I was scanning over the news headlines on my Google home page today.  The first headline that grabbed my attention was the one that declared “UN: Record 1 billion go hungry“.   My cursor began to move toward the link to open the news story, my heart preparing to be burdened by the shock of comprehending the depth of that tragedy.

But before the cursor reached its destination, my eye was caught by another news story headline: “BlackBerry’s new Storm: first review“.  Before I could catch myself, my interest was tweaked and I was now tempted to divert my cursor to open this story first. 

I felt a great twinge of shame as I considered the vast contrast in the depth of these two news stories – right now on this planet 1 BILLION human beings are  being denied even the basic fundamentals of life … and yet my shamefully sheltered and consumer-driven mind was so easily diverted to seek out something so inconsequential as a review of the latest toy for the technologically addicted.

Needless to say, I did open the hunger news story first.  It is incomprensible and heart-breaking to hear that we as a planet of people have actually been backsliding since the mid-1990s in how many people we are allowing to go hungry.  

The article cites rising food prices and the global financial meltdown as factors contributing to why we, the richest nations in the world, have fallen short of our commitment set in 2000 to cut in half by 2015 the number who go hungry in this world. 

Oh dear, yes – the cost of my lattes and favourite Thai food have been skyrocketing.  And yes, I suppose many of us have been affected by the financial crisis, and yet there is still a market for a new BlackBerry Storm – a phone that not only includes a digital camera, a videocamera, an mp3 player, access to the internet, video games (and oh yes … phone capabilities), but now includes actual “clicking” when you type on the touchscreen keyboard …

How much did we spend on developing that feature alone when we know that EVERY 6 SECONDS a child dies of malnutrition in the world?? 

The cost to feed a family of six in Somalia has increased 85% in the past two years … it now costs them $171 per month for food.  A new BlackBerry Storm retails for $699 … if one were to resist the temptation to buy this one little “toy”, you could feed that family in Somalia for FOUR MONTHS.  Is there REALLY a choice?? 

 So what can we do?  In this article we read that “poor countries will need $44 billion in annual agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion, to increase access to irrigation systems and modern machinery as well as build roads and train farmers.”  

It seems so overwhelming … but for me, I think I will start by resisting some of the “little things” in this consumer-driven and hedonistic life – a latte here, a “time-saving” gadget there – and setting aside that money to give to organizations who provide such agricultural aid. 

And perhaps even more – I will take one day each week where I eat only what a Somali would eat for a meal, setting aside the money I would have spent on my regular daily intake of food to similarly go to such aid organizations. 

In the big picture I know it won’t make a huge difference.  But it may make a difference in me, and who knows where that might lead?   The smallest pebble dropped in a pond can create ripples that can travel to the farthest end of that pond – maybe if we all dropped our “pebbles” in this pond, we can create a tidal wave of change in our world?!

[P.S. - how ironic and sad ... when I went back to the Google news page to find the link to the hunger article, it was no longer there, though the BlackBerry one was.  World hunger obviously had already been judged as drawing significantly less interest from the reading masses than the latest technology gadget ... ]

a monk’s meal

Have you ever participated in a “monk’s meal”? It used to be a game at summer camps where campers were challenged to spend a whole mealtime in silence, with penalties assigned to those who broke the silence. In retrospect and having been a leader at a camp, I think it was just a ruse of the leaders to have one small oasis of peace and quiet in what is otherwise a very chaotic and noisy week of campers!

But it is based on the reality that in many monasteries, monks do eat their meals without speaking as part of their vows of silence in that lifestyle. I once attended a retreat at a convent where the nuns routinely eat their meals in silence. As retreat participants within the convent we were also required to eat our meals in silence. There is an eerie and sometimes disquieting (pardon the pun!) serenity about eating in a large dining room with about a hundred other diners, some who are good friends with whom conversation comes naturally, others whom you are just getting to know and would like to know more.

At first it is difficult to suppress the giggles as you exchange glances with people who are just as uncomfortable as you are in the silence. But as you continue to eat without other distractions, you gradually withdraw inwardly to focus on what you are eating, and can come away from the meal feeling more physically and emotionally satisfied than you do at a normal meal because of having given your full attention to your food.

This week I have taken some time away from the busyness of my own life to have a mini-retreat on my own. But I’ve realized this week that even though I regularly eat most of my meals alone, I rarely sit in true silence either physically or mentally. I am either watching TV, reading a book, working on my computer, doing a crossword puzzle or the like. So today I decided to have my own “monk’s meal”!

