Another Train Wreck...

The board of Fresh Fire Ministries announced yesterday that Todd Bentley had stepped down as president of the ministry. Bentley, as you probably know was the primary leader at the Lakeland Revival. Several weeks ago, I watched the commissioning service led by Peter Wagner and attended by a number of high profile Charismatic leaders.

As I watched the service online, I just kept thinking that Todd was being set up for a huge fall. The question that kept swirling in my spirit was 'Who is going to pick up the pieces when this train leaves the track?' 3 weeks after the fact, there is a train wreck of enormous proportions. Todd and his wife have separated, he has admitted to an 'unhealthy emotional relationship', and the board has removed him as president of his own ministry. Added to that, tens of thousands of people are angry and disillusioned, the sceptics are crowing that they were right all along and the media smirks at yet another ministry leader who has crashed and burned under some close scrutiny.

I know some things about crashing and burning by both observation and experience. Crashing and burning is no fun and the pain of the crash is only enhanced by high-fiving critics who delight in your demise. The worst part is that innocent people get hurt because of the fall of the leader. Todd's wife and kids got hurt because he messed up. His staff, ministry counterparts who supported him and those who put their neck on the line for him have just been burned by his own personal failure. Add to that all of the people who travelled to Lakeland, sowed into his ministry and gave by TV. They've all just been burned too and I'm willing to guess that they aren't about to trust a church leader any time soon.

For the record, I feel bad for Todd Bentley. It would be easy to blame the people around him for not standing up to him, but I know enough people in Todd's life to know that wasn't the case. I feel bad for Todd Bentley because he fell into a deception about who he was and what the signs and wonders that were happening around him really meant. We have this ridiculous premise within the church that says if people are being saved and healed then God must be endorsing who we are and what we do. It's an intoxicating lie that we so quickly embrace because it meets some deep need for affirmation and approval in our lives. No self-respecting Christian leader would endorse Samson for ANYTHING in our world today. He was immoral, had anger issues and was generally an undisciplined 'wild man'. In spite of that, God used him as a deliverer of His people. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks about the day of Judgement when people will say, didn't we heal the sick and drive out demons in your name and He will say, depart from me, I never knew you. That verse sobers me in a heart beat and reminds me that what God wants from me is my heart.

John Maxwell says that if you fall on your face, it's good to take note of what caused it to happen. In this case, I think that the church needs to take a look at what just happened. The fact is that there were respectable people raising words of caution regarding this revival for some time. These weren't the standard critics who are opposed to everything. These are people who actually believe in healing and miracles but saw the error in Todd's teaching and methods and were courageous enough to stand up and be heard. I don't believe we need to pay attention to every critic that comes along. However, I think we've got to take a look at who is offering the criticism and if they have credibility, we need to take heed to what is being said.

Secondly, and of even greater significance is the whole matter of discernment. We've got to have our heads up and exercise discernment in our lives. It scares me that so many people could be so easily taken in by what was happening in Lakeland. I'm all for God being at work in unusual ways, but Lakeland was WAY OVER THE TOP!! Let's give our collective heads a shake and ask ourselves what's going on here and why am I giving it a second look? The reality is that Todd had an audience because people kept coming to see what was going on. GodTV kept fanning the fire and gullible kept giving and going. The really tragic thing is that 'discernment' is used to blackball people and cut them out of prayer groups and churches while at the same time we are oblivious to massive deception on a continental scale. It's time to tune into what the Spirit is saying to the church and recognize that there really are those who go about as wolves in sheep's clothing.

I hope that Todd sorts his stuff out, submits himself to godly men of the faith who will point him in the right direction. I pray that he humbles himself, gets some education and after an appropriate season, apologizes to the thousands of people who have been hurt. Most of all, I pray that he finds a way to be reconciled and restored to the wife of his youth.

What happens after the Olympics??

We are in full blown Olympic fever at our house. We are having a lot of fun making up stories about how I used to do those things before I grew up. I was just telling Tyler how I gave up the highbar to try the rings when he shared the funniest story with me.

When he was getting ready to run in the city finals this year, someone asked his teacher where you competed after the city's if you did well. Here's what his teacher told him...

If you do well in the city finals, you go to the regional finals.




If you do well there you go to the Provincials.

If you do well there, you go to the Nationals.

If you do well there you go to the Worlds.

If you do well there you go to the Olympics.

If you do well there...






you become a teacher...

BC Day in Comox

I spent the Sunday morning of the BC Day long weekend as the guest speaker at the community church service at Nautical Days in Comox, BC. What a tremendous blessing. I was so blessed to be there! The entire morning was fantastic and I was so honored to share the vision of Leading Influence Ministries with the Church in Comox.

I was particularly thrilled to meet a city councillor from Courtenay as well as the MP for the area. Both communities are blessed to have such quality leaders who give of themselves to serve politically. While I was there I was told that Comox actually means 'land of plenty' and that the First Nations People who were there believed that the Comox Glacier was a symbol of a giant whale. They certainly were right about the land of plenty. What a beautiful place. During worship we sang 'Blessed Be Your Name In the Land That is Plentiful'. I couldn't help but feel that we were in that place.

This is a full and busy month for me. I am speaking every Sunday this month which is a bit of a change. I'm delighted to have a full schedule and look forward to seeing how the Lord will work and what He will do over the coming month.

Baseball Report

Some of you will be aware that Tyler has been playing all star baseball this summer. Last week I mentioned that his team (Victoria Rebels) won the Vancouver Island Championships. This past weekend they were in Surrey for the Provincial Championships. We knew going in that they were a strong team but that they would face some equally strong opposition. They finished the round robin portion of the tournament with a record of 3 and 1. They lost their last game on Saturday when a player was hit by a line drive and was taken off the field by ambulance. The other team chose not to continue and was willing to forfeit the game but our team (even though they were at bat with no outs) accepted the score and took the loss. I'm really proud of our coaching staff and they way they handled the situation. They showed class all the way through the tournament and season and they really helped the boys develop as players and people.

Where it all began...

Barb and I are at a Pastors Camp this week. It's fun to spend a week with friends and peers who share so many common values, dreams and experiences. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, sometimes we worship, sometimes we pray. These are days of refreshing and renewal for us and we are so appreciative of the opportunity to be here.

The vision for Leading Influence Ministries was born here on a day a lot like this one. The speaker shared a message on dreaming the dreams of God. We did what he asked us to do and were surprised by what God spoke to us. The road from there to here hasn't been without it's bumps and challenges, but to be able to return here with the dream starting to unfold is very exciting and to be truthful almost surreal. God has been remarkably and abundantly faithful to us and the ministry and we are so blessed!

Our speaker this morning shared several thoughts on God and dreams that I'd like to share with you.

1. God is able to fulfill your dream. Phil 4:13 - 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' I think I've always been a dreamer, but for most of my life I dreamed too small and believed for too little. Choosing to walk this particular road has forced me to dream large dreams and to believe for big things. I have yet to be disappointed. If anything, I scramble just to keep up with what God is doing in our lives and ministry. God is able to fulfill your dream too. He's just waiting for you to say yes.

2. God is willing to fulfill your dream. Phil 4:19 - 'My God will supply all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.' I've come to understand that God almost always says 'YES' to those things that require me to exercise my faith. It's not that He doesn't ever say no as much as it is that He loves to respond to faith. I don't have it all figured out by any means but I can say that I've never been so fulfilled and satisfied as I am righ now. Barb and I have chosen to go on an adventure with Him and it is so exciting to see HOW He does WHAT He does.

3. God has promised to fulfill your dream. Phil 1:6 - He who has begun a good work in you will continue it until the day of completion. I love this verse. It give me a confidence that God isn't finished with me yet and that even though I might become tired, weary and distracted at times, HE doesn't abandon me. When I am renewed, revisioned and re-focused, I discover that He has been constantly working in the background because He's comitted to finishing what He started in me and through me. God doesn't (and won't ...) give up on you or your dream either. Stay with it and you'll see your dreams come to pass.

