Quote of the Week

You gotta love the Georgia Straight. Not the water, the Vancouver quasi-newspaper. Here's Ken Eisner's first lines on Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed the documentary by Nathan Frankowski opening today.

"Truth begins and ends with the title of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a semislick advertorial for “intelligent design”, the sanitized public mask of creationism, itself invented by Christians who think their God is too stupid to have come up with evolution on his own." (You can catch the rest of his hilarious take here.)

You gotta love that - and I'm not being cynical when I say that. If you're in downtown Vancouver, you gotta understand this is how a lot of people think. I'm not mad about it. In fact, I miss it. Maybe I'm just strange.

So, if you can get to the Cinemark Tinseltown Theaters today, you can pony up your $8.50 and see for yourself. If we still lived downtown, I know that's where I'd be tonight! ...sometimes I really miss that place...

And if you're too lazy to find them yourself, here are a couple of other articles on Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
Globe and Mail Arts column
Georgia Straight Movie Feature

The Life and Times of Ernie Siggelkow

Eulogy for My Dad

It's amazing to be a part of a faith community that cares. Here is the wonderful email sent out by the Albert District of PAOC regarding my Dad.

It is with sadness, we inform you that Rev. Ernest (Ernie) Siggelkow passed into the presence of the Lord early on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15, 2008 at the age of 90. To cherish his memory, he leaves his wife, Rev. Hilda (Mueller) Siggelkow, and their sons, Rev. Darcy (Aileen) Siggelkow of Nanaimo, B.C. and Rev. Dallas (Heather) Siggelkow of Vegreville, Alberta. Ernie was predeceased by his first wife, Clara (Lincoln), in 1966. Ernie leaves their children, Sharon (Ron) Davis of Calgary, Alberta, Darla (Wayne) Lowenberg of Eston, Saskatchewan, Douglas (Donna) Siggelkow of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and Carolyn (Les) Dueck of Estevan, Saskatchewan to cherish his memory.

Ernie began his pastoral ministry with the Apostolic Church of Pentecost in 1942 and then after marrying Hilda, he joined The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in 1967. He has been a faithful and well loved pastor serving in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. His final pastorate was in Whitecourt, Alberta before retiring in 1992.

The funeral for Ernie will be held at the Vegreville Pentecostal Church, 4615 Maple Street in Vegreville, Alberta on Thursday, June 19 at 2:00 PM. Interment will be the following day in Burdett, Alberta. Please continue to pray for the Siggelkow family.

We still have Uncle Darcy...

Here's part of an email we recieved from Aileen's sister Pam. Her son Carson is about 5 years old.

"I told Carson, that Darcy's Dad had passed away and he went to be with Jesus, and of course I'm crying and Carson asks me why I'm crying. I couldn't get some words out at the time, so he says to me, "Are you sad?" I nod yes. He says to me, "It's OK Mom, we have pictures and we still have Uncle Darcy to remind us of him."

4 AM phone call

The phone rang at 4 AM this morning. As soon as it rang, I knew that it was my brother, telling me that our Dad had just slipped into eternity.

His passing was expected, and on his part, wished for...longed for. He was not exactly a 'patient man', and when he got something into his head, he wanted it to happen sooner than later. As his illness slowly beat his body down, his one desire was to get on with the next adventure. Dying was taking too long.

But he did it so well. He was ready to go, at peace with himself, those he loved, and his God. We were able to have our last long chats, to say our good byes, and to have him lay his hands on our heads and pray for us and bless us one last time. The grace on his life through his last days and hours was amazing.

So Father's Day 2008 became the day my Father went to see his Father in Heaven. It's the best Father's Day present he ever got. And while we miss Dad, we don't wish him back. That he is 'in a better place' is far more than a trite saying. It's true.

So tonight I catch a plane to Alberta to help with all the arrangements that accompany this sort of thing. I'm pleased to go. It's an honor.

keeping the plates spinning

Gary Taitinger is the Senior Pastor at Mill Woods Assembly in Edmonton. In a recent article of Enrich (April 2008) he was talking about the challenge of having an effective church service. He said "the ideal is to achieve optimum fruitfulness in a generation-blended service. To do this means to simultaneously address the spiritual interest spectrum of the curious, the convinced, and the committed while entreating to music taste buds and learning biases intrinsic in five different generations." That's kind of wordy, but he makes the point well.

