Film fatale
Of music and men Tim Tebow under attack
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november – december, 2011
contents
november – december, 2011
on the cover
Arts? Culture? Men? Yes! Cultured Christian is not an oxymoron. SEVEN shows men how to enjoy and benefit from movies, music, books and more. SEVEN is a Christian magazine for Canadian men that exists to help men lead more fulfilling lives and leave enduring legacies.
features 14
Film Fatale
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Of music and men
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.
| bruce soderholm Watch movies with careful eyes and a discerning mind. And don’t forget to have fun.
| michael krahn Sacred? Secular? Put music in its place, which is just about everywhere.
20 So you hate to read, eh? | frank stirk Fill your mind with good things, even if books are a chore. 22 Taking it to the streets | robert white Meet five men whose artistic creativity is their livelihood. columns
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5 PK Podium Creative artistry a gift from God 6 Man to Man Small steps often a smart move 25 Sports Scene Tebow’s troubles
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26 Money Matters Live generously
two – A promise keeper is committed to pursuing Christ-centred Friendships with a few other men, connecting regularly, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises. three – A promise keeper is committed to practicing biblical integrity: spiritually, morally, ethically and sexually.
departments
four – A promise keeper is committed to strengthening families and marriages through love, honour, protection, and biblical values.
8-12 Pulse Curious events. Interesting people. Good ideas.
five – A promise keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honouring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.
13 Reviews Rhythm, humility, intimacy and respect 28 Power Play Tools. Toys. Technology.
six – A promise keeper is committed to reaching beyond racial, social, economic, generational, and denominational barriers to demonstrate that power of biblical unity. seven – A promise keeper is committed to influencing the world by his fervent love for God while loving his neighbour, seeking justice for the poor and oppressed, and making disciples of Jesus Christ.
27 Out of My Depth Connect at home 30 What Women Want When opposites repel
The new PK Canada logo features a maple leaf, indicating our dedication to serve the men of Canada. An arrow breaks into the maple leaf symbolizing the impact we believe God wants to see Promise Keepers and men making in our nation.
14 Publisher: Brian Koldyk Managing Editor: Doug Koop Pulse Editor: Robert White
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one – A promise keeper is committed to honouring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Spirit.
advertising John Steadman jsteadman@promisekeepers.ca 1-888-901-9700
editorial advisory board KIRK GILES: Promise Keepers Canada JEFF STEARNS: Promise Keepers Canada PHIL WAGLER: Gracepoint Community Church SANDRA REIMER: Reimer Reason Communications DOUG KOOP: ChristianWeek
Promise Keepers Canada Box 20099 RPO Brant Hills Burlington, ON L7P 0A4 (905) 331-1830 subscriptions@promisekeepers.ca Postmaster: Please send address changes to Box 20099 RPO Brant Hills, Burlington, ON L7P 0A4
editorial 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
ISSN 1916-8403 Cover: iStockphoto (base image)
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PK Podium
Creative artistry is a godly gift Embrace the imaginative power of the arts. by Kirk Giles
The arts have given us numerous ways to communicate messages, thoughts and feelings. Movies, music, literature, paintings, sculptures, theatre and dance have all been used to inform, inspire and shape the attitudes and actions of others. For a long time, the Christian community has been playing “catch up” in the arts. Take movies as an example. If we were to be honest, Christian movies are often not very well done. Many are limited simply by financial capacity to provide the best quality. Yet, while we marvel at the high production quality that the world seems to offer, we must remember that the original artist, God, cannot be matched. This past summer, I was able to take my family on a vacation in British Columbia. As we were driving through the mountains, my daughter said, “Oh … wow!” Those words have never come from her lips for any movie, song or picture. She was in awe of the artistic handiwork of our Creator. As image-bearers of God, those who utilize their artistic ability are able to reflect the creativity of God while also pointing others to Him. This fall, the movie Courageous opened in theatres. This is an excellent Christian-based movie I would be proud to bring any
person to see. Christian musicians are strengthening their music and increasing their influence. Other artists are using their skills to make a difference in their sphere of influence. History is full of exceptional artists who have created to the glory of the Creator. Any believer who is using their Godgiven creative skills to encourage and inspire other people, to communicate truth, is representing God’s desire to inspire us with His creativity and to point us towards the One who is greater than our imaginations could ever conceive. The world is moving quickly; we all understand that. Those who are artistic are a gift from God to the rest of us who can only draw stick figures. When we actually stop to enjoy their artistry, we put those much needed pauses in our life that allow us to be filled with curiosity, awe and wonder. In this edition of SEVEN, we want to tell the stories of some believers and followers of Jesus who are using their artistic talents. The next time your wife wants to go to an art show or your children want to see a concert or you are listening to music in your car, pause and take the time to enjoy the art and remember the incredible creativity of our God. He is our highest inspiration and the greatest Artist.
Kirk Giles is the husband of Shannon, father to four children and president of Promise Keepers Canada. He also serves as an elder in his church and is actively involved in home community of Paris, Ontario
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man to man
Small, smart step turns situation around Listen carefully. Discern properly. Guide gently. by Doug Koop
Clearly the young man was struggling. Well, it wasn’t exactly clear. Not on the surface at any rate. He actually appeared to be doing just fine. Stan would arrive at his workplace each morning a half hour ahead of the official starting time of 9:00. He never left work early and often stayed late. He was making incremental progress on a major project. He was busy and engaged, putting his education to work. He even had friendships developing in the workplace. Stan was working hard, learning new things, getting a solid start to his career and collecting a decent paycheque. But lingering over a glass of iced tea with an older companion one evening, he began to open up about some troubling aspects in his situation. What he was delivering in the workplace was never quite enough. More was expected. His boss was always on the job an hour before he arrived and would still be on duty when Stan left. A relentless influx of new tasks—each new one an urgent priority—constantly drew him away from the major project he’d been hired to complete. He was beginning to feel the heaviness of a burden of expectations he would never be able to measure up to. Office time was like doing time. Stan wanted that feeling to end, and speculated that maybe if he got there at 8:00 he could leave at 5:00 without getting the feeling he was shortchanging the company. Maybe then his boss wouldn’t give him the hairy eyebrow when he left for the day. Maybe that would leave him enough time to carry on with his church responsibilities, sports teams and, ahem, ahem, his girlfriend, who, he divulged, was starting to complain about the stresses the job was creating for her future husband. But Stan was fond of his bed in the morning. And the more anxious he
became about work, the more he wanted to huddle under the covers. So he’d sleep in a little later, and end up rushing out the door unshaven and less kempt than his own inner critic demanded. He’d feel bad about himself, and every comment or glance from his boss struck him as a silent rebuke. This wasn’t helping his productivity; it had him looking for distractions. It had him burrowing into minor tasks and neglecting the important. He was tumbling things around rather than turning them over. He was getting stuck, and it wasn’t any fun anymore. Sound familiar? Sound familiar? To Stan’s companion that evening, a middle-age Christian man with some management experience, the issues troubling the younger man seemed both ordinary and relatively easy to address. A helpful solution lay hidden in plain sight; a simple strand in the tangle of fretfulness Stan was so busy spinning that night. He was lost and confused mostly because he was worrying too many threads. Following a few simple principles, the companion helped Stan see how one simple adjustment on his part could have a huge positive impact. The first of those principles was the companion’s ability to listen carefully. The casual atmosphere he fostered created an opportunity for the younger man to speak frankly of matters below the surface of his success. But he wasn’t about to let the conversation deteriorate into a gripe session. While he encouraged candid conversation and was careful not to dismiss the heart of the concern as a trivial matter, he would not indulge a culture of complaint. The companion aimed to discern properly (that’s the second principle). His questions, his nods, his quizzical looks invited a search for remedies that could
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actually be realized. He was wise enough to know that changing a habit, difficult as it might be, was easier than changing the patterns embedded in a company or a boss. He knew better than to try to solve it all at once. So he looked to find a helpful approach and focus on one doable item. The young man needed a victory, and it didn’t need to be large. Nothing motivates like results, and making progress in one area creates confidence to move into another. The companion could see this. But it was Stan who needed to see, and the companion’s role was to help him discover it. For that to happen, he knew he needed to guide gently (the third principle). While a solution seemed blatantly obvious to him, it was just as obvious that Stan was stuck. And defensive. The companion wanted to offer a simple step Stan could easily take that would improve his workplace situation, a recommendation given in a way he could receive. He did so. So what smart step did Stan take? He asked his roommate to make him accountable to be out of bed at 6:30. That gave him time to shower and shave and report professionally and promptly to his desk by 8:00 each morning. Similarly he would leave promptly and unapologetically at 5:00. That small step helped him realize both the extent and the limits of his responsibilities in the workplace. He didn’t have to buy into the bond-slave culture his boss embodied. He simply had to do his job. It’s important to do work well, but there is life beyond the workplace.
