Job opportunity...for adult paper carriers with cars to deliver morning papers (Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province, National Post). They are now hiring for part time in June or on call subs, with various start times, but each finishes around 6am. A small route pays around $500. If you are interested, email me for contact information.

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lead·er·ship n. the ability to persuade, influences, or direct the behavior of individuals to achieve a common purpose; the capacity to translate vision into reality; the catalyst for change

...essentially, a leader is in the position to impact the world.

If you are interested in enriching & expanding your understanding of leadership, there are two upcoming opportunities:

July 14-16. ACTX. Vancouver Trade & Convention Center. This conference aims to equip young adults with Godly principles for success in the workplace. More information is available on their website.

August 10-12. The Leadership Summit. Broadway Church. This world-class leadership summit features speakers from both business and church communities gathering to discuss practical leadership truths. For more information check out the church website.

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Some revolutionary thinking.

In the midst of prayer last week, we touched on the desire for unique, practical, & impact-full solutions to various crises that face our world. I was puttering around on the internet, and found this little bit of goodness from an article called Principles for Social Change…

Revolutions are not built on despair, and the face of revolution is not a frown.

–D. Kidd [full article available here]

As I read that simple statement, I was reminded that we are called to be “salt” and to live with a fullness of life. When we do that, we become revolutionary. Paul put it this way...

My counsel for you is simple & straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

–Colossians 2, The Message [finish the rest of this chapter]

The thing about this God-life, kingdom-living deal is...

The Paradoxical Commandments do not focus on popular symbols of success like wealth, power and fame. Instead, they focus on meaning – the meaning you can get from loving others, doing good, being honest, thinking big, fighting for underdogs, building, helping others, and giving the world the best you’ve got.

You do it by focusing on others and becoming part of something bigger than yourself. Love is focused on those who are loved…The meaning you need ‘inside’ can be achieved by looking ‘outside to loving and helping others.’
–Kent Keith

Because in the end,

You can make a living, which is to measure what you get, or you can have a life, which is to measure what you give.

–Dr. Gary Morsch

I've been sending out emails re: Worship Invasion, happening 7:30pm on Saturday, May 27 at Broadway. Worship Invasion is organized by an independent group of individuals from various churches. It happens once a month at different locations throughout the Lower Mainland.

Do you want more? They describe themselves as "intense worship for youth, young adults, and the young at heart." More information is available on their website.

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Here is the list of "who we are" and "who we would like to be" that we produced last week at Convergence. Feel free to comment or email if you have any more thoughts:

What are we?
· Social
· Accepting
· Welcoming
· Diverse -- culturally & spiritually
· Genuine
· Fun
· Compassionate

What would we like to see on that list?
· Faithful & committed
· ***God-centered***
· Thirsty
· Challenging -- the Church (& the church?), ourselves, & each other
· Selfless & missional
· Participants in the Kingdom of God
· Social outlets -- perhaps missional social outlets?

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I was reading from the Burnside Writer's Collective this week and noticed their tagline:

"An alternative to franchise faith."

I like that.

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On Thursday Corrie briefly talked about the effect of secular dualism -- separating the physical from the spiritual -- on our understanding of reality. I was "having church" this weekend with some friends and we were reading a few portions from Psalms. As we read David's depictions of God I was absolutely amazed.

God was so real to David.

Not real as in "I believe God exists" but real to say "this is who He is." Furthermore, David did not simply define God based on "who he is to me" but who He is in a larger picture. We are often like children who say "that man is my Daddy" but cannot describe Him beyond His relationship to us.

I don't think that David would be at a loss when it came to the "adoration" part of our prayer time.

My friend Andrew said he is always struck that David wrote these Psalms before Jesus came: he was living under the old law, the promises had not yet been fulfilled, yet he was able to grasp who God is with such richness.

Is God reality to you?

Sometimes we need to sit down and think about it. God is constantly revealing more of Himself to us, like a curtain being drawn back from a spectacular view.

So, my question is: how would it read if you wrote a psalm about God?

Baseball. It is happening! There will be a five-week season, running on Tuesday nights at 7pm from June 13 to July 11, with a wrap-up tournament on Saturday, July 15. If you're interested, stay tuned for more details: we'll be passing sign-up sheets around at Convergence in the next few weeks.

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R-E-S-P-E-C-T. A couple of weeks ago we were praying for a man in Afghanistan who was on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity. Since the Middle East seems to be a prayer theme lately, I thought an update might be in order. The last reports of Abdul Rahman’s story say that he is starting a new life in Italy after his trial collapsed. If he was found guilty, he would have faced the death penalty.

A few of the stories around this case involved interviews with Christians in predominately Muslim nations. Their dominate concern was always respect. One declared that while he hasn’t chosen Islam as a religion, his decision is not political.

