Kevin Seguin6 minute read  I had a conversation with a family member, she was talking about the difficulty she was having finding a new rental home for her Girl Guide troop. The problem she was having was that some of the churches she was approaching were asking so much money that the troop couldn't afford to rent any of them. One church even asked for a cut of the Girl Guide cookie money. That’s right, they wanted a cut of the cookie dough. I was flabbergasted by this. I mean, are you kidding me? A cut of the dough? A piece of the action? This is not the kind of language traditionally associated with churches. Now, of course, I understand that churches have operating costs when it comes to owning and managing a building, particularly a building that would be large enough to host a scout or girl guide troop. However, I really have a problem with churches who see this as an income stream for them as opposed to an opportunity to love and serve their community. My own policy is to charge some nominal fee or a donation, the amount of which can be determined by the organization. Churches: you aren't here to make money, you are here to love and serve your neighbours, even the ones you disagree with. Especially the ones you disagree with. I understand that there are considerations when a group asks to use church facilities. The Girl Guides in Canada have been linked by some within the Evangelical right to pro-choice groups and I can understand the discomfort that churches might feel in indirectly supporting a group that might, organizationally, hold to a pro-choice position. Two things about that discomfort: first, it should exist in far more than just the abortion debate. As Christians, most of what the secular world does ought to be at least a little bit discomforting. Matt Chandler uses the phrase “holy discontentment” Essentially, this is the idea that there's a base-level discontentment that we should have with the world, with the way the world is because it is not yet the way it ought to be. Sin still exists and permeates everything around us, death still exists, and people chase happiness rather than Jesus. If you really want to shelter yourself from the reality of moral issues like abortion in North America, you're going to have to find a pretty big rock and it's really hard to be salt and light to an outside world from inside a cave. Sheltering ourselves from those with whom we disagree is actually the opposite of the mission Jesus put us on. We are called to be salt, light, and good witnesses for Jesus in a world that has rejected him and his mission and values. We can't do that if we say no, if we disengage from people who hold views that are in opposition to ours. I'm not saying that we ought to open our doors and invite in groups that are in direct opposition to Christ, but really, the Girl Guides? Scouts Canada? Ultimate Frisbee leagues? Indoor Quidditch teams? This isn't about income for churches, this isn't about standing up for what we believe in, this is about the mission we are on, and how we are perceived by those we are called to love. Churches, love your neighbours; let them use your space.  As a Biblical conservative, a cultural Liberal, a husband, a dad, and a pastor, I want to see the church act differently in the world. My big passion in ministry is to see how believers can bring the Gospel into the world around them while pursuing the lost art of winsomeness. It is what fuels me and drives me to write. Engaging culture with the truth of the Gospel in a way that is winsome, wise, and as Colossians 4:6 directs us: “seasoned with salt.” It’s my hope that what I say here helps you not only in your own faith, but helps you share it more effectively and fruitfully.
Comments
Drake de long-farmer8 minute read  When it came to naming our firstborn son, it wasn’t easy. We had been talking about names for years and so we had plenty of time to refine the process and come to something we both agreed on and loved! Actually, we had two names picked out. One for a boy and one for a girl. We were set! When my wife was pregnant for the second time, we were not as prepared. We had a girl named picked out and so 50% of the work was done. I think secretly we hoped that we would have a girl this time and wouldn’t need to worry about picking another name that we both loved and could settle on. So, this time around we decided we wanted to find out in advance and when we found out we were having another boy we realized we needed to get back to work. Life with our first baby made things much more chaotic and being able to find time to refine a name was a bit more complicated. Also, we had spent so much time on our firstborn son's name that we had actually vetoed a lot of the original options already crossed out. So the pool of options was a lot more limited this time around. Why is picking names so hard? Why do we spend so much time toiling over it? Because there is something about a name, isn’t there? It is so much more than a declaration to get someone’s attention. It is part of our identity, who we are, how people see us and how we see ourselves. It is a huge part of how people identify us through our IDs and our lives are attached to our names. You can’t buy a house without a name or get a driver's license for that matter. You are attached to a particular family and heritage, and ultimately our names are intimate parts of who we are. We may not spend a lot of time thinking about it, but our names are so much more than random letters put together to form a declarative word. Let’s take this a step further. Names have specific meanings too. When we named our children, we didn’t simply chose names that sounded nice to us, but we looked into the meaning of each name we were considering. Each name had a meaning and each meaning had weight. Besides, our children would carry these names for the rest of their lives. As you can suspect, we did settle on a name for our second born. Elijah LaJoie. Elijah is a hebrew derivative, אֱלִיָּהוּ (Eliyyahu). It is actually two words put together Elohim (Eli) and Jehovah (Jah), which means: My God is YAHWEH (LORD). LaJoie is actually the maiden name of my grandmother which is a French derivative which means: The Joy. So, combined, my sons name means: ‘My God is YAHWEH the Joy’ or ‘My God is YAHWEH my