Happy Canada Day & Happy Insurrection Day!

Okay, I’m just kidding about the second one. But please, American friends, forgive me. My branch of the Stackhouse family fled north at the time of the Revolutionary War to remain loyal to the Crown. Things do get sorted out, however: My entire family of origin have become Americans, and two of our three sons are dual citizens. I myself was recently pronounced “bicultural” by an American friend, which she meant, and I received, as a high compliment.

So here’s today’s question. When you Americans celebrate Independence Day—and when you Canadians celebrate Canada Day—what do you do, or participate in, that has actual content?

We might eat special foods in the company of special people, yes, and perhaps end the day with fireworks. But that’s all completely generic celebration. What is particularly American or Canadian in your day? What happens on July 1 or July 4 that reminds you of your country’s heritage, identity, mission, what-have-you?

I’m wondering if patriotism has burned so low now in most of our lives that aside from perhaps hanging a flag out front, we aren’t hearing or saying or viewing or otherwise doing anything that fills these national days with any actual content.

True in your case?

Finding the Will of God–or–Not Getting Lost in the Forest

Last December my family and I moved to North Vancouver, to a house surrounded by trees on the shoulder of Mount Seymour. Settlement ends near our home and gives way to forests that include long trails up and down the mountainsides and valleys of this beautiful region.

I have taken to hiking these trails, and the other day I took a new one. I almost got lost, and instead came upon a fresh illustration of the guidance of God.

The trail started clearly and broadly enough, but after ten minutes, as I started down a hillside toward Seymour Creek and eventually home, the trail got smaller and smaller. Suddenly, as I rounded a bend, it disappeared. Actually, it didn’t so much disappear as become indistinguishable from several other possible paths, identically lined with pine and spruce needles. I began to feel more than a little worried, not least because I had not seen another person for half an hour or more.

From Visitor to Participant: What Can We Do?

This is a post for churchpeople, so I recognize not every regular reader of this blog will care about the following discussion. You’ve been duly, and respectfully, warned!

I enjoyed a good conversation this evening with our son Trevor and his roommate and Regent College classmate James Allaway about a fundamental challenge in churches and, indeed, in any Christian institution larger than about 100 people (e.g., a student fellowship such as Inter-Varsity, a college, and so on). The challenge is this: What intermediate structures or programs can help to welcome people and enfold them into the life of the congregation between the initial “welcome to visitors” on the first Sunday morning (whatever form that takes) and the invitation to join a small group–which is a relatively large commitment and fairly intimidating to many?

Alpha and similar courses can help, particularly for those new to the faith. But what else can we do to connect newcomers with others in the church–and, again, especially in churches (or other groups) that are > 100 people and thus have a large group dynamic, a dynamic that keeps people isolated no matter how many times they attend a Sunday morning service?

And can we make sure that those visitors who want to stay quietly anonymous while they decide how much they want to get involved can get their wish?

What have you seen that helps people connect with others in a church between “Hi! You’re new here!” and “Small group registration takes place today after the service”?

Promo for Simon Fraser University: A Little to the Left

Eldest son Trevor has just graduated B.A. in History from Simon Fraser University (SFU), a fine school located in suburban Vancouver. Like a number of Canadian universities, SFU has been known as leftist in its overall political outlook. Of course, such generalizations about institutions as large and complex as a major university are dubious, if not hopelessly simplistic. Still, by Canadian standards we’re pretty middle-of-the-road politically and Trevor frequently found himself defending relatively conservative positions in his political science and history courses. He liked that sort of engagement, but didn’t admire how merely reflexive were the leftist politics and morality of so many of his fellow students and a considerable number of his professors.

So, as artists do, he sublimated his rage into performance. (Trevor has previously trained as a video and film technician, and has a lot of experience in editing.) And, as Stackhouses do, his performance is sarcastic and, I trust, also pretty funny.

Here, then, is Trevor (SS2K Productions) Stackhouse’s promotional ad for his alma mater, whose current advertising slogan is “Thinking of the World.” Please do visit, rate, and comment on it. He’ll get a kick out of whatever you have to say.

The Strange Double Standards of Abortion

Here’s a post I recently wrote for one of Canada’s national newspapers, The National Post, prompted by the shooting of American abortionist George Tiller. It’s about how hard it seems to be for most of us to think straight about abortion (and how frightening it is for some people, extremists on both ends, to think straight about it).

I haven’t written or spoken much about this issue over the years, but it always lurks nearby: a huge issue that scares me at every level, including the intellectual. What are we supposed to think and do about it in a way that takes into account all the truly appropriate factors and arguments–used on every side?

Our Own Worst (Media) Enemies

I’ve recently written here about how Christians, and pastors in particular, and evangelical pastors in particular particular, complain about how the media treat them and their faith and then sabotage reporters’ attempts to set the record straight by not talking to reporters when the reporters actually call!

