My Perogative?

Everybody’s talking all this stuff about me //
Now now why don’t they just let me live //
Oh oh oh i don’t need permission  //
Make my own decisions oh //
That’s my prerogative

-Bobby Brown, “My Perogative”, released 1988

I love road trips.

Hours in the car with friends or family can* be a wonderful thing.  Miles of road (err, kilometres?) can lead to all kinds of wonderful converstation, and insights.  Waaay to many nibs and chips, bladders that are ready to explode hours from the nearest bathroom, uncomfortable sleeping positions, license plate and headlight games, jokes that get funnier and and funnier the longer you’re in the vehicle together, and music.  Lots and lots of tunes…

… unless of course your ipod cable doesn’t work.

And you’re literally in the middle of nowhere.

Over the school winter break Melissa and I took a bunch of students to Invermere, BC to go snowboarding at Panorama Mountain (eat your heart out, Table.)  And it was just after rosetown that our radio signal faded away, and my vehicle was stuck with nothing.  Just the dial numbers screaming by as the seek button did absolutely nothing.  Of course, no one carries CDs anymore.  I offered to sing, but that didn’t get much response, so we chatted as we meandered our way through the fog towards Calgary.

By the time we we’re rolling in to Kindersly, the discussion of whether to just bite the bullet and pay gas station prices for a CD no one would agree on had started.  And was then forgotten after we left Tim Horton’s.  Shoot.

By Hanna we we’re desperate. WE. NEED. MUSIC.  After much discussion, and a thorough mathmatical evaluation of CD length we settled on two choices: Classic Rock GOLD dual album, and to their eternal credit as wise, musically savvy adolescents, Classic 80′s HITS GOLD.

Axel F may never be this popular again.

A few hours of (finally!) tunes later, we came across the Bobby Brown song, My Perogative.  First came the shock that it wasn’t an original Britney Spears song.  Then came the discussion around the lyrics.

We’ve been talking and teaching on relationships, sex, temptation, and a biblical understanding of purity, and holiness at SNR HI for the last month and the song captured the polarity of the hearts attitudes we can have.  Who makes the calls?  Can we really do whatever we want? Should we have the right to do whatever we want, regardless of what other people think?

And then came the really tough questions… I wonder if too often, we take the Bobby Brown approach

to our relationship with Christ?  Jesus, I want to follow you, but I also want to keep living my life the way I want, and I want control of who makes the decisions, and I have veto power.  Jesus, I want you to lead, but not if I don’t like the direction you’re leading.  Jesus I want to follow, but not if it’s going to cost something I want to hang on to.  Living a personal theology of “My Perogative” goes far beyond just choices of sex and dating.  Do we try and regulate God that way?

I once read that we tend to live as though we are giving God control of our own little kingdoms, but that there are still our kingdoms, whereas God’s desire is that we give up our little independent states and join him as a servants in HIS Kingdom.  He’s not interested in a shared power partnership.  He call us to give him complete control.

1 Cor 6 flies in the face of Bobby’s classic tune:

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. … You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. (v.2, 19b and 20).

And so, with Bobby Brown turned down so we could talk, in the middle of the badlands of Alberta, high on licorice and energy drinks, a bunch of high school students wrestled honestly with the authority of God in their lives.  How a submission to THE King flies counter-intuitive to our cultures self-sufficient, independent mentality.

I love road trips.

________________________

* I say “can” because I am fully aware that too many hours in the vehicle with a brother or little sister who is annoying you is excruciating, and behind forced to walk a kilometre down the highway with the family vehicle trailing behind with the flashers on like some bizzare

Terry Fox run is not super fun, and neither is having to do laps around the gas station because I won’t stop pestering my brothers.  So road trips weren’t always fun.  But hey, they are what you make of them!

Pastor’s Blog II.II

I went to church on Sunday and they do things different down here in Louisiana.  We just picked a church randomly and walked in.  There were 11 of us on a MDS (Mennonite Disaster Relief) project looking for a church to worship in.  Once we entered we knew we were in the minority.  Now there were 11 white visitors in an all black church service.  We took the back few rows but there would be no hiding on this particular Sunday.  When I am not at the church I pastor I love just being one of the crowd.  Today that would not happen.

