Tiger Moms and Stepping Stones

If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that I'm a mail man. A postal worker. A letter carrier. A junk mail mule. One of the defining annoying traits of those of us in this profession is that we literally cut corners. When I began my job two years ago, I decided that I would not walk on peoples' lawns. Honestly, I hated it when people walked across my lawn. I have been known to "politely ask" newspaper deliverers and local preteens to get off my grass. So I didn't want to be one of those guys who makes footpaths through innocent front lawns.
But I do. I have become that guy.
The truth is that few people actually mind. Many people, in fact, install stepping stones through their front garden, or even across their lawn, for letter carriers and paper boys to use. That way, the homeowner can determine what path these corner cutters take through their yard, instead of the plodders trailblazing their own paths. There are a few who mind, though. Usually they're kind enough to display a sign courteously asking us to stay off their lawn. Other times they'll make sure there's a large obstacle in the path, such as a hedge or a fence. Sometimes, they'll wait for a chance to yell at us. The other day, a lady was out on her porch sipping a hot drink, watching as I went from house to house cutting across her neighbour's yards. Between her house and her next door neighbours was a beautifully clear lawn that I would have trudged right across without so much as a thought, but when I got to the house next to hers, she conspicuously walked to the end of her driveway, outstretched her arm and waited for me to walk all the way down her neighbour's driveway to deliver the mail directly to her. I said "Thank you," for saving me the steps back up to her house. "Mmm hmm" was her response. Better that than for her to wait for me to commit my indiscretion and yell at me after the fact, I suppose.
But what I really wanted to address here are those stepping stones which, like I said, a homeowner will install to ensure that the proper path is followed. The truth is, I appreciate them. I like knowing that I'm invited to cross the lawn, and given a clear indication of the expected course. I was listening to a program on my local News Talk radio station, and the subject was "Tiger Moms" - those parents who set high expectations on their kids and freak out if those expectations are not met. The host invited people to call in and give their opinion of whether this is good for kids, or bad. There was a plethora of responses, and this blog post, I suppose, is my own response.
Most of the people who called in insisted that kids need to find their own way, and that a parent's job is to be supportive whatever course their kids wind up taking. They don't need direction; what they need is endorsement and approval. Some other callers talked about how we have no expectations on kids and that's why they wind up disrespectful and distrustful of authority. Listening to all of this while on my mail route, cutting through all the lawns I could find in my delivery zone, I disagreed with both of those positions.
I believe that kids, my kids, need stepping stones. They need me to write a story for them, determine a path for them, and clearly mark it out. They need me to establish what's important and necessary for them to follow, and what's not as greatly expected, and what to stay away from. The stepping stones leading from the door through my own yard to the shed provide a huge symbol: if you're going to walk to the shed go this way. You can walk through the grass, that's okay. But try to step on the stones. And don't walk somewhere else to get to this destination.
The stepping stones themselves are the highest expectations. For our family, our highest expectations for our kids are that they are honest, reliable, respectful and respectable, love God and love people. Those are the stepping stones. The grassy are between each stone are also expectations that fall in line with those steps, such as doing well in school, choosing good friends, making appropriate moral choices, saving and giving and spending well, the list goes on. But the rest of the "lawn" is off limits, and I will correct my kids when they stray outside the path, just like more than a few homeowners have corrected my behaviour as I've trespassed across their lawns.
I think that kids are easily confused. When we tell them all the things that they do wrong, without giving them stepping stones leading them to do what's right, if frustrates and hardens them. When we neglect to congratulate their achievements, they get bummed out. When we expect them to know the path but it's too obscure for them to get, they'll naturally transgress and we'll be the grim faced police officers taxing the toll on our offending kids over and over and over again.
I don't have it all figured out. I have a six year old, a four year old, a two year old, and a 10 month old. Time will tell whether my parenting methods will be effective or not. But I know I don't want to be a so-called "Tiger Mom" (or in my case, Dad), and I sure don't believe that kids know better than their parents on how to raise them. I try hard to write my kids a story for their lives that they can hold on to, believe in, hope in, and add colour to it. And to give them stepping stones to follow.