Joy’. I even have a nickname for my little man, JAHJOIE, which would read, in short, God-Joy. Our little man bears the name that reminds us that our heavenly Father is both our God and our joy! Now, isn’t that an amazing name and an amazing reminder? God had the amazing habit, in the Bible, to give people new names. It not only signified a moment of change and transformation in someone's life but the new name gave them a new identity. The new name meant something! God changed Abram's "high father" name to “Abraham,” "father of a multitude" (Genesis 17:5) and his wife's name from “Sarai,” “my princess,” to “Sarah,” “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15–16). God also changed Jacob's "He grasps the heel. Supplanter" name to “Israel,” "God-wrestler" (Genesis 32:28). As well, Jesus changed Simon's "Hear, Listen" name to “Peter,” "Stone, Rock" (John 1:42) The bible calls us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) and with this state comes a new identity and with this new identity comes a new name! No longer are we guilty but forgiven (Hebrews 8:12; Romans 8:1-39). No longer are we slaves to sin but free in Christ (Romans 6). No longer dead but alive in Jesus (Colossians 2:13). No longer a mess but God’s great masterpiece (Ephesians 2:1-10). The real question is, how do you identify yourself? Or better yet, whom defines you?  Drake is the Founder of boldcupofcoffee.com and serves as Executive Pastor at gateway.ac as well as being an avid speaker, writer and leadership coach/consultant.
Drake is passionate about seeing people thrive and come alive. To BELONG, wrestle with what they BELIEVE and BECOME people FULL OF LOVE, FUELLED BY FAITH, and ADDICTED TO HOPE. Drake is also a life learner and loves being challenged to think deeper and grow further. One of his favorite things to do is spend a good amount of time in a good café or coffee shop with a good book or engaging conversation. To be able to share in someone else's journey and experience is always a pleasure and honor. You can also connect with him at your personal page at drakedelongfarmer.com. To read more articles by Drake, simply click here. Charlotte O8 minute read  Do you think in centimeters or inches? Celsius or Fahrenheit? Why? Because that’s how you were raised. I think my generation is kind of at an intersection between the two in Canada, as I remember my parents referring to the imperial system growing up, but learning the metric system in school. Currently I live in a country where it’s all metric, but work with a lot of Americans, who, well, have a hard time converting despite being in the minority. It’s quite amazing how certain things stick in our brains simply through environment and repetition. As humans, we are resistant to change. Take something as insignificant as a store name for example. Maybe a local shop changes ownership. However most people in the neighborhood will still stubbornly or subconsciously continue referring to the old name, much to the confusion of newcomers. I’ve often wondered if it will take an entire generation for that new shop to be called by the name on its current sign, only to be continued onto the next even when that sign changes again. These small examples are a microcosm of our faith and worldview. In North America we might refer to denominations. For example if someone was raised United or Episcopalian, they may have very different views of God, church and society than someone who was raised Baptist or Pentecostal. Now let’s expand that even further. Someone growing up in a primarily Buddhist country will have radically different views not only of society or worship, but the very nature of God and humanity. So how and why does ‘conversion’ take place? And what does it look like? In reality it’s very likely that most people will remain in a faith tradition similar to what they were raised with, or if they change religions, will still interpret or practice much of their faith in ways that somehow connect or resonate with those deeply ingrained traditional values. And yet, we have a God who surpasses tradition, culture and even the language in our brains. We have a God who meets us where we’re at, and transforms lives. Let’s go back to the temperature illustration for minute. As a good Canadian kid, I remember the rule for whether or not I could wear shorts to school was if it was 10 degrees Celsius by 8am. This is shocking to my Taiwanese counterparts who are bundling in their thickest down coats if the temperature dips below 20. And now that I’ve been here for over a decade, I do feel 10 degrees as cold. Climate differences aside, I find this concept fascinating. The number on the thermometer is absolute. It doesn’t change. It is the truth. It is 10 degrees outside in Canada and in Taiwan and in New Zealand and in Michigan. However, our experience of that is very different depending on our context. We all see the world through lenses we may not even be aware of. And I absolutely believe some things are true and unchanging, like God. And yet. Experiences of the divine are different. Interpretations of how to live out one’s faith are different. Theories of what exactly Jesus did on the cross are different. But one thing never changes: He did it for us as a great act of divine power, love, mercy and redemption. It can be hard for us to discern what is tradition and what is truth. But it is so worth it to hold space for other views and look for the reality, the truth, the principle behind and through all experiences of the divine. Lending validity to the story of others is a starting point for communication, and maybe even conversion. We may even find ourselves inspired by the richness of other traditions while still living out of the truth of who we are and what we believe about God.  Charlotte is on the Editorial team at boldcupofcoffee.com and currently works with a non-profit organization in Taiwan where she teaches, leads English Bible studies, writes educational materials, trains teachers, poses for pictures, and a bunch of other stuff too. She is originally from Canada, spending significant amounts of time in all three westernmost provinces and the idea of home has become quite fluid. She has learned that life overseas is not as exotic as people may think, but life with God is a daily adventure.
