Tag: God

Do churches actually welcome broken people?

1436392_90820824I want to quote something from Robert Farrar Capon, a brilliant writer. He writes this:

Jesus didn’t shy away from sinners, so why should the church? And don’t tell me the church welcomes sinners.  I know better. It welcomes only sinners who repent and then never seriously need forgiveness again.

And unfortunately I think that may be true. And you might even be able to confirm that, to share stories of how the church let you down, or let someone you know down.

But today I don’t want to use this quote to jump all over the church, and its failings. Because I think that misses the point. It’s so easy to read that quote and say, “yeah the church is screwed up.” To get all high and mighty and condemn those people in the church who don’t get grace, and forgiveness.

But here is the truth: the church is people. And if you follow Jesus you are part of that people, for better or worse.

And this quote loses its convicting and compelling power if it becomes about “other people”. If we are part of the church, we should use this quote to examine our own lives. We should stop, and reflect and ask the Holy Spirit, “Is there anything I need to change in my life”.

Because what I think the Holy Spirit is asking me through this quote is to really examine my life.

  • Do I truly welcome people where they are at, no agenda, with love?
  • Am I truly okay with broken people, or do I expect them to get “fixed”?
  • Am I in anyway being an obstacle to the Holy Spirit working in my community because I’m not really ready to welcome sinners?

Because this quote isn’t about “other people rejecting sinners”. This quote is about each of us asking ourselves, “am I living like Jesus with welcome and hospitality?” And that’s a lot harder question, a lot more personal question, and a much more worthwhile one.

by Andrew Mills

Sometimes only music will do…

627129_57571086On Sunday we are going to be looking at a favourite band of mine called, “The National”. It’s a band that I’ve loved for years, and we are going to look about what they say about lament, grief, and sorrow.

Because here is the truth: sometimes only music can express the depth of the soul.

What I mean by that is sometimes we experience and go through things that we can’t quite put words to. But music has a way of expressing maybe some depth of the hurt, joy, questioning, grief, or whatever we are feeling in a way that just words lack.

Music can be the way we express what’s going on inside. And that’s what we are really going to look at on Sunday. How certain songs express what we are feeling.

But what about for you? Are there any songs that have, at a certain point in your life, really expressed what you are feeling? Are there any songs that for you have better expressed where you are at – than you could yourself?

Think about that for a moment, and come Sunday with “the National”, I’ll share a song that does that for me.

by Andrew Mills

Broken Little Hearts, and Bruised Kidneys

11407280_10155868352175643_5698444874264892180_nI’m totally biased, but I think my kids are great. Like I mean so are yours, but well mine are…well let’s just leave that there J

But even my totally amazing kids, occasionally drive me nuts, and do really wrong and dumb things.

The other day I was wrestling with our closest friend’s son, and all of sudden my oldest Hudson wants to “rescue” him. So while I’m not looking on the floor, he gets a running start and kicks me as hard as he can in my side. A perfect kidney shot.

Now I must say that my soccer coaching skills for how to kick have really payed off because that one little kick from a 5 year old hurt, like hold back tears, don’t say anything, take time to recover hurt.

Here’s the thing though – when he knew he hurt me, like really hurt me, he knew he did something wrong, he knew he did something bad. But I turned after regaining some strength and wanted to make sure he knew how wrong it was. I said, “You don’t ever do that again”. And my wife, Krista came and then took Hudson to bed.

I came in a little while later, after I was feeling better and I walked into the room and I had a choice.

I could remind Hudson of how deeply he failed me, and how we don’t kick friends – or anyone for that matter. I could have sat down and said how that wasn’t a wise choice. I could have focused in on the “wrong” and how he “broke the law” of our household. I could reinforce judging his wrong, or I could focus on healing his little heart.

Hudson felt terrible at hurting me. I could reinforce how much he hurt me, and how disappointed I was in him. Or I could teach him about love, grace, forgiveness, and healing a little hurt heart.