Then he drops the bomb: "We reluctantly conceded that our staff wasn't smart enough to keep all those plates spinning at the same time. It may still be possible, but a combination of consumerism and individualism has rendered it a formidable puzzle at present. Some would argue that we are only appeasing those factors by doing what we're doing [creating a weekend worship service geared toward the thinking, non church young adult], and they may be right." He then goes on to tell how they found the 'all-star' young adult pastor to come in and how this new service grew from 45 to 1200 in a year. From what I understand it became the hottest thing with YA crowd in Edmonton...and depending who you talked to, was successful in attracting the non-Christian...as well as vacuuming up many of the YA crowd from the other churches in the city. Then, after a couple of years, the key leader left, and from what I hear, the service crashed and burned.

His thoughts and the history of the experiment have given me a lot to chew on. The church I'm in is a true multi-generational church. 5 generations under one roof. Senior seniors, a whole bunch of babies [literal babies; I'm not speaking metaphorically!], and everybody in between. So how do we make that work? If Gary Taitinger and his awesome staff feel like they can't keep the plates spinning, then how can we ever hope to? I must admit that at times it feels like an overwhelming task...and we often wonder if we're really doing the job.

Well, we already have an good YA service - Island Tehillah, a Monday night event for the 18+ crowd. We're working hard on maximizing it's potential, which involved keeping it true to its DNA as a city-wide gathering, not just an ET specific event.

And we want work really hard to honor and respect the Builders of our congregation. These Saints of God have sacrificed a lot to allow our church to become much more contemporary in style than Mill Woods probably is on a Sunday morning...but I don't know that for sure. I do know that ET is more contemporary in it's music and such than I was expecting when I showed up 2 years ago. But we still want to connect with and minister to our seniors - not just on Sunday morning, but in other generation-specific ministries through the week.

But the nagging thought I have is whether we are really asking the right question. Is it really all about the worship gathering? Is that really to be our focus? Is that how we are supposed to measure church and define success?

Our worship services are important, and as the most visible aspect of a local congregation do get the most attention. But is that focus misplaced? And if so, what should be the focus and the measuring stick of a local congregation?

All I know is what we are doing is marginally successful. Are we really making an impact in our community by seeing people come to Jesus? Not nearly as much as we would like. Is our 'Sunday service' approach going to make the difference in the micro-culture we call Nanaimo? Hmmmm.

The Rest of the Story

Here's the news item that Chandra mentioned in her story.

One killed, six injured after vehicle goes into lake
June 09, 2008

One person was killed and six others were injured Saturday afternoon when a pickup truck went off a logging road and into Upper Campbell Lake.

According to Campbell River RCMP, the driver appeared to have lost control of the mid-sized truck. The vehicle left the road, went down a steep embankment and came to rest in the lake.

No other details were released about the victim. The other six people were transported to Campbell River Hospital and treated for various injuries.

Alcohol does to appear to be a factor in the accident which remains under investigation.

Kenzie was found!

Here's the story from Chandra about their adventures on Saturday. I got the crisis phone call from her Saturday afternoon to pray. Aileen was on the phone with Chandra while we were in the vehicle heading to Campbell River to be with them when they got the news Kenzie (who has just turned 2 years old) had been found safe and sound. It is a miracle, and Chandra and Mike want to thank everyone involved. Here's the story from Chandra:

"Thank you to all who participated in our emergency prayer chain on June 7th.

"While we were camping just outside Campbell River our two year old daughter, Kenzie went missing. She was only discovered to be missing within minutes, but despite our efforts to look for her it turned up nothing. Luckily we chose a site away from water or any dangers, but she still managed to wander off.

"After 45 minutes of about 6 people searching the trails, we had called 9-1-1 which involved the Search and Rescue team. Two of the six people proceeded on horse back and one on a quad to search for her. The search team involved a search dog, 2 helicopters from Comox and a large group of people.

"30 minutes after the team showed up a vehicle drove into a lake up the road. Some of the team and a helicopter left to assist in the accident. Those people involved in the accident were seriously injured, but because of Kenzie's disappearance this may have saved their lives because everyone was just minutes away instead of a half hour away.

"After she was missing for 2 hours we put out the emergency prayer chain. This all took 4 and a half hours, but she was found in the end by the search dog and one of the people on horse. She was safe and content when she was returned to us.

"We just thank God for the amazing events that took place and the people we were surrounded with in the effort to find her.

