A BC D-tour
In less than a week, I am embarking on a groundbreaking journey to British Columbia. Well, it's only groundbreaking because I haven't been there before. Now I'll have seen both coasts though, once on PEI, and once in BC. I consider myself a low impact traveler, so I prefer to be the maxin' relaxin' type of visitor rather than the camera toting tourist. I will of course take advantage of my new camera, but that will not be the focus of the trip. Here is a list of things that I plan to do while I'm there.

1. Becky's wedding - the teenage heart-throb is finally getting hitched. This is main reason that I'm flying out. I had a part in the couple coming together, so I expect to receive some thanks during the farewell speech.

2. Visiting friends - a few of the friends I've made along the way now reside in BC, so I plan on visiting as many of them as possible.

3. Pilgrimage to BC's Mennonite Mecca - a Will Loewen trip would not be complete without at least a small Anabaptist portion to it. Abbotsford has quite a few Mennonite churches (even though many of them are too "ashamed" to put the word 'Mennonite' in their church names) and is also home to Columbia Bible College. A former youth pastor of mine is a professor there. I'm looking at taking a weekend course in youth ministry as well as sitting in on a lecture. I know little about the college, except that it's part of the Canadian Mennonite cornucopia of schools, and that all the girls I've met that have studied there have been hot.

4. Running from the ghosts of Bastion square - I've been watching too much TV lately, and one of the shows that I enjoy from time to time, is called "Creepy Canada". On it they profile Canadian tourist destinations that are haunted. Victoria's Bastion square is apparently home to ghosts of prisoners who suffered in the prison once stood there.

5. WHL Hockey - I like to incorporate hockey into all of my visits, so I hope to enjoy a Vancouver Giants game while I'm in town.

6. Sermon preparation - the Sunday after I return is Thanksgiving, on which I am scheduled to preach, so I'll likely be doing some of that on the plane on the way back.

Of course there may not be time to do all this, but that is the plan so far. If you know of any other ideas, or if you live there and would appreciate a visit, drop me a line.

   [ posted by William @ 9:36 PM ]

Just Fight Theory
After our baseball game last night, which we lost by the way, the team gathered for beers. As is typical around a cooler of beer, guys starting regaling each other with stories, some more believable than others. Generally there is a direct correlation between the believability and the entertainment value of a story. Somehow, that line was crossed last night.

A guy began to tell us a story of how semi-recently, he and some friends, under the influence of some alcohol started to try to pick a fight with a particularly odd looking fellow. After the story ended, another guy, in an attempt to sum up, asked, "so let me get this straight, you tried to pick a fight with a guy, just because he was funny looking, and his wife was there, and you outnumbered them?" At which point of course, we all burst out laughing. There was a list of unwritten rules of engagement that this guy, in his state of drunkenness had broken, and now, in his state of semi-sobriety was defending, had broken. I wondered then to myself, do guys uphold a Just War Theory even in random bar fights?

The idea of picking a bar fight isn't to attack someone, but to find a consentual partner in your fight. The male social institution disapproves of such random fights if each side isn't equally capable of winning, if the reasoning for the fight isn't semi-legit, and if no outside observers will be unduly distraught by the events. So besides entertainment and cheap sex, maybe attending bars gives guys a window into conflict resolution methods for the rest of their lives.

   [ posted by William @ 3:11 PM ]

The Icemen Goeth
I know that mine is just another voice in the see of opinions regarding the NHL hockey lockout this season, but there are some things that I keep hearing that really upset me. Here is a summary of some of my opinions regarding the labour stoppage.
1. Neither the owners or players are deserving of sympathy. The sooner the public embodies that opinion, and as soon as those in charge realize that, the deal will be made sooner. Their bills will still get paid. Hockey will go on, regardless of whether or not the NHL is place to find the best in the world.
2. Contracting teams is a good option. Removing the less profitable teams will fix a few things (as long as no Canadian teams are contracted). On a mathematical basis however, I'd prefer a league with either, 30, 24 or maybe 26 teams. I'm all about symetry, and those numbers give the best possible league formations.
3. The talent pool is as deep now as it was in the early 80's. People always gripe about a watered down talent pool with too many teams. Twenty years ago, we were pulling from two countries, Canada and USA. As the most recent World Cup of Hockey proved, there are at least 5 other countries (Russia, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Czech Repblic) that put out great hockey players. You can argue that new styles of play make the game more boring, but the talent pool is as deep or deeper now than it was in the day when Gretzky scored 200 points in a season. No matter how many teams there are in the league, the good teams will stay good, and the bad teams will stay bad, that's the nature of sports.
4. The best alternative is a International Super-league. This is an original William Loewen idea, so I'll work out the details of it soon and get them on paper so that if the NHL never really becomes viable again, then investors can buy into my idea and we'll have world class hockey again.