The Lies We Keep

It happened. Caleb's kindergarten teacher informed us that Caleb had been telling his classmates that Santa isn't real, and the parents weren't too happy about that. So we had to have the awkward conversation with Caleb about not ruining other people's Christmas fun by telling them the truth. Caleb replied, "but how can I tell them about Jesus if they think Santa's real?" Good question for a five-year-old, I think. And exactly the reason that Taralyn and I decided against going with the whole "Santa Clause is real" thing. As it has been pointed out in many other blogs, if we can't be honest with our kids about one person, how will they know that we mean what we're saying about another Person?

I know, it's all about communication. Talking with your kids. Explaining why you had to lie to "keep the magic of Christmas alive", but they really can trust you when you talk about God. Somehow that doesn't sit right with me. I wonder if many parents really wonder whether God is not like Santa, a lie we tell ourselves to "keep the magic alive" but deep down we really know the unspoken secret.  After having spent a decade in youth ministry, I can tell you that most of those Christian youth will grow up to discard the stories that they've been told to believe about Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and God.

I believe in fairy tales. I read stories to my children all the time. We watch movies, both cartoons and live action. And we observe all that's right about Santa Clause, St. Nick, the Christian pastor who loved Jesus and loved others in His Name. My kids sit on his lap and we have pictures from before we had kids. My kids love Santa Clause. But they also know that the guy dressed in red with a beard in the mall is a nice man playing a role like somebody in a movie, not a creepy elf who breaks into our house to watch them sleep and leave them gifts.

My kids talk about Santa, but they don't "believe in" Santa. And that's the problem we found ourselves in when Caleb tried to help his little buddies discover that Christmas is about more than just Santa - it's about Jesus' birth and God coming to earth and sacrificing Himself to absorb the wrath of God on our behalf (OK so my 5-year-old doesn't put it just like that, but something close). Parents don't want their kids to know the truth. They'd rather my kids tow the line and have them keep believing the lie. And I'm the bad guy when my kids break that all-important Christmas rule.
That's not the only lie we are told to keep, or the only truth we're to keep at bay. There's another, even more insidious lie that our culture blithely promotes, beyond all logic or understanding. It's the lie that everybody's belief system is equally valid.

Anybody who says that two beliefs can't be equally true is considered intolerant and irreverent. We live in a culture that chooses to keep a blind eye on the topics that divide us, those things that we don't agree about, and celebrate those things that "unite" us. And in order to keep us all in step, we're forbidden to speak about divisive issues. Like Caleb, we're told to keep the Truth quiet so that others won't feel awkward or different.

Jesus was murdered for being intolerant. It's the truth. You might want to say that He died to show us love, which is true. Or that He died to absorb the wrath of God, which is also certainly true. Or that He died to give us an example of love - okay. But the reason that people had Him murdered is because of His exclusive claims to be God. He threatened their belief systems, He rejected their cultural doctrine. And He gained a following. So they killed Him for it. Jesus' followers have continued proclaiming His exclusive truth claim, that He alone is our only hope of redemption and salvation, and reconciliation with God, and the cultural elites (string theorists and movie stars, apparently) claim that this message is just as true as the Muslims' claim that Jesus was a prophet, no more, who was never killed or the Jews' claim that Jesus is not the Messiah.

And for me to point out the error in the belief that Christianity, Islam and Judaism can be equally valid receives the same response as Caleb telling kids in his class that Santa doesn't really deliver all their presents. "SHHHHHH! Don't ask, don't tell, and we can all just get along with the magic of our lie."

Taralyn and I told Caleb that he doesn't have to talk about Santa at all in order to tell his friends about Jesus. Don't tell them Santa's not real, Caleb. Kids need something to believe.

But I think it's time that the rest of us grow up, and start telling the truth even if the truth makes us feel awkward.

You Now?

Hey. I tried something new. I don't know if it'll stick, but I enjoyed it and it was a good opportunity to share the gospel. It's called You Now, and it's like YouTube, but it's live. It's like a chat conversation, but it's on video. Anyway, I did one "broadcast" so far, and here it is. Let me know if you think I should do more. Maybe log into You Now, and "fan" me, and that will give me the push I need to do it again!