Doug Koop is managing editor of SEVEN magazine, and editorial director of Fellowship for Print Witness, publishers of the ChristianWeek family of newspapers. dkoop@christianweek.org
Visit www.PromiseKeepers.ca or call 1-888-901-9700 to receive the next issue.
pulse
Curiousities. Personalities. Ideas. Information. by Robert White PULSE Editor
CHRISTIANS WRESTLE WITH SPIRITUAL DEPTH In Maximum Faith, researcher George Barna asks: 1) Are people’s lives transformed by their faith in, and relationship with, God? 2) How does that transformation take place? Barna found a relatively small proportion of individuals stick with the process long enough to become mature Christfollowers and world changers. The American studies show there are several barriers Christians need to overcome: Commitment—Only 18 per cent of Christians claim to be totally committed to investing in their own spiritual development, which explains why 52 per cent of Christians
believe there’s more to the Christian life than what they’ve experienced. Repentance—Few Christians are serious about leaving the lure of sin and handing total control of their life to God. Maximum Faith found only 12 per cent recognized and grasped that their sins had been so personally devastating it caused them to crash emotionally. Activity—Four of 10 Christians have taken part in a combination of three “normal” religious activities in the past week (i.e., attending church services, praying, reading the Bible). Far fewer engaged in another trio of deeper faith expressions: talked about their faith with a non-Christian, fasted for religious purposes, had an extended time of spiritual reflection. Other spiritual disciplines infrequently practiced include: solitude, sacrifice, acts of service, silence and scriptural meditation. Spiritual Community—Only 21 per cent of Christians believe spiritual maturity requires a vital connection to a community of faith. George Barna, whose six years of research resulted in the insights described in Maximum Faith, suggests several churchwide challenges which need addressing to help Christians experience a more fulfilling and robust relationship with and faith in Christ. One is to help people realize that the end game of spiritual development is godly character, not worldly accomplishments. “Sometimes people get so wrapped up in finishing church programs or producing specific religious results that they lose sight of the purpose of their faith,” writes Barna. “American Christians, in particular, have become known for doing good works and religious exercises rather than simply being friends and imitators of Christ.”
SURFING WE WILL GO Want more information on the topics in Pulse? Check out these web site links. Christians wrestle with spiritual depth: http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/524-self-described-christians-dominate-america-but-wrestle-with-four-aspects-of-spiritual-depth A Better World for Facebook apps: http://www.facebook.com/ABetterWorld The buck starts at home: http://imfcanada.org/article_files/eReview_August_10_11.pdf Think before you tweet: http://www.silicon.com/management/sales-and-marketing/2011/08/28/think-before-you-tweet-social-media-libel-cases-have-doubled-39747872/print/ Inflatable church pops up on demand Website: www.detransparantekerk.nl (use Google Translator to get an English version). Praying for the persecuted: www.idop.ca Christian “United Way” founded: For more information, check www.urbancovenant.org. Church creates its own economic stimulus plan: http://www.liquidchurch.com/media-broke/ Religion in Canada: http://www.contextwithlornadueck.com/
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THINK BEFORE YOU TWEET THE BUCK STARTS AT HOME The best place for kids to learn how to use money starts at home, says Catherine Benesch, a researcher with the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC). “Parents…can teach their children about fiscal accountability in a number of different ways, but first, by modeling good financial stewardship,” she writes in a recent IMFC report. The report was a reply to Ontario’s new curriculum rules asking Grades 4 to 12 teachers to add financial education to their class each day. But Benesch points to a December 2010 federal report that says “parents have the responsibility to make sure their children learn about skillfully handling and managing money. Making sense of the dollars starts at home.” If that sounds difficult, it’s because it is. When it comes to talking with kids about money, Jim Yih, a Canadian best-selling author and financial speaker, suggests parents should walk the talk. Yih says if parents want children to know the value of saving and responsible spending, they need to see these values as part of the way parents run the household. “Seeing mom and dad save rather than splurge on a big ticket item reinforces good financial behaviour,” writes Yih. He also says it’s a good idea to give kids an allowance, so they can set goals and save for purchases of their own. “With more awareness, kids think about money, and that provides opportunity for Canadian families to take greater responsibility for their financial situations,” writes Benesch. “Whether than means slowing down the spending, investing smarter, or coming up with creative ways of generating prosperity.”
Remember how mom and dad told you to count to 10 before you say something you might regret? You may want to follow that same rule when tweeting. Tweeting when angry or bitter can lead to libel, which is on the rise in the United Kingdom. Cases related to new media have doubled—jumping from three in 2008-09, to seven in 2009-10, reports silcon.com. “The rise in defamation cases linked to the Internet is inevitable if Internet users like bloggers or tweeters fail to put in place the same kind of pre-publication controls that traditional media uses,” says lawyer Korieh Duodu. Because of the broadcast nature of sites like Twitter, libellous or defamatory messages can reach huge audiences quickly. Once posted, they can be retweeted, making the message hard to ever remove from the site entirely. As social media becomes more and more a part of the mainstream media landscape, companies and individuals use monitoring services to keep tabs on what’s being said about them on social sites. With celebrities turning to such services, defamation cases by celebrities and sports stars have almost nearly tripled—from 11 in 2008-09, to 30 in 2009-10.
A BETTER WORLD FOR FACEBOOK APPS Tired of farming, chasing the mafia or losing at poker on Facebook? Try A Better World, a Facebook app that helps players to think about things they’re thankful for. “Our beta players tell us they don’t just come back because A Better World is fun, but because the game has had a transformative effect on their lives,” says MarySue Lucci, president of ToonUps, in a media release.
The game offers more than 14 areas to explore including: Sanctuary of Hope where players post their hopes and dreams for themselves or others; Gratitude Grotto where they list what they feel grateful for; and Department of Do Good where players share good deeds.
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pulse
SITCOM DADS ARE THE TROUBLE WITH BOYS Theories on why boys are falling behind are plentiful, and there’s no shortage of finger pointing. In her book Save the Males, journalist Kathleen Parker fingers the “SitCom Man,” the fictional buffoon-as-father prevalent in pop culture, writes Peter Jon Mitchell, of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, in a review. He says Parker wonders what problems will arise for a generation of boys indoctrinated with the SitCom Man stereotype in the absence of real role models at home. At the heart of Parker’s thesis is the claim that second and third wave feminism has spread an anti-male bias that seeps into culture and society from early education through to the law courts. “What seems to be clear is that when the genders go to war, few bystanders are left unscathed and there are even fewer victors,” writes Mitchell. “When one gender falters, both lose. Perhaps no institution has been more impacted by gender warfare than the family. But no matter who we blame, it remains true that the first classroom of life is the family and a growing number of homes are missing fathers.” Mitchell points to the large body of research that points to the unique role fathers have in raising children. “Young people who are engaged with their fathers possess greater confidence—not the false machismo of modern action movie actors. Not surprisingly, men in prison are more likely to come from father-absent homes,” says Mitchell.
INFLATABLE CHURCH POPS UP ON DEMAND Calls for the church to be transparent have literally been fulfilled: a company in the Netherlands has developed the Transparante Kerk—an inflatable church that pops up on demand. The brainchild of self-proclaimed philosopher Frank Los, the Transparent Church measures 5 by 6 by 8 metres, including steeple, according to the Goedgelovig blog. Capable of holding about 30 people, the church tours the Netherlands, popping up at festivals, company events and in private settings. No traditional sermons are on offer in the Transparent Church, however. Rather, an open format is presented, with an emphasis on philosophy and discussion of life’s important questions.
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PRAYING FOR THE PERSECUTED Every day more than 200 million people suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ. And every year, Christians in more than 130 countries observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) to pray for them. Begun in 1997, IDOP Canada is a partnership between The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Religious Liberty Commission, Open Doors with Brother Andrew (Canada), The Voice of the Martyrs (Canada), Intercede International and International Christian Response. This year’s theme, Victorious in Christ, is based on Revelation 2:3 and 7, which talk about those who have persevered, endured hardship and not grown weary. Persecuted Christians worldwide discrimination, intimidation, attacks, fines, imprisonment, torture and death for their faith. IDOP 2011 takes place Sunday, November 13 or on a date churches are able to schedule it. The day is a response to the call of the persecuted for prayer support. Most ask not to be rescued or removed from their situation, but for spiritual and emotional support through prayer, such as intercessory prayer that helps the persecuted and those around them hold on to the peace and victory of Jesus.
CHURCH CREATES ITS OWN ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN A New Jersey church created its own economic stimulus package: giving away its weekly offerings to congregants for six weeks beginning in late September. The Liquid Church conducted a “Reverse Offering”—giving away the usual Sunday collection of $30,000 cash to all in attendance. The church also injected $60,000 into local community projects in the three counties where it conducts services: Essex, Middlesex and Morris counties. “Washington is broke, people are broke and folks have lost faith that government can provide a lasting solution to economic issues,” says Tim Lucas, lead pastor of the 2,000-member church. “We believe our current economic crisis is a spiritual issue, which is why we’re moving forward with God’s recovery plan.” Each congregant in attendance received a special envelope emblazoned with the words “God Trusts You!” containing varying cash portions of the Reverse Offering with $10, $20 and $50 bills. “Every dollar in our economy is printed with the words ‘In God We Trust’... but we want to challenge people with the idea that ‘God Trusts Them’,” says Lucas. Congregants were free to “invest” the money any way they wish. The church set up a webpage with additional ideas and a way for churchgoers to brainstorm other uses for the divinely appointed dollars they receive. The church also dispersed funds to local organizations including Market Street Mission and New York City Relief Bus for active projects helping the homeless and urban poor.