When I had my meal prepared and sitting before me, I sat and just looked at it for a few long moments, as I gave true heartfelt thanks to God for providing this meal for me, realizing how much I take my daily food for granted. Then as I sat and took in each mouthful, I deliberately focused on the taste combinations and really experienced how they stimulated the sensations in my mouth. As I sensed my tastebuds were fully activated, I realized how often I inhale a meal, often hardly even remembering what it tasted like.

Then as I chewed slowly, savouring the taste of the food, I could feel how the saliva glands were stimulated to provide saliva to infuse the food with moisture so it is more easily swallowed and digested. (Saliva actually begins the digestive process of breaking down food so that it can be absorbed and used effectively by the body. Because saliva is stimulated by the chewing action of the mouth, people like me who often “wolf down” their food physically do not give their body a chance to produce enough saliva to properly begin a healthy digestive process.)

As I savoured the whole meal in this way, I was reminded that I sometimes do my daily devotional time in the same way. When I sit down to do them, I am often not focused on doing them deliberately, slowly, chewing each piece carefully. Rather, I can be easily distracted by a phone call, a need to write out my to-do list for the day, or just generally rushing through to be able to say I’d done it, in order to get on with the rest of my busy day.

Starting tomorrow I am going to try to be more deliberate in my own devotional time to take time to chew thoughtfully and carefully, savouring each word and phrase of scripture, enjoying its flavour and stimulating the “juices” that will start a more fruitful digestive process.

My challenge to you today is to treat yourself to your own “monk’s meal”.

First, set aside one meal where you eat alone, in silence – both physically and mentally – and pay attention to all the sensations of your mouth. Prepare a meal that is one of your favourites. Pause before you begin to eat, to give thanks for the food provided. Notice how your mouth salivates even before the food has reached your mouth!

Then as you eat, focus on the tastes you sense, feel how the food feels as you chew and the tastes as they blend together. Observe how your mouth provides the juices to break down the food in your mouth. Pay attention to how with each mouthful swallowed, you begin to feel a bit more satisfied and then stop when you feel have been filled (it may be before you’ve finished the meal – that’s ok! Stop when you are full!) When you have finished, give thanks once again to God for his filling you with the food he has provided.

Then the next time you sit down to do your devotional time, read the assigned scripture passage in the same way you did when you ate your “monk’s meal”. Pause first with the scripture passage in front of you, giving thanks for this “food” that God has provided to you. Get a sense of how the anticipation of reading God’s word can actually make you “salivate” in your spirit! Then as you begin to read, do it slowly and deliberately, listening to each word and phrase, letting them settle into your heart. Imagine them being spoken by the original author – with what inflection? With what kind of tone? Read the passage several times like this. Even try reading it aloud, trying to put yourself into the original author’s head to speak the words as he might have spoken them.

Pay attention to whatever thoughts are stimulated as you read through the passage. (These may be the “juices” that actually help you “digest” the scripture over the course of the day!) Observe how your spirit begins to feel more “full” as you read though the passage, then stop when you feel “full”. If you are following a daily study guide in your devotional time, answer the questions that are provided. Then finally pause to just reflect on the passage and what you feel God has said or revealed to you, then give thanks to God for for his filling you with the food he has provided!

I suspect that if you and I were to make such meals a daily practice, we would actually begin to move towards becoming healthier in both body and spirit, as we savour and appreciate the food we more fully and effectively digest – let’s try it!

Bon appetit!

November is Prostate Awareness Month.

I support this important cause – you can too!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://ca.movember.com%2Fmospace%2F1630631

You gotta laugh …

Ok … God just has such a sense of humour … he KNOWS I hate flying, so when I had to book my flight to England, because I was travelling on a friend’s very generously donated Air Canada points, the only available flight over was on a connecting flight through Ottawa, which means twice as much anxiety for me! So this evening I board this TINY little plane for Ottawa, praying my way through it (as I hear the thunder rumbling in the distance), focusing on trusting him through it all … then we get the news over the intercom that the Ottawa flight has just been cancelled because of the weather, but they’re bumping us to the next flight an hour later!

