If I ran the Big 3 car companies

-I would see if I could get someone working inside Honda or Toyota just to take in what the corporate culture was. They've done lots of things right and now isn't the time to be arrogant.

-I would take the time to figure out what the average person wants to drive. Just because I make lots of cars doesn't mean people want to drive them.

-I would actually DRIVE what the average person wants to drive and travel how the average business person travels. Taking corporate jets right now just shows how far out of touch these guys are.

-When asking for money, be polite and courteous. The UAW has completely antagonized everyone whenever they talk. Yes it's the government giving the money but it's the taxpayer that's paying it. Being protectionistic and conceited at this point is the only thing killing them faster than making cars that have 10 mpg.

A business is simple. Find something that people really want and sell it for more than you pay for it. In order to do that, set a fair wage for the ground level worker (NOT $70 an hour) and keep bureaucracy to a minimum. Pay well but comparable. Making 35 million a year and having big payout bonusses when your competition is 100x more successful and making 10% what you make isn't going to work no matter what the business.

Time to move on North America. Yes, we will lose a lot of jobs and the economy will tank big time in the short term. But pouring 100 million into an industry that is doomed to fail is only going to make it worse. If the big 3 fail now, Toyota and Honda will buy these plants up and produce more here creating the jobs we're talking about. And it will invite others to come and do the same - built on a plan that lasts. In the long term, we have more jobs and an industry that needs to look forward and not backwards. It's a win/win for everyone - including the taxpayer that wants accountability for their hard earned tax dollars and the front line worker that really just wants some job security and not being laid off every other month.

I guess it isn't really EVERYONE that wins...the 10 executives that make in excess of 40 million a year might retire since they realize that for 99.999% of the population, they will never see in their lifetime what they make in a week. And the unions won't like it because they'll lose their ability to be entitled to everything just because they have a big membership.

adversity

Whenever it snows, I get the incurable urge to go driving around on the roads. I'm not sure why - something to prove maybe - or just because it's a challenge that's kinda fun. Driving in the snow in our new 4WD made me especially eager this morning. When I was on the road, I observed a few things:

-people in Victoria don't know how to drive in the snow. This is well documented so I won't elaborate much but people - seriously - flooring the gas when you have no traction means nothing. You make ice under your tires if you're stopped and if you're moving, it means you'll lose control.

-a note to pedestrians - if you see a car spinning its tires, get the $%^$#$ out of the way! Don't stand there with a smile on your face looking up the hill to check it out. I saw at least two pedestrians stop dead in their tracks while checking out the spinning out car.

-shopping. Best day to shop by far, was today. I was actually walked around Walmart by two employees to help me find my stuff. When I was done, I had 5 empty cashiers willing to serve me. Snow at Christmas time = lots of employees, no shoppers.

What was kinda cool though was that I noticed how much friendlier people are when there's snow outside. Logic says we should be grumpier - we travel even slower than our usual road raging selves and there's no rhyme or reason to traffic patterns and the roads are not clearly marked AT ALL. On a sunny day, if any of those things happened, we'd be fuming. But on snowy days, we're okay with it. Not only that, people stop to help others. Most people stop if there's a car on the side of the road or stuck somewhere. People will lend shovels or lend a hand where needed.

I remember the big snowfall of 96. People in Victoria will forever remember and talk about that. It's as big of an event as Victoria will ever have. I had lived in the same house for 14 years and hardly knew my neighbors. But after that big snowfall, I'd met most of them - been invited for drinks and shared a laugh. And because of losing power for that full day and a bit, my family had to learn to play board games and talk again.

So it kinda makes me wonder. Why would any of us want sunny days?

Only in the church

I went to worship at my old church a couple weeks ago. I could hardly keep it together all service. I miss that place and those people.

For all the complaining I hear from people about the "church" and how much harm it does, that's not the church that I know. It's not the church that God created. And it wasn't my last church.

As I looked around while singing, I saw one guy singing with his eyes closed who I know has struggled with serious addictions his whole life.

A woman is singing with her hands raised just a little over a year after her teenage daughter died from a congential illness.

A young adult that's more than a little eccentric has invited a small group of her friends that love and accept her just as she is and not as she "should" be.

A man stands up and shares about the struggles he is having with his son as others pray for him.

That's the church I know and I can't imagine life without them.