4. The dream comes with a price. Jesus said that it was important for us to count the cost. There's a cost to dreams becoming reality. We left friends and a city we loved. Our kids left schools and friends. We made some tremendous personal and financial sacrifices but we did it because the dream inspired us to lengths beyond anything that we had dared to do before. Seeing the dream come to reality has made our sacrifices worthwhile and we wouldn't change a thing. Your dream will cost you, but it will be worth everything that you lay down for it.

Coffeeshop Conversations

I'm out of town for a few days so I stopped by a coffeeshop to access their wireless connection. While I was setting up my laptop I overheard two ladies talking behind me. They were talking about prayer, missions and what God could do. You could hear their faith and confidence in God in their conversation. It was obvious they were Christians. As they were talking about some books that I had read or recognized, I interrupted them and suggested one that I thought they might enjoy to. As it turned out, they were both ministry wives. One lady is returning to Egypt on Monday to resume serving in a ministry that she had previously done with her husband. He passed away a few years ago and you could tell she still missed him. The other lady is married to a denominational leader. It turned we had some common friends and we had a very nice (but brief) visit. I feel richer because I met them.

Still in need of a wireless connection, I packed up my laptop and headed down the road in search of another 'Wired Monk' where I could spend an hour or so sipping coffee and taking care of a few things.

Upon arriving at my next location, I sat near two other women having a conversation. It's a fairly quiet place and it was hard not to overhear what they were saying. The contrast amazed me. One woman is having a recurring dream that is troubling her. The other is an astrological 'coach' who is trying to discern what the stars are saying to her. The one woman is afraid, the other is grasping at straws.

It's hard not to see the contrast. Even if I wasn't a believer in Jesus, it would be hard not to see the contrast. We are so blessed to have a Father who loves us and cares for us. Even when the mountains tremble, we need not be afraid. He is our Rock and Redeemer.

I feel so sad for the two women beside me. I'm not sure if I'll interrupt their conversation or not. If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out...

Island Champions

We've watched a lot of baseball this summer. Zack and Tyler both played House League ball which means that we were at the park about 6 days per week. After that, Tyler wanted to play summer ball which meant even more baseball. Summer baseball qualifies your team to play in both a regional playoff and, if you are successful, a provincial playoff.

This weekend, the Victoria Rebels (Tyler's team) played Campbell River in the regional playoffs. They won the first game of yesterday's double header and then lost the second which left today's a game a 'winner take all' affair. Our guys played a fantastic game today and won 10-1. Here are some pictures of the big day.

After the game they were presented with the Vancouver Island Championship trophy.

Then they each took a turn running around the bases carrying the trophy. It was cute but got a bit long until all 12 boys had their turn. For some of them, the size of the trophy was a little big for them to manage and we were concerned that there might be a broken trophy.

Here's Tyler with his friend Matt and today's MVP, Peter. Peter hit a home run that really sparked the whole team to some pretty exciting offense. Peter basically slid into the picture just as I was taking it, hence Peter's 'gravity defying' pose.

Way to go Rebel's! We're looking forward to the Provincial's next weekend.

Barak Obama's Prayer

Barak Obama visited Jerusalem this week and spent a few moments at the Western Wall. While there, he acted on a long-standing tradition and slipped a prayer inbetween the rocks in the wall. A reporter took note of the location and later retrieved and published the prayer. Here's what he said.

Lord — Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair.

Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will,"

I'm not sure how Mr. Obama feels about his prayer being published and I tend to agree with the rabbi who said that prayer is between a man or woman and their maker. However, when I read the prayer, I wanted to publish it here for several reasons.

First of all, I like the way he begins. He recognizes God as LORD. He's not praying to the sun, moon, stars or wind, but to the LIVING GOD. Secondly, I'm inspired by his desire for protection for his family and himself. The LORD is our protector and defender and I'm glad that the man who could/would be the President of the United States recognizes he needs some help. I like how he asks for forgiveness. Who among us doesn't need it and even more significantly doesn't deserve it? Yet, he's willing to humbly ask and confess his need. The fantastic thing about forgiveness is that God only grants it to those humbly ask for it.

I like his recognition of the perils that come with pride (I need nothing and no one) and despair (the state of being overwhelmed by fear and anxiety) There's tremendous wisdom in that request because both are equally perilous in our lives and particularly in the life of a leader. In the next line he asks for wisdom, the very thing that God guarantees to grant to those who ask for it. I'm confident that God has already answered his request.

Finally, he seeks just to be an instrument of God's will. It reflects the heart of a servant but also the heart of someone who is living with purpose. My prayer for Mr. Obama (and for you) is that God would answer his requests fully and faithfully.

Aren't you glad his request wasn't 'Dear Lord, please let me beat John McCain...?"

What some pastors do... and endure

From Yahoo News:

A pastor in Indiana decided to bring out a dirt bike during a church service to demonstrate the concept of unity.Now he's demonstrating the concept of healing. Jeff Harlow, thesenior pastor at Crossroads Community Church, broke his wrist when helost control of the motorcycle at the start of Sunday's secondservice. He ended up driving off a 1.5-metre platform and into the vacant first row of seats.He's now recovering from surgery on the wrist.

His wife, Becky, says the pastor is OK but "his pride was bruised." Becky Harlow said her husband had recently attended a motorcycle race in Buchanan, Michigan."He had this idea that he would bring this bike out on stage and show people how the rider would become one with the bike," she told the Kokomo Tribune. "He was going to just sit on it and drive it out. He was just walking the dirt bike out onstage and somehow it got away from him. It was not intended.

"No one else was hurt. Jeff Harlow had performed the demonstration at earlier services Saturday night and Sunday morning without incident.

And a follow up from a friend...

In our church in 1998 a group of us wanted to do something that would bring attention to our Debt Retirement Campaign - of "the Mountain Movers" - one man rode into the church down the aisle on a motorcycle - a small dirt bike... it was a total shock to every one...

There was no accidents. He then came on to the platform, with his bike parked down front, dressed in a hard hat...

After a short bit of time of talk and some silly actions (fun stuff) - a very Holy-e-er than all of the rest of you stood up and began shouting - THIS IS NOT OF GOD - THUS SAITH THE LORD - THIS IS AN ABOMINATION - yadda yadda yadda... he stomped out dragging his wife and a new person that they brought to church that Sunday... it was the last time we saw the dear brother.

Oh Boy....

Some people left with the YELLING and PROPHETIC DUDE... some went to a nearby church...

A week or so ago... the pastor from that church rode into the church in a small kind of go kart - I think it was electric... the cart caught a speaker stand and a large banner and pulled the whole thing over... his cart turned up on end and he was dumped out on the stage...

Basically the service was over with great peals of laughter.... and no one caught it on video.

10 years makes a difference in the Holy-e-er Than Thou dear folks...

The YELLING and PROPHETIC DUDE sits in his garage playing his accordion now... speaking words of prophecy over who ever comes into his business to get their car fixed...

5 Years Forward, 5 Years Back

This is part of an email I received today from Keith Cameron Smith. I hope you enjoy it.

How fast did the last five years go by????? How fast are the next five years going to pass? The next five years will go by just as fast and may even seem faster than the last five. Our life is but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Another way to say it is that our life is but the blink of an eye in the scope of eternity. If a tiny little bird were to pick up a single grain of sand in his beak from the beach on the east coast and fly it all the way to the west coast and leave it there and then fly all the way back to the beach on the east coast for another grain of sand to take back to the west coast and he kept doing this until all the sand from the east was transported to the west and then moved it all back again, then that would be one second of eternity.

Life is short. Shorter than we can imagine. I am only 37 years old but several years ago I made a wise decision to spend time with and learn from very successful men and women who are 20to 30 years older than me so I could compress time and add more life to my years.Adding years to your life is a great goal but adding life to your years is even better.

Getting Ready for the Fall

We just got back from a fantastic weekend in Kelowna, BC where our youngest son (Tyler) was playing in a baseball tournament. His team placed second but had a very strong showing. We hope to meet the same team in the Provincial Championships in a few weeks.


