Life

Wood Tick: Wisdom for the General Assembly

davidwebber

illustration by Barry Falls / Heart Agency

Ahhhhh! Wood tick!

The scream sent the three of us for separate parts of the travel trailer, stripping off jeans and shirts as we scampered to do body searches and shake out our clothes. The trailer was rockin’ and rollin’ as the three of us were soon jumping on one leg trying to extricate ourselves from tight sweaty jeans. By the time I had managed to strip off my jeans and t-shirt, the shower was already running. One of the girls had beaten me. I got relegated to shake out clothes and to stand last in the shower line. Chelsea and Linda got the task of fine combing Bud the Lab. In the end, we found over a dozen of the eight-legged little beasts on us, three embedded in flesh, and still more slinking around the trailer days after our initial episode. And all this from just a half-hour walk on the trail around Kiche Manitou Lake in southern Manitoba’s Spruce Woods Provincial Park.

Looking Forward to Witness

Rebecca Simpson

Finishing a field placement with past moderator of General Assembly Rev. Dr. Hans Kouwenberg, I found myself on Easter morning with a front row seat for the baptism of seven people from two different families, and all different ages. My job was to help get folks in order and aid in handing out Bibles and certificates of baptism.

The Stuttering Servant

Phil Callaway

by Jonny Mendelsson

A recent cover of Time asked, “What Scares You Most?” How would you respond? Hundreds of phobias were listed including Arachibutyrophobia, which is fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth! My dog has this fear, but I do not. However, I do experience the number one fear among humans—speaking in public.

After the release of my first book, the phone rang. I answered. “Phil, we would like you to speak to our high school graduating class,” said a sweet voice from a nearby school. “You went to high school once, so we thought you’d have something to tell the graduates.”

“Um …” I stammered, “I would rather crawl across molten metal in a loincloth.” No, I didn’t say that. But I did say, “Well … uh … let me think about it for a minute. There, I thought about it. I can’t. I just get too nervous. My lips quiver. My knees knock. My liver hurts. I drool. But … um … thanks anyway. Please call me again. In about four hundred years.”

Over and Over and Over Again

afaiz

It’s a phrase I’ve heard many times over the years. It’s always mentioned when there is some conflict in a church. When the congregation splits or is in the midst of debating a heated issue. It’s almost always directed towards the session, quite often towards presbytery. It’s almost always worded something like this: “I didn’t realize they (presbytery or session) made that decision. It was done in secret.”

In secret.

Success by Grace

afaiz

The buzz from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers has been about the 10,000 hours of diligent work required to be a success in one’s chosen field. Diana Butler Bass, speaking at Rosedale, Toronto, in late February, mentioned the 10,000 hours while speaking of successful churches she had studied. Gladwell gives the example of the Beatles and Bill Gates, amongst many others, who through a combination of luck and grace were able to spend an extraordinary amount of time perfecting their craft.

Always New

Philip Lee

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The Death Of Adam: Essays On Modern Thought
By Marilynne Robinson
Mariner Books

“Then felt I like some watcher of the sky when a new planet swam into his ken.”
– John Keats

Yes, that has been my reaction to Marilynne Robinson’s collection of essays. This work was first published over ten years ago but has only recently received public acclaim because of Robinson’s highly successful novels. Her novel Giliad won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and her more recent parallel novel Home has received many favorable reviews.

These Essays On Modern Thought are deserving of similar attention, and more! Adherents of Reformed Christianity should be especially grateful that at last, among public intellectuals, we have a champion. Her essays on Calvin are both revealing and revolutionary. After generations of Calvin and Calvinism’s being denigrated and ridiculed, finally Calvin and even Calvinists are being carefully reread.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Phil Callaway

illustration by Jonny Meddelsson

When our children were young, my wife and I began watching and praying for suitable mates for them. We even took to carrying pictures of our two sons and daughter in my wallet, primarily to barter with other parents. Many were eager to participate in dowry negotiations. I once haggled with a couple in Oregon who were willing to sign papers betrothing their two daughters and son to ours, but when they asked for my house, the talks broke down. (Don’t worry, Jim and Jean, I won’t mention your names.)

I say we start an organization called Arranged Marriages Work Awesome Eh? (AMWAE). Our slogan will be “Save money! Your honeymoon can double as your first date!”

Here are a few of our credos:

The current match-making model is broke. Let’s tinker with it.

You think we don’t know and love you? We changed your diapers.

Calling Could-be Theologians

Brad Childs

There are more than 100 major biblical commentary series, some of which are far better than others. Below, I have compiled a list of my favourite series along with some evaluations for any of you out there thinking about delving a little deeper into your Bibles.