Eric's wedding

It's been a while since I've been at or in a wedding. As great as it is officiating a wedding, it doesn't really allow for an objective perspective on a wedding. Not that my brother getting married gives any objective perspective either but I definitely noticed some different things.

1) As you get older, the people that you want to come to your wedding decreases. When I look back at my wedding video and guest book, I scratch my head a lot wondering who a particular person was or why they came. Granted, I was a youth pastor in a church so many from the congregation came but I also remember having a really difficult time narrowing our guest list at our reception to 160 people. As I looked around the wedding last week, I couldn't think of many more than one or two people that Eric would have wanted to be there. If I got married today, I'd bet we could do a reception for 100 without much problem.

2) While the number decreases, each friendship is deeper. Every single person at the wedding had a connection to our family. Some were connected through parents etc. but they were all people that could have gone up and shared a story of some kind. That was cool to hear all the stories as I walked around the room.

3) The ceremony means so much more than it used to. Obviously, my ceremony meant a lot to me but generally speaking, these days going to one wedding is really close to going to any other wedding. Every couple wants their ceremony short and sweet. Vows are pretty similar for the most part. There's a message of some kind. Rings get exchanged. But being at Eric's wedding and hearing them share the vows they shared knowing how the 11 years of marriage have been for us - with the best and worst yet to come - just makes those words mean so much more. The reason that vows are always similar is maybe because they are the most profound and anything else would be less. The ceremony wasn't sentimentally meaningful like it used to be. It was profoundly meaningful.

I've never been close family to someone getting married. My whole life it was always Chris and Eric. It was kinda weird to see my bro so happy and in love with his bride. But in some kinda weird way, I felt like I was giving him away as well. I couldn't be happier for him but couldn't help but think for a minute that life for us wasn't ever going to be the same.

The last thing I noticed is that it is official. Somewhere along the line, I went from being the youngest in a crowd to one of the oldest. I hope I never have to jump for a picture again.

Today

After a week of being sick and a weekend with two hockey games and a full day volleyball tournament, I was pretty wiped out. So I got up late this morning. In half an hour, I had to shower and get ready, get the kids breakfast, dressed, and ready to go to school. I thought I had it just in time when I remembered I had to make lunch. The bigger problem was that I hadn't gone shopping this week yet and we had no food - no bread, veggies, fruit or anything else that is generally a staple lunch food. I managed to scrounge it all together and got out the door. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't that bad and after fighting for a parking spot in the school parking lot, I managed to get Jordan out the door just in time for the bell to ring.

Then I made my trip to the grocery store where for the next hour, I was battling the shopping cart, outrageous grocery prices, constant questions from my 4 year old and trying to remember what I had to buy since I'd left my list at home.

There is two loads of laundry that need to be folded and probably another load developing as I write this. I need to vacuum, mop and dust - again. Then I'll make another lunch, drive all over town chauffering my kids around and then prepare another snack because, once again, they are hungry. Thanks to the weird 25 degree temperature in late September (which I love incidentally), I have to mow the lawn again for the last time before the fall. Dinner is being prepped as I write though so at least that's taken care of.

And then there's the hockey emails that I'm procrastinating getting to...

It's been 121 days as a housedad and counting.

And I wouldn't trade one of those days for anything in the world. Being able to watch God grow these kids during this time of their lives is worth 1000 days of playing volleyball, 100 weekends away in Vegas and there's no amount of money that would make me change my mind right now. I'll never get these days back and with each lunch, snack and one sided conversation I have each day, I'm convinced that there's no bigger ministry, no better way to serve God, than what I am doing right now.

I'm not guaranteeing I'll feel that way 121 days from now. But as it always is. I'm thankful for the day I have as its challenges are all that I need to deal with right now.

the way i was taught

When I was a leader in training at camp (it was called counsellor in training at the time), we were taught some things that have stuck with me my whole life. When I go to camp these days, it seems so many of the staff have their focus in the wrong places (on themselves!) and on what they are entitled to. Drives me crazy...

Here's some things we did as CITs.

-we always went last. Tuck, mealtime, waterfront, game time, anything. Everyone always went first. Our food was cold. We were left with the worst choice in tuck. Often we were left out of tubing because there wasn't time. We learned to never win games. I think the hallmark of a Christian in the 21st century isn't love as much as it is humility. There's lots of people that love exceptionally. But to find a humble servant that bears others pain without recognition is impossible.

