eBooks: Quicker to Download, Slower to Read

EIGHT REASONS WHY I PREFER PAPER BOOKS THAN DIGITAL
Written by: Conrade Yap

With the launch of the iPad, and many gutsy eReaders like Kindle, Kobo, Sony Reader, Barnes and Noble's Nook, or the iPad and the coming slew of iPad compatibles from the Android and Windows platforms, our reading patterns are set to change. The question is, will paper stay king or will digital triumph over conventional books?

A recent study by the Nielsen Norman consultancy group reveals that it is slower to read books on digital medium compared to conventional paper. This is made more stark considering that the study uses Ernest Hemingway's works as a comparative study, one that supposedly used 'simple language' and 'pleasant and engaging to read.'

For me, I do not need a survey to tell me my best choice for reading. Even without the consultancy findings, I am already sold on paper-back reading.

Firstly, I am a book lover, but prefers paper rather than the electronic pad. I like to scribble and write notes on my book, the way I want it, highlight it with the colour I choose.

Secondly, I like my notes and markings to remain there on paper, without the worry of my book getting erased due to some electronic malfunction.

Thirdly, I enjoy the simplicity of reading my book without worry of battery outage. If I were to be reading a book on Kindle or on the computer, I often worry about power plugs just in case my device powers down due to batteries getting weak.

Fourthly, I feel more secure, knowing that there is a much lower probability that people wants to steal my book at the cafe. Thieves know that resale values for digital devices are much higher than my measly book!

Fifthly, I enjoy holding and touching the book, its covers and its unique perforated edges. The smell of a newly minted book adds an additional experience that technology fails to do. Computers and technology can represent quite decently three out of 5 human senses, like making sounds (ear), drawing visuals (eye), adopting touchscreen technology (simulate touch), but fails to adequately emulate taste (tongue) and smell (nose). The smell of a nice new book is simply invigorating (at least for me!).

Sixthly, I like to feel the size of a book in terms of its weight and general feel. An anthology or an encyclopedia ought to be heavy. While it may be easier to search for terms on a computer media, or to carry around, I find the presence of a thick book quite authoritative and fulfilling. It makes me feel like I have done my research. Somehow, the feeling is different. Making notations on a book versus an electronic bookmark on a Kindle or iPad.

Seventhly, I like to stack my books on a bookshelves and peruse them at my leisure. Though they occupy space, and makes me cough out money for more furniture, I just enjoy the presence of books and casually lay them down side by side for reading and plain enjoyment. I simply cannot replicate this feeling on the Kindle. Maybe I can have an iPad or a Kindle side by side in order to enjoy having 2 books compared side by side. However, to do so for 50 books will be way too unaffordable. Imagine after setting the right book on the second device and my first device powers off due to its energy saving function!

Finally, there is cost. Even though books are available at under US$10 per digital download on Amazon, it still needs an expensive eReader. Prices may be coming down for the consoles, but with each download, the overall cost of losing all my books with a single theft is too damaging emotionally.

So, should book readers stick to conventional paper form? Definitely yes. Should they be open to digital books? I do not see why not? Should we abandon paper in favour of digital? Definitely not!

My sense is that the older generation among us will tend to prefer paper than digital. The younger ones may prefer the electronic versions. I think the future will be more a mixture of the two.

conrade

Depending on God - An APCAT Tip

How do Christians depend on God in whatever they do? The popular speaker, John Piper suggests a short acronym to help us remember how to depend on God. I shall use this acronym to describe how we can cultivate a dependence on God each day. The acronym is Piper's but the applications and descriptions are mine.

1) Acknowledge that we are powerless to change ourselves
The Calvinist will be pleased to declare this. Under the "Total Depravity" point of Calvinism, they acknowledge that human beings are powerless to turn to God. On the other hand, while it is true that people are powerless spiritually, God still gives men the free will to choose who to turn to. While the Arminian and the Calvinist will disagree on the specifics of the depravity of men, it is fair to say that man's spiritual efforts, no matter how noble are imperfect. They are not able to depend on their own strengths. One reason for our powerlessness is simple. We do not know the future.

