The Work Issue (September/October 2010)

TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT? Newsstand Price CDN $4.95

september – october 2010

MISSION: To ignite and equip men to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ – resulting in homes, churches, workplaces, communities and nations impacted and shaped by the grace of God through the lives of men.

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Using the 7 Promises of a Promise Keeper, men will journey through the life of Jesus and discover how He prepared His followers to be men the world would describe as those “who turned the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6)

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contents

september – october, 2010

on the cover 14–24

The Work Issue

God loves work. Do you? Do you love it too much? Not enough? Meet some people who are getting it right.

Publisher: Brian Koldyk Managing Editor: Doug Koop Pulse Editor: Robert White

advertising account executives: WILLIAM LEIGHTON: william@christianweek.org DARRELL FRIESEN: darrell@christianweek.org JIM HICKS: jhicks@christianweek.org Unless otherwise indicated, neither ChristianWeek nor Promise Keepers Canada guarantee, warrant, or endorse any product, program, or service advertised.

features 14 Take this job and love it Any man can make any job an active arena of personal fulfilment and effective Christian witness.

17

editorial advisory board

Being a Christian in a difficult workplace

KIRK GILES: Promise Keepers Canada JEFF STEARNS: Promise Keepers Canada PHIL WAGLER: Kingsfield Zurich MC SANDRA REIMER: Reimer Reason Communications DOUG KOOP: ChristianWeek

Be true to yourself, say Christians in unwelcome work settings.

20 Christian bosses in work-a-day world How do Christian bosses balance the drive for profit with the costly demands of people?

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promise keepers canada 1295 North Service Road PO Box 40599 Burlington, ON L7P 4W1 (905) 331-1830 subscriptions@promisekeepers.ca Postmaster: Please send address changes to PO Box 40599, Burlington, ON L7P 4W1

24 Faith and football Israel Idonije won’t let a violent game get in the way of his faith.

ISSN 1916-8403 Cover Design: Ilex - 500 Models

columns

departments

5 PK Podium Enjoy your job… without being defined by it.

6 Sex Talk Flirts, wives and workplace porn 26 Money Matters Keep your life in balance 27 Out of My Depth Reversing the Dilbert Principle

8-12 Pulse Curious events. Interesting people. Good ideas.

13 Reviews How to quit the right things, mobilize men, parent well and argue effectively 28 Power Play Tools. Toys. Technology.

30 What Women Want Turn on time

SEVEN is a Christian magazine for Canadian men that exists to help men lead more fulfilling lives and leave enduring legacies.

The name reflects the seven promises that form the basis of the Promise Keepers organization, which works with churches to minister to men across Canada. one – A Promise Keeper is committed to honouring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and

obedience to God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit. two – A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises. three – A Promise Keeper is committed to practising spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.

Editorial and Advertising Office 204-424 Logan Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3A 0R4 Phone: (204) 982-2060 (800) 263-6695 admin@christianweek.org dkoop@christianweek.org Design: Indigo Ink Studios www.indigoinkstudios.com

four – A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values.

six – A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

five – A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of the church by honouring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.

seven – A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matt 28:19-20).

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PK Podium

Enjoy your job… …without being defined by it.

by Kirk Giles

My first real job was picking up the garbage strewn across the parking lot of the trucking company my dad worked for.

After about half an hour, I realized this was not what God was calling me to.

The next time I found myself working regularly was in the role of telemarketer.

Yes, I was one of “those people” who call at the most inappropriate times. Again, I did not see this as my life’s calling (not that there’s anything wrong with being a telemarketer).

Most of us have had jobs that we do not enjoy. Some men reading this article may even find themselves in a job they do not enjoy right now.

Whether we enjoy our work or not, it is easy to simply exist on our jobs. It is easy to go from one day to the next with work being just a part of our life routine.

For others, work becomes almost an obsession. These men are defined by their success at work and are driven to accomplish more.

What is your attitude towards your work? Neither of the attitudes described above are healthy. The men who simply “exist” while at work are living with no purpose or joy. Those who are obsessed usually fall into the trap of making work and achievements their god rather than seeing their work as one part of the whole life God has designed for them.

For the man who does not enjoy his job, or who feels stuck in the routine

of it, I want to encourage you in two ways.

First, all of life—including our work—is to be an act of worship to God (Romans 12:12; Colossians 3:23). You can live with purpose in your work because you are helping to build the world God wants built.

Second, there is a Biblical principle that whoever is faithful in a little, God will entrust with more. While at work, give it your all (including your attitude) and see how God provides other opportunities for you to use the talents He has given to you.

For the man who is defined by his success at work, I want to encourage you to ask the question: “What do I get from my work success that I’m not getting from God?” You see, at the heart of the man who is defined by his job is a man who is not at rest spiritually. He has not yet come to a place of peace that he is God’s son— no matter what results he gets from work.

It would be wrong for me to talk about work without recognizing the thousands of men who are currently unemployed. I am sure that there are many days where you feel like a failure. God has chosen you to be His son. He does not view you as a failure. God’s love for you endures forever.

I want to encourage you to keep searching and seeking employment while trusting your heavenly Father to provide for your needs every day.

Work is a gift from God designed to allow us the opportunity to show the world how God is also a worker. Live your life to honour Him and you will have purpose in your work and freedom to enjoy your job without being defined by it.

Kirk Giles is president of Promise Keepers Canada.

He and Shannon have been married for 15 years.

They are the parents of four children, ages 7-14.

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sex talk

Flirts, wives and workplace porn Temptations abound at work, at home, at school

by Doug Weiss

One of my coworkers in my office is flirting with me. I am married and want to stay married. I don’t want to make a big deal but I am really nervous about saying anything. Should I talk to my boss, talk to her with my boss, ignore it?

I am in university and have been dating my girlfriend for about a year. I just met someone who makes me question if I should still be with my girlfriend.

How do I know if I should break up or stay together?

What you’re experiencing is very common in the workplace. Remember, an adulterous woman intends to make you feel special (Proverbs 7:15). Any time a woman gives you attention, you should have a big red flag. The devil often shows up in a different guise to rob you of your spiritual authority (Rev. 2:26).

When a woman flirts with you, always talk positively about your wife. If she compliments you on something, say: “My wife likes that about me as well,” or, “My wife is to blame for this great tie.” And any time a woman talks negatively about her husband, refuse to go there at all.

If the woman persists, then confront her and say: “This is an inappropriate conversation I don’t want to continue,” and walk away. That sends a clear message that you are not an easy target.

She is looking for easy targets, not someone to fight for. If a flirtatious woman is still pestering you, it is now time to approach your boss. When you do, have clear examples and exact dates.

Honestly, however, some men send out energy these women pick up on.

If you’re lusting after someone, you may not be the victim of this woman; she may be actually responding to your lust.

If you’re privately using porn and lusting, expect temptation to answer your knock at its door. In this case, get accountable to another man to end your secret world so you can be strong against temptation. There’s nothing like calling a guy and saying, “A girl is flirting with me and telling me I am wonderful” and then having your accountability person laugh and say, “Come on, you’re really not that wonderful.” It gets you out of any stupor the other woman can cause.

At your age, all of us navigate the question, “Is this the right one for me?”

Begin by observing how you arrive at decisions. If you make decisions based on how you feel, you will like whatever woman is kind to you that day. If you make emotional decisions, you’ll struggle with adultery and all kinds of other issues.

If, however, you make decisions on principle—such as what kind of character she has; what kind of mother she will be; her values; if she is attractive to you; and you both have a reasonable amount in common—you will be content. Notice also how she relates to her friends and authority in her life.

Last but not least, this choice is the Lord’s, not yours to make. A good wife comes only from God. She’s a gift.

Ask the Lord directly and ask those who are spiritually mature and have spiritual authority over you. Deeply consider that the Lord knows what you need for a 50- to 70-year marriage. What you want and what you need may be different. He is the one you want to obey.

If you can sincerely know it’s God’s will to break up—do it. Don’t break up because of another woman. That lacks character and you most likely will regret the choice.

These are the kinds of challenges that define your story as a man. Write it wisely.

Others are reading the epistle of your life.

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I’m an employer. How should I deal with employees looking at porn at work?

I wish I heard this question more often.

Actually the largest downloads of pornography are during regular business hours. That’s right: While you are paying that person an hourly rate or salary, they are busy downloading pornography.