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CHRISTIAN “UNITED WAY” FOUNDED The seed for a Christian United Waystyle organization was planted at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Capetown, South Africa in 2010 when Jusep Sim heard a prominent minister challenge delegates to minister to their city. “When I was back at the hotel it struck me how important it is to minister to the city—and Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in the world,” recalls Sim, board chair and founder of Urban Covenant. The Urban Covenant business model is a “clear Christian version” of the United Way. “We don’t do programs and service delivery but advocate and [gather resources],” says Sim. “We partner with organizations and distribute funds.” The organization’s fundraising objectives are: to raise the funds through a variety of methods and,
to give individuals and private foundations a way to anonymously give to the church or charity of their choice. The main difference between Urban Covenant and similar organizations is its core value of diversity—as summed up in the organization’s catchphrase: never in history has “Go ye into all the world” only required a bus pass. Urban Covenant plans to both model Toronto’s ethnic diversity within the organization and to tap into Toronto’s vast ethnic communities for funds. “That’s why we put together the team the way we did,” says Sim, a KoreanCanadian, who is joined on the board by members of the Chinese, Japanese and East Indian communities among others. “We want to change the narrative. We want to start a dialogue with unique communities. We’ve already started. I can walk into any Korean church and have a discussion.”
RELIGION IN CANADA
PROMISES UPDATED
A new poll, commissioned by Context with Lorna Dueck for the show’s fall launch reveals the latest state of religion in Canada. The Ipsos Reid poll on religion, conducted with 1,000 Canadians between September 2 and 7 found: • 53 per cent of Canadians believe in God. (Six years ago, 2005, Ipsos Reid found over 90 per cent replied yes to “do you believe in the existence of God or a universal spirit?”) • 90 per cent of those who say they attend a weekly religious service agree that “religion helps them find answers to what’s going on in the world an in their own life.” • 89 per cent are “completely comfortable” being around people with different religious beliefs. • 47 per cent say religion does more harm than good. • 64 per cent say religion provides more questions than answers. • 29 per cent of Canadians believe in heaven; 19 per cent believe in hell. • 71 per cent disagree that religious people make better citizens.
The board of Promise Keepers Canada recently voted to update the seven promises. The changes are not major, mostly updating the language. This is how they look now. 1. A promise keeper is committed to honouring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Spirit. 2. A promise keeper is committed to pursuing Christ-centred friendships with a few other men, connecting regularly, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises 3. A promise keeper is committed to practicing biblical integrity: spiritually, morally, ethically and sexually. 4. A promise keeper is committed to strengthening families and marriages through love, honour, protection, and biblical values. 5. A promise keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honouring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources. 6. A promise keeper is committed to reaching beyond racial, social, economic, generational, and denominational barriers to demonstrate that power of biblical unity. 7. A promise keeper is committed to influencing the world by his fervent love for God while loving his neighbour, seeking justice for the poor and oppressed, and making disciples of Jesus Christ.
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reviews
Rhythm, humility, intimacy and respect SPIRITUAL RHYTHM: BEING WITH JESUS EVERY SEASON OF YOUR SOUL By Mark Buchanan “For everything there is a season.” Do we understand what that means? Most of us yearn for balance in their lives. We want to find the perfect blend of work and play that makes life “simple, elegant, easy: balanced.” Get over it, says SEVEN columnist Mark Buchanan. The mythical equilibrium we think we want “is no more to be found than unicorns or perfect churches.” Instead, life presents us with seasons that require different types of work and provide different sorts of benefits. Spiritual Rhythm offers instruction from a skilled pastor (and superb writer) about how to navigate the business of life when things are going well and when they are not; when fruitfulness abounds and in times when everything seems barren. He discovers spiritual parallels in the passage of the seasons, which illustrate oh-so-well the seasons of the soul and the stages of life. Each is good for something; each harbours certain dangers. And for each there are activities that will guide us deeper in the way of understanding, that will prepare our souls for the seasons to come.
CLOSE ENOUGH TO HEAR GOD BREATHE: THE GREAT STORY OF DIVINE INTIMACY By Greg Paul Greg Paul lives in downtown Toronto where he leads a congregation and ministry (a community, really) that makes a priority of welcoming and caring for some of the most hurting and excluded people in the city. In this his third book,
Paul uses Scripture and personal experience to reveal and explain God’s surprising love for individuals and His deep desire for relationship with us. He opens the book by recalling when his daughter was an infant, how he would rock her with her bottle and she would fall asleep on his chest close enough to hear her father breathe. He then slides into an intimate retelling of Jesus’ baptism, which concludes with God declaring, “This is my son. My beloved. I am pleased with him.” Story after story builds on the joyful realization that God is nice, He likes every one of us and wants to stay close enough to hear Him breathe.
HUMILITAS: A LOST KEY TO LIFE, LOVE, AND LEADERSHIP By John Dickson John Dickson is an Australian scholar courteous enough to face square on the “obvious conundrum” facing anyone who dares to write about humility. “Does the author think he has attained this difficult virtue? If so, he certainly hasn’t. If not, why is he writing about this topic?” Thankfully, he persists and this easy-to-read little volume is a treasure house of good advice. While it may seem counterintuitive to common
notions of greatness and achievement, Dickson is aware that “the most influential and inspiring people are often marked by humility.” Humility, he clarifies, is “the noble choice to redirect your power in the service of others.” He explains why humility is superior to tolerance, and how deep conviction and profound humility are bedfellows. He even includes a few tips on “how it’s possible to become (more) humble.” As Mac Davis crooned three decades ago, “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble.”
WHY PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE: CONFRONTING SEVEN CHALLENGES TO CHRISTIAN FAITH By Paul Chamberlain Are you ready for some serious study? Paul Chamberlain is. In Why People Don’t Believe, the Canadian apologist takes critics of religion (especially Christianity) as seriously as he possibly can and seeks to address their concerns— particularly charges that religion breeds violence (9/11 and all that). He avoids sugarcoating critical objections to the faith he holds dear and refuses to dismiss such critics out of hand. Instead, he responds as a committed Christian scholar. The book is a serious effort to respectfully engage those who believe religion promotes evil, and to encourage “people of faith to hear and truly understand the concerns and challenges raised against religion.” Oh, yes. He also takes time to make the case that Christianity is “the source of great good in the world.”
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features
Film fatale We do well to view movies more critically, but not forget to have fun. by by Bruce Soderholm
A harried private detective lounges behind his desk in the sweltering heat. A knock on the door. As it swings open, the camera tracks up from stiletto heels and fishnet stockings to a casual hand holding a cigarette that haloes the air around a drop-dead gorgeous platinum blonde. She’s trouble and everyone knows it—the femme fatale. This stock character is a staple of film noir, and for some, perhaps, a symbol of the medium of film itself. Alluring. Seductive. Visually overwhelming. Yet is such a comparison fair? Depending on your upbringing and outlook, you might think movies are a timewaster at best, or for an older generation raised in the conservative evangelical tradition, a short cut on the road to perdition. There is no disputing that film is an incredibly powerful medium. In terms of a sensory experience, it’s hard to top. The
deep rumbles and high-pitched cadences of surround-sound engage our hearing, while the peripheral darkness contrasts the vivid colour and hypnotic movement filling our whole field of vision. It’s in view of the power of film, that we must take care to guard ourselves against its excesses. Pornography and erotica are the most obvious examples, but there are other extremes. Genres such as horror and extreme action can also sponsor unhealthy and unbalanced attractions. Know your limit As adults we can make use of the same plentiful information we use to filter our children’s viewing choices to become more discerning viewers. And in so doing, we have to take ownership of our content choices as well as to recognize our own weaknesses. Know your limits, and stick within them.
