theheresy.com

Actually it hasn’t, it has been a really crappy week and I’m afraid I’m in too truthful a mood.  In such a state I tend to call BS in situations that would normally require more tact.   Why was my week crappy?  One of our boys is going through a really difficult time at school.  I’ve had to stop working and drive to the school and take him home 3 times in the last week.  The potential ramifications of what we are seeing aren’t pleasant.  I hope he can turn things around soon.  If not I’m not sure what we will do if things don’t take a turn for the better.  Being a parent can be a very difficult job and the answers don’t come easy.  We’ve got some good allies in our struggle.  The school staff are top notch.  Our church has been warm, supportive and kind.  My church pretty much rocks even though we’ve only been meeting since October.  Even with all the support we have received the problems we face are a heavy burden.  My friends can see it on my face (I’ve never been terribly good at hiding what I’m feeling). 

Uh oh, here comes a big flock of wha whas!

I’m still giggling, I can barely write this post.

I was listening to local radio personality John Gormley rant on about what calls enviro-fascists making seemingly ridiculous statements about how the warming of the earth will slow or plateau over the next 7 years because of natural variations in the Earth’s climate.

Climate scientists understand that there are completely natural things and manmade things that influence temperature up and down on the earth.  Increased sun activity will warm the earth.  Huge volcanic eruptions cool the earth.  CO2 warms the earth while certain kinds of pollution cool the earth.  Each of these "forcings" can influence the climate in different directions. 

In 1998 increased CO2 combined with natural variations in climate like El Nino made it the hottest year on record.  It hasn’t been warmer since because there aren’t always natural and manmade forcings combining to force the temperature up.  In the last 10 years the rate of temperature increase has been muted because natural variations were influencing the temperature lower.   This isn’t a sign that global warming isn’t real, it just slowed down.  This position is nothing new for scientists.  Certain folks in the media paint this as if the IPCC needs to change its story now that things aren’t getting warmer quicker.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  If the temperature doesn’t trend upwards over the long term then people can proclaim global warming dead.

Looking at the following temperature graphs I’d say that the last 6 dots don’t exactly show enough of a trend to disregard global warming.

I pulled the graphs and the cartoon from Skeptical Science.

I was trying to think up an analogy the other day for the church. I was wondering what sort of metaphor could capture how much we miss the point in our faith. If the essence of the gospel is trusting in Christ and his love while being transformed in to his likeness how did we get to the place we are now. If the church is a body held together in sincere love, empowered by the Spirit working through every member why are things the way they are?

If the church were a business we would measure our profit and if we weren’t making enough we would change. If we were a hospital we would measure how many of the sick and injured become healthier. If we were a vocational training institute we would measure how many people get jobs and keep them in their area of training.

Now imagine a school that measured how much people enjoyed the classes, how great the day care was, how inspiring the teacher was, the levels of enrolment and the amount of funding they had but only passively cared about the success of their graduates in the workplace. That my friends describes most of the church in North America today.

We need to change what we measure and how we measure our success.

· Do people have a proper understanding of the gospel?

· Do they love the people that can offer them nothing in return?

· Are people willing to sacrifice for others?

· Are people becoming more like Christ in their values and behaviour?

· Do they have life and freedom?

If we considered these things, we would realize the state we are in and we would change. As long as we measure things based on our own personal satisfaction or by the markers of organizational success we will miss the point.

The simple church I’m a part of is in an excellent place.  I can only speak for myself but I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something that so consistently makes a positive difference in my life.  I don’t know if others could say the same but I do know that some people are in a better place than they were a couple of months ago and I know some people have found warmth and acceptance.  They feel at home.

What am I learning through this?  I think Jesus was right.  Yep, that is it.  I think Jesus is right.  "No one has greater love than this — that one lays down his life for his friends."  There are people in this church that show genuine care and concern for me that extends beyond meetings.  It is wonderful to know I have friends that will respond to me when I reveal my weakness and even my sin.

At its heart ministry it isn’t about models, mission, church size, location, finances or a whole bunch of other stuff we focus on.  At the core it is sacrificial love.  It is what Paul spoke of when he said "And now I will show you a way that is beyond comparison."

If your concept of ministry gives you abundant opportunities to serve people in the context of sincere loving relationships then you will see things change.  If your concept of ministry is filled with any number of good things but insulates and isolates people from each other through complicated structures, theology or busyness then it will not change anything.

Here in Saskatchewan we are somewhat shielded from the wild fluctuations of the price of natural gas in the markets. If I did my conversions correct we pay about $7 per 1000 cubic feet of natural gas. Currently the market price is $10. CIBC chief economist believes that the price of oil and natural gas is only going to go higher in the future.  SaskEnergy purchases natural gas on the market and resells it at cost to Saskatchewan consumers.  If the price of natural gas doesn’t settle from its current highs this fall we are looking at least a 30% increase in on our SaskEnergy bill. 

If you have the time and money it is time to insulate your house or upgrade to a high efficiency furnace.  Geothermal is becoming a much more viable option.  Right now the cost of heating your home using geothermal in Saskatchewan is less expensive than high efficiency natural gas.  High-efficiency natural gas is much cheaper to install.  However if you add 30-40% on to your natural gas bill it starts to get more competitive.  All things considered it cheaper to retain heat than it is to generate it regardless of the source.

If you are a homeowner get the EnerGuide for homes audit and start working.

John 3:19-21 NRSV

19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

I believe the church needs to come to better understand John’s metaphor of God being the light.  God’s light is a judgement.  Here there is no tension between understanding God’s light, life, love and holiness.  They all expose the darkness that exists in all of us.  There are two directions we can go.  We can courageously walk toward the light even though it shows us what we really are, what we are ashamed to be.  We can embrace the darkness as we hide from ourselves and run from the truth.

I signed it.  If you live in Saskatchewan consider sending our premier a message.  You can sign it here.

Goodbye Oilers, your playoff hopes left you today, goodbye…goodbye…goodbye.