On Saturday afternoon we took a break from the heat and found comfort by going to the mall. The summer clearance sales were in full swing which seemed kind of premature, especially in light of the fantastic weather outside, but we shopped anyway... well, Barb and Brittany shopped, I watched a football game and enjoyed a cup of coffee in one of those nice soft chairs provided for waiting husbands and fathers.

While I was waiting I started thinking about my own plans for the fall. My August schedule is already full and I have 6 engagements scheduled for September. It's going to be a busy fall season, but I am SO excited about the possibilities and opportunities. Over the next few weeks, I'll provide some more specifics about what we'll be doing. I believe that God has given us some very clear direction about our next steps here in BC and where our focus needs to be over the next year. I also believe that the results of what we will undertake will be historic for our province.

Delerious ranks among my favorite bands. In one of their versions of 'Did You Hear?' they rhetorically ask if it's true that God can shape a nation. My emphatic answer is YES HE CAN! HE WANTS TO AND HE WILL, AS HIS PEOPLE PRAY!

The question is will we??

God and Going Green

Like most British Columbians, I got my Climate Action Dividend Cheque last week. If you don't live in BC, this is a $100 cheque given to every British Columbian to assist in transitioning to a more green approach to living and to off-set the cost of the carbon fuel tax that was added on July 1. The intent is to encourage us to live greener lives and to become more aware of the impact of our actions on the climate. I wish this had happened at at time when world prices weren't hitting record levels, but at the same time, I think it's important to recognize that we have a responsibility to the environment in which we live.


The church has been strangely silent about the green initiative. For the most part our approach has been to hold to the idea that Jesus could return at any time (which He could) and that we needed to give ourselves to evangelism rather than than worrying about social and environmental issues. In most cases those who expressed environmental concerns, were seen as fringe and marginal. I think that is changing and for good reason. It's one thing to be seen as being culturally and socially relevant and so the idea of being seen as being 'green' has become very appealing to churches. I read of one denomination that is going green by changing to LED lighting in their facilities, upgrading windows, furnaces and kitchen equipment in order to reduce their carbon footprint. I'm not sure that going green is going to actually translate into seeing people come to faith in Christ, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

I found an interesting article today about a church conference recently held in Vancouver called 'Faith and the Environment'. Apparently 125 theologians from multiple faith groups came together to talk about God, the Church and the Environment. You can read more about the actual event by clicking here.

I believe that God has given us dominion over everything and made us stewards of creation. For most of North American Evangelical history, we have approached the environment as a resource to be plundered and pillaged. I think we missed the point. Stewards care for resources they are entrusted with. They don't indulge themselves on resources that don't belong to them. We have indulged ourselves to excess and lived without regard for the environment around us. In the process we have fouled lakes, rivers and streams with our pollution. I grew up in Northern Ontario about an hour from a pulp mill. I remember the smell and the pipe dumping murky brown liquid into the river. Years later (after First Nations people began dying from mercury poisoning on reserves downstream), the company was forced to do a massive clean up and had to dredge the river to clean up it's poison. I can still remember the smell of the mud.

We have filled the air with toxins and cancer causing chemicals without thought or regard for the safety of future generations. When it became socially unacceptable to do these things in Canada or America we off-loaded those processes to countries where pollution didn't matter or affect us. I've been to both Mexico City and Beijing, China. On most days the air is murky at best.

At the same time, I believe that God has entrusted us with the resources of the earth for the purpose of sustainable provision and enjoyment. The issue is in what we do to the earth as we use them and in how we obtain them. The church needs to lead in this area and have a credible voice because of our actions that support what we say.

Sallie McFague said it this way. The earth is our home, not a hotel room. That's a new way of thinking about things for most church people, but maybe one that we need to embrace more seriously. What do you think?

The WHO called?

I'm taking some down time this week. For the most part I'm hanging around the house doing some reading, watching Tyler play baseball and thinking about finishing up a few projects around the house that I haven't had time to get done.

Today I decided to ride the motorcycle along the West Coast of Vancouver Island. It would be a nice way to chill out and just enjoy the scenery. I left about 10:30 and got to a little place called French Beach about 45 minutes later. I pulled my phone and saw that I had 3 missed calls. I'm not sure about you, but in my world, 3 missed calls in 45 minutes tell me something's up. I listened to my messages. The first was from a blocked number but no voice. The second was from a blocked number with an important message to call as soon as possible. The third was from Barb saying there's an important message from the security department at the bank that you need to follow up on.

I tried to call from where I was, but the wonder of technology is that I could only get a US cell signal and even though I was standing in Canada the cell service thought I was in the USA. Therefore, I couldn't call to see what was going on. So much for some quiet, reflective time at the beach. All I could think about was what was going on. After about a whole 2 minutes of trying to relax, I got back on the bike and came home to find out what was going on. the trip home was much quicker than the trip there. Nothing says urgency like 'the bank wants to talk to you'.

I got home and picked up the phone and made the call. When I gave the agent the file number, she told me that my card had been 'compromised'. Somebody had stolen my information and was trying to make a bogus card. I asked how she knew this. She told me that someone had likely been arrested with my information in their posession but beyond that, she couldn't tell me anything more.

I had two very different thoughts flood through my mind at that point. The first was 'Thanks for calling and looking out for me'. The second was 'somebody stole my information.' 'How did they do that?' I'm pretty careful with my card. I don't let it out of my sight nor do I leave it lying around. But somehow, in someway, somebody was able to record and store my information. The irony is that a friend had the same thing happen to them a while ago and was telling me how they felt about it. In their case the person who stole the number used it to pay for the paving of their driveway. (Thieves can be really stupid!!)

I want to come back to my first thought for a moment. The credit card company watches over my card because it is an investment for them. I spend their money and they charge me interest if I don't pay it all back on time. They want to make sure that it's only me who spends their money because if it's not, they don't get their money back.

As I write this, a small bird is on the branch in the tree about 8 feet away. It's got a red crown and kind of brown and grey feathers. It's about the size of a sparrow. As I watch it, I'm reminded of what God says about his care for me. A sparrow isn't worth much, He says, but He sees it when it falls from the sky. He then goes on to ask how much more will He care for me and you because of His great love for us.

Talk is cheap. Love steps up to the plate and follows through. I didn't get the connecting time with God that I was planning for at the beach because I was distracted by my unsettling phone message. But... God sent me a message anyway through a seed thought for a blog post and the appearance of a sparrow in front of me as I wrote it.

The link takes me to one of my favorite songs. It is full of great memories and constantly inspires and reminds me of God's care and concern for me. I hope you enjoy it!

His Eye Is On The Sparrow by Big Mama

Memories From My Childhood

When I was growing up, I had the privilege of spending my summers on family farms that belonged to my uncles. Both of my parents grew up on farms so there were lots of places to visit and spending time with my cousins was always a lot of fun. The farms were mixed farming operations. That meant there were cows, calves, pigs, chickens and grain. If you read between the lines, it really means that there were chores to do. I learned to feed the cows, pigs, chickens, etc. I also got to help out with other farm tasks like cleaning the barn, weeding the garden (never a favorite...), cutting the grass and hauling hay bales.


Hauling hay bales was always one of my favorite things to do. It was one of the hardest jobs on the farm because it meant long days in the hot sun, lifting heavy bales and then unloading them in either the hayloft or building large stacks in the 'hayfence' that were 45 or maybe even 50 bales high. A good day of hauling bales meant that we left the farm by 7 to be at the hayfield by 7:30 and have our first load of 145 (that's 5 bales high, plus a double row across the top) back at the farm by 10. We tried to be back by 10 so that we could unload and get another load done before lunch. That process would be repeated about 5 or 6 times a day. Sometimes we would go with double racks (250 bales) although I'm not sure why we didn't do that more often.

Before my uncle and I would leave the farm for the field we'd stop by the house and my aunt would send out a large glass jar filled with water and ice, wrapped in heavy brown paper and tied up with baler twine. After our first load was filled we would stop and drink water out of the large glass jar. Water never tasted sweeter or colder. It would run down my chin and get the front of my shirt wet. This was a double bonus because as I rode on the fender of the tractor going back to the farm the breeze would dry it off and I would feel even cooler. As time went on and we became more sophisticated, we would bring a water cooler and drink from paper cups but it was never the same.