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Bruxy Cavey, lead teaching pastor of The Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario, points out that some men can see nudity in a film (e.g. a skinny-dipping scene) and not be sexually titillated. Other men, who are prone to sexualize nudity, would do well to avoid that same film if it might stimulate their thought-life in an unhealthy way. Between Motion Picture Association rating systems, film reviews and content guides, there’s no reason to be ignorant about any film you might wish to see. In the end, let your faith-informed conscience be your guide. If you find yourself in a theatre where the on-screen content assaults your standards, have the courage to walk out. I’ve only walked out of a theatre on a few occasions, but there are no regrets about the times I did. In today’s culture there is little to
features
distinguish the movie-watching habits of those who call themselves Christians from those who don’t. What should be of concern to people of faith is not the fact that they’re part of a very large worldwide audience, but rather the increasingly uncritical way in which they consume movies. Many will put more thought into which snack they’ll sneak into the theatre than with the content of what they’ll feed their imaginations for a two-hour period.
iStockphoto
What to avoid We’d all do well to become more critical viewers. It’s tempting to solve the uncritical viewer problem by simply creating a list of things to avoid (e.g. profanity, sexuality, etc.) when choosing a film. Two problems emerge with this. First, if zero tolerance is the standard, you’ll have very few films to consider from the last four decades; but, more importantly, the reality of context makes such criteria difficult to be applied equally. Last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner was The King’s Speech—a film I’d recommend to anyone. In some jurisdictions, it received a “restricted rating” for its use of strong language. In the context of the film, the expletives in question emerge briefly in a speech therapy session in a somewhat comic moment. It’s an inoffensive scene by almost any standard you could imagine. People might still choose to be offended, but blanket prohibitions are seldom useful with respect to culture and the arts. What to look for The most important aspect of any movie you’d consider watching is whether or not it represents truth. And while truth is an animal that’s difficult to track at times, in the context of Christian faith, its whereabouts can ultimately be traced. It’s worth noting that the truth in question here has nothing to do with the distinction between fiction and nonfiction. Truth is the standard by which all things are judged, made incarnate in Christ, and revealed as God’s standard in Scripture. Showing truth in film isn’t about trying
to be morally prescriptive, but rather it’s about showing the world and human beings as they truly are. It’s also about demonstrating that actions have consequences in a moral universe. By way of illustration, many romantic comedies these days make light of adultery. It’s Complicated (2009), a film about a divorced couple romantically re-connecting despite new marital commitments, is an example of this as it consistently underplays the consequences of infidelity. In contrast, I recall an edgy Quebecois film (The Decline of the American Empire, 1986) that features an easygoing philandering husband who jokes about his conquests with his buddies. However, at the moment when his wife discovers his indiscretions and betrayals, the viewer gets to see up close just how devastated and wounded she is. Truth is infinitely better served by the latter portrayal than the former. The same principle applies to the depiction of violence in film. Violence is a reality in our fallen world, but the rationale for its portrayal matters greatly. Brian Walsh, an academic and author who is currently heading up a theology and film course at Trinity College at the University of Toronto, says, “Violence should be disturbing to viewers, as it is in the opening D-Day sequences of Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998) or in his epic, Schindler’s List (1993). “It is when violence becomes cartoonlike and gratuitous, as it inevitably does in any number of revenge-based movies (e.g. Payback, the Rambo franchise, etc.), that we should be most concerned. Such depictions ultimately desensitize us to the real consequences of violence and subtly, or not-so-subtly, suggest that violence is an effective problem solver.” Healthy stretching John Franklin, who heads up Imago, a Canadian Christian arts organization, suggests that another consideration in choosing a film is to ask whether or not it will stretch us: Will it bring us face to face with hard questions? If we become complacent in our Christian worldview, the equivalent of armchair quarterbacks who are capable
Content Advisory Information There’s no need to keep yourself in the dark when it comes to picking out a winner at the multiplex or video store, or on the pay-per-view listing. Take advantage of living in an information age where pertinent data is only a mouseclick or touch screen away. The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) rating system (www.filmratings.com) is designed to inform parents about adult content in any given film and its suitability for children. In Canada, a similar function is performed by film Review Boards established by different provincial jurisdictions. Visit www.mpacanada.org to find your own jurisdiction’s rating system. Once there, you can search individual film titles to receive content advisories. The Internet Movie Data Base (www.imdb.com) is an invaluable tool for finding movie information. Everything from cast members, to plot synopses, quotable quotes and trivia may be found listed under individual movie titles. The Parents’ Guide heading will describe accurately, and with an eye to avoid spoilers, content concerns under the headings of Sex and Nudity, Violence and Gore, Profanity, Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking, and Frightening/Intense Scenes.
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Film fatale of second-guessing everything that happens on the field, we become like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who thought they had God all figured out. It was a screening of Hotel Rwanda (2004) and its depiction of the Rwandan genocide that made me question whether or not I had embraced willful ignorance of the suffering in this world that often occurs on such a massive scale. The best movies are rooted in good stories. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, the power of story in an age where highprofile film effects such as car chases, pyrotechnics and computer-generated special effects get so much attention. We are hardwired, however, to connect to stories with all their characters, conflicts and resolutions. We identify with screen characters and enter vicariously into their lives sharing their hopes, dreams and, ultimately, their disappointments as well. It’s no coincidence that Christian faith is not an abstract intellectual concept, but something that is rooted in the ultimate story—our creation, fall and redemption by the hand of God, and that God’s story is given to us as narrative in the Bible. Serious stuff, all in all. But let’s not forget, after all this discussion, that movies are still supposed to be fun. They’re intended to be entertaining, and are, in many cases, a social event. So inform yourself, and take your better half to the chick flick, or rent a movie with subtitles. You’ll expand your borders and learn something about yourself in the process. Happy viewing.
Bruce Soderholm is a freelance writer, film critic and educator who makes his home in southern Ontario.
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Critic Compilation Sites Recent data suggests that four out of five people will read a film review to help with their movie choices. If you want to know what a broad crosssection of critics think about a particular offering, check out the following: Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com) Rotten Tomatoes surveys numerous published film reviews, including those by top-rated film critics (e.g. Roger Ebert). If 60 per cent or more of those reviews are positive, the film will receive a fresh rating and be designated with a plump red tomato. Films failing to reach that mark will have a green splat icon. Select quotes from individual reviews can be read with links to the entire review. The site includes current films and DVD releases. Metacritic (www.metacritic.com) Metacritic also surveys movie reviews and compiles scores with a more complex rating system. Final tallies are represented as a percentage. Anything above 70 per cent on this site has been very positively endorsed. Faith-Based Film Review Sites There are many Christian web sites that publish online reviews of current movies and DVDs. Some of the better known ones are: CT Movies (www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movi es/reviews) Reviews include a list of discussion starter questions, and Family Corner highlights adult content. Plugged In (www.pluggedin.ca/movies.aspx): Focus on the Family’s media review web site. Includes headings such as “Positive Elements,” and other categories similar to IMDB’s parent guides. Arts & Faith (http://artsandfaith.com/t100) This web site, sponsored by Image magazine, is more about cinema than movies if you’re comfortable with the distinction. A good place to expand and challenge your movie comfort zone.
features
Of music and men
The Cultured Christian
Music is woven into the fabric of everyday life
To be a cultured Christian is to be familiar, but not obsessed with or make an object of worship out of, the culture around us. To be a cultured Christian, we need, like the apostle Paul, to acknowledge the response of non-believers to the revelation of God.
by Michael Krahn
Engaging culture is a complex business, and music is one of the most difficult areas to navigate. Not very long ago it was easier to distinguish Christian art from what was not Christian. When it came to music, whatever could be found in Christian bookstores was Christian and whatever could be purchased at the mall in the record store was not. It never actually was that simple or clear-cut, but pretty close. But beginning in the mid-1990s, more and more Christian artists were feeling unhappy with the fact that their music (which they saw as both art and evangelism) was only available to other Christians via the local Christian bookstore. And so they tried to cross over, to go from marketing their art only to other Christians to exposing it to the mainstream of culture as well. For the most part this has been a healthy development. But it does make things more difficult for some, especially those who prefer the neat categories of “sacred” and “secular” that the Christian bookstore cf. mall record store arrangement provided. Engaging tool Daniel Levitin of the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University and author of This Is Your Brain On Music notes that, “Whenever humans come together for any
In Acts 17, Paul takes notice of his culture’s objects of worship and he even quotes their poets. But he follows that up with a clear proclamation: the one you’re looking for is actually the God that I already worship! Take the time to listen to what the voices of our culture are saying, and then, like Paul, graciously tell them what it is they’re actually looking for.
reason, music is there: weddings, funerals, graduation from college, men marching off to war, stadium sporting events, a night on the town, prayer, a romantic dinner, mothers rocking their infants to sleep...music is a part of the fabric of everyday life.” Because this is true, music both forms and reflects culture. In the creation of art, the artist is revealing himself, exposing
the effects that his surroundings have had on him. But he is also at the same time affecting others. In other words, he is both a product and a producer of culture. Quite often, he is revealing sentiments that thousands or millions of others in the surrounding culture are also feeling. Engaging “allusive” and “inclusive” art (see sidebar) amounts to a kind of
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Allusive, Inclusive, Exclusive Of music and men
cultural analysis, a way of discerning what is happening in culture as a way of preparing to minister to it. It’s about becoming familiar with its dominant themes as a means to deeper understanding. Of course, this is often simply used as a convenient excuse to engage in whatever carnal pleasures appeal to our senses (“It’s okay—I’m doing ‘research’!”). But where the motives are false, so too will be the results. Again, Daniel Levitin notes that, “Music activates the same parts of the brain and causes the same neurochemical cocktail as a lot of other pleasurable activities like orgasms or eating chocolate... Serotonin and dopamine are both involved.” Proceed with caution If this is true, then we need to be very careful about what it is we’re making the object of our musical affection. Someone once said that, “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast.” But it is equally true that music has the power to provoke the same beast. A New Testament writer tells us that, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14,15). And this is exactly what will happen if our cultural engagement is merely a façade for sinful indulgence. If we embrace something that encourages ungodly desires, then those desires will grow and, given the time and space, develop into sinful habits.
