Chaos

Well if you have been reading my blogs you will remember last Friday was pretty crazy and to be honest I really didn't think a night could be anymore chaotic, I was wrong. Last night was insane, we had a little bit of everything from violence to underage drunks. The night started pretty slow, but around 8:30 we had our first fight of the night two girls, I kind of let that one go for a bit b/c it was kind of funny and not physical, after breaking that fight up we followed one of the girls home to make sure she made it home safely on the way we came across another incident involving a group of kids we don't normally see at the centre, to make a long story short Nathan and I stopped 5 guys from jumping another kid (I must say I was slightly on the scared side) in the end everyone was safe. As I am talking with the police officers who I must say arrived very quickly, I had to return to the centre to deal 3 girls who had come from a party and were pissed drunk and puking all over the place, I drove them home and luckily by the time I got back to the centre it was closing time! It was a chaotic night, but again it really made us (the volunteers and I) appreciate how integral Routes is to building a safe strong community! I thank God daily for those tricky situations because they tend to lead to teachable moments!

Excitement in Ontario Great Lakes

I just got back from a marathon meeting down at DHQ, well I can't say that it was all that bad, I actually quite enjoy shooting the poop with the board that Nathaniel Homewood has put together. I am pretty excited about some of things that are going to be happening in the next year. First of all, the division will be running a teen camp, which I must say is about time and anyone under 17 should definitely check it out, Pernell Goodyear (www.frwy.com) is going to be the guest that week and it promises to be a great time! Then this fall, there will be two other programs running that have got me excited. First, Accelerate which is a mentor/discipleship type program which will be a transforming experience for any high school students looking to really grow in their faith. Secondly, there will be an internship program running for anyone 18-30 out of Hamilton called Cultivate Missional Living and that program will just rock your world. Anyone interested in any of these up coming programs drop me an email and I will get you some more info! Those two programs are sure to help anyone that is looking at and/or finding it difficult to live out an authentic missional faith!

Many Blessings!

Missional Living

I am sure if you are reading this you have read my earlier blogs and know that God is calling me and I believe our Church and Christians generally into more missional living especially to those on the fringe of our society and community. Missional living is something that should come naturally as a natural expression of our faith and love for Jesus. He could be calling you to something simple, may be he wants you to talk to your neighbors and actually listen to what they say, or it may be making a meal for a struggling family in your community or some sort of random act of kindness. Philippians sums up this responsibility to missional living.

"If you have gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care-then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push yourself up to the front: don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand." (Philippians 2the message)

This type of living is difficult and I struggle with it, but I believe it is essential to strive for this consistent and authentic life!

PS I know some ppl don't like the Message but I thought it was a good paraphrase of what Paul was trying to say!

My Baby and some random thoughts

I am hoping this works I am still new to the Blogging thing and I am trying to upload the first picture of my baby. Well if it doesn't come up imagine the most beautiful fetus you have ever seen and multiply it by 10 and you will have my little guy or girl.

On a completely different topic I don't have too much to say today except I decided to read Nahum, which if I am completely honest with you I wasn't sure that it existed until I stumbled upon it today. I am trying to do my best to study the entire old testament which at times has been exciting and other times like today has been kind of hard to grasp. So I turned to some commentaries on the book (ironically I choose it because it would be a quick read and then spent an hour or so reading different perspectives), but to sum it up I believe it is saying that GOD doesn't tolerate taking a back seat, and no matter what we do GOD wants to be at the forefront of your thoughts. If he doesn't get that top spot Nahum shows that things won't end well

Let me know if you have a different perspective on Nahum or if you were able to get something else out of it that I didn't see!

