The Decline of the Family Unit
With the spread of post-modernity, our concept of family has had to shift away from our previous understanding. (Those of you who have studied post-modernity may not see the correlation, but I prefer to use post-modernity as a box that almost everything fits in.) It affects us in many ways.

I know some of you are thinking, "Will, you don't live with your family, you're not married and/or raising kids, what do you care about the family unit?" Let me tell you, it does impact me. As a unit, family should be given more value. I bought groceries yesterday, including two "Family Packs" of Highliner fish and chips. For supper I ate one of those family packs. I am not a family, no matter how much post-modernity has impacted our definition. Sure I eat more than most, but should that be even possible? Fish and chips isn't a side-dish either, it's clearly the full meal. What kind of family can make due with five small pieces of fish, and half a plate of fries? Perhaps that was the lowest possible cost amount that could be justified by Highliner to attach to the "family" label, thus producing the greatest profit, but that reduction of the family unit sickens me. Let's not toss around the word family so much that it loses all value.

PS - This entry was intended to focus on the mathematical definition of unit, not the sociological definition of family. That juxtaposition was intended as my attempt at wit. Read it again, and you'll see the sociological connection is only ever inserted by the reader, not me the writer.

PPS - Highliner is a trademark of High Liner Foods Inc. All rights reserved.

   [ posted by William @ 1:19 PM ]

Reflections on my Big City Visit
I'm 25, so the novelty of going into the big city, Toronto in my case, should have long since worn off. I have made numerous visits, and each time, my sense of geographic familiarity improves. However, there is still a country boy within me that can't help but gawk at the CN Tower and marvel at the numerous technological and architectural wonders in the city. In this particular trip, I made the following reflections:
* I am slowly endearing myself to the city. Until my recent visit to Europe, Toronto was the biggest city I had visited (I've only ever driven through Chicago and Montreal, and while I've visited all of Detroit, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Winnipeg, and Ottawa, while comparable, they are all smaller), so perhaps after seeing London, Zurich and Hamburg, while probably not all are bigger cities, my sense of wonderment has decreased. I took the subway by myself, without having to be told which route would be most efficient. I knew where to look for hotdog vendors. People asked me for directions. It's almost as if people, including me, didn't think I was out of place.
* Some nice people live in the city. I bought a morning paper on Saturday, but I picked it up outside the store, and had to go out of my way to go in and pay for it. If I, an honest and trustworthy country boy, was that close to walking away and not paying, surely city folk would regularly steal papers like this, but the fact that they display them like that must mean that theft isn't a huge problem. Also, I could have walked into the subway/bus station pretty easily without paying, risking a fine of course, but I didn't see any cameras or security guards stopping me. Businesses must be able to, at some level, put some trust in the general populace of Toronto. To top it off, I had my car unlocked in my friends apartment complex parking lot, and it was not stolen or stolen from. I really can no longer say that Toronto is a haven of filth and despair.
* The CN Tower is really big. As mentioned in a previous blog post, I participated again this year in the Canada Life CN Tower Climb for the World Wildlife Fund. My time was 7 seconds slower than last year, thanks mostly to people getting in my way and not moving for me. Looking down at the ground through the glass floor, out over the city from the observation deck, or up to the tower from ground level, it's hard to believe that I actually climbed that high. My muscles aching, my lungs gasping for oxygen, my lips crying for water, and my skin dripping with sweat, I still couldn't believe that I could achieve such a feat in such short time.
* I'm not completely girl crazy. Or at least not as much anymore. On my way up the tower, at various flights, people were stationed, paramedics, WWF volunteers, etc. to support us. As I approached one flight, I looked up to see two girls standing there wearing sashes, indicating that they were beauty queens. I thought to my self, "Why are they here?" My capacity for arousal at that point was pretty low, plus I probably wasn't all that attractive dripping in sweat, so I wouldn't have gotten much of a reception had I tried to stop and talk to them. I walked right by them without even checking them out. To some, that may sound like an infantile achievement. However, when a girl indicates that she is a beauty queen, I am at least allowed, if not invited, to have a good look and judge whether or not I agree with that assessment.
* I'm frighteningly comfortable being a loner. I drove to and from the city, rode the subway all around town, climbed the CN Tower, visited a friend's museum exhibit, and ate lunch, all of them, by myself. I'm not saying that as if it's an achievement. It could mean that I have few to no friends, or that I just make plans on my own. I'm not a highly social person, so I don't always have big events like this join in with others, and I don't feel all that comfortable asking other people to join in on my stuff. Combine that with not having a girlfriend and the gradual geographic diaspora of my larger social base, and I end up doing a lot of stuff, like this, alone. That's life, and it used to bother me, but now, notsomuch.