The reason for this trip down memory lane today is because near our house are several small hay fields and the farmers are bringing in the first crop. Early this week, they mowed the hay. There's nothing like the smell of freshly mown hay.... Then one day on the way home from work, I noticed that the hay had been raked into swaths. I always like to see the rows across the field. It's just so... geometric... I guess...

Then this past Wednesday, I was bringing the boys home from school and there was a farmer with a tractor and a flatbed trailer loading bales. He was 'setting the load' in the same way my uncles taught me to do it. I became so nostalgic that if I hadn't been in a suit and with the boys, I would have pulled over and asked if I could help load in the hope that he would have offered me a drink of cold water out of a large glass jar.

Maybe he would have have even tossed a few bales right over the rack when it was 4 bales high like my Uncle Jack could do just to show me how strong he was, or tell me some stories about growing up with my dad like my Uncle Willie would do...

I think I've just remember what I really liked about hauling bales... it connected me to the roots that have never left me. Those were good days... hauling bales...

My Singer...

Those of you who know Barb will know that she has an amazing voice and that she is a gifted worship leader. What you may not know is that she has spent the last year working very hard on her Gr. 10 vocal exam for the Royal Conservatory of Music.

She did her exam several weeks ago and got her results this week. In true fashion, her hard work was rewarded with an excellent result. She got 86 on her exam which she tells me is extraordinary. I'm really proud of her and even though I've yet to hear her sing in Italian, French and German, I've promised to sit in the front row for the family concert she will be doing when her mom comes for a visit.

Way to go Barb, we are all proud of you and your wonderful and talented (albeit non-posting) accompanist, Bonnie!

Leading Influence Expands to Ontario

Happy Canada Day! July 1st always makes me proud to be a Canadian! We live in an amazing country. I'm very happy to announce that we are expanding to Ontario effective July 1. Ontario is our largest province and Toronto itself is an economic, media and industry centre. Reaching the leaders of Ontario is critical to seeing a national transformation throughout our country.

We are thrilled to see how God has opened a door to a key province in our nation through a series of what we believe are God ordained events. Pastor Murray Lincoln will be our ministry associate leading the Ontario chapter of Leading Influence Ministries with a clear focus on ministry to elected officials. Pastor Murray has recently concluded his ministry at Northview Pentecostal Church in Peterborough, Ontario and is eager to begin establishing a strong ministry to political leaders. Pastor Murray's long track record of community ministry throughout his distinguished pastoral career has prepared him for this exciting next step. Pastor Murray and his wife Alida have been married for over 40 years and have two daughters and 6 grandchildren.

I want to challenge you to 2 distinct opportunities. The first is to begin to pray for Murray and Alida as they launch out on this entirely faith-based venture. They will need the favour of God to open doors and build bridges as they seek to serve and be a blessing to the leaders of the Provincial Parliament in Ontario.

Secondly I want to invite you to consider sowing a seed into Ontario. The Lincoln's will be raising their own ministry support and your generosity in terms of a special seed offering to help them as they get started will be an enormous blessing and encouragement to them. This tremendous opportunity to serve and reach leaders in Ontario is just another in the series of miracles that God is performing within government across our nation.

BC Cabinet Shuffle

Premier Campbell announced an anicipated Cabinet Shuffle today. Listed below are the names and ministries of the members of the new BC Cabinet. On behalf of our partners, friends and supporters I want to congratulate those who have been named to the cabinet, those who have been re-assigned roles and those who will continue on in their capacity. I also want to encourage our prayer network, friends and supporters to begin to pray for the new cabinet as they assume their responsibilities on behalf of the people of British Columbia.

NEW MINISTERS SWORN IN:

NEW MINISTERS APPOINTED TODAY INCLUDE:
MINISTER OF STATE FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS - HON. JOAN MCINTYRE MINISTER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - HON. BLAIR LEKSTROM
MINISTER OF HEALTHY LIVING AND SPORT - HON. MARY POLAK
MINISTER OF LABOUR AND CITIZENS' SERVICES - HON. IAIN BLACK
MINISTER OF TOURISM, CULTURE AND THE ARTS - HON. BILL BENNETT

MINISTERS WITH NEW PORTFOLIOS INCLUDE:

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND LANDS - HON. STAN HAGEN
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINING - HON. GORDON HOGG
MINISTER OF FINANCE AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OLYMPICS - HON. COLIN HANSEN
MINISTER OF FORESTS AND RANGE - HON. PAT BELL
MINISTER OF HOUSING AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT - HON. RICH COLEMAN
MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS AND REVENUE AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR DEREGULATION - HON. KEVIN KRUEGER
MINISTER OF TECHNOLOGY, TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ASIA-PACIFIC INITIATIVE - HON. IDA CHONG

MINISTERS RETAINING EXISTING PORTFOLIOS:
MINISTER OF ABORIGINAL RELATIONS AND RECONCILIATION - HON. MICHAEL DE JONG MINISTER OF ADVANCED EDUCATION AND LABOUR MARKET DEVELOPMENT - HON. MURRAY COELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR MULTICULTURALISM - HON. WALLY OPPAL
MINISTER OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT - HON. TOM CHRISTENSEN MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHILDCARE - HON. LINDA REID MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR EARLY LEARNING AND LITERACY AND DEPUTY PREMIER - HON. SHIRLEY BOND
MINISTER OF ENERGY, MINES AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES - HON. RICHARD NEUFELD MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT - HON. BARRY PENNER
MINISTER OF HEALTH SERVICES - HON. GEORGE ABBOTT
MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOLICITOR GENERAL - HON. JOHN VAN DONGEN MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE - HON. KEVIN FALCON

A New Blog

I've started a second blog. PrayBC is taking off in a big way and so I thought it was important to have a blog for that part of the ministry. I see God doing something amazing with PrayBC and believe that it could become a catalyst for something transformational in our province over the next year. A second blog makes it easier to communicate the vision with clarity. It also makes the ministry easy to find. So... without further adieu, I'm pleased to present.... The PrayBC Blog! If you are a blogger or ministry leader, please add us to your links. I'll be happy to do the same for you. Click on the logo to get there!

PrayBC Report from Armstrong

From the Armstrong Advertiser - June 11, 2008

A special prayer meeting was held Sunday at Glad Tidings Church as a 'PrayBC' event. Pastor Bruce Brown said it was an opportunity for members of the community to come together as 'we reached up to the heavens in unity, love and respect for this province and community.'

He said it was originally planned to hold PrayBC gatherings across the province during Prayer Week for BC (May 1-7). However, organizers were at meetings in Toronto during that time. Pastor Brown said Tim Schindel with Leading Influence Ministries was instrumental in organizing PrayBC.

4 Levels of Faith

I'm a faith person. I am motivated by faith, inspired by faith and (at the risk of sounding pompous..) I live by faith. My faith is based on God's track record of keeping his promises and my confidence in His abilty to continue to do so.

I'm convinced that faith has 4 levels.

The first level is ... I CAN do it. The bible tells me that I can do 'all things' through Christ. The first step to accomplishing anything is to believe that you can do it. If I don't believe I can do something, then I certainly never will and the end result is that nothing ever changes. Believing isn't always easy, because you have to see past obstacles and beyond challenges and lock on to the goal. At the same time you must block out the cacophony of voices telling you why it can't be done, shouldn't be done or won't be done. Faith isn't fed by a choir, but by confidence in a promise.

The second level of faith is 'I WILL do it.' Something in the core of who we are shifts at this point. When we make a serious commitment to 'doing it', radical changes start to take place in our thinking, priorities and focus. We begin to pull back on areas that no longer fit with our new set of priorities. We begin to 'lighten our load' in anticipation of engaging a new task, goal, project or dream. 'I will do it' is a costly step. It's where we count the cost and determine whether we are willing to pay it. Most great opportunities wither on the vine and die at this point and it's simply because we lack the will to follow through and make our dream a reality.