Salvation: Only Sinners Need Apply

Any attempt to remove the reality of sin from a presentation of the Gospel is absolutely misguided. The more I recognize and embrace my own sinfulness, the more I cling on to the Gospel of Christ. Yet, many evangelicals are discrediting sinfulness as the reason Jesus came to save. Instead of saving sinners from their sin, Jesus saves purposeless, hopeless people, uneducated people, those needing a hug or family or community or joy or happiness, or those with a hundred other felt needs. Salvation is, for them, a superficial solution to social problems.
Others reject sinfulness as being the issue, and insist instead that it's poverty, homelessness, injustice, abuse, slavery. Jesus is a social redeemer, accomplishing His mission of creating first-world conditions for third world souls in our neighbourhoods and in the nations.
Don't get me wrong, all of those things are good! Hugs, justice, education, joy, purpose, hope, prosperity and all the rest are implications of the Gospel.
But why do these issues exist? Why do we need to correct the wrong? What's wrong? When God created the world, He named it "Good". Right now, it's anything but "Good". And the Bible explains the discrepancy in this way: sin entered the world.
And it doesn't just exist out there. It exists in me. And the solution to sin isn't entry into a community. Jesus didn't die to give you a hug.

OK, I'll admit it, I make mistakes. I drive over the speed limit sometimes, breaking the law of Canada and therefore God's law. Oops. Sometimes if somebody pisses me off ill raise my voice, and say something I regret later. Oops. I might apologize later, it's cool. My mistakes are usually somebody else's fault anyway. Not really my issue. But can I admit that I sin? Do I ever intentionally ignore my wife's need to have a break from the kids and housework, because I'm choosing selfishness over love? Would I curse somebody under my breath, hoping they'll get what's coming to them? Do I neglect my duties while at work, hoping the boss won't notice? Do I steal time? A pen? Do I take credit for somebody else's contribution? Do I take glory away from God?
If I can't admit that I am intentionally, unintentionally, and in all other ways a "sinner" then I don't really need to be saved. Maybe everybody else needs to be saved from me, but I don't require salvation myself. What I need is for Jesus to give me sympathy, friends who understand me, a wife who puts up with me, and maybe some specific revelation (a "prophetic word") that I'm not really as bad as I feel about myself in quiet moments.

That's the message we believe. That's the message we preach, because it attracts far more people than the "repent from your sin' message we don't want to hear. If we want more people on Team Jesus, then Jesus needs new PR. He needs a makeover.
The problem is that the Jesus we've made over isn't a Jesus who can save. Mostly because we don't want Him to. We want a hug. We want Him to solve poverty. We don't want Him to put our sins to death on the cross... because we don't have any live sins anyway!
It looks like we've built up an idol. A false Jesus. Because the Jesus in the Bible has come to save sinners from their sins. It's right there in Genesis 3:15. The Bible is written in such a way that it gives a really clear description of the problem of sin and its effects. That's called the Old Testament. Then it gives the glorious solution in the New Testament. And it's not just a Jesus who hugs children. It's Jesus with a bloody sword defeating what? Oh right, sin.

So salvation is only for those who need to be saved, who know that they need to be saved. Before God can do a work of particular redemption, a soul must understand that it is particularly in need of redemption. That revelation is, itself, an act of God. Only sinners can be saved. Don't kid yourself.

I'm A Missionary

I've never set foot off this continent. I don't know any languages other than English. I don't know that I'm called to reservations. I'm a Canada Post employee. I spend my free time with my family.
And... I'm a missionary.
It's what I tell people, and how I identify myself. Usually I get politely confused responses. Most of the time, people (particularly church folk) assume they know what I'm saying but they don't. Because if they knew, they'd be missionaries too.
Missionary is a term laden with misunderstanding. So much so, that instead of making use of the word, contemporary church culture has made up a new word: "missional". I remember playing Apple/PC commercial spoofs for my youth group a few years ago, emphasizing the difference between being a "Missionary" (the unsympathetic clueless PC character) and being "On Mission" (the cool guy that everybody wants to be like). But it's a false switch. Because everything good that has been said about bring "missional" can also be said about being a missionary.
So what's bad about being a missionary? Lots can be said on this topic, but it comes down to this: missionaries are seen as abusive and exploitive. Oh, you won't hear that in church. But it lies beneath the surface, doesn't it? We know we "ought to" support our missionaries, but we don't want to, do we? So the guest missionaries need to make sure we know that our support dollars (and prayers) are not wasted. They're going toward spiritual, economic, and cultural transformation in BIG ways. And then the stories start.
Not that the stories are bad. We thank God for lives changed by the Gospel. But why are they being shared? For God's glory? Or to demonstrate that the mission is worth while, and worth your ongoing support? And the big question is, what happens when there are NO stories? What about the missionary who returns empty handed, having used up all the support she raised? Well, she's obviously not really called to be a missionary, is she? Instead, she should find a real job somewhere and support EFFECTIVE missionaries with her money (and prayers) instead.
But what if this was different? What if it all changed and a missionary was not seen as somebody church or Christian organization supported, out effectively winning souls for Jesus full time, but rather as ordinary Christians sent out into the world with a life-altering message and the equipping of the Holy Spirit? Maybe missions organizations could no longer, in that reality, disqualify somebody from being a missionary based on their performance review. Maybe instead of blacklisting ineffective missionaries, they would see their task as supporting, training, encouraging, resourcing, and networking missionaries wherever they find themselves.

