Risk Free or Free to Risk

I was wading through some old files the other day while in the process of reformatting my computers (with Matt James’ help) and stumbled across something I had written about a month before we moved downtown. I thought it was appropriate New Year’s fodder, so here it is… Happy 2006!

English is a funny language. Our contemporary language is full of oxymora like "working vacation", "virtual reality", "instant classic". How about "pretty ugly"? Strange, huh? That's why they are called oxy - "morons".
 
An oxymoron that is important to where we're at is "fail-safe". When something is fail-safe, it's guaranteed to work.
 
I think it is important to understand, believe, and accept that the journey we are on is not fail-safe. There are no guarantees of success. I can't promise that we are going to achieve our dream of starting a new church downtown. Failure is a very real possibility.
 
There. I said it. And it feels good.
 
There are a number of reasons that I think are vital for all of us to buy into this notion of potential failure.
 
1. We need to be realistic. Most of the businesses that fail are new businesses. Same with churches. Experience shows that lots of new church plants don't survive. There is real risk in start up, and we need to understand that.
 
2. We need a better theology. Much of our understanding of how God works in our lives is warped by 'fail-safe' thinking. We have been taught that whenever God is in something there is no chance for failure. If that were true, then the corollary would be that everything that fails is not of God. That is a dodgy assumption verging on the fallacious.

While it is true that God is victorious and through the cross Satan has been defeated, we are still in the midst of the battle (pardon the warfare analogy). We know who wins the war, but there still is a lot of serious fighting to be done. And as in any battle, there is serious risk of injury and even death. This death can be the death of a vision or a dream, or it can even be physical death, as in martyrdom. Just re-read the story of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3, especially verses 16 - 18, or check out all the good guys that died as listed in Hebrews 11:36-39. Even the great Apostle Paul wasn't able to accomplish everything God put on his heart - read 1 Thessalonians 2:18. (He got killed in the end, too!)
 
So don't give me the line that "If it's God's will, it will all work out." That is just fatalistic naivety and syrupy sentiment! Grow up. Biblical Christians don't think that way.
 
3. The risk of failure makes us better. Because I know we can fail, I need to be committed to pursuing our mission full-heartedly! I'm going to pray more desperately and work more fervently. There are no guarantees, so I'm responsible to give it my best shot. I know this is God's will, so I'm going to give my life to see it fulfilled. It's not going to be painless, but sacrificing for the cause of Christ brings great glory to God, shapes my character, provides the context for incredible miracles, and gives meaning to my life. Even if it hurts.
 
There is a myth that says the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God. I don't think the intent of that statement is necessarily wrong, but it is misleading because doing what God wants isn't always safe. The purposes of His Kingdom trumps our desire for comfort or success. As Erwin McManus says, the center of God's will is not a safe place, but the most dangerous place in the world. God fears nothing and no one. God moves with intentionality and power. To live outside of God's will puts us in danger, but to live in His will makes us dangerous!
 
We are on this journey, not because it is risk-free, but because through Christ we are free to risk! We are called to obedience, not “success”. I'm tired of being a Christian 'nice guy'. It's time to take some risks, move with God, and through Him be dangerous! Even if it costs us our lives.

'Tis more blessed to give, but getting ain't that bad either

Guess I should itemize what Santa (sorry Wanda) snuck down the chimney this year. Not that I’m hooked on the commercialization of the holidays or anything. I know it’s all about Jesus and deep spiritual stuff, but I’m just tired of telling everybody what was under the tree at our house. So if you wanna know, don’t ask; here’s the list.

I hit a home run with the main gifts I gave – primarily pictures of my family to everyone. Can’t go wrong when your kids are that cute. Aileen got a Sonicare 7650 Elite electric toothbrush and oowed and awed. Twasn’t terribly romantic, but when you give something they really like, I’ve found romance follows anyways. This gift was a calculated risk as technically it falls in the forbidden appliance / power tool category. Normally I would never buy anything you have to plug in (i.e. irons, skillets, grills, mixers, beaters, etc. Cordless stuff also falls in the catagory.). But I was fairly confident she’d go for it as her sisters have been oowing and awing about their own powered tooth scrubbers for years now and she really like the clean teeth feeling after going to visit the dental hygienist. Seeing as she still has her own teeth, I thought it would go over big. I was right. She even let me try it out. Kind of tickles.

Among the annual traditions like new jammies, both girls got luggage from us. Not that we’re trying to get rid of them, at least not for more than a few weeks, but a couple of good, sturdy bags will come in handy for their various excursions back to the old country (Alberta) and other happy wanderings like Quebec or the Yukon. Look out Grandma, here they come!

