rob or robbie...

done and done

2007-03-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

YO!

i'm pretty sure I am passing through my blogspot season of life. I never check this anymore and pretty much don't check anybody else's.

i love writing about things i love writing about, so maybe one day i will write a book and you can have that instead.

LOVE,
robbie
myspace.com/robbieband

the body

2007-02-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well guys,
The truth is, i'm growing a little distant from blogging. Blogging was a Vanguard craze for a while, but i'm pretty sure it's a phase that has passed. I think lots of other people are still reading, and since I like writing I keep posting occassionally. It's possible the blog might be retired soon. If you read it and want me to keep writing, you should leave a comment and let me know.

but Laura asked me to post a new blog, so here is a tidbit of something I have been reflecting on:

'The body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" and the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"

So there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

- selections from 1st Corinthians 12

I was asked to share in chapel recently something that I learned about ministry during my internship. I learned a lot, but one of the most pivotal things I learned is this: There is no one correct way to reach people. You need to do what you are called and created to do.

If you had asked me last year what I thought didn't work and what the church needed to change, I would have gushed to you about how irrelevant and religious the church was, how screwed up of a system it was, and how it was a little subculture full of people with little awareness of reality. I could have gone on and on about all the things I didn't like. I could have told you that charismatic Christians are nuts and that conservative Christians are spiritually dead.

I thought I knew what the best way to minister to people in this generation was. I was arrogant and I was wrong.

There is no one way to reach people. You have to do what you are called to do.

Just the same as the eye cannot say to the ear, 'I don't need you!' - the postmodern cannot say to the pentecostal, "I don't need you!". The 'emerging chuch' supporter cannot say to the traditional church support, "I don't need you!". The house church cannot say to the mega church, "I don't need you!"

We are all part of the body of Christ. We are meant to be together. We have been created unique, with distinct functions to serve the body. Think: If we were all exactly the same (like if we were all a leg), the body would be useless and dysfunctional. If we were all 'postmodern' Christians, what would happen to all those who don't fit into the postmodern mold? If we were all 'normal', what would happen to all those who don't fit into the mold that we call 'normal'?

Postmoderns will reach people that churchy churches will never reach, and churchy churches will reach people that postmoderns will never reach and charismaniacs could reach people that 'normal', spirit-filled believers might not reach.

We can't say to each other, "I don't need you!", or "You are wrong! Do it my way, it's the best way!"

We are a body and we need to be together. There is unity in diversity.

In the summer I went to Generation Church in Kirkland, WA, where Judah Smith, an excellent and very well known preacher, pastors a group of around 1000 young people. I sat through the service and when it was over, I immediately noted to my mentor all the things that I was skeptical about, and all the things I disagreed with.
He said this to me, and it has stuck with me: They are successful because they are doing what God called them to do; they are pursuing a vision God put in their hearts.

We, within the body of Christ need to do the same.
There is no one right or best way to reach people, you need to do what God has called and created you to do. Pursue the vision he has put in your heart.

milk alternatives...

2007-01-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

YO!

So I recently came to the realization (without the need of my doctor) that I must be lactose intolerant. I won't go into the details about it, except to say that I have narrowed the dirty, rottenness of my bowels down to the drinking of MILK.

I stopped drinking milk, and mysteriously the nastiness and heartburn all stopped. Then one day, I caved and drank a full glass with Whey Protein in it (I LOVE milk and I had just worked out). ALL DAY I had NASTINESS coming forth from the depths of my innards and this has prompted me to explore milk alternatives.

So far I have tried soy milk and potato milk and they are EASILY among the SICKEST things I have ever come into contact with in my LIFE.

... There must be a better way.

Check out this article I found online where a bunch of dudes taste test different milk alternatives and tell us what they think. It's pretty funny and will definitely save me from trying some other stuff. I think I'll stick with lactose free milk even though it's so expensive.

ARTICLE:

I constructed a blind taste test, though in a fit of compassion I secretly forewarned the most severely lactose-intolerant among us that the fourth cup would be the real milk. We rated the products on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being awful and 10 awe-inspiring, and averaged the scores. What follows is our udderly authoritative guide to milk substitutes, from worst to first:

Vitasoy: Oy. $3.29.
Average Score: 2.2
Only hippies on a great high could mistake this beige ungodliness for milk. Vitasoy "strikes like a cobra," said one panelist, "wait[ing] tasteless for a second before violently attacking the tongue." Among the more positive comments: "It looks, smells, and tastes terrible."

Dunkability: "The taste actually breaks through the cookie. Don't do it."

Soy Dream: A nightmare. $3.29.
Average Score: 2.6
Soy Dream has the consistency of house paint, and it smells like "spackle," "cooking oil," and "vegetable stir fry." Testers compare its taste to "chalk" or "a root," but it's the drink's aftertaste—"like right before you vomit"—that earns particular enmity. Said one shell-shocked panelist: "Uh God. This is narsty."

Dunkability: "Completely overpowers the taste of the cookie."

Silk: Sick. $3.29.
Average Score: 3.6
Our highest-rated soy milk is as thick and yellowish as the rest, and, like the others, it definitely ain't milk—the adjectives coined to describe its taste included "vegetabley" and "rice cakeish." The most troubling comment: "I would feed this to a cat I didn't like." But Silk does receive (faint) praise from one panelist: "Drinkable, but does not taste like milk."

Dunkability: A split decision: "Actually makes the cookie worse." "Not bad with a cookie."

Rice Dream: Dream on. $3.29.
Average Score: 4.0
While this drink looks and smells like the real thing, it isn't. The consistency is superthin, ("white-colored water") and the taste is superpeculiar: "oaty, but not" and "plasticky" are among the attempts to describe its distinct—and distinctly nondairy—flavor.

Dunkability: "It just makes the cookie wet."

Organic Valley Lactose-Free: Tasty heights. $3.69.
Average Score: 7.4
It may not have any lactose, but it's still definitely milk. As one grateful panelist put it: "This doesn't taste like a vegetable at all!" The color, smell, and aftertaste are all milktacular, and though one panelist found it "a little too close to butter," another noted a "sweetness that I like." (Lactose-free milk is made by adding lactase enzymes to regular cow milk, which breaks lactose, a complex sugar, into two more-easily digested simple sugars. As such, people often comment that lactose-free milk is sweeter than regular milk, though it contains no added sugar. Note: Lactose-free milks often contain casein and/or whey, so the truly allergic should steer clear; it is also as likely to come from growth-hormone-injected cows as standard milk)

Dunkability: "Fits like a glove."

Milk: Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. $2.19.
Average Rank: 7.8
Real milk—from a cow!—is greeted by the panel with relieved euphoria, though one panelist analogizes: "I can tell this is real milk, but after drinking soy and Lactaid for many years, it feels slightly off, like hooking up with your girlfriend's sister." Still, panelists rave: "This really hit the spot" and "Welcome home!"

Dunkability: "This is what dunking is about!"

Lactaid: Even better than the real thing. $1.99.
Average Rank: 8.4
Lactose-free Lactaid surprisingly outscored normal milk to take the crown. The color's "sort of green, looks a bit radioactive" but the taste is "thirst-quenching." Though panelists are divided on the sweetness—one found it "not too sweet," and another found it "a little too sweet"—its stratospheric score says it all. Two panelists put it simply and identically: "This one tastes the best." (It was the cheapest, too!)

Dunkability: "A good dunk. Adheres nicely to the cookie."

Conclusion: The nonmilk products didn't taste like milk, and they didn't taste good. Soy milk looks like eggnog and unfortunately tastes like what it is—soy juice. Rice milk gets the color right, but the consistency is too watery and the flavor is just plain bizarre. The soys' dismal showing surprised me because I know from experience that soy milk mixes nicely with other flavors. I'm personally a fan of chocolate soy milk, and if you substitute soy for dairy in a Starbucks drink, you'll barely notice the difference. Yet taken straight, "milk-flavored" soys were awful—and they fared poorly on the cookie-dunking test.

As for our winner, lactose-free milk can taste a bit sweeter than the normal stuff. (The taste varies among brands.) Some people prefer its sweetness, and others don't, but in the end, the difference is marginal: This is milk, and you can tell. In the end, milk substitutes are no substitute at all. Our findings are definitely discouraging for those who are allergic to milk and for anyone thinking about hopping on the dairy-free bandwagon—but, as they say, that's how the cookie crumbles.

.... taken from http://www.slate.com/id/2090629/

2:00 am...