Good that we’re not taking off in a thunderstorm, but it also means I have no chance of catching my connecting flight out of Ottawa to England! So now because of that, they have me booked on the DIRECT flight out of Toronto to Heathrow (which I’d really wanted in the first place!)
It leaves and arrives a bit later, but hopefully a little less stressful for the flying portions?! (but I’m not laughing yet … curious to see who my seat mate will be … my luck will be a parent with a colicky baby … ?!)

I have now travelled (literally!) from one entire end of terminal one to the other (must be at least a kilometre long). Thank God for moving sidewalks and a sense of humour …?! (not all the de-planing passengers were so gracious and thankful at the ticket desk.) I have now settled in to the International Executive Lounge for my second helping of greens salad with all the “fixin’s” and a bag of chips … Air Canada really splurges on its execs, eh?! (apparently my mom at the British Airways lounge had a full hot buffet to choose from?!)

will keep you all posted?! Hopefully no more blogging till I’ve feet firmly planted on British soil …

Thoughts on a new vision for the church

Whyte Total Personal Fitness on Main St. Markham has a slightly different slant than most other gyms on how to design and market a fitness facility.  Tim Whyte’s 20-year experience in the fitness industry has shown him that opening a gym and just passively offering the best equipment, the best environment, the best hours, the best location is not a key to longterm success – either for the gym or for the clients. 

 

Research in the fitness industry has shown that 80% of people who sign up for a gym membership never step foot in the facility to use it … not even once?!!  Of the 20% who do show up for their first visit, only 4% of them will become longterm clients.

 

At Whyte’s Fitness the statistics are the exact opposite – 80% of new clients remain with the gym on a longterm basis.  What is the key to their successful approach?  Their focus is not on gym membership (and in fact they only allow a very limited number of “passive” memberships at any given time) but on personal training. 

 

When you sign up with this gym, you are strongly encouraged to sign up for regular sessions with a personal trainer.  You pay for these sessions with the trainer and then there are no other gym fees – no initiation fee, no monthly membership, nothing.  Of course, the financial cost is greater because these services do not come cheap, but for someone who can afford it and is serious about getting in shape safely and reliably, the statistics show this approach to be the best way to do it.

 

Do you think that this sounds something like people’s experiences in the church?  I’d venture to say that perhaps 80% of people who have not yet found spiritual “fitness” have thought about seeking out some kind of spiritual input, but have never walked into a church … not even once.  And then I would bet that of those who have walked through the doors of a church with the best of intentions - looking for a way to find a connection to God - another large percentage of those come once or twice but then slip away in discouragement or confusion, because they don’t really know what to do, what all the “stuff” means, where to start, what the pitfalls are, how stay focused and encouraged through the tough times.

 

And we all know those who dive into it head first, full speed ahead with nothing that can stop them or slow them down.  They have great resolve and determination to do it all for God, and do, for a while.  But then along the way they get injured because they didn’t take the time to build up stamina and wisdom in the faith.  Whether it is a careless tongue, or an insensitive heart, it cuts them deep and they scurry away wounded and jaded and never return.  And so it is only a small percentage of those who do actually come in through our doors who stay for an extended length of time and develop a healthy level of spiritual fitness.

 

But what if as a church we offered and encouraged the same approach as Tim Whyte? (without the financial cost … but pointing out that there is a personal cost …)  When you “join” us in worship, we strongly encourage you to connect up with a “personal trainer.”  This person will get to know you, walk along side you, develop a “spiritual exercise” regimen at your level and pace, encourage you, challenge you, pray for you.  I would venture to bet we would begin to realize a much better “success” rate than we currently see.

 

Of course, this would be no easy task – we would need a strong core of us to be willing to get ourselves into top spiritual “shape” to be able to assume care and responsibility for 2-3 new Christians at a time.  Our spiritual focus would have to be on them, not us – we would need to create an environment that would best suit their needs, learning and worship styles so that they have the best chance for success.

 

But at the same time, we would also need to do what is needed to keep ourselves in top shape in order to be credible role models and mentors. In any “customer-oriented” organization, the focus always has to be on the customer, but a wise employer also provides a comfortable enough work environment and sufficient educational opportunities for its employees so that they are motivated, well-informed and healthy.  Healthy and happy employees generate and retain healthy and happy customers. 

 

And so in this model for a church, there is a symbiosis of intent – we move forward with a view to creating an environment that is best suited to effectively serving our “target market” while at the same time balancing that with creating enough space for comfort and growth in those who are the ones serving that market. 