I did really good on the getting end to. Daleena and Maryn got Aileen and I Settlers of Catan, the German board game Dustin has been raving about for years and Paul and Wanda have gotten us addicted to. This is not a cheap game so I commented to Daleena about the extravagance of their gift. She said “Do the math, Dad. This gift is from both Maryn and I to both Mom and you. I think we got off cheap! Besides, we really wanted it.” Point taken. (In fact, point taken into consideration for next year…) I’m just glad I figured out that the box under the tree with my name on it looked suspiciously like Settlers before I went out and bought if for the girls as was my original plan.

What else did I get…oh yeah, among other things, the traditional new pack of underwear, and a really plush new house coat from my wife. I think that was a hint that she was serious when she said that she really hated the comfy-cozy one that I’ve had for years. Maybe it does smell after all… Also a renewed subscription to Reader’s Digest from my Dad (the 17th year I’ve got that…) and the Diana Krall Christmas Songs CD from Pam – very good. (That was a really cool gift as I had gone to Best Buy to get it and looked all over for it and then was told that if Diana Krall had put out a Christmas CD that they would definitely have it because it would be very popular. Ha! They were sold out and didn’t even know it! Goes to show that it doesn’t always help to ask…) And wine glass charms from Daleena. Hmmm. What is she saying?

Consequences of the new internet

Here’s something I picked up on http://www.theooze.com/blog/ I’m not much of an intellectual, but I thought this was very interesting.

The economic, social and cultural consequences of the new Internet
Grant McCracken blogs about three ways of understanding the Internet's impact on culture. This is just a short summary but you should read the whole thing.  It's that good.

1. Disintermediation :: "The Internet is an efficiency machine. It removes the friction that stands between buyers and sellers. Now Dell can sell directly, from factories to consumers. Now Amazon can disintermediate the bookstore and someday the publisher. We are on the verge of being able to tell how much of the marketplace was about the accidents, not the essentials, of supply and demand. Markets will verge on maximal efficiency. "


2. Long Tail :: "The Internet is a profusion machine. It allows small cultural producers to find small cultural consumers, and as a result, all hell is breaking lose. Chris Anderson's long tail model (and my own plenitude model) says that the tiny acts of innovation, rebellion and refusal that used to die in obscurity can now, some of them, find just enough fellow travellers to sustain themselves. As a result, the gravitational power of the center is being made to creak like the mast of an 18th century man of war in a perfect storm. It might hold...or maybe this is the moment to throw ourselves overboard. "


3. Reformation :: "The Internet is a reformation machine. It will create new fundamentals of and for our world. It change the units of analysis and the relationships between them. This reformation model says, in other words, that the coming changes will deeply cultural...and not merely social (model 2) and economic (model 1)." He concludes by offering a fourth. And, he notes that the first three are telescoping: If you believe 3, you also believe 2 and 1.

Trinity is Heavenly

One of Edmonton’s Christmas traditions is the world famous “Candy Cane Lane”, a residential street where the neighbors have gone nuts decorating their homes with lights galore for something like 40 years now. Christmas wasn’t complete without bundling everyone up and heading out to be dazzled by the light show.

We’ve lived in Vancouver now for six Christmases, and finally we have discovered Vancouver’s version of Candy Cane Lane. It’s Trinity Street, one block north of McGill near the Iron Worker’s Memorial Bridge, for about six blocks between Nanaimo and Wall. We loaded up the mini-van last night and went and checked it out. Many of the homes are lit, and some of them are quite spectacular. Some even have fake snow! Of course real snow is what’s really needed to make everything look right. I’m still not used to a snow-less Christmas. But even Edmonton is thinking it is California with the snow-less heat wave they’ve been having this December.

Anyway, Trinity Lane has got to be Vancouver’s best kept Christmas secret. Even the local yocals don’t seem to know about. But now that the word is out, if you’re tired of Carol Ships, St. Paul’s Hospital, or the tree display at the Four Seasons, check out Trinity Street ‘til Jan. 3.

A Christmas Haiku

Letter in Haiku
Maryn said Father should do
Soft like snow on nose

Haiku for Christmas?
But in Chinatown we live
Makes sense like hot ice

Christmas Haiku write
Aileen said “You’re kidding, right?
Too much time on hands.”

