Where?

My last blog update was titled 'A place I never thought I'd be' and it was written a year ago- I feel like I could use that title all over again today. So where am I?

Florenceville-Bristol, NB.

Never heard of it? Don't worry- most people haven't.

*Note: I did not take this photo- I found it and don't know who did.

It is much different than my previous living accommodations of Halifax, Nova Scotia and it most certainly is a place I never thought that I would be. When I first started telling friend and family where I was moving most were very underwhelmed and after the initial "Where?" they began asking about what was there and how different it would be from living in the 'big city.'

Although there are differences there are also many similarities:

1. There are two bridges
Halifax has two bridges- the Old Bridge and the New Bridge (Or the MacDonald and the McKay for those of you not from the city). When talking to people about going from Dartmouth to Halifax or vice versa you are always asked which bridge you use and you plan your route depending on the bridge and the time of day.
Florenceville-Bristol also has two bridges. I have been calling them the Old Bridge and the New Bridge- but locals call them the Little Bridge and the Big Bridge. The little bridge is an old covered bridge that JUST BARELY allows two cars to squeeze by going 20km/h (Seriously, if you drive a truck you avoid the little bridge). The Big Bridge is part of the old TransCanada Highway and is larger, higher, stronger, and built for the load of trucks.

I used to hold my breath as a kid when we would cross the bridges in Halifax- when I moved to Florenceville-Bristol I would hold my breath when I passed another car on the little bridge. Then I would check my side mirror-- just to make sure it was still there.


2. The Airport is on the outskirts of the 'Municipality' 
That's right... Florenceville-Bristol has an airport.
What you may not know about Flroenceville-Bristol is that it is the home of the McCain Food's empire. (seriously, go to your freezer, pick up a McCain package and look at the address on it....)
Being a global business there is an airport to transport executives, farmers, and other employees to major cities for business adventures. I promise- it was quite a shock on my first day here when I saw an airplane going down into what looked like another potato field up on the hill.... turns out it was supposed to go there.


3. Avoid Main Street(s) at 5:00pm.
Seriously. In Halifax I would try leaving work early, staying late, or find side streets as much as possible. In Florenceville-Bristol there aren't any side streets so I just avoid the 'Rush Hour' time. Driving through 'town' when all the businesses (especially McCain employees) are trying to get out of their driveway's onto the main street is CRAZY. The two biggest differences between Florenceville-Bristol and Halifax is that in F-B rush hour really only lasts 15 minutes and there is no side streets to avoid the rush.

*Another similarity that is connected to this one is that many people commute from outlying communities to work in the 'city centre' 

OH! And don't be fooled at ANY point you can get held up in a traffic jam. In Halifax all it would take is one car accident. In Florenceville-Bristol all it takes is a tractor moving from one potato field to another.


4. Finally, it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere. 
In Halifax my wife and I had a joke that we lived in the perfect spot because every time somebody outside the city asked how far it took us to get from home to _________ (pick a place) we would always answer '20 minutes'.... always.
Since moving to Florenceville we discovered that it takes 20 minutes (well... 15) to get anywhere. The difference is that in Halifax you passed 6 coffee shops before you got to the one you wanted. Here you get one option and 5 minutes of your 15 minute drive is waiting to get to the drivethru speaker, or talking to someone you know that you ran into in the parking lot.

---
Yep, they may be very different geographically and population-wise (1,600 vs. 375,000)but Florenceville-Bristol and Halifax have a lot more in common than you may think.
Don't believe me? Come visit- I'll give you the tour, but warning: It takes a while... since everything is 15 minutes away.

Reading with Power

This semester I have been challenged. I have realized the POWER of scripture.

It IS the Word of God.
It IS relevant.
It IS living
It IS active
It IS salvation
It IS important
It IS able to do so much more than we can imagine


Reading scripture out loud is something that happens every Sunday at thousands upon thousands of church around the world, and yet the word is not read out loud as it were living and active in out lives. It is read as though it is just an old fairy tale that has been told over and over again. As if people should know it and that it is not actually being listened to. Well, when it is read as such it will be listened to in the same way.

The Word of God is Him speaking directly to His people!
Why is it spoken in a monotone voice, with a voice of timidity, or stumbled through.

I am a firm believer that we need to learn how to read scripture.It has a lot of emotion, a lot of power, a lot of authority and needs to be given the power that is due it. Practise it, see the emotion, the setting, the true actual people who were living that story.

Sheet music tells a musician when the song is to rise and fall, when to be powerful and when to be soft. When to pause, the tempo to enter into, each note has a speed to follow. (I am not a musician by any means and am simply remembering my into to music class in my undergrad so forgive me for the wrong terms). Scripture does not have all of these same notations, but we need to include them when reading it. This is powerful stuff and often we set up our pastor for failure before he even gets up to preach simply by reading the Scripture in a way that does not engage people. They are not listening before the sermon even begins.