"God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event." (Matthew Henry, Presbyterian Minister, 1662-1714)

2) Plead or Petition with God to change our hearts
Changing the heart is one of the most challenging things in life. People have said that the longest journey in life is between the head to the heart. Only God can change our hearts. Emotions are something beyond our control. I cannot declare in our heart to be happy, and then we can be happy. Likewise, we cannot say we want to be sad, and expect our heart to be immediately moody.

For those of us with hardened hearts, we need God to soften us. Those of us with timid hearts need God to give us courage. Those with unclear hearts need clarity from God. Those with arrogance need to be humbled. Plead and ask God to give us a heart of gold, ever desiring to pursue after God's holiness.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." (Corrie Ten Boom, Holocaust survivor, 1892-1983)

3) Claim from God His Promises, Implications
After acknowledging and asking God for help, it is time to claim God's promises. We cannot sit around passively all the time and expect something to be done. God has placed lots of promises. I remember learning that if we spend time seeking to obey and to practice ALL the known truths in the Bible, we will hardly have enough time to question and to get trapped in controversies and mysterious matters NOT revealed in the Bible.

"Prayer, like faith, obtains promises, enlarges their operation, and adds to the measure of their results." (EM Bounds, 1835-1913)

4) Act On It
It is one thing to listen to the Word of God. It is yet another to put them into practice. Sometimes, we tend to become too passive in our declaration of depending on God. While theologically, we are correct to say that we are dependent on God, we cannot shift all the responsibility to God for what we are responsible for. For example, we are dependent on God to provide us food. Suppose the apple is on the tree. Are we to simply sit on our comfortable chairs, and then expect the apple to fly into our mouths? No. Someone needs to pick the apple, prepare it and then partake it.

Likewise, God has given us a promise to provide for us. We need to do the practicing. We need to take what God has given us, our gifts, our talents, our possessions and make something beautiful out of them.

"In God, we live every commonplace as well as the most exalted moment of our being. To trust in Him when no need is pressing, when things seem going right of themselves, may be harder than when things seem going wrong."

George MacDonald (Scottish poet and minister, 1824-1905)

5) Thanksgiving
It is fitting that this acronym ends with a thanksgiving. After all, if all things come from God, we need to direct our gratitude to the Giver of gifts. In fact, giving thanks is one of the most beautiful qualities of a Christian. This is not restricted to mealtime grace periods, or the Sunday prayer rituals. All of life is to be shrouded in thankfulness. This is the 5th mark of a life dependent on God.

"Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love."

(Charles C. G. Trumbull, 1825-1900)

This short acronym, APCAT, can be very helpful to remind ourselves that we cannot do God's work on our own strengths. We need to plead for God to change our hearts. We need to claim the promises of God. We act on what God has revealed and finally be thankful. Christians need to remind themselves of their utter dependence on God, and not their own powers. The quicker we realize this truth, the less frustration we will feel when the things in life do not meet our expectations. For when we depend on God like APCAT, we trust our unknown future to a known God.

Have a APCAT day, each day and every day.

"Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love and the future to God's providence."
(St Augustine, Philosopher & Theologian, 354-430)

conrade

Book: "The Comfortable Pew" (Pierre Berton)

TITLE: The Comfortable Pew: A Critical Look at Christianity and the Religious Establishment in the New Age
AUTHOR: Pierre Berton
PUBLISHED: Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Lit, 1965.

This book was a bestseller when it was released back in 1965. Commissioned by the Canadian Anglican Church's Religious Education Department, it was an attempt to take a hard critical but honest look at the state of the Church. Pierre Berton was invited to write the book, but not without controversy.  Those who are for the publication, want to think out of the box to make adjustments to their understanding of church. Those who oppose tend to accuse Berton of seeking to destroy the church.