The third level is 'I AM doing it.' When the seed of Leading Influence Ministries was sown in my heart in 2005, the reality was a long way off. But after a year of living in Victoria, visiting with MLA's, attending the Legislature, launching PrayBC and building a strong ministry foundation, I can say there's nothing quite like seeing the dream come to pass. It's incredibly humbling but it's also very exciting to see what God does and HOW he does it.

The fourth level is 'I DID it.' One day, you get to look back and say 'Hey, we did it...' This level is all about timing and perserverance. Keep your eyes on the prize, but at the same time watch for the wave of opportunity that will propel you forward. If you stick with it, you'll make it.

Whatever dream God has put in your heart, YOU CAN make it happen. If you already have the faith that you can, then strengthen your faith and move to I will. If you believe you will, then start taking consistent action andmove to the level of faith where you know that you know that I am.
Faith is a choice. In the first three levels of faith you move from one level to the next when you choose to.The fourth level is a matter of timing and perseverance.

Feed your faith, starve your fears!

** parts borrowed from Keith Cameron Smith.

PrayBC Report

Back in 1994, I was a part of something amazing. March For Jesus had been happening in Victoria for about 3 years and had become an exciting event in the city. If I remember correctly, '94 was the 'big event' that culminiated with a celebration on the lawn of the BC Legislature. Something like 5000 people filled the grounds to worship, pray and celebrate. In my mind's eye, that's where I see PrayBC one day.

Yesterday marked our first event here in the Capital Region. We had approximately 350 people join us for the day. The weather was perfect. The band was amazing and the flow of the entire event was marked by God's pleasure and presence. I am so grateful to the many volunteers who helped make this happen.

We had guests from Bremerton, WA., San Francisco, CA, Ontario and Austrailia. The gentlemen from Austrailia heard the band playing 'Shout To The Lord' and said, 'That's our song!' so he came over to see what we were doing.

We had some very positive and affirming feedback on the day. NO ONE complained about how loud the music was, (YAY) and several members of the Legislature staff asked if we would come again next year.

At one point as the event was moving along, I was filled with a sense of awe and wonder at what we had begun. I can't help but think of the times in the bible where the people of God began to pray for their nation and what the results were. We'll keep doing PrayBC. The next year presents some incredible opportunities for the church to make a difference on it's knees through the upcoming Municipal elections in BC as well as a general election in just under a year.

What if we stopped singing about it, talking about it and actually did it?? How much fun would it be to see what God would do if we just invited Him into the process? I can't wait to find out!!!

I've got pictures coming of our event that I will post as soon as I get them.

Check back in a few days.

PrayBC Less Than a Week Away!

PrayBC is less than a week away. What began as an idea has become something so much more. We have communities across the province that are joining with us as we worship and pray together for our province. It's going to be an exciting day!

Here's what's happening so far. We have 12 communities that are committed to hosting PrayBC celebrations. If there isn't an event in your community, consider joining up with one in a neighboring community.

Pastors, while it's too late to launch a community event at this point, you might consider taking time during your weekend services to pray along some of the themes that we will be doing in the big events. There are some churches that have opted for this route as it suited their needs better. What matters to us is that we have people participating across the province in this historic event.

Be a part of something big!

Expanding Our Territory

We’ve been asking the Lord to expand the borders of our tent. It’s always interesting to see how God answers that prayer. In our particular case, I was able to speak at the National Conference of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in Toronto in early May. This was a tremendous opportunity to share about the vision and mission of Leading Influence Ministries.

In addition, I was also able to meet with Mel and Susan Finlay from Nation At Prayer. Mel and Susan are wonderful people that God has laid His hand upon to effect powerful change in our nation. Nation At Prayer is a national prayer ministry that engages leaders at a national level while at the same time supporting and encouraging ministries like ours at a provincial level. You can learn more about Nation at Prayer by visiting their website at www.nationatprayer.ca

What’s even more exciting are the invitations and expressions of interest and support from people we’ve just met. It’s interesting to see how God has been actively at work behind the scenes raising up and aligning ministries that can work together in partnership to minister among the leaders of our nation. speaking to people and preparing their hearts to partner with us as we move this vision forward.

All across our country God is laying a foundation and preparing the ground for a tremendous harvest among the leaders of our provinces and nation and it makes me wonder... God what are you preparing to do in our nation?

A Man On A Leash

I saw something that I’ve never seen before as I had a coffee at Starbucks last night. Just as I was sitting down I saw a couple walking down the sidewalk. For the most part they looked like any other couple. The first thing that made them stand out was that he was carrying a purse that matched her outfit. That struck me as a bit odd, but he’s not the first man I’ve seen carrying a woman’s purse

As they got closer, I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me and that I really should book an eye appointment soon, but as they got closer what I thought I saw was confirmed. He was wearing a dog collar and she had him on a leash.

Apparently I’ve been a dog owner for too long because my first thought when I realized what was going on was …. Nice leash!! My second thought was WOW! He sure heels a lot better than Zoe does! My third thought was ‘If they were in Langford instead of Victoria, he could be off leash…” (The city of Langford doesn’t require you to have your dog on a leash, only that it be under control and this guy looked pretty well behaved....)

For some of you the thought of a man being led around on a leash is appealing. For others, the thought is mortifying. The thought that comes to me as I write this is that there are people all around you and me who are being led around in the same way that the young man I saw tonight was.

Some are led by selfish desires, some by sinful desires, some by the desire to get ahead, some by the desire to be noticed and seen. Some people allow themselves to be led around in the hope that they will find security, love, identity, or acceptance.

Whatever the case may be in their lives or more importantly in your life, the reality is that is that Jesus makes the very bold statement that ‘He who the Son sets free is free indeed!’ That’s tremendously exciting and liberating. It’s also the only way we can truly live.

We’ve got some great dog walking areas near our house. Zoe usually gets a walk once a day. Because we live on a busy road, we walk her on a retractable leash. It’s not as nice as the one I mentioned earlier, but it does permit her greater freedom. While she gets excited when she sees the leash or hears the word ‘walk’, when we let her off the leash when we get to the park her first response is to run up a hill, down a trail or into the bushes. I think a lot of us respond to being truly free in that same way. We discover new things, new heights and a fresh way of living.

There’s a verse in the Psalms where David writes “I will run in the paths of your commands because you have set my heart free.” Every time I see Zoe run off leash, I’m reminded of that verse, but even more reminded that God intends the same thing for you and me.

Have a good one!

Final Day of Spring Session

Today marked the final day of the spring session of the Legislature. It was also a special day for us as we hosted 12 ladies and one gentleman from a number of Prayer Canada chapters in Metro Vancouver. They have weekly prayer meetings in City Halls. We had a fantastic time together as we visted, shared lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Legislature. We are very indebted to the ministry of Prayer Canada as they have prayed for our municipal and provincial governments for many years.

While we were having lunch I was able to prepare them for what they would see at Question Period. Given that this was the last day of the session, QP was going to be more raucous than usual and I wanted them to know what to expect. Some people think that what happens at Question Period is what happens every day all day. It's not true. Question Period is really a 30 minute window where the Opposition is able to set the agenda and ask the government any question that they choose. However, both sides go into QP with the understanding that it's not really about getting answers but more about political posturing and if you are lucky, saying something that will get you on the 6 PM news or into tomorrow's paper. (Of course, the goal for the government is to avoid being on the news or in the paper because of what happened during QP.)
One day our youngest son (10) leaned over and asked me why they don't just answer the question. I shared his question with a Cabinet minister and an Opposition MLA. Both gave me the same answer. They said 'Tell him it's not called Answer Period."

There are too many names (and not enough time...) to remember everyone who was there, but thanks to Leona for putting the trip together, to Selma for the kind gift, and to everyone else who came. It was a delight to have you join me for the day. I also want to say thanks to Susan, Rina and the kitchen crew from the Cridge Club who provided us with lunch.

