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.

MDN Episode 2: Million Dollar Garage Sale

Ah yes, the Million Dollar Garage Sale. What a great event! This was the first initiative that the community came together to achieve ourselves. With many strong personalities, and people with great skills and successful experiences of pulling events like this off in the past, we were bound to have some conflicts on the road to the event itself.
Yes, we only had a week to pull it off. No, we didn't know where it would be held until Thursday, I believe, and the garage sale happened on Saturday. Yes, there was conflict between the PR team, the Logistics team, and Force Four (the production company). We were still getting to know one another, and not always liking one another. Most of these people have become strong friends through these events.

I was on the Entertainment sub-committee. You hear on the episode Bruce Sellery saying, "Let's put entertainment with food and beverage". I still don't really understand the rationale behind that, but the Entertainment group rocked! I co-led this sub with Liane, who has coordinated entertainment for many events and had a number of contacts and leads. We discussed entertainment options like clowns and roving entertainers, but we settled on focusing on bands. I had leads on equipment, Liane had leads on bands, and other committee members (the Smart family) had other leads.
We had some great entertainers at the event, including Jared Fowler and The Joel Brown Band, and MDN's own Jacey Gillis. The entertainers had plenty of footage shot of them. Unfortunately, none of it, not one mention, showed up in the show. I was particularly upset about this, not because I was involved in the committee, but because if you were there you would know that the music and the stage was a MAJOR part of the garage sale. Everybody was talking about it - both the families involved and the guests/shoppers. They were awesome. I don't know why the whole thing was ignored. I heard people's interviews on the show with all mention of the bands and entertainment cut out.
Because I was so involved in the entertainment - setting up the stage and sound, and running the sound - and because my family had done our own garage sale a month earlier, we didn't have a lot to sell and we didn't sell a lot. We got rid of a stroller, and some clothes. I think we made about $50.

Jeanette was painted in a negative light in this episode. Many people who watched the episode wondered why on earth she won the money. More attention was placed on the Sperger family, and rightly so. But the reality at the time was that we didn't know much about the Sperger family at all. Many people, even this week as we watched the episode, were surprised to learn about their loss. The real story that week was bringing about a consensus on location and time between the various groups (and when a consensus was not possible, people taking leadership and making decisions) and getting the job done. Jeanette did an awesome job of both of those. The time constraints were put on us by the production company, not Jeanette, maybe to give us more drama. But Jeanette did an awesome job all week. She attended meetings every night, and worked all day Friday setting up, spent all night on security watching the stuff, and spent all day Saturday working. She was a warrior.

This was an amazing event that we put together in 4 days. It showed me that it can be done. It inspired me how everybody came together to get it done. I haven't seen that before, even in the church. I don't think I'll see much of that again. It was a great event, a great week, and a great community. It's a real blessing to live in Aldergrove with each one of these people!

MDN Episode 1: Hidden Money

Well, Episode 1 aired on Sunday. If you haven't seen it you can catch it here.

Finally, you get to meet some new friends of ours - Joel and Tanya, Mark and Kyle, Annette and Alyssa, Andrew and Cathi... all great Aldergrove people we met through this production and we'll remain friends with for a long, long time. Hopefully our friendship will deepen over the years!

Our new friends Kathryn and Stephanie

That's what we signed up for, with Million Dollar Neighbourhood - to get to know Aldergrove people. We'd lived here for almost two years and had found it incredibly difficult to meet people. So many others have found the same. We live such busy lives that we barely have the chance - or take the chance - to slow down and spend the time getting to know our neighbours. I know that's been true of myself even since the wrapping of MDN. Of course, I was able to blame some of that on the craziness of the Christmas season. But now that's over, and it's still tough to find the time to nurture these relationships. It was one thing when we had tasks and challenges to accomplish together every week. Actually, it was almost too much. But in normal, everyday life, things go back to, well... normal. It takes intentionality to keep up the relationships that MDN initiated among us.

Carter on the Pony

We enjoyed watching the show. It was kind of neat, actually, seeing the people and activities and what was going on, and remembering it, and now being able to match the person we now know with the experience we remember. The Hidden Money Market fair was great fun. They had bouncy castles and pony rides for the kids, and Caleb and Carter had a great time with those! The greatest financial benefit we experienced was from Kerry from Squawkfox who showed us how we can save money on everyday things. A little here, a little there, and it's amazing how it all adds up!