Thought for the day

"Christians who let their weaknesses and inadequacies hold them back are just as self-focused as are believers who use their strengths to build self-glorifying kingdoms. When will we learn that it's not about us? God is not impressed by our gifts, nor is he frightened by our inadequacies." (Gary Thomas: Authentic Faith)

Nanaimo high school locked down due to threat

Well, here's another day in the life of our girls at thier school. It's like the second or third time this year. But I'm glad that the administration do take this stuff seriously, and I'm super-proud of friends like Dave who step in and make sure things are safe! Here's the story:

Nanaimo high school locked down due to threat
Police are searching for 13-year-old youth
Danielle Bell, Daily NewsPublished: Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Police locked down a Nanaimo high school this morning after a threat of violence toward the school.

Hundreds of students at Nanaimo District Secondary School were locked inside their classrooms after a teacher overheard an indirect threat of violence made by a 13-year-old boy.

Police investigators and school administrators determined the youth who made the threat is not inside the school, according to a statement released by Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien.

Officers with the Nanaimo Youth Response Team are inside the school assisting teachers and students while they investigate the incident. Police are working to locate and question the youth involved.

All exit doors are locked and movement in the school is restricted.

The lockdown came a day after the school sent home a letter notifying parents of a "worrisome graffiti message" scrawled inside the NDSS boy's bathroom. Both police and school officials continue to look into that incident, though neither will elaborate on the nature of the graffiti.

You can catch the rest of the story here.

Prince Caspian

I actually ponied up the $8 bucks to see "Prince Caspian" in the theatre on the weekend. Most everyone else was there to see Indiana Jones, but for me that can wait for DVD.

Caspian was good, even better than "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", which I thought was better than average. But I've been in love with these stories since I was a kid, so I was pretty eager to see them. [My favorite part is when they finally meet Aslan at the river. His encounter with the dwarf reminds me of some things I've seen during 'hot' altar times in church or at camp!]

Anyway, Caspian was way, way better than "The Golden Compass". I happened to see that on a flight a while back and was curious as to what all the fuss was about. I'm always up for a good yarn, and while it started off intriguing, it fell flat about a third of the way through and never recovered. So much for the controversy. Bad movies are hard to get excited about. Here's a good article from Time that explains "Why Narnia Hits While Golden Compass Flops".

So now I get to wait for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", which was always my favorite story of the Chronicles. But May, 2010 seems a long ways away!

Courageous Leadership #2

What makes a church thrive and flourish? Location? Denomination? Great facilities?

How about great preaching? I've heard Bill Hybels preach. He's one of the best speakers I've ever heard - and being a guy who loves to preach and study preachers, I don't say that lightly.

So here is what Hybels says about trying to build a thriving church on great preaching: "Although many preaching-centered churches attract large crowds, their impact on the community is often negligible. The church is packed for an hour Sunday, but empty during the week. Sermon junkies tend to stay in their comfortable pews, growing ever more knowledgeable while becoming ever less involved in the surrounding community. Conversions are rare because their is little outreach. Community experience is shallow because there is no infrastructure of small groups. The body is being fed and satisfied in a corporate teaching setting, but that's about all that happens." [Courageous Leadership p.25]

He goes on to say that he doesn't mean to minimize the importance of effective teaching and preaching; the church withers without them. But it takes more than that.

Allow me to pick up on that... It takes more than great preaching. It takes more than a snappy worship band, a hot media or drama presentation, friendly greeters, or anything else that makes up a typical worship experience at a typical church that is trying to thrive and flourish.

Important stuff? I think so. I hope so. It seems most of my life is wrapped up in that stuff. But it's not the only stuff needed for a church to flourish.

So should it be the primary focus? Should it be the measuring stick we use to gauge our progress? How do we look past this to the important horizon beyond when it seems like for all our tireless [tiring!] effort, we can't seem to get it right to our satisfaction?

Lars and the Real Girl

Good movies seem to be few and far between. "Juno" was good, but a little crude in a gritty sort of way. "Dan in Real Life" is another of my recent favorites, mostly because it's about a Dad and his three girls and their relationship. I haven't seen too much of Steve Carrol's stuff, but he's actually very funny in this one - which wasn't my opinion of him in "Evan Almighty".

But... if you haven't seen "Lars and the Real Girl", go to the video store, pop some popcorn, and get comfy on the couch, 'cause it's well worth the watch. It's a hilarious, touching story of a family, church, and community that shows how we need to care for people. Everyone. Especially the special ones. In the words of Larry the Cucumber: "I laughed, I cried. It moved me, Bob."