   [ posted by William @ 11:42 PM ]

Blah, blah, blah
There is a discussion happening at Radical Congruency that has caught my eye. Many of the theological blogs that I link to have some connection to the Emerging Church. I consider myself a friend of the Emerging Church, even though many of their members support abolishing paid clergy positions like mine. I appreciate the way some of them delve into theology, and I disagree with them at various other points. I was once accused of not supporting Martin Luther's desire to reform the church because I opposed a guy on the intensity and method by which he attacked established churches. My thoughts were that if my opposition was met so forcefully, then this guy is quite ill-prepared to deal with those more fundamental and evangelical than me.

The discussion that's happening now is very similar to many theological debates that I've been a part of, and I frankly prefer to avoid them, simply because they devolve into this:
Visitor: "I notice you have some ideas about God. I will listen to them just enough to find something that doesn't jive with my understanding of the Bible, and then I'll accuse you of heresy and false teachings."
Friend: "I'm quite annoyed by your opposition, especially because I see your views as archaic and backward. My opinions are arrived at after much research and study, so therefore my views are intellectual, yours are stupid."
Outsider: "Hey guys, let's keep this civil, can't we all just water down our arguments so that we find some kernel that we all agree on? Then we'll walk away singing 'Bringing in the Sheaves' and we'll all be friends."
Visitor: "I have no interest in being friends with heathens like you. I have memorized more of the Bible better than you do, and therefore know God better than you do, so if you haven't submitted to my authority yet, then you deserve to go to hell."
Friend: "That's fine. I don't want to be in the same heaven as you anyway."

I generally take the role of the outsider in this one. Ideally we all see these patterns happening and avoid them, but they repeat themselves over and over.

   [ posted by William @ 9:49 AM ]

Smart Kid
Yesterday I was watching A&E. I watch a lot of A&E, American Justice, Cold Case Files, etc., I can't get enough of them. Yesterday was a repeat of their profiling of the Elizabeth Smart disappearance.
To sum up, she was taken from her Salt Lake City home in the middle of the night, and forced to live with her abductor(s). The man that took her called himself "Emmanuel", and acted as though he was a messenger sent from God. It came through in the investigation that he took her as another wife, but nobody knows if the marriage was consummated. She lived with him for nine months, wandering around various parts of the US, operating like homeless missionaries.

Obvious things come to mind, questions of this guy's mental stability, the reality of the insecurity of our homes, the danger of using religion as an excuse to justify crime, etc. What stuck out in my mind was the contrasting ways of viewing Jesus' ministry. I am certainly not trying to justify his actions, nor am I glorifying his theology/faith/understanding of God, but somewhere in there is a small piece of legitimacy in his ministry. I don't believe that kidnapping or polygamy are justifiable, but bringing the good news to the homeless and renouncing worldly possessions are very obvious parts of Jesus' ministry. Those who saw her during the time she was with "Emmanuel" all said she was content to be with him. She never attempted to escape and when finally confronted by police, she pretended not to be who she really was and with confidence, asserted that she was with the other two and doing their work. Of course, she is now back safe at her wealthy Mormon home.

I wonder what this will do to her faithwise. Many might suspect that she will question the very nature of God and perhaps reject it all. Most, I suspect, hope that she will return to the faith of her family and community. I think that she will have trouble mixing the two. Nobody knows, but everyone assumes that all of her willing participation was part brainwashing and part self-survival, but either way, it was willing participation. Will she be able to sit in her cozy pew in her massive Mormon church and hear about Jesus call to reach out to the poor? When for 9 months of her life, she was doing just that?

