It's a small world..

Today on my Twitter feed:

Karen Jiang (@karenjiangles), who I know from Calgary Church, was surprised to see my name mentioned on Jordon Cooper's blog.  Jeremy Klaszus (@klaszus) piped in to say he didn't know that Jordon and I knew each other. Karen was surprised to learn that I know Jeremy.   As Jordon (@JordonCooper) and Jeremy are much cooler than I, her surprise is understandable.

Thing is knowing Jeremy is connected to knowing Jordon, though Jordon wouldn't know that.  So for Karen, and anyone else who cares here's the short (but too long for twitter) version: 

I met Jordon back in 2003, as I had started blogging and was interested in Canadian bloggers talking about faith.  Jordon's blog was the first to come up for those search terms.  Getting to know Jordon lead to a group called Resonate.  Reasonate lead to me meeting Warren (author of The Year I Shot Myself, Got Arrested and Lived to Preach About It and the pastor at Xalt.

I joined Xalt in 2005 and connected Xalt with the Salvation Army mobile kitchen. For a couple of years the folks from Xalt would take the mobile kitchen out once a week to serve soup and sandwiches down by the drop in center. Jeremy was recruited to help serve with the mobile kitchen by Julie Kaye (@mysoci) who was at Xalt and is now connected to Calgary Church.

Small world.

- Peace

Rough Notes on Forgivness

I'm speaking tonight at Xalt, Here are my rough notes. Mostly reminders about what intend to talk about, make of them what you will.

- Peace


Matthew 18:21-35 (The Message)

21 At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"

22 Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

23-25"The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.

26-27"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

28"The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, 'Pay up. Now!'

29-31"The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

32-35"The king summoned the man and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?' The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy."


Works on several levels

The master forgives first: this is not pop-karma

The economic: who's money was lent?

Kingdom: We have a modern view of law and goverment, for all it's faults, Kingship is far more relational. The King had set a personal example on how things should be done, to reject that was to reject the rule of the King.


BTW - pure speculation, but who do you think Peter was thinking of? Who was he spending most of his time with?
Matthew 6:9-13 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)


9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.


Again God is the source, of our meals, of forgiveness.
If we believe that God is the source of what we need, then we can forgive our debtors
Used to wonder what it meant for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, I believe the rest of the prayer is the answer,
God provides, forgives and keeps us from participating in evil
We forgive and we follow.


Jesus sums up the Kingdom with the first story, and forgiveness makes up a major part of our action in the Lord's prayer, why?

Mathew: New convent
John: New commandment, Love one another as I have loved you.

My Xalt Weekend

I'm a member of Xalt, it's a Church, but it's also a community, this weekend reflected that.

Friday Night - Power Grid with Kevin and Clement, in the back ground Luke is dropping by with a few things as he's moving in.

Saturday Morning - Calvin, Kevin and I help Richard move from Airdrie to Calgary joining Calvin, Kevin Luke and Peter.

Saturday Night - Kim and I head to Melissa & Phil's. Melissa throws a great party for Phil's 25th Birthday.

Sunday Morning - Kim and I get some couple time. Only related to Xalt in that we meet Sunday night so I have Sunday Mornings free, a pleasure denied many of the faithful.

Sunday Night - Sarah and I head to Xalt. Calvin provides me with new insight into the Godlessness of Esau. Scott and I make plans for breakfast this week. Sarah gets a ride home with Dave and I give Marina a ride to a rare post Xalt board meeting. As a board we wrestle with the fact that we're a small community that has lost a number of people, a number moving out of Calgary, some choosing to withdraw. No easy answers. We pray. Meeting goes to just past 11 pm. Tony and Julie need a ride home and as the get into the Element Tony mentions he's hungry. The four of us hit Humpties, talk share and laugh till past midnight. I drive Tony and Julie home, drop of Marina, drive home crawl into bed just past 1 am.

It was a good weekend.

- Peace

Of Torture and Cowardice

Reading the story of The Man Possessed by a Legion of Demons at Xalt a couple of weeks back I was struck by this

What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!

Here's what the demons had driven him to:

Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Yet when Jesus comes they cry out not to be tortured. Cowards!

- Peace

We know Bartimaeus by Name

Part of my sermon on Mark 10 compared Bartimaeus the blind beggar with the man often called the 'Rich Young Ruler'.

One detail that escaped me until I was biking home through fish creek. We know Bartimaeus by name, the name of the 'Rich Young Ruler' has been forgotten. I'm sure at the time few would have known Bartimaeus and many would have know the name of the 'Rich Young Ruler'. "This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first."

- Peace

Dear Melissa

Lisa Smith has written a post to our good friend Melissa Lowen. It starts

Dear Melissa,

It has been several weeks, and some days I still don't believe that you're gone. It is too much of an impossibility that someone so vitally young and alive could somehow not be anymore. And I don't think you'd ever realize how big of a gap you left.