-we were there for 2 weeks and for the whole first week, we couldn't talk to staff. When I say couldn't talk, I mean we weren't allowed - at all. We were there to observe - that's it. We watched what they did and write stuff down about what we were learning. Then we'd talk about it that night. We learned to listen. Everyone these days wants the status of being a staff. But a good staff is someone that knows how to just BE and let their lives speak for itself.

-we weren't allowed in the staff room at all. In those days, they called us "pond scum". (Now that I'm older, I can't see how the director ever allowed that to happen.)

-we were always on the cleanup crew. Dishes were always our job. The staff never knew this but everytime we were in a cabin, the CIT leaders asked us to do the sweeping, the mopping, the scraping - whatever was necessary. CITs set up the games and then we took them down.

-we were told to have 3 conversations about God a day - 2 to campers and 1 to another CIT or CIT leader. No one knew this was something we were supposed to do but we journalled about it and then debriefed it later. Two things happened. I became very comfortable talking about my faith and I became much better at making any time with campers into quality time with them.

-once it became time to help (instead of watch), we were told to always be with our campers. There was no break in the day. I don't think it ever occurred to me to skip out an activity or a game. As a staff, I never dreamt of sneaking out at night to leave my cabin unattended. I wasn't paid a dime my first 3 summers at camp.

You know what was weird? The CIT program was always full.

i wanna be thankful

The other day I was driving the kids out to a park and they asked for their VBS cd to be put in. I wasn't thrilled about listening to this CD for the 5th time of the day. But at the playground, they were playing and singing, "I wanna be thankful". I never understood why parents were so impatient about their kids knowing Jesus. Until I became a parent. That made my day.

When it's just not meant to be

In March, I usually start getting excited because at the first sight of warmth and sunshine, I start to look ahead to the Whistler August long volleyball tournament. There isn't a week that goes by that I'm not promoting it in some way with anyone that will listen. After the event, I am talking about it until October when everyone around me is tired of the stories and the weather settles into the grey BC rain we're used to.

On Tuesday this week, I found out the forecast was for 80% rain. On Wednesday morning, I found out the Sea to Sky highway will be closed for the long weekend and the only alternative is to go the long way around. On Wednesday night, I sprained my ankle again and can't really walk.

I get the message. No Whistler this weekend. :(

Parenting

I've been a few places recently that people have asked me how I got my kids to behave so well. We can't take credit for all of it because I'm convinced that some of it is just luck. But much of it isn't also. Here's some things I've noticed from that we do that some others don't.

-we'll follow through. If I make a threat, you can bet I'm willing to carry it out. How many times I've seen other parents make hollow threats and then the kids just walk all over them with no consequences! Why say it if you don't mean it.

-boundaries. There's this whole parenting philosophy around making only positive statements. So instead of "don't run", they'll say "walk". I'm sorry but they just aren't the same thing. If I want someone to really know something, the negative has so much more power to it than the positive. Saying NO is a boundary. Saying yes isn't.

-respect. I've seen so many people treat their kids like crap and then demand their kids to respect them. It just doesn't work that way. I often see something I don't like in my kids and then realize where they got it from. If I treat them with respect, they'll learn to treat me and others that way.

-say what we mean. Kids want to make their parents happy. It isn't always that way but at the age mine are, they want to succeed in my eyes. So I need to define what success is and give them the right tools to get there. Saying one thing and expecting another or being too vague doesn't help anyone.

-selective memory. I'm strict and sometimes mean. When I am, my memory for it is short. But it's important never to forget the good things. When I grew up, sometimes that was the other way around.

-Who's who. I'm the parent. They are the kids. They aren't my friends. They aren't my pet or my slave or my master. It's my job to train them up and give them the right tools to succeed in life. It's their job to learn, test and grow. Quit expecting something out of your kids that they can't give. They aren't your best friend. They need you to be a parent and a rolemodel.

integrity

If there was a virtue that I value the most, I'd say it was integrity. No ones perfect but just the sense that people try to live by what they value - even if I disagree with it. Obviously, those with Christian integrity, I prefer but just knowing that people try to have morals and ideals that they live by, strive to do better and live HUMBLY under - are real examples to me.

I'm so far from being there but when I die, it would be my dream to be remembered as a man with integrity.

Bonhoeffer had it right

I've been bothered lately by the modern definition of grace. I've often said that the definition of grace is "getting what we don't deserve" while mercy is "not getting what we do deserve". So as humans, we don't deserve forgiveness and new life. But God gives it to us through Jesus. What we do deserve however is punishment and death. And we don't get that because of Jesus.