We're ecstatic about Joel and Tanya's winning! They've been through a tremendous amount. It's been great getting to know them through the show. What an awesome family and deserving couple! The MDN Bank was a bit of a surprise to us when we saw it in the show. It was a case of the "magic of TV" creating something that wasn't really there. A few people have commented "I haven't seen that building in Aldergrove before!"

From a Gospel perspective, this really was Day 1 of getting to know a lot of our neighbours really fast. There are a whole bunch of ways to share the Gospel, and some people might have taken the opportunity right at the get go to get on a bullhorn and start yelling that Jesus is the way. I think that maybe the production company was hoping I'd do a bit of that. I wasn't sorry to disappoint them. To be honest, there were a few people on bullhorns for different causes, and it never really went down well with the community. For us though, the idea was to take it easy - to build relationships with these people. I was more aggressive than Taralyn in letting people that we 'had been' there in Aldergrove to start a church; she believed that would already set a disposition in peoples' minds. I think we balanced each other out - we often do.

Caleb with his sweaty face painted at the Money Market

Aldergrove needs the Gospel. Yes, the challenge to raise our collective net worth by $1,000,000 is fun and also needed (Jeremiah 11), but real, lasting positive change can only come through the Gospel. A number of people we met through MDN are Christians living in Aldergrove. Many of them have no context for living intentionally as missionaries in our culture. A few of them are legalists (conforming to rules while ignoring culture), and a few are libertarians (conforming to culture while ignoring Gospel imperatives). There are a few that we could relate well with, and we thank God that they're also at work for the Gospel in this town.
Please pray for Aldergrove as you watch this show, and ask if He would send more of His harvesters into the fields of Aldergrove to join us in reaping the harvest He is preparing. Is He calling you to be one of those harvesters?

Million Dollar Neighbourhood on OWN

So, tonight the world (or at least the nation) will be introduced to my town, Aldergrove BC through Oprah Winfrey Network Canada's "Million Dollar Neighbourhood". My family is a part of this town and this program, and I'm just as excited as anybody (and more excited than most) about tonight's premiere.

I grew up in Aldergrove. Until I was 10 years old, these were the streets I walked, the grocery stores I frequented, the barber shops I visited, and the schools and churches at which I studied and learned about relationships. My family moved not too far, to Langley and then to Brookswood, but Aldergrove always stayed with me. After living in Surrey, Abbotsford, Winnipeg, North Delta, and again in Langley, I moved my own family to Aldergrove almost three years ago.

We moved here to start a church. It didn't work out. For many reasons.

One of the biggest reasons our church didn't get started is because we found it incredibly difficult to get to know people in Aldergrove. We aren't alone in that evaluation. As I've talked with people I've finally met through the show, the biggest complaint about the town is that people are living such insular lives. They don't seem to WANT to get to know their neighbours.

Now, obviously that's not an entirely fair assessment. If people didn't WANT to, they wouldn't. And yet here we have a show featuring 100 families who DO want to get to know their neighbours. Quite deeply, actually. But I need to be careful about how much of the show I reveal before each episode.

But here we were in Aldergrove, with our dream of 'planting a church' on hold. We had to decide whether we were going to stick it out in town, or find a ministry job elsewhere. We were compelled to stay in Aldergrove. We felt that God had called us here, not just to plant a church but to BE an expression of His Church here. So I began the process of finding employment that would allow our family to remain here.

A couple of weeks after that, we heard that Force Four Entertainment, the same company that produced Village on a Diet were interested in possibly doing a show based in Aldergrove. A few other communities were being scouted, but Aldergrove ended being selected to film a test episode.

Soon after that, I got a job with Canada Post and we were also contacted by Force Four to see if we were still interested in being one of the 100 families that would make up the show. The rest will have to wait.

I can say now that the show, MDN has brought our town together in community like never before. We're talking to people at the grocery store, waving as we see each other on the streets, getting together for events, and it's great to know others no matter what their backgrounds or lifestyles. We're not presently pursuing a church plant here, but we're more determined than ever to be Good News to our new friends in our old town, and we're excited to see what God has in store for Aldergrove!

Keep following this blog, and I'll post sometime in the week following each show to offer my reflections and responses on the show that already aired (but no spoilers... so don't ask!).

Fishing In A Small Pond

'Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men' - Jesus.

Here's my response: let's play. Let's fish for men. Let's bring the Gospel to those who really can use it. Let's put out into deep water, let the nets down, and catch us some fish!

