Pastor Chad

Tagged: advent

There are things in our lives which we know are not really a part of God’s plan for us, but we hold onto them really tightly. The Bible tells us we are God’s masterpiece, and when we ask God to make us into an incredible original work we sometimes do not really want him to [...]

Our society is obsessed with success, and this success is defined in a very specific way. Our society calls us to live a life that seeks more comforts than our parents had, each generation is supposed to have a bigger house, more cottages, more travel, more money, newer cars, better things.
The goal of so many [...]

more about “Love Your Enemies“, posted with vodpod
There are certain discussions which we do not do well as a faith community, loving the other is probably the worst. Soul Pancake is having a great discussion on this topic, using the above video.
Nothing is harder than forgiving.
Tagged: change, Christian living, community, Love, Sanctification [...]

How will you stand up and help?
[h/t Threads|blog]
Tagged: Christian living, Practical Faith

This is a great couple of minutes about preaching from one of the better preachers around.

Preachers need to figure out what their priorities are and guard their time to ensure that they have the time to do that well.
If we are to bring a word from elsewhere, we have to live to some extent, elsewhere.
[h/t [...]

Where do we find significance? Do we find it or is it given to us?
The following video argues that we find significance in ourselves when we are able to integrate all of our lives into one self, breaking down the barriers we place between “work-life”, “home-life”, “friend-life”, “___-life”, and breaking down the barriers that we [...]

In a world where I am surrounded by strangers I long for meaningful connections. I long to be more than my job to those I meet.
I long to be myself but am always afraid that I will not be accepted.

Tagged: authentic, authenticity, community

Why is it that there seems to be more happiness in places where we (in North America) thinks there should be despair, and more despair where we think there should be happiness (here)?

h/t Holy Experience
Tagged: growth, Practical Faith

I absolutely love these. The look of shock on some of the people’s faces who are watching, priceless.

Tagged: life

Engaging young adults is not about giving them lots of coffee (or hot dogs, or burgers, or t-shirts, or giving them the right answers as if life ends with a final exam), it is about relating to them and showing them you care (I should know, I am one; 28, well educated, and not interested [...]

Everyone seems to be into reality TV these days, and it is really hard to avoid. I have always found these shows to be less “reality” and more TV. What I really enjoy are the television documentaries that the BBC tends to put on.
When I was living in England I was hooked on an aiport documentary called Airline, which aired on ITV. It was facinating to watch people dealing with all the troubles and issues that come up in airports. It also provided a nice insight into the lives of those who have to deal with all the grumpy and rude customers, smiling the whole time.
I am glad I do not work for an airline.
My dad used to say that if you wanted to test a marriage, have a husband and wife try to park an RV (preferably a fifth-wheel trailer). Stress seems to bring out the worst in some people.
But only in some people.
I really think stress brings out the “real” in people. It strips away all the masks that we like to carry and shows us for who we really are.Watching people in an airport has always been a fascination of mine, wanting to see how people react to certain things and people, wanting to listen in on their conversations, wanting to see if everyone is a jerk or if there are some really good people out there.
That is probably why I thought this book Step Back from the Baggage Claim (website) is such a good idea. I have not read it yet, nor do I even have a copy in my hand, but Jason Barger (the author) decided to travel to the four corners of the US, live in the airports, and use that experience to help us see how we can change our lives and the world through the small moments.
Here is Barger’s synopsis.
Ever experienced the way small moments impact our lives?
Ever wanted to participate in a movement that will change our world?
Step back
Be Still
Share Compassion
Live Gratefully
Today, travel gracefully along your path!
Step Back from the Baggage Claim
Take a look at this speech he gave at the Columbus Rotary Club.

He could tell the “spiritual stat

This is one of the reasons I love England.

(h/t Dominee Huisvrouw)
Tagged: fun

I am not sure if anyone else is seeing this spread across the web, but during the Miss America pageant one of the contestants (apparently a front runner), Miss California, was confronted with a political hot button issue.

It is hard to see what she actually is saying because she is so inarticulate. Is she talking about a person belief, or is she talking about civil liberties? Is she talking about a family choice (apparently her sister is a strong advocate for same-sex rights) or is she talking about something larger. Coming from California, where this issue has been in the spotlight recently with Proposition 8, she should have been much more clear.
I do not want to get into the debate about homosexual marriage, but what I want to question is the appropriateness of a question like this. She is a beauty queen, not a representative of the US governance, or belief system. She answered the question according to her convictions, and with honesty. I was more struck by her inability to nuance her answer than by the fact that she had beliefs which differed from the questioner.
People have begun to pick apart her statement as though it were closely thought out and nuanced, when that is obviously not the case. Then, the reaction from the questioner, Perez Hilton, is just over the top. Calling her a “dumb b***h”, then apologising and unapologising (not sure how that works) and saying that he actually was thinking the “c-word” but did not say it.
Take a look at this video.

It does not sound as though Perez is a person who is trying to unite and inspire (the very things that he argues is the kind of person he wants to represent his country).

I normally do not listen to Christian Hip Hop, because, well, it is generally not very good, but there are some good things afoot. Check out this video.

Don’t wanna waste my life.
(h/t)

Tagged: Christian, Rap, Religion and Spirituality

I have to tell you that out of all the Idol, or Talent, or Dance shows I enjoy Britain’s Got Talent the most. This may be because of Ant and Dec who are by far the best hosts of any of the genre.
Besides this, however, there are times when something happens on this show that just does not happen on others. There are times when expectations are shattered.
Like this clip.

(h/t Andy Crouch)

Tagged: entertainment

This past Sunday we joined the long standing tradition of welcoming new members into the fold on Easter. It was amazing to have 6 professions of faith and 5 baptisms. Since we baptise infants in my tribe, we ask our young adults to make a public profession of their faith. In doing this they claim the truths of baptism as their own.
If you follow this blog you know that I have been leading these young adults to craft their own personal statement of faith, which I have posted in text form here. For the service, however, we wanted to do something a bit more creative, so we put together a video of them reading their statements and posted it on youtube.
Talk about public profession of faith!


Tagged: baptism, Easter

Tagged: Easter, Hope, resurrection

(h/t Peter Rollins)

John Dominic Crossan discusses the difference between literalism and fundamentalism, and some of the things that can come from these. While I do not agree with everything that Crossan says, I certainly agree with his portrayal of fundamentalism here, and our responsibility for it.

h/t to peter rollins

Tagged: Fundamentalism, Literalism