New Office - On the Road Again...

Rick Warren - from Saddleback Church and Purpose-Driven Church/Life Fame - used to say that they moved so often as a church that you could worship with them if you could find them!! In a similar way you can meet me at my office if you can find my offices current location. In our three and half years as a church I have had an office downtown at First Baptist Church (our planting church), an office at Bonavista Baptist Church (our closest sister church), home offices in our old house and in two different rooms in our current house, there was serious talk of renovating our garage to become garage-fice and now I have moved into an office at Alberta Bible College where I do some adjunct teaching and coordinate the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program.

The nice thing about this recent move is that I am able to get my anthropology, linguistics and TESOL resources out of storage in the garage. It is an indication that I am officially an uber-nerd that I found it quite emotional to go through and pull out each book. I can recall each class, conference or research project that was connected with the books.

I am hoping that this office will be conducive to the writing and administrative portions of pastoring - it is quiet and inspiring as I am surrounded only by my books. This is also where I will work on my PhD (September is coming quickly) and some of the free-lance writing I do for government and private sector organizations.

I plan on keeping a study in my home where I will house my dictionaries, concordances and inter-linear bibles. This will be where I prepare my messages. I think it is important to have a place where my kids see me at work and especially where they see me digging deep into the Word of God.

As always, I also plan to be a regular at the Starbucks in the SW corner of Calgary. So if you want to get together we can meet at my house, up in the northwest at the college or at a coffee shop.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

What's the deal...

I don't like to get into preaching on pain - although I will. I don't like to examine my own brokeness - although it is an important point of growth. I don't know why but there seems to be plenty of both around.

The new year has brought in a boatload of brokeness and pain for the congregation I pastor. The economic downturn has resulted in lost jobs and found worries. There has been death and sickness. A wonderful couple waiting to adopt a child have watched technicality after technicality after ineptness after incompetence delay the culmination of their journey. I have seen the pain of relationships breaking down and the impact it has on the adults and kids and wider network the couple were a part of.

I spent January preaching about the commitment God is looking for from us - I touched on the reality of struggling though our faith. I thought that I was done, I have been planning to start a study of James. But as I sit here on Thursday night I have the feeling that I am not done with this motif.

I spent the week at our pastors' retreat. The speaker talked about the role of our pain in our ministry. He spoke of his childhood in a poor part of Glasgow and a horrific car accident while a missionary in Kenya that could have (should have) killed him. He talked of his darkest moments when he knew he would never minister again - but God has used those times of pain to allow him his greatest ministry - an acclaimed book, work with traumatized Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, Bosnia and other theatres, etc.

I don't talk too much about growing up on a reserve (maybe others would disagree) but after Paul - the speaker- talked about the violence and addictions of the Glaswegian Ghetto I didn't sleep much. I had memories of kids dragging a bag of puppies behind a bike and then setting it on fire, shingle fights (the poorman's ninja throwing star), and destructive drinking that I didn't understand until I was a lot older.

I spend a lot of my time wondering how - even if - God can use me. I left this week thinking that God uses broken people in ways that he can never use people that 'have it all together.' As far as a time to look inward the retreat was good - although I feel less refreshed than I had hoped because I spent a lot of time engaged in introspective activities.

ehkosit,

migwec

The Week of Sleeping Dangerously

It has been a strange week. I have been on the run, getting up early and working late and yet I would have to say it is has been less than a productive week. Partially it has been marked by the Tyranny of the Urgent as everything had a sense of needing to been done right now. I was cleaning  the last of our rental kerfuffle (is that how you spell it) as we suddenly ended the year with no rentals for 2/3 of our commitments in January.  Anybody who talks about the joys of renting 'neutral space' as a church and doesn't give a slight wince as they do it has only ever read books written by people who have forgotten what it is really like!!! I switched phones over Christmas and in doing so kept getting error messages from Blackberry about my emails bouncing - so nobody knew if I got messages and I never was sure if they really went out. It was a mess. There was a lot of other stuff going down with a number of people grieving losses - loved one, jobs, relationships - and others facing challenges that seemed pretty insurmountable. I sometimes feel like I am supposed to have all the answers to these issues and provide them to the congregation like some sort of salve. The truth is I have no idea and most often I sit with people completely gobsmacked and silent. The only consolation is that I hate it when my fellow 'spiritual raconteurs'  dole out trite, condescending wisdom and then walk away because they have built up a filter between themselves and the people in their congregations. Add to this I finished up dental work that has been pushed off for a number of years.