Real grace and mercy transforms us. It's my trip to Hong Kong when my aunts and uncles took 6 months of their savings so they could take us out for a meal. It's when someone forgives you for something that you have repeatedly done overtly to them. It's when God says that I can preach again after I've royally messed up and lived hypocritically all week. Real grace and mercy brings me to my knees.

My problem is that everyone today feels that they are entitled to grace, mercy and forgiveness. When they don't get it, they blame other people. It's as if they expect to get it. But grace that is expected isn't grace. It's permissiveness. Paul talks about this about as plainly as he can in Romans. This kind of grace and mercy doesn't transform. It births pride. And that pride corrupts a relationship with God.

One of my favorite reads in seminary was from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He writes this about what he calls "cheap grace".

[It] is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

According to Bonhoeffer, real grace is a grace that will cost a man his life.

on being a stay at home dad

Well I've officially been a stay at home dad for one day now. It's easy.

I'm kidding. (That comment was for Kathleen's benefit when she reads this.)

But just generally speaking, it's easier than I thought it would be. Not because it's easy - but more because I expected it to be really hard.

There's the usual stuff. Kids argue, get restless, want to eat a snack constantly, always want my attention, I can't get anything done, no space to myself. (So far in this blog, I have gotten up 5 times and it's taken me 25 minutes since I'm currently also cooking lunch, watching the kids in the backyard, doing the dishes and cleaning the mess from this morning). I expect that I'll have a meltdown somewhere in the summer because I have no time to myself and I've lost independence. Work is never done as a stay at home parent either which isn't appealing. And, I'm not a stay at home person - period.

But with that said, there were things that I expected to be great. Like having time with the kids with no rush or agenda. Like being able to have flexibility in my day to do whatever I feel like that day - more or less. Like having some time at home to get the house the way we want it. Like having time outdoors at the beach, in the park. Like rediscovering my childhood again doing things I have long since outgrown.

What makes this easier than I'd thought though is the unexpected. The past couple hours, with no prompting from me, Rachel and Jordan have been playing together surprisingly well. Jordan talked to Rachel on her pink, plastic cell phone pretending to talk to Logan while Rachel pretended to talk to Jordan. Rachel gets to be Luke Skywalker when they have light sabre fights. (Apparently, Swiper the Fox gets a light sabre as well sometimes.) It's simply the best watching them play.

Rachel comes up to me about every half an hour wanting a hug from her dad. Jordan has asked me a few times the answer to some trivia fact he's been obviously thinking about for some time. They are both so genuinely happy that they get a whole daddy day - every day. I get to discipline in a discipling way rather than as the authoritarian daddy that comes home after work with the "you're gonna get it" voice. I get to set the house rules for that day. The best part of all - I have seen me in each of them - when they play and talk together.

It's gonna be a tough summer but I'm pretty sure it's also gonna be one of the best of my life.

Presbyterians.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada for the most part is a good denomination. I've grown a ton here. In terms of church government, I like the theory behind having courts of various levels to decide things. It's not as tyrannical as just having a bishop (like the Episcopalians) or having each congregation deciding for themselves - which depending on the pastor and elders - could have some serious issues as well. I like the theory behind the layout of half clergy and half lay people in Presbytery and higher. I like it that I'm forced to always wrestle out my theology because I am forced to sit with others that differ from me. I really like the emphasis on grace.

So why am I leaving? There's tons of reasons. Here's the main ones.

-I'm never going to a PCC school so I can get "recognized". The enrollment within the PCC schools is in sharp decline. Less and less younger people are choosing to go into ministry within this denomination. The education quality is sporadic and sometimes (like when I was there) VERY poor. When I went to VST, it was even heredical. I expected liberal Christian teaching. Was Mary really a virgin or did Jesus really rise from the dead kinda stuff. I wasn't expecting neo-pagan teaching. Jesus life, death and resurrection as just a mythic "form" to illustrate the cycles of life. Jesus was only a man and men have for ages oppressed women and creation and therefore Christians cannot worship only Jesus (this was from the Christology professor - and in her honor, I will capitalize 'Christology' even though I got that corrected on every paper I wrote). Or the ever offensive, "I like to picture Jesus on the cross with an erection because as a human, he would've had one." If you've got an axe to grind against men or orthodox Christianity, do it on your own time. Not in a theological institution that will train the future pastors of the church. Thanks VST. But no thanks. I worked my butt off doing my MDiv elsewhere. I struggled with my faith there but at the end of the day, I grew in my faith and my calling. And I greatly respected every single one of my professors. And that school happens to be growing in enrollment.