Courageous Leadership

Bill Hybels is fond of saying “The local church is the hope of the world.” The post-modernity emergent church crowd have really dissed him for that. I guess when you’ve planted a church that has led the western world in a new paradigm and grown to 20,000 people, you’re an easy target. I remember reading one blog where the guy was practically screaming “The hope of the world is not the local church! The hope of the world is Jesus Christ!” I have to admit that I’ve spent some time chewing on that, and part of me agrees…but the real issue is that most critics probably don’t understand what Hybels is really saying.

He says “I believe that only one power exists on this sorry planet that can [transform the human heart]. It’s the power of the love of Jesus Christ, the love that conquers sin and wipes out shame and heals wounds and reconciles enemies and patches broken dreams and ultimately changes the world, one life at a time. And what grips my heart everyday is the knowledge that the radical message of that transforming love has been given to the church.” [Courageous Leadership. p.21]

Yeah, maybe you or I wouldn’t feel comfortable being part of a mega church, whether as a member or staff, and maybe the seeker friendly model isn’t your [or my] cup of tea. But can you really argue with the idea that the local church – the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus, is the hope of the world?

The Garden Gulag

I was concerned that Maryn's vegetables would try to escape, so I have imprisoned them. These veggies will just have to stay behind the fence until we eat them! [Actually, I'm just trying to keep the pesky neighborhood deer from beating us to them. Bunch of thugs...]

Nanaimo third-best in Canada for walking

Danielle Bell, Daily NewsPublished: Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Nanaimo has been judged as the third-best place in Canada to take a stroll. The Harbour City finished No. 3 overall, behind only Vancouver and Fredericton. The contest was open to the country's 100 most populous cities.

POPULAR WALKS:
1. Harbourfront Promenade
2. Westwood Lake
3. Neck Point
4. Jack Point
5. Piper's Lagoon
6. E&N Trail
7. Parkway Trail
8. Extension Ridge Trail
9. Colliery Dam
10. Chase River Estuary Trail

I've done at least part of 8 of the 10. And some of the them are amazing.

We get to share Dave with the whole country!

If you care about this, you undoubtedly already know, but let me add my 2 bits. Dave is an awesome guy and I'm super proud of him and excited about the gift he is to our PAOC Fellowship as our next General Superintendent. But...I'm sad because I probably won't get to hang around him so much. He is truly one of my favorite people who has had a profound impact on my life. So I've just decided to approach it this way: BC is not loosing Dave, we're just sharing him with the rest of the country.

Here's the scoop from the PAOC website.

From boring teenagers to wild animals

Okay, so his last point about escapism needs to be taken under advisment, but this 'bout says it all. You can read the whole article here.

From boring teenagers to wild animals
By YUKON JACK
VIDEO GAMES NOT TO BLAME

For the past week, virgins everywhere have been locked in their basements playing the biggest video game in history, Grand Theft Auto 4.

Soon, you'll be hearing about all the sales figures that it smashed, about how the video game industry is bigger than Hollywood and about how gaming isn't just for nerds anymore.

And now that the moms and dads and social watchdogs have had a chance to check out the content of Grand Theft Auto - the stealing, the shooting, the blowing up, the cop killing, the knife weilding, the bank robbing and, of course, the pimping and prostitution we're hearing Nancy Grace and the likes whining about how video games are responsible for the downfall of society.

"The rotting morals of our youth can be attributed to video games. Video games are to blame."

No they're not. You are to blame. Parents. Uninvolved, dis-interested, selfish, irresponsible parents. We ALL grew up with "bad" pop-culture influences. Maybe it was Cheech and Chong, NWA, Freddy Krueger, Porky's, 2 Live Crue, Black Sabbath, Southpark, Madonna, or The Simpsons.

Whatever it was, whenever it was, it didn't matter if your parents were involved in your life. If your parents were there to keep you grounded and make sure you knew the difference between fantasy and reality, then it was never a problem.

So, moms and dads, before you go pointing your fingers at the makers of video games, have a look at yourself first. 'Cause if you're a good, responsible parent, then your kids are probably equipped to handle a little escapism. I'd rather have my kid shooting up a schoolyard on my Playstation than shooting up a schoolyard. In the meantime ... I'll just shut my big yap.

Another Great Tune!

Great Tune!