   [ posted by William @ 2:26 PM ]

5 out of 6 Hotties Agree
That is the slogan printed on a Juicy Fruit poster hanging in my room. I got it from a city bus. I was struck by the blatant attempt at reaching the teenage demographic. There seemed to be some deeper wisdom too. For a teenage guy, the expert opinion that they rely on is not a doctor, parent, or pastor, but the hottie. At least that was often the case for me, when I was a teenage guy.

But there is a deeper wisdom to this entire new marketing campaign that Juicy Fruit has taken on. In their new commercials, they have preppie nerd types singing their old song, and then being rejected, assaulted, etc. They aren't ridiculing other gum companies, but their own former image. In my recollection of advertising, this is unprecedented. It would almost be as if Cadbury started a new marketing campaign where a company representative came out from behind a grassy knoll, and said, "We put chocolate into a mold, freeze it, then pour caramel into each section, and we pour chocolate on top, forming a base. It's not really much of a secret." Sure we all know how they get it there, but their image is that it's a secret. It's kinda like when the World Wrestling Federation stopped hiding that they were fake, except that was sports entertainment, and we're talking advertising.

The Juicy Fruit people are saying to us, "Hey look, we have a new box, new flavours, and a whole new image. Try us out!" Cadbury may do that down the road too. When it comes to the church, everyone has a different idea of how to market themselves. My friends in the emerging church would identify with the Juicy Fruit campaign. Many of us in mainstream churches (I don't really call Mennonite churches mainstream, but that's not my judgment call. They pay my bills, I'm biased.) are viewed as the Caramilk bar, holding on to beliefs and traditions that are outdated, fantastical and irrelevant. Yes Cadbury, by comparing your ad slogan to the centuries old sociological and intellectual disengagement of faith within Christendom, I am saying that I do think your marketing campaign is outdated. Marketers know full well that a created image might sell a product once, but if it's a bad product negative word-of-mouth advertising will kill it.

When we redefine ourselves, our churches or our intellectual pursuits, it has to be worth keeping when someone is convinced to pick it up off the shelf.

   [ posted by William @ 5:01 PM ]

The Problem Goes On
There is something wrong with me. From talking to other people, this doesn't happen to anyone else. I don't know what to do about it, and I'm not sure if anything can be done. Here's my problem: I create too much static electricity. Every time I get out of my car, I get a shock when I grab my car door to close it. What's with that? Sure I haven't done anything to try to resolve the situation, but why does it happen all the time? Sometimes it's just a little spark, just enough to remind me that the problem exists, but usually it's bigger, and usually, I'm not in the mood to get shocked when I close my car door. I can't very well leave my car door open, and I can't get anyone else to close it for me, which would be nice. Sometimes I close it by pushing on the window, and since glass does not convey electricity, I feel no spark. I'm still carrying this static electric charge however, and I'm still a ticking time-bomb of electricity. The other thing, is that I should be able to harness this electricity that I'm producing too. I hear that the Ontario government is going to be giving increased rebates for that pretty soon.