The end result of this week has been one I have been fairly sleep deprived (even when the day finally finishes I have 4 kids that all seem to wind up in my bed) so I have tried to grab sleep wherever and whenever I can. On Monday I was having my face drilled for cavities and they had to put in a special mouthpiece because I kept falling asleep and closing down on the drill. This might be why they suggested I do the next set (on Thursday) without any freezing (it wasn't too bad and I did stay awake). I spent Tuesday feeling like they might have wheeled me out to the parking lot and used my face as traction to get a car out from being stuck in the snow. As painful as that was I am writing this post in an even greater degree of pain from falling asleep on the seats at the Calgary Airport. The actual ergonomic design of the public seating must have been sponsored by the Calgary Chiropractors Association.

As I get set to upload this I know that there is one more painful sleep ahead of me after I board my flight and get ready to be shoehorned into a a airplane fuselage that looks like footage from one of those PETA-produced shockumentaries aimed at Factory Farms.  I don't want to fall asleep - I have brought books on exciting topics like Training Evaluation Models and theory to keep me awake - but I know by the time we hit cruising altitude I will be pressing up hard against the only other man over 6 foot 3 on the flight. I hope he at least is a little bit soft and a whole lot understanding.

Ehkosit,

 

Migwec

Matthew Pic

Here is a recent picture of Matthew. Its amazing to watch him grow up - even after four kids its amazing to watch the way they grow and develop.

We had our Children's Concert today at church. It went really well. The kids always do a great job and the leaders were excellent. There were a number of kids away due to sickness and so there was a last minute shuffling of lines. Everyone took it in stride and doubt if anyone in the audience/congregation noticed.

Ehkosit

Migwec

I'm a six fingered freak!!!

I was born with an extra finger on my right hand. It had no bone or muscles, just blood vessels and a nail.  In some cultures and times I may have been revered as special - even deified - and in other cultures and times I may have been thrown into the volcano - to feed a deity. But when I was born my culture chose neither of these and the doctor just lopped the digit-wannabe off. Somedays I think it would have been neat to have kept the finger - I would always be able to find the gloves and mittens my Grandma made special for me and I bet it would give wicked dead fingers. But I will never know. All I have to show for it is a little stump that often gets mistaken for a wart.

All that is to lead up to a video I saw for a old toy that made me laugh...

By the way the condition is called polydactyl ... the more you know

Migwec from the polydactyl pasor

Ehkosit

Jeffa el Hutt

Almost a month ago I went out to a Brazilian BBQ place in town. Wow! What an experience. It is a meat buffet that comes to you. You don't even have the exercise of walking up to a buffet bar. Throughout the night the waiters bring skewers of meat - lamb, chicken, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, rib-eye, sausages of all manner. Did I mention wow! To cleanse the pallet they would also swing by with roasted pineapples and occassionaly vegetables.

Nobody needs that much met in a lifetime let alone a single sitting. It has taken almost a month for my system to return to normal. I was constantly hungry, but still full from that meal. For the whole month I slithered around like a creature out of the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. An evening of Brazilian BBQ had transformed me into Jeffa the Hutt.

The sad part is that now that I am feeling better all I can think of is going back. My brother is possibly coming to town and so I am saving up for a visit to a little place called Bolero's.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

The Fam

My Mom and Dad came out for Maggie and Micah's birthdays (Oct 5&6). It was great having them here and the kids were so excited to see them. Micah didn't stop dancing the whole week - unfortunately he has his father's sense of rythym and grace).

I am trying to convince my father he should goout for Halloween as David Suzuki (but not here in Alberta). The older he gets the more Japanese comes out. The only Japanese beginning to show in me is a likeness to Yokozuna (from the old WWF days) ...

Of course the fact that I joined a friend at the local Brazilian BBQ has sped this up by a few years. What a concept, you sit at your table and waiters line up with huge skewers of meat (sometimes waiters lined up behind waiters). The variety of meat was outstanding and I more than did Dr Atkins proud. At one point I scouted out the restaurant to see if they had any defibulator stations, but unless it was behind the hot buffet section I didn't see any. Bolero's is a must visit for any self-professing 'meatatarians' that finds themself in Calgary!! More about that later...