I of course do not understand everything about this case, nor do I wish to learn more. We the people may want to know, but we're all better off if we let her recover in peace without the prying eyes of our media. These are just a few thoughts, and I'd prefer to leave them that way.

   [ posted by William @ 10:33 AM ]

Old School Faith, Nu Skewl World
That was the title of my most recent sermon. However, I wrote that title before I wrote the sermon, so it factors little into my actual sermon.

Using the theme of "Back to School", I told the stories of Solomon praying for wisdom when he took over the throne, and the story of Paul in Athens at the Areopagus. Both went back to school, Solomon to learn and apply himself to be a good king, Paul to speak to the philosophers using their logic and their imagery etc. I closed with this:

"What’s new in your life that’s sending you “back to school?”
For some, there is a new job beginning and/or an old job ending. Changing employment causes you to have to learn. You’ll need new skills at your new job. Different jobs usually mean different money situations. If you’re going out on your own, maybe now you have to control more of the finances yourself. If your job is ending, you’re going to have to deal with a different financial situation.
Changing health situations require the individual, as well as their family, friends and caregivers, to go “back to school” to deal with new treatments, new medication and new pain.
Changing family relationships cause everyone to go “back to school.” A new child in the house means new jobs to do, more needs to meet and patience to deal with it all. A new husband or wife requires you to learn to share space and time and to communicate better than ever before. The departure of a loved one forces everyone to comfort and support each other in a time of grief and loss. New struggles and ever-changing family dynamics cause us grow as well.
When you stop learning, when you stop caring, you fail. If you stop caring about your job, you get fired, or your profits disappear. If you stop caring about your health and the health of those around you, it deteriorates even faster. If you stop caring about your relationships with your family and friends, people get neglected and relationships fall apart. When you stop learning, when you stop caring, we all suffer.
When you find yourself going “back to school” to learn to deal with new surroundings, new situations, don’t go it alone, turn to God. Like Paul, look for the story of God’s love to be revealed. Like Solomon, ask God to give you the wisdom to deal with it.

“God. In many ways, we are still children, and do not always know how to carry out our responsibilities. The people and things that you have asked us to take care of surround us, your servants, and we are often overwhelmed by them. Give us, your servants, discerning hearts to distinguish between right and wrong, to face new situations, good and bad, with the kind of wisdom that you have shown to us.
Amen.”"

   [ posted by William @ 1:27 PM ]

Title
A week ago, my sister was moving to a new apartment, so she asked for my help, and I gladly obliged. My brother was doing some home renovations this holiday weekend, so he asked if I would help him, and my dad and other brother were also recruited. Recently, a new friend of mine was asked by her husband to prepare lunch for him and his buddies for their upcoming fishing trip.

She was asked by a friend of hers if the whole idea wasn't absolutely archaic. "Is there any reason they can't make their own lunch?" I only saw a small portion of the response to her request, but she was confronted with accusations of sexism.

I was asked to help move, mostly because I am a guy and am thus more capable of and more likely to enjoy, heavy lifting. I was asked to help with home renovations while my sisters and mother were not. Nobody asked if I was a victim of sexism. No girls offered to help in my stead. Nobody suggested he should have asked his wife, or that she should have asked her friends. Not only did she not help on the roof, but she prepared supper for the male workers that were gathered. I wonder then, am I the one stuck in an archaic worldview? It seems to me, that if she is the one facing resistance, than she is that one that is stuck.

She was not opposed to the task, she just did not know what to prepare for such an outing. I, of course, loved the opportunity for physical labour. Not only is it fun (to a point), it's also a tremendous compliment to be asked for that kind of help. "You are strong. I need your muscles for an upcoming task." My sister may have just needed someone with a car and a free afternoon, but I heard, "I have a task which requires strength and the ability to maximize storage space. Can you help?"

   [ posted by William @ 9:53 AM ]