I still feel ill at the fact that I didn't do more. In the rush of preparing to rush off to yet another foreign country, all the funeral details passed me by. I couldn't even find a moment to write of how much I'll miss your steady, gentle, organized and hilarious presence in my life. But maybe the seeming unreality of it all kept me from this moment. I think I'm still in shock. However, I'm writing to you now, with apologies for the tardiness.

I've also added it to my page dedicated to Melissa.

- Peace

One Thing

Mark 10:17-22

As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?"

Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother."

He said, "Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!"

Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."

The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.

I think the one thing in this quote has two parts, give away your wealth and follow me. We tend to focus on the giving up of the wealth in the story cause that's as far as the man in question got. I think the rest of Mark 10 shows a great deal about the follow me and helps make sense of this request.

I'll be following that line of thinking when I preach on Sunday at South Meadows.

Update: I'll also be teaching at Xalt Sunday night. Melissa was scheduled to speak but will be in BC this weekend for a funeral and doesn't know if she'll make it back in time.

- Peace

Revelstoke, 1400 km mark

Spent the weekend in Revelstoke with 20 some friend. Had great time, passed the 1400 km mark too. Forgot to take the camera with me for the 1400 km shot so this view of Revelstoke from Mount Revelstoke will have to do. Hit a new personal speed record of 71.9 km/h while coming down Mount Revelstoke :) Average speed of 42 km/h for the 25 km trip!

Doing something with 20 people far more complicated that with one other friend. Mostly the communication costs shoot through the roof. Something to work on for next time.

Went swimming at Williams lake, did synchronized cannonballing off the dock and an event we called slime surfing.

Shawnti, Kevin, Calvin and Dave Kerr all to bike spills, but no serious damage suffered. Shawnti gets the best newbie on a technical trail award and Dave Kerr gets the fastest recovery award.

Laurel put her knife in the Katchup. Yeah, I can't believe it either.

- Peace

Rejoice and Mourn

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn - Romans 12:15.

Those words have come to me the last couple of weeks as we've lost Melissa, I've said good bye to Kris as he's left for Ontario, as Sheona has left for Vancouver as we've celebrated Warren's 40th Birthday. While it's advice we often ignore, we don't want to mourn we want to cheer people up or rain on their parade, I think it's great short hand for community. Community is who you celebrate and mourn with.

Indeed the Romans 12 has a great deal to say about community. Here's a bit:

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

- Peace

Good Bye My Good Friend

Our dear friend Melissa Loewen was killed yesterday in a car crash. This is the only picture I have of her, she tended to get up tight around cameras. Can't believe how much of an impact she had on Sarah, Kim and I in just a year. Right now, I wish I could convey how much this woman was alive with love and grace.

update: A few people have found this page googling for Melissa Loewen. There was a story in today's Hearld but they don't mention her by name. Not sure how long the story will be available.

update II: The Calgary Sun has a story that adds one bit of information: The car the woman was driving was hit on the passenger door by an eastbound Mercury Sable, said Mounties, who believe she was wearing a seat-belt. I know a number of us had wondered about the seat-belt thing.

update III: Kevin has posted his goodbye to Melissa. Thing is I was thinking today how I'm quite sure it was Melissa who first invited me to tag along to a post Xalt function. I know she was the first to invite Sarah along to something, even if I couldn't go. She had a way of making people feel welcome and at ease.

updte IV: From the Calgary Herald: School Mourns Popular Music Teacher

Last week, Grade 5 Langdon School student Andrew Culver was all set to earn a "yellow belt" in music class.

Popular music teacher Melissa Loewen had come up with the idea of awarding students with different colour belts, like in karate, as an incentive to learn new songs.

All Andrew had to do was play his part in a recorder duet.

"Me and my friend were trying to pass a song to exceed a grade level," Culver said Saturday.

"But my friend couldn't stop laughing in the middle of the song."

That's when Loewen stepped in.

Together, she and Culver piped out the tune Chatter with Angels on their recorders -- earning the youngster his passing grade and earning the favourite teacher another glowing accolade.
...
The well-liked teacher was known for finding creative ways to make music class fun, teaching everything from recorders and xylophones to musical Jeopardy and new dances for the Christmas play.

News of the accident spread quickly through the hamlet.

"It's very hard on the community," said Anita Wagner, whose two children attend the kindergarten-to Grade 8 school. "It's very sad. The kids did very much like her."

Loewen taught music and art to most of the school's 550 students.

Wagner sat down with her children Saturday to break the devastating news.

"We wanted them to be able to talk about it, and get their feelings in the open and not be presented with it at school," she said. "It's just really harder when this happens in a small community, and when she's so young."

On Friday afternoon, teachers had held a retirement party for the school's outgoing librarian.

Loewen helped organize the event and stayed behind to help clean up. She was heading into Calgary when the crash occurred, Wagner said.

We'd been talking about vocation a couple of weeks ago, and Melissa made it very clear it was the kids that mattered to her. I was glad to see this article captured that.