I pick up this book thinking that it is a book about re-vitalizing the church congregation, by getting pew-warmers and comfortable Christians to live dynamic Christian lives. It turns out that the book is a sharp critique on the current state of the Church, at least in the mid-60s. It makes me think about how different the church of today is, compared to that of 1965. I can say that his book gives good reminders of what the church should NOT do. Having said that, there are positive things happening in the church today, and one need not be overly pessimistic like Berton.


WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT
In a nutshell, the author accuses the church of forgetting its main identity and what it first stands for. Broadly speaking, there are two main issues with church. Firstly, the church has become institutionalized in the sense that it is more concerned about conformity and keeping the status quo. Secondly, the church is in danger of being fossilized because of its inability to stay relevant to the people and the society at large. Both of these contributes to the crisis of the church.

Written in 3 parts, the first part talks about how the Church has abdicated its leadership by not standing up for social justice, for rightful ethical business practices and for a more relevant engagement with society. The second part, Berton accuses the church of becoming more an establishment to be preserved rather than a calling toward counter-cultural behavior. In the third part, Berton laments that the church has failed to communicate adequately, and missed the opportunity to stay relevant. He attacks the tendency of the church to assume absolute rightness. He says that the archaic use of liturgical terms are incomprehensible to most people. He blames the poor pulpit qualities, and that sermons tend to be irrelevant and boring. He also complains that the church is not open enough to using modern tools to communicate the message. Finally, he seeks to see a church that is able to confidently practice faith without insisting on members to believe absolutely its dogmas prior to membership.

Thankfully, Berton ends the book with an optimistic prescription that revolution is possible. However, one needs to count the cost.

“But there seem to be two ways in which a truly Christian reformation could come about. It could come about through some terrifying persecution of the Christian Church – a persecution that would rid the Church of those of little faith, of the status-seekers and respectability-hunters, of the deadwood who enjoy the club atmosphere, of the ecclesiastical hangers-on and the comfort-searchers. Once the Church becomes the most uncomfortable institution in the community, only those who really matter will stick with it. At this point, one would expect the Church to come back to those basic principles of love, faith, and hope that have made martyrs out of men.” (142-3)

My Comments
I think many of Berton's observations are still applicable today. I tend to agree in general terms but disagree on the specifics. For instance, I agree that the church needs to stay relevant, but disagree that the church should 'appear on front-page headlines' as part of its counter-cultural manifesto. I agree that the church is in danger of being institutionalized, but disagree that there is no need to preserve church structure. Reading the nature of Berton's frustrations with the church, it is helpful for the reader to note Berton's background to him leaving the church totally. He has placed misguided sense of faith in the church when he was younger. He left the church disillusioned and swings to the other extreme too fast and too quickly. While Berton has many good criticisms that deserve to be considered, he is overly negative about the church. There are good things happening in the church today. While not all are actively doing social action, the church is still a place for people to gather and needs are still being met and ministered to. Perhaps, there is a time for everything. The church is undergoing a transition. Like Berton's desire for love in the Church, perhaps, we can learn to apply both the carrot and the stick approach. That is what the Word of God can do: Helping Christians to correct one another in the truth and in love.

If you are concerned about church, especially the Western influenced ones, you should read this book.

conrade

Good Book - "Teens Who Hurt" (Hardy & Laszloffy)

Title: Teens Who Hurt: Clinical Interventions to Break the Cycle of Adolescent Violence
Authors: Kenneth V Hardy & Tracey A Laszloffy
Published: NY: Guilford Press, 2005.

This book deserves to be read. Both parents and teens will benefit from reading it. In a nutshell, this book is directed at people facing teen violence. Though it deals with the physical problems of violence, it helps readers to recognize that under each physical blow from a teen, lies a fragile emotional being.

1) Diagnosing the Problem
The four problems identified are that teens hurt because of 4 reasons:

• They feel devalued;
• They feel disrupted from the community they love.
• They feel dehumanized;
• They feel rage arising from one or more of the three problems above.

