THE COST OF CONVENIENCE

My family recently got a second vehicle. We had stayed with one vehicle for both financial and philosophical reasons. Financially, car loan and insurance payments need to find a place in the monthly budget, but more significantly, we realized that for 95% of our life, we can adjust quite well to having just the van (with four kids, we were forced to have a van): walking, bike riding, the occasional rental car all suited us well.

The move to a second vehicle was actually motivated by the fact that the van is already eight years old and has a whack of kilometres behind it. We couldn't imagine having to finance another $30K van in the next couple of years. We need room for six people when the whole family travels together, but the reality is that most of the time, we don't need that many seats. So a small car would be more practical as our main vehicle and we would use the van when we needed the space or if we absolutely had to be in two places at once.

The new car is a bottom of the line 1.6L manual transmission import. No bells or whistles. The van on the other hand has power windows and locks and mirrors, air conditioning and cruise control. In the car, if you want to control your speed, you need to use your foot; it you want the windows or mirrors moved, you turn a crank. It it's too hot, roll down the window and suck on an ice cube.

All the 'extras' that the van has are to make life easier and more convenient. Today, the driver's side window went down but didn't want to go back up. There is no manual override, no 'back up' crank. So, it's off to the mechanic because winter weather also arrived today. The cost of convenience - a few hundred dollars for a new tiny motor to save me the trouble us moving my hand in a circle for 20 seconds.

Bring back the horse and buggy.

MAKING DECISIONS

This past weekend, the Very Rev Bill Phipps, former Moderator of the United Church, reminded me (and others at the Northern Region Symposium) that it is important that the decisions we make (as individuals, as the church, as governments, as communities, etc.) cannot be only focused on the short-term, we have to think about what kind of future we want and need.  He invited us to change the focus of we want to impact by our decisions.  So echoing what Bill was talking about ...

• Think of the youngest child in your life: your child or grandchild, a relative or friend's child, a neighbor.  Think of the youngest child in your life.
• She is worthy of life, isn't she?  He is worthy of a future, isn't he?  And wouldn't you say that he/she has 'done nothing to make themselves unworthy' of the best that is possible for her/him?
• What if we made every decision based on what was in her/his best interest?
• How would that change the way we govern?  How would that impact how we relate to the world in which we live?  Would we be so intent on wars over ideology and wealth?  Would we insist on burning every giga-Joule of fossil fuel in the next 100 years until all that which took millions of years to develop is gone forever?  Would we continue to believe that a growth-at-all-costs based ecomony serves us all?  Serves this child?
• We can't blame him/her for the problems we have created?  But if we truly cared about her/him and her/his future, what would we do about it?

THE GIANTS WIN THE SERIES ...

Last night the San Fransico Giants won the world series for the first time since the team moved from New York.  It was like both an historically significantly moment and a completely new thing, at the same time.

This past weekend, all three levels of Camrose Buffalo minor football teams won semi final games and are heading into league championship games in a few days.  Camrose minor football has never won a championship before.  In fact, for most of their 5 or 6 year history, bufallo teams have struggled to get any wins.  It is great to see progress.  Now in sports usually an 'up' is associated with a 'down'.  This year it was my son's team in Leduc's turn to have a winless season.

Life lessons all around!  In our history, in new experiences.  It has always been that way in the realm of faith.  Thank God for the season we are in and that we are not alone.

AUTHENTICITY

23 years ago, it all started to make sense.  That is when I first learned that I could be labelled "ISFJ".  I had resisted the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator for a while.  My friends who had taken the 'test' seemed to be so excited about it.  I faked my way through the laughs over such lines as 'you are such a P' or 'I can't do that I'm an S'.  Frankly, I didn't like the way people seemed to use the types as excuses, either for themselves or for others.  I wanted people to have to take me as I was - and not make assumptions about me.

After I took the test, I understood how the results could be abused the way I had experienced, but I also saw the light that countered that dark side.  I finely understood why it was possible that given the same data and the same choice-options that people could come up with difference decisions.  There was not necessarily right way or a wrong way, but perfectly valid different ways based on different personalities.  I also paid close enough attention to learn that no type is absolute - that they simply indicate preferences - our natural way of acting and behaving if we have the opportunity to follow 'our best' path.  Everyone lives in and out of their type.  It's just harder when we have to go against our preferences.  And so I resisted the dark side and avoided limiting people to their types.  But it did help me understand why people's first and natural reactions were the way they were.  And I understood myself better.

My original goal still stood.  I still wanted to authentic.  My type doesn't dictate how I will act or behave, it comes out of me.

Jesus invites us to live authentically - to avoid hypocrisy and embrace honesty.  Authenticity is being true to one's self.  Being an authentic person is living openly as who you are.  Now MBTI reminds me that people exist on a long continuum between introversion and extroversion, so for some 'open' will be more or less obvious to the rest of the world.

Given that, I believe that being authentic is to live in such a way that others will be able to see what you believe is important.

FUNNY? HOW?

In Martin Scorsese's, Goodfellas, Tommy DiVito, played by Joe Pesci, reacts to Henry Hill's (Ray Liotta) comment that he's "funny", with one of the most memorable scenes in that movie: "I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to [bleep]in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?"  Henry was trying to compliment Tommy for his ability to tell an entertaining story and was forced to wonder if he had just insulted his fellow wise guy - not a wise thing to do.

