T4G 2008 - #2

Well, we are here! The 9 hour trip was closer to 12 hours... As far as I know, PMac should be getting close to Kentucky now!

The time in the vans was great. Somebody brought Brian Regan along and we laughed hard a few times. Lots of discussion about the state of evangelicalism in Canada and every guy got to tell how the Lord saved him.

Tomorrow the conference begins, but before that my roommate for the week has to speak at a conference for bloggers. The Band of Bloggers first met at T4G 2006 and will meet again this year. Tim is one of the main speakers.

I am glad to be here... but tired.

T4G 2008 - #1

Well, we are in Ohio. We should be in Louisville by now, but scattered swine on the 401, a snarly INS dude entering America, and PMac blowing an alternator have slowed things down a tad! So far, there has been great conversation in the car, although I cannot get these guys to throw a football. Very sad.
We are just grabbing dinner at Panera and then we are back on the road with 3 hours to go.
Great to see all these guys talking together and forging new friendships.

[Edit: And YES, we have the Challies!]

Together for the Gospel (in Canada!)

This is to remind any of you who will be at Together for the Gospel next week that we will have our brief Canadian meeting on the evening of April 16^th (the Wednesday of the conference). We will meet in room 112 of the convention centre at 9:30 PM (or immediately after the evening’s final session wraps up). This room is apparently immediately below the room where we will be for the main sessions. There will be no announcement during the session, so you’ll need to remember. We are excited to meet you face-to-face and to share even just a few minutes of fellowship with you.

Pastors Poorly Dressed

On a recent flight to Texas I secretly watched a man. (Isn’t that what you do on planes? Watch people and pretend not to?)

He was clearly a pastor.

The white, button-down shirt was one clue – but there were more.

He had a big, black NIV Study Bible in his hand. And a big voice. And a big gut. And a big attitude. The flight attendant had to ask him several times to move back to his own seat... being a big man he kept moving to rows with two open seats so he could spread out. Then another passenger would board and the whole process of shifting around would begin anew.

Finally, he grumped back to his original seat, while the flight attendant gave a knowing glance to surrounding passengers.

Watching him reminded me of a conference I attended where pastors nearly crushed one another in a mad dash for a free Christian book. The irony was profound.

All of this made me wonder how my life stains the Gospel. Paul urges the early church to seek to “adorn the Gospel” by our good and loving behaviour, but too often I think I am a stained garment. And yes, it is all the worse since I am a pastor. I ought to lead by example, but my example can be misleading.

Watching that big man on that little plane was like looking in a mirror. The expressions of sin might be different, but too often I wear the same tarnished clothes. May God give grace to me and that man to “let [our] manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

ATTENTION LEAFS FANS!!

GoLeafs.net

If you are thinking it is time to forget sports and move on to the garden, think again.

You can still cheer for the Maple Leafs.

About Texas...

Just a quick report on my trip to Texas. God gave me the grace to preach 5 times between Friday night and Sunday morning. Four of those messages were to the men of Kerrville Bible Church and Believer’s Fellowship (San Antonio). The fifth message was at KBC on Sunday morning.

Things I learned:

• Believer’s Fellowship has a long-standing connection to our missionary, Charles Woodrow.
• Texans are not impressed when you tell them you drive a ’91 GMC Sierra pick-up... unless it is a V-10 diesel.
• Men are men, wherever you go.
• Texan men have a lot of guns.
• Texan men like to shoot their guns.
• Texan men know a lot about their guns.
• It is hot in Texas.It took me exactly 17 minutes to burn.
• You should not mess with men named, “Buzz.”
• Texans are some of the kindest people I have met.
• Delta must be owned by Air Canada... see Tim Challies for explanation.

Shall We Dispose the Disabled?

I have written on this subject before, but I point you to this article by Ken Connor. Here is an excerpt:

According to The New York Times, about ninety percent of unborn children who are diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Moreover, when a prenatal cystic fibrosis test was developed, the number of children born with cystic fibrosis in Massachusetts dropped by fifty percent. No studies have been done to asses the cause of the drop, but the odds of this being simple coincidence are quite low. A likely cause is the prevalent cultural notion that "flawed" human beings do not have lives worth living.

Parents whose child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis are often apprehensive and frequently terrified. They have little idea what to expect for the future and even less understanding of the resources available to assist them in providing for their child. Unfortunately, their fears are often heightened by doctors who present the news as a tragedy or encourage the parents to pursue an abortion. In their time of trial, many of these parents are not given sound information about the reality of raising a handicapped child.

I thank God that no one "counselled us" out of the safe delivery of our special needs child! What would our life be without him?!

Together for the Gospel (in Canada!)

Tim Challies asked if he could post on my blog today, so I have made him a little room.

Okay, that is a lie. Pretty much I just ripped this off of Tim's site and posted it here in case you missed it. We are very excited for what the Lord is doing here in Canada!

