ever have that Jesus came to get rid the world of "Religion" and that is why it is often easier to see Jesus outside of the traditional Church then it is inside.

I know this rant may offend some people, my hope in this is not to offend but rather to challenge you and me. Ponder this, if everything in the world is changing and changing at a rapid pace does it make sense to do church the same way as we always have and expect people to accept it? Would you expect some one to buy a cassette tape if all they had in their house was a CD player? Things change and somethings become obsolete.

Peace

PS Let me know if you think I am completely out to lunch or if you are feeling the same way. I certainly haven't got it all put together but I find it is in the conversations that I really start to figure things out!

LAST REMINDER **** SCRAP METAL DRIVE

Hey everyone just wanted to remind you one last time, Routes is hosting its 2nd annual spring scrap metal drive this saturday, if you have a couple hours please come and help out tomorrow morning at the Dundas Arena!!! All of the fun starts at 8 am.

Church?

What is church? What should Church be? These and others are the questions I have been asking myself for a while now, and I am starting to realize more then ever that the answers to these questions are always changing and they really should always be changing. Paul writes in his letters that we should be everything to everyone, this great calling is impossible if try to reach out to our communities the same ways that were effective 50/60/100 years ago. Things have to change, that being said it is essential that the message doesn't change. We need to be authentic and relevant with how we deliver the message but the message itself is just as relevant today as it has always been.

Just some random thoughts I am working through these days, get ready for some more I as attempt to read my mountain of books.

Scrap Metal News paper article

It turns out the Dundas Star has online articles, check me out advertising for our Scrap Metal drive this Saturday, and help out if you can!!!! http://www.dundasstarnews.com/dsn/news/news_758453.html

"If I were president" (Prime Minister)

Words of wisdom from Wyclef Jean "If I were president I would stop this war and use the money to feed the poor." We as Christians need to bond together and work to create Social Justice and hold our Government accountable for the money it spends and the decisions it makes. Lets shake things up, if we don't who will?

Scrap Metal Drive for Routes Youth Centre

Hey friends if you are living in the Hamilton area and have some time you can spare on Saturday April 14, Routes Youth Centre is running a scrap metal drive and we need some help picking up metal and sorting it.

If you have any interest in helping out by donating metal or your time please drop me an email jdock68@hotmail.com!

I hope everyone had a great Easter and that you were able to reflect on the wonderful gift that is Easter!!!

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

Kristen and I sat down to watch "An inconvenient Truth" which is Al Gores documentary on Global warming. I really wasn't excited about watching the movie, and to be honest I had studied the effects of Global warming in a first year environmental Geography course and I managed to quite easily push it out of mind. I decided to watch this movie in the midst of a "God Poke," a poke that has been continually telling me that one of my roles as a Christian is to take care of God's creation. Like all things in life I don't believe I stumbled on this video by accident. I challenge you especially those of you who call yourselves "Christians" to take the environment seriously and to do your part to try and reverse the effects of "Global Warming." If you need a little motivation as to why this is an urgent matter check out the movie, its hard to argue with the evidence.