In their enthusiasm for visitors they greeted us warmly and one of my crew decided to surrender the information that I was the Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Church.  An abundantly warm African American woman came over (from this point on when I refer to a conversation think strong southern accent) and said to me, “I hear you are Pastor Wilson!”  I wanted to lie but I agreed she was correct with the information she had received.  She proceeded to grab me and say, “Come on you must meet our pastor.”  I had already noticed that their pastor had a Dr. before his name.  She marched me into the back part of the church at which point in time I shared with her that I didn’t want to make a fuss.  “It’s no fuss at all, you must meet our pastor.”  We get to his office door, it is closed so she knocks and opens it.  She closed it quickly and said, “He’s with someone.”  I told her I would return to my seat and meet him later as I didn’t want to make a fuss.  Her reply was, “I told you it ain’t no fuss and if you say fuss again I will make a fuss and you don’t want to see that.”  I wanted to be in Saskatoon

She had a way about her that made me stay put.  We passed the time with her introducing me to the choir, the deacons and anyone else who happened to pass by.  Finally the door opened, a generous African American woman exited and we entered.  I need to give you a bit more information.  I am dressed in blue jeans, sandals, and an open collared short sleeve shirt.  Everyone else I have seen have been adorned in three piece suits, dresses and hats…lots of hats.  The pastor is wearing an expensive looking three piece suit and he asks me this question: “You are a pastor?”  He asked it like he wasn’t sure he had heard right.  I assured him he was right so he asked me to write down all my information.  As I was doing this I told him we were down here to help rebuild homes destroyed by the hurricanes.  He smiled and said, “You aren’t dressed for church, you are dressed for work.  I like that!”  (remember the accent)

He then asked if I wanted to address the congregation to which I replied, “Oh no I don’t want to make a fuss (Out of the corner of my eye I saw my new friend give me a look when I said the word “Fuss” once again and it sent a shiver up my spine)I am just here to worship God with you.”  He reviewed my information and I was dismissed from the Principal’s office wait, no I mean the Pastor’s office.  My new friend guided me back out into the congregation at which point I saw my crew grinning from ear to ear.  I didn’t like any of them at that moment.  Before I go any further I need to let you know the service was two and a half hours long.

At about the three quarters point there was an altar call.  A woman with a baby went forward and we waited for a while but she was the only candidate that morning.  The pastor asked her what she needed.  She said her baby was sick and she wanted prayer.  He interviewed her for us.  Her baby was sick but no matter how many doctors she had seen no one could help her.  The pastor talked for a while about the power of God to heal and there were a lot of amens at that point.  He decided to ask others to come forward to pray with as well as for this lady.  (At this point you may have an inclination of where this is going.)  After a bit the pastor asked more people to come forward.  After that the pastor asked the white folk to come as well.  Now the whole church is at the front with the white crowd at the back of the black crowd.  I am at the back of the white group so I am as far away from the action as I can be.  There is some singing, praying, lots of amens with a smattering of hallelujahs. 

The pastor takes this moment to announce that a pastor from Canada is here.  He then asks me to come forward as I was going to pray for the healing of the baby.  The Red Sea parts as the white folk and the black folk make way for the blue jean, sandal wearing pastor from Canada to come to the front.  I want to be in Saskatoon.  I will not go into the details of my prayer but I did generate a significant number of amens and hallelujahs.  The prayer ended with everyone going back to their pews.

The offering is next.  The pastor preached for fifty-five minutes before all this other action took place.  For the offering everyone goes forward.  I made sure I was putting cash in the box however the guy guarding the box seemed to watch me quite carefully as I dropped my cash into the offering box.  I went the wrong way at that point so one of the deacons corrected me.  I was glad to sit down.  Announcements were being made but the pastor was looking at me with a “come hither” look which I ignored three times.  He then called me by name to come forward.  I wanted to be in Saskatoon.  He introduced me royally to the assembled group to a smattering of applause and amens.  He then said I was going to share with the congregation.  I assumed my words to him in the office before the service had been misunderstood due to my accent because I was sure I told him I didn’t want to address the congregation.

I shared our mission to rebuild houses based on Matthew 25 when Jesus said that whatever you do unto the least of these you did unto me.  I shared that we were also helping out in Haiti which inspired another chorus of amens.  I kept my comments to a mininum but the pastor (A very large African American man who had been sweating profusely during his preaching) decided we should hug.  On a good day I may hug someone who is not a blood relative of mine but I am not a hugger by nature.  I was embraced by the pastor who was now quite wet.  I would have been happy with a hearty handshake.