Let’s look at this issue proactively and reactively. On the proactive side, I would strongly suggest you have a porn blocker, monitoring or accountability software on all your work computers including laptops.

If you own the company, you can make this a company policy. You would be wise to have a clear policy allowing you to monitor your employees’ computers. This should be signed upon employment or when the policy is established. It should also include the course of action that would be implemented if this policy is violated.

Here you also might want to consult an attorney. Some employers will request counseling, evaluation and even three-day intensives for sexual addiction or other issues. You will need to be clear about the number of offenses that will determine termination. If an employee needs a free assessment, offices like ours can provide such a service.

If you request counseling, make sure in your policy that the employee signs a release of information so you can have results of the evaluation and expected treatment. You can be compassionate in this situation, but firm enough to protect other employees and your business.

Such proactive policies can also help prove due diligence legally to minimize sexual harassment charges. As a Christian employer or employee I strongly recommend not staining your testimony at work with this issue.

Douglas Weiss, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist and Executive Director of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, CO. He has appeared on Oprah, Dr. Phil and many other national media appearances. Contact him by email at heart2heart@xc.org or visit his website at www.drdougweiss.com.

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pulse

Curiousities. Personalities.

Ideas. Information.

by Robert White PULSE Editor

UNKNOWN BUSINESS GROUP LOOKS TO EXPAND A little-known Canadian business association will rely on Keith Knight’s 40 years of communications’ experience to raise its profile. Knight became executive director of the Canadian Christian Business Federation (CCBF) in July, replacing Hans Vander Stoep, who retired after 23 years at the helm.

Knight has a “lifelong passion for writing.” He began his career as a cub reporter for the Dunnville Chronicle in 1969, spending a number of years in various reporter and editor positions until 1976. That’s when the daring 26-year-old bought the Calvinist Contact (eventually the Christian Courier) and built a publication company around it.

“The company became so profitable and so busy I spent more time doing business than writing,” recalls Knight. He sold the company and returned to journalism. After a while, he melded his passions for church and communications as the communications director for the Christian Reformed Church in Canada. The

Presbyterian Church in Canada came calling two years later and Knight spent nine years as their communications director.

After leaving the Presbyterians, Knight became a consultant— which led to his contact with the CCBF. “At a small meeting with a few people over lunch they said ‘we really need someone to take over the reins of the CCBF.’ So I said, ‘let’s talk.’ We talked. It clicked and here I am.”

The CCBF was started in 1983 by Christian business leaders— most with a Christian Reformed background—who wanted a place to talk about the connection between faith and profit. Even though it has a mailing list of 600 and 12 chapters that meet monthly across Southern and Central Ontario, the membershipdriven CCBF remains fairly unknown.

“It’s all about raising a profile, telling our story,” says Knight about his new role. “It’s also a marriage of the church and of faith.

How, as Christians in business, do we tie in our faith to what we do every day? How do we live our faith?”

To grow the CBBF, Knight will focus on developing relationships. Like connecting a young entrepreneur just starting in the import/export trade with an experienced mentor. Or helping develop intern programs for business students at Christian universities in Edmonton and Hamilton.

“My greatest fear—and my delight—is that I won’t be able to keep up with the demand for membership,” says Knight. And to make the CCBF truly Canadian, moving beyond its current membership base, he’s already hired provincial directors in Alberta and B.C. “To build connections with people who are in business, to find someone else with the same concerns is very valuable.”

For more information, check www.ccbf.org.

CHECK THIS OUT, DAD A new study by researchers at the Université de Montreal found fathers, more so than mothers, tend to let toddlers take more risks and explore—something that equips youngsters for the challenges of life ahead.

“The less protective the parent, the more exploratory the behaviour in the child,” says Daniel Paquette, a psychology professor at the university. “For a child to become self-confident, the parent mustn’t be too far or too close.”

The study is part of an emerging line of inquiry called “activation theory.” This theory stresses the importance of risktaking and competition in early childhood development. It’s the flip side of the 20th-century “attachment theory”—which fed the belief that primary caregivers fulfill a child’s emotional needs and guarantee survival.

To test their hypothesis, Paquette and his colleagues, placed kids aged 12 to 18 months, each with a parent, in risky situations—near toys at the top of a stairway, say, or in a room where a strange adult enters. They then measured the Keith Knight: Helping Christians in business link faith with life.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 8

responses of both the parent and child.

The researchers found fathers were more likely to give the child space to take risks. More importantly, they identified a link between this arm’s-length style of parenting and the intrepidness of the kids.

That doesn’t mean men should nap when on daddy duty. No one’s interest is served when a child falls down the stairs. But it does suggest hidden virtue in hands-off child-rearing—and a little less guilt when something shiny grabs a dad’s attention.

(Maclean’s)

MORE THAN HORMONES MAKE A MAN What makes a man? For Dr. Louann Brizendine, it’s not much more than hormones. The MD, who specializes in neurobiology, has dissected men in her new book The Male Brain. For Brizendine, it’s all nature, no nurture; her neuropsychiatric view has a way of reducing men to what can be proven clinically.

The approach has its faults, but Brizendine offers a fresh alternative to the current gender neutral vision adopted by most women’s studies departments. Each chapter covers men at a different stage in their biological development. Starting with a chapter entitled “The Boy Brain” and ending with “The Mature Male Brain,” Brizendine explains the hormonal influences in the

brain using stories of her patients and neuroscientific theories that address specific behaviours.

An example is Brizendine’s explanation of why adolescent boys tend to tune out female voices. She uses a study which examines male and female brain activity as the subjects listen to both music and white noise. The results show male subjects’ brains deactivate while hearing white noise.

So why can’t 14-year-old Jake quite follow his friend Zoe’s chatter? Testosterone. Testosterone causes him to interpret the cadence and acoustic of the female voice as white noise. Mothers across Canada will be relieved to know there’s a scientific reason why their teen sons aren’t listening.

To be fair, it’s not a neurobiologist’s role to assess cultural influences, social science or the spiritual side of happiness. For what it is, Brizendine’s book is fine, if simplistic—science with a candy-coated veneer. Certainly, our culture gives Brizendine brisk business: We refuse the wisdom of the ages, having traded it in for a measured scientific approach to every aspect of life.

Given this reality, it’s good news that science and statistics confirm what our grandmothers knew all along: men and women are different and they think and act in different ways.

Political philosopher Harvey Mansfield and author of Manliness puts it this way: “In the case of manliness, the sciences

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 9

pulse

on a whole confirm common sense; they generally repeat the common-sense view that the sexes differ: men more aggressive, women more caring.” Since our culture appears to have forgotten this, perhaps Brizendine can be forgiven for framing her work as revolutionary.

(Charles Andreasen is a researcher with the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. Reprinted with permission)

CANADIAN CITIES GET MARKS FOR FAMILY-FRIENDLINESS The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada has graded Canada’s cities for family-friendliness. Getting an A overall were Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener and Guelph.

Cities were marked on five items: community feel, education choice, cost of living, economic strength and family independence.

Some cities had marks in one or two of the criteria. Winnipeg, for one, has the lowest cost of living in the country while OttawaGatineau has a lot of green space and high levels of charitable giving.

At the bottom with a C were Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Saint John, New Brunswick, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Thunder Bay. There wasn’t one city that got an F grade overall. But some cities failed in individual categories. Abbotsford-Mission in British Columbia, for example, registered a very high homicide rate.

“It’s fair to say all Canadian cities are great places to live in international comparison,” say study authors Rebecca Walberg and Andrea Mrozek.

“The grades are an indication of places where the economy is even stronger, where there’s more population growth, lower taxes, lots of green space and lower commute times—the sorts of things that make it easier to thrive in a great community.”

For the complete study check http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/JUNE_2010_Final.pdf

MEN WHO STARE AT SCREENS Researchers have spent lots of time looking at how active men are. But few have examined how active men aren’t. Scientists from the University of South Carolina and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, however, recently decided to take a look.

In a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, they reported that men who sat the most had the greatest risk of heart problems. Men who spent more than 23 hours a week watching TV and sitting in their cars (as passengers or drivers) had a 64 per cent greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours a week or less.

What was unexpected was that many of these men also exercised. Quite a few said they did so regularly and led active lifestyles. The men worked out, then sat in cars and in front of televisions for hours, and their risk of heart disease soared, despite the exercise. Their workouts didn’t counteract the ill effects of sitting.