Music is primarily a tool of emotion. Jonathan Edwards, a famous 18th century preacher, theologian and missionary, once remarked: “The duty of singing praises to God seems to be given wholly to excite and express religious affections. There is no other reason why we should express ourselves to God in verse rather than in prose and with music, except that these things have a tendency to move our affections.” The reason we sing words rather than speak them is because there is added emotional weight behind words when they are sung. Applied to the worship of God, this is a good thing; applied to an attachment to lust, bitterness or any other sin, it is not so good. But by no means can we use this as an excuse to overlook or ignore rather than affirm the good that we see and acknowledge glimpses of God’s grace wherever they are found. A worship experience It must be about 15 years ago now. I’m listening to a song in our apartment living room. It’s not a song that is new to me; it’s from one of my favourite albums and I’ve probably heard it a hundred times before. But this time something is different. At one point in the song I find myself very much in awe of the wonder of God. I’m on my knees in my living room, arms raised high in the air, tears running down my face, worshiping and adoring God. The words in this section of the song are repeated four times, each time with increasing intensity…
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In Culture in Christian Perspective, Leland Ryken provides three helpful categories that are useful in determining the Christian-ness of a given work of art—Allusive, Inclusive, and Exclusive. Art that is Allusive makes allusions or references to Christian doctrine or symbolism in random or even unintentional ways. This is sometimes misunderstood as a proclamation of faith but really proves nothing more than that the artist has some familiarity with Christianity and that he finds its language and symbols useful to his art. Other art is Inclusive. Art is “inclusively Christian,” Ryken says, “when it belongs to the large area where Christian belief overlaps with other religious or ethical viewpoints.” In other words, it may sound Christian enough, but not distinctly so. The artist may be a Christian who is intentionally using lyrical generalities for a purpose, or the artist may be a non-believer who is sympathetic to Christian language and symbols. Finally, there is art that is Exclusive. This is art that expresses themes and viewpoints that are exclusive to the Christian faith. Usually this is done with language, ideas and symbols that are uniquely, explicitly and unmistakably Christian. It’s easy to tell that this art is Christian because it used language and symbols that are exclusively Christian. These categories are useful in more ways than one. If safety and cultural isolation is what you’re after, then art that is exclusively Christian is the only type you’ll allow yourself to engage. But are there good reasons to engage allusive and inclusive art as well?
A few words from Andrew Peterson “A lot of Christian music these days contains truth—people are singing Bible verses and things that are true, but it doesn’t necessarily contain a lot of honesty, like about how people really feel. It doesn’t talk about the darkness and ‘alone-ness’ that we feel. So much of Christian music just tends to be so happy all the time, and being a Christian is not always a happy thing. It’s a hard thing. There’s certainly joy in being a Christian, but it’s not all happiness.” Interview at http://www.christianbook.com/ Christian/Books/cms_content? page=879107&sp=1002
I will walk along these hillsides In the summer ‘neath the sunshine I am feathered by the moonlight Falling down on me… These words are not explicitly sacred (in fact, they are not written by a Christian), but they called to mind the wonder with which the Psalmist often speaks of nature. And in that moment this is all I heard—praise to a great Creator for His wonderful creation. It was an experience that was unexpected, but I thanked God for it nonetheless. Cultural creations that are not explicitly Christian cannot simply be dismissed outright; there is too much in them that is
good and plenty more that can be redeemed. We should not venture in lightly, with careless disregard for exposure to temptation, but neither should we avoid it completely. It is not enough to simply know the great musicians and other artists of our day, and it is sinful to worship them as some do. In knowing them we must care enough about them to tell them where to find that which they are actually seeking— and how to respond when they do. Michael Krahn is a husband, father, pastor, writer, recording artist and blogger. Read more at www.michaelkrahn.com/blog
“...no man ever opened a book or walked into a movie theatre who wasn’t looking for God. We’re drawn to stories, to songs, to paintings, buildings, faces, feasts, and laughter because they remind us of the world that was, and the world to come. The art itself is only a window. Beauty can’t satisfy; only Christ, the source of it, can.” Interview at http://www.titletrakk.com/authorinterviews/andrew-petersoninterview.htm
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So you Just because you’re a man and you’re reading this article doesn’t mean you like you read. A lot of men do like to read (I’m one of them), but the reality is lots more have found other things to fill their minds with. Maybe they’re okay with shorter pieces like those in this magazine you’re holding. But definitely not books—and that includes the Bible. This retreat from reading is “very, very prevalent, not just in men, but in humanity in general,” says Michael Krahn, an associate pastor at the Aylmer Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference Church in Ontario. “We are spending increasing amounts of time online and our attention spans are getting shorter.” “The well-read American male of the past is mostly gone,” writes one U.S. blogger. “They account for only 20 per cent of the fiction market.” And when they do read, he says, it’s mostly just “technical manuals and comic books.” And what’s true for society is also true for the Church. How bad it’s become is hard to say, since the man in the pew who doesn’t like to read—or maybe doesn’t understand what he’s read—will often try to deny he even has a problem. “Men by nature don’t want to appear as failures,” says Kevin Trick, pastor of men’s ministries at Centre Street Church in Calgary. “Since being literate and articulate are high values in today’s society—just look at how much good speakers get paid—if a man feels he falls below what’s ‘expected,’ he will avoid being found out, and play the poser.” Men by nature also “gotta have” the everchanging products of this digital age—the computer, the Internet, iPods, cell phones, BlackBerries, CDs, DVDs, video-on-demand, HDTV, Xboxes and so on. “Guys have got big-screen TVs with their surround-sound system—or at least they wish they did, if they don’t—and that’s
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hate to read, eh?
Resources
Do I have to spend time with my Bible if I don’t like to read?
For further reading:
Frank Stirk
sometimes hard to compete with sitting down with a book,” says Jeff Stearns, marketing manager at Promise Keepers Canada. “It’s sound, it’s visual, it’s stimulating. It’s just the way guys are wired.” Add to that their need to unwind after a long day on the job, and it’s no wonder they would rather zone out on the recliner and watch TV or a movie, or else play sports, go for a run or go to the pub. Anything but read a book. Fatal fallout For Christian men, though, the fallout from this reluctance to read goes far beyond how they choose to spend their downtime. Krahn worries it can strike at the heart of their ability to grow as followers of Jesus, if they can’t or won’t even open their Bibles. “God chose to use words to reveal Himself to us—lots of words—and without regular, sustained, meditative Scripture reading, we’ll miss out on a lot of that revelation,” he says. Trick adds that if men can’t process what they’re reading, then “they are usually not able to interact fully with worship or the message. And if a man cannot succeed, he will opt out of the exercise. Many men have opted out of growing in Christ.” To try to keep his men opted-in, Trick has deliberately designed many of the men’s small groups to allow a man to share his story and how God is writing that story. “This is an opportunity to share from the heart, not from what one has read,” he says. Listen up But the same technologies that are part of driving men away from the written word might also be part of the solution— because even if men don’t like to read, they can still listen.
Stearns would like to see more men do what he does and use their daily commuting time to listen to audio books. (According to Statistics Canada, we spend on average more than 110 hours a year either driving, taking public transit, cycling or walking to and from our jobs.) “I know so many guys who commute to work and just spend it listening to whatever is on the radio,” he says. “I look at the number of audio books I’ve completed in just the last year, and it’s just a huge increase over what I was reading before.” Included in Stearns’ collection are several CD versions of the Bible. “Listening to the Bible, you miss some of the fine details but pick up on a lot of the arching themes that come out,” he observes. Krahn is not convinced. He believes there’s no comparison to the benefits that can come from a “regular, disciplined reading of God’s Word.” “Listening,” he explains, “is a good substitute in cases where literacy is an issue. But listening is something most often done while engaged in another activity. Reading is something that requires singular focus, and for that reason is more fruitful.” But Stearns also believes there’s much to be gained from dads setting a good example for their kids just by reading to them at bedtime. He tells of a friend who started reading to his young son. When the boy learned to read for himself, the dad committed to reading every book he read, even though he wasn’t much of a reader himself. “His son is now 13. He loves books and is reading through them in half the time his dad is,” Stearns says. “I said to the dad, ‘This is a victory moment. Your son is reading and you’ve mentored him in that, despite your own limitations.’”
Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (W.W. Norton and Company, 2010). Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Zondervan, 2011). Quentin J. Schultze, Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age (Baker Academic, 2004).
Check your library or Christian bookstore for the Bible on CD and other Christian audio books. The Bible Experience Audio Bible www.inspiredby.com/bibleexperie nce.shtml The Word of Promise Audio Bible http://wordofpromise.thomasnels on.com/index.php The Action Bible http://theactionbible.com/ A comic book Bible. Manga Bible http://www.tyndale.com/MangaMessiah/A five-volume manga comic series of the Bible.