2007-01-07T02:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it's as you may have guessed by reading the large heading directly above this opening statement, the current time is 2:00 AM. I can't sleep. Last year, my life was littered with nights like this, but this year it has been a rare commodity (praise the Lord). They say you shouldn't lie in bed awake for more than half an hour; you're supposed to get up and do something, so I guess I'll blog.

Everytime I come back to Victoria, it gets harder to leave. My heart is here. I'm growing passionate about seeing young people, 12 to 27, move beyond mere religion and become disciples of Christ. I want to equip our youth to go out and speak life to their high schools. I want to see the lives of students in Belmont High School changed and I want to find them in church on a Friday night, hungry for God's Word not because Christians "hide in a subculture", but because they've tasted and seen God, and want more. I came to Bible College almost 3 years ago, looking for a vision; knowing I was called, but not knowing what I was called to. I've gone through some radical developments to get to where I am now, and I think I can say that I've caught a vision for something greater than me.

I want to be an amazing preacher someday. I want to be a better worship leader. I want to be a mentor. I want to go watch Victoria Grizzlies hockey games. I want to spend more time with each of my separated parents and my brother. I want to be a better brother. I want to play Catch Phrase with my friends - "mmhhmm". I want to stay in Victoria.

And at the same time, I don't want to miss out on my Bible College experience. I want to graduate with the people I've spent the bulk of my last 3 years with. Being moderately socially handicapped, it's taken me the entire said length of time to start being able to call those people my friends and mean it, and I don't want to cut that off now. I want people to remember me as a Man of God who spurred on his peers to love and good deeds; who influenced them for life and godliness - not as somebody who whined and complained and always saw the half-empty cup. I want to see my peers rise up from a state of frustrated cynicism and become people with vision (because where there is no vision, people perish).
... Therefore, I also want to be in Edmonton.

And I keep going back and forth on this, changing my mind every month or two.
What am I leaning towards right now? My Edmonton friends will be disappointed, my Victoria friends will rejoice. I'm leaning towards finishing my 3rd year in Edmonton, and then staying in Victoria, where my heart and vision is.
What's the persuading factor? -- FINANCES. Every year I sink further into debt from school. Debt doesn't scare me, but the cost of living has been rising and it costs me SO MUCH to live on my own AND go to school. I'm not afraid of debt, but I'd rather not battle it for the rest of my life. It's free to live at home in Victoria, and outside of regular school I can work more hours.

ANYWAYS... now you can tell why I can't fall asleep.

In addition, my goals for 3rd year, semester two, are:

1. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING - Increased prayer made me a different man last semester.
2. LET NO UNWHOLESOME TALK COME OUT OF MY MOUTH, only what is good for building others up
3. KILL PROCRASTINATION - procrastination, i have found, goes hand in hand with feeling tired and lazy. When you are kicking it up a notch and ACHIEVING your daily goals, you have more motivation and ENERGY and best of all, you get SO MUCH DONE.
4. Invest into people.

It is now 2:40 am.

If you are still reading this, you are wierd. And I appreciate it.
This has been a very unorthodox, and very personal blog for me. It was wierd.
SHALOM IN YOUR HOME!

Rob

merry christmas!

2006-12-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

merry christmas!

if you like to listen to rob and jodi (the amazing voice jodi) sing some christmas duets from last christmas, go check out my MYSPACE:

www.myspace.com/robbieband

it's almost time...

2006-12-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

11 more days and I will be back home in Victoria, LIVING IT UP, festively, with my homies at Christmas time.

(remind me never to use the word 'homies' again).

In the meantime, school is done, exams are basically done and I am BORED OUT OF MY MIND already. It's a good thing I have a PT job, but seriously, WHAT am I going to do for the next 11 days?

I WANT TO GO HOME!

Faith and Rejection

2006-12-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Nothing hurts quite like being rejected (except maybe being disappointed, which is similar, as my friend Meaghan blogged recently). Especially when you didn't expect it; when you didn't necessarily see it coming. There is something about rejection and disappointment that can sit deep in your being and nibble away at your innards. You can go through the week and tell yourself it's no big deal and try to shrug it off - but the truth is that the rejection stays with you as a lump in your stomach until you find a way to work through it and get past. I was recently shut down by a friend, and I'm surprised by how much it bothers me. Rejection hurts.

This isn't a sympathy blog. Instead, I wonder if the woman that Jesus rejected (initially) in Mark 7:28 and Matthew 15:21-27 may have felt the same way. She comes to Jesus, falls to his feet and literally begs him to heal her little daughter. Instead of the warm reception we might expect, she instead feels the sting of rejection. Her persistence is considered annoying and the disciples shut her down. They even request that Jesus send her away.

Then Jesus does the unthinkable, he turns to her and says, "It's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Ouch. Is that in the Bible? Yes. Jesus was ultimately saying that his work was first for the Jews. However, I think he was more interested in giving the woman an opportunity to display great faith.

See, most of us, when we ask Jesus for something and don't get it right away, we stop trying. This woman was different, she was persistent. She replies:

"Even the dogs eat the crumbs that falls from the master's table"

Essentially, she's saying two things:

1. I am not giving up on this, I will persist.

and

2. Even if you don't help me now, I still believe in you. Even if I have to settle for crumbs instead of bread, I will still believe in you.

Despite the sting of rejection, she responds with incredible faith. So I say two things to those who read this. First, don't give up. Pray and never give up. Be persistent. Secondly, and more applicable to those feeling rejected:

Have faith. Believe hard even when life doesn't go the way you hoped. Believe hard even when you get rejected. God is faithful. He knows what he is doing. He can use even your rejection. Look back on your life and see how his hand worked through it all. Recall all the things that you wanted and asked for, but didn't get - then fast forward to the present and notice how it worked. He's been faithful all this time and he's not going to stop now.
Be persistent in prayer, in faith and in life.

and PS. Jesus rewarded the woman's persistence by healing her daughter.

i love my mom!

2006-11-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

ok so my mom, being an amazing woman of God, has shaped me into who I am in so many ways. I am so much like my mom, except obviously in entirely more of a manly nature (praise God).

Keep in mind that I'm from Victoria and moved here to Edmonton for school, as I tell you what recently happened...

Just over two weeks ago on a friday afternoon, I was sitting in the school library getting started on some homework, when I get a tap on my shoulder, like so:

I turned to my right to see who it was only to find nobody there. Could it be an angel? Not really... but sort of. I turned behind me only to see (and this picture actually happened, it is not posed):

My mom flew to Edmonton and surprised me! I was so blessed.
I love my mom.
Am I a mama's boy? Maybe a little, and I'm not so ashamed of it either.

Isn't that cool?

poop mouths...

2006-11-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

hey, anybody remember this?
wow, I watched this whole video the other night and I can't believe how badly I needed a taste of my own medicine (actually the WORD of GOD) not long after preaching this last year!

For all you outside of Bible College, this was part of what I preached in homiletics (preaching) class last year, in our second year of Bible College.

Rob preaching about poo.

Add to My Profile | More Videos

a lack of action on the blogs these days

2006-11-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

hey y'all.

so has anybody else been noticing a lack of action on blogs these days? Most of the links on the right --> aren't getting updated anymore, therefore leaving me and sometimes Meaghan as the only true bloggers (a title I'm not sure is all that cool).

Is the blog fad from 2nd year phasing out during 3rd year? I still enjoy blogging and so I probably won't be stopping.

I would just like to say that this has been a great semester! It's almost over and I'm getting to the point where I don't want to go to class anymore, but for the most part classes have been great and we've got the JOY OF THE LORD to exponential amounts more than ever before! It's getting us through. The Holy Spirit and the WORD of God gives us everything we need for life and godliness!
COME ON!

On a side note - if any of you know who the 'secret admirer' is of recent posts... Please tell it to take a hike (in love). It's creepnasty. Making idolatrous Myspace pages dedicated to me is WIERD, and if it's a prank - it's also not funny.

SHALOM friends!

the christmas spirit!

2006-11-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Beware, this could very well be the last type of blog you would expect from me.

Can I be honest? This is my blog so I will be regardless of whether you would like that or not. I can have a pity party anytime I want because it's my blog.

Seriously though, I hate winter, but I swear Christmas just might be the 'most wonderful time of the year'. We're not quite there yet, it's still early November, but the malls are putting up all their decorations and the snow is on the ground (which is a big deal for me, being originally from Victoria - we used to hope and hope and hope for a white Christmas). I'm definitely starting to get in the Christmas spirit.