Drake De Long-Farmer10 minute read  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom 8:37) Have you ever read these verses and thought “man I wish that was true in my life!” If so, you are not alone. There seems to be a disconnect between what we believe is true and actually seeing that truth become a reality in our lives. There are many factors of why this divide exists but I want to simply touch on one: We need to actually want to change and believe that change is possible! Now bear with me. I know I will only be scratching the surface of this topic in a blog post but if this article gives you but a glimmer of hope that change is possible, then I think that would be something worth celebrating. Maybe you are thinking “Who wouldn’t want to see change and victory in their lives?” But as with most things, it isn’t that simple. My friend Charlotte posted this online and I think it hits the nail on the head:  Change is never an easy thing because change involves killing old things, making sacrifice, healing old wounds, and involves the unknown. Change is hard work, it is scary, it involves facing the people and things that victimized us as well as the demons of our own making. Or maybe for some of you, you have this insatiable desire for change but all the efforts in the world have failed, and you are tired of trying any longer and have lost all hope. No matter the situation you are facing, in the end, it has to be you that wants to change. I suspect you don’t actually wants to live in a state of hopelessness. The questions is: Are you willing to be the change needed to see that breakthrough, no matter what? This is what I call being sick and tired of being sick and tired. For many of us it isn’t when we get to the point of being sick and tired of the hopelessness but it is when we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of the hopelessness that we actually start moving towards living the life of being Addicted To Hope. One of the biggest hurdles in this is actually believing such a change is possible. One of the most basic steps for addicts to move towards freedom and victory is simply believing that change is possible. Please track with me on this. I know this sounds a bit too simple but it is true. While studying the impact of groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, researchers were intrigued by the success rate that such a program had. Many factors played into why. But a hinge step in seeing a start towards movement forward was the idea that if a person could simply believe that change was even possible it could become a sort of domino effect in actually realizing that change. The simple phrase “If Joe can do it, maybe I can” has such a simple power to it that it creates a chain reaction in the person's mind and ability to actually take the risk to try. Add the momentum of things like one’s higher power, easy wins for continued motivation, support networks of meetings and mentors, changing and rewiring of habit loops, and the inner spirit of the personal will and the person who was previously controlled by their addiction has the some of the beginning building blocks to finding a new found freedom and power to see real change and success in their life. But it all started with the anchoring truth that change is possible and believing that something new and different could be accomplished. This is reality of faith being hope in the things unseen. To be clear, I am not saying it will be easy, it takes hard work but all the hard work in the world will fail if you have already resolved in your mind that it will fail. But if we are able to cling to the desperate idea that change could be possible, it could be just enough to spark the small flame needed to get the fire started in your mind, soul, and spirit. Take a second to pray and ask God to help you see this. And better yet, have him reveal to you the things that may be blocking you from believing that change could be possible. Don’t rush this, it could be the difference between seeing the change you so desperate want and continuing to be stuck in the cycle of hopelessness you so desperately want to be free of. If you are unsure of where to start, I would recommend picking up the book Soul Care by Dr. Rob Reimer. It is not only chock full of truth and principles to help in this journey but real practical steps in actually getting there. I can’t recommend this book enough!  Drake is the Founder of boldcupofcoffee.com and serves as Executive Pastor at gateway.ac as well as being an avid speaker, writer and leadership coach/consultant.
Drake is passionate about seeing people thrive and come alive. To BELONG, wrestle with what they BELIEVE and BECOME people FULL OF LOVE, FUELLED BY FAITH, and ADDICTED TO HOPE. Drake is also a life learner and loves being challenged to think deeper and grow further. One of his favorite things to do is spend a good amount of time in a good café or coffee shop with a good book or engaging conversation. To be able to share in someone else's journey and experience is always a pleasure and honor. You can also connect with him at your personal page at drakedelongfarmer.com. To read more articles by Drake, simply click here. |
