AVATAR: a metaphor for evangelism

Here's an interesting take from Florin Paladie on the 'e' word and the movie AVATAR. Agree? Disagree?

"Although evangelism is a term associated with the evangelicalism (for apparent reasons), anyone who’s set to follow in the way of Jesus will inevitably be involved in evangelism. It is what has been called The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46-47 and Acts 1:8). The question is: what does it mean to do evangelism?

The recent movie Avatar is a great illustration of the way Christians have been relating to the rest of the world and a lesson for how they should relate. Truth is, we don’t relate to the “other” from a position of equality. For a long, long time Christians have made evangelism a one way street. They have projected themselves to be God’s brokers to the world. Their role was to bring God to places where there is no God. This approach has put Christians in a posture of superiority. If Christians built relationships with the other (be it a next door neighbor or someone from a far off country) it was ONLY to learn their ways SO AS TO get a chance and a way to present their God. Like Jake Sully, they learn about the other in a dry, mechanic way without any emotional investment. There is an AGENDA! There is no real interest in the other. As Samir Selmanovic writes in “It’s really all about God”, we don’t think the other has anything of value to offer us about God. We certainly don’t need them; they are the ones who after all need us. If we care, we care for “their potential”.


This is where the Avatar movie is a great metaphor for what evangelism could and should become. Although Jake Sully entered Na’vi world initially with an agenda in mind, he got to appreciate their way of life, its beauty so much so that he wanted to become part of it. Eventually his presence there really helped to save them. But it was something organic. Evangelism should really be a two way street. We enter the other’s world because we really believe we are enriched by the interaction and our horizons will be enlarged. We celebrate good and beauty where ever we find it[1]. Jesus often found faith outside his religious tribe (Israel, God’s people) and praised it (Matthew 8:10; 15:28 to name a few instances). Actually, when we read the Gospels we often find Jesus saddened by the lack of faith among his own people and followers.

We don’t bring God to the other, but find God in the other.

We get to know them so as to see what God has been doing before we got there and learn alongside. Evangelism is a take and give, give and take love relationship. We initiate the relationship because we believe there is a treasure in the other we can’t miss. We evangelize “to be evangelized.”[2] If we’ve got something of value to offer (which we certainly do) it should become evident in the relationship. But let’s not force it upon the other but let it grow naturally. Just as we find value in the other, the other will find value in us. This kind of evangelism the world needs desperately. We need it desperately."
___________________

[1] Rob Bell: “Velvet Elvis”
[2] Peter Rollins: see his post.

BIG NOISE

Did you hear the big noise this morning about 7AM? The air vibrated, the ground shook, dogs howled, babies cried, and I'm sure the deer and bear are half-way to Tofino by now. They warned us, but I don't think anyone expected it to be that loud!

Hip 2B Holy

A Lesson in Cellphone Etiquette

May this be a lesson to us all.

Who You Following?

“The ultimate issue in the universe is leadership. Who you follow and what directs your life, is the single most important thing about you.” ~ Jan Hetinga

Who Is Your Role Model?

Don't scroll down until you've done 1-5. You don't want to skew your answer.

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3

4) Multiply by 3 ..... (I'll wait while you get the calculator....)

4) You'll get a 2 digit number....

5) Add the digits together





With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Snoopy
4. Imelda Marcos
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. Brad Pitt
8. Tiger Woods
9. Darcy Siggelkow
10. Barack Obama


P.S. Stop picking different numbers!!
I AM YOUR IDOL JUST DEAL WITH IT!!

Friends

In this latest installment of CBS News’ “Assignment America,” Steve Hartman visits an animal sanctuary where a dog and an elephant have formed a very lasting, and unusual, friendship.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Calvin and Hobbes: Scathing Social Commentary

This comic was published 15 years ago! I thought it was from Saturday's paper...

Josh Wilson's version of "Amazing Grace"

Mt. Washington

The pictures are deceiving. It looks like they have snow! But we had a fun time.

Super Bowl Bible Study

Dear Saddleback Family,

Some of you have asked me if the Bible gives us any clues as to who might win the Super Bowl between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburg Steelers. Here's my answer from my personal study today:

1. Does the Bible allude to either the Phoenix Cardinals or Pittsburg Steelers?
YES! "I am like a wild bird in the desert." Psalm 102:6 (TEV)
"If a person is a stealer, he must stop stealing and start working. He must use his hands for doing something good!" Ephes. 4:28 (ICB)

2. Who will have the advantage playing in Tampa? Not the Cardinals.
"Anyone away from home is like a bird away from its nest." Proverbs 27:8 (TEV)

3. What verse favors victory on the field for the Cardinals?
"I will throw you on the ground and toss you in an open field. I will make the birds perch on you and feed on you!" Ezekiel 32:4 (GW)

4. What verses favor the Steelers?
"Just look at the strength of his back, the powerful muscles of his belly...his huge legs are like beech trees. His skeleton is made of steel, every bone in his body hard as steel. " Job 40:16-18 (Mes)
"With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel— nobody trifles with you!"Psalm 89:13 (Mes)
"Wherever they turn, I will spread my net over them, and bring down the birds."Hosea 7:12 (NJB)

5. Who is favored to win?
"The Lord told me to say: Just as you cannot break steel, you can't defeat the enemy that will attack from the north. I will give them everything you own." Jeremiah 15:12-13 (CEV)

The scarlet & white uniforms of the Cardinals may be overwhelmed by the team from Three Rivers stadium:
Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! Watch as their glittering chariots move into position... but they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses. But too late! The River Gates are open! The enemy has entered!" Nahum 2:3-6 (NLT)

I'm kidding. Don't write me!