 

So we who are “servants” in the church have a right and a responsibility to continue to stay fit and strive for greater fitness. But that fitness is not to be to the sole end in itself toward which we are to strive – we do it only so that we can best serve others and take joy in seeing their growth and developing their own fitness in the faith to eventually become “personal trainers” themselves. 

 

So lace up your spiritual joggers, Christians … we’re going for a run!

An Easter meditation video

You gotta love it …

Life is rich with irony and poetic justice.  Yesterday I had to laugh at life’s irony as children graduate into adulthood and have the tables turned on them. 

 Any of you who are parents have undoubtedly experienced times when children plead with you to let them do something with their friends and they try to con you by saying that “everyone else” has already been given permission to do it – implying that you are the last holdout and threatening them with mortal embarrassment by withholding permission.

Initially as a parent you sometimes naively cave to that pressure, rationalizing that if other parents have already given permission, it must have been considered carefully, and therefore is acceptable for you to comply.  (Of course, then when you meet up with those same parents when you drive your child to said event and compare notes, you come to realize that each of the friends have used the exact same strategy with their parents, and so the “group dupe” has once again been successfully executed!)

But yesterday I was treated to observing this classic in reverse, as a young adult was relating to me how they had been coerced into signing up for an “adult” event at our church by another parent telling her that their own daughter had already signed up. And so this young woman agreed to sign up … of course, only to talk to that daughter to find out that she had signed up only because she had been told by her father that the other girl had already signed up!!

 Ahhhh …. there is such a sweet justice in the world sometimes!

So I now have the first day of my first class of my M.Div. degree under my belt! Three hours of wondering if I’ll ever master all the terminology, the mental gymnastics of academia and the spiritual challenge of intense study of a book that has inspired the most courageous acts of love as well as having been used as a cowardly defense for the most despicable crimes against humanity.

The first half of the class was spent with mutual introductions of the instructor and the students and then going over in detail the format and expectations of the class as well as the assignments and grading. How wonderful to have my laptop with me and access to wireless internet right there in the classroom! (I got caught up on my e-mails while listening to all this information, thanks to the ability to “multi-task”!)

However, as the second half of the class began, we dived straight into the heart and soul of academic life. This lecturer is one who has taught this subject (Biblical Interpretation: Interpreting and Applying the Biblical Text) for many years and is passionate about it! Fortunately she is an excellent lecturer – animated and well-spoken – but as her understanding of the “lingo” is so-well entrenched, the words flowed fast and furious, and I was left daunted as I tried to capture electronically the wealth of wisdom pouring forth while also trying to process the concepts and applications. (There is NO time for e-mail or web-surfing now!)

It is envigorating as one of the deepest parts of my brain that has laid dormant for so long has begun to once again stir with activity and (neural) excitement. The last hour was one of a delicate dance between vigilance in taking in as much as possible of what was said and a myriad of springboards to other ideas and concepts in my head.

Yesterday I learned about “hermeneutics”, “appropriation theory”, “the post-modern interpretive situation”, “intrinsic textual constraints vs extrinsic contextual constraints”, and much more.

But the key word that I came away with for the day was tension. No, not in my mind or in my heart – but we learned about the dynamic tension that intrinsically exists between the reader and the text. To some extent such tension exists as one reads any work of literature. But in the case of the Bible – the God-breathed, God-soaked, living Word of our Creator – its existence is rooted not so much in the concrete, physical inscription upon paper, or even in the original conception and creation by its earthly authors. But its true existence lies in its tension between the reader and the text – in God’s transformation of the reader by engaging him or her in a metaphysical interaction of interpretation, absorption and re-creation of soul – the true meaning of the text, though conceived and inscribed centuries ago, is actually created through its interaction with the reader in the present.

And further, it was heartening to hear this long-time scholar acknowledge that such tension must continue daily as we read and re-read scripture, meditate and pray through it – meeting God in it and through it. She pointed out that studying and interpreting scripture is not solely a science – i.e., deconstructing it to arrive at an absolute meaning of its text – but is an art in its lifelong upward spiral of expanding one’s boundaries into ever-deeping and dynamic understanding of God’s intent in any passage.

And so the word for the day was tension. It is the one time I’ve ever felt joy in in this word, as I began to look forward to actively seeking this tension in my life!