Here's the thing though, as a kid, Christmas was always something so much more. The older I get, the more I become like Scrooge and I really, truly feel sad aboout that! I used to love decorating our house and putting up our tree, and then heading over to see friends who would feed us Christmas goodies and egg nog or chai, or have those friends over to our house instead. I used to love (back when I was a lady's man in highschool) taking my various 'sort of' girlfriends downtown where the whole city was lit up and people were riding around in horse and buggy and feeling all Christmasy. Those were the days!

How come the older I get, the less I feel like I enjoy Christmas? It's like in my head I still love it, but it doesn't feel like it used to. I am deathly afraid of getting too old for Christmas! I am deathly (ok maybe 'deathly' is a strong word, but you know what I mean) afraid of becoming Scrooge-ish.

I think maybe, the older a person gets, the more intentional they have to be about getting the most out of Christmas season. I think for most of you who read this blog, we are so tied up with exams and assignments, that the best part of Christmas is NOT HAVING SCHOOL. And then we immediately turn our minds to the next semester. Friends, let's have some fun before we all head home for Christmas after this semester. I will be alone in Edmonton until the morning of the 24th and I hope to have some fun with anybody who is still in the city. And before school is out, can we all get together and do some Christmasy things? Like go skating on the Parliament Building grounds (or ledge grounds or whatever you call them)? Or just enjoy Edmonton's parks at Christmas?

I want to get back to LOVING Christmas like a kid again. I want to have FUN with the people who I love. And I do seriously love you guys.

who are your heroes?

2006-11-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

here's a little interactive, yet nerdy, blog post for you...

who are your heroes? whoe are the people that have blessed you, inspired you, impacted you, and influenced you?

Leave a comment with your 5 heroes, but try to avoid really obvious and spiritual heroes like 'Jesus' or 'God'. We're talking tangible (not that the trinity isn't tangible, but you know what I mean..)

Here's mine:

1. Ira Parmenter (Friend, mentor, pastor, inspiration, incredible preacher, worship leader, and the list goes on)
2. Judah Smith (Generation Church, see the link on the right side of my blog)
3. My mom (strongest, most dedicated woman of God the world has ever seen and the best example of living by faith I have ever seen in life itself).
4. Ken Solbrekken (don't know him very well, but every interaction I have with him blesses me).
5. C.S. Wiersma (just a brilliant guy, willing to take risks and try new things to reach the people many churches don't. If he wrote books, I would buy EVERY one. He pastors The Thomas Question in Ontario and you can look it up online to download his sermons)

This is a tribute to our heroes; who are yours?

"entering into worship" ...?

2006-10-24T14:31:00.000-06:00

I've been told before that I have a tendency to preach about my pet peeves. I guess this is somewhat true, but I'd prefer to call it speaking out towards perceived needs. Being fallen, human, Christians - I recognize that there are things we somehow trick ourselves into believing which are actually kind of wierd and at times, incorrect and maybe even not biblical.

So, with that said, I feel like commenting toward a perceived need/pet peeve:

Does anybody else notice the popular phrase circulating through praise and worship circles, "enter into worship"? I'm increasingly starting to think that it's kind of wierd when worship leaders encourage us to 'enter into worship'. It really percolates inside of me when they take it a step further and call it 'entering into the presence of God'.

Can I have the permission of any random person who happens to choose to read my blog to remind us of something? I'm having troubles articulating my thoughts on a subject of this magnitude, so I'll quote Leon Morris (from The Atonement - it's for school, I'm not reading it for fun):

Our sins separate us from God. We have no way of remedying the situation. But Christ has opened for his people the way into the very presence of God. This does not mean an occasional access. Christians live day by day in the assurance that the way into the presence of God is open wide. They need the mediation of no earthly priest. Indeed, now all of life is lived in God's presence.

In the book of Hebrews, chapters 9-11 are dedicated to developing this. In the Old Testament, a priest, once a year, could enter into the presence of God, only after following a religious set of tasks that made him clean, and only with a blood offering. Thanks to Jesus' once for all, blood sacrifice - we live in God's presence all the time.

Anytime someone claims that something is unbiblical, I put up red flags. When you start to making claims that imply you have the right to state what is and isn't biblical, you walk a fine line (especially when it goes against pop belief). I'm not prepared to say I have any special rights, but I think, worship leaders, that it might be worth exploring whether it is the right approach to exhort the people you are leading to 'enter into God's presence'.

You can't go in and out of his presence. If you believe in Christ, then you live in his presence. Neither can you enter in and out of worship because worship requires all of our being, all of the time; it is the state of being a constantly intentional living offering (Romans 12).

Maybe I'm making mountains out of mole hills, but I personally think that having a true perspective of what worship is, and a true perspective of what it means to be in God's presence is crucial to living out your life as a disiple of Jesus.

it's a jeep thing...

2006-10-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

me and lorne took our jeeps offroad last weekend.

I mean seriously, I've had my jeep for almost 3 years now and never actually, intentionally taken it off road - how cany anyone own a jeep and not use it for what it was meant to be used? (Laura, this post proves that my machine is not a family vehicle).

So we drove around for at least an hour on all the back range roads east of edmonton trying to find a place to get muddy and stay legal. We couldn't really find anything, so Lorne got impatient and decided to drive in the ditch, about 60 feet away from one of the main entrances to Elk Island National Park. Lo and behold, he got stuck. I fully expected to get fined and scolded by park officers, but thankfully some guys in big trucks came along and towed him out (I tried, and broke my bumper in the process. I wish I had tow hooks).

Finally, as we were about to give up - we found some pretty fun trails running just beside the Wye Road highway waaay east of Edmonton. We saw some guys quadding and stuff, so we figured it was legal and then we went in there and sloshed around. It was pretty tame by 4x4 standards, but for unmodifed vehicles, it was a good time. I got stuck in a big, sticky mud puddle (it was more like a pond). Here are some pics. If I could afford gas, we'd go again, but I guess I'll have to wait till next year.

cheap worship

2006-09-27T12:21:00.000-06:00

it's been a while since I posted something spiritual, so here is something to chew on. If you go to school with me and are taking the class 'Pastoral Letters', you probably would have heard Dr. Franklin mention this in class.

Regarding the use of singing and music in 'worship services'... (which are great things, but...)

singing is cheap. raising your hands is cheap. trying to look spiritual is cheap (it might even end up costing you in the long run). you can sing as loud as you want, and you can go ahead and sing a new song to the Lord, but it's still cheap. is it bad? not at all. it's very good to praise God, and via music is the way we're used to doing it. There is nothing wrong with that - but it is still cheap.

why is it cheap? what am I talking about?

it's cheap because it doesn't cost us anything to sing a few words. it doesn't cost us anything to lift our hands and scrunch up our nose and eyes into our best 'praise faces'. It doesn't cost us anything to sing a new song or to start speaking in tongues (which by the way, is only edifying to yourself - so please keep it personal so as not to distract others). all these things are good things, but they don't cost us anything.

Worship is meant to be a sacrfice, and sacrifices aren't sacrfices if they don't cost us something. Some would say that those who don't express themselves in worship are battling pride, and they oought to 'bring a sacrifice of praise' by sacrificing their pride. To say this is to miss the entire point of a 'sacrifice of praise' (and it's also judgemental, therefore you ought to bring a 'sacrifice of praise' by sacrificing your judgementalism - GOTCHA!).

Singing is cheap worship (cheap does not equate with bad). True worship is a sacrfice (Romans 12) and it needs to cost us something. True worship has less to do with the songs you sing in a service, and more to do with what you do when that service is over.

Do you ignore, or do you acknowledge? Do you avoid, or do you accept? Are you exclusive or are you inclusive? Do you only bless those who have the ability to bless you back or do you actually bless people who need it?
These are all thoughts I've been formulating.
I'm not sure I really know what sacrificial worship can really look like for me or anybody else - but I firmly believe that sacrificial worship has more to do with the way you live your life, the way you treat others and your integrity, than it does with singing, tongueing, and expressing during music.

a few more words on postmodern hair, and the way it relates to children

2006-09-19T18:20:00.000-06:00

ok so,

we all read the previous post where I went fishing for compliments about my hair because I am an insecure and needy individual (kidding). As a follow up to that post, I'd like to further inflate my ego by filling you in on some priceless comments made toward me by some precious children.

so I just started a new job, working in an 'after school' child care center somewhere in edmonton.

day one

classic quotes made toward me (kids say the darndest things)...