Violence among teens are generally due to an emotional neglect that starts inside the home. When teens lose this critical form of security, the results can be tragic. The problems are exacerbated when adults feel helpless about what to do. This is where I feel Hardy and Laszloffy`s book can play a major role to guide adults.

2) Distilling the Solutions

Using a clinical strategy called the VCR approach, the authors attempt to deal with the 4 symptoms above. 

• V = Validate, Validate and Validate the teens' sense of self-worth;
• C = Challenge; this has to do with positively encouraging youths to move beyond themselves. It leads them to solve challenges themselves, rather than to be talked down into discouragement. This has to be carefully done. If not careful, adults can unwittingly enter into a cycle of 'challenging, confronting, criticizing and correcting
• R = Request. Teens are no longer little children. A little respect and courtesy goes a long way.

What is particularly helpful for the reader are the 'adolescent axioms.'

• "Expect Madness, Badness, and No Easy Rides." (126)
• "Invoke the PTA Rule" (129). This refers to the role of parents, therapists and adults to maintain a form of emotional strength that stems from one's sense of secureness and positive psychological empathy. In order to help teens, one first has to be secure and confident on one's own self-worth. Otherwise, one risks being accused on trying to 'control' others. Teens are especially sensitive about this.
• "Be Suspicious of Memory" (139); do not glorify the past so much that teens are unable to live up to past expectations. It is simply unfair to expect them to live in our past, when teens have so much going for them in the future. Remember that teens have a future that is much different from those of us adults.
• Making a distinction between style and substance. In other words, if adults can maintain a focus on 'content' and what needs to be done, HOW it is done will depend on circumstances and what works for the teen. (144)
• "Recognize How Adolescents are Similar Yet Different" (145): some things are quite the same, yet others are different. The key is to recognize the difference and adapt continuously as they grow.

3) Designing the VCR Strategy

I find this a simple and easy to implement method. In 'Validating,' we want to make sure we understand, not necessarily agree with the teen concerned. We ask questions regarding their emotions and whatever outbursts. We encourage them positively, correcting them gently, and learn to make sense of the rights and wrongs of their feelings. After all, teens are not always right, but they have the right to express themselves.

Secondly, the Challenge step comes after validating. This will provide the path forward to challenge the teen to move and live beyond themselves. After all, teens have remarkable energies at their age. Why let it go to waste by suppressing their creativity?

Once the V and C steps are done, work on the Request portion. It is where the teenagers are prompted to go beyond complaining or lamenting. Wise adult guidance is even more important here. 

My Comments

The book offers lots of practical wisdom. After listing the 4 problems teen face, the authors provide a way toward redemption through re-validating, re-connecting, re-humanizing, and redeeming one`s self-worth. This is deeply necessary for healing to take place. 

The 5 adolescent axioms let us moderate our expectations of teens as well as any unhealthy idealism inside the mind of the adult. The axioms, used together with the VCR strategy can provide a constructive path for both adults and teens as they interact. Perhaps, what teens most need at their tumultuous age is a listening ear. I like the way the authors state the problem, and then offer positive steps to break the vicious cycle. Good book and should be read by all concerned for youth development. 

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

Book - "How Soccer Explains the World"

Title: How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Publisher: San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2004, (288 pages).

This is surprise find! Especially with the 2010 World Cup Soccer going on in South Africa right now, it could not have been a better time for me to read this book. Written by a football fan, Foer navigates the world through the eyes of soccer, and asserts that the culture of soccer transcends many places and people groups. He uses soccer to explain the gangster behavior, the pornography of sects, Jewish, Hooliganism, survival of the upper echelons of society, black carpathians, new oligarchs, Islam and ends with what I believe is the author's main interest: "American culture wars."

A) MAIN IDEA
Foer aims to look at globalization from the eye of the sport he loves, soccer. Soccer has more to do with a way of life rather than a type of sport. Through soccer, we learn to understand more of the cultures around the world, that gives the global sport a new identity of cultural analyst. The book is broadly divided into three parts. The first part talks about the failure of globalization to unite the world. The second part deals with economics from the perspective of soccer influencing understanding of cultures behind the economics. The third part is a way of defending 'old-fashioned nationalism' versus the 'return of tribalism.'