Christian Audio Books: Christian Audio http://christianaudio.com/ Promise Keepers Canada online articles, audio and video http://www.promisekeepers.ca/av
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t i g n i Tak to the s t e e r t s plying among those re a s n ia st ri Many Ch ormers. ists and perf rt a s a ft a cr their of them. uces a few d o tr in e it h Robert W hite by Robert W
Open doors lead to downhere, Queen tribute band Singer/songwriter Marc Martel has walked through doors God opened, including co-founding the Christian band downhere and auditioning for a spot in a Queen tribute band. The Montreal native, who lives in Nashville, found himself in Saskatchewan after the doors to the University of Ottawa closed. A suggestion from his father’s friend led to Briercrest Bible College where he met Jason Germain. The two formed downhere. “I didn’t think, pragmatically, it would make sense to chase music as a career,” says Martel. “God just kept opening doors, especially when I went to Bible college. I’ve been walking through them ever since.” The latest open door is the audition Queen Extravaganza, a tribute being formed by drummer Roger Taylor to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary next year. Martel, who’s constantly being told he sounds like Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury, submitted an audition video of “Somebody to Love” that, at press time, had 4.4 million hits. “I had a lot of doubt about entering this contest. It’s never been my dream to be in a tribute band but thought since it’s Queen and I sound like the guy, ‘why not?’” says Martel. The viral video has resulted in interviews, news articles (including the Wall Street Journal) and a guest shot on the Ellen show. “It’s another one of those signposts for me with an open door. No-one could have planned this,” says Martel “I heard one of the people in the Queen camp say ‘we would have been satisfied with 200,000 hits let alone 2 million.’”
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features
Communicating through art able to identify Greg Most people wouldn’t be y’ve probably seen it in the h ug Elliott’s art, even tho ibits, magazines and posters, conference exh brochures. the fine art world,” says “I’ve always dabbled in his career as a graphic Elliott who spent most of from the tension that comes artist—and dealing with . rld wo e rat po cor in the being a “legitimate artist” a n painter—while driving Elliott started out as a sig ht nig ing Tak y. da the r during school bus for his fathe y nit mu com of ys da the school courses (before for lls he parlayed into jobs colleges), he honed ski s. firm s on ati rel c bli and pu Guelph-area marketing to’s on Tor at ts ibi exh as d His work also appeare e. Canadian Golf Hall of Fam Royal Winter Fair and the municate what they were “I was helping people com d . “It always gave me a goo trying to do,” says Elliott rch chu o int ck ba est inv e to wage and bought me tim ons groups.” ssi mi all sm d an ls oo sch Gideons International in His work led him to the graced and formed the Canada where his work eon magazine. While pages of the Canadian Gid privately worked on the plying his art publicly, he Boarding House. The soon-to-be-published lly have something worth “I’ve battled with ‘Do I rea ott of a book written for Elli s putting out there?’” say r but want to believe in “those with doubt and fea something.” ing spiritual journey—includ The book chronicles his ok Bo ns. sio ses prayer reflections from guided returned to art and is ott Elli d, ite ed d an n tte wri ok eded to illustrate the bo finishing up sketches ne for publication.
Screenwriter can’t stop writing With films like Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and more than 40 books (written, co-written or edited) to his credit, Abbotsford, B.C. screenwrit er Kevin Miller can’t put down his pen. “It was a path I started going down as a kid,” says Miller who grew up on a Saskatchewan farm and whose parents reluctantly accepted his career path. “My first job was as a reporter for a newspaper in Saskatchewan. When I got my first paycheque my dad realized that I could actually pay my rent by being a writer.” Burnout led Miller to “contemplate walking away from the world of writing.” A sabbatical in Hawa ii with Youth With a Mission led to a meeting with director David Cunningham and a journey into screenwriting. Since his first film, a thriller called After…, Miller turned to documentaries, tackling topics like intelligent design (Expelled), hell (Hellbound ?), energy consumption (spOILed) and child sex trafficking (Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth). The father of four (ages three to 10) finds famil y and community keep him grounded as he trave ls and explores topics some would shy away from. “Also I have a few guys in my life, older guys who have functioned as mentors and friends for me for the last decade or so—relationships which have been so crucial to keeping me stay grounded.”
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features
Playwright draws from life, Bible Ins Choi’s playwrighting debut, Kim’s Convenience, drew from both his experience in Toronto’s Korean community and the Bible. “It began as a series of funny scenes from my experience and listening to Korean store owners,” recalls Choi, whose journey to playwriting began at church camp. “We had to break into groups and come up with skits. I loved coming up with skits and being funny because it interested the girls,” he recalls. It took until his final year in high school before Choi auditioned for a play, was cast and caught the acting bug. “I consider it somewhat of a calling to be an artist, to be a writer,” says Choi. “About five years ago, with the help of my wife, I decided as a career put my faith into acting and writing as a way of making a living.” Choi’s acted with various companies including the Stratford Shakespeare Festival—all the while writing plays. Returning to work in Toronto with Soulpepper Theatre, he had chance to polish, workshop and finish Kim’s Convenience. Loosely based on the biblical story of the Prodigal Son, the comedic Kim’s Convenience tells the story of a Korean family struggling with the future of their convenience store amidst the echoes of their bitter past. The play’s reception—winner of the Toronto Fringe Festival’s 2011 New Play Contest and a Best of Fringe pick—overwhelmed Choi. “As the lights faded [to black] I was shocked by the roar of the applause,” recalls Choi.
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Confessions of a colour junkie A self-confessed colour junkie, artis t Phil Irish found his spark of creativity when his family lived in France for a few months. As an ostra cized fouryear-old who’d never picked up a cray on, Irish found solace in “moving colour arou nd. “My mom gave me these amazing mar kers and I just started drawing,” says Irish. “I neve r stopped.” As well as colour, the Elora, Ontario artist also paints with faith. In a 2008 article in Grand magazine, Irish said he “considers him self a man of faith and in some ways that shapes how he thinks about the world. Beca use of it, he wants to create art that is meaning ful rather than simply pretty.” Some of that meaningful art found its way into his Watershed series of paintings. Focu sing on the Grand River, which runs through Kitch enerWaterloo, Cambridge and Brantford to Lake Erie, the series looked at watershed mom ents the people along the river such as: a lifeg uard’s account of saving a girl’s life, a belie ver’s account of baptism and a young couple on the cusp of a new relationship. Irish has been a member of Christian s in Visual Arts, which encourages creativity in and connectivity with the church and cultu re, for about a decade. At its conference this past summer, he was re-invigorated by “seeing people integrating the life of faith and the life of imaginat ion. “God is our creator who also gives us freedom to imagine and change the world in diffe rent ways,” says Irish.
sports scene
features
What did Tim Tebow do to hurt anybody? Talented quarterback enduring unwarranted criticism by Scott Taylor
When you decide to become a professional football player, you make a decision to take plenty of punishment. And when you happen to be a quarterback, you’re going to take plenty of hits. But when it comes to piling on, nobody got hammered the way Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was hammered. And, frankly, it’s unnecessary roughness. Oddly, the hatred directed at Tebow might have as much to do with his faith as it does his football skills. Fact is, Tebow is a first-round draft pick (25th overall) of the Broncos who doesn’t look or play like your standard NFL quarterback but does have a rare gift: He wins. However, Tebow is also a religious man who speaks openly about his faith and does not, at any time, hesitate to thank God for all the success he’s achieved. Not surprisingly,
there are people who don’t like that way of thinking. There are Facebook pages and web sites dedicated to “hating” Tim Tebow. Most have their roots back in his college days at Florida, a successful college football program that is despised throughout the United States largely because it’s successful. This season, however, the mainstream media has taken its bully pulpit, armed it with brickbats and gone after the Broncos No. 2 quarterback with a fervour that is almost religious in itself. Comeback Of course, these people can’t be happy now. After a brilliant fourth quarter coming off the bench against the San Diego Chargers on October 9, Tebow earned the starting job ahead of No. 1 quarterback Kyle Orton for the late October game against Miami. Despite all the criticism from some important members of the mainstream U.S. media, Tebow kept working, kept praying and now appears to have the starting job. The harsh criticism of Tebow probably reached its apex in late July when ESPN’s NFL analyst Merrill Hoge inexplicably attacked Tebow, seemingly out of the blue. “It’s embarrassing to think the Broncos could win with Tebow,” Tweeted Hoge, to his nearly 33,000 followers. Then he added: “Orton or Tebow? QB play is not just about who works hard, gives rah rah college speeches or who is a good guy! Because Orton works hard.” The Tweets continued until Hoge ended with: “College credentials do not transfer to NFL. raw raw (sic) speeches do not work! You must possess a skill set to play! Tebow struggles with accuracy!” Amazingly, that wasn’t enough for Hoge, a former fullback with absolutely no experience at quarterback. Hoge went
on ESPN television to rip Tebow again, this time with some questionable analysis from, well, a former fullback with no quarterback experience. Tebow casually responded with a Tweet of his own: “Hey Merrill, ‘ppreciate it.” That was it. But at that point, the entire American mainstream media started roughing the quarterback. Mike Golic of the Mike and Mike Show said angrily, “Who does Tebow think he is? He does not have the skill set to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.” Former quarterback-turned-TV-analyst Boomer Esiason then ripped Tebow. Yahoo Sports columnist Mike Silver used an unnamed source (more often than not, those unnamed sources are fabricated) to tear a strip off Tebow. Then, Greg Doyel a columnist at CBS Sports took a comment by Tebow miles out of context and attempted to argue that Tebow was “blasphemous” and “believes faith equates to starting in the NFL.” Tebow’s comment to the Denver Post was as follows: “Others who say I won’t make it are wrong. They don’t know what I’m capable of and what’s inside me. My family and my friends have been bothered by what’s gone on, and I tell them to pay no attention to it. I’m relying as always on my faith.” Doyel believed that comment meant Tebow’s faith will make him a starter in the NFL. Huh? I’ve interviewed Tim Tebow. That statement meant: “Regardless of what people say about me, my faith will guide me through these difficult times.” People, it seems, want to hate Tim Tebow for all kinds of reasons. Tebow, however, just goes to work every day and does his best and prays for guidance. Meanwhile, the 1-4 Broncos started the season poorly and obviously the coaching staff has obviously tired of losing. Although Tebow couldn’t save the game on October 9, he brought the Continued on page 26
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money matters
Live a generous life The need for charity has never been greater. by Karen Bjerland
In difficult economic times like these, it’s natural to search for ways to cut expenses and reduce the pressure on your family income. Among the many ways to lower expenses, it may seem the easiest to stop making donations to your favourite charity. If we truly believe we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, discontinuing our financial support for those who are homeless, starving and generally in need of assistance would be a rejection of that idea. What happens to our personal values when we reject one of the primary principles by which we live our lives? We must remember that when times are not easy for us, they are even more difficult for those in need. The organizations designated to assist them must accommodate increased demands and decreased revenue during economic stress. The numbers tell the story: Charities across the country have reported a drop in donations of as much as 30 per cent, even as the number of people dependent upon their assistance rose steeply. Government expenditures may have helped some industry sectors, but who is helping individuals in personal distress? How do those individuals cope in geographic regions where these industries aren’t located? The key source of assistance continues to be Canadians like you, giving from their hearts.