   [ posted by William @ 11:03 PM ]

Elder's Meeting Reflection

Last night I sat down to enjoy a hockey game on TV. A time when I like to sit there and not have to think. But every now and then, it is at those times, that I am enlightened with new ways of looking at things, new analogies that I hadn't thought of before.

There is a new commercial put out by Saturn, about the overall safety and responsiveness of their vehicles. This commercial starts with a woman in her car at a stoplight. A woman in the car beside her, sitting in the passenger seat, says, "once the light turns green, my husband is going to cut you off without signaling." The woman is slightly confused, but then, sure enough, the prophesy is fulfilled. She drives by another car, where the guy is doing some other things while driving, and he says to her out the window, "I'm driving with my knees!" She passes another car, and the driver yawns and says, "I'm really very tired." Then a voice comes on, saying, "You don't know always know what situations you'll have to respond to on the road, but with ... blah, blah, blah ... Safety features ... blah, blah, blah ... buy our cars, etc." I laughed, and then I thought, "Wait a second, there is some deeper truth to that."

I had to stop and reflect on some of the issues. As I'm driving down life's road:
- Am I open to what people beside me are saying?
- Can I perceive if they are coping with grief and sadness?
- Do I know how to react if they are losing faith and hope in what they once held dear?
- Am I able to give guidance if they are dealing with big distractions that is affecting their vision?

As a pastor, people will turn to me, as I drive by. We all need to make sure that we continue to be approachable, and that we continue to exercise wisdom and discernment. As a reflection, we can listen to the plea of wisdom, who calls to us in the streets, from Proverbs 11:1-14

   [ posted by William @ 5:45 PM ]

General Observances
You know how there are signs that you see sometimes that are curiously ironic or contain some form of unintentional humour. I saw one today that said:
Tired of the same old books? Come to the {blah, blah, blah} Used Book Sale.
Isn't that essentially saying, "Are you tired of your same old books, then come pay money for somebody else's same old books.

Also, I bought new toothpaste the other day. I generally go for the whitening toothpaste, and toothpaste in general is only available in two flavours, mint (which gets old with me very quickly) and baking soda. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Whitening Expressions line of toothpaste with a Cinnamon flavour. When I brought it home, there were two disappointing aspects to it.
1.) It's red. What happens if, for some reason, I spit out blood with my toothpaste. I won't even know about it, and then cannot take the necessary steps to resolve the situation.
2.) On the tube is the suggestion, "it works best to squeeze from the bottom of the tube, gradually working forward through the tube." I firmly agree with that practice, but this particular tube has a stand-up base, so the "top", where the toothpaste comes out, is actually the bottom, so squeezing the bottom of the tube is not the best place to squeeze from, contrary to the instructions in the packaging. I guess I could contact Crest, but it's more fun to rant about it on my own.

   [ posted by William @ 1:07 PM ]

Rabboni!
In my browsing of other people's weblogs, I come across blogs of other pastors. Some of them post their sermons. While I do not have the technical material necessary to do that, nor do I have the confidence that my sermons are that good. Today's Easter sermon went particularly well, so I will quote from it:

The way that Jesus comes back, and the words he says to [his followers], convey this message, "You don't need me to be here to feel good about yourselves. God in heaven sees you as special, so go carry out His business." That's why the disciples are excited. That message of hope is what fills them with joy. They finally get it, they finally see that in the Kingdom of God, there are no outcasts, everyone has a part to play, including them.

Leading up to that point, I had been discussing how worthless the disciples were in the eyes of the rest of the world, and how Jesus' words to them while they were on earth went against that.

My hope is that the joy of the apostles upon meeting the resurrected Christ would ours also.

   [ posted by William @ 6:00 PM ]

Contemporize, Man!
I was recently invited to join a group called Revs on Ice. It's a group of local pastors who play hockey together once a week. The skill level was good, and the character of the players was even better. Upon entering, I didn't really see a lot of people I knew, so I introduced myself as the youth pastor from Tavistock Mennonite Church. One guy looked at me and said, "You're a youth pastor? Where's your ponytail?" I responded by saying, "I don't have one. I was hoping that the goatee would contemporize me enough." Another pastor responded by saying, "It is." Banter about visual contemporization of faith isn't what I expect in hockey changeroom dialogue, but I had to remind myself that they were all pastors.