But busy man, I
Oak-Way Woodworks hectic place
Building furniture

Time limit tonight
Have to say it all in verse
Daughter will be proud

Where is place to start?
Update on family make
Start with two daughters

Daleena, Grade 8
Sir Winston Churchill High School
French Immersion class

Shopping every chance
Talking on phone with her friends
Teenager for real

Also loves to bake
Makes big bucks baby sitting
Drags Dad out running

Maryn, Grade 7
Does well in French Immersion
Also baby sits

Enjoys crafts and art
Has crazy sense of humor
Will talk your ear off

Play softball in spring
Provincial Tournament go
Fun, but team got thumped

Aileen working hard
Lots has changed at work now called
CRNBC

Downtown 18 months
Vancouver City Center
Condo life a blast

Check out Darcy’s blog
http://siggyurbanite.blogspot.com/
Does not fit Haiku

Living room church start
Gather with neighbors and friends
Heavenly times had

Letter comes to end
I hope you liked the haiku
Next year limericks!

Happy holidays!
Blessings from the Siggelkow’s
Merry Christmas all!

Poetic Interpretation by Daleena

Hey Everyone,

After that letter it’s hard to believe that my Dad is actually a busy man. Next year I promise to censor any ‘creative’ ideas Maryn might suggest or he endeavors himself.

If you didn’t quite understand my Dad’s attempt at poetry allow me to try and clear everything up.

My Mom is currently working as a registration officer at the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. (CRNBC) and is enjoying it, especially the office hours.

Dad isn’t really building furniture, but he is employed at Oak-Way Woodworks which specializes in making high-end office furniture (he works in the office).

Maryn is now in Grade 7 Late French Immersion and doing well. Last spring she played softball again and is now baby sitting…the business competition is growing fierce for me!

I (Daleena) am in Grade 8 and have started high school (also in French Immersion). When I’m not doing homework I love to go shopping with my friends and if you ever need a babysitter I can send you my card.

We’ve all adjusted to downtown life and public transit, come and visit us if you want a tour! We would love to have you (we’ll pick you up from the airport for free)!

We hope that this letter finds you and your family happy and healthy and that 2006 will be your best year yet! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Siggelkow’s

Pie By Night

We have discovered Vancouver's best new pizzeria! Pie By Night is a brand new shop at 1147 Granville, between Davie and Helmcken. It's open 11 AM till late (like 2 AM!), and you can eat by the slice or order a whole pie.

You have to try the currie chicken - it's outstanding, as well as the beef. Oes is the propietor, and he's making a 21" diameter pie, so come hungry. Aileen works with his wife Shelly, so we do have a bit of an inside track. But take my word for it, the pizza is great. Honest!

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

Hey Everyone. Just to let you know that I’m still alive and well. No posts because the past couple of weeks have been very busy. Christmas is coming, you know. Aileen’s parents, Robert and Alice arrived last weekend, and we have been enjoying the time with them. You add that to work, shopping, school Christmas concerts and everything else, and well…But why am I telling you all this? You’re so busy that you don’t even have time to read my blog.

So Merry Christmas!

Another Alarming Experience

Well, for the second night in a row we were screeched awake by the fire alarm.
The good news is that this time I beat the fire department to the lobby.
The bad new is that the fire department didn't show up.
The good news is that it was another false alarm again caused by a fault in the Mall’s sprinkler room.
The bad news is another sleep interrupted by an adrenalin rush.
Oh well, just another hazzard of condo living...

Comment Settings have been changed

Hey everyone, I had inadvertantly set the comments options to members only. I appologize for that! Thanks to my brother Dal for making me aware of this. I have just reset this so all of you non-blogger people can jump in on the fun. All you have to do is click on the blue "comment" link on the bottom of the post and a new window will open up that will show you any other comments that have been made and allow you to add your take. You will have to do the word recognition thing, but that just keeps a lot of spam (someof it very inappropriate) from getting pumped onto my site.

My appoligies , and happy posting...

Good book from Ann Rice

My buddy Paul has got a bead on what could be some good "Christian" fiction. Christmas reading, anyone? Here's the link.

A Very Alarming Experience

One of the unexpected community events we have experienced since moving downtown is the ringing of the fire alarm in the middle of the night. Actually, to say the fire alarm rings is a gross understatement. Our fire alarm SCREAMS. This is not average smoke detector or your high school bell. This is a genuine, scream-in-your-ear-at-the-top-of-your-lungs and wake-you-up-when-you-are-halfway-to-the-ceiling kind of shrieking, throbbing, jarring alarm. There are 2 alarm speakers in our house, and one more right outside our door and then about 500 more throughout the complex. When it goes off, all of Vancouver hears it.

