Following and Leading

Hey, All

 I want to fill you in on a few things happening over the next little while.

 First, Level Grounds will be open next Sunday, the 21st of October. As usual we will have great coffee, good eats, live music, fun and games. PLEASE invite some friends out!!

Second, we are going to be having a Celebration Service on November 17th. That means that if any of you are wanting to get dunked (i.e. baptized) this would be your opportunity, and if you are a Christ follower and you have not yet been baptized, I would strongly encourage you to take this step. Please contact me if you are interested or just want more info. brad@cachurch.ca or 604-464-6744.

Thirdly/finally, I want to encourage any of you in a position of leadership in the church (Life Group or any other ministry) or even outside of the church to sign up for the Make Your Mark conference at Coquitlam Alliance Church on November 16/17. We will be hearing from renowned speaker and author Mark Buchanan and from our own Mark Francisco on the Calling, the Character, and the Courage of a leader.  Even if you are not yet in a position of leadership, but see yourself as possibly leading in the future, or questioning whether God could use you as a leader, this event is for you as well.

You can register here.

Thanks, Thoughts and The Challenge

Hey, everyone!

I want to say a great big thanks to everyone who came out to the ETHOS kick-off a few weeks ago. Thank you also to Brett, Rob T., and Darren Z for leading us in worship, a thought provoking message, and some great coffee drinking entertainment. I must also sa a very special thank you to my committee that did all the setting up and tearing down for the night. I would not be able to pull this stuff off were it not for all of you guys. So to Tim, Stephanie, Krista, Tracy, the Ruiz family (hehehe)….Thanks.

I want to encourage you to take to heart the challenge given to us by Rob. There are plenty of opportunities to do God’s work, and to be advocates on the behalf of the poor in our community. I will do my best to keep you up to date on these different opportunities.

For those of you who want to do more than stand up for the poor, and who would like to get your hands dirty in ministry, you can do so with a handful of people from our church who are heading down to Vancouver’s East side every few weeks to the Potter’s House(wow, run on). Down at the PH, you would be given the opportunity to lead some worship, share a testimony, or (if those freak you out)simply serve. If you are interested, send Mike Pederson an email  mdpederson@shaw.ca.  

There is also a pressing matter for all those who live in Coquitlam and I beleive we must take action. The Vancouver YWCA is proposing to build a single mothers shelter (this would provide shelter for many who are right now living on the street with small children)at the far end of Como Lake. There are, of course, many who are against this, believing it will be bad for the community. Therefore, it is up to us!! We need to stand up for “widows and orphans in their time of need” (James 1:27) and one way we can do that is by writing. I have placed an example of a letter that you could send to the Coquitlam counsel (and mayor), as well as their email addresses and phone numbers.  Click here.

Please take advantage of how easy this is. Use the letter and send each of the members and email with a short letter stating your support of the proposition for the shelter.  Finally, as we are well into a new year, I want to remind each of you that I want to be available. Please feel free to contact me at any time, should you be in need of a listening ear, prayer, or just a coffee.

brad@cachuch.ca

604-464-6744

PAX (pease)

Kick-Off, Coffee, Community, und Kuchen

 I want to make sure everyone is aware of the Ethos Kick-Off next Sunday night, September 23, at 7:00PM, at the church.

Brett Alexander ™(and band) will be “shakin’ the joint” (I can’t pull that off, can I?) and leading us in worship.

We will also hear from Rob Thiessen concerning the plight of the homeless in the Tri-Cities area. He is on the battle lines and he is going to fill us in on his work and share with us his thoughts on the current situation.

Afterwards, we will be starting up Level Grounds and inviting everyone to enjoy a gourmet coffee, cake, and boardgame fun, all to the music of Darren Zimmerman.

Invite your friends out and let’s start the season off right!!

See you there!!

Brad

May It Go Well With You

It is not everyday that I use this blog as a soapbox (soapbox is an old term meaning Pastor Brad is about to preach), but over the past few weeks my studies have caused me to reflect on marriage, relationships leading up to marriage, and God’s plan for both. As I’ve reflected on what God has asked of us concerning both, I feel the need to share. 

I am often taken back when I listen to people talk about God’s commandments, as they are often thought important to follow only because they prove to others that we are God followers. In other cases, they are deemed important to live out because they prove to God how much we love Him. As if God is suffering from a bad self-image and needs some reassurance that He truly is loved. It is a truly kind sentiment to want to make God feel good about Himself, but that is not, nor has it ever been the point of following “His ways.” 

So, why live right? Why put off living together until you’re married? Why not sleep around? Why stay when it gets difficult? Why make choices that are in line with what God has prescribed?

Moses said it simply in Deuteronomy 5: 32-33 

You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. 

In other words, God is not a cosmic killjoy looking for ways to ruin our fun. He is out to make our lives last longer, and our relationships to go the distance. He is not interested in giving you a short lived, do as you’d like lifestyle, because He knows what the final result will be. God has more in store for us than a few thrills.  

Unfortunately many of us have grown up being taught to do what God tells us simply because He is worthy. However, there is much more to it than that. He has our best interest in mind. Could it be that the all-knowing, all-sufficient God knows the path to contentment? And could it be that that contentment is found not in quick lustful attachments to the immediate, but in the giving over of ourselves to the path prescribed by God for a longer, healthier life. 

I hate math, but I think the calculation is rather straight forward.  

So, for those of us who have decided we can put God on hold while we “live “our life” (a humorous phrase when you think of it), I ask that we seek to understand the heart of God; a heart seeking to nurture and guide and a heart that breaks at our refusal to follow, not because it damages Him, but rather because it poisons us.

-Brad

Summer Chillin’

Hello, all!

Let me apologize for not posting for a long while(some of you made it clear that this was unacceptable); I’ve been a little busy.

