The final Harry Potter book is out at midnight. I have a confession to make. I've read none of them. I started to watch the first movie and fell asleep about 10 minutes in. I know nothing of the characters and outside of the title and the author's name, I know nothing about what makes this series such a cultural phenomenon.
But I have read many articles by Christians about why to boycott this series. "It's witchcraft in disguise." "We're taking the spiritual realm too lightly." "It's from Satan."
Let's get something straight. It's a novel. And while I am the first to agree that we (meaning Christians) don't acknowledge the spiritual realm enough in our everyday lives, not EVERYTHING out there is from the devil. Sometimes, things that are popular out there in society are neutral or good in and of itself. I know the verse that says that anything that is not for God is against Him. But before you quote that, have another look at what it says and who it's written to. The church generally jumps all over anything that is popular in culture. (but that's another blog altogether)
Imaginations are a great thing. CS Lewis understood that and used it well. So did Jesus in his teaching. They are a part of us that unfortunately we lose when we "grow up". But imaginations are precursors to dreaming and dreaming is a precursor to hoping. Let's take God seriously but ourselves lightly. To think that there is a world bigger than ourselves is quintessential Christianity. Why don't most of us understand heaven? Probably because we've forgotten how to imagine a world beyond what we can see and touch.
JK Rowling isn't writing Scripture. It's just fun escapism. But it puts us in touch with a God given part of ourselves that is unique, exciting and made in the image of God - our imaginations.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
developing trust
"Police charge Scout leader with sexually assaulting boy" is the headline in the T-C today.
With increasing regularity, these headlines seem to be in front of us. It's hard to know whether these awful occurrences are more common today or are just more publicized and public. There is probably a bit of both.
Children are so innocent. So willing to trust others and give of themselves. They assume the best in people and assume that everyone likes them until told otherwise. They are special and know that what they bring to this earth is different than anyone else out there. There's a marvel that children have at the world around them. A spider web is as mysterious and awe inspiring as the grand canyon. They simply take life as it comes.
That's why it's so hard for us to read these headlines. Someone has robbed these children of their innocence. They will never see the world that way again. Instead, they will see the world as a dangerous place and see the negative in other's they meet. The wonder of everything will be replaced by fear. And heaven forbid, these children grow up with the worldview that people can be exploited and its every person for themselves.
How do we as Christians regain our childlikeness when the world - or others - have robbed us of our innocence and trust? Does the new creation that God promises for us in 1 Corinthians mean that we can can regain the simplicity of a child? Can our hearts become that soft to God again?
With increasing regularity, these headlines seem to be in front of us. It's hard to know whether these awful occurrences are more common today or are just more publicized and public. There is probably a bit of both.
Children are so innocent. So willing to trust others and give of themselves. They assume the best in people and assume that everyone likes them until told otherwise. They are special and know that what they bring to this earth is different than anyone else out there. There's a marvel that children have at the world around them. A spider web is as mysterious and awe inspiring as the grand canyon. They simply take life as it comes.
That's why it's so hard for us to read these headlines. Someone has robbed these children of their innocence. They will never see the world that way again. Instead, they will see the world as a dangerous place and see the negative in other's they meet. The wonder of everything will be replaced by fear. And heaven forbid, these children grow up with the worldview that people can be exploited and its every person for themselves.
How do we as Christians regain our childlikeness when the world - or others - have robbed us of our innocence and trust? Does the new creation that God promises for us in 1 Corinthians mean that we can can regain the simplicity of a child? Can our hearts become that soft to God again?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Grey matters
Big surprise! Canada is getting older and older and BC is one of the retirement meccas in Canada. I don't think any of us needed a census to tell us that society is getting older and the number of children per family has decreased in the last 20 years. The average woman now lives 82.5 years and man 77.7 years. Add to that the migration of elderly into Canada (particularly out west) where the climate is mild and you can see why our median age is 40.8.
That doesn't sound far off from our church demographics. As a church we complain about how our congregations are aging and children aren't as prominent as they once were. But that's society at large! We say that we have to offer more ministry to seniors because they are more prominent than they once were. That's society as well!
So here's a couple questions I have. How do we do ministry in a culture of recreation and retirement that we have here on the island? With people generally marrying later and having less children (or having them later in life), does the church need to provide for more inclusivity to singles, marrieds without children? (the church is VERY geared around marrieds and places a high value on families and if you ask an adult, single, childless person, they will tell you that the language and activities of the church can be quite exclusive!) Does seniors ministry need to change/improve? How do we provide better opportunities for a mixing of the ages? (not only has our average gotten older as a society but our age range has also greatly increased!)
That doesn't sound far off from our church demographics. As a church we complain about how our congregations are aging and children aren't as prominent as they once were. But that's society at large! We say that we have to offer more ministry to seniors because they are more prominent than they once were. That's society as well!
So here's a couple questions I have. How do we do ministry in a culture of recreation and retirement that we have here on the island? With people generally marrying later and having less children (or having them later in life), does the church need to provide for more inclusivity to singles, marrieds without children? (the church is VERY geared around marrieds and places a high value on families and if you ask an adult, single, childless person, they will tell you that the language and activities of the church can be quite exclusive!) Does seniors ministry need to change/improve? How do we provide better opportunities for a mixing of the ages? (not only has our average gotten older as a society but our age range has also greatly increased!)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
What are we about?
Thrifty Foods got sold yesterday to Sobeys. The deal was worth 260 million dollars but the amazing part of this story is that Thrifty's is owned by 1 guy - the guy that started the company 30 years ago. Most of the time, sales of corporate companies makes headlines. But the general public doesn't usually care. But Thrifty's being sold has generated a lot of public conversation because, among many things, Thrifty's was well connected into the community. Ask anyone about Thrifty's and what they are about and they'll tell you that the stores are clean, they have good friendly service and they are always helping out the community.
When the first store opened, they're business plan was "to create a store built on service, selection, catering to community needs and committed smiling employees." The two owners mortgaged their homes and gave personal guarantees to investors and bankers. Today, there are 20 stores throughout the Island and Tsawwassen and has roughly 50 percent of the grocery business in those locations.
Is it a coincidence that the general perception of the store is the same as their initial goal? I don't think so. These two guys put their whole lives on the line for it and insisted that it would be a focus for everyone involved in the company - from tellers to management. Even their balloons remind the people what the store is all about - a "smile in the aisle for you".
As a church, shouldn't we be better at this than they are? They love the community at least partially because it betters their bottom line. We love the community because God does and told us to. They are friendly and hospitable because they get paid to do it. We are because this is our church and we are God's ambassadors.
Two questions come to my mind. Do we know what we are all about? From top to bottom, are we clear what our purpose is? If so, are we committed to it enough to give our homes, our lives for it?
When the first store opened, they're business plan was "to create a store built on service, selection, catering to community needs and committed smiling employees." The two owners mortgaged their homes and gave personal guarantees to investors and bankers. Today, there are 20 stores throughout the Island and Tsawwassen and has roughly 50 percent of the grocery business in those locations.
Is it a coincidence that the general perception of the store is the same as their initial goal? I don't think so. These two guys put their whole lives on the line for it and insisted that it would be a focus for everyone involved in the company - from tellers to management. Even their balloons remind the people what the store is all about - a "smile in the aisle for you".
As a church, shouldn't we be better at this than they are? They love the community at least partially because it betters their bottom line. We love the community because God does and told us to. They are friendly and hospitable because they get paid to do it. We are because this is our church and we are God's ambassadors.
Two questions come to my mind. Do we know what we are all about? From top to bottom, are we clear what our purpose is? If so, are we committed to it enough to give our homes, our lives for it?
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