Jesus said these words to experienced professional fishermen who had caught nothing, nothing at all, all night long. He comes along, a carpenter, and tells them they're doing it all wrong. 'Drop your nets on the OTHER SIDE of the boat' he says. Oh, the other side! Of course! What were we thinking! Stupid us, we thought just as many fish would be on one side as the other! OK Christ, I'll do what you say... What the...
'I know how fishing works, and I know how men are. I'll show you how to fish for men.'

So I have followed Jesus, followed His leading to Aldergrove. I've said before that if I'd gone to plant a church in Vancouver, I might have a number of families with me from the start. But Aldergrove? Such a small town! Such a small pond! I've said before that Aldergrove has people who need the Gospel too. But how many are open to receiving it? We've said we're not necessarily here for everybody in Aldergrove, but for those who 'could really use' the Gospel, ie. those who are open to it. Is it feasible to start a church in Aldergrove, or should I be content with starting a Bible Study?
In Aldergrove, we currently have 3 families (and some) involved with Access Church. 7 adults, 5 kids. 12 people in a town of 12,000. Translate that to the city of Vancouver, and Access Church is a bustling 578 souls in a city of 578,041. But is that bad math? Does that even really matter? Sadly, not when the bills come due. NO, I am NOT in this for the money. But I am increasingly aware as my family grows (along with my responsibility to them) that I can't continue to fish in small ponds and keep food on the table.

So what? Do we throw our nets over to the other side of the boat? What does that even mean? Do we abandon our nets and our boat to follow Jesus somewhere else? Do we continue to lean on Him and learn from Him how to fish for men? Am I a bad leader for not being able to inspire more people to follow, or am I in the wrong place, or will it just take more time?

The conflicted thoughts of a church planter. Please post if you have any wisdom or thoughts on this.

Two Steps Forward...

What's going on with Access? That's a question I am asked quite often lately. We've been living in Aldergrove for 1 year now, which seems like a long time, but it's gone by in a flash! Taralyn has been busy with our two boys, and growing our third child as well! I have been juggling a few different jobs, as well as taking care of and spending time with my family and, of course, church planting.
Whoever said that this would be easy?

We moved here last September 15, armed with a monthly commitment from our district (www.lpd-efcc.ca), a part-time job at Dead Frog Brewery, another part-time job as a care worker for my brother Ryan, and a fail-proof strategy for planting Access Church by Easter.
At this point, I'm still with Ryan, for more hours per week than before. I'm no longer at Dead Frog. And I'm facilitating workshops with people on Income Assistance, meeting a ton of great people in Chilliwack, Port Coquitlam, and Maple Ridge (all three of which communities, by the way, really need church plants!). We haven't 'planted' Access yet either, but we are 'two steps ahead'.

After taking a long, hard look at our dream dying, we spend a couple of months trying to rebuild our confidence. We attended Bootcamp with the EFCC, and also Oasis Retreat. But the big break came in July, when we made plans with David and Linda Williaume to get together every other Sunday evening for dinner, and we'd see who else would turn up.

As it turned out, we had 16 people at our first dinner, including 6 kids! The numbers have fluctuated since then, but a year into church planting in Aldergrove, there are three couples committed to the journey, rather than just one. We are truly two steps ahead. The Eddys, the Williaumes, and the Deyettes have grouped together to make Jesus and His Gospel known in Aldergrove. We're meeting together regularly, building up our relationships with one another, and strategizing how we'll continue to minister to the others God has brought around us. There's a couple living close to the Deyettes that I'm also connected to from the past. There are other families from previous churches that have been at least peripherally interested in being involved, and there are untold numbers of people connected to our three families.

They say that 'luck' happens when opportunity meets preparation. God is doing something here in Aldergrove, most notably He's preparing us, the Access Core, for when opportunity strikes, to share His Gospel in this town on a larger scale. Until that happens, we continue to plod along. We're starting a series on Timothy Keller's "The Prodigal God" this Sunday, which will take us into December. We're thinking maybe of doing Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" after that. And we continue inviting our neighbours into our homes, and to our dinners together as well, to experience The Prodigal God's Crazy Love.

We're also holding a fundraising dinner on November 27 at Abbotsford Evangelical Free Church. Tickets will be $20, for more information email me chad@accesschurch.ca.

Please continue to pray for us. We really need to expand our core, and to become effective at ministering to one another, so that we will be prepared to minister to many in Aldergrove.