The service was now over and I made a beeline for my rental car.  It was all to no avail.  The rest of the group save one other guy in the car with me were visiting with the church people for about another thirty minutes.  During this time I had several women come over to my driver’s side window to shake my hand and bless me.  Just as I thought it was done another woman came and handed me her phone number.  I have been married for over thirty years so I am not used to women handing me their phone numbers in parking lots.  She told me she wanted to bless us with making sweet potato pie or other sweet things for us.  She then asked for my phone number which I reluctantly gave to her.  She said just to call her when I wanted the pie or she would call me.  I suspect my phone will ring before the week is over and I will recognize the voice on the other end.

Church is a little bit different here.  I am really looking forward to getting back to Saskatoon but I will not forget the Sunday I worshipped in Louisiana.

CD Review – Steven Curtis Chapman, Beauty Will Rise

CD Review
Steven Curtis Chapman, Beauty Will Rise

Out of personal tragedy comes this very remarkable release from veteran artist Steven Curtis Chapman.  Its been a long time since an album has affected me quite like this one has.  In terms of production it has a very intimate and raw feel.  They seem to have left some of polish off of this one, and yet we are rewarded as listeners with a warmth and honesty that comes through in every note.  Musically it is also excellent.  The songs are also really well written, and very creative.  It isn’t a standard rock band style of album, instead taking a more minimalistic approach to instrumentation and arrangement.  Somehow they seem to do more with less.  Lyrically, it has some very dark moments, and there is a tremendous honesty in grappling with both personal pain, and the problems of pain and suffering in the world.  In the face of such big questions Steven continuously goes back to God.  The personal tragedy is somehow enlarged to look theologically at the whole world through the eyes of God.  What’s amazing in this album is that we don’t get answers, instead we receive glimpses, glimpses of the glory of God and His work and His plan.  It’s really remarkable and precious to be able to listen to art like this and have your picture of God enlarged, and be instilled with a greater sense of His glory.  This is a great dose of hope.  I don’t know how he could even sing and play this, yet he does it with such integrity and artistic excellence.  Take time to really stop and listen to this album.

Reviewed by Lorn Gieck

Pastor’s Blog II.I

I think I have stumbled onto or am stumbling onto a theme for 2010.  In 1988 the sports company, Nike, established their catchy motto: “Just Do It” which they actually used for 10 years.  It was cute, memorable and it sold mechandise like nothing they had ever used before.  Just do it was the slogan of the decade.  I am looking at something similar in attitude for Cornerstone.

We started the year in Matthew 25 where we are told that the difference between the sheep and goats will be what they did or did not do for “the least of these.”  I haven’t stop thinking about that phrase since then.  Whatever you did for the least of these you did for me says Jesus.  Whatever you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me.  Doing seems pretty important to our God.  Some 2,000 plus years later I am not sure it is as important to the evangelical church.

In Acts 16 when the jailor asks Paul and Silas what must he do to be saved they reply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”  I mean Paul said it under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit so how can you go wrong when you repeat that little gem?  Just believe in Jesus.  I believe many people have agreed with that to a point and have stated they believe in Jesus.  However, in scripture belief also affects action.  In fact I would suggest to you that if your belief does not affect how you live (action) perhaps you don’t believe what you say you believe.  This brings us back to our passage in Matthew 25.  If I believe in Jesus then I will live as Jesus calls me to live.  Jesus asks this question in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?”

I am looking for suggestions for a theme or lotto or slogan that relates to these verses.  Something akin to Nike’s “Just do it” because that speaks to what we should be doing as a church body.  We should be doing it, not just talking but doing.  Not announcing what it is we believe but living what we believe.  James 1 is a good place to visit as well.  “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”  I think James was a little bent out of shape about this issue.  He also penned this idea: “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” 

This is crucial to our spiritual development.  We must be a church that does it…whatever it is that God calls us to do.  I am not even slightly interested in having booming Sunday attendances if there is no corresponding action with that attendance.  Action has to be at the root of what we are about as a church family.  It is in the action that we really live out what we believe.  I believe God is calling us to be this church of action.  I get totally stoked when I imagine the possibilities of impacting/changing our world as our church gets motivated to act.

So, bring them on.  Let me hear your suggestions for our slogan/theme/motto for the coming year.  I need your help!