Tax benefits soften the impact of charitable donations on the family budget. The first $200 of a contribution to registered charity qualifies for a federal tax credit of 15 per cent of the amount donated; amounts beyond the $200 level earn a 29 per cent tax credit. Provincial tax credits may also apply; the amount varies from province to province.
Tebow: continued from page 25
he’s always been a winner. He certainly doesn’t deserve the criticism he’s faced this season. No doubt Tebow’s faith will continue to guide him, he’ll keep working hard and before this ordeal is over, he’ll be guiding the Broncos to victory. How someone can
Broncos back from a 29-10 deficit with two late touchdowns and nearly won it in the dying seconds. Granted, Tebow is an unorthodox quarterback, but throughout his career
Take advantage In order to take advantage of the larger tax credit for donations in excess of $200 donations, married or common-law couples may pool their donations and claim them on a single return. Another hint: If your income varies widely from year to year, you can carry your charitable donations forward as many as five years when, thanks to a higher taxable income, you could receive a larger tax benefit. You may also assist a charity and earn tax credits by donating real estate or a life insurance policy. A life insurance policy will generate a tax benefit based on its cash surrender value. You could consider transferring an existing life insurance policy (or open a new policy) with the chosen qualified charity as the owner and beneficiary. Each premium payment qualifies as a charitable donation and is eligible for a tax receipt. Though practical aspects of charitable donations are not to be ignored, it is the human factor that inspires our offerings.
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Those in need of food, shelter and emotional support continue to depend upon assistance from you and your neighbours. Our communities may need repaired roads, extended parklands and various bricks-and-mortar aspects of our lives. We should never forget, however, that our spiritual lives are equally important. The assistance we provide to others less fortunate than ourselves helps define who we are and the values we treasure. Giving is essential. We are called to give to the poor, the marginalized and the disenfranchised financially. Giving also includes giving time to God by working and witnessing to people, reading the Bible, spending quiet time with God. “The Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b). I encourage you to connect with financial advisors who can help you protect your economic future by living your Christian values in tangible ways. Work with companies that can help you build a financial plan based on biblical financial principles and provide you with competitive investment and insurance solutions that can help you meet your goals.
Karen Bjerland is president and CEO at FaithLife Financial. www.faithlifefinancial.ca
criticize that type of attitude and approach seems very strange to me.
Scott Taylor is a Winnipeg-based sportswriter and broadcaster.
Out of my depth
How do we bridge the Lenny Feder gap? Many men must contend with a huge cultural distance within their own homes. by Phil Wagler
In the film Grown Ups, Adam Sandler plays Lenny Feder, a successful Hollywood agent who rediscovers what really matters when his childhood basketball coach dies. Reuniting with his old buddies at the funeral, Lenny finds his life a microcosm of culture clashes and none more troubling than the one raging in his own home. Lenny has everything. His kids, therefore, have everything. Nonetheless, Lenny is wrestling with the uncomfortable notion that his spoiled kids actually have nothing at all. They are rude, entitled and can’t even skip a rock on a placid lake. He who hangs out with the stars his kids idolize and whose big bucks enable him to be the cool dad who bankrolls the gadgets they crave begins to realize that he does not understand the world his kids live in; he doesn’t understand them. And he’s literally making that possible. It’s fascinating to drive by the buffet of cultures that dot the Canadian landscape—enriching, endlessly interesting and fun. I love the variety of people, the symphony of languages and don’t forget the foods. Samosas. Baklava. Ginger Beef. Perogies. Pizza. I’m a wellinsulated bloke of Swiss-German descent, so yes, I can put pizza on the list. Yes, there is so much to love about the beautiful mosaic we are privileged to live in and be tourists of. And that’s what we primarily remain—tourists. Only rarely do we deeply enter the world of those different than us. We are samplers. The cultural doctrine of tolerance teaches us to enjoy our different neighbours only observationally and participate in their lives at a nice arms length. While we should constantly practice cross-border relationships to replace this indifferent tolerance with the Kingdom
value of loving the stranger, for the most part it remains true that our engagement of other cultures will be happily indifferent, even escapist. This is understandable because there are only so many hours in the day or relationships we can meaningfully engage. Besides, no matter what our ethnicity or cultural DNA, the most challenging locale of cultural engagement is uncomfortably familiar. Like Lenny Feder, for many men, the cultural distance most in need of bridging is in their home. The Proverbs call the young to heed the experience of the wise. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck” (Proverbs 1:8-9, ESV). The wisdom of God implores parents to speak wisdom to their children and for children to heed, even strain longingly, for the instructions of the sages they sit at dinner with. That’s all well and good, but what happens when the young care little for a pendant and mock a garland, even if it is graceful? How do we bridge the Lenny Feder gap? How do we as men help our kids care about what we know is of greatest value? How do we get them to heed what we have learned the hard way? How do we earn the right to be heard over the earbuds pumping out meaningless, yet irritatingly catchy drivel that makes our pithy insights worthy only of eye-rolling endurance? How do we, who made our own mistakes while we suckled on a culture that taught us to disregard our elders, make ourselves credible now? The gap has widened and sometimes it feels more normal to eat at some “ethnic” restaurant than live the crosscultural experience at our own tables.
My Father in Heaven bridged the gap to make me His Son. God the Son bridged the gap. By unlimited, unmerited amazing grace, the simple power of incarnation of this loving humility that enters the world of the other for the sake of the other has grabbed my heart and ignited a passion to know the culture of heaven.
How do we as men help our kids care about what we know is of greatest value?
I wonder about this as I seek to bridge the Lenny Feder gap in my own home. How am I to understand that foreign world of my daughters and sons if I don’t enter it? How am I to protect them from what hunts for their souls if I don’t know the wolves in sheep clothing that hide in their dark corners? How am I to speak of a relevant garland of grace and precious pendant they will actually long for if I don’t know their language? Because of my Lord I must humble myself and then, perhaps, something will spark their desire to bridge the gap between us too, over pizza and cold Kvass.
Phil Wagler is father of five, husband of one, and pastor to many in Surrey, B.C. He is author of Kingdom Culture: Growing the Missional Church.
seven – issue twenty-one | november – december, 2011 page 27
power play
Great games. Great toys. Great gadgets. Reviews by Sandy McMurray
FLYING VIKINGS flapcraft.com
GRILLS ON WHEELS ww.brennwagen.de
“Low profile tyres, drop-centre rims, centre nuts, safety breaks—what a machine! But this is no race car. This is a Brennwagen.” The Brennwagen grill was born on a racetrack, the brainchild of former Formula 1 engineer Florian Wagner. The phrase “German engineering,” formerly reserved for luxury automobiles, can now be applied to these unique handmade barbecues. Mobility means freedom. Suddenly, you can take your grill anywhere. In warm weather you can bring the party to your friends, or host a tailgate party anywhere there’s room to park. Ski trip? No problem. Ice fishing? You bet. The ski undercarriage on each Brennwagen makes it easy to tow even through ice and snow. Hitch up your grill and hit the road. Brennwagen products are handmade, manufactured at a small workshop in Oberndorf in the Black Forest of Germany. Yes, your homemade version seems very nice, and costs much less. I’ll just drive a few car-lengths behind you, if you don’t mind. Your trailer is swaying from side to side, and I’m concerned you might knock me into a snow bank.