The amount of time most Americans spend being inactive has risen steadily in recent decades. A 2009 editorial in the

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British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that, on average, adults spend more than nine hours a day in ‘‘sedentary activities.’’

The physiological consequences are only slowly being untangled. In recent animal studies, when rats or mice weren’t allowed to amble normally around in their cages, they rapidly developed unhealthy changes in their muscles. The animals showed signs of insulin resistance and had higher levels of fatty acids in their blood.

Scientists believe the changes are caused by a lack of muscular contractions. Your muscles, unused for hours at a time, change in subtle fashion, and as a result, your risk for heart disease, diabetes and other diseases can rise.

You can, however, get rid of the dangers of inactivity with several easy steps. Look for ways to decrease physical inactivity beyond 30-minute workouts. Stand up. Pace around your office.

Get off the couch and grab a mop or change a light bulb the next time you watch “Dancing With the Stars.” (www.newyorktimes.com)

FATHERHOOD: THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD After spending a busy Father’s Day with his two boys, Sojourner editor-in-chief Jim Wallis got up early the next day to hear President Barack Obama’s fatherhood speech at the Boys and Girls Club in Southeast Washington, DC. Here are excerpts from Wallis’ blog on the event.

“It felt like an honour to be invited and a great opportunity to hear the president talk about how important he thinks fatherhood is for the country. We expected just to be part of the audience and were surprised to be asked to sit in the front row of the stage right behind the president.”

He spoke about the difference in having a kid and being a father: “The fact is, it’s easy to become a father, technically—any guy can do that. It’s hard to live up to the lifelong responsibilities that come with fatherhood. It’s a challenge even in good times, when our families are doing well. It’s especially difficult when times are tough, families are straining just to keep everything together.”

From our vantage point, we could see the faces of the dads, moms and kids who filled the auditorium. Their nodding heads, knowing smiles, and hearty applause indicated they knew exactly what the president was talking about.

“Here’s the key message I think all of us want to send today to fathers all across the country: Our children don’t need us to be superheroes. They don’t need us to be perfect. They do need us to be present. They need us to show up and give it our best shot, no matter what else is going on in our lives. They need us to show them—not just with words, but with deeds—that they are always our first priority.”

Sitting there, just a few feet from the presidential rostrum, the words that

came next seemed to me to be among the most important he’ll ever speak: “Over the course of my life, I have been an attorney, I’ve been a professor, I’ve been a state senator, I’ve been a U.S. senator—and I currently am serving as president of the United States. But I can say without hesitation that the most challenging, most fulfilling, most important job I will have during my time on this earth is to be Sasha and Malia’s dad.”

I believe he means that. I believe it in part because that’s the way I feel about being Luke and Jack’s dad. Of all the things I’ve ever done, this is the job that now feels like the most important one to me. It’s also the greatest privilege and blessing I’ve ever had.

When he finished, Obama turned and came to greet the people in the front row on the stage. When he got to us, he shook my son’s hand and said, “Hey Luke, it’s great to finally meet you.

What grade are you in now?”

“That was awesome, Dad,” he whispered as the president waved and walked away. “I’m never going to wash this hand.”

For the complete text, check http://blog.sojo.net/2010/06/24/fatherhood-the-best-job-in-the-world/

NEW DADS CAN GET THE “BABY BLUES” TOO New dads, along with new moms, can suffer the “baby blues”— or post-partum depression—new American research suggests.

Researchers at the Eastern Virginia Medical School looked at data from 43 studies from 16 countries. They found about 10 per cent of fathers experience depression before or soon after their child is born.

This is about double the number of men generally who suffer from depression each year. Researchers James Paulson and Sharnail Bazemore say this “represents a significant health concern” in a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Upwards of 30 per cent of new mothers experience post-partum depression.

“Becoming a parent is one of the biggest changes both men and women can go through. Yet there’s still very little understood about how it impacts mental health.

Or how

many people will experience a perinatal mental health problem,” says Bridget O’Connell with the English mental health non-profit group Mind.

“New parents can be faced with sleep deprivation, changes in lifestyle, changes in their relationship and new responsibilities all at once. We don’t always remember this will be an issue for men as well as women.”

Paulson and Bazemore say their findings show more needs to be done to assist at-risk fathers, especially since there’s growing evidence early paternal depression can have a major negative impact on their children. http://www.todaysfamilynews.ca/Family/

ACTUALLY, REAL MEN DO CRY The Bible sends confusing signals. At times Christ behaved like a lion. He rebuked; He cursed; He knocked over tables. At other times He was like a lamb. He healed; He blessed; He wept openly.

The paradox extends to the Epistles, where Paul’s words encourage us to be lamblike, but his actions are those of a full-mane lion.

So when ministers exhort us to “be a man like Jesus,” which one are they talking about—the Lion of Judah or the Lamb of God? One day I decided to examine the gospels through the lens of this paradox. It wasn’t long before I discovered an ancient map to manhood embedded in Matthew’s gospel.

The map records three spiritual journeys all the great men of Scripture have walked. The first is found in Matthew 17—where Christ is mostly a lamb. In His second journey, Matthew 8:25, we find Him transformed into a lion. Then in Matthew 26-28, He walks a third journey, becoming lamblike again.

After I discovered the journeys, it was a simple matter to turn them into a real ink-on-paper map, named Submission, Strength and Sacrifice.

Submission=lamb. When teaching young believers, emphasize softer, submissive themes like brokenness, dependence and weakness; the fruit of the Spirit; and the submission of our wills to Christ.

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Strength=lion. As young disciples mature, shift your focus to strength. Teach them how to discern and execute a life of mission, when to pray and when to confront, and the value of tough love.

Sacrifice=lamb. Mature believers should be taught to sacrifice.

Help them learn how to pour their lives into others, how to love deeply and how to die (to selfishness) so others can live.

I believe these three journeys are the key to transforming ordinary men into spiritual champions. Together they form the template of male spiritual development left to us by Jesus. The three journeys may be the lost path of discipleship that so many have been searching for.

David Murrow is author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and you can find out more about this map for manhood at www.threejourneys.com. (Ministry magazine)

NEW ZEALAND DOG SHOOTS OWNER A New Zealand man has good reason to question whether his dog is truly his best friend—the family pet shot him in the backside in a potentially fatal accident.

The 40-year-old man was sitting in the backseat of his car when the dog stepped on the trigger of a loaded .22 rifle and shot him.

The wounded man was with a group of friends who had just finished killing and butchering a domestic pig. He thought the rifle had been unloaded.

He was rushed by helicopter to a nearby hospital where doctors said he underwent surgery to remove a bullet from his left buttock.

A local police constable said the man was lucky not to have been more seriously injured.

reviews

Argue. Mobilize. Parent. Quit.

I QUIT: THE DAY I STOPPED PRETENDING EVERYTHING WAS FINE AND CHANGED MY LIFE, MY MARRIAGE AND MY CHURCH

By Geri Scazzero with Peter Scazzero Keeping up appearances can be very hard. “This is a book about following Jesus and summoning the courage to quit anything that does not belong to His kingdom or fall under His rule,” writes Geri Scazzero. “Traditionally, the Christian community hasn’t placed much value on quitting.” Scazzero, who serves alongside her husband Peter as a teaching pastor at New Life Fellowship Church in New York City, has a lot to say about when to say “no more,” and how to say it for the right reasons. Stop pretending everything is fine she says. Quit being afraid of what others think. Quit lying.

Quit dying to the wrong parts of yourself. Quit denying anger, sadness and fear. Quit blaming. Quit over-functioning.

Quit faulty thinking. Quit living someone else’s life. “My greatest goal is authentic love—love of God, myself and others,” she writes. “Practicing the ‘I quits’ has been on of the most significant means to that end.”

MOBILIZING MEN FOR ONE-ON-ONE MINISTRY

By Steve Sonderman “Ministry is like football. It’s hard. It requires coaching. Support. Protection.

Goals. It cannot be played solo. Yet in the church we often send men out to minister solo.” Veteran men’s ministry pastor Steve Sonderman’s new book tackles this problem, providing a manual of instruction about building a support team so that no

man is left alone or behind.