Allow the word to be living and active.          
                                                 Not only on Sunday morning but in your own devotional time as well.

"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword"

                                                                                         -Hebrews 4:12

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ" 

                                                                                        -Romans 10:17

"No Scooting in the Sanctuary"

Throughout my education (and even now as I continue it) I have been taught (all to many times, in nearly every youth ministry class) that we, as youth workers, need to keep culturally and socially aware of what our youth are dealing with. This means no only looking at media and music but at fads as well. I feel like this is the hardest thing to keep caught up on, like last week I found myself in shock by the latest fad....

Scooters!

Like, the nerdy thing that people who couldn't ride skateboards used to ride around on. The things that were silver with a handle. They are no longer just silver with a handle. Two of the youth showed up on Wednesday with scooters, they were 'tricked out' with the latest deck, the cool design, wheels, everything was custom. One of them even had pegs on the wheels!? That means they are doing tricks on these scooters!? Really!? This would have been unheard of 5 years ago.

Not only are these scooters custom but they are expensive! I just decided to do a quick google search and the first site I looked at had is $330 (I HOPE that is not the price my youth paid!)
http://www.jibsactionsports.com/index.php/pro-scooters/complete-scooters/lucky-strata-pro-scooter.html

I am opening myself to a whole new world here and it excites me, but it meant we had to implement a new rule at youth group: "No Scooting in the Sanctuary"

Now our church is not one to see the building as sacred or worry about the sanctuary or walls or care about such things. We haven't had rules at youth group (other than to show respect), but with such a 'cool' new toy with a limited supply for the number of youth, as well as the damage that tricks and flying metal pieces might do to the building but also the other youth we have told the youth..... "No Scooting in the Sanctuary". 

Imagine- I never would have thought.... what is next? I am excited to find out.

Congregant or Pastor?

Before I begin- I know this post is long BUT I have made it easy for you- if you don't want to read the whole post the important information has been bolded and italicized for you. :)

As most of you know, I am studying to become a pastor.

This has been a thrilling and exciting journey for me, discovering new and exciting mysteries in the bible, travelling all over the world declaring HIS great name, and building relationships with other Christian's all around the world. Usually when I tell people that I am going to become a pastor I get a typical response. The conversation usually goes as follows:

Person: "What are you studying?"
Me: "I'm getting my masters in divinity"
Person: "What's that?"
Me: "I'm not sure entirely but it is the degree I need to become a pastor"
At this point the person either turns and runs, awkwardly tries to change to hide some part of their lives, speech, or appearance (I love this reaction most), or they say something along the lines of:

"I hope you make churches better than they are now"

Boy does this line drive me nuts!

Since when has it been a pastor that makes a church good or bad?
When did the ownership shift from the congregation to the pastor?

I particularly find this happening among my own generation- understandably. There are so few of us making up the congregation that our voice isn't heard, or we become frustrated with the lack of relevant ministries, preaching, teaching, yet there are more than enough opportunities to serve and be used in the church.
This is what drives the younger generation away from the church and I thought this was an issue mainly among those who left the church after high school, or who didn't go to church or youth group as youth at all but I was proven wrong recently.

I have discovered that even people who have been to bible college, severed the Lord, been active in ministry and know what ministry is all about are among those who are falling away from church because it is not relevant to them.

Again, I wonder when this became the pastor's fault.
We are called to be the church, to all generations, to all people, despite their previous experiences, traditions, or backgrounds- this includes those who are already weekly attending church who we don't see eye to eye with.

This is a call to my generation. It is time to quit complaining- stop your belly-aching and man (or woman) up. Don't complain about the church just to complain, it is time to make a difference. Time to make the church what you want it to be and not simply complain about what the church is doing wrong. I know that as human beings we love to complain- older people complain about the disrespectful and free nature of the younger generations, younger people complain about the stubbornness and conservative nature of the seniors.

(Oops, a bit of a rabbit trail) Back to the point-

If we, as young Christians, can't stand the church how do we expect our non-Christian friends to respond? We need to step up and take on our role in the church- voice our opinions, make a difference so that we might be able to make the church what we want it to be- so that the church would be more inviting to those people around us. I can guarantee that the pastor of your church is looking for your help.

Take on a ministry, use your passion, start by reaching those older generations sitting in church beside you and let them know that you are not that disrespectful miscreant there to ruin their life (unless of course you are-then keep that secret). Take ownership of your faith- of your church- of your generation and make a difference.

The church is NOT what the pastor makes it, the church IS what the congregation makes it and YOU are part of the congregation so make it what you want- become a member, attend business meetings, voice your opinions, vote for your generation and make a difference in YOUR CHURCH.