Aldergrove needs missionaries. It doesn't need more Christians or churches right now. There are plenty of Christians and churches in Aldergrove right now supporting missions in other nations and other places like Langley and Abbotsford. But Aldergrove needs more missionaries, networked together for support, encouragement, and resource. Jesus said "the harvest is ripe... so pray". We aren't told to be effective as missionaries. Missions doesn't mean effectiveness - it means presence. We're told to pray... for MORE missionaries. So, that's what I'm doing. I'm praying for more missionaries to join me in praying for more missionaries.
Want to join? Good! You're an answer to prayer! We'll continue praying, gathering more and more missionaries in Aldergrove!

Know The Song!

I recently heard a worship song leader introduce the song "Glorious Day" like this; she said something like, "Even though it's cloudy outside and it looks like it might rain, we are trusting God to move away the clouds so that we can have a great church picnic this afternoon. Let's sing together, trusting that it will be a 'Glorious Day'!"
After I picked my jaw up off the floor and got over my rage that such a great song would be misused like this, I engaged with the truth of the lyrics being sung:
"Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh glorious day!"

Nothing about sunshine, rain, clouds, or church picnics in there at all. I wonder if the song leader was simply trying to make an announcement along with the song intro, or if she really thinks that the song is about God making every day a 'glorious day'. Regardless, she led me as part of the congregation she has the role and responsibility to lead into worship, rather into confusion.
A worship song leader should know the song he or she is having the congregation sing! Many songs are quite popular but have bad theology (a few come to mind, but I won't list them for the sake of brevity). Others are simply confusing. But if a song leader is asking the congregation to sing it in a worship setting, she should at least try to unpack some of what the song is singing. Take the song "Hosanna" by Brooke Fraser for example. Is this a praise song? A song of surrender? Of prophecy? A song declaring eschatological beliefs? An encouragement or hope or prayer? Yes, all of the above. I think it's tricky leading this song. Where do you go with it? On the occasions I have led this song (which have been many) I try to emphasize a part of it - the prophecy part ("I see a generation..") or the eschatology part ("coming on the clouds with fire...") or the surrender part ("break my heart for what breaks yours...") or the praise part ("Hosanna in the highest"). I resist the urge to give a 15 minute explanation of how these themes fit together, but I do try to lead the congregation to understand a part of what the song is trying to say and, of course, how that fits into the themes of the particular service or gathering.
I remember the first time I was stirred by singing a worship song. The song was "Faithful One" by Brian Doerksen, and the song leader had us imagine ourselves on a boat crashing on the waves, and when somebody drops the anchor even though the storm still rages, the boat stays still. I sang out "Your love is the anchor" with tears streaming down my face because both Brian Doerksen and the song leader had made that truth come alive to me.
Song leaders, know the song you're leading! Do your homework. What themes does it explore? How will it fit into your gathering? How will it flow? How can you introduce it? Will you have to explain something? How will your music emphasize a particular phrase? Get accustomed to singing it yourself, and feel the emotions of the truth it conveys.
Otherwise, stop singing it. You're doing nobody any favours by performing a popular song "just because".