B) MYTHS DEBUNKED
Contrary to what the Left predicted, that globalization will destroy local cultures, soccer has helped strengthened loyalties. Instead of capitalism providing positive results, it has entrenched corruption.

C) HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS

• GANGSTERISM: "Deprived of traditional work and knocked off patriachal pedestals, these men desperately wanted to reassert their masculinity. Soccer violence gave them a rare opportunity to actually exert control." (in Serbia, 13-14)
• RELIGIOSITY & TRADITION: "It's easy to link support for a soccer club with religiosity. But in an important way, Rangers has actually replaced the Church of Scotland. It allows men like Findlay to join the tradition and institutions of their forefathers, to allay fears about abandoning history without having to embrace their forefathers' eschatology." (in Scotland, 56)
• JEWISH QUESTION: "Jewish teams cloak themselves in Jewish, not Hungarian or Austrian or German, nationalism, literally wearing their zionism on their sleeves and shirts. . . An entire movement of Jews believed that soccer, and sport more generally, would liberate them from the violence and tyranny of anti-Semitism." (in Europe, 68-9)
• SENTIMENTAL HOOLIGAN: as a reaction ". . against globalization. . , the McDonald's-smashing French farmer Jose Bove, and countless others: multinational capitalism strips local institutions of their localness, it homogenizes, destroys traditions, and deprives indigenous proletariats and peasants of the things they love most." (in England, 96)
• TOP HATS SURVIVAL: How soccer legends like Pele help revive falling political careers among the power mongers; "Despite the persistence of corruption, Brazil's mania for soccer has hardly abated; its natural soccer resources don't seem close to exhausted. It's too essentially a part of the national character." (in Brazil, 140)
• BLACK CARPATHIANS: "To many Ukrainians, their country still felt like a colony of Russia. . This despair played out in soccer too. Ukrainians imagined that they were once a great soccer natin. Now they needed to import Nigerians to become great again." (in Ukraine, 157)
• NEW OLIGARCHS: "There was also a populist brilliance to his use of soccer as a metaphor for society. It gave him a vocabulary that resonated with the lower middle class, the group that he wanted to cultivate as a political base." (in Italy, 185-6)
• BOURGEOIS NATIONALISM: Instead of soccer violence, "Barca redeems the game from these criticisms, by showing that fans can love a club and a country with passion and without turning into a thug or terrorist. . . . Put it more strongly, Barca doesn't just redeem the game from is critics; it redeems the concept of nationalism." (in Spain, 197-8)
• ISLAM's HOPE: "Iranians crave international soccer because the game links them to the advanced, capitalist, un-Islamic West. . . . The burgeoning youth population of Iran looked West and toward soccer for inspiration." (in Iran, 230, 232)
• AMERICAN CULTURE WARS: "Soccer's appeal lay in its opposition to the other popular sports. Soccer is the province of the working class." (USA, 237-8)

My Comments
In trying to show globalization from the eyes of soccer, I feel that the author may have become overly skewed about the role of soccer in interpreting the impact of globalization in the world. No doubt, soccer is a major influence in many parts of the world. Having said that, soccer only explains some, at least according to the selected interviews of various personalities in the countries represented. That provides a somewhat slant perspective. While Foer makes some good observations of certain impact, I feel that the content of the book fails to adequately answer the title of the book. At best, I tend to say the effects are peripheral, meaning that Foer's thesis fail to address core questions like the extent of influence, real statistics of soccer, and other variables.

That said, it is still a fresh way of thinking that will perhaps be improved with more examples from other countries mentined. What about Asia?

Rating: 2.5 stars of 5.

conrade

On Christian Ministry

Recently, Christianity has entered the limelight for all the wrong reasons. What is most damaging is the increased violence that Christians to do one another. I write this article in the hope that it will remind myself and perhaps others, what Christian Ministry actually means. It will be a reflection of the early Church manner of working together to meet needs, followed by a reflection of what true ministry requires of us.