I know a guy who is an aspiring semi-professional comedian.  He and I were talking recently about how religion is a common topic for some of his colleagues.  My friend has been bothered by some mean-spirited, volatile routines he hears from time to time, that seem to denigrate all religious activity, leaving no room for any value in a spiritual life.  So he came to me for advice on developing a routine that valued religion.  He asked, "what can I say to counter these guys?"  That's a hard thing for me to do, we religious types do provide a lot of valuable material for comedians.  I suspect that the basis of some of these anti-religion routines fairly respond to some of the worst parts of religion.  As my favorite folk singer, David Wilcox reminds us, "there will always be a good man in the worst sense of the word." 

I am a bit worried about how I can help my comedian friend, but I am also honoured, because, humour is a powerful spiritual tool.  I am trying to think about the funny parts of what people assume we religious types believe and see if I can enlighten my friend's audience through this routine he wants to develope.

All I have so far is a start:
I know this guy who is a minister in a church.  I doubt that you would have ever heard of him.  He doesn't wear a polyester suit and a toupee on TV; and he's not making many headlines: he only sleeps with his spouse and he doesn't have five cadillacs purchased with the life savings of some naive old lady.  I asked him, 'Is it hard being a minister when religion isn't as popular as it used to be?  He said, 'it is actually a great time to be a minister because, no body is forced to believe in God anymore.  They either do or they don't.  Thank God people have to actually think for themselves when it comes to religion.'   He said that the biggest problem with the modern state of religion is that too many people are taking things literally and not enough are taking it seriously.  Just because someone writing in the Bible a few thousand years ago called God, "him" doesn't mean that we have to picture this old man with a white beard, covering up a "heavenly package" under his robes.  I never thought I'd hear a minister say, 'It was a nice idea for God to make people in God's image, but that doesn't mean, we have to imagine God in  a speedo'.

Got any other ideas for me of how to speak about a 21st century inclusive theology in a humourous way?

WE USUALLY GET WHAT WE DESERVE

In less than two weeks, it will be time for the triennial municipal elections in Alberta. In about a month, there will be mid-term elections in US. Each time the 'signs' come out I am frequently amazed how often someone is running against something rather than for something. Granted local elections seldom get ugly, but they can.

As a confessed cable news junky (US and Canada and BBC), I have been watching with fascination the US political scene. Voter anger, mistrust of established candidates, ya betcha!

We, voters are perfectly allowed to be upset with the direction our political leaders may have taken us. But we need to be rational and reasonable and realistic. Anger, by the very chemistry of the body, lacks reason. Which one of us has not experienced anger only to be filled with regret when 'cooler heads' prevail. It's a chemical reality of the way our brains work. Anger is a lousy decision making tool.

If we choose to use anger with our ballot, we will get the results we deserve, but they may not be what we need.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB?

Change? You can't change that lightbulb, my grandmother donated that lightbulb!

As I preached on Sunday, "Churches can be places of deep history. It is part of the nature of church - we are keepers of an ancient sacred story. But there is a danger when we live in the past. Because in every way that truly matters, we don't. "The time is now." It always is." And yet we value where we have come from and we honour those parts of our past that continue to inspire and have relevance for today.

Sometimes the honouring of the past is at odds with ministry in the present. For the past year or so, I have taken the lead in introducing and using projected images and words during the Sunday worship experience. It has been an intentionally measured process. I began with a borrowed projector, projecting the words to a couple of hymns on Christmas Eve two years ago. It freed up people's hands from the hymnbooks, so they could more safely hold candles - a tradition that we did want to have to set aside. It was a wonderful mix of the history and the modern meeting.

The next summer, on behalf of the church, I purchased a projector for a special Sunday service and began using it here and there for the past year. For many people, especially those who are involved in the formal decision making in the church, this was widely supported. And yet, I still am carrying this 'project' (so to speak). Because of me, there is some form of projection every Sunday that I am here. I do all of the prep work (creating the slide shows) as well as the button-pushing on Sunday mornings. I must admit it has been a challenge playing guitar and changing slides at the same time. The only help that has ever been offered has come from my children. But I'm okay with where things are for now. I know that I am pushing an envelope here and that if I stop pushing too soon, the envelope will simply reshape itself.

Things are at the point where I am testing the will of the congregation to make the projection system more fixed (right know, the projector sits on a small table and projects up on to a wall). Now history and modernity are clashing. Every thing has a time and purpose under heaven. that seems also to be true at the front of our sanctuary. Do we make a structural change and move some things to new places to make room for a screen? Do we give up wall space (that has been used for painstakingly and beautifully made banners? Are we worshiping the things of our past? Are we replacing that with worship for the latest technology to ascend upon the United Church?

This church went through a similar displacement process a few years back when one of our rooms was given up to create an accessibility ramp. The nursery moved, the choir lost their room, the office was used and then cleared out for a student minister. Eventually new file cabinets and remodelled cupboards in one of the multi-purpose rooms was to be the final step. And yet, just in this past week, I heard some words of discontent about how things aren't as good as desired.

Change is challenging. I am trying to lead some change. At this point, the line up behind me isn't very long. Ah well, I'll focus on what's ahead.