For the benefit of those who might be interested in seeing one of the more interesting Question Period sessions from the spring, I'm including a link to the BC Legislature site. If you are in a hurry, the last 10 minutes give you an idea of what politics in BC looks like when the gloves really come off... Pour a cup of coffee, click the link and enjoy ....

http://leg.bc.ca/hansard/video/archive.asp?video=200805291315&time=14:25:48&duration=00:33:58&toc=archive

Eleven Things You Won't Learn at School

This came to me from a friend....

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule

9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

May Long Weekend

Just a quick update. I've got some serious stuff perking for the blog, but I'm told by at least one lurker that she prefers the family stuff over what I think is profound. One day she might even post a comment but for now she lurks in the background...

Anyway... our boys are in a baseball tournament this weekend. Actually it's only supposed to be Zack, but the team only had 9 players yesterday and one guy missed the ball on a strange hop and got hit right below his eye. He couldn't finish the game last night but was able to play today. The coaches asked Tyler to dress for them so we had the pleasure of watching both boys play today and for the rest of the weekend. Zack got on base 2 times (once on a walk, once because he was hit) and he came in one time. Tyler came off the bench late in the game and played centre field. He made a few strong plays defensively and hit twice. He was walked the first time. He tried to steal home on his first at bat and almost made it. The bat was dropped in the batters box and he slid over it on the way into home plate. He struck out on his second at bat. (The whole team was struck out by a 13 year old who was amazing...) He's very excited about playing this weekend and we are too.

This afternoon, they did a skills competition. It was so much fun as the boys did relays and then finished the competition with a home run derby. The first batter hit it out of the park 3 of 5 times and won it all. Zack and Tyler were on a pass/throw relay that they really enjoyed and came in a close third (missed second place by .2 of a second...)

Barb and I look like lobsters. The breeze was cool enough that you didn't realize you were getting burned. It's the first really nice weekend here so we weren't really thinking about sunburns. I'm hoping it turns to a tan.

This week we celebrate 20 years of marriage. We've got some plans for next weekend... :-)

PrayBC Continues to Grow

It started with a simple question. ‘What if the Church in BC came together to stand in the gap as a people of blessing?’ What would be the impact of thousands of people joining together in worship and prayer celebrations all across our province? We wanted to find out and so we launched ‘PrayBC’.

Here’s what’s happening so far. As I write this article, we know of at least 12 communities that are committed to hosting PrayBC celebrations. We know of many more that are in the process of coming on board as well.

As you might know, this is BC’s 150th Anniversary. As a result the Provincial Government is encouraging a variety of community groups to host community events to mark this very special point in our history. We see PrayBC as an excellent opportunity for churches to use as a way to celebrate our 150th anniversary. There is no registration and all of our professionally developed resources are available for free. All we ask is that communities register with us and receive an offering to help us cover our costs at their event. We believe that we will see over 30 communities join the PrayBC team.

For more information visit http://www.praybc.com or call our office to speak directly with someone who can help you.

Prayer Breakfast Report

We held our second MLA Prayer Breakfast on May 1st. Just over 70 people joined us for the morning. It was exciting to watch our MLA’s, partners and friends come together for a morning of encouragement, affirmation, fellowship and prayer.

The breakfast was held at the Union Club of British Columbia. It is a beautiful venue and serves our purposes very well. We are thrilled to be able to use it. Our speaker for the morning was former NHL player and Stanley Cup winner, Ryan Walter. In addition to telling a few hockey stories, Ryan did an amazing job of sharing how he came to Christ and put his ‘inner game’ on the right track so that his ‘outer game’ would become everything that God intended it to be. We highly recommend Ryan as a guest speaker. We are already making plans to have him back with us for another event this fall.

As we were planning the breakfast, there was a real sense that it was important for us to include some young people as part the program. We became aware of a Next Generation Prayer for Authorities that was written by a group of young people from North Western BC. We were able to put a copy at every place setting and Noah Bolinder, a student from Victoria prayed the prayer publicly. It was moving and inspiring for everyone present. There isn’t enough room to print it here, but I’ve posted it on the ministry website and you can find it there on the ’Event Archive’ page.
We know that we had many friends and partners praying for us as we planned, prepared and presented the breakfast and we want you to know that people were blessed, strengthened and encouraged. It was a great day and you helped make it that way!

Thanks for standing with us.

Prayer Breakfast Report - What MLA's are saying...

Here are some comments coming from our Prayer Breakfast last week. I'm witholding the names of those who shared these things, but it's pretty exciting to see the impact that we are having on the lives of those who lead us.

This comment was made during debate at the Legislature during the week of May 5th. I found it by accident but it made my day!!

I'm touched every year by the prayer breakfast. There was one just last
week. The thought that there were people who were praying for the leadership
of the province…. I've got to tell you, it's a kind of moving and emotional
thing.
I'm not necessarily convinced the Bible requires us to be prayed for,
but the concept that people pray that we do good work here, to assist
us in doing good work is a wonderful thing. It gives one a sense of
community, and it encourages us to value what we do here — the honour and
the privilege it is to serve in positions of leadership, whether you're in
the opposition or the government back bench or you're in cabinet or you're
the Premier of the province. What we do here is important.”

This came from a card I received in the mail.

'As an MLA I would like to thank you and Leading Influence
Ministries for being so supportive and encouraging. My community
has had a similar prayer breakfast for years and as elected officials we
always appreciate such support and guidance. Please keep up the good
work!'

I'm really humbled to see what God is doing and how He is doing it. Our commitment is to continue to serve and be a blessing to those God has called to serve our province in this way. We know that as we do, God will continue to open more doors of opportunity.

Visiting Ontario

I grew up in Ontario. Admittedly, it was North Western Ontario and we lived closer to Regina than Toronto, but I did grow up in Ontario. I'm back for a week visiting my sister, preaching for a friend and then speaking at our National Pastor's Conference.

On Monday, I visited Queens Park otherwise known as the Ontario Legislature. I had looked forward to this part of my visit. I absolutely believe that the MPP's in Ontario need the same kind of pastoral ministry that we are establishing in BC. I went to pray, observe and quite literally to put my feet on the ground as a prophetic and symbolic act.

Serving and reaching the MPP's in Ontario is critical to our vision. While it might be hard to take for those of us in other parts of Canada, the reality is that Ontario and Toronto really shape so much of our national culture that it's critical that the key spheres of influence in this province be reached with the love, life and transforming grace of Jesus Christ.

My hotel room was on the 18th floor and I had a fantastic view of the Skydome and the CN Tower. As I was getting ready I found myself praying and making proclamations regarding this city. I'm convinced that God has a plan for Toronto and Ontario and that as His purposes and plans for Toronto are fulfilled, He will redeem the media, commerce, entertainment, the arts and government and then use them as a catalyst to transform our nation at every level.

For some of you, this might be an enormous stretch, but the bible is clear that God loves cities and that He loves to transform them. Canada cannot be transformed without Toronto and Toronto can only be transformed as we reach it's leaders and influencers.

I have a dream...

From Toronto

Hi Everyone - greetings from the 18th floor of the Hilton in Toronto. (Relax, I got a screaming deal on www.hotwire.com that cost me less than staying at Super 8) I'm in Toronto attending a conference for a few days. Yesterday I preached for someone I really admire. His name is Murray Lincoln. Murray is an amazing person who I see as a real trail blazer and pioneer. In addition to being a fantastic pastor and leader, he's also a carver, handyman and writer. I'm posting a link to his latest blog post. I hope you enjoy it.

http://northviewchurch.blogspot.com/2008/05/48-hours-of-victories-and-five-victors.html

Quick Update

Well - it's the night before the MLA Breakfast. It's going to be a great morning and we are all looking forward to enjoying it. We've had an excellent response from friends and MLA's so I'm very pleased. My hope is to do a follow up post after the fact with some photos as well so watch for that over the next few days.

It's been a while since an update so here's the latest for those of you that long for family details but don't bother with my spiritual insights...