Jesus is all about the poor

We all have our reasons for not reaching out to the poor and oppressed, "I'm not called to that ministry", "rich ppl. need Jesus too", or "I can't relate to them". I grew up in a church that at its roots took Mathew 25 very seriously "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matt 24:40). For some reason (and I have heard many) my church in many ways has moved away from this very basic calling. I believe strongly that if we are not helping the poor and the oppressed we are not fulfilling one of the greatest callings we have as followers of Christ. In an interview on the hour which Martin (my brother in-law) directed me to Rev. Tony Campolo stated that "there are 2000 verses [in the Bible] that talk about the poor, I don't care what else your into if you ignore what the Bible is really about you have misread the message of Jesus." Tony Campolo was stressing the words of Jesus in Mathew 25. I am not a turn or burn kind of a guy but I know one thing I don't want to stand before God and get this response, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' (Mathew 25: 41-43) Jesus is all about Social Justice and clearly calls us to a ministry with the poor and the oppressed, if we are honest with ourselves we know that if we don't help the poor no one else will.

Crazy Christianity

What a surreal experience I am enjoying, some how I seem to be feeling less and less worthy yet I feel more and more affirmed in the vision. Over the past few months God has been revealing a plan and direction for my life. At first I was gun-ho, and as I thought about it I was inundated with hundreds of reasons why I couldn't, and the realization that I am completely unworthy of the task in front of me. Although, through that process of prayer and contemplation I have come to the realization that GOD can make the weak strong, and he can do amazing things through me if I am faithful in everything!

A slice of humility

The past few weeks God has really been impressing on me the need to be humble and no surprise thats what Allan preached on this morning. Pride is something that I have always struggled with, don't get me wrong when I stop and think about it I know that everything I am and have comes from God, but I often get caught up in the moment and let things go to my head, and worst of all I can turn that confidence into a negative or judgmental attitude. Today the plank in my eye was obvious when I was pointing out the sliver in someone else's. I realized I need to strive to make my life less of me and more of GOD!

What a NIGHT

I should have known when one of the kids broke a window at the community centre I was in for a random night. Everything was crazy at Routes last night, tons of kids (a good thing), we had some bullying, some random violence and to top it off some uncontrollable drunks oh and a call to the police. It was quite a night, but I was reaffirmed that Routes needs to be there to provide a safe place. Even though the poo hit the fan tonight at least we (the volunteers) were there to make sure nothing truly got out of hand and that everyone was safe.

Nothing like the smell of crap in the morning

Do you have a dog? if so, you may know this feeling. Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is go down to the basement to let Sophia (my dog) out of her cage, usually this event is met by an excited dog jumping up and trying to lick my face, in fact usually as I start down the stairs I can hear her clawing at the cage to get at me (in a good way). This morning was different, as I walked down the stairs it was silent, and something new a terrible odor. As I approached the door to the basement the smell was so bad I had to tuck my nose into my shirt, I opened the door and there was Sophia with her tail between her legs. It turns out Sophia had a big accident ( which isn't the first time), this accident was different she had hidden her crap under a blanket. At first was angry and wanted to throw up, but then I realized Sophia was teaching me something. No matter how hard I try I can't hide my figurative S*%T from God, just like Sophia couldn't hide hers from me. And lets be honest when you try to hide it, it only gets worse!

My first Blog

Hey this is sweet a forum where I can say anything I want and random people get to read about me! This is kind of fun. I have always prided myself as being an open book what you see is what you get kind of guy. As a result if you know me you probably already know most of what I am going to tell you. I grew up in a Christian home with loving parents who started me on an authentic Christian journey (thanks mom and dad). That journey has lead me to my wonderful wife Kristen who I live with in the hammer along with my dog Princess Sophia and my Cat Gryphon. God called us to the Hammer about a year ago and provided an unbelievable opportunity to work with youth in Dundas as the director of Routes Youth Centre. I love working with these Kids and in the future I will share some of the crazy stories. Through this opportunity I have realized that God has birthed a desire to serve suffering humanity and to share Christ through my actions to everyone and youth specifically. Many of the youth I work with really need to see and feel that hope and love. I am excited with the doors God has opened for me and I pray that he will keep me and put me where he wants me!!!

Well I guess thats enough for my first blog!

Check this website out if you want anymore info on Routes! www.routesyouthcentre.com