Maybe [definitely] we can learn something here.

As North Americans, we have the tendency to take an oppositional position against anything that is "different" from our "normal". The thing about respect is: you don’t have to agree on everything. And you can’t fake it. People feel it. In the end, how are we going to communicate Jesus to anyone if no one will have anything to do with us? Maybe the whole concept of “in the world and not of it” was for our own personal use, something to be lived instead of declared. While I believe there is a place to take a stand, there is also the necessity of building relationships with people before you can impact them. The only way we can live side-by-side with differing religions and worldviews is to communicate basic respect, instead of employing an “us vs. them” perspective.
So, all this to say: life is messy. While I’m pretty sure God doesn’t see in grey, we sure do. The only conclusion we can come to in all situations is love anyways.

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One time volunteers. Is anyone available to help with KidStreet on Sunday, May 21? A bunch of the youth will be away at Histroy Maker, so Jody was wondering if 5-6 young adults could step in. It would be a one time commitment from 8:30 am till just after 1pm. Email me ASAP if you're free.

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Bono is coming to Broadway ... via satellite. Don't miss Bono's discussion about our role in the world today and every individual's call to social justice. In early August, Broadway Church is hosting a world-class leadership summit. Speakers from the business and church communities will come together topresent practical leadership truths and stories of growth and change. The line-up includes an in-depth interview with U2's Bono, the powerful businesswriter Jim Collins and renowned church leader, Bill Hybels.

Check out the Broadway website for all the details.

Come. Be Inspired. Change the world…

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Quote of the week. This week, someone had left letterhead in the printer (that’s a BIG office no-no) and after reminding her, another co-worker said, “Well, just remember: we’re all perfect.”

It's so easy to think in extremes like that. Either I am perfect, and no one else is OR I am the worst sinner and everyone else is doing fine.

Sometimes I think that the trick to this whole Jesus-thing is to gain perspective on ourselves. Not to be so caught up in ourselves that we fall to either extreme. To take our eyes off ourselves, and focus on the bigger things; stepping outside of ourselves, and not living so much in our heads.

It feels good. And everyone around you will like it too.

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Metaphorical talk.

[Warning: Randomness ahead. This is another glimpse inside my head. Proceed with caution]

Experimenations. Corrie seems to be all about the experiments. Did you notice? It’s an interesting way to approach life. Come join our urban experiment!

Gamers. I sometimes refer to life as a game, as in: “this is a fun game!” or “I don’t want to play this game anymore!” Once in awhile, I wonder if this is a flippant way to approach the world. But sometimes it works.

Stories. They’re how Jesus helped us understand our existence. And Him. And us. It’s all one big story.

Have you ever asked why?

Metaphors can help us understand things that we couldn’t talk about on our own: a dynamic that is too complex to break down into simple terms. They refer us away from an idea, only to return with a greater understanding.

I once read that the only way we can talk about God is through many metaphors. None of them are entirely true or false in their own right, but all together they speak to who God is. I’m pretty sure that the same can be said about love and faith and all these crazy life-things.

Experiments allow us to focus on a purpose. They’re a space for us to lay out our thoughts, test the waters, and see what works.

And games. They speak about freedom, because freedom doesn’t stand alone. It’s only valuable when it's freedom to. The rules and guidelines in games allow us to participate.

Which one is it? Is life a game? An experiment? A story? It’s none, either, and all.

Anyways, wanna come out to play?

ODDS & ENDS. A Variety of Things.

In regards to the last post. Well…that discussion went well. DOES ANYBODY READ THIS THING?

Dear Dianna & Rachel, my faithful readers. I think you’re great.

In regards to Rachel's comment, A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren helped situate my faith in terms of the post-modern discussion. It is written in a narrative style, which helps to balance the mass of information it communicates, but it still may take awhile to wade through.

Welcomes. This week will be the Blocks' first Convergence. Welcome, welcome, welcome and we’re REALLY glad you’re here!!!

This week, Convergence will include a shorter time of worship and CJ introducing himself to the group, followed by mingling, munchies, & music.

Job opportunity. A couple from the church is looking for a full-time, live-out nanny for their one-year old son. They live in the Arbutus area and require some light housekeeping & meal preparation. The start date is flexible, but no later than early August. Contact me at youngadults@broadwaychurch if you are interested or have any questions.

Singles ministry. For those of you who feel that Convergence is not providing you ample assistance in the search for your significant other, worry no longer. We've completed extensive market research, and I leave you with the top Christian pick-up line of the week, guaranteed to sweep a girl's feet from beneath her.

I don't see it myself, but people tell me I look like Michael W. Smith.*

-Jamie

*CAUTION: do attempt to use this line outside of Christian circles. Side effects may include...