A work in progress

Autumn is my favourite season of the year. Call me crazy, but I love it as the days gradually cool to the point where there is a hint of crispness in the air that gently tweaks one’s cheeks, and one needs to put on a light jacket and long pants to guard against the chill. I love to be wrapped up in a blanket by a crackling fire as the rain teems down on a dull, grey day, watching the leaves beginning to be blown from their summer resting place in the trees.

But most of all I love the rich colours – the plethora of shades of red and yellow and orange in the autumn leaves before they give in to nature’s call and fall to their final resting place on the hardening ground.

For the past week I have been up north in Muskoka. It is late August and just in the past three days the forest has started to become ablaze with its ripening colours. One day it was just shades of green and then suddenly – literally overnight – there have been pockets of flaming colour appearing throughout the greenery.

Perhaps it was that the previous day was just the right temperature of warmth coupled with a sudden shiver of cold in the night to set off the chemical chain reaction in the leaves to convert chlorophyll (which gives them their green hue) into those rich shades of red, orange and yellow. But whatever it is that triggers this miraculous transformation, it is always a thrill to witness this final sweep of God’s magnificent paintbrush in nature around us at this time of year.

As I sat and drank in this glorious colour yesterday – somehow heightened in its contrast to the drabness of a dark and rainy day’s pallor – I mused on how nature offers up this “last hurrah” of radiant beauty right before a part of it dies off. For me it certainly is the height of the beauty of a tree. Blossoms and freshly sprouted leaves are nice, but there is something much more exciting and vibrant to me in the brilliance of autumn colours.

With this, I also began to think of the nature of humankind. There is a freshness and an unbridled energy that comes with those who have just blossomed into adulthood, and they bring an unswerving enthusiasm and passion to life, but it is usually only those in their “middle years” who finally attain high positions such as presidents of countries or large corporations, having been tempered by longstanding experience and having learned wisely from years of observation and interaction in all kinds of situations. There is a brilliance of beauty in these later years that is not found in their younger counterparts.

And beyond such success we often see even greater humanitarian, diplomatic and political success. Certainly former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, as well as former vice-president Al Gore, have been shining examples of the “beauty” to be seen their mature statesmanship and greater accomplishments subsequent to what would have seemed to be the pinnacle of their political successes.

Similarly, it is only when one reaches grandparenthood that one finally arrives at the realization and true understanding that children will reach maturity safely and happily in spite of a parent’s rules and regulations and provision for them, rather than because of them. The wisest of grandparents also understand that children flourish best when they are delighted in and seen not just for who they are now, but for all the potential they hold in the future. There is no greater joy than to watch a grandparent gaze upon the children of their own children with unabashed adoration and complete true love!

Yet in spite of the fact that there seems to be a natural climactic peak for such wisdom, grace and inner beauty in the later years of life, we have sadly seemed to have become a culture that reveres youth and which almost desperately goes to extreme lengths to preserve (or perhaps mummify?) a physical youthful look.

How many of us have shaken our heads at the parades of television and film stars whose faces get tighter, eyes wider and motionless brows and upper lips slacker as they years move on. Their dread of the inevitable visible signs of aging ironically seems to take a greater visible toll on their spirit, and really does not recapture any essence of their youth – it only just tightly saran-wraps their aging bodies and yet seems to regresses them emotionally and spiritually.

How often I hear from those my age and older that they would never wish to return to their really youthful years (in spite of the disappearance of hair where it used to be, and the cruel appearance of it where it shouldn’t!) And though it can be physically frustrating as our bodies begin to set limitations on our stamina and strength, there is something in aging which is quite remarkably beautiful, if we allow it and recognize it within ourselves.

We have finally become comfortable in who we are and how we see the world. And there is beauty in the richness of life experience coupled with a softened heart that has learned to appreciate that everyone is unique, both in their strengths and in their flaws, and so is to be accepted and enjoyed just for who they are; beauty in the humility that has come from a lifetime of mistakes and disappointments that reminds one that they have no basis on which to judge others, joined with a newfound urgency in making each day and interaction with others meaningful and worthwhile, as one has a heightened sense that death is increasingly nipping at one’s heels.

So just as nature winds down the aging cycle with a masterful burst of rich and glorious colour, so we too as humans can look forward to not decline but to a richness of character and beauty that is not overshadowed by the fading of the physical, but is in fact somehow enhanced by it. These glorious colours in nature that now surround me remind me to look not at what no longer is and mourn its loss, but to marvel at a new richer beauty within – to give thanks and make the most of the timeless richness it can add to the world around and within me.

The transformation has just begun …