The game begins. You’re a Viking. You’re standing on a log. The log slides down a ramp and you’re airborne! Moments later, you crash. No problem. Add some feathers to your log and try again. Now you can soar through the air (briefly) before crashing. Hmm. What if you add a jet engine to your log? How far can you go now? Welcome to the fun and silly world of Flapcraft, a new game made exclusively for iPad. Tap the screen to start down the ramp, then tip the iPad from side to side to control your flight (or fall). Flapcraft is simple, funny and addictive. You can complete all 30 levels in an evening, provided you have some
have changed. Common courtesy is not so common. What’s the measure of a gentleman now? Let me suggest this as a starting point: put your phone away when you are face-to-face with another human being. Stop texting and tweeting and just be present. The Phonekerchief is an obvious yet (I think) charming way to show that you’re paying attention. When you wrap up your phone and put it away, the message is clear: “My phone is off for you.” You’re paying attention, as a gentleman should.
BEARDSKI beardski.com
help from a child or two. The villagers will cheer when you sail into town on your flying log. Flapcraft sells for $1.99. Now all you need is a $500 iPad.
PHONEKERCHIEF uncommongoods.com
There was a time when a gentleman took off his hat for a lady. This was common courtesy, and you were not a gentleman if you kept your hat on. Times
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Beards are awesome. Throughout history, a thick, manly beard has been associated with strength, wisdom, virility and, of course, hockey playoffs. When cold weather hits, a beard also provides protection against the elements. Your face can be toasty warm while
power play
everyone else is freezing. Unfortunately, it takes time to go from clean-shaven to ZZ Top, and some guys never get beyond peach fuzz. If you have ever wished for a thick, warm beard you could slip on and off as needed, your wish has been granted. Enter the Beardski—the facial hair you wear. The Beardski is an insulated ski mask covered with a thick synthetic beard. The Beardski is designed to protect your face while you ski, sled or hike outside. Woven thermal fleece covers your ears, face and neck so you can stay active without freezing. The Beardski is available in half a dozen styles including Biker, Pirate, Prospector and Viking. There’s even a bright red Beardski named Zeke, after the company mascot. Protect your face this winter. Get your beard on!
2D GLASSES 2d-glasses.com
Here’s the story: Hank Green enjoyed 3D movies but his wife got headaches. Hank solved this problem by inventing 2D glasses that filter out the 3D effect. Now these miracle glasses can be yours for just $10 per pair! I can’t decide whether this is a brilliant invention or an elaborate scam. I’m not sure why someone would pay extra to see a movie in 3D then pay for glasses to cancel the effect. Maybe Hollywood is making both the
movies and the glasses? It’s true that 3D makes your brain work extra hard and that some people get headaches. Even when all the conditions are right, modern 3D glasses are basically sunglasses. They may add depth but they can make films seems dark and murky. Future historians may look back on the crazy 3D revival of the early 21st century and laugh. If so, a souvenir pair of 2D glasses might be worth something someday.
or a group. Checking in regularly with someone who knows your goals helps you to be accountable and stay on track. Workouts with a buddy are better than anything, but workouts by yourself are better than nothing.
PERSONAL HEALTH COACH
CAVEMAN COOKIES
easportsactiveonline.com mytrak.com
cavemancookies.com
Have you ever bought a gym membership? How often did you go? Planning to get healthy is easy. Following through is hard. EA Sports Active Online is an exercise game that sets personal challenges based on your workout goals. It tracks your progress over time and awards trophies for reaching specific fitness landmarks. You can focus on upper body, lower body or cardio workouts. If you prefer gadgets to games, take a look at MyTrak Activity Coach. You start by making a fitness plan based on your goals to lose weight or just increase your physical activity. MyTrak gives real time results to show how you are progressing towards your goals. Press the button to see if you’re on track. The more green you see, the closer you are to your daily goals. The best way to develop good habits is to work with a partner
No, they’re not made out of cavemen, although that would be interesting. Caveman Cookies take the idea of traditional recipes to a whole new level. Inspired by the Paleolithic diet, which excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar and processed oils, Caveman Cookies are made with all natural ingredients like nuts, raisins, honey and berries. If you’re looking for a healthy dessert that tastes better than rocks, check ‘em out.
Sandy McMurray knows why your computer did that weird thing, and how to make it stop. He writes about tech stuff in plain language at TechStuff.ca
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What women want
When opposites repel Just by being with each other, we change each other. by Sheila Wray Gregoire
I bought my husband a new toy for his last birthday. My daughters named her Sylvia. Sylvia is a no-nonsense gal who tells you where to go. You just enter in your desired address, and she tells you where to turn. Or, if you’re in a strange city and you have a hankering for Chinese, she’ll tell you where the closest buffet is. She’s really very smart. Nevertheless, I sometimes question her gender. Sure Sylvia sounds like a woman, but she thinks like a man. When giving directions, she says something like this: “Continue for 12 kilometres, then turn right. Destination is on the left.” That’s how a man would do it. A woman, on the other hand, would say, “Head past the IGA, and then just keep going. The road will wind a little bit, but don’t worry. You’ll pass the cutest little horse farm on your right hand side. Take the next right. You’ll pass three mailboxes—the last one is green with a little rooster on top—and we’re the next house on the left.” Women give directions based on social landmarks. Men give it based on silly things like magnetic north. But Sylvia doesn’t know anything about roosters and mailboxes. She just knows geography. That, of course, is something my husband believes I know nothing of. Early in our marriage, Keith swears that one time, when looking at a map, I said, “go straight on this red road until you come to the purple road,” but I don’t remember that. What I do remember is saying something like, “I think you take the next left,” and having Keith spit out, “Do you think, or do you know?” Spluttering, I replied, “I think I know.” It wasn’t a good scene.
When we first fall in love, it is often these differences that we find so endearing about each other. Yet after a few years of marriage and attempted map-reading, these things can just be downright annoying. While opposites may initially attract, it is often in those areas of difference that we later find our greatest conflicts. And yet, perhaps those areas are also our greatest areas of potential growth. My husband and I will be celebrating 20 years together soon. Looking back on our marriage, it occurs to me not how different we are, but instead how alike we have become. I tend to be on the shy side. Today I make my living speaking at women’s events and retreats, often in front of large groups, which doesn’t bother me in the least. But parties, where I have to keep smalltalk going, are stressful. It’s not natural for me. It’s not natural for Keith, on the other hand, to shut up. And as we’ve been married, he’s taken me to so many parties that I’ve begun to open up. But he’s also started to quiet down. Had we not married, he might have been even more gregarious, and I may have become more withdrawn. I’ve always loved to travel, but my pre-marriage excursions were largely confined to museums and tourist attractions. Keith, on the other hand, likes to get to know people. Over our years together we’ve ventured further abroad, most recently to Kenya. Within five minutes he knew our driver’s life story. If I had my initial instincts, we would have seen the world, but only from a distance. And if Keith had his, we never would have seen it at all. I am not the same person who walked down that aisle, and he isn’t the same
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one who was waiting for me. Just by being with each other, we change each other. Isn’t that how marriage is supposed to be? If marriage is supposed to reflect Christ’s relationship with the church, then it has to have an impact on us. After all, God predestined us to be transformed into Christ’s likeness (Romans 8:29). As we walk with Him, we should start to reflect Him. Shouldn’t that be what marriage does to us, too? As we walk together, we start to reflect each other. But it should also be a warning to those of us thinking that there is that one perfect person waiting for us that God made especially to complete you. That’s not a Christian view of marriage. It’s selfish, saying that marriage is all about getting what I need, not that marriage is all about God making me into the person He wants me to be. It says that if you have differences, the other person should change to accommodate you, not that God may be using those differences to refine both of you. Just like Michelangelo chipped away at the stone to create the masterpiece “David,” so God uses these things to chip away at our pride, or selfishness or bitterness. It may be difficult, but the end result is much more beautiful. That’s why I don’t think marriage is a matter of finding the perfect person as much as it is becoming the perfect couple. And the more time you spend together, the more you just might find that you’re becoming made for each other, after all.
Sheila’s new book, The Good Girl’s Guide to Great Sex, will be out in January. Find Sheila at www.SheilaWrayGregoire.com.
MISSIONS Join us on a mission trip to help give children an education and hope for the future. Travel with Ian Nairn, PK Canada’s Missions Manager, and a band of brothers to help build a Christian school for underprivileged children, and provide them with resources for an education and faith for tomorrow.
You can create your legacy now. TEAM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
November 4-11, 2011 TEAM NICARAGUA
Feb 3-10, 2012 TEAM BELIZE
April 12-20, 2012 Visit www.PromiseKeepers.ca or contact us at info@promisekeepers.ca to learn more.
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