-Within the PCC, you can't get ordained unless you go to one of their schools - which I've explained why I'm not going. If you aren't ordained, you can't do communion or baptism. While I understand why, I don't understand why they don't make exceptions. If I do a hospital visit and someone is dying right then and they want to accept Christ and get baptized, am I supposed to say no and then call an ordained PCC minister to come - someone who potentially has no relationship with this person - so they can put holy water on their head? While I agree that not everyone should just go break bread and baptize people, any denomination that has rules that can't be shaped when it doesn't conflict Scripture doesn't have it right. Is God going to not honor a baptism or communion done by a non-ordained PCC elder or pastor? The Bible is clear to me when it says what a priesthood of all believers is.

-On that note, this denomination is built around the ideal of the priesthood of all believers. It's why it's an elder built denomination. But it isn't that way. Instead of feeling ostrasized by the odd arrogant pastor you meet, you feel ostrasized by a whole group of people. The first Session meeting I attended (to which I was invited), I raised my hand during a motion. A simple motion too - just to adopt the minutes of the last meeting I think. I got singled out by someone who looked at me and said loudly, "YOU can't VOTE! Put your hand down!" The first Presbytery meeting I attended, I was asked to present a report about camping ministry. I'd been in camping ministry for 12 straight summers at that point. I knew more about camping than most of those people added up. But I didn't know about that meeting apparently because my presentation was excluded because as a "point of order", I did something I should do - to which I still don't know what it was. At another time, (I'd been a pastor in the PCC for about 7 years at this point), I was serving as the english pastor at Chinese Church. There was pulpit exchange. Since I was the regular preacher in the English service, it made sense for me to do the exchange with the other church. But she wouldn't have it. Why? Because I can't bring official "greetings" from Presbytery. Let me get this right. I can be asked to serve on national committees. You'll let me have the pulpit weekly. I can speak at camps, churches, provincial and national events. You'll let me visit, marry and do funerals. But I can't say hello on behalf of Presbytery?

So here's the thing. I've been blessed to work in this denomination beside some exceptional individuals. Every church I've served in has been phenomenal. They have been supportive of me, my calling and without them, I wouldn't be me. I've worked hard to serve this denomination and the church - even sometimes when I would've done it differently. So for the most part, I move around the PCC quite freely already. I have no bone to pick with any of these churches or people. Truth be told, I'm sure if it were up to them, I'd be ordained right now. But why?

There's someone else out there going through this right now. Others that have before me. And some extremely gifted, called and exceptional people that have been shafted and left their calling because of this process and this structure. It's not Biblical or right. In this structure, who would've made it? Not Abraham, David, Peter or Paul. Jesus was a carpenters son. Would he have gotten his MDiv?

The end of an era

Life doesn't progress in a linear fashion. There are days/weeks/years that move along with very little change and then there are some that change drastically. My life has probably changed more in the past month than the past five years. Here's some reasons why: (i'll elaborate next time)

-After 11 years in a denomination, I'm done and moving on. (by far the longest anywhere - for those that were counting, I had 8 in a Baptist, 4 in an Anglican).

-After having student loans for the past 14 years, I've paid them off!

-After running away from Victoria and loving being out of the fishbowl, I'm back there again! (and loving it)

-After being employed for the past 20 years (and sometimes VERY employed), I'm unemployed and just staying home with the kids all summer!

-While I've given up some debts, I've picked up others such as a house I'll be paying off for the next 40 years, a car for the next few, and some expensive reno loans that will probably outlive me.

I'm an angrier person as a dad.

Last night I was at a Canucks game and the good guys were down 2 goals. The season is on the line with this game and the Nucks just aren't putting it all together. As it always is when we play Canadian teams, there's probably close to as many Edmonton fans as Canuck fans there so there's a bunch of people cheering for Edmonton and then there's the Canuck fans that aren't happy at the game.