Update...

It has been about two months since my last post, "Recap". Let me bring you up to speed.

Access Church is still moving forward, albiet in a slightly different direction (by degrees) than it was a few months ago. As I told you in the Recap, we have altered our Strategy from 'launching' an attractional BIG EVENT weekly service on April 4. But what have we altered it to? Well that's a little difficult to explain...

First, we will NOT be 'Launching' on April 4. I am terribly sorry if that's a big disappointment to you. It was, in fact, a big disappointment to me at first. It seemed that our Launch was what we were working toward, what we were working for even. And if our Launch didn't happen, well then what is this all about? Should we simply cancel and fold? Still, for the reasons I stated in the last post, it didn't seem like Launching was really what God had on our hearts.

Because our church planting has to be about more than the Launch (despite what Nelson Searcy might say). First of all, it has to be about Jesus and His glory. Secondly, it's gotta be about the people in Aldergrove (not in New York). It has to be about building community - Gospel Community. So if we fail to launch but we see Jesus' glory and the Gospel being lived out in community, then we've achieved what we're aiming for. Funny, then, that I felt like such a failure for pulling the plug on launching. Just goes to show where my idolatries lie.

So we've canceled the Launch. Now what? Well, it's going back to developing community. What does that mean? It's interesting that since we've put the Launch to death, seeds of new things have started sprouting. One thing that happened is that at work (I work at Dead Frog Brewery) I asked for more shifts, more hours, more responsibility (more pay). As I was working one night, one of the guys asked me to tell him about Christianity. I asked, 'what do you want to know?' and he asked some questions, but as the hours went by he simply said, 'tell me anything you want to tell me about your religion'.

Now, you've got to understand, I was thrown for a loop by this request. This is the type of openness that I've mocked Christians for believing someone would one day present to them. Just short of "what must I do to be saved", this is the opportunity every XN with a little bit of an evangelist's heart waits and yearns for. And I had nothing! Well, not really... I have the Holy Spirit and I prayed and asked God to fill me with His inspiration. So we talked about hope, that which Jesus offers to the world. We talked about the purpose of life and the glory of God, about salvation and hell and heaven and new creation, about God's love and justice, mercy and holiness. Mostly we talked about hope. I told him that I was meeting with a few guys to discuss the Bible at a local Bar and Grill, and he said he'd love to join us. That's happening this Tuesday.

The guys I'm meeting with are two guys I feel called to 'disciple'. One is my buddy Dan. We were friends in high school, lost touch for 10 years, and then through facebook reconnected just before he asked his girlfriend to marry him. I got to officiate the ceremony, which means that I got to meet together with Dan and Monica over the next year and a half for premarital prep. Over that time, Taralyn and I presented the Gospel to them. When we were planning to plant this church I told them what we were about and they were thrilled to 'help get it going'. Unfortunately, Monica has had to work each Sunday but Dan has been at almost each 'prelaunch service'. I've carefully explained the Gospel at these, and laid out how we might receive Jesus' salvation ourselves. Later, I asked Dan where he's at, and he confirmed he's a believer and a Christian! Clearly, God is directing me to disciple this good friend of mine.

The other guy is Lucas. He's been a Christian for years. In fact, Lucas was on the missions trip that was so foundational to my own journey and desire to plant churches 14 years ago. Then, he was a teenager. Now, he's grown up and married with a son, but not really connected to a discipling church. We haven't connected deeply yet, but I feel a deep compulsion to disciple him.

I'm looking forward to getting together with these guys and others at what we're calling "Beer and Bible" on Tuesday nights. I'm also looking forward to connecting with them and their wives, seeing our families interact, and building Gospel Community with them together. THAT'S my focus right now.

There are others in this town who God has called me to bring together, people who are Christians looking for community. We're getting together tonight for a social time of games and snacks, and we'll see where it goes from there. My vision now is to build this Gospel Community, and to inspire the others to do the same. As we move forward, we'll call these Communities together and form something of a structure for discipleship and worship, outreach, and connecting (Faith, Mission, Community). Maybe at that time we can start our Access Gatherings again, but gathering together communities rather than individuals.

That's the way it looks right now. We're living in the midst of it, we can't really see the forest with our nose up against the bark, but we're trusting Divine guidance! Thanks for your prayers, support and encouragement!