“This book is about how you can have an effective ministry to men in your sphere of influence,” he writes. “No matter your occupation, age, denomination or ministry training, you have an incredible opportunity to change the course of another man’s life.” He is concerned that many men are “just too busy and caught up in temporal issues to really pour our lives into others,” and he’d really like that to change. Mobilizing Men offers practical guidance for those who heed this call, including good information about leadership development, discipling, effective small groups and a wealth of insight about helping men of various ages and at different life stages.

PARENTING BEYOND YOUR CAPACITY: CONNECT YOUR FAMILY TO A WIDER COMMUNITY

By Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof Here is a message from two experienced dads (both are pastors) who are eager to figure out how to love God and their families better, and to help others do the same. Both are absolutely convinced you can’t go it alone. No matter how good your parenting skills, partnering with others who can also have influence on your child is important. And building relationships between parents and the church is a

great way to go about it. “When you combine the light from a faith community with the heart of a caring family, you exponentially expand your potential to make a difference in the life of a child.” The authors are hopeful that readers will be able, among other things, to “stay focused on what really matters for your children’s future,” and to “learn to lead yourself as a parent.” Nieuwhof is the lead pastor of Connexus Community Church with campuses in Barrie and Orillia, Ontario.

Joiner is the founder and CEO of the reThink Group in Georgia.

EVIDENCE FOR GOD: 50 ARGUMENTS FOR FAITH FROM THE BIBLE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE Edited by William Dembski and Michael Licona Do you have a lot of questions about God? Are you looking for evidence you can get a handle on? Do you find rational arguments convincing? If so, this collection of 50 answers to frequently asked questions could be a godsend. Christian philosophers address topics including the problem of suffering and evidence for an afterlife.

Scientists offer explanations to nearly 20 questions about the origin of life, eugenics and much more. Biblical scholars tackle a host of difficult issues related to Jesus and the Bible. How credible are Jesus’s miracles? Were His resurrection appearances simply hallucinations? Is Jesus superior to all other religious leaders? Is the Bible today what was originally written? Why do we have so many translations? This is not a comprehensive defense of the Christian faith, but the editors are hoping this book will serve “as a springboard into the exciting and fruitful field of apologetics.”

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 13

features

TAKE THIS JOB

by Carson Pue Today I’m what we might call a professional minister. But earlier in my life I owned an interior design business. Since then I have often reflected on how much more effective my “ministry” seemed to be when I was working in “business.”

As a businessman, if I invited a friend to attend a special meeting with a big name speaker, he was much more likely to respond with “Sure!” When I became a pastor, it was like I had “Christian” attached to my forehead like a figurehead on the bow of a Viking ship. If I want to end a conversation with a person sitting beside me on a flight, all I have to do is answer the question, “What do you do?” with, “I’m a minister.” If you can say, “I am a businessman,” you are better positioned to talk about things of faith with seemingly fewer barriers.

In the past two years the number of business leaders I’ve heard speak about their desire to leave their occupation and “become a minister” has astonished me.

What’s with this? Theologically this is just wrong. We are all ministers. So on behalf of pastors, forgive us if you have ever been made to feel like your occupation is somehow a lesser calling than vocational ministry.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 14

Consider carefully. When I was discerning if God was calling me to full-time vocational ministry I sought counsel from many pastors. One senior Christian leader responded, “Carson, we already have enough pastors and if God is calling you to that He will chase you down and make it so. Until then, I want to release you from your pursuit and leave that to God. You might be more effective for the Kingdom serving as a godly businessman right where you are.”

Most men have a fear hidden deep in the recesses of our lives. That fear is that we will die one day without having made a significant difference. I think this is the reason that Frank Capra’s bittersweet drama It’s a Wonderful Life Christmas movie has been treasured for over 50 years. Jimmy Stewart’s character touches on that fear and correctly portrays our search for meaning to be found in what we do.

The average working Canadian will spend more than 90,000 hours on the job during his or her lifetime of employment.

Technology and our working longer can stretch the amount of time spent working to well over 100,000 hours and cause us to spend more than 50 per cent of our waking time at work.

In contrast, we spend less than two per cent of our working years at church—about 4,000 hours. So why do we spend so much time focusing our attention on church work? Do we really think that being a pastor is more significant than being a real estate agent, plumber or contractor?

AND LOVE IT? God loves work. God is not a stranger to work. Jesus was a carpenter, and when He was baptized the Father expressed that He was already pleased with His Son long before He had performed miracles or taught what we have recorded in the New Testament.

The Old Testament’s first mention of humanity begins with work. Adam and Eve were gardeners. The foundational truth is that work is good. It becomes wrong when we get anxious about it; when we don’t work at all; when we become compulsive about it; or lethargic and lazy. Work has dignity, as it is part of God’s purpose. God works, and we are created in His image.

Yes, the disciples were called to put aside their normal occupations (fishing, tent making, tax collecting) to work in another way. There is a place for this, but not in a hierarchical manner as one being more important than another.

Paul himself spoke about the temptation to leave one’s employment by asking us to serve where we are and to live out our calling in whatever situation we find ourselves. “Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him… Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.”

(2 Cor. 7:17, 20)

So how can we stay working where we are placed and learn to love it?

Understand that your work is a divine vocation. Your job is not something you take on to fulfill yourself or family: It is a response to God calling you to assist a portion of his Kingdom. Bring some definition to your “call” by writing out a personal governing set of values in the form of a mission statement.

In 1991 I wrote in my journal: “To bring about biblical life change in unchurched men and women internationally through encouraging leaders by modeling, mentoring, and teaching the Word of God in a credible contemporary manner.” Since writing that statement I have lived it while working for three different employers. If you establish your core values, they become the point of integration in all that you do.

Remember that you are a co-worker with God. In your job you link the inner life with outer life, the place where most of your friends and colleagues live. You are not in this alone and we need not fear. You can work each day as a testimony of hope for those working with you and watching you daily. Live and work each day choosing to trust Jesus with every aspect of your life and through extending God’s grace. Create

Do we really think that being a pastor is more significant than being a real estate agent, plumber or contractor?

environments of freedom for your coworkers to explore commitment and faith in a safe environment.

View the clock differently. There are two types of time. There is our ordinary time (chronos) but be open to the invasion of significant time (kairos). It is a life perspective. If we live by the clock we ask, “What time is it?” With kairos time we ask, “What is this time for?” Of course your salary is based on clock time, but the value is found in waiting and anticipating a kairos moment in your day.

Use your gifts. The parable of the talents (Mark 25:14-30) is a message about using our gifts and abilities as stewards of a trust rather than furthering our personal gain.

God entrusts the gifts and talents you use in your occupation to you and He wants you to use them for the furthering of His Kingdom work.

Remember who your boss is. Ultimately we are accountable to Jesus. It is to Him that we will render account for how we have stewarded our gifts. Even the lowliest of workers, slaves, are told, “obey your earthly masters in everything, and do it not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus you are serving” (Col. 3:21-23).

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 15

features

TAKE THIS JOBAND LOVE IT?

Work with love towards others. There are so many opportunities to love those we are working with and for. Learn people’s names, start friendships, smile, shake hands and learn to pay attention to what God is already doing in helping and healing, in liberating and cheering others on! Keep God’s work at the centre and your personal gain at the periphery. The character of your work is not shaped by accomplishments or possessions but in relationships. You have a chance to make a mark in someone’s life and this can bring great meaning to so-called secular work.

Financially support your church and bless additional Christian ministries. Part of the mystery of God’s work today is that it combines those with the passion and skills to do the task with those who have the resources to make it happen. Work becomes more than a chore when you know that a significant portion of the proceeds of your labour are being used to make it happen. It gives every paycheque meaning beyond the temporal and propels it into the eternal.

Integrate prayer into your work life. While you may not have the freedom to make this a public practice of your business, all of us can pray personally. Bring your work to Christ.

Commit yourself to the development of people. Those around you at work were created in the image of God—regardless of their current behaviour. They are of infinite value to God, and should be to you too.

Be a part of creating a learning environment around you. Mentor others in skills and life and speak about accountability in terms of stewardship of gifts. By doing so you can infuse work with meaning both for yourself and others.

Don’t try to do it alone. We are not meant to do life alone. We need the encouragement and accountability of other Christians around us. Perhaps it is time for you to seek out a Christian mentor, or pull together a group of peer mentors who can help you understand and integrate the personal, relational, technological and economic aspects of your job—as God wants you to see it.