Why To Start (or Attend, or Support) A New Church:

Here are some reasons off the top of my head that I think every Christian should consider whether they should help a new church get off the ground. The list is certainly not exhaustive, and may be repetitive at parts, but here is my own passion:
- The world/nation/province/city/town needs more churches to reach more people with the Gospel
- A new generation of unchurched masses needs a fresh expression and presentation of the ageless Gospel
- God is always up to something new, particularly in regards to the salvation of souls. It's a good idea to be on board with Him.
- You can be an encouragement to others who sense the need to start something new.
- Evangelism isn't meant to be a solo exercise, but a community event. A new church often excels at evangelism.
- There's a fresh excitement and willingness to work together, which results in deeper relationships and friendships with others.
- Missions isn't just overseas. It starts in your own backyard. A Christian is called to be a missionary where he/she is planted. Church planting is hard core missionary work.
- Particular churches attract particular people to the Gospel. There's a demographic in your town that isn't being serviced by any other church. Maybe there's a church for them in your future.
- While we are passionate about reaching 'the ends of the earth', we are also told to be witnesses of Jesus in our own Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
- Christianity isn't about attending a church, but being a part of the Kingdom of God on mission. Church attendance alone is boring and trivial, while involvement in a church plant is difficult, frustrating, intense, all-encompassing, and extremely rewarding. In short, it's the adventure we are meant to live (John 10:10).
- God wrapped Himself in skin and bones, took on flesh, cried, filled his diaper, was tempted (really), hurt badly both emotionally and physically, suffered, and died. It's called "incarnation". You and I are also called to incarnate the Gospel where we live, with the people around us.
- Attending church in another town makes it more difficult to bring your neighbours and friends along. Is there a church you can be involved with where you live? If not, why not help start one instead of commuting to your spiritual community?
- Churches are closing every week. Meanwhile, our population is exploding. There are fewer churches per capita than even 10 years ago. Canada needs more churches.
- Jesus called His followers "salt" and "light". In a world that has lost it's taste and is groping in the dark, it's time that we stop warehousing our light and blaming the world for being so dark. We must strategically construct beams of light around our neighbourhoods, towns, cities, and the world.
- Very few places are saturated with Gospel presence (in terms of Gospel preaching/displaying churches). Other towns have absolutely NO Gospel presence. What about your town, city, or neighbourhood? What about mine?

I'd love to hear more reasons to join a church plant, and maybe some pushback on mine. Please post below.

MDN: Week... Whatever

Hey, it's been 2 weeks since I posted last. It seems that I grew tired of making these posts at around the same time as I grew tired of being involved in MDN. After the Once In A Million Wine & Dine Event, I kind of lost interest... for a while. Yes, I was involved in the Transportation Challenge, to an extent, and in the Entrepreneur Challenge, to an extent. But a few things were also going on in my personal life.

For the Transportation Challenge reveal, I was absent. Well, actually I WAS there (at the Aldergrove Wreckers) at 10:00 am with my son Carter when we were supposed to start filming, but I had to leave at 11:30 and they hadn't yet begun. This was the style of MDN, and I wasn't really surprised, but a little disappointed. Except for the reason I had to leave was that my Mum was getting married that day in Langley, and I was co-officiating the ceremony! (more on that later...)

For that challenge, I tried to schedule car pooling. Stephanie was organizing car pools, but work (I work as a term at Canada Post) had me in Chilliwack, and nobody else was going that far into the Valley. Carpooling didn't work. Neither could I have biked to work, though that could have been fun! Around this time, though, many of us were wondering if filming would ever end. The days were getting shorter and colder, and instead of complaining about the heat at the MDN Bank, there were complaints about the cold at the MDN Bank. I also didn't participate in the car sale - I had no car to sell, and I was driving a school bus for a local church's bus ministry that day. I do wish I had been able to be there, but we all have priorities, and we need to say "no" to many good things in order to say "yes" to the ones we value more. For me, that day, it was hanging out with my two oldest boys and taking them on a bus trip and to Kids Klub.

The following week, I was on hand for the challenge. I actually made it on camera in a number of spots, which really surprised me because I was definitely more heavily involved in previous challenges (heading up entertainment at the Garage Sale, serving and helping with entertainment at the Wine & Dine, etc) and didn't show up on those episodes. It was a good challenge. Carissa with SLAP (www.slapcenter.com) was phenominal with showing how businesses can become viable. She answered some of the questions I had for her pertaining to starting a church, which is completely different (though very much the same) from starting a business. For a church, for instance, you're not concerned with making a profit (maybe a prophet... har har). But there are business principles for a church planter to follow if he wants to keep his head above sinking. Carissa talked about building a vision and mission in a way I hadn't heard before, and it was really inspiring! In addition, I let the cat out of the bag a little bit more in the context of the community which I had been growing increasingly socially comfortable with, that I am here to share the Gospel with Aldergrove. It's always a bit tenuous, sharing something like that, because immediately people go into self-protective mode like I'm the Amway guy. Like I all of the sudden have an agenda - as if nobody else does. But once I got to know the people and they knew I wasn't a crazy religious nut (much to the chagrin of the producers of the show, I'm sure), I was able to reveal my intention more and more. I got to drive Gary back home after that event and we had a great talk about his dream start-up business and mine, and agreed to help each other in any way that we can.