Ehkosit,

Migwec

Night Hawk into Early Bird

I am not an early bird. I have no interest in catching worms. I would rather sleep a little longer than spring out of bed. I shave my head largely for this reason - it cuts down on early morning preening!!

I don't know why, but I signed up to play in an early morning hockey league (www.scrhl.ca) and so once a week I am out the door before 6am to play!! I am enjoying it but it relies heavily on three pieces of equipment:

(1) Crocs - these things are ugly as sin, but as comfortable as heaven. I swore I would never wear these affronts to foot fashion but somebody gave me a pair and I love them!! They are a must in getting out the door at that time.

(2) Old Man's Gatorade - I can't get up early enough to operate machines that involve electricity and produce hot liquids before 7:30am so I am truly grateful to live uphill from a Starbucks. Gatorade worked in my early 30s but now I need Cafe Americano with three shots to get the brain going (that and a Melaleuca "Access Bar")

(3) iPod blaring something that my wife feels I should have grown out of a decade or two ago - lately it has been RHCP, Chess blues or something with a reggae vibe to it. I cashed in airmiles to get this baby and I opted for the 80gb classic rather than the Touch because I wanted more room to put more stuff on it (Mandarin lessons, grad school lectures, eclectic music and way too many podcasts of obscure talk shows). I can't believe how much it holds. I may even rip my collection of 80s dance music just to see if it will hold my entire cd collection!!

In a strange progression I decided that if I can get up and play hockey before heading into the office (as do all the other guys I play with) I should also be able to get up early and do stuff before 'heading into the office' on other days. I approached a few people from church and now I will lead a Bible study on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30am. In a city that is getting increasingly fast-paced you have to make time for the important stuff - so this is one nighthawk that is becoming an early bird...but I still don't want any worms.

Ehkosit
Migwec

38 Years Old and Never Kissed a Girl...

I turned 38 yesterday. I have spent the last year (almost to the day) in a bit of a funk and so even though it marked getting older, it also marked coming back to life. It was nice, I had lunch with two of my best friends (one in from Regina and the other back from China). This always makes a fat guy happy. Had a quick supper and birthday cake with my family before I had to head out again. The kids got me new hockey skates for my birthday (I have started playing hockey again after a 20 year hiatus).

All in all I'd rather be 38 in a happy space than 37 with a chip on my shoulder!!

Ehkosit
Migwec

Summer is winding down and we might be heading into a real cold winter (according to the Farmers' Almanac or a pig spleen or sumthin). Before everybody headed back to school we were drawing double digits into our back yard - lots of kids trying to 'get their hammock on' before going back to the daily grind of elementary school. It cracks me up because all of the kids have passes to Calaway Park (local amusement park), every gaming console that has come out ever, and more channels than they can possibly watch, but there they are on my hammock swinging it and trying to knock each other off.

It is pretty quiet around the house, thoughI should qualify that statement. My daughter and our puppy both miss the constant commotion and playmates of the summer months. Unfortunately they also happen to be the loudest of the lot and so it is quieter but not by much.

Part of my summer was spent with my good friend and former business partner. Even though we don't work together we still find ways and places to be in each other's life. Its good - I am actually a fairly private person and so I don't let many people into my thoughts, feelings, etc. Clayton is one of those few and so it was nice to spend some time with him talking and exploring some 'stuff' that was rattling around - new challenges colliding with old thought patterns. Not a good combination. Something about getting the boy off of the rez but never getting the rez out of the boy.

I am getting set to start up the new ministry year and it is exciting - lots of new opportunities. As I looked back over the books I read in the summer they all had a common (unplanned) thread - the idea that the moment is where it all happens...right now...and now..and even now. The books were a mix of secular, Christian, business and academic. Anyhoo, that is what we are going to dig into over the next year - the power of decisions, actions, reactions and how to look back on the past, look forward to the future but how to live life right now to its fullest. I am excited , but I don't want to use up anymore moments cuz I got stuff to do.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

On our last trip to the zoo my daughter and I had fun mashing names and features of animals together... here are some that we came up with. I will post a few more later, but right now I have to go get dog clippers!!!