Carson Pue is president of Arrow Leadership and is called to develop leaders worldwide. He is the best selling author of Mentoring Leaders: Wisdom for Developing Character, Calling and Competency (Baker).

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seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 16

Let your light shine Be true to your faith and yourself, say Christians in unwelcoming work settings

Courtesy of Cheri DiNovo

by Joe Couto

Ontario MLA Cheri DiNovo (left) says Christian faith drives the cause she fights for.

After more than three decades in law enforcement, there isn’t much that Dan Parkinson hasn’t seen. From domestic assaults to murders, he’s encountered humanity at its best and at its very worst.

But as a Christian, Parkinson has also had to work hard to remain true to his beliefs.

Parkinson, the Chief of Police of the Cornwall Community Police Service in eastern Ontario, says that he has never hidden or shielded his faith. But coming up through the ranks, he remembers struggling with living out his religious beliefs when many others around him

looked down on faith.

“My wife had been saved 12 years before I was moving toward [making a commitment for Christ],” says Parkinson.

“At that point in my life, I was working homicides and there was a strong Christian, Alf Thomas, in our group. Some

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 17

features

Harvest Evangelism photo

Let your Light shine

Evangelist and author Ed Silvoso encourages Christians to transform their workplaces.

of the guys talked about Alf, saying something to the effect that, ‘You can’t trust Alf. He’s a Christian. He’ll tell the truth.’”

Parkinson remembers being struck that this man of faith was being distrusted by his policing colleagues because his strong moral beliefs permeated his work as police officer. It also set Parkinson on “a course of action to be like [Thomas]” and make a commitment for Christ.

Not easy Being a Christian in a tough workplace is not easy. People of faith are increasingly surrounded by co-workers of many different faiths or no faith at all. Economic pressure to produce more with less along with personal life issues such as longer work hours, families where both parents work, and technology that keeps us “at work” even outside the office make living out one’s faith harder than ever.

Martin Reimer, who does property

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 18

maintenance work in Kitchener, Ontario, says that as a Christian, he feels he has to challenge managers, co-workers and even customers when they use foul language or engage in behaviour he considers harassment. “I believe that Christians have to behave properly, according to their faith,” he says. “I am very upfront about things that are wrong and let people know it.”

Reimer, who immigrated to Canada from Mexico, admits that some people are shocked that, as a Christian, he would push back when it comes to selfish attitudes and foul language, and that he has felt harassed because of his attitude.

But he also says that he has earned his boss’s trust on account of his faith.

Doing what’s right Dr. Lisa Barrow is a Healthy Workplace Consultant and author who has worked for Fortune 500 companies and experienced the incredible pressures of living out faith

in a hostile workplace. As a Christian, she believes that being known as a person of faith in a workplace where “doing what’s right” may put you into conflict with managers and workers can be devastating, especially when the conflict turns into a form of bullying.

“Bullying impacts everyone,” says Barrow. “If you have strong moral convictions and your work culture says it’s okay to steal and you stand up against it, it sets the foundation for bullying.”

Part of the problem, she says, is that Canadians are “losing our civility”—those shared values that set out what is “right and wrong.” Stealing, gossiping and undercutting our co-workers can put Christians in a difficult position of either “going with the flow” or standing up for their religious convictions.

Another important driver making it harder for Christians in the workplace is technology. Barrow suggests that workplaces have become “dehumanized” and that our BlackBerry devices and laptops have become “extremities.”

If people are “extensions” of their devices, it becomes easier to treat (or mistreat) them as “inanimate objects,” she argues.

Bullying behaviours A 2009 Workplace Interaction Survey developed by LMSB Consulting found that individuals can experience a number of “bullying” behaviours if they are singled out for abuse such as threats to professional status, personal humiliation (e.g., name calling), isolation at work, overwork and destabilization (e.g., not receiving credit for work).

Many Christians are reluctant to marry their professional positions to their personal faith. If society demands that faith remain private, then being a “public Christian” might be a stumbling block to profession success.

In his book Anointed for Business,

Courtesy of Cheri DiNovo

features

evangelist Ed Silvoso, founder and president of Harvest Evangelism, identifies four types of Christians in the workplace: 1) Christians who simply try to survive and have no desire to let their faith shine in their work (and often, for their life in general); 2) Christians who live by Christian principles, are ethical people but often don’t actively let their faith shine in the workplace; 3) Christians who live by the power of the Holy Spirit, incorporating their faith into every aspect of their lives— including work—by their actions and words; 4) Christians who transform their workplace; a by-product of the point above, such individuals actually change lives (professionally and personally) within their workplace.

Christians are found in every one of the groups developed by Silvoso. For some, like Cheri DiNovo, being a Christian in the workplace takes courage and conviction.

First elected as a New Democratic Party Member of the Ontario legislature in 2006, DiNovo was already well-known as a socially active United Church minister before her election. Leaving faith at home when she goes to work isn’t an option for DiNovo.

“Politics is a ministry. Whenever I’m involved in partisan or even interparty warfare, I remember who I am,” says the MPP for Parkdale High Park.

DiNovo was in the corporate world before turning to the ministry in 1992. But in her youth, she was on the streets at age 15 and used recreational drugs.

Now her faith drives the causes she fights for. She admits that it isn’t always easy being a strong Christian whose moral convictions

DiNovo: “Politics is a ministry.”

Dr. Lisa Barrow is a healthy workplace consultant.

propel her work in the legislature.

“I have taken on a number of faithbased issues for which I took flak from my own [party] colleagues,” says DiNovo.

“But people of faith have to pray and witness. I pray with my husband everyday, especially a joy and blessing on those who wish me harm.”

Being true to yourself and to your faith seems to be common advice by Christians like DiNovo and chief of police Dan Parkinson. “People will know something about you without you speaking,” says Parkinson. “Let your light shine.”

Joe Couto provides public relations and media training through his Toronto-based company, Tourniquet Communications.

features

Christian bosses don’t take

Doug Koop photo

Profits and people building matter more than evangelism

Jade Transport partners Greg Arndt (left) and Larry Dyck: “Jesus chose tough guys for his disciples.”

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 20

faith for granted Being a boss in business isn’t easy.

Being a Christian in a secular workplace can be complicated. Being a Christian boss in a work environment is an especially demanding task. Business itself can be very rough and tough, and the people in it can be even tougher.

Larry Dyck is up to the challenge.

The president and co-owner of Jade Transport Ltd. in Winnipeg has been in the rough and tumble of the trucking industry for more than 40 years.

“Truckers traditionally come from rough, tough places,” he observes. “But Jesus chose tough guys for His disciples. There’s a fallacy among a lot of Christians that our faith is all nice guy, non-aggressive. Meek doesn’t mean weak. Meek and mild is not the hallmark of Christianity.”

It’s the sort of emphasis one might expect from a Christian boss in a macho industry. Jade is a liquid bulk carrier whose award winning, artistically decorated Peterbilt trucks add dashes of colour on highways throughout North America.

When Larry bought the business from his father 25 years ago, Jade had three trucks and five trailers. Today the company operates 42 of its own trucks with another 20 owner-operators under contract.

Dyck and his partner, Greg Arndt, are upfront about the source of the successes they’ve achieved. They credit hard work, dedication, family values, honesty and integrity stemming from their Christian worldview. Their religious beliefs are transparent but not discriminatory. Like most Christian bosses, Dyck and Arndt are happy to have people who share their faith values working in the company. Christians don’t get a free ride, and non-Christians have every opportunity to prove their mettle. “This is a meritocracy,” says Arndt.

“Christians don’t have the market cornered on skills and a good work ethic.”

And then there’s the small matter of justice and mercy, two solidly Christian principles that sometimes seem at odds.

Doug Koop photo

by Doug Koop

Jeff Ehlers is keen to elevate the reputation of roofers.

“You’ve got to remember whose business it really is,” notes Dyck. “If you’re a steward of God’s things, you have to take care of the stuff. Don’t overbalance to mercy. Do justice as well. God established the rules.”

Throughout the years they’ve seen some of the rougher characters become more refined, and some of the Christian employees slip away. They’ve seen tough guys respond well to mercy, and church friends simply expect it. “Being a witness to non-Christian employees means there can be no double standard,” explains Arndt. “We make these decisions on basis of job performance. We don’t offer special favours. It becomes about optics.”

Family plus value The issues are remarkably similar across a range of different businesses. Matt Bondy is a Christian man trying to run a good company in a competitive environment.