Update V: Nat posts

It was just last Sunday she sat on our living room couch with us as we enjoyed ice cream sundaes, sharing embarrassing moments and summer plans, and she excitingly talked about her plans to travel to Australia. She was full of life, of heart and plans for the future.

Update VI: Ed and Debbie have blogged their thoughts. I need to add an amen to Debbie's thought about Melissa "you who fit perfectly in all of our lives and who seemed like you had always been there".

Update VII: Melissa's obituary has been published. I'd like to thank everyone who's taken time to share there memories of Melissa, she touched so many lives in such short time. It's been truly beautiful to read your comments.

Upate VIII: From Lisa Smith - Dear Melissa,

It has been several weeks, and some days I still don't believe that you're gone. It is too much of an impossibility that someone so vitally young and alive could somehow not be anymore. And I don't think you'd ever realize how big of a gap you left. I still feel ill at the fact that I didn't do more. In the rush of preparing to rush off to yet another foreign country, all the funeral details passed me by. I couldn't even find a moment to write of how much I'll miss your steady, gentle, organized and hilarious presence in my life. But maybe the seeming unreality of it all kept me from this moment. I think I'm still in shock. However, I'm writing to you now, with apologies for the tardiness.

Click Dear Melissa to read the rest.

- Peace

Easter Weather

We had strange weather last week. Calgary Strange, it was the same for week. Cloudy with some snow every day. In Calgary we're used to rain/snow/sunny in one day, so a whole week of nothing but the same thing is strange. It started to clear Saturday afternoon, but it was still cold Sunday morning for the Xalt Easter Sunrise Gathering. But Sunday was bright, warm with birds singing out doors. What perfect weather the mark Resurrection and new Life!

I know there are some who will say this is what makes Easter truly a Pagan celebration of spring, in fact there was a Pagan on CBC saying exactly that. His argument, Easter was clearly Pagan as it uses the lunar calendar to set it's date. Leaving aside the issue of the Lunar Calendar being Pagan, I see easter as far more than the celebration of a new Spring Season. Yes we celebrate rebirth as do our Pagan brothers, but Easter takes it to a new Context.

The Easter story is more than the general idea of new life after winter, it's celebrating Resurrection after the Political and Religious powers of the day had conspired to protect their own interests and the interests of national security by executing Jesus. They used the power they had to put an end to this Gospel of loving your enemies, embracing tax collectors and prostitutes and up setting religious commerce. They did their worst, and Jesus submitted to their worst. It wasn't enough. God raised Jesus from the dead giving his Gospel a whole new power. His followers no longer feared the authorities, the Gospel could not be stopped.

Spring weather is wonderful and we should celebrate it. New life in the face of the worst evil of religion and politics takes hope to whole other level, and we need to not only to celebrate it, but to join in with it.

Updated: Mike Todd posted this NT Wright Quote:

What neither modernity nor cynical postmodernity can cope with - and hence what they, like the cultural thought police of the first century, stamp on whenever they see it - is the suggestion that the gloom of Good Friday and the lull of Holy Saturday are the prelude to a new kind of life. This sort of life bursts out and challenges all our power systems (in an electronically manipulated democracy, power follows money and the media), and declares once more the shockingly unfashionable truth that Jesus is Lord.

Easter is about the beginning of God’s new world. John’s Gospel stresses that Easter Day is the first day of the new week: not so much the end of the old story as the launch of the new one. The gospel resurrection stories end, not with “well, that’s all right then”, nor with “Jesus is risen, therefore we will rise too”, but with “God’s new world has begun, therefore we’ve got a job to do, and God’s Spirit to help us do it”. That job is to plant the flags of resurrection - new life, new communities, new churches, new faith, new hope, new practical love - in amongst the tired slogans of idolatrous modernity and destructive postmodernity.

- Peace

The Secret

Tonight at Xalt we continued our study of First Peter, looking at chapter 4, verse 19 jumped out at me :

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

It just struck me as the exact opposite of the prosperity gospel, weather in the form of Supply Side Jesus, Wayne Dyer or more recently with the Oprah crowd: The Secret. Suffering according to the will of our faithful Creator, a deep heresy to many.

- Peace

A Calgary Church Plant Greenhouse

Adam, Jeremy and Jared are gathering at Cafe Koi on Thursday night (7 pm) to talk Churches planting them and growing them. They're trying to see if there's enough local interest in getting a Calgary Greenhouse going.

Greenhouses are basically organic networks for church planters and those interested in creating new forms of church. We get together, we tell stories, we inspire one another…

My contribution was recommending Koi as a location. While I'm not sure if Xalt counts as a church plant, I'll be seeking advice on deepening community.

- Peace

Consulting on a Book Project

I've been brought in as a consultant for a new book project: The Year I Shot Myself, Got Arrested and Lived to Preach About It - by Warren Horricks. It's all about leading and being terminally cool at Xalt.

- Peace