My Sister and her boy are in visiting this week. Sebastien likes to make a robot voice and moves - so I made him a picture of himself as a robot. BTW "Sir Bazzelford" is one of the many names he will go by/answer to. As a side note of Baz trivia his favourite singer is Bob Marley - good taste for a 4 year old!!!

We have finished up our basketball camp and are halfway through our soccer camp. It has been a really great way to connect with our community's kids and have some excercise as well. Over the three summer camps we ran we will have had an attendance of some 90 kids. A few families have started to come through this connection as well.

Church planting is still a bit of a roller-coaster ride and I am glad to have these camps going as I can sometimesa feel like I am spending more time in meetings and filling out forms than ministering to the community. However I recognize that this is all necessary - it would just be nice if some folks that have been around 'church' for a while realized that there is more to being a 'church' than forming committees and holding meetings. This is why I am so glad to be in a new church that can create a culture of 'ministry activity' over 'ministry appearance.' Some pastors should never be within 1000 yards of a church plant and others are equipped specifically for church planting and woud wreak havoc on a traditional church.

On another note, the hockey team I am playing with (from the GoodTree Christian Fellowship church plant) clinched first place in our division (the Coors Division of the Calgary Hockey North America League) and we start playoffs on Wednesday. I have to admit I sometimes revert back to my old role (needless to say it wasn't as a goal scorer) and I spend more energy not taking a run at guys than playing defence...maybe I will save it for the final game if we are up by enough (I'm just joking Juli). It cracks me up because it is largely SouthEast Asian (especialy Korean) Canadians and we're the top team!! When I was a kid, my brother and I were the token Asian kids. Truthfully, we barely counted as such - our Grandfather was from Shanghai, China and his family was from Japan and Hong Kong. On this team I am considered a token white guy.

Ehkosit,

Migwec.

This is what I looked like through most of my teen years. There is currently a meme going that asks you to draw yourself as a teen (http://davario.livejournal.com/30861.html).

I was really quite a catch!!

ehkosit

migwec

Part of my vacation has been spent dusting off my doctoral studies. I know that I need to get back into an academic program -I feel a little discombobulated when not at least enrolled in program. Its not that I am some egotist chasing after letters - I think it just gives me a ring fence around my reading, studying etc. Since leaving High School I have started in on a number of degrees in a wide variety of areas, including: Anthropology (finished BA), Linguistics (finished BA Honours and MA), pieces of BEd, MTh and PhD. I have also finished up certificate work in HR stuff, TESOL and Graphic Design and was enrolled in an MBA when I entered church work. I have serious problems in this area, but it beats the other vices I could choose from!!

Ehkosit
Migwec

I married in to a family that LOVES Swiss Chalet. We eat there often. In the one by our house they have a great collection of "Group of Seven" prints. The kids get crayons with their place mats - so I often 'borrow' them to doodle pictures. Sometimes they copy my pictures.

Ehkosit
Migwec

I had coffee a while back and was swapping 'Dad Stories.' I killed myself when the fellow I was with described he birth of his oldest son. He was timing the contractions on the way to the hospital with an old alarm clock. He said he looked like Flavor Flav walking into the maternity ward!! He then asked me if I knew who Flav was - c'mon I used to stay up late on Fridays to watch "New York Hot Tracks" when it was the only place that played rap videos. I was the very first person to have a bootleg copy of 2 Live Crew in my sleepy prairie city thanks to a friend in Miami. I still make way to many Crunk references for a man my age and profession.

Ehkosit
Migwec

Just a Doodle of a dude (aka a Dude-le) at the local purveyor of finely brewed caffeinated beverages.
Ehkosit
Migwec

This is an old house in Calgary - one of the first residences to have electricity!! Some really neat architectural features. Fun to sketch.
Ehkosit
Migwec

This is a sketch I did on the C-train. I don't often sketchon the train (I'm still self-conscious about drawing in public). The fact that the guy was blind made me feel a little freer to doodle (I started drawing other things in the car).

This was one of the kids from our VBS (or at least thats where the inspiration came from). It was a fun time that saw the weather hold out for the whole week - we were outside with no indoor space. I really like that we are a small enough church that I still get to be involved in the day camps, youth group, midweek programs etc.

Ehkosit
Migwec