I was involved in the marketing group for that challenge, as I had started helping people with building a twitter following. I figured I could get the word out for the night market that way. But I obviously wasn't it in 100%. There were other things going on in my life, and again they took priority. I had already agreed to speak at a pre-teen youth event in Surrey (here) the night of the Night Market, so I couldn't attend that event either, which was also disappointing but I know I made the right choice. Of course, knowing that I wouldn't be at the actual event, it was hard to be motivated to give all I could FOR the event.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but it keeps on coming back to my mind and rumbling around my soul. At the very beginning of the Million Dollar Neighbourhood, we had a town hall meeting when Bruce Sellery gave some excellent financial tips. It started with determining what money means to you. Some of this was shown in the first episode. People came up and said "money means freedom, and I don't have any of it". Others said "Money is a prison". Some people said that money is what gives them the life they always wanted. One person, Darren Patrick, said that money is for other people - namely those on First Nations reserves without proper drinking water. I was surprised that only one person in that crowd talked about money in any way other than "it's for me, me, me...". I'm not slagging those who said that money's for their happiness or success - that's the way the world is. But I was refreshed to hear Darren say that he sees his money for other people.

Secondly, Bruce said something I'll refer to for many years to come. He told us that most people work, work, work, work, work, work, play, play, and die. He wants instead to work, play, work, play, work, play, work, play, play and die. I totally dig where he's going with this. Money to him is the opportunity to play, to travel, to enjoy life. I appreciate that. He said that he works really hard, drives a less-than-impressive automobile, and makes other sacrifices, so that he can "play" throughout his life. I totally get that, and I'm inspired by it.

But I'm afraid that Bruce only has half (at most) of the picture. If he works, plays, works, plays, plays, plays, plays, then dies... then what? If all he ever has to do is play, play, play, play, die, then what? Francis Chan made a really good point here. He says that life here on earth is such a small part of our eternal reality. He brings a long, long rope on stage, which stretches off the stage out the door and he says 'imagine this rope goes on forever, and that this rope is a timeline of your existence. This red part at the tip represents your time on earth. You have a few short years here on earth, and then all of eternity. What blows me away is that some of you, all you think about is this red part."

Now, maybe you don't buy it. Maybe you don't think that your life is eternal. In that case, what Bruce says is right. Work, play, work, play, play, play because that's all you really have to hope for. But in the end, it's frustrating isn't it? Because other things interfere with our playing plans. The weather turns, or terrorists screw up the flight schedules, or the thing that you thought would satisfy your craving just doesn't, and you need to work more to enjoy the next great thing. Solomon, one of the richest men whoever lived and certainly the wisest, had leisure at his leisure. He built anything he ever wanted, had all the sex he ever wanted, lived life exactly the way he wanted. And he said that it's all meaningless, leaving you feeling empty inside. They say that the most dissatisfied people in the world are those who have "made it", and found out that at the top of the ladder things aren't so rosy. They've spend their lives, their energy, their time, their money, their stuff, their family, on getting to the top, and it's not worth the investment.

What if there IS more? What if it's great to save and dream and plan for this life, but that there's something greater beyond this life that we don't even know anything about? What if the top of the ladder here is nothing compared to what we could ever consider in the future? What if there are things we could invest in here to make that future a brighter place? This is the hope I have to share with Aldergrove, and God willing I'll have more and more opportunity to do so.

I'm excited about seeing this week's episode, because my son Carter's picture has already shown up online at https://www.facebook.com/MillionDollarNeighbourhood. Here it is:

The episode follows the week that the kids took the lead. Again, admittedly, we weren't hugely involved. It's easier for the kids to handle finances and food and all that stuff when they're teenagers or even pre-teens... but what are we gonna do? We did get together with Stephanie and Ryan and their kids though for an evening. We had fun. We'll have to do it again soon!

But since I haven't seen the episode yet (I wait until they come online because I don't have cable) I don't have much to say about it. Stay tuned!