"whoa, you're so cool. you have rock star hair."
"is your name Robin, like the bird, because of your hair?" (how they made that association is beyond me)

and my personal favorite, coming from a grade one girl who looked at me intently (as her wheels turned), before declaring:

"you're handsome looking"

praise the Lord for kids, they are good for my ego.

postmodern hair

2006-09-13T14:55:00.000-06:00

well, school is back in action!

let me tell you, we have gotten off to a great start. I know this year is going to be hard but I feel better about our attitudes and it appears like many of us have matured greatly.

I have also received many compliments on my "post modern hair". I'll get a picture up or something sometime. That's probably the coolest thing that has happened to me.

In a nutshell, I can't think of much to say here (which is highly unusual).

I don't have internet anymore, only at the school, so this blog will probably not get updated as often, but I'll still say stuff (of higher quality than this) from time to time.

-rob

it is time...

2006-08-30T21:14:00.000-06:00

I'm leaving tomorrow morning!

Goodbye Victoria! I am sad to leave you and all the great things that are happening.
Edmonton! - welcome me with open arms, please.
God! - please give me all your money.

I'm excited.

Let's stay sane.
Amen.

updates...

2006-08-24T11:46:00.000-06:00

here's a little scoop on what's been happening lately...

1. I went do to Seattle with Ira to check out Judah Smith's youth/young adults ministry called Generation Church. Judah Smith is a hero of mine (check out link to his podcasts on the right side). You guys mostly know that I get a little wary of megachurch type stuff and classic pentecostal style church, but that guy is a MAN OF GOD. He's an incredible speaker, and their group is SO biblical. I met him, and felt so blessed by all the youth staff down there. I left totally motivated and convinced that among the most important things to remember when making disciples is to BE WHO GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BE (and also that we have too low of a priority when it comes to making disciples - the great commission). I might not be fitted to the same mold as them, but they are hugely succesful because they are doing what God wanted them to do. So don't talk down about other people's passions (like we all did last year, especially me).

2. Played electric guitar in a band of young adults from our church at a music festival on the island called Alive Inside. There was about 1000 people there, and SonicFlood was the headlining act. I've never played in anything so big before, it was cool!

3. We kicked off a new young adult ministry at the church where I am interning. We just decided on a name, 'The Project' (a slight Millwoods rip off, but it was the best fit for our vision). Check out the link on the right side of this page to see the blog. I'm so excitied about it, that I wish I could stay. Nonetheless, to my disbelief, I am actually excited about school this fall.

4. One week to go until school, and myself and my roommate only JUST found a place to live yesterday. I thought I was going to end up living in the school (I would have become a crazy man, wandering around naked in the hallways, screaming like a banshee and hitting myself with other people's laptops).
My roommate is Dave, and we're going to be living in a 4plex basement suite somewhere in the Fort Road/Rexall Place. Probably a 8/10 sketch factor, but I think it will be ok. Come over and hang out, it will be fun.

5. I finish up my internship this week with a sunday morning preach at church. This will be my first sunday morning preach, although I've preached on sunday morning at camp before. I am VERY excited about and stoked for a Word I believed I've been inspired with about faith (psalm 143). Internship has been awesome. I've been stretched and most importantly REFOCUSED. Bible College has a way of making you lose your focus if you aren't careful. I think I've got back to my roots this summer, and I hope to remember that God is bigger than school assignments and expecations.

I'll be back in town on Sept 2nd. Getting a job working with children at the YMCA, and then heading off to weekend retreats. See you guys soon.

positive dissatisfaction

2006-08-03T17:01:00.000-06:00

Dissatisfaction is another word for motivation.
Dissatisfied people are highly motivated people, for they see the need for immediate change. They know something is wrong and often know what needs to be done. Dissatisfaction can inspire change, or it can lead to a critical spirit. It can lead to apathy, or stir one to action. The key is harnessing this energy toward effective change.

The pessimist complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails.

brother lawrence...

2006-07-27T13:48:00.000-06:00

here is a great and simple thought from the old school monk Brother Lawrence. This is an excerpt from the book Practicing the Presence of God which is a collection of letters and thoughts of this great, old dude (a couple hundred years ago):

---

Brother Lawrence talked with me often, and with great openness of heart, about his way of going to God. He said everything consists in one wholehearted renunciation of anything (that we're aware of) that does not lead to God.

He said we could accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and simplicity. All we need to do is recognize God intimately present with us, and address Him every moment. This will help us secure His help for knowing his will in uncertain matters, and for doing those things we know He plainly requires of us. He will help us give them to God before we do them, and then to give Him thanks when we have finished doing them.

In our continual conversation with God, we are really praising, adoring, and loving him incessantly, because of his infinite goodness and prefection.

pick a color...

2006-07-22T16:15:00.000-06:00

if you read this - you are obliged to respond! anybody can respond, you don't have to be a blogger member or anything lame like that.

k, I'm purchasing some used roof racks my Hildebeest (Jeep) from a random guy in Victoria.

They just need to be cleaned and sprayed with a can of spray paint to get them looking good again (they've been sitting behind his shed for some time).

"... what? Robbie, did you say you're going to spray paint them?"

Yes, you heard me. I'm going to spray paint them.

Now, the safe thing to do would be to paint them black and be like everybody else. But tell me, just for a little character, what colour would you like to see my roof racks? Just to give me Jeep a little character, so that next time you see a white Cherokee cruisin down the Yellowhead with orange roof racks, you can say "THERE GOES ROBBIE!"

a story about attitude and friendship

2006-07-18T12:14:00.000-06:00

k so I know I've posted twice in two days and that is HUGE overkill during the summer. I am truly more of a nerd than any of my other friends who have not blogged since school ended. Nonetheless, I am reading Developing the Leader in You by John Maxwell. In his chapter on Problem Solving, there is an amazing story about attitude, and also friendship. I want to share it with those of you who read my blog sometimes.

During the school this year, when I am frustrated, I am going to remember this story (and please hold me to it). This is awesome, read it.

GW Target, in his essay "The Window", tells the story of two men confined to hospital beds in the same room. Both men were seriously ill and though they were not allowed much diversion - no television, radio, or books - their friendship developed over months of conversation. They discussed every possible subject in which they both had interest or experience, from family to jobs to vacations, as well as much of their own personal histories.
Neither man left his bed, but one was fortunate enough to be next to the window. As part of his treatment, he could sit up in bed for just an hour a day. At this time he would describe the world outside to his roommate. In very descriptive terms, he would bring the outside world inside to his friend, describing to him the beautiful park he could see, with its lake, and the many interesting people he saw spending their time there. His friend began to live for those descriptions.
After a particularly fascinating report, the one man began to think it was not fair that his friend got to see everything while he could see nothing. He was ashamed of his thoughts, but he had quite a bit of time to think about them and he just could not get them out of his mind. Eventually, his thoughts began to take their effect on his health, and he became even more ill, with a disposition to match.
One evening, his friend, who sometimes had difficulty with congestion and breathing, awoke with a fit of coughing and choking and was unable to push the button for the nurse to come to his aid. The frustrated, sour man lay there looking at the ceiling, listening to this struggle for life next to him, and doing nothing.
The next morning the nurse came in to find the man by the window dead.
After a proper interval, the man who was so eager to see out the window asked if he could be moved, and it was quickly done. As soon as the room was empty, the man struggled up on his elbow to look out the window and fill his spirit with the sights of the outside world.
It was then he discovered the window faced a blank, brick wall.

what the heck is a beatitude?

2006-07-17T16:56:00.000-06:00

So for a long time, a certain selection of scripture (said scripture being Luke 6:20-26 - it's probably in the other gospels too, but I'm reading Luke right now) has always been known to me as 'the beatitudes'.

Please, somebody tell me what the heck a beatitude is? All we know is that this passage contains 'the beatitudes' and maybe I speak for myself, but I have never, in my 22.5 years, heard that word used in any facet of daily life. What in tarnations is a beatitude?

Regardless, with the help of my trusty NIV and The Message versions of the Bible, I have paraphrased Luke 6:20-26 in a way that makes sense in my head and for some reason I have chosen to blog it although I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of that would be.

Jesus said to his disciples:

- God's Kingdom is for those who have lost everything, never had anything or gave everything up and are poor - they are blessed.

- Those who are hungry for God now, will be given more than they could ever ask for later - they are blessed.

- Those who are in tears now, will be laughing later - they are blessed.

- You're blessed when somebody makes you look like a complete idiot and ruins your reputation all because of me. They did the same thing to the prophets. It hurts now, but Heaven applauds you.