We went to Kamloops on the weekend. I was speaking in Logan Lake on Sunday morning so I brought the boys with me and they had a dental visit on Friday afternoon. Tyler was done in about 3 minutes as his ortho work is going very well. Zack is making amazing progress but has required more work. He spent 3 hours in the dentists chair, most of it waiting. He had 7 (yup 7) needles as he had to have some gum surgery. I'm really proud of him! It will be worth it later on when he has movie star teeth.

We stayed with our friends in Kamloops and the boys had a ton of fun seeing their buddies. They were up until 1 AM and awake before 6 to play their computer games and just laugh and talk. We are always treated like gold by this family and this time had the added bonus of grandparents there as well. It was a full house, but we had an awesome time.

Sunday morning I was in Logan Lake with the boys. This church has been so good to us and very supportive and generous. The pastor took me over and showed me the most amazing missions table I've ever seen, and what really made it special was it was all about what I'm doing. It was really pretty cool.

We made a pitstop in Abbotsford for gas and quick break. On the way to the ferry I really began to feel very tired. I love to drive and even on a very long trip, it's very rare that Barb does more than a very little bit of driving, but I would have gladly let her drive home from the ferry. On Monday morning, it was apparent that we had some kind of bug and Barb, Tyler and I were all under the weather. I worked from home a bit but took about 3 naps just to make it through the day. Monday night Zack had a baseball game but it was pouring rain. I was on for field prep so with a lot of help from some other parents we got the field dragged, raked, lined and ready, only to be told that we had to move to another field. After we moved, that one was prepped and then the game was called.... I was home by 6:20, asleep by 6:30 and didn't wake up until 7 AM on Tuesday.

So there you go BD (and everyone else...) I've given you the scoop on the Kamloops weekend... :-)

Catching Up

Well - here' s the latest from the past few days. After about 14 days without a real break, I took Friday and Saturday off. Day 1 was okay (although I did sneak a bit of work in when Barb wasn't looking...) Saturday was a different story. The problem on running on adrenaline and caffeine is that when you slow down, you crash. Crashing for me usually involves being grumpy and negative. None of this is a good thing for anyone around me so Barb gently suggested that I take a nap in the afternoon. After about 10 minutes she came upstairs and told me (ever so sweetly and yet so very pointedly...) that I needed to get it together and that being grumpy wasn't fair to anyone around me.

The thing with Barb is that she has a wonderful way of getting her message through to me without raising her voice or making a scene. This time was no exception and after about an hour of solitude and rest, I was a much happier boy.

I read a book a few years ago. It was called 'The Contemplative Pastor'. I didn't like it at all but it was exactly what I needed. The author talked about 'the rythmn of the Sabbath'. The idea is that we are made to need a rest every 6 days. When we fail to honor the Sabbath in our lives, we begin to 'wobble' physically, emotionally and spiritually. While it' possible to keep going, our creativity, productivity and general effectiveness starts to decline dramatically and continues to do so the longer we go without a rest. Relationships begin to suffer and we make poor choices all because we fail to rest and be refreshed. These are the consequences of sin, as we fail to honor the Sabbath in our lives. Given enough neglect, we crash and burn and God often provides us with an 'enforced Sabbath' to give us time to properly recover be renewed.

It feels funny to be thinking like this and yet I know that failing to permit myself a Sabbath rest, caused me to be spinning my wheels for most of last week, not to mention the fact that I took out my fatigue on those who are closest to me. Needless to say, I've been making ammends today and it's been much better for everyone around me.

So... while I'm not about to start taking an obligatory nap on Sunday afternoons, I'm learning my lesson about the need to take care of myself while I seek to care for other people.

The Long and Winding Road

Last night after baseball, Zack and I took the scenic way home and explored a new road. We didn't know where it would take us. It was long, windy and narrow. So windy and narrow in fact that I began to feel a bit queasy on the return trip. I asked Zack how he was feeling and he said he was fine.

We continued to drive. I even slowed down and when we finally came back to the wider and straighter road, I thought all would be well. It was, until we went down the winding road that is our street. As we got closer to our house, I thought I'd be able to make it and as soon as I got out of the car my stomach would settle down.

When I pulled up in front of our house, it was apparent that things were not going to settle down until there was a general 'evacuation' of my swirling stomach. I took 3 steps, believing that this too shall pass when all of a sudden things began to pass. Zack ran to the house to get Barb while I continued the process of 'evacuation'.

I'm sure there is a spiritual lesson in here somewhere, but for now, I don't think I've ever met anyone who has made themselves carsick before...

Tony Blair Does God...

From Reuters:



Tony Blair's spokesman once said "We don't do God." He certainly does now.


The former British prime minister has gone public over his beliefs in a major speech on faith, saying religion had to be rescued from extremism in an era of growing globalization.
Speaking in Westminster Cathedral recently against a noisy backdrop of anti-Iraq war protesters, Blair launched an impassioned defence of religion.

Blair, who converted to Catholicism last year after stepping down as prime minister, rejected the notion that religion was divisive, irrational and harmful, and argued "faith can transform and humanize the impersonal forces of globalization."


"For religion to be a positive force for good, it must be rescued not simply from extremism -- faith as a means of exclusion -- but also from irrelevance," he added. Politicians in the United States speak openly about religious faith but Blair has admitted that if you do so in Britain "frankly people do think you are a nutter (crazy)."

When Blair was once pressed in an interview about his beliefs, his press spokesman Alastair Campbell interrupted and said, 'We don't do God.' But Blair, now working as a Middle East peace envoy and seeking international consensus on global warming, did concede religion and politics could be uncomfortable bedfellows as leaders who talk about their faith "may be considered weird."

The worst danger, he said in his speech, was that "you are somehow messianically trying to co-opt God to bestow a divine legitimacy on your politics."

Tim here: - Don't you just love it when a former world leader suddenly discovers that there's room for the King of Kings in his own life and work?

It starts when???

I left my office yesterday afternoon and went straight to the airport to catch my flight to Victoria. I was on a mission. I was going to a conference and could hardly wait to get there. Everything went smoothly. My WestJet flight had satellite TV and I watched TSN most of the way to Calgary. I got my car rental and headed north to Red Deer. I hadn't eaten since breakfast so I decided to get something to eat and then go to the evening meeting. I had a fantastic dinner, watched a bit of the Blue Jays game and then decided I should get going.

When I found Word of Life Church, I thought it was kind of strange that the parking lot wasn't very full, but then again, I'd never been there before so I wasn't sure what to expect. When I got inside, it seemed pretty quiet for a conference and the people who were in the foyer were just kind of standing around. I actually met a guy that I've known for a few years. When I asked him when the conference was starting (because I thought maybe I was early...) he told me it started... are you ready for this... NEXT week.

I kind of hoped that 'Prank Patrol' or one of those other TV shows was doing this to me as a practical joke, but no... this was all my doing. What do you do when you show up a week early to a conference?

I didn't know yesterday, but I do today. You turn around and find a hotel close to the airport.

My next step was to call Barb and tell her. She laughed, her sister laughed and all of my kids laughed. Are you laughing too?

Prayer Bulletin

John Les resigned as Solicitor General last Friday afternoon. He is the subject of a police investigation dating back to his time as the Mayor of Chilliwack. In a media scrum, he admitted that being investigated by the police isn't any fun. It probably isn't which is why we need to pray for him. He apparently heard the news of the investigation when he came into his house after doing some yard work on Friday afternoon and in that brief instant, a nightmare began.

Politics aside, Mr. Les remains a person and in spite of a very brave front, this must be very hard on him and his family both personally and professionally. I'm asking our prayer partners from across the province to remember him as they pray.

Additionally, the Hon. John van Dongen has assumed the role of acting Solicitor General as of Tuesday. This is a huge responsibility and one with high expectations. Within an hour of his appointment, he was being asked questions in Question Period about the actions of a Crown Corporation that falls under his jurisdiction.

Please make it a point to pray for Mr. van Dongen as he assumes his new role.

Around our house...

Here are some lighter moments from life at our house in the past few weeks...