Episode 4: One In A Million Wine and Dine

Anthony Sedlak is a character. He honestly introduced himself in the manner you saw on the show, except more so. We were all gathered under the shelter at the Co-Op in the POURING RAIN, Bruce and Joti introduced the week's challenge to us, and Anthony ran in, ducking and weaving through the crowds, jumping over several tall grocery carts in a single bound, and... falling on his but. He came in full of energy, and stayed that way through the challenge.

Of course, he wasn't really challenged.

The participants in the Million Dollar Neighbourhood were more or less challenged by this week's challenge. Cooking at home and not buying alcohol was not a challenge for us, but for others it was huge. I mean, Mark and Kyle spending over a thousand dollars a month on wine? Wow! Other families have at least one meal out a day! Sure, we eat out probably more than we should, but this week's challenge, as far as that goes, wasn't a huge challenge for us. Still, we were chomping at the bit to get more groceries by the end of the week! What really shocked us was that 16/52 (4/13) of our food throughout the year goes to waste! We really want to cut that down.

The location for the Once In A Million Wine & Dine was gorgeous. Once again, I helped with Entertainment. This is where I got to know Jonathan and Teresa Penner (and their family) better. They had great contacts for this type of event, and the production company provided the sound equipment this week. The band that the Penners found happened to be one I'd worked with before as well. Ron Koyanagi, the pianist, was on Taralyn's worship team at a previous church, and I knew Peter Davyduck, the bassist, from another former church. The trio's smooth jazz music was fantastic, and provided an amazing sonic background to add to the amazing visual background.

The food was also amazing. I didn't interact with Anthony too much. He did a few things in town over the week, the most prominent being a singles dinner for the town's singles. They were thrilled. After that, he went to TJ and Phaedra's, which you see on the show. The MDNers got the leftovers. Not entirely equally. OK, not all the MDNers got the leftovers. But I'm sure those who got them were blessed. The alcohol was good - we had Dead Frog Brewery on site offering generous samples of their nut brown, pepper lime, and mandarin orange beers. They were very good. So was the wine. I'll try to remember what we served for those who want to know. Bob Long, one of the guests at the dinner is a township councilor and also the owner of Bob's Bar and Grill where I worked as a server when we first moved to Aldergrove, and one of my thrills was serving him wine all afternoon. He had let me go as a server a year and a half earlier.

So, the price was $250. Honestly, I didn't ever have a problem with that. I knew that the caliber of event we were looking to pull off (and we DID pull off) is not for your average middle income family. This is for people who enjoy fancy luncheons and gala dinners. The issue wasn't the ticket price. I even talked to a few couples who would have been there - in fact for some the ticket price was a compelling reason that they wanted to attend. They don't want to go to just another $20 dinner; instead, they want something more high class, bigger, more fancy. A $250 ticket already communicates those things. The issue was the short notice. Honestly, 6 days to sell all these tickets. Didn't really work out.

The emergency meeting at the barn was a gong show. Joti was set up by the production company to come down hard on the group, and emotions ran high - exactly the thing that makes good TV. I wonder if they told her to say the word "Lazy", but it made a great emotional television effect. The reason I don't appear on TV is probably that I was kind of chuckling through the meeting. Others really got their feathers ruffled. They HAD worked hard on this, and they reacted to Joti in no uncertain terms. What you see on the episode doesn't even show how emotional people got, which was a surprise to me. But Joti particularly was upset afterwards, afraid she looked like the bad guy. Many of the participants felt that way. She was just doing her job.

At the end, it was a beautiful event. Unfortunately, Taralyn couldn't make it because she had a children's ministry meeting at the church. But I was so blessed to be a part of it. I spent the first hour or so helping to set up the stage and sound, then brushed up on the art of the pour and served wine for the rest of the event. I just couldn't keep myself from looking over the view - it was gorgeous. Nickelback's Chad Kroeger's recording studio is literally a block away. The guests were all VERY happy with the event. It was incredible.

So what was the Gospel impact at this point? Again, I was just getting to know people. I'd connected with the Penners, who are also Christians. I'd shared my dream of starting a new church in town with a number of people, who I knew were checking to see if I was genuine. For people in Aldergrove, being 'genuine' doesn't mean that a Christian doesn't drink or dance or swear. It means that they care, they work hard, they laugh, they live. Aldergrove residents don't respond well to Christians who look down their noses at the way everybody else lives. They respond much better to those whose lives they can relate to, who they know care about the things they care about, and who have a different perspective to share.  Because of my witness in this commnunity, I have had opportunity to share the Gospel with some of these people who have rejected Christians all their lives.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else we did last fall in the upcoming episodes!