On the other hand,
- It sucks to be those who think they've got it made - for what they have now is all they'll ever get.

- It sucks to be you, who thinks he has all he wants and doesn't need or want any more, for what you have now is all you will ever get, and you'll be hungry.

- It sucks to be those who scoff and treat life like fun and games, for there is suffering to be met and you are going to meet it.

- Aaaannd it sucks to be you people pleasers who have manipulated your way into favour with people - just like the false prophets used to do.

CRAZY. I love the Bible. The rest of the chapter is full of Jesus' Tips on How to Live Good and I think I'm going to paraphrase them too (sticks in my head better that way).

WELL, see ya later!

2006-07-09T16:39:00.000-06:00

faith's most tragic mistake,
borne out of faith's most tragic misunderstanding,
they taught us how to miss the point,
and we called it 'church'

school is coming, school is coming

2006-06-24T00:31:00.000-06:00

hey guys!

well I just feel the need to inform the few of us who still blog, of the developments of something I thought might never happen again after the tragedy that was my 2nd year of Bible College...

After almost 2 months of summer holidays, and some time spent considering never coming back and finishing through iBolt, I can tell you that....

I.... am..... actually.... looking... forward.... to.... getting ..... back .... to....

...Edmonton!

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not particularly looking forward to school, but I am looking forward to getting back to Edmonton (not sure why, it's definitely not any woman, thats for sure). The theme for this year is going to be "Different!" -- because it's not going to be the same CRAP. We're going to be different, and I guess we'll wait and see what that means (cause I really couldn't tell ya...)

For the sake of preventative maintenance, I don't plan to live near the school, and I'm going to try to stay away from it as much as possible. THat way I won't start to despise it so quickly!

I'm so positive!

hugs and kisses,
robbie

in the clutch...

2006-06-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

So I'm preaching tomorrow at our youth group (Momentum Generation Ministries, MGM) tomorrow night. This will be my first preach of the summer, and then I am speaking again at a very 'emerging' student ministry on the UVIC campus (Sunago) on Tuesday. I promised Dave I would blog once I started preaching, so here's a summarized, blog version of tomorrow night's message (modified for the young adult crowd).

yeah, it's long...

how will you respond under pressure?

(I made this video mostly from clips on ebaumsworld.com and I hope they don't take it down because 'it's illegal' or something).

This video is filled with people who had to make a choice under pressure. Some of them cracked, some of them bailed, and Tiger Woods made a clutch shot - but all of them had to respond under pressure, whether their response was good or bad. President Hertzog said in a sermon this year "life is 10 percent what happens to you, and 90 percent how you respond". So my question to you is, "How will you respond under pressure?"

As young adults, our lives are guaranteed to be full of high pressure moments in which we will have to make decisions that will affect our life, other's lives, our relationships, other's relationships, our purity, other's purity, our relationship with God and other's relationship with God. So how will you respond under pressure?

Normally, in our 'safe', 'never take risks', 'never step outside the Church' cultured Christianity, we usually look at going to clubs, pubs, parties or any other place (you name it) where the heathens gather as 'dangerous' and as a horrible place to be. We look at them as prime opportunities for us to fall into sin or to 'backslide'. Of course, we need to be careful of the places we go and our motives in being there - but one thing is certain --> Jesus did not humble himself to become a man, come to earth, live and die in order for us to simply go to church. He did not live and die simply so that we could hang out with our Christian cliques and try to outspiritualize each other. He did not live and die so that we could view going to 'Bible College' as the ultimate identifying mark of a poster-Christian. He lived and died because God so loved the world (and continues to do so) that he sent his only son, so that anybody who believes in him will not perish, but live forever!

We view these places as absolutely taboo for the Christian to even think of going there - but Jesus' life and God's Word tell us a story so different that it baffles me how we ever got to a place of seeking 'safe', 'no threat to the enemy' Christianity (if I put quotations in any more of my sentences, I think I will be rivaling Dr. Franklin for the title of quotation king).

The WORD tells us (in Romans 12), "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good". Instead of viewing parties, and gatherings of our unChurched friends as being an opportunity to fall into sin, we should begin to view them as opportunities to not be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good.

When Jesus went to the wedding party and provided the wine, he did it in order to overcome evil with good.
When Jesus ate dinner with the tax collectors and "sinners", he did it to overcome evil with good.
When Jesus reached out to touch and heal the leper, he did it to overcome evil with good.

Since when did Jesus' command to go into the world and make disciples become 'hide in your church and hope that they come' ??

Never once did he cave into temptation (and let's be honest, we're not Jesus and we're not perfect, therefore we will fall at times. So it's essential that if we go, we go prepared and with accountbility). He was (and is) not the avoider of sinners, the ignorer of sinners; He was (and is) not 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild' or the uncomfortable around sinners -- He was (and is) the friend of sinners. In being the friend of sinners, he didn't not cave into temptation, but he did overcome evil with good.

So, how would you respond?
Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.

When you get to heaven, ask Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego what it was like to be the only 3 people out of the people 'of all nations and languages' who remained standing as everybody else kneeled to the gargantuous gold idol, as the King had demanded. Ask them what it was like to then be confronted by the raging, lunatic King Nebuchadnezzar himself and say "You can throw is into a flaming furnace if you want, but no matter what you do, we will NOT bow to your idol". Ask them what it was like to overcome evil with good.
They could have run, or hid, or done what everybody else was doing (like the church does today) - but instead they stood strong in what they believed and would not back down.

So how will you respond?

the banana

2006-06-05T16:53:00.000-06:00

k guys, because I'm big into eating healthy (some of you may be shocked to hear of it) and working out, I was totally blown away to read what I am about to copy and paste for you, regarding bananas.

I think they are so disgusting and they make me dry-heave when I eat them, but I don't mind them in one of my amazing smoothies. check this out....

bananas...

Bananas. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression : According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS : Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia : High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure : This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke

Brain Power : 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped
through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation : High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers : One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn : Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness : Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood
sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites : Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the
affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves : Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria
found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and
crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady

Ulcers : The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders
because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal = Affective Disorder (SAD) : Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress : Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat,
sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we
are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes : According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine,
"eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

'the force'

2006-05-30T20:57:00.000-06:00

So, fellow Christian friends, have you ever gone through a time when your devotional life sucks and you don't get why? I get that a lot, in fact at times I feel like it could be the story of my life. I actually sometimesdont even like my devotional times because they often feel so pointless. In those times, it feels like God won't speak to me; like I'm having a one way conversation with the air.

Well recently (actually today), I had somewhat of an epiphany as I was seeking God further on the subject: A call to get back to the basics. In a completey unrelated message, my pastor recently asked the question, "who is God to you?" So I've been thinking about this lately and I've noticed a disturbing trend.

Who is God to me? Sometimes I find myself treating him as if he were some sort of "force"; an impersonal being that I have to try my hardest to impress in order to make it like me. Consequently, instead of spending time with a personal, relational God, my devotional time feels like a half hour or so trying to connect with "the force". No wonder I've been leaving those times feeling so frustrated.

I know, I know - it sounds so wierd... but I wonder how it is that we (I hope I'm not the only one) sometimes get to this place of treating God like a spookernatural 'force' instead of who he really is. It's almost like Deism.

The truth is that God is not just a force, but the Almighty, creator of the universe, who, in the midst of probably being incredibly busy as a result of his omnipresence and omniscience still somehow manages to find time to just hang out with me. And not only does he make time for me, but he made it possible for me to respond to him by becoming a man and taking the bullet that was aimed for my head. He is our father and he has called us his children. He has invited us to sit at his dinner table. He has reserved a place for us in Heaven. God is my father. Jesus is my guide and friend. The Holy Spirit is my partner.

It's wierd that something so central to all I believe so easily slips out of focus.

So, of course it's going to be hard to have a relationship with "the force", but when I remember who God is to me and who I am to God, I can't help but want to know him more.

time is short...

2006-05-18T23:59:00.000-06:00

Wow, in my best yoda voice --> "busy is my life, yeesss".

Things have been non stop! Thankfully, it's non stop in a good way. It's wierd how in school, for some reason, I get abnormally stressed to the point where I can't sleep at night, I'm constantly bugging out, I'm grumpy, irritable and critical and the stress even affects the functioning of my body in strange ways.
... and yet here I am, 3 times more busy than I was in school and I don't have an ounce of stress. guys, it's been awesome. I put my head on my pillow and I fall asleep in 10 or 15. My heart doesn't palpitate randomly and my eyes aren't twitching. My second blog ever was about the 'diathesis stress hypothesis' -- I'm happy to say mine is back to normal.
What can I say? I guess I don't do school very well, even though I love to study things that I am interested in and feel are worthwhile. I'm so glad to be outta there, at least for a while. Maybe I should do the rest through Ibolt.