Barb is babysitting our niece. Her name is Avery, she's 2 and we are so glad we can help Rona and Mat out and at the same time get to enjoy Avery. Avery loves to play with buttons. Yesterday, she got up on the chair by the computer and began to play with the mouse. (We just got a new computer that runs on VISTA which just makes the story that much more interesting...) In just a matter of a few unsupervised minutes, she managed to change the orientation of the screen so that everything was turned on it's side. (Some call it landscape, but my mom reads this blog and so for her everything is just 'sideways'.) Barb didn't want to call and break the news over the phone so she waited until I walked into the house and let me discover this little surprise all by myself.

Here's the amazing thing about VISTA. A 2 year old can change the orientation of the display with a few clicks of the mouse, but it takes an adult who spends most of his day on a computer the better part of an hour to undo it. Actually it took Zack holding the monitor on it's side while I did 3 google searches to find the fix. Not surprisingly, you don't actually change the orientation through the monitor icon in control panel. You access it through sounds and something. Ahhh yes.... VISTA. Makes me wonder why I didn't buy a Mac....

Anyway, back to Avery. This morning we were giving a friend a ride to work. We went to her house to pick her up and then drove back past our house on the way into town. Our car is parked on the street and we noticed that the headlights were flashing. This caught my attention so I called Barb to ask her if she could see what was going on. My call went to voice mail and so I waited, knowing Barb would call back. Apparently Avery found more buttons, this time on the key fob for the car and she had pushed the panic button. Barb was hearing a horn sounding and couldn't figure out why someone's alarm was going off, until she realized that it was our car! When I called, she was looking for the keys...

Enough about Avery.... we were finishing off the painting project in our stairwell earlier this week when we ran out of paint. I picked up an old bucket with the code on top and went to the paint store. When I came back, the guy asked me why there was brown paint and green paint in the can. This was a good question because I had only painted with one color, which was supposed to be the color code on the lid of the can. He then broke the news to me that I had just finished painting my house with a 'mis-tint'. The color was supposed to be brown, but the tint was green.

The can that I took in was one that came from a friend who helped us choose our color. We used it for a first coat on a small wall. After the can was empty, we simply poured paint out of our contractor size pail into the small pail to make life easier. Hence the green paint in the brown paint can. The funny thing in all of this is that our friend who helped choose the color kept saying 'I'm surprised at how green it is...' and my mom who visited for a few days kept asking if we 'liked the color'. Now it may be that they were just commenting on the color or it may be that they were making subtle suggestions.

Either way, I was too busy painting to notice...

He is Risen!

Easter is amazing. It reminds me that in what feels like our darkest moment, God is up to something behind the scenes that goes beyond what we would dare to think, ask or imagine. I've been thinking about something for most of the day today. It seems to me that the devil has no choice but to concede Easter, after all, how do you argue with an empty tomb? There's no doubt that he is working to distract people with the Easter Bunny and probably a thousand other things, but that's just way too obvious. (Besides, I had neighbours who had bunnies and never once did they leave anything shiny and bright in their cage.)

It seems to me that the Easter is all about the BIG WIN. If we were kids, it was the play for all the marbles. The one battle that determined WHO would win it all. If you know me, even a little bit, you'll figure out that I'm pretty competitive and while I'm more mellow than I used to be, I'm still convinced that winning is more fun than losing. If Easter is all about the 'BIG WIN' then I want every benefit that comes from it. I want to know the power of that WIN in every part of my life. I want to know that it works in my relationships, finances, body, and for every part of my past, present and future. I understand that Easter sets me up to live victoriously in every area of my life. I don't have to be arrogant or pompous about this. All I need is to grasp it, believe it and then begin to speak and live towards it.

We sang this song in church today. One of the lines was 'I know that my Redeemer lives and now I stand on what He did.' The key to this life is knowing what He did and then standing upon it no matter what I see around me.

I mentioned earlier that the devil has no choice but to concede Easter. At the same time, he's not about to go away without sowing the seeds of doubt and deception about what Easter is really all about. In the last little while, I've been hearing something that troubles me. It's the idea that Christ and Christianity is all about 'helping me' with my issues and pain. It's almost as though all I need is a spiritual/psychological elixer that will help me along until I breathe my final breath. This is the great deception. Jesus did not come to help me. He came to TRANSFORM me. The power of the gospel is not some mystical 'panacea' that will help me 'get by' with a little help from Jesus. Rather the power of the gospel absolutely revolutionizes my life so that I am forever changed. As I yield myself to His power at work within me, I will experience transformation at a measure and level that goes beyond what I can accomplish or achieve on my own.

I think the real lie is that I have to settle for some things, that there are parts of my life that cannot and will not change. It's as though I must embrace my lot in life and forget about hoping, believing, expecting and preparing for a better day.

As I write this, I am thinking of a friend. When I met her, she had huge issues in her life that were connected to her childhood. As we were getting to know each other, she crashed emotionally. It was a tough time for her and her husband. She is a case study in what I am talking about today. As she has yielded her life to the power of the gospel at work within her, she has been completely changed. She has become a visionary, leader and best of all is completely at peace with herself and the world around her. I'm proud of her, but I'm more proud of what God has done in her life and it's all because He has Risen!

Night and Day

We attended the Good Friday Service at our church this evening. The service was simple. It was really just portions of scripture combined with worship and communion. As the passage about Jesus death was being read, I saw something I'd never noticed before. After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimethea (a secret disciple who was intimidated by the Jews) went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Nicodemus helped with the embalming of Jesus body by bringing 75 pounds of spice. The story mentioned, seemingly in passing that it was the same Nicodemus that came to Jesus by night (Jn 3) who now came in the day. I couldn't help but notice the contrast between Joseph and Nicodemus. Joseph was a secret disciple and only Jesus and perhaps a handful of others knew of his faith.

Nicodemus on the other hand had come to Jesus by night, but now came to minister to him by day. It seems to me that we all come to Jesus by night in the sense that we come to the realization of our need to him at a dark point in our lives. We may not be in a crisis as such but the realization of our need underlines our own personal darkness and confirms our need of the Saviour. Something obviously shifted in Nicodemus's life that moved him from seeking and following under cover of darkness to stepping out to serve in the light of day. Admittedly, his particular service in this context was to bring 75 pounds of spices that would be used to embalm the body of Jesus, but the Lord had need of those spices for the next 3 days and so someone had to bring them. I expect that he might have felt funny, perhaps even at risk, as he delivered the sack of spices to the tomb that Joseph had provided, but God knew what he was doing with Nicodemus.

The world needs more Nicodemus like disciples who move from being night seekers to day followers. We need 'spice carriers' who will deliver a sweet fragrance into places of darkness and death while God does an unseen work on behalf of many lives that are invisible at the time. We need followers who will risk ridicule and rejection for the sake of obedience.

Are you up to the task?

On Eliot Spitzer

Like many of you I've watched the tragic story involving New York Govenor Eliot Spitzer unfold this week. In fact as I write this, a news story featuring his resignation is playing on the TV. Once again, those things which are done in secret are being shouted from the rooftops. I can't (and don't) condone his actions in any way but at the same time I am saddened for him. He believed a lie that somehow he could get away with his actions. Believing the lie cost him his job, reputation and did untold damage to his family and friendships.

Integrity is a word that is often tossed around in leadership circles. We expect our leaders to be people of integrity, to live up to standards that they say they will and that they will keep their word. Integrity really speaks of 'wholeness' and 'oneness' in our lives. We want to separate public lives from private lives but in the end it really can't be done. When Mr. Spitzer's private life became public there was a tremendous deficit between what he portrayed he was all about and what he was actually doing.

Integrity is much easier to talk about than it is to achieve. Integrity requires more than a commitment to truthfulness and a connection between my words and my actions. Integrity requires humility and the ever present readiness to admit that we are subject to failure. Walking in this way keeps us from the kind of failure that Eliot Spitzer is currently experiencing.

My hope for Mr. Spitzer is that this nightmare will result in something amazing happening in his life and that he (with his family intact) will come out of this valley stronger and with a great sense of God's grace and restoration in his life.

My hope for you is that you will recognize the lie that says 'you can get away with it' and understand that integrity comes only through honesty and humility.

Have a fantastic day!