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We are just a couple of weeks away from Together for the Gospel—undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated conferences of the year. I first mentioned a few weeks ago that at the conference there will be a small gathering geared specifically to Canadians and to people with an interest in ministry to Canada. This is a ministry of Grace Fellowship Church of Toronto and there are no expenses involved. It will be lead, at least initially, by my pastor Paul Martin and myself. We simply wish to invite all of the Canadians in attendance as well as anyone who has an interest in ministry in Canada, to meet with us for a short time after the day’s proceedings wrap up on the Wednesday of the conference.

We will be meeting in Room 112 at 9:30 PM on April 16 (or as soon as the day’s final session ends). This room is right within the convention center immediately below the main hall where the conference will be held. We know this will mark the end of a long day, so we will not keep you for long.

The purpose of this brief gathering will be to help network Canadian pastors and church leaders with a shared love of the Gospel as well to enable the flow of information on events and happenings between our churches. We do not wish to create another association or denomination or publication or anything of the sort and we are not formally associated with Together for the Gospel! Our goal is to help Canadian pastors network with each other at today’s event, as well as to begin a small website devoted to highlighting information of the Lord’s work that would be of interest across our country.

We will start by creating a database of names that will receive regular email updates as information is sent to us. We hope to allow your church to alert other like-minded Christians of events or needs as they arise.

If you are interested in attending, please mark the date and time on your calendar. If you’d like to ask questions, if you would like to let me know that you will be attending, or if you cannot attend but would like to be added to the email list, you can send me a note by clicking here. I have already received plenty of such notes and will be sending a brief email to everyone by way of reminder. Meanwhile, please spread the word to anyone you know who will be at the conference and who may be interested in attending.

We hope to see you there!

THIS BLOG IS SOLD.

Darryl's Blog: DashHouse launches hostile bid for Achievable Ends (and Acquires kerux noemata in Process) :

TORONTO - With the popularity of blogs on the rise, it seemed inevitable that takeovers would eventually creep into the market. Still, regular readers of this blog will be surprised to find out that kerux noemata is no more.

"I am pleased to announce that kerux noemata has been sold for an undisclosed amount to fellow blogger Darryl Dash of Dashhouse fame," announced Paul Martin this afternoon. And the conference call interview went on to describe how kerux noemata will "quickly become a part of the Dashhouse family of blogs, thus driving readership and blog rankings though the roof."

"We wanted Martin's blog all along," said Dash from his Toronto-area office. "It represents the best in blogging... especially humble, Christian blogging. And that is what sells in the blogosphere today. Frankly, we could not survive without it!"

With the purchase, Dashhouse becomes a veritable Wal-Mart of Christian blogs, offering a wide variety of opinion on a small number of issues.

Martin has promised to deliver a full explanation to his readers in the next 24 hours, but apparently the purchase price was good. He made today's announcement via conference call from his new Barbados oceanside home.

MORE TO COME.

Is Texas Big Enough for This Tall Canadian?

I am looking forward to preaching this weekend at Kerrville Bible Church & Believer’s Fellowship of San Antonio 3^rd Annual Men’s Retreat.

Kerrville Bible is pastored by my old friend Chris McKnight who single-handedly enabled me to pass seminary. You see, Chris is one of those really smart people who hardly have to study and after failing every quiz in Dr. Thomas’ New Testament Introduction I was about ready to give up. Chris, who had the distinct privilege of grading all my failed quizzes (and yes, I had the joy of marking all of his PERFECT!) once asked Dr. Thomas (on my behalf) if one of my answers would do, even though it was not exactly the way the good doctor had worded it. Said doctor said, “No,” but my buddy Chris jumped out of his seat, and went and argued on my behalf for that one point... and he won.

I got 3 out of 12 on the quiz.

Now, you may think that is a pathetic little story, but for a guy who was working 32 hours a week, with a new baby in the house, and 14 hours of class time and oodles of homework... it was life. Somebody was for me! Out of all my days in seminary classrooms that one always comes to mind as the most encouraging!

So, I am glad to go and preach at the H. E. Butt Foundation's Linnet’s Wings Camp this weekend, where the brochure for the retreat includes the line, “Bring Your Own Shotgun.” I am fairly certain they will not let me take one on the plane and equally as sure that if I tried to shoot a shotgun I would dislocate my shoulder, so I will pass on that. But the steak dinner and hiking and fish fry look great!

I will be preaching four messages on leadership:

• The Heart and Soul of Leadership: Service
• The Means of Leading: Risk
• The Mark of a Leader: Holy Resolve
• The End of Leadership: Finishing Well

I hope it is used of God in the lives of my Texan brothers. Please pray to that end and forgive me if I preach in a Texan drawl when I get back... it's so contagious!