"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:1-4)

In my June 23rd article on my weekly blog, Sabbath Walk, I lament the current church situation that contributes to some of the disappointments when people do church. Written in a somewhat somber mood, I ended with an unfortunate weaker outlook toward hope. Too weak I am afraid. Following this, I decide to look at Scripture to learn from the early Church. In a way, since we are all made in the same shell, created by the One God, fell into the same sin through that one Adam, and are saved through faith in the one Person of Jesus Christ. Similarities outweigh any differences. This article is written to reflect a more positive mood that is necessary for those of us serving in various forms of Christian ministry.

A) Daunting Dismay and Complaints
The disciples during the time of the early Church are doing a lot of work. They are living under persecution. The first apostles continue Jesus' same message and manner of engagement with the stubborn Jewish establishment. There is a lot at stake. For the Jews and the Pharisees, it was the threat of losing their political and religious stranglehold to a bunch of rag-tag believers of the Way. For the apostles, they have to choose between their own safety or the preaching of the good news of salvation to all. It is the salvation of not only the Jews but all who is willing to follow Jesus. With the brave proclamation of faith by Peter and the Disciples, they have garnered a good following.

However, problems soon occur over very basic things. As the number of conversions grow, the needs also grow. Peter and his team feel overwhelmed. Everyone, Greek Jews and Hebrew Jews are getting disgruntled over the uneven distribution of food. It seems like Peter and the rest are not paying enough attention to the Grecian Jews.

Learning Point: Even as the disciples decide to press on in the preaching of the gospel, they find themselves bogged down by physical needs which are by no means trivial. Christian Ministry is not only talking about the Bible or about Jesus, one needs to be aware of real pressing needs. Those of us who are concerned about being too involved in physical distribution of logistics, administration and seemingly mundane needs, remember that such problems are not new. 

B) Discussion of Needs
The power of being in a community is that one does not depend on self. There is a group of people who understands the context and is able to share the burden together. So the leaders of the group gather the disciples together to discuss the needs. This is the power of community coming together. Luke leaves out details of what was discussed during the meeting. There is no mention of various perspectives. All he reveals is a frank statement of what is wrong (Acts 6:2). They agree that the present operation is not workable. They also agree that they need to re-channel their resources according to their gifts.

Learning Point: We can do things faster if we do it alone or with one or two others. We will go FURTHER if we do it as a team. Peter demonstrates leadership by openly stating the problem itself. Sometimes even in Church ministry, people try to skirt the issues itself, choosing to play along niceness. This may mean temporary solution, but it could make the problem even more difficult in the future. We need to make a distinction between doing the 'nice' thing versus doing the 'right' thing. Christian Ministry has a lot more to do with the latter.

C) Delegation of Roles
Upon agreeing that the problem needs to be resolved, the disciples agree that the way forward is to choose people who are gifted to minister in the various needs. Recognizing their own calling to preach the Word of God, they open up the way for others to serve. I am sure that the people are more than willing to serve. Sometimes the problem becomes more complicated when leaders face the temptation of more 'glamorous' deeds within the Church. It could be an administrative duty that requires the minister to meet top political leaders. It could also be a temptation toward fame and fortune like being publicized by the press. If those are outside of the calling of the servant of God, it should be avoided.

Learning Point: Leaders are not supposed to be doing all the work. They are also not supposed to choose only plum roles in Christian ministry. They are expected to lead by example to serve according to their gifting, regardless of how popular or not. Doing something that is not one's calling will be like a fish trying to swim outside water.

4) Dare to Put Into Action
Courage is necessary in Christian Ministry. Planning is but one step. Meeting is only another. Implementing it, and putting it into action requires nothing short but courage. In those days, the disciples demonstrate leadership by putting themselves on the line to do the most dangerous work: Preaching the gospel in the light of extreme opposition and persecution. It is like entering the firing zone knowingly.