Anyways, if you stop by my blog this weekend, say a prayer for myself and all the youth leadership of my church (and the youth) as we head off to BC's YC. We leave tomorrow morning bright and early to head to Kamloops. I'm prepping for a powerful weekend and I cannot wait to see God work in the kid's lives.

Internship is going amazing, and Ira and myself are in the process of seeking God about a wicked awesome young adult ministry that we are planning to kick off soon. I have so much passion to see the TRUTH get presented to young adult culture by engaging them in a way that 'church' isn't. It's going to be great and I'm praying for a very missional minded group and many saved souls.

Sorry this totally isn't as interesting as some of my previous posts, I swear I'll get more good ones going soon. Just wait till I start preaching...

BURNED

2006-05-13T18:47:00.000-06:00

hooooooly...

well today we had a fundraiser to help the youth get to BC's Youth Convention (YC). It was our garage sale/car wash and I was in charge of running the carwash. So I got to the church at 8 oclock and we got started...
All was going fine and dandy until around 3 PM when I began to realize that my arms were somewhat red. And then it hit me - I never even considered that I should be using sunscreen today! I hadn't even thought about it. I was out washing cars with the youth from 8 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon in the middle of the hot sun with no shade to be found.

Let's clarify, it's one thing for your typical person to be in the sun for 7 hours, but it's a completely different can o'worms for a red head.
Needless to say, I have a horrible (and very 'farmers') burn all over my face, ears, neck and forearms. And just now, it's beginning to hurt a little.

But the good news is that the youth raised a whopping amount of money and that will help them each a lot.

Meanwhile I have just finished my first week of internship at the church and I am LOVING it. I love you guys in Alberta, but right now I seriously want to stay in Victoria (although that chances of that happening are like 3.47777777 repeating percent).

Anyways, my fellow bloggers seem to have shut down for the summer and so I'm probably not going to spend a whopping amount of time on my blog, but I'll update it every now and then with some basic facts of my life.

I outtie like belly button.

come on, revolution!

2006-05-06T09:59:00.000-06:00

This one's a bit long guys, but totally read it eh...

I'm currently reading a book by George Barna ("the most quoted person in the Christian church today") called Revolution. This book is amazing and I highly recommend it. In a very brief nutshell (can a nutshell be brief? or is it just a nutshell, ie. a container in which nuts are held?), the premise of the book is the recognition that millions of North American Christians are leaving their local churches and choosing to "be" the church (the universal body of Christ; all Christians worldwide) as opposed to "do" the church (typical, 'churched', lifeless, religious, Christianity). Barna calls these people revolutionaries, and I have to agree with him - although I don't support people abandoning their churches.

I'm a bit of a revolutionary myself and I am really passionate about seeing Christians break away from meaningless routines, mindless religion and sunday morning emotional fixes in favour of pursuing something real and transformational; something that transcends all aspects of your life. Something that you haven't forgotten by the time Monday morning rolls around.

Barna did some research regarding 'Churched Christians' and 'Revolutionaries' (Barna is a world reknowned pollster, surveyor and stats guy - he is more than credible) and came to some very convicting conclusions. These things are not exactly surprising, but they are a well-timed kick in the nuts. I have to cut out some stuff to keep the blog readable, but check some of this out:

Regarding Worship
--> Bi-weekly attendance at worship services are the only time polled believers worship God.
--> 8 out of every 10 believers do not feel they enter into God's presence, or connect with him, during a worship service.
--> Half of all believers feel that they haven't event been in His Presence within the last year
--> Only 1 out of every 4 believers say that God is the primary beneficiary of their worship. Most people say that they expect to receive the most out of the experience.

Regarding faith-based conversations
--> The typical, churched believer will die without leading a single person to the lifesaving knowledge of a relationship with Jesus.
--> At any given time, most Christians don't not even have an unsaved person that they are praying for (for their salvation)
--> Most churched Christians feel that since they are not 'gifted in evangelism', letting their faith be evident in their extra-church relationships is not a responsibility of theirs.

Regarding Resource Investment
(This one really gets me, and also convicts me)
--> Churched Christians give away an average of about 3 percent of the income for the year - and feel pleased at their 'sacrificial' generosity.
--> Most believers are unable to indentify anything specific that they ever donated their money too that could be described as producing life changing fruit.

Regarding Family Faith
-->The likelihood of a married couple who are born-again churchgoers getting divorced is the same as couples who aren't disciples of Jesus
-->Apart from Church programs, the typical Christian family spends less than 3 hours per month in endeavours designed to jointly develop or apply their faith.

Guys! We need Revolutionaries to step up! Christ's church needs passionate people who are grounded in the real truth,and not the people pleasing version. It's time for us not to abandon the church, but to edify it and encourage it and to challenge it. It's time for us not to be church-bashers (knock on wood), but to be church-builderuppers Let's not be afraid to take a stand and speak out, but always remember to speak out in love.
Cool.

of oceans and rainforests

2006-04-29T00:31:00.000-06:00

thank God, with a capital 'G'.

School is finally finished!
It's been a strange year. During the year, I felt like I was walking through the fires of hell itself (at times). It was arguably one of the least enjoyable years of my life (a life which has been pretty easy for the most part). And yet now the school year is over, and I'm looking back on it, taking inventory and saying to myself, "hey, that actually wasn't so bad".

I can't count on my hands the number of times I have complained about something school related this year, and yet I know by the time summer is over, I'm going to be happy to come back.

Anyways... point of this post --> SEE YA IN SEPTEMBER. There's a bunch of people I didn't get to say goodbye to for the summer, and mayhaps they don't even know my blog exists - but if, say, they stumble onto it, they'll know that I hope God refreshes them, teaches them, stretches them and takes them to new levels of relationship and Spirit-led living over the course of the summer.
Meanwhile, I'll be doing my internship with probably the best possible person anybody could ever do their internship with and I will keep my blog updated with my oh so interesting and controversial thoughts (haven't had any in a while, but many more are percolating where the others came from).
When not interning I will be enjoying the beautiful oceans and rainforests of Vancouver Island, and maybe even take the Jeep where no man has gone before (ok, probably not, but it makes me sound cool).

Be blessed guys. Sometimes I am grumpy, but I love you guys and we'll be back at it in a few months (at which time, I will likely resume being grumpy).

modern psychotheracrappies

2006-04-23T18:12:00.000-06:00

ok...

so as per usual, everybody in my classes this semester got into groups to tackle all the questions in the study guides for our exams. Each person in the group gets a question or two to study and answer, and then everybody pools their answers into one collaboration, thus making the workload easier for each person.

...And as usual, nobody thought to include me in a group. I feel like I get forgotten all the time. I hate asking people to share the answers with me, because then I feel like a freeloader - but it bothers me that everyone else works together and I have to do it all on my own (thankfully, good old Adam shares his notes with me often).

So with that said, I can't comprehend the ginormous words used in 'modern psychotherapies' and so I don't know how to answer those questions for Psych. I've spent like the last hour and a half on the first question and my eye is twitching because the book is driving me crazy and because I had 3 cups of coffee this afternoon.

If anyone has any study notes they'd like to share with me, please email me. I want to be a part of it too.

funny and obscure bible verses...

2006-04-19T14:54:00.000-06:00

On my last entry, Dawn (randomly) posted a verse about how people (in the Israelite camp) were supposed to take a dump outside of camp and bury it in a hole (so as to not be unclean).

This gave me the brilliant idea of posting some funny/obscure verses in the Bible. I can't help but think God was totally chuckling when he inspired some of these. Don't get all offended and goofy-spiritual on me please, I'm not making fun of the Bible here - just enjoying God-given humour (so I enjoy humour about bodily functions - don't hate me because I'm beautiful). These are all from the New Living Translation.

Deuteronomy 23:1
"If a man's testicles are crushed, or his penis cut off, he may not be included in the assembly of the Lord."

Deureronomy 25:11
"If two Israelite men are fighting and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, her hand must be cut off without pity."

2 Kings 2:23 24
"Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. "Go away, you baldhead!" they chanted. "Go away, you baldhead!" Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.

1 Samuel 24:3
"At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding in that very cave!"

A few from Proverbs...