After this article was published, I heard immediately from several experienced Christian communication professionals who echoed my concerns. One of them testified that in his long experience in a different medium (radio), Christians would moan about how the media were biased, ignorant, etc., etc., and yet he found it almost impossible to get evangelical pastors to come on his show. And these pastors are the “professional talkers” of their churches–and who are supposed to equip the saints  for conversing with their neighbours about the gospel!

What’s to be done? Well, for one thing, my colleagues and I at Regent College need to think about offering some media training to our students, and perhaps also to area pastors. Do you know of any seminary or graduate school that does offer such training and offers it well?

Someone is going to tell our story in the media: Why shouldn’t we want it to be us?

I’m John Stackhouse–and so Is He

[Warning: The following post will likely be of interest only to Canadians, and even then . . .]

Prompting a media frenzy–frenzy, I tell you–John Stackhouse was recently named editor-in-chief of the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper, one of Canada’s two “national” newspapers (along with the National Post). My life thereby just got slightly more complicated.

For I’m John Stackhouse, and so is he. And we’re hard for some people to distinguish, at least on first encounter. I mean, what are the odds that a country as small as this one would generate two people with the same first name and this odd surname whose lives and careers actually overlap as much as ours do? So let’s get this thing straight once and for all.

Did Jesus Really Exist?

From time to time I get asked this question–Did Jesus really exist? Recently, a student of mine in a University of Manitoba class more than a dozen years ago wrote to me to ask the same question. So here are two answers: one short, and the other long–in the form of two book recommendations:

No serious scholar that I know of disputes the idea that Jesus existed–only nuts on the fringe who advertise their own books at the back of magazines! The gospels have been fought over for a few centuries as to just how much they record that can be taken as historically accurate, but no one in that long dispute has ever doubted that there is someone, Jesus, behind them as the source of at least the authentic sayings and stories.

A Trial Begins

Monday morning, May 25, a trial begins that will make history in Canada with reverberations for the worldwide Anglican Communion. Four Anglican congregations here in the Vancouver area have petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia to rule on who are and who aren’t the genuine trustees of their buildings and property.

Why have they done so? They have done so because their bishop, Michael Ingham, has told them as clergy and as congregations that he wants them to obey him and the local synod or get out. Obey on what? Well, depending on whom you ask, that’s a matter that is either simple or complicated. You can read what the main dissenting church says about the matter here, and read what the diocesan authorities say here (about same-sex blessings, the precipitating factor) and here (on the court case).

The trial will be short–three weeks of hearings are scheduled. The verdict might come quickly, but likely will come only after some weeks of deliberation. In my opinion, this is likely the key court case that will establish the determinative precedent in law across Canada in similar matters of dispute in the Anglican Church of Canada

Because I have been already been participating in the trial as an expert witness via affidavit and will likely testify in court, I won’t say more at this time. But this matter clearly requires God to bless the proceedings and particularly Judge Stephen Kelleher with clarity, perspective, creativity, courage, and prudence.

The trial is open to the public and attendance has been encouraged by the plaintiffs trying to hold on to their churches: Law Courts, 800 Smythe Street, May 25- June 12, Monday – Friday, 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-4pm.

Don’t “Expect a Miracle”

Amid the many lessons people are drawing from the financial crisis we’re all enduring, one lesson emerges as particularly poignant: Don’t expect God to  save you from bad financial decisions. He might, but he well might not, and he clearly hasn’t done so in many, many cases.

Christianity Today magazine has featured poignant stories of pastors losing their homes and churches losing their buildings in the American subprime mortgage fiasco, pastors and churches particularly prone to “expect a miracle,” as charismatic leader Oral Roberts has proclaimed for decades.

No, God has made an orderly world both in terms of physics and in terms of economics. Yes, sin gums up the works and exceptions do occur at least for a time, but certain truths remain in both spheres: You don’t get something for nothing, and what goes (artificially) up must come down. (For some helpful historical perspective on the primary cultural cause of the mortgage disaster, see here.)

Seminary: Who Needs It? (Encore Presentation)

A number of people have found worthwhile an earlier post of mine on whether or not to attend seminary, so I’m now posting it as a page, accessible immediately from the top right-hand corner of the home page.

One of the Giants of Our Time: John Stackhou–er, John Stott

Amazon is up to its old tricks, somehow conflating promotional material from a book by the great English preacher John R. W. Stott with material from your servant’s newly released second edition of Can God Be Trusted? Faith and the Challenge of Evil. For a giggle (as we reserved Anglo-Canadian types are wont to say), check out the “Editorial Reviews” part of this page.

Then buy several copies of my book. It’s not as good as John Stott’s, but you’ll already be on the correct page…