Truthfully, I got the goatee to look and feel older, and the experiment will end soon after Easter. Hopefully, my words (sermons and otherwise) and my actions have by now contemporized my faith (more about the definition of that later) within the context of my job/ministry.

If you like, you can compare and contrast me with a goatee and without one.

   [ posted by William @ 6:38 PM ]

Pop Culture
I'm preaching the Easter sermon at my church this Sunday. Much of the sermon will focus on John 20, and the experiences of Jesus' followers, the disciples and the women, and especially Mary Magdalene. I contemplated using the title, "There's Something About Mary Magdalene". I decided not to, because Mary Magdalene wasn't the whole point of the sermon, and that the cleverness of the title was outweighed by the unnecessity of it.

I joked to my friends about it, and I was reminded of a quote I said earlier, that essentially integration of popular culture into our churches makes me sick. Since issuing that statement, I have become a pastor and have had to make those decisions, instead of just complaining about when other people do. In my last sermon, I quoted both legally and personality troubled basketball star, Allen Iverson, and Canadian hip-hop artist Maestro.

While I have begun using popular culture references in my church participation, I still hold to my original quote. At the time I said it, we were discussing the validity of putting up Star Wars figures and masks etc in a church as part of the sermon. Not only did that heavy use of popular culture make me sick, I felt that it bordered on idolatry.

It's made me think though. I still think that I have justified to myself the use of popular culture references, and as a youth pastor I need to do things like that to add relevance to my sermons for the young people in the congregation. As long as they are relevant to the scripturally valid point that I'm making. Combining that and the odd laugh I get, perhaps people will get some people's attention that might not otherwise want to be there. I still don't think putting Star Wars figurines all over the church is a good idea.

   [ posted by William @ 11:45 AM ]

Of Sessions and Stand-ups
Last night our church held an informative session on "Walking with People Dealing with Mental Health Issues." I was seemingly the youngest person in attendance, but I likely wouldn't have gone if I wasn't the youth pastor of the hosting church. I was hoping to be presented with new and helpful information. While new insights are always helpful, with such a loosely defined field, I found little that was new.

Also, to my dismay, there were two things running through my mind that I tried to forget but couldn't. One, the irony of hosting a session about mental health on ... yes, April Fools Day. I just couldn't bring it up at any of the meetings where it was suggested, and didn't want to make a farce of it, or appear to be taking the issue lightly. Nobody else seemed to notice the irony, and if they did, they didn't mention it to me. The other thing was part of a stand-up routine by Chris Rock, where he talks about developments in assessing mental well-being in children, and he asks the question, "What ever happened to crazy? What's the matter? You can't be crazy no more? Did they eliminate crazy from the dictionary?"

Maybe part of the goal of sessions like the one last night is so that people will take mental health more seriously, and then rants like Chris Rock's won't be as funny. It's one of those comedy things where I laugh because I see that I probably shouldn't. "Just in case they go crazy, they would only hurt other crazy kids." Many questions remain unanswered, but not because the session wasn't informative enough, or because the presenter didn't know her stuff, but because we know so little about the human brain. Much of mental illness is attributed to a chemical imbalance in the brain, and so medication is prescribed, but is that purely genetic, or do situations create chemical imbalances? Are the things we learn from our parents, environment, etc. the things that we use to recreate the same environments, thus creating a "genetic" stream of chemical imbalances?

I pretend to know a lot of stuff about a lot of things, but mental health issues isn't one of them. The only thing I do know is that there are questions that I have, even if I'm just asking questions that I've heard others ask, that haven't been answered, and the answers don't seem to be forthcoming.

   [ posted by William @ 3:11 PM ]