Rick Warren
Saddleback Church
Purpose Driven Network

Jump

Property rights eroding state of marriage

By MINDELLE JACOBS, Sat, January 24, 2009, The Edmonton Sun

One of these years, there may be no difference, legally, between couples who marry and those who simply shack up.

Is there no social good left in marriage? Does society not bear a responsibility to promote it as a stabilizing, healthy influence in a world of fleeting pleasures?

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I still believe in the institution of marriage. It signifies -- or ought to -- commitment and responsibility, as well as starry-eyed love. Yes, I shacked up with my husband for a couple of years before we tied the knot. But marriage feels different, more permanent.

Perhaps I'm just viewing the institution through the lens of history, with its swirl of age-old cultural/religious trappings. Nevertheless, I stand on my lonely perch to defend marriage, a formal bond amidst the rising tide of cohabitation.

In 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada also took a stab at defending marriage, in a Nova Scotia matter involving a common-law relationship breakup. The woman in the case was shocked to discover she wasn't entitled to half the family assets.

The Supreme Court declared there was no right to a 50-50 asset split. "If they have chosen not to marry, is it the state's task to impose a marriage-like regime on them retroactively?" the court asked.

But the provinces were left to devise family law as they saw fit and changes in recent years have gradually erased the legal distinctions between married and common-law. For a long time, all couples have been treated equally with respect to issues like child support, alimony and survivor benefits. (In Quebec, common-law partners who split up aren't entitled to alimony, but more on that later.)

The right to division of property was different, however, depending on whether you were married.

That is falling by the wayside. Manitoba has the most equitable legislation in this regard. There, if you've lived common-law for three years, you have all the property rights of married couples after separation.

In Alberta and Ontario, there is no specific legislation related to property division in common-law cases. Judges decide such matters on a case-by-case basis.

Alternately, common-law couples can draw up cohabitation contracts agreeing to marriage-like property-split obligations in the event of a breakup. Other provinces offer similar procedures.

A lot of people think that they are, in effect, married after three years of cohabitation. But that's a myth, says Toronto family lawyer Jack Hope.

They're "in for ... unhappy surprises at the end of 10- and 20-year relationships," he warns. "They have to resort to complex concepts from trust law in order to try and gain a piece of the other person's property.

"It becomes a huge, very uncertain lawsuit without any legislative support. But if you're married, then there's a very clear set of rules."

But back to Quebec, where a 34-year-old woman is fighting in court for $50 million plus $56,000 a month in support from her former common-law partner, a billionaire. (She already receives $35,000 a month in child support for their three kids.)

Arguably, there's a case to be made for spousal support for poor Quebec women, not just this Brazilian-born beauty, whom the billionaire met on a South American beach when she was 17.

But her lawyer wants all common-law unions of three years without kids -- and one year with children -- treated as marriages.

It begs the question: Is marriage losing its meaning?

My new hobby

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

We weren't whining about nothing!

Our endless December snowfall set a record
Darrell Bellaart, The Daily NewsPublished: Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Nanaimo's snowfall has now officially topped the one-metre mark. It's something that has only happened twice before in December in all the years since Environment Canada has been keeping records.

"This year we had 116 centimetres of snow at Nanaimo Airport," said David Jones, a climatologist with Environment Canada's Vancouver office. The weather office measured 111 centimetres of snow in Nanaimo in 1964 and 107 cm in 1968. Even in December 1996, the most awe-inspiring winter in recent memory, snowfall reached 95.2 cm in the city. The all-time record for one month was in February 1975, when 122 cm fell.

Nanaimo's snowfall has only exceeded 80 cm 12 times in December since the agency first started keeping records in 1947.

Well, things were such a mess at the Vancouver International Airport that after his midnight run, Santa came in to sort it all out. Either that or the down turn in the economy has forced Santa to take a second job!

Whiter Christmas

Enough snow. Next year, we want a green Christmas.

White Christmas

Here is the veiw from my office window. Merry Christmas everyone! Now come help me shovel...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Current Weather Updated: Saturday, December 20, 2008, 8:00 PST - Nanaimo Airport
A few clouds, -19C!

What?! Did someone forget that this the West Coast? This is not a 'dry cold'!

And we've had over 2 1/2 feet of snow with more on the way! I feel like a shovel has been sugically attached to my arm. This is too much like Alberta.

Blame it on Global Warming.

How Not to Mess Up the Great Commission Too Much