And he too feels the tension between

doing the job right and doing the right thing for people. “We are a for profit company, not a philanthropic organization,” he begins. “ We expect to make a profit with the business.”

Bondy, 42, helped found Interprise Software back in 1997. The Kitchener, Ontario-based business is growing in the heart of Canada’s answer to Silicon Valley, in the middle of the technology triangle anchored by RIM, inventors of the ubiquitous BlackBerry. “After 13 years, we figure any year now we’ll be an overnight success,” observes Bondy. “We’re building slowly. We won’t over commit or oversell.

We survived the dotcom bubble. The Lord’s had His hand on us.”

As a small company, he doesn’t expect to compete with all the perks that larger companies dish out. Interprise does pay competitively, maintains good equipment and workspace and encourages professional development. But the

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 21

Courtesy of Matt Bondy

features

Doug Koop photo

Matt Bondy (front right) relaxes with members of his Interprise Software team.

Allmar International chairman Ed Redekopp heads a large company with a deeply embedded culture of care based on Christian values.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 22

workplace culture is a key calling card.

The web site trumpets the company’s core values, billing itself as a “family friendly ecommerce website development company.

“We only hire the best people and then give them everything they need to achieve remarkable results. That does not include a cell phone, because you should not be disturbed when you are away from the office. It does not include free breakfasts and dinners, because you should not be at work that long. It does not include weekly social events, because that would really cut into family time.”

Bondy recognizes that any good company invests in its people. “It’s another area of ministry,” he says.

“If we’re struggling with a particular employee, I ask myself why that person is here. In the process, I’ve seen myself go from ‘God, I don’t want this person,’ to realize that they have some thing valuable to add. When I look for what the Lord might have in mind, I realize a hard situation might be a character investment opportunity.”

And, he adds, “Just because someone carries the label ‘Christian’ doesn’t mean they have all the character traits. We’ve had non-Christians who were wonderful workers and Christians who weren’t.”

Above All Jeff Ehlers is a hard-working 28-year-old, a family man who started a roofing business in 2003 with one truck and two helpers. Today his company, Above All, is operating with nine trucks and 24 helpers, and will do about $2-million in business this year.

He’s a church guy with a laid back way of expressing his faith. He’d rather its fruit be noticed. “From the beginning I’ve tried to figure out how to have a workplace that isn’t overly ‘shouty’ that it’s a Christian company. But I want the principles to be there because they are good life principles that apply to business.”

Early on he adopted the philosophy of

Christian bosses don’t take faith for granted

trying to elevate people’s reputation of roofers, a labour pool not known for refined manners. “Exceeding expectations” became the company motto and he sought to instill it at every level.

For example, the company enforces a “no swearing” rule on the job site. “We make the expectation extremely clear in the hiring process, and our foremen will give three or four warnings,” says Ehlers. “But if you can’t control your language on the job site, it’s reason enough to let you go.”

The result is good for business. “We get a lot of customer feedback telling us how much they like the guys. They don’t blast music. They’re polite. No one is cursing. It’s important to the homeowner and creates a good impression with the neighbours, which is important because that’s our future business.”

And it’s good for the workers. “Over the years we’ve had lots of guys come in. Right off the hop they see we run things a little bit different. Their first impression is that they like the group, the atmosphere and the workplace,” explains Ehlers, who is friends with many of his workers. “People notice right away that there aren’t behind the scenes discussions and gossip.

Stuff is in the open.”

And, he says, he and his foremen are interested in developing workers as people, not just as labourers. “We try to get into their lives a bit and encourage them to live a more rounded lifestyle. If we notice a guy has nutritional problems, or stays up too late, we kind of go after that and show them there are more healthy ways.”

do whatever it took to address the person’s need at the time.

The result was very loyal employees,” he says.

The legacy is now hitting a critical transition as the business hits the third generation. For the first time, the current president is not a family member.

“But our company culture reflects 53 years of having owners and many of our managers who are people of faith,” says Redekopp.

“We encourage people to integrate their faith into work. The workplace becomes a place where people can become quiet witnesses. It’s not about Bible-thumping or overt witnessing.

It’s about acts of kindness and the absence of office politics, backbiting and intrigue.”

“Dad’s example left a big impression for me—caring for people; believing in what they could become rather than what they were; helping them reach their full potential. My brother and I want to do good with business. It’s not just about making money.”

Legacy Ed Redekopp is beginning to wind down his career as a business executive. He is the chairman and co-owner of Allmar International, an architectural hardware firm with a presence in 15 Canadian cities and an overseas branch in England.

Allmar employs more than 350 people and garnered annual sales of $92 million in 2007.

It’s a business that Ed, along with his brother Art, took over from their father, who launched it in 1957. And Ed Redekopp maintains that the ongoing Christian influence is the legacy of the founder’s vision. He tells story after story about a dad who came to a carefully considered decision to pursue business as a ministry calling.

“Integrating faith and work was huge to him,” he recalls. “His business philosophy was rooted in his commission: ‘to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.’ That means you don’t take advantage of people; you don’t cheat; you aren’t dishonest,” says Redekopp.

“To love mercy is probably the most important element when it comes to employee relationships. They’re not just some assets of production, but human beings with their own struggles in life.

As their employer, Dad saw it as a ministry. He went the extra mile with people. He had a lot of patience. When they messed up, he gave them a second chance. He gave loans, and was willing to

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 23

features

don’t Let a LittLe VIOLENCE get in the way of your faith How Canada’s Israel Idonije balances the NFL with his Christian faith.

by Scott Taylor

Israel Idonije plays on the defensive line of the Chicago Bears, a team long known as the Monsters of the Midway.

In most defensive sets, Bears head coach Lovie Smith will have Idonije play tackle, coming up out of the three-point stance. On others the big Canadian will be placed outside as a stand-up rush end. On almost every special teams play, Idonije is the first tackler downfield. At 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, he’s not only huge, he’s fast.

For doing this—for violently chasing down quarterbacks, tailbacks and punt and kick returners—the 29-year-old from Brandon, Manitoba is paid handsomely.

He signed a contract extension last year that keeps him on the Bears roster through 2011. He will make $2.5 million this year and next, and he also pocketed a $2 million bonus for signing the extension last season.

It’s quite a dichotomy: A young man who was raised in the church and still, to this day, remains committed to his faith, playing a game that is based in emotion and violence with success the reward of the hardest and toughest.

“Football is a game and in some ways a business,” Idonije says. “It’s how I make my living. I’ve been doing it for so long now, I don’t notice the violence. I notice the speed and skills of my opponents and teammates and I enjoy the man-to-man competition. God gives us particular gifts and I’ve used mine to play a professional sport that I enjoy and that gives people a great amount of entertainment. I’m not out there to hurt people; I’m out there to get a job done. It’s always been that way with me.”

Reluctant hero Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised on the Canadian prairies, Israel Idonije has

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 24

always been a reluctant football hero. In high school, he wanted to be a basketball player. Michael Jordan was his favourite athlete and he emulated the Chicago Bulls star when he played at Brandon’s Vincent Massey Collegiate.

But one day, as he walked down the hallway past the gym, the coach of the tiny school’s new football team, Kevin Grindey, asked if he might have a minute of the big 17-year-old’s time. Grindey, who had just restarted Massey’s defunct football program, made Idonije an offer.

“Come out for the football team,” he pleaded. “All I’ll ask you to do is play standup rush end. You can go chase the quarterback.”

Idonije wasn’t sure at first, but his mom, who wanted him to play every sport he possibly could, was absolutely certain.

“Play,” she said. And as a faithful and respectful son, play he did.

He starred at the University of Manitoba and was scouted by the Cleveland Browns at the East-West Shrine game. After spending time with the Browns in 2003, he was eventually released and signed as a free agent by the Bears. He has been a staple of their special teams and the defensive line ever since.

But how does a big man who was raised by his parents in Brandon’s Tabernacle of Love rationalize becoming a Monster of the Midway?

“I think being on a football team, working together with other men and being in a locker room atmosphere is no different than working anyplace else,” Idonije says.

“You just have to have an understanding of who you are and what you represent.

“I want to be known as a man of good character and I think, or hope, that that’s how I’m perceived. Every day, I walk the walk. I don’t waiver from my foundation.”

Serve families And that could be both “foundation,” and “Foundation.”