"Beautiful women obtain wealth, and violent men get rich"

"... A nagging wife annoys like a constant dripping."

"It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby, complaining wife."

"The lazy person is full of excuses saying, "I can't go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I'm sure there's a lion out there!"

"Don't fail to correct your children. They won't die if you spank them."

"As a door turns back and forth on it's hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed."

Acts 17:19-21
"Then they took him to the Council of Philosophers. "Come and tell us more about this new religion," they said, "You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it's all about." (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as all the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

And to finish off this blog, check out this verse that I read the other day -- it's not really funny, just super cool...

"And I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books."
- John 21:25

Post a funny verse, or passage, if know one.

happy easter

2006-04-14T16:35:00.000-06:00

so I know I'm supposed to be all spiritual and stuff because it's easter and all...

but let's face it, Christ's death and resurrection is something we celebrate with every day of our forgiven lives.

Therefore, in light of a 4 day weekend I would like to post something that I find funny!

Enjoy! .....

idolatry in 2006

2006-04-12T12:24:00.000-06:00

My pastor said something very interesting and true in his message this past weekend. You could probably add some things to this list, but he mentioned a few things that could be considered the 'gods' of our culture, even in the church (maybe even especially in the church)

1. Busyness

2. Tiredness

3. Coffee (I added this one)

Seriously, ask anybody, "How ya doin?" Like 95.777777 repeating percent of the time, they will proceed to tell you how busy and tired they are, while drinking coffee.
We should probably learn how to relax. I think we busy ourselves with lots of unnecessary things and we also have lost the understanding of the importance of sleep.
Don't forget to take your sabbath, people.

------

In other news, does anybody know how to make smelly feet not smelly? My feet are clammy to the max and they make a funky odour - different than your typical smelly foot smell. It's kind of a sour-vinegar type smell.
I've got this cream that supposedly deodorizes and dries my feet - but today my feet still smell, so it's apparenty not working
I'm in class right now and I took off of my (ventilated) sandals and PHEW, there is no escaping it.

Anybody have any thoughts on the gods of our culture and the aim to reduce the stench of clammy feet?

on the topic of service...

2006-04-07T20:36:00.000-06:00

So lately I've been feeling challenged on the subject of service. Let's face it guys, most of us are horrible servants. I've caught myself doing a lot of judging lately; noticing other people and thinking to myself about how they are so not the owners of a servant's heart. How ironic that I would look at the speck in the eye of someone else and totally disregard the log in my own (I'll be honest, I have a tendency to do that) - yet I have been convicted lately on the fact that I am a horrible servant along with most everybody else I can think of (please don't feel condemned).

Every now and then somebody will say to me, "Robbie, you have such a servant's heart".
... I assure you that I don't. The majority of my service comes in the form of either service that I get noticed for, or service with hopes that 'maybe God will bless me for this one'. I feel confident in saying that I'm not alone and probably many of you relate with what I am saying.

A couple weeks ago I was asked at the last minute to give up my Friday evening, the one free evening of my week with which I had planned to relax, and instead drive to the opposite end of town to be the soundman for a woman's ministry conference. It was a last minute thing, and I wasn't thrilled about it (as you can probably imagine).

"Me? Give up my one free night? It's your fault for not being organized and now you have pressured me into doing this at the last minute?!"

I was trapped. So I went and I was tired, grumpy and irritated. I didn't not enjoy it and I left as soon as I possibly could. Hardly the attitude of a servant. Later that week I was blessed with a sum of cash by the person who was supposed to do it, on the premise of "thanks for being a willing servant"
Are you kidding me? If only you knew how little of a servant I really was.

A couple days ago another friend asked me if I would wake up early on a day when I didn't have class until 10, in order to give him a ride somewhere at 7 in the morning! Obviously I didn't want to and responded with "Let me pray about it".

So what is the difference between true service and weak-ass service?

Weak-ass service is impressed with the 'big deal'. It is concerned with impressing others, and scoring brownie points.
True service hardly recognizes a difference between 'big services' and 'little services', and when it does, it usually pulls towards the little service which is probably of bigger importance/need

Weak-ass service seeks rewards, recognition and appreciation.
True service is content with behind the scenes service. While not afraid of appreciation, it does not seek it.

Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve.
True service does not discriminate.

Weak-ass service is affected by our moods and how we feel. It serves only when there is a 'feeling' to serve ('moved by the Spirit' as we like to say)
True service is a lifestyle. It acts from an ingrained pattern of living and springs spontaneously according to present needs.

Weak-ass service fractures community. It centers on the glorification of an individual. It is a cause of elitism (some appear better than others, and even think they are) and therefore is a subtle form of destruction and manipulation.
True service builds community. It cares for the needs of others and thinks of others as better than themselves.

(Thank you Richard Foster)

True service is a matter of continually, in our daily lives, crucifying the desires of our flesh. We must constantly be intentional and consistent in developing ourselves for true service. When your friend asks for a ride at the 7 in the morning, we must crucify our selfish nature and be willing to think beyond our own comfort.

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you"
- Jesus (John 13:14,15)

"Whoever would be great among you must be your servant... Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve."
- Jesus (Matt 20:25-28)

everybody shutup

2006-04-03T23:35:00.000-06:00

ok guys, in light of the fact that I love the church, the body of Christ, and I desire to see it grow and function they way it truly should...
because I want Christians everywhere to be REAL Christians - genuine, honest, real, authentic people who don't put on the Christian mask, but who make their faith practical among real people and who live a transformed life not only in the church but especially outside of it...

for these reasons, I have decided to post this amazing piece of truth. I wish that every student in my school would read this.

When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. Don't let people waste time in endless speculation of myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don't help people live a life of faith in God. The purpose of my instruction is that all Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.
But some teachers have missed the whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't even know what they are talking about, even though they seem so confident.

We know that these laws are good when they are used as God intended, but they were not made for people who do what is right. They were made for people who are disobedient and rebellious, people who are (insert paragraph of sins here), and those who do anything that contradicts the right teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me (us) by our blessed God.
-1st Tim, Chapter 1

In short, everybody shutup with the goofy, flakey, debate material. It's not what is important -- what is important is that we are filled with love from a pure heart, clear conscience and sincere faith.

Seriously guys, we need to stop trying to be so macho; we need to stop acting like we are such perfect, squeaky clean Christians. We need to stop placing expectations on ourselves and on others that we can't live up too (like the Pharisees did) and get honest about the fact that GOD'S WORD wasn't meant for perfect people - it was meant for sinners, which we all are.

I am so going to scream if I hear any more prophetic debates or emerging church bashing.

love!

2006-03-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was putting books away in the library today (where I work), and I noticed a title of a book, 'I loved a girl'. Naturally, I was interested and opened it up to see what it was. In it, there is a part where a pastor is writing a letter to a poor guy who had an affair with a woman he was overly attracted to. The pastor is trying to describe to him what love really is, and it is a beautiful description of love that will probably make you all want to go find your life mate. Check it out...

Let me try to tell you what it really should mean if a fellow says to a girl, "I love you." It means:"You, you, you. You alone. You shall reign in my heart. You are the one whom I have longed for; without you I am incomplete. I will give everything for you and I will give up everything for you, myself as well as all that I possess. I will live for you alone, and I will work for you alone. And I will wait for you - it doesn't matter how long. I will always be patient with you. I will never force you, not even by words. I want to guard you, protect you and keep you from all evil. I want to share with you my thoughts, my heart and my body - all that I possess. I want to listen to what you have to say. There is nothing I want to undertake without your blessing. I want to remain always at your side."

isn't that a great passage about how a man should love a woman?

I swear, you will never see me post something mushy like this again (I'm so out of character right now), but this is truly AWESOME stuff.

summer, oh summer...

2006-03-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting in class the other day (actually today), and I wasn't listening as per usual. I was looking out the window at the amazing sunrise and praising God for beautiful weather. I longed to be outside... and it was in this moment that I wrote this (this whole post is supposed to be funny - i'm not being seriously poetic here)

summer, oh summer
where art thou?
you are outside
and I am stuck in a room.

come quickly
lest I die
for wasting time kills me

Thank you. I will be sure to let everybody know when I publish a book of my poetry.

goodbye glory

2006-03-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

hey all!

wowzers penny, looks like we all had a fun time on my last blog entry. thanks for engaging your minds with me!