It happened again early this morning. Suddenly this deafening shrieking explodes in my head and when I wake up I’m banging with my fist on the alarm clock and Aileen is yelling at me “NO! IT’S THE FIRE ALARM, NOT THE ALARM CLOCK!” (She has to yell to be heard, never mind that she has also been startled half way out of her mind!)

I come to my senses and in the adrenalin filled next 0.27 seconds realize that it is Saturday morning and that our alarm clock should not be going off, and that it is indeed the fire alarm pounding my ears (thank goodness we don’t have an alarm clock that loud. It would shorten your life expectancy by 47 years…). Then I remember that someone recently broke into our building’s Fireman’s Lock Box (and then used that key to break into our storage lockers…but that’s another story. People have also been skinny-dipping in our pool…but I digress) and I have the responsibility of going down to the lobby and letting the Fire Department in because they don’t have a key.

So I scramble into my clothes, grab my keys / phone on the way out the door, and sprint for the stairs. We only live on the 5th floor, but by the time I fly down 7 or so flights to the lobby, the firemen are already coming in the door with all their scary looking paraphernalia on. The concierge was still there even though his shift had been over hours ago, and he had let them in.

Over the next 10 minutes I make several observations:

1. The response time of the Vancouver Fire Department is amazing. They can get to my lobby faster than I can. This is reassuring. They also look very tough and brave in their yellow suites and fire axes.

2. As other residents begin to stumble into the lobby from the stairwell, they all look very disheveled, with hair all mussed up, frumpy sweatshirts on, and slippers. Everyone was obviously in bed. Then I realize I don’t even know what time it is. I ask someone to discover that it is 5:50 AM on Saturday morning. Argh! So much for sleeping in… Several people actually head down the street to grab a java at Starbuck’s, others go walk their dog.

3. By the number of people in the lobby, only about 10% of our building actually bothers to evacuate when they hear the bell. That’s because it’s always been a false alarm. If we ever have a real fire we will have to get on the intercom and tell everybody they really do need to get out of bed, grab their pet, and stumble down 20 flights of stairs. (The first time the alarm went off after we moved in we freaked at the noise, got dressed and headed for the stairs. Our neighbors looked at us and asked us where we were going…After that, everyone stays in bed and I go investigate and phone them if it is a real emergency. )

4. Our building is full of young adults. Looking around the lobby at the 50 or so people there, I felt rather old – and I’m not old! Most of the people were 20+ somethings. Maybe the older people just have more sense to plug their ears and stay in bed.

5. Living on the 5th floor is better than the 25th floor. When the alarms go off, the elevators automatically go to the main floor and are deactivated until the alarm is reset. If it is a false alarm and the Fire Department is not able to reset the system (like this morning), not only do you have to stumble down 30 flights of stairs to get out, but you have to climb up 30 flights of stairs to go back to bed! Talk about early morning exercise…

6. If you want to get into a community, you can’t beat living in the neighborhood. Fire alarms are a great time to get to know people and build community. It’s a shared experience you can all talk about, and you get a chance to connect with a few people you haven’t seen for a few days. It’s actually a great outreach event. Maybe next time I’ll bring cookies…

Was there ever any doubt about Aslan?

Wow! I haven’t anticipated a movie like this for a long time. I am really looking forward to Narnia. This is one flick that I will gladly spend the big movie-theater bucks to go see on the large screen on the first weekend instead of waiting a year for the DVD to be released like I usually do. Even the art work is enough to send shivers up and down my spine - Aslan, in all his fearsome majesty. I just hope they get it right...

I was never much into fantasy fiction when I was a kid (The Sugar Creek Gang ruled my world), but the one series I did fall in love with and have read numerous times, even as an adult, is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. (Hey Roger ~ great minds think alike! I guess I’m answering my own question on where to find great “Christian” literature…Now what about some stuff that been written in the last 30 years?) I remember when I got my boxed set. I was visiting my Aunt Betty and Uncle Art in Edmonton for a week one summer when I was about 9 years old. (I think she bought them for me, or was it spending money from Mom and Dad…) I had all seven books read in about 5 days.

As my buddy Roger pointed out in his comment, C.S. Lewis tales like Narnia are not typical Christian literature (thank God!). But for me they were - and remain - powerfully Christian. I guess I’m naïve, but I thought most people had that figured out. Remarkably, even Douglas Gresham, Lewis’s stepson, said recently that the Narnia books aren’t Christian novels, but rather adventure stories that draw on a variety of religious and folklore sources.

I don’t buy that. The allegory is far too rich and deep to be accidental. But because Lewis’ allegory is so powerful I suppose you could miss the point, especially if you really didn’t want to see it - kind of what Jesus said about why he spoke in parables.