This drunk guy a row behind us is standing up and screaming at the top of his lungs with some of the worst language I've heard. He's swearing at the Edmonton fans. He's swearing at the Canuck fans for giving up on the team. He's going at it for about 5 minutes when the guy behind him asks him to sit down because he can't see. The guy freaks out and starts in on that guy. Worst part? There's a girl about 7-8 years old sitting right in front of him watching the game with her dad. The drunk guy then drops his beer - ON THE GIRL. I wanted to pummel that guy. I'd have been mad at that before - but now as a dad, I'm infuriated.

Today, I took Rachel to McDonalds for a daddy date. We're eating and enjoying our lunch when this little punk kid about 8 years old comes in and starts climbing all over the outside of the equipment. No parent or adult with him. So the staff come in and tell this kid to get down or he's going to get booted. They leave and he starts doing it again. Meanwhile, he's cursing and just being an idiot. There's us, this kid and another nice family in there. Finally, grandma comes in with lunch and I'm thinking the kid is going to get better. Instead, the kid screams back at grandma and basically ignores her when she talks to him. And Rachel's watching this kid.
I wanted to spank the daylights out of that kid. But that's not acceptable so instead my date with my daughter is ruined as both the other family and us, left without allowing our kids to play like we'd promised.

some help for my single friends

Being a pastor means I give lots of advice but it's always tempered and gracious. Lately for some reason I've been giving relationship advice to a few friends with similar problems. Here's the unedited version.

If you're shy and have trouble meeting someone from the opposite sex, here's some help.

1) Get better looking. Looks aren't everything but they really do get you a long ways.
2) Get money. The love of money might be the root of all kinds of evil but having nice stuff and/or giving expensive presents really helps get you noticed.
3) Get really outgoing, good looking, rich friends to be friends with. When it all fails, second pick might still be better than your first pick.

10 ways to find out if you're a youth pastor

10) Do you have the pizza companies fast dialed into your phone?
9) You've graduated and have 1000 friends on Facebook and 950 of them are in high school.
8) You could entertain a room full of people with 4 paper clips, an eraser, some Q-tips and 2 minutes to prepare.
7) You text message faster than the average 13 year old girl.
6) Your teens call you too old and every adult calls you too young.
5) If your best memories are in an old church van.
4) Your trunk is filled with different kinds of sports equipment "just in case"
3) Your office is where everyone stores their stuff.
2) You watch Austin Powers for sermon ideas.
1) You're single and just bought a minivan.

Presbytery worship.

“sing of the joy of his wonderful love” is the first line to the hymn we sang. In a room filled with 45-50 Presbyterian elders and ministers, we sang it like we were singing, “sing of the death of little babies in Africa”. I mumbled my way through this song as it was played on the organ like a funeral dirge. The body language in the room was saying “get on with it”.

The worst part? That was the hymn before communion was served. The liturgy was dead although the words were filled with lively images and impressive adjectives. He served communion like it was just a part of his job – a duty to be discharged. The prayer of thanksgiving was about remembering Christ’s death – nothing of his resurrection, nothing about what it means to us. Most funerals I’ve attended – even non-Christian ones – offer more hope and meaning. I ate a perfectly shaped piece of bread and drank some grape juice that, had I not been a Christian, would have been only that – although I’d have no idea why eating a small snack has anything to do with being a Christian other than Jesus did it a long time ago.

Why did I become a Christian? Because Jesus loves me enough to die on my behalf. Because Jesus rose from the dead – beat sin once and for all – and guarantees the same for me when i die or Jesus comes back. Because God is alive - working in the world and in the hearts of people that know him and ON the hearts of those that don’t. Because as a Christian, I belong to something much much bigger than I could ever be on my own – God’s kingdom.

Communion is supposed to celebrate that stuff. Eucharist (Greek word for thanksgiving) is what we’re doing. If you’re going to say thanks and talk about joy, then sing like you mean it. I’m in a better mood when the Canucks get shutout than taking communion today. The Lord’s supper is to not only to do it because Jesus did it. Otherwise, let’s go fishing in church because Jesus did. It’s to remember what his life, death and resurrection means to me and in obedience we’re doing it because he told us to do it remembering him. I should eat communion feeling more in love with Jesus afterwards. Communion is remembering the unity we share and have with God and each other. There was no language of reconciliation either to God or anyone else and no opportunity to make it right if it was off. I doubt anyone sitting around me knows my name and as a non-ordained Presbyterian, I have no standing in this court. Shouldn’t this table make us all even? And Catholic mass, is about sending out to participate in God’s Kingdom building work.

Here’s the million dollar question. WHY in the world would I want to share what I just experienced with anyone I care about?