Learning Point: Leaders put themselves at risk by braving the dangers before them. It is not right to push one's subordinates toward the greatest dangers, especially when leaders themselves are not willing to. Imagine an army commander who have never fought a war, asking his soldiers to go to the battlefront, without himself the desire to lead them. It not only damages the morale among the soldiers, it paints the commander as a hypocrite.

5) Final Comments
Doing Christian Ministry is not a matter of doing the work per se. It has more to do with leadership than anything else. The proof of a Christian Minister lies in the willingness to go the distance, just like Christ.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

I believe this is the crux of what Christian Ministry actually means. It is not the wearing of collar that reflects one's ordination to ministry. Neither is it the serving of the sacraments, or the participation in the rituals of marriage, funerals or initiation rites to every significant event. It is definitely not the enticement of fame through preaching or teaching or the writing of many books. The gist of a Christian Minister is not in the acts of service but in the courage to die, and to face threats of death and punishment in the pursuit of imitating Christ. Sometimes, I feel that Christians have become so paranoid about being right about their own views, that not only are they unwilling to die for their brethren, they become crusaders to tear others down instead of building others up. In thinking about this, I find Henri Nouwen's classic book, Creative Ministry to be spot on.

"For me these words summarize the meaning of all Christian ministry. If teaching, preaching, individual pastoral care, organizing, and celebrating are acts of service that go beyond the level of professional expertise, it is precisely because in these acts ministers are asked to lay down their own lives for their friends. There are many people who, through long training, have reached a high level of competence in terms of the understanding of human behaviour, but there are few who are willing to lay down their lives for others and make their weakness a source of creativity. For many individuals, professional training means power. But ministers, who take off their clothes to wash the feet of their friends, are powerless, and their training and formation are meant to enable them to face their own weakness without fear and make it available to others. It is exactly this creative weakness that gives the ministry its momentum."

(Henri Nouwen, Creative Ministry, Doubleday, 2003, p115-116)

Many of us who claim to have sacrificed a lot in order to be doing Christian Ministry, the true test is not the giving up of one's time or possessions. It is the willingness to lay down our lives for the ones we love. May we learn to do the same, to make a difference between wanting to be a minister (servant at the feet) versus wanting to be a hypocritical monster (slayer of all, including fellow believers).

I still have a lot to learn of what it means to be a minister for Christ. I pray that God will humble me to show me that there is nothing glorious in being called by my title. All I desire is to be able to hear direct from God:

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

conrade

Happy Canada Day! (143rd Birthday)

July 1st is Canada Day! All across the country, citizens and residents alike all give thanks for the great country. This year is especially meaningful because the Queen of England, is here to celebrate Canada Day with all Canadians.

As the sounds of "O Canada!" fills the airwaves, it reminds me of the other great Canadian moments when Canada beat the USA in overtime during this years Winter Olympics in Canada. It is a wonderful Canadian moment that is inked indelibly in the minds of many Canadians all over the world.

For consumers in the provinces of BC and Ontario, it will be more expensive as taxes go up to 12/13% on certain goods and services. Well, you can't win everything. For whatever flaws the country's political and social economics, and the controversial policies implemented by leaders, of whatever complaints people may have on Canadian society, I feel that at the end of the day, we have more to be thankful about. Thank you Canada, and have a great 143rd Birthday!

[Photo Credit: Christian Century]

Check out this tribute by Christian Century entitled: "The Canadian Century." Having lived in Canada for the past 6 years, I have observed that if there is one trait Canadians are proud of, it is being nice. At the root of this increasingly secular Canadian society, there lies a reason for such an attitude. It is thankfulness for being given the privilege to live in a land of plenty. Canada has the world's largest coastline, lots of ice and cold, the largest producer of hockey players and of course the world's largest reservoir of freshwater. Soon, it will be the land that has one of the largest immigrant communities ever in any country.

Happy Canada Day!


conrade