Recap

I thought I'd take some time and recap my church planting experiences here:

In June of last year my time of ministry at Langley Evangelical Free Church came to an end, and so did seven years of paid youth ministry. It was time, after over 12 years of dreaming, hoping and waiting, for me to start preparing to plant a church. I checked and double-checked with my wife Taralyn - are you sure we're ready to do this? She responded with a hesitant 'yes', which was much further than she was able to go two years prior when we had broached the subject previously. In 2007 I was between jobs, wondering if that was the time to strike out and plant a church. Taralyn assured me it was not. I thought she wasn't ready, but as it turned out she was discerning enough to identify that really, WE weren't ready. Now, in 2009, we were ready. To plant a church? Maybe. To have the faith to step out? That's more the case.
Taralyn and I started to think, dream, and strategize about the church. Two things we did first: 1. we identified the place and people we were called to - Aldergrove, BC. 2. we developed a strategy for starting up, including planning a launch date, enlisting a team of supporters, moving to the area, planning a series of pre-launch preview services, etc.
In hindsight, what we didn't do was develop a MISSIONAL strategy. We didn't, at that point, identify many ways to make inroads in the community, other than finding a job and hoping to get a membership at a fitness club. We're still playing catch-up with that.
So, let's talk about some things that, so far, have 'worked':
- we moved to Aldergrove on September 15. Taralyn found an amazing little house for rent on Craigslist and set up an appointment to see it. It was the first place we looked at, and we were the first to see it. Two days later, we were invited to rent it. That was a step of faith, because rent is a little more than what we were paying previously, and we had no income as of the end of September. But, we figured, to pay ANY rent would be a step of faith - we might as well get this place which we see is 'perfect' for our family and our mission. It's part of a family-oriented neighbourhood - a playground is a 2-minute walk away, kids are always playing in the street... there's plenty of opportunity for ministry here. Plus, it's a house - 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, laundry room, an office/toy room, and the real 'must' - a dishwasher!
- We've developed a good network of prayer support, and started to build a financial support base. We still have a way to go on this, but God has stirred peoples' hearts to give to this mission. I took Ministry Partner Development with Power to Change in September, where I learned how conversations go with prospective donors. I've met with a number of people, sent letters out, and have seen God respond with peoples' generosity.
- I got a job at Dead Frog Brewery. I prayed that God would open up opportunity for work at a place where I could shine the light of Christ brightly, and that place ended up being Dead Frog. I've met some great people there, and had some really good and interesting conversations. I continue to work at Dead Frog one day a week.
- Monthly Pre-Launch services. We have a team of people from North Delta and Langley Evangelical Free Churches who come and help us once a month to put on our pre-launch services. These have been moderately well-attended, and very successful, but not in the ways that we were hoping/planning. The people who have come have been able to hear the Gospel, and engage in dialogue, as well as start to develop relationships with one another.

Okay, now the things that haven't worked as we had expected.
- First, with the Pre-Launch Preview services. Apparently, Field of Dreams is a lie. 'If you build it...' they still might not come. It takes more these days than inviting people to a service to build a church. Although I've been consistently inviting people personally to COME TO us, and attend our preview services, they don't (for the most part). Yes, people are very interested in what we're doing, but no, they don't make coming to us a priority. What might be a better idea? Probably finding ways to GO TO them. That sounds like what we have come to call "being missional" and it's much different, much more difficult in some ways, much less program-oriented, than putting on services.
- Secondly, our whole strategy that we worked out for building our church centered on the gathering, the prelaunch service and the 'church launch'. I see this now as a mistake. In fact, I wish I could take back out 'launch date' and develop a strategy instead of building relationships. I say "I wish", and I probably can, but at this point I'm playing catch-up. I HAVE BEEN building relationships, but that needs to be my first priority, even over starting services. Yes, I still think that gathering is important for a church, but not at the expense of relationships; rather as a conduit for relationships. If the gathering isn't achieving that goal (which it is, and isn't) then things need to be adjusted, for now.
- Third, support-raising. It's tough! And people saying 'no' or not following through isn't a great motivation to keep going on. I haven't met with anyone for a while, but I will be getting back on the phone in the next week.