I really should be working on yet another research paper that is now 2 weeks late... but I really don't want to and so I decided to update the blog instead. We're gonna deviate a little from my super long rants and instead I'm going to post a song I wrote (this is dangerous, since in my experience, I usually tend to find other peoples attempts at songrwriting to be cheesy. So I'm opening myself up to being cheesy too). Here goes...

goodbye glory
you loved her too much to stay where you were
stepped down from the heights
where you could have stayed, but you came anyway

to rescue
her life, you
gave yourself away
you gave your life away
to show to
your bride, you
are never more than a prayer away

goodbye glory
you humbled yourself to stand in her place
bearing her sorrows
and all of the lies and all of the pain

you were crushed
she was saved
i saw it all
i've been changed
i saw you there
i saw you hang
somewhere in between
love and pain

thank you, starfield

2006-03-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm a huge fan of the band Starfield. They have a new CD coming out at the end of april, and you can hear one of the new songs here. I'd like to post a sample of their lyrics from the new song, My Generation and then say my piece about them, because I think they're amazing. Check it out...

How do we feel?
My generation is aching for real
Dying for love, crying for truth
My generation is aching for you

I love it because it totally captures the way that my generation (college and careers age group) feels. And I'm not just speaking for Christians, I think that the lyric remains true for those who aren't.

See, I go to a Bible College where I'm surrounded by a group of charismatic, 'prophetic' peers. They spend their time debating about who is right and who is wrong on a variety of charismatic topics that essentially don't matter, and of course each one in the debate thinks that they are 'right'. I notice (and this is in no way reflects all Christians) that a lot of bible students and churches are so bloody obsessed with prophetic 'this' and prophetic 'that' that elitism is really starting to rear it's ugly face.

I should clarify that I am in NO way against God working through prophetic words, but a prophetic word is simply the Word of God and thus we need to keep the BIBLE in the highest regard. the BIBLE is our prophetic word and authority over and above any flake that claims to be prophetic. Why am I so skeptical? Because when it comes to people 'working in the prophetic' outside of scripture itself, there is no one to keep them accountable. It is between them and God at that point. Sadly, a boisterous, outspoken, 'prophetic leader' with a lot of influence can make a group of people believe anything, and nobody can know what's in their heart except them and God.

I have seen with my own eyes the abuse of false, flakey prophecy and the damage that can be done. I have seen people elevate it and worship it. I have seen people complicate a faith that is not complicated. Most of us have.

My generation is aching for real. My generation is not stupid. My generation is not interested in how prophetic you are. Some Christians might be; in which case all you do is minister to Christians. But my generation sees you and thinks you are a nut job. They are already wary of Christians. They want something genuine, authentic and proven through relationship and credible by the testimony of your life. Our sketchy manifestations of prophecy and the supernatural realm have too much capacity to be faked, or probably a better word is 'mislead'.

My generation is aching for love and truth. They are not aching to see you speak in tongues or to hear your fake TV evangelist voice that mysteriously comes upon you when you start working in the prophetic. They see right through that.

When is the body of Christ going to recognize that an entire culture of people, largely consisting of twenty-somethings, is dropping out of the church rapidly? (In fact I would say they are mostly already gone). The truth is that culture is changing; worldviews are changing. Postmodernism is real and the emerging church is real. Yet the Church mostly prefers to ignore it and label it a 'fad' that will go away. They scoff at it. It almost seems like they would rather keep a culture of people out of 'their' church, then consider adapting. I have more change in my pocket than there is in the church. We are so narrow-minded and selfish sometimes.

Get real.
A generation, more so an emerging culture, is not connecting with our modern church and they are disappearing. A generation is aching for truth and for something real. There is a world outside of the Christian bubble.

I, personally, completely believe and love to see the genuine workings of the Holy Spirit in miraculous ways; tongues, prophecy, healings... but if these things are apparently happening, but your life is low in the fruit department yet high in certain aspects of the sinful nature (idolatry, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions and factions - Galatians 5:16-26)... then my red flags go up.
...And an entire culture has already put up their red flags.

worship...

2006-03-13T00:37:00.000-07:00

So as of late, I've been doing a lot of thinking and wondering about worship. I've come to the realization that worship is a big, multi-faceted thing and that you really can't tackle it in a blog, or explain it easily. In one sense, it is extremely simple and yet in another sense, it is deep and complex.

So, you ask, if worship is too hard to be summarized in a blog, then what is the point of this blog?

Why is it, that in many cases our view of 'worship' has been so narrowed to the point of being made into something like a template? Like there is a certain way a person must act, express and behave in order to be considered 'entering in'. Why is it that if a person doesn't follow the pop worship behavoiur, then others wonder why they 'aren't entering in' or if something is wrong with them.

How did we get to a place where we have made expectations on how proper worship should look? and why does all this proper worshipful behaviour judging seem to revolve around how a person expresses worship during a gathering/service?

The truth is that not everybody is going to look and act a certain way during praise and worship times. To pass judgement on somebody, or claim that 'pride' gets in the way of them being able to worship 'properly' is arrogant and unbelievably narrow minded.

We're all different. We all have personalities. God doesn't ask us to try and be somebody else in order to worship sufficiently in a corporate setting. Worship can be jubilant, charismatic and extroverted - but it is big enough to also be introspective and solitary. We should never look down on someone because they worship God differently than we do. We should never be so arrogant as to think that our preferred expression of worship is 'the best way'

People connect with God in worship in a variety of ways. There are ascetics, naturalists, enthusiasts, intellectuals, contemplatives, sensates, traditionalists and even people who are passionate about a cause can worship as activists. I'm sure there are many more.

My church is starting a series about worship, and we are loosely following a book called Sacred Pathways (in addition to the Bible of course). I'm pretty excited and I hope to pick up a copy of the book for myself. In the meantime, there is a survey you can take which accompanies the book. You might learn something about yourself. Find out what type of ways you connect with God and maybe broaden your view of worship. Try out the survey, it's really neat and actually accurate (not hokey at all).

http://common.northpoint.org/sacredpathway.html

If you're interested, I scored high in ascetic (i was not expecting that one), contemplative, intellectual and activist.

Post what kind of worshiper you are, according to the survey, if you want.

- Robbie

the diathesis-stress hypothesis

2006-03-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

here's a little something I learned in Pscyhology this semester - The Diathesis-Stress Hypothesis. It's the idea that everybody has a different sized 'container' (so to speak) to hold stress. Some people have smaller containers, so they get filled up with stress quicker, whereas another person maybe has a bigger container and therefore they can handle far more stress than the other guy, who's container, meanwhile, is already overflowing (ie. he's going insane).

How unfair is that??

Take for instance my roommate. What does he do? Well, he has a fiancee, he is a full time student, he works a part time job, he is a graphic designer on the side and he is the student council president of our college. Like seriously, the guy must have a freaking septic tank for a stress container.

On the flipside, there is me... What do I do? Well, I am a full time student, but taking 4.5 classes as opposed to 5 or 6. I am doing my practicum at my church (which really only takes a few hours out of my weekend). I work part time in the library, where all I do is sit on my arse, do my homework and put books away. It's probably the easiest job ever. Hmm what else... Yeah I can't think of anything else. So we have a grand total of 3 things, with the occasional extra 'surprise' thrown in.

My stress container must be the size of a urine sample container.
Granted, I do have school assignments and expectations coming out my ying yang. I was away for a weekend to preach at a conference, then I had to read 200 pages of a commentary (how fun), then I had to study for a sick psychology exam. But wait, there's more... Tomorrow I have a research paper due that I just started tonight because I couldn't start working on it sooner because I had to do the other stuff. I'm not going to get it finished tonight, and I can't do it this weekend because I have a midterm on Monday that I have to study for. After that I have to start another research paper for a different class.
It's just one thing after another; it never ends.

I wish I had the capacity to handle more, particularly in my studies. I like to think I have a certain amount of 'power' in my 'brain meter' and after a couple pages of reading it gets all used up.

My brain power meter is totally on empty, man.
And my urine sample container is full.

I asked my mom if she ever wondered about me as a child. She said I used to have a hard time paying attention to people and you could tell by my eyes that my mind was always wandering. I guess things haven't changed much!

a new blog!

2006-03-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

hey y'all who read this...

so I used to have a blog on www.xanga.com, but then I decided that most of my Edmonton blogging friends use www.blogger.com for their blogs. SOOO I decided to switch over so that more people can comment and whatnot (plus I was tired of some sketchy advertisements on whatchamacallit).

So I guess I'll just be blogging some random stuff and all that jazz... mebbe some songs, deep thoughts, funny stories... you know how it goes!

So yeah, this is just your intro - but stay tuned because hopefully it will get better!