Pop Culture Piety
Pop Culture is everywhere. It is implicit in what we read, what we watch, where we shop, even our choice of what brand of coffee to drink. Given this, Christ’s call to be ‘in the world, but not of the world’ can sometimes seem daunting to us. This blog will explore various topics within Popular Culture, and how we are called to live out our faith and ministry in these murky and ever shifting waters.
The dark night of the church?
Can the church itself experience its own dark night of the soul? What if the state of the church isn’t defined by a sense of ‘absence’ but of a deep, deep work of grace? Continue reading
A technology free day?
When we think about a technology free day, we may automatically start thinking “well, it can’t be on Sunday because that’s when I watch Big Brother Canada!” Yet this very response proves why taking such a day is so important. Continue reading
Lenten learnings
Isn’t Lent a time of reflection, of self-examination, and prayer? Shouldn’t we arrive at the other end with some direction or thoughts about the big stuff of our lives? Continue reading
Fairytale determinism
Are our lives, like those of fairy-tale characters, pre-determined? Do we take Paul’s statement about predestination in Ephesians chapter 1 as amounting to nothing more than a fait accompli? How do we Read the Bible as living and active text for our lives? Continue reading
The peace of Christ and awkward hugs
Has individualism subtly entered into the life of the church—primarily through the ‘Passing of the Peace’? When we hug those who do not want to be hugged—or assume that everyone in the church must be comfortable with hugs because that is what we do—are we asserting an individualism that essentially denies the other person a life beyond our wishes? Continue reading
Choosing simple: part 2
When I first started to think about the discipline of Simplicity, I decided to see what our good friend ‘Google’ had to say about it. It made it sound as if simplicity was nothing more that a matter of deciding what to do with the stuff we have. It also seemed very consumption based. Continue reading
Choosing simple
“You city folk are all the same. You spend 50 weeks tying knots in your rope and then think two weeks up here will untangle them for you. None of you get it. Do you know what the secret of life is?” Continue reading
Avoiding Lenten loopholes
I was a little unprepared for the amount of shock people had when they learned that part of my Lenten devotion entailed giving up coffee. People seemed generally surprised that I would make this decision. Some saw it as akin to pigs flying and hell freezing over. Continue reading
Childhood spirituality and parental responsibility
Have you ever heard someone say “I do not take my child to church because I want them to choose their own spiritual path.” Have you ever considered the ridiculousness of that phrase? Continue reading
“May the words of my mouth…”
How does ‘luck’ coincide with our understanding of God as Lord of heaven and earth? Is the appeal to something as ‘Lucky’ actually a dethronement of God as Lord over all of creation? Continue reading