On January 10, we held our fourth pre-launch service, but this time we diverted from our plan slightly. Instead of keeping with our series "Journey to Hope in Aldergrove", we diverted and gave our 'vision spiel'. Our plan is to discover who else is in Aldergrove, who God is calling to partner with us in this. We've come to realize that we can't do this on our own, we need what they call a 'core team' to build this church together with. As missional as we want to be, we need others to do it with us, to encourage us, to connect with people in their own spheres. So we invited everyone we know in Aldergrove, even those who go to other churches. If they hear what we're about, God may call them to join us. It's not about stealing sheep either, as one Aldergrove pastor told me; they're not "my" sheep or "your" sheep anyway, they belong to the Shepherd, Jesus. It's the enemy, Satan, who steals. If God calls one of His sheep to join another flock then so be it. Still, it's been hard for me because I don't want to build a church from 'transfer' growth, but rather through conversion growth. But I need Christians involved as well.
So we gave our 'vision spiel'. It's for a church with three pillars: FAITH, MISSION, COMMUNITY. You can read about that here. Or you can hear it here.

Over 20 people showed up, more than ever FROM ALDERGROVE, and we gained some momentum. The next steps are to gather those people to do some acts of service in the community, and make ourselves known as being as much for Aldergrove as we are for ourselves. We're calling people together for mission, for community, and in faith. That brings us up to date.

I'm working with the Temporary Access Leadership Team on Access Strategy 2.0, and we'll roll it out to you as soon as it's prepared! This is an interesting journey, and we're learning tons along the way. Please keep checking in to http://candteddy.blogspot.com to join our journey!

Chad.

Access Mission Week

Please take note of the absence of the plural 's' following the word 'Mission'. This is NOT a 'Missions Week' like the sort that have become run-of-the-mill in many missions-oriented churches (God bless them!). We will NOT be standing up missionaries to foreign lands, night after night, hearing over potluck cream pie and bad coffee stories of orphaned children, slim getaways, and miraculous healings (as cool as those stories sometimes are!).
MISSION Week instead is a week of mission. I've been thinking of this for a while, and struggling with it.
Access Church NEEDS TO BE a 'Missional' church. We can't exist unless we are one. But how do we establish that ethos, that core value, that DNA right from the get-go. The threat, or the really good reason NOT to do a "Mission Week" can be read about here. Basically, mission becomes an event rather than a lifestyle. I understand that threat, and I get those who would criticize Access Church as being another event-driven-quasi-missional-but-really-not-so-much church plant.
My argument, however, is that to BECOME a missional community, we need to invite people to MISSION, not to some worship service program. Whatever we invite people to, however we start out as a church plant, is what will continue to mark us for years to come. Whatever we invite people to WILL HAVE TO BE AN EVENT - otherwise, what could it be?
"Hey do you want to come get involved in my church with me?"
"Sure... how?"
"well, we're really missional, which means intentionally loving people the way Jesus does, so uh... yeah..."
"okay, so how could I get involved?"
"well, yeah.. you could start by um... praying for .... uh, the people you work with..."
"okay, so how is that getting involved with your church?"
"um, well you'll be doing the same things we're... um I mean I'M... doing, and that's sort of like being involved.... ya gotta understand we're MISSIONAL, not ATTRACTIONAL, so we don't really have anything we're calling people to..."

I gotta be honest with you... whether you're trying to reach Christians or non-Christians, that's a really difficult way to start a church.

So, it's important, no ESSENTIAL, to have something to invite people to. The question is, 'what?' Most churches start with a worship service, build a group of people, who they then plan to take on mission in their community (ok, some churches don't have a grasp of mission, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt). That's OK. In fact, that's what we've been trying to do. And in a way, we'll continue to do something like that.

But what if the MISSION exists before the worship service? What if we start by bringing together people who really want to impact the people of Aldergrove, start by practically serving our town, and from there build worship and discipleship times?

So, there's where I get the dream of Access Mission Week. We can call people in Aldergrove to a week of loving others, serving others, giving freely as we've received freely, showing God's love in practical ways. We'll organize projects, like free car washes, litter pickup around the town, lawn mowing, dog walking, babysitting, yard cleanup, business exterior scraping and repainting... We'll make the name Access Church first synonymous with caring for the community, then associate it with FAITH, MISSION, and COMMUNITY.

When? I don't know yet. Who? People in Aldergrove, and hopefully Mission Teams (again, no 's') from other places. Am I crazy? Probably. Stay tuned for more information.

Pre-Launch Service #1 is behind us!

After years of dreaming, months of planning, and frankly weeks of stressing, we have begun our journey - the "Journey to Hope in Aldergrove", as we're calling our Access Church pre-launch series. Last Sunday, October 4 2009, we held our first pre-launch 'preview' service for Access Church at the Kinsmen Community Centre in Aldergrove. There were about 15 people in attendance; some of those were family, some part of the 'Access Mission Team' from other churches, and some were interested in becoming participants in our new community. Others were there just to check it out.