In 2006, he founded the Israel Idonije Foundation to serve families and individuals in disadvantaged communities on both a local and global scale. The foundation consists of three programs: Street Love, C.A.R.E. Africa and IZZYz KIDz. IZZYz KIDz has been incorporated into the curriculum of five grade schools in Chicago and Winnipeg and strives to provide lessons in leadership, taking initiative and working hard on the fundamentals of good scholarship and good sportsmanship. Idonije has built homes in Africa, visited schools all over North America and provided underprivileged kids with the tools to succeed.

And yet, by his own admission, he’s “not preachy.”

“Just because you go to church doesn’t mean you’re a Christian,” he says.

“Christianity isn’t about religion; it’s about your personal relationship with the Lord.

It’s no different than football. Everyone can hope and wish the best for everyone, but ultimately your own actions will determine the result. You have to walk the walk every day. You have to live your life as a Christian, not just go to church once a week and assume you’re Christian.”

Off the field, Idonije not only runs his foundation, but also invested in a business that makes one-piece communion cups— with the cup, the juice and the wafer all in one package. He’s a regular at the Bears’ Bible study every Thursday and attends Pastor John Hannah’s New Life Covenant, an evangelical church in Chicago with more than 10,000 worshippers. “[Teammate] Tommie Harris introduced me to Pastor Hannah,” Idonije recalls.

www.israelidonije.org

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije on a mission to Nigeria earlier this year.

“When you’re a pro athlete, worshipping in one place can be difficult. But we attend whenever we can. I’ve also gone to some of the churches of my really good friends.

My father is now a minister in a program called Streets of Love in Brandon. Going to church and taking part in Bible study classes are things that have always been important to me.”

As the Bears get set for a season that already has Idonije excited (“With the acquisition of Julius Peppers, I think we’re going to be a great team, capable of going back to the Super Bowl,” he says), his new Christian business, his foundation and his

commitment to the Lord keeps him focused on the Lord’s teachings every day.

“To me, church is pivotal,” says Idonije.

“You must have your family to love and cherish and look to for support, but you also need a church family. And if you don’t have that church family, it will make your life more difficult in those times when you aren’t successful and aren’t doing well.”

Scott Taylor is a Winnipeg-based sports reporter, columnist and broadcaster. His profile of Shane Doan and a conversation with Jarome Iginla appeared in SEVEN earlier this year.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 25

money matters

Keep your life in balance Financial balance is an important part of a balanced Christian life.

by Paul Emerton

means to them. But like many people, nothing can push and pull us more offbalance than financial demands that challenge and wreak havoc on our relationships, health and career.

So that’s why it’s important to devote as much attention to your family’s financial health as you do to your physical health.

When your family’s financial house is in order, you are better able to care for others the way God calls us to. It involves, not only supporting the work of the Lord financially and looking after our family’s needs, but also caring for the less fortunate in our world.

Paul Emerton is a Certified Financial Planner and Trainer at FaithLife Financial. www.faithlifefinancial.ca

Tips for balancing work with “the rest of our lives” • If you must bring work home, give it only an allotted amount of time.

• When on vacation, do NOT work part time or answer office e-mail.

• If overtime is necessary, do not commit every weeknight to it. Your family and friends deserve more of your time than just weekends.

Dave King photo

It is often said that balance is the key to happiness … and so is living the life God has planned for you. Financial balance is an important part of a balanced Christian life.

Life can sometimes be like the balance scale our grandmothers used when baking years ago, with many different aspects of our beings coming together to balance and form the people we are. We work and play, rest and expend energy, commune with our bodies and souls, exalt in joy and feel sorrow.

Basically, balance is the state that someone achieves when all of the aspects of life and self are in harmony.

While balance is necessary to have a satisfying, energetic and joyful life, it’s up to each person to determine what balance

This toaster is .

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 26

Out of my depth

Reversing the Dilbert Principle God is more intent on changing our minds than our circumstances.

by Mark Buchanan

There’s a man in my church—let’s call him Dilbert—who almost every week asks me to pray for him about his job. He loathes it, top to bottom: the pay, the hours, the working conditions, the staff relations.

Mostly, he loathes his boss. She, according to him, is mean and cheap and never once satisfied.

The first few times Dilbert asked, I prayed mild, vague prayers. Basically, I asked God to change his circumstances.

Give him a new job, or at least a new boss.

But now I’ve stopped those prayers.

And I’ve started asking Dilbert to change his mind, with God’s help.

Partly, this was a theological move.

Biblically, God is more intent on changing our minds than our circumstances. We are transformed, according to Romans 12:2, by the renewal of our minds, not the altering of our circumstances—except, of course, in the ultimate senses that in Christ we have been transferred from death to life.

But partly, this was a practical move.

I sensed that Dilbert had a near bottomless capacity to be unhappy in any job. In fact, the more I got to know him, the more I realized he had an aversion to work bordering on pathology. He dreamed of endless leisure. His ideal world involved a lot of late mornings, a lot of late nights, a lot of movies and not much else.

The most basic thing about God is that He’s a worker. The most basic thing about us being made in God’s image is that we, too, are workers. Adam was put in the garden to “work it and take care of it.” And Eve was brought along, not first as Adam’s conversation or sexual partner, but as his helper. There was a lot of work needing doing, and these two resembled God the most when they were about it. Digging,

pruning, reaping, naming, they moved seamlessly in rhythm with the good creation.

I wrote a book on Sabbath-keeping a few years ago and tried to convince readers how important rest is. But I began with a chapter about how important work is. Rest is God’s gift to workers. Rest only derives value from a world bent on doing its job. In a world bent on maximizing leisure, on retiring at 30, on outsourcing everything, the Bible has another word: you don’t work, you don’t eat.

So the Bible has more to say about our working than our resting. Mindless busyness is roundly condemned in Scripture (think: Martha), but even more so

The most basic thing about God is that He’s a worker. The most basic thing about us being made in God’s image is that we, too, are workers.

is laziness (think: Proverbs, or many of Jesus’ Kingdom parables).

One of my favourite stories in the Bible about the value of work is the day Jesus calls Peter, John and James to follow Him. The boys, fishermen all, have been up all night working, with nothing to show for it.

They’re tired and discouraged. When Jesus asks them to try again, Peter loudly

complains, but concedes just because “you say so.” They get out on the water, and the nets fill to bursting.

Then Jesus does a curious thing. He asks them to leave it all—the fish, the nets, the boats. The work. He asks them to leave all that and come follow Him. He has another kind of work for them. “From now on you will fish for men.”

I used to read that and think that Jesus was dismissing the value of the work of their hands. He’s offering them real jobs now, important things to do. Now they get to work for the church!

But something else is going on here. If Jesus wanted to dismiss the value of their work, He wouldn’t have filled the nets for them. He would have made His “come, follow me” speech at the lakeshore to three men deeply discouraged, who needed no real prompting to quit. To three men more than ready to take this job and shove it.

Instead, Jesus gives them their best day on the job ever. He gives them a taste of how work is when it’s fun and time flies, when there’s no inter-office friction and payday is a jackpot. And then He asks them to leave it all. I think Jesus does this to force a real choice: do I leave a job I love for this trip into the wild? Do I quit this work that now works, just because “you say so?”

Jesus won’t invite you to do anything else until you change your mind and actually learn to love the work you’re already doing. Then, whether He gives you another job or not, you win either way.

Mark Buchanan is an author and pastor living on Vancouver Island. He is the author of five bestselling books including The Rest of God.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 27

INDESTRUCTIBLE BALL

http://oneworldfutbol.com A news segment on CNN showed young refugees in Darfur playing soccer with a “ball” made of trash tied up with twine. Tim Jahnigen, an inventor, songwriter and music producer, saw this game on TV and was inspired to design a ball that would never wear out, never go flat and never need a pump.

Tim’s idea came to life with research money provided by the artist Sting. In recognition of Sting’s support, the ball was named after his song “One World.”

The One World Futbol is designed to have the same rebound characteristics of a traditional soccer ball, but it requires no pump and will never go flat even if punctured. It’s ideal for any playing surface, not just grass or regulation soccer fields— indoors, on concrete, on blacktop, on grass, on a beach, on dirt or even on a rocky field. The ball can withstand the harshest conditions without deflating.

When you buy a One World Futbol through the Buy One Give One program, a second, identical ball goes to deserving youth and communities around the world.