MDN Episode 3: Million Dollar Employment

Oh My Goodness! Here we are less than 2 hours away from Week 4's premier, and I haven't written about Week 3 yet! So here's the scoop...

This week was about finding employment and sharing skills. I remember that school bus. Actually, I think there were 3 school buses. They picked us all up at Aldergrove Senior Secondary School and bussed us all around town, and to the top-secret location - ACSS! We were herded into the gymnasium where we were presented with rows upon rows of desks, each with an apple placed on it. I sat with my whole family, but Carter (my three-year-old) decided that he wanted to run all around the gym and Caleb (4) wanted to eat the apple!

After our introduction to what the week was about, we were given the instruction to write our special skills on panes of glass, leaving room for people to sign up to receive that skill. THEN we were told to go around looking at each person's skill and sign up for what we wanted or needed. It was pretty incredible how some people's skills lined up perfectly with other people's needs. Some in our community needed automotive work done, and people offered those services. Others needed home repairs and those services were offered for free as well.

Taralyn offered to bake cupcakes, which a lot of people took her up on. Unfortunately, many of her younger keeners didn't realize that they would have to provide the ingredients, and what Taralyn was offering was the service and time to make them. Still, she did make a few batches for birthday parties and social gatherings for our neighbours. I offered two things; one was signed up for and the other got no interest at all. The thing that did get interest was hanging pictures. By doing this I got to know Thelma, who is an awesome member of our community. She and her husband have teenagers and have lived in Aldergrove for years but haven't really connected in the community beyond their kids' friends. They're a great family!

The other service I offered was a Bible Study - you pick the topic! I thought it might be interesting to see if anybody would take me up on it. Nobody did. In case anybody's reading this who wants to take me up on that, I'm still game!

After this, we were brought into the school courtyard, where we were presented with 12 (I think?) candidates who wanted to gain or upgrade their employment. By this point in the day, the boys had pretty much had it so Taralyn had taken them home. We were all broken into 12 different teams, each team assigned to one of the twelve. I was placed on Team Brenda. But there was another candidate who I thought I could help in a greater way so I asked if I could join his team instead. His name is Dalton, and he was a 15-year-old looking for his first job. Since I've worked with lots of youth gaining employment I thought I could be an asset to him. I decided to be his team leader, and I was intent on getting him employed that week. Other members of Team Dalton were Walter, Tara, and Steve and Janie Rae, all of whom really stepped up to help Dalton. Steve, who is a roofer, even offered Dalton a job on the spot, but it was difficult for him to commit since the job was on Saturdays, which is the day that most of our MDN events took place.

Through the MDN network, we were able to secure him an interview at Subway on Wednesday. I think it was Gary and Erin who have a friend who manages the restaurant. Or maybe it was Leah and Brent. Regardless, I got this email saying that his interview was at such a time and place. I spent some time with Dalton going over his resume (which Erin also did) and helping him pick out a wardrobe. I also got to meet Dalton's dad Scott, a successful salesman. He's a great guy. I found it funny, though, as we were talking Scott told me about some religious people and said he doesn't get along with religious people at all. I told him later that I'm a committed Christian, and I hope it doesn't affect our friendship. He said not at all!

I encouraged Dalton to spend all afternoon on Tuesday handing out his resume up and down Fraser Highway. Walter offered to drive him. But I found out later that Dalton figured, since he had an interview set up on Wednesday anyway, he wouldn't bother with handing out his resume. Luckily, it worked out. Dalton got the job! I think he found out on Saturday during the filming that he got it, but I wasn't there because I was driving the bus for Christian Life Assembly's Kid's Klub that morning.

I was disappointed that Dalton wasn't filmed at all, but it was great to see the others. Charlissa was great. So was Brenda, really. And I have to say this about Matt - he's a really great guy. I don't know him really well, but he was portrayed in a very negative light. I like Matt, and I fully support him and Crissy and their family as he seeks to improve his employment situation. I told him he should apply with Canada Post!

I'm looking forward to this week's MDN. It'll be great to see such an awesome event take place. Again.