As we shift into a new season, I want to let you know that Ethos will be having a few different events to keep us all connected over the summer.

First, I want to make you all aware that we will be having a time of prayer on the evening of June 23rd. It will start at 8PM, after the Saturday night service. I want to especially invite all those who are leaders of small groups and other ministries in the church to attend, as we will be praying for our church and especially the young adults. However, EVERYONE who would like to meet to pray is welcome. We will also pray for each other (not in a scary way, only if you’d like it).

Second, I want to let you know about two (count them, TWO) BBQ nights. The first will be at the Hillers on July 26th. The second will be a BBQ/Pool Party on the 19th of August. MARK YOUR CALENDERS; more info on these to come.

Third, Ethos is going camping!! On the weekend of August 24th-26th we will be going up to beautiful Cultus Lake. All we are asking from you is $15 for the two nights. Please contact Krista Slaght and let her know that you are interested in attending.

If you have any questions, you can send me an email or give me a call at the church @ 604-464-6744.

Brad

It’s No Secret

Red flags have been going up lately. Ever since Oprah pushed The Secret (a book by Australian author Rhonda Byrne), and it became the best selling book in America (and my guess would be
Canada as well), it seems one cannot enter Chapters without seeing a display pushing the book (which they are having a difficult time keeping on the shelves). When I first saw the cover, I thought it was some kind of cool pirate adventure novel for kids (which obviously got me really excited), but as I have heard more people talk about it and I have glanced through its pages, I have come to find that although The Secret offers long lost treasure, it contains only a freshly painted, rusted out lemon, traveled in many times in the past, and each time falling short of finishing.

Books with contents similar to the Secret are spread all over the shelves of every bookstore, so why am I concerned about this one? Because, for some reason this one is being read by Christians, and being praised for its message. Therefore, I think it is worth a look.

Let me begin by confessing two things.

1)      I am not a fan of Oprah.

This is of course unchristian, and therefore something I am working on. I used to judge her before she’d speak. Now I wait a whole 5 seconds after she has spoken. I know this is an issue, so ………don’t judge me.

2)      I have not read the The Secret in its entirety. I have read several excerpts from it and have decided I would spend my mind elsewhere.

Therefore, keeping my Oprah judging and my decision not to read more than probably 10 pages of the book, I willingly welcome any corrections you may have for this post. If you believe I have completely misrepresented the book, let me know.

I can understand why people are attracted to the book. I mean who doesn’t want to stand in front of the Titanic and scream “I’m the king of the world”, while Celine Dion sings in the background? This is basically the message of the book. Your problems exist because you have forgotten that you have the power to change your life. You simply need to realize that it is up to you. Now, I believe our decisions can come back and bite us, and that bad decisions make for a complicated difficult self-destroying life, but Byrne is saying much more that that. The Secret tells us that “nothing [good or bad] can come into your experience unless you summon it through persistent thoughts” (p. 28) and that “your thoughts are the primary cause of everything” (p. 33).

Thankfully, Byrne does not leave us with this knowledge and no escape. Instead she tells us that with the secret she has discovered, “there isn’t a single thing that you cannot do ……..The Secret can give you whatever you want” (p. xi).

Now anyone who has ever watched the Trinity Broadcast Network should be familiar with this kind of talk. This is the kind of talk/preaching that has been for sale by tele-evangelists who tell us simply to name-it-and-claim-it. You deserve everything, so God will give it to you. You should not be sick, you should be healthy and you should have plenty of money.

The Secret tells you the same thing, but takes God out of the equation. The T.V. evangelist forgets God’s sovereignty and greater purpose, and Byrne leaves God out completely. And why not? Who needs the God of the Bible when we ARE gods?

Byrne says that, “you are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet” (p. 164). Cutting through her flowery language (which I can only read with the sound of waterfalls and seagulls in my head) it becomes clear that what Byrne is teaching is no secret. It has been public “knowledge” since the Garden, where Adam and Eve fell into the same deception (Genesis 3:5).

Well if WE are gods we really ought to have our own Psalms written in praise of us. Byrne agrees:

“The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret” (p. 183).

She does not mention Jesus, but quotes Him from Matthew 21:22 and Mark 11:24 for the purpose of creating a formula for getting one what one wants. What are these steps: 1) Ask (the Universe) 2) believe (in yourself) 3) receive (not sure from which one)

The bottom line is this: If the book, The Secret, tells us anything, it is that there is a common quest for humanity to get back to where it ought to be. That place is in a relationship with its Creator. Let me name Him. His name is Jesus.

There will be no satisfaction for humanity until we deal with that issue.

There is one big thing between us and what we want (peace, belonging, etc.). It is not simply changing our thought process. It is dealing with sin. Unfortunately the Secret does not mention sin. It ignores it, and therefore it is not relevant to the human condition. Sin is big, it is ugly, it is messy, but more than that it is taken care of.

As Christians we should see The Secret as a cry out for help. Let us be a light! Let us have a heart for people like Jesus did, crying out for his people who had fallen far from their God.

What is up?

Hello all.

A reminder about Level Ground(s) this Sunday, May 13th, open from 7:00PM-9:30PM (you can come at any time) at the church.

I am fully aware that it is Mothers Day! I would like to encourage you to take the afternoon to visit with your mothers, then please bring them by the coffee shop so that you can “treat” them to a free gourmet coffee and cake, maybe play a few games, etc.

I also want to let everyone know that in the area of Audio Visual at the church we are kind of in dire need of some volunteers. If you are interested at any level (you do not need to know too much to get involved, you will be taught) please contact myself (Brad) @ brad@cachurch.ca or Jared @ jared@cachurch.ca and we will get things happening.

Thanks

PAX