NINJABREAD MEN

http://www.worldwidefred.com/ninjabre admen.htm Run, run as fast as you can, there’s no escape from the Ninjabread Men. The classic gingerbread man tastes fine, but some people think he’s too soft. He can’t kick and punch his way out of a tough situation. He can’t blend into the shadows.

He doesn’t know how to handle a sword. In short, he’s not cut out for action.

Ninjabread Men, on the other hand, are sweet, stealthy warriors. Using this set of cookie cutters you can make a batch, bake them, then watch as they disappear.

THE GREAT SLEEPING BEAR

http://eikoishizawa.com Imagine a sleeping bag that looks like a bear. It’s big, it’s furry and it has sharp teeth.

When you’re inside, it looks like a bear has you in its mouth. It’s like sleeping in a bearskin rug. As of this writing, The Great

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 28

Sleeping Bear is an art project, not a packaged product. But I am confident that someone somewhere will see the photos and figure out a way to sell it. Meanwhile, think of all the ways this is simultaneously awesome, dangerous, fun and ridiculous.

ONE SECOND PLUMBER

http://www.onesecondplumber.com Last time our laundry sink clogged I had nothing on hand to unblock the drain. The plunger wasn’t enough. I needed help. At Home Depot, I found various bottles and jugs of high potency drain cleaner. Most were chemical bombs, designed to corrode their way through the blockage. Pour in, wait a few minutes for everything to dissolve, then rinse. That’s how I’ve always done it before.

While weighing my options, I noticed something new: a slim

power play

Great games. Great toys.

Great gadgets.

Reviews by Sandy McMurray

canister of compressed gas called One Second Plumber. It promised a quick unclog without chemicals. Compressed gas would do all the work for me.

At $20, One Second Plumber was more expensive than a jug of Clog-B-Gone, but the label promised 24 unblocked drains for that price, so I took a chance. My adventure in home plumbing ended well, and I highly recommend One Second Plumber, provided you learn from my mistake: I did not read all the instructions before using One Second Plumber.

Read all the instructions before using One Second Plumber. The label clearly says that you should cover all overflow openings before using the product. If you fail to do this, you’ll get a facefull of whatever was in the drain. You have to block all the other openings where the forced gas can go in order to focus the power of One Second Plumber down the drain, where it belongs.

If you do that, the clog is blasted out in one second, and you’re home free. No muss, no fuss and no chemicals. One second and you’re done, and you have 23 charges left.

SHAKE-TO-CHARGE BATTERIES

http://www.mintpass.com In 2009, a company called Mint announced a cool product idea. Shakenergy is a tiny battery, in AA and AAA sizes, that charges itself when you shake it. The charger is build into the battery itself. A little motion is all it takes to make the battery work.

One year later, Shakenergy is still just an idea, but Brother Industries of Japan is showing off a prototype of something similar. The Vibration Energy Cell comes in AA and AAA sizes, and charges itself when

you shake it.

It can be a long road from prototype to packaged product, but here’s hoping that we can get some of these into circulation soon. They would be perfect for Wii controllers, TV remote controls and many other low power devices that currently use AA and AAA batteries.

these at home.

They’re a great, fun craft for kids, and make a great conversation piece at work or school the next day.

My only complaint is that they don’t contain any cheeseburger whatsoever.

Fortunately, President’s Choice has Angus Sliders—hamburgers that are about the size of cupcakes. You can find them online at www.pc.ca

PATENTLY SILLY

http://www.patentlysilly.com US Patent 6982161 covers “A Process for the Utilization of Ruminant Animal Methane Emissions.” The patent is for a device that traps cow burps and converts them into useful biofuel. At least, that’s the idea. Patently Silly is a book and a web site that explores the sublime and ridiculous things that people have tried to patent.

Whether you’re interested in a better mousetrap, or something less practical, head for patentlysilly.com

Sandy McMurray, father of four, writes about toys, gadgets and other fun stuff on his website FunSpot.ca

CHEESEBURGER CUPCAKES

http://cheeseburgercupcake. wordpress.com The headline pretty much says it all.

This site offers a recipe and assembly guide for making cupcakes that look like tiny, delicious cheeseburgers. We tried

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 29

What women want

Turn-on time Is there really a secret switch? Try to find it.

by Sheila Wray Gregoire

Recently, while mulling over possible topics for this column, I turned to my husband and asked, “Keith, what’s the one thing about women that men most want to understand?” He chuckled and replied, “That’s easy: how to get their wives in the mood.” Then he paused and added, “And let me read it when you’re finished.”

Ah, yes, what is that elusive switch you can flick to turn women on? I wonder if you men suspect we women have one, but we’re all in a giant conspiracy to hide it from you, sort of like Samson and Delilah in reverse. You ask what our secret is, and we tell you something innocuous, like “sex begins in the kitchen.” So you barbecue steaks and scrub plates, and then you flash us that knowing smile, and we sigh and head to bed with a novel.

You ask again, and we tell you something else, like “I need romance.” So you bring home flowers and chocolates and put on a jazz CD, and we head to bed with the box of chocolates.

Nevertheless, you intrepid explorers don’t give up, because you’re sure the answer is somewhere! We just resist telling you what it is, because once you know, then like Samson our power is gone.

Right now, you likely feel like your wife has all the power in the relationship. If you have the higher sex drive, then that puts her in the driver’s seat. You’re forced to jump through hoops just in the hope that she might actually say yes. You guys must think that we revel in that power! We don’t.

Honest. And if I could share any secret with you, it would be this: we don’t actually know what that switch is, either.

After almost two decades of marriage I’ve decided that women’s sex drives are such a mishmash of competing elements

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 30

that only God knows what’s really going on. We’re largely hormonal. We’re also emotional. And we’re spiritual. Get the right mix, and things fly! If one’s out of whack, you’re likely out of luck.

But I don’t want to leave you even more depressed than you already were, so let me give you a few insights, with the understanding that these are not ironclad guarantees.

First, you need to understand how distractible we are. We’re natural multitaskers, and if we can multi-task during sex, our brains will try, even if we don’t particularly want them to. We could be having a great time under the sheets when that meeting tomorrow with the school principal about little Johnny’s fighting enters the recesses of our brains. And instead of banishing it, we welcome it in!

This is something serious, after all. That principal ignored all of our complaints of bullying all year, and now she’s blaming Johnny when he starts fighting back? Who does she think she is? And what am I… You get the picture? It’s not that we mean to leave you hanging. It’s just that when something’s on our mind, it’s hard to get rid of it. We’re not compartmentalized the way you are. That’s why, if she’s been giving you all the right signals all night, and you leap into bed in wild anticipation, she’s likely to snuggle up and start talking. And she doesn’t stop!

You thought you were going to make love, and she’s trying to solve the world’s problems.

But, guys, she’s not actually blowing you off. She’s simply trying to deal with all those pesky thoughts that are jumping around her brain, clamouring for attention, because if she doesn’t give them that attention now, they’ll start lighting off

fireworks as soon as you start more amorous pursuits. Deal with them first, and sex will likely be better. And besides, if she feels like you care about her feelings, then she’s going to be even more in the mood!

If you want sex to go well, then, help her have nothing to think about. After dinner, ask her about her to-do list tomorrow, and help her plan how to get it all done, so she doesn’t start writing shopping lists in her head while your hands are wandering elsewhere. Take her on a walk so you can chat about all the things she’s thinking about. Share with her some of your thoughts so that she feels close to you.

And here’s the clincher: When you’re finally lying in bed, and everything’s been talked over, take her hand and pray.

I know prayer and sex seem like polar opposites, but when we feel close to you spiritually, we’re far more likely to want to jump you. So read a Psalm together. Take her hand and pray out loud for her, for your children, for your marriage, for her concerns. And then look her in the eyes, tell her you love her, and really kiss her.

Now I hate to break it to you, but she still may say no. But what you’ve done, men, is shown her that night that you love her. And that is what God calls you to do, even if you get nothing in return.

Sheila is the author of several marriage books, including Honey, I Don’t Have a Headache Tonight: Help for women who want to feel more in the mood. You can find her speaking at marriage conferences around the country, or at www.SheilaWrayGregoire.com.

PK@Home Resources for your daily walk…

SEVEN Magazine

Men of Integrity Devotional

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Visit www.PromiseKeepers.ca to receive your copies.

seven – issue fourteen september–october, 2010 page 31

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