I preached a sermon called "Journey to Go

d" examining what a god is, how in some way we all have 'gods' that we serve, that we trust in to save us from what we consider to be personal hell. Then we looked at the God of the Bible, and that He is The legitimate God, not made in our image but we in His, not predictable or tame but just as we'd expect of the King of the Universe, on His mission, His agenda, ruling by His own wisdom not ours. You can listen to the sermon here - yes, we're already podcasting on iTunes!

We had plenty of refreshments - coffee and cookies and fruit and juice and water. "Access Kids" took care of our two little guys, Caleb and Carter. We offered the Lords Table to believers - Welch's grape juice in plastic shot glasses and bread cut from a loaf. Darrin Climie lent his carpentry expertise to making a cross for our use. We were lent a sound system and rented some microphones. Dan Stewart did a great job of leading us skillfully in worship. There was great community through conversation that happened. All in all, it was 'church'.

We arrived at 9am to start setting up (a

ctually, I think we got there at 9:10), but we began with prayer. We were finished the service by 12:05 and out of there by 1:00 when the dog obedience class showed up! The Kinsmen Centre was a fantastic place to hold the service, though there are a few lighting and space issues we need to re-think.

Thank you to all of you who participated. Thank you also, to those of you who have prayed with us for this. It's just the beginning. Our hope is that many of the people there on Sunday will return next month with someone else. At Alcoholics Anonymous, there's a policy that once you join you start actively looking for someone you can sponsor - we want something of that same spirit at Access - to be actively pursuing others you can bring along in the journey.

The next Access Pre-Launch Service is November 1 at 10:30 at the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre, 26770 29 Avenue.

Missionary Cards! Now Available

Delightfully Cheesy, missionary cards are one way to raise prayer support!

The Eddy FamilyChad | Taralyn | Caleb | Carter

Church Planting Missionaries
with the
Evangelical Free Church, Lower Pacific District

Called to plant Access Church in Aldergrove, BC,
a community of 12,000 between the cities of Langley and Abbotsford.

The Plan:
• Begin to lay the foundation to plant in August, 2009.
• Move to Aldergrove in the fall of 2009.
• Hold monthly pre-launch services starting in October.
• Launch date April 4, 2010, which is Easter Sunday!

Please pray for us as we look for the right place to live, get connected in the community, build both core and launch teams, raise support for ourselves and for the church plant, and find ways to share the Gospel with people in Aldergrove!

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Starting to Think about Church Planting... again.

Nehemiah 2:4-5 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.”

Here are my unsorted thoughts...
I am finished ministry at LEFC as of July 1, and I have a three month paid sabbatical after that. Taralyn and I will be taking our sons to Winnipeg for two weeks in the middle of July, I'm helping out with Camp Evergreen at the beginning of August, and we're speaking at Camp Tulahead at the end of August.
After that...???

I've been thinking a lot about Aldergrove. I've driven through it looking for a cafe or a coffee shop or some place I can sit and pray and watch, maybe get into some conversations with the locals. After a while of driving around I settled on Tim Hortons. I dunno... it's... Aldergrove. I think I share the same sentiment of many Aldergrov-ians. It's not a place people want to hang out in, but rather people seem to want to hurry up and get out of, go to Langley or Abbotsford or Chilliwack or Vancouver. It's a hard place, with boarded up businesses and schools, some new developments, a lot of crime, some churches that seem to be on the right page. I think the next step is to check out the demographic and social stats for Aldergrove online.

I've been thinking about church planting, and how it might look. Years ago, I was fascinated with buildings. I'd see a building for lease, drive around it, get out of my car and walk up to it, lay my hand on it and pray for a church to be planted there. These days I'm more about hanging out. Taking my laptop to a cafe, watching people, building up the courage to engage people in conversation, developing consistency and familiarity, meeting with people and getting to know their friends, talking about Jesus, inviting people to hang out together, building a community, studying the Scriptures together, finding ways to worship together, doing life together.

But all this toward what? Planting a church. That's my goal and my aim. I'm not into simply creating community and dialogue. I want church. I want preaching and worship, community on mission, elders for shepherding and accountability, baptisms and communion, UP/IN/OUT, consistency, location... those are all things that I want to see in the church I plant.

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