Now we know for sure. The Sunday Times from jolly old England reports that a previously unpublished letter from dear ol’ Jack says that “The whole Narnian story is about Christ.” (Catch the article here) Come on! Was there really ever any doubt about Aslan?

I guess the one thing I'm bracing for is the typical response from the church and Christians, beating the religious drum about God and Hollywood. Can't we just let the movies (and the books) remain deliciously mysterious and speak for themselves?

For more controversy to chew on, check out the Washington Post. David Germain of the Associated Press is more positive.

Pentecostal Christmas Bears

 

A Little Christmas Tree Controversy

I had an interesting lesson in pluralism and political correctness the other night. I was attending our strata council meeting and the agenda item was scheduling a date to decorate the Christmas Tree that get set up in the lobby of our building every December. One of the new members to the council (and a newer resident of the building) exclaimed “A Christmas Tree? How is it decorated? It’s not covered with religious symbols, is it?

“Oh no, it is a holiday tree, not a Christmas tree. Besides, Christmas trees are not really Christian. They come from Northern European winter solstice celebrations.”

Someone else chipped in “One year we had a Menorah on the Concierge’s desk, what happened to that? And what’s the African celebration?” (It’s Kwanzaa – but at the time no one could remember. I think we were slightly embarrassed by that!)

The first council member went on “Well, I am not a Christian, and I think people of other faiths in this building could be offended. This is their home too, and we need to be respectful of that.”

I agree that we need to show respect. I'm not sure what faith perspective my friend has, but after we assured her that our décor would be festive but not overtly religious we set a date for decking the tree

I probably I shouldn’t have been surprised by a conversation like that, but I was. Perhaps it is because I take Christmas trees for granted and don’t consider them to be a “Christian” icon. To me they are just part of a Canadian Christmas, which is far more cultural than Christian. I don’t think all the malls and stores are decorated with a Christian motivation, and people don’t seem to be offended by all the lights and greenery. If they were, the stores sure wouldn’t do it – especially starting the day after Halloween!

But after thinking about it, maybe there was more to it than that. What’s the big deal with a tree in our lobby? Nothing, except that it might be seen by some as being Christian, and with our politically correct, inclusive mindsets, that should not be.

Here is the irony: being inclusive really means being exclusive. Everything is acceptable, except something Christian. That is the real world Canadian definition of ‘inclusive’. I have studied these kind of issues and talked about them, but to experience it kind of slaps you up the side of the head. Maybe I'm just being oversensative, and I sure don't want to join the "Christians as victims" club, but that's the way things seem to be.

I don’t think anyone would have a problem if we decorated for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Ramadan. I know I wouldn’t. And no one says anything what about all the Chinese New Year festivities that go off with a big bang (literally) every year. To me, that is one of the neat things about living in Chinatown, even though all that drum banging can be very loud!

So tomorrow we decorate our ‘festive’ tree. We have invited anyone in the building who wants to come, especially children. Aileen and I are going to bring some apple cider and cookies, and make sure there is some Christmas music playing (but probably not carols!). Hopefully it will be a good opportunity to connect with people and build community. That, to me at least, is very Christmas, and very Christian. (But don’t tell anyone on council that I said so!)

Here is a link to an article on the meaning and origin of the Christmas tree. It is written from a Christian perspective, and I apologize in advance if you are offended…

Rideau Hall has a Christmas Tree!

RIDEAU HALL PUTS UP A “CHRISTMAS TREE”
Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s official residence, will have a Christmas tree this year after all, the Ottawa Citizen reported Tuesday.

Randy Mylyk, speaking for Governor General Michaelle Jean, said an employee had been “well-intentioned” but wrong to refer to the seasonal evergreen as a “holiday tree.”

“At Rideau Hall,” Rideau Hall spokeswoman Lucie Brosseau had told the CBC, “we will be putting up a holiday tree as we find it reflects the traditions of many cultures, and it is inclusive.”

But Mylyk says Rideau Hall has always called it a “Christmas tree” and Jean has no wish to abandon that tradition.

“In her life experience, it was always a Christmas tree,” he told the Citizen. “We spoke to Her Excellency and clearly, it was her intent that it was to be a Christmas tree.”

More Christmas Tree Flap

The Ottawa Citizen mentioned that last week Donnie Hatt, a Nova Scotia logger, donated a large 14-metre tree to the city of Boston to use as a Christmas tree. However, the city referred to the tree as a “holiday tree,” prompting the anger of Mr. Hatt. “[I]f he knew Boston had decided to call his spruce a “holiday tree” he would have put it through the wood chipper,” the Citizen reported.