Because here is the thing: when we’ve been wronged we really want the other person to either suffer for it, or show deep understanding of how they  hurt us. But we always go overboard. We force the issue too long and too much. And the law, guilt, and judgment doesn’t change anyone. It sets a standard, but is not a motivator for transformation. Only grace and forgiveness are.

And so one look at my son showed me this was not the time to press the law and guilt more. This was the time for love and forgiveness. So I gave him a big hug, and he squeezed me so hard and I said I forgave him. He broke down and said how sorry he was, and I assured him that no matter what I’ll always forgive him and love.

So he went to sleep with a healed relationship, reconciled connection with me, rather than a deep feeling of not living up to my expectations and guilt. And I think that small difference makes all the difference.

Relationships are meant to be mended, not guilted into change. Relationships are meant to be reconciled, not broken under law. Relationships are to be healed through forgiveness, not through demanding judgment.

So the next time you have a chance to show judgment or grace and healing, stop for a moment, and think about your choice. Because there is always a choice to show forgiveness, or holding onto judgment. And sometimes that little choice is the difference between someone going to bed with a sore heart, or healed heart.

And of course I went to bed with a sore back, but my heart was happy with Hudson.

by Andrew Mills

Finding God on Your iPod

Well on Sunday we are launching a brand new series here at church: Finding God on your iPod. We are going to be looking at songs that reveal truth, and have impacted my relationship with God.

Some of the songs you might know, some you might not. But the beautiful thing is that God is all around us and ready to speak to us through so many ways. And we hope to find one way that God speaks to us on Sunday is through music.

I’ve found that at very specific and important times in my life God’s spoken through a song.

So we want to explore some of those over the summer.

But before we get there, what about you? What songs has God used to speak to you? How did he reveal his truth or a thought to you? I’d love to hear what songs God has spoke to you through, and who knows maybe I’ll use one!

god on ipod series

by Andrew Mills

God’s Like a Child Waiting to Be Found

764984_78439510I read this the other day, and it just struck me with how true it is. Shauna Niequist writes this:

What writing teaches me, over and over, is that God is waiting to be found everywhere; in the darkest corners of our lives, the dead ends and bad neighbourhoods we wake up in, and in the simplest, lightest, most singular and luminous moments. He’s hiding, like a child, in quite obvious and visible places, because he wants to be found.

And I just so believe that. I mean deep in my bones believe that. That God want’s to be found. That he is part of all areas of our lives, sometimes in these obvious and amazing places waiting to be found.

  • What if rather than assuming God is hiding from us, he wants to be found by us.
  • What if rather than assuming God is only in huge mountaintop experiences, he is all around us?
  • What if rather than assuming that only mystics and spiritual gurus can find God, that God wants to be found by everyone? Even us ordinary people with jobs, cooking, and kids?
  • What if God isn’t far out there, but right with you.

The question then is are you looking for him? Because I believe like Shauna writes, that God’s hiding, like a child, in quite obvious and visible places, because he wants to be found

by Andrew Mills

A Suffering God and the Cause of Suffering

1302970_23184595I read this a little while ago, and it’s stayed with me. It deserves a lot of unpacking, but first it deserves some time sitting with it, thinking it through, and wrestling with it.

Paul Fiddes in his book, “Participating in God”, says this:

“Belief in a suffering God forbids us to structure any theological argument where God directly causes suffering.”

What do you think?

by Andrew Mills

Why the Trinity and What’s the Trinity?

trinityOn Sunday we are going to be tackling some of the most difficult stuff to understand in Christian theology. We are going to be looking the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Trinity is hard to understand, prone to error, and occasionally makes your mind melt. But in a good way.

So why bother learning it?

Well because at the heart of the trinity is this beautiful compelling and absolutely astounding vision of a dance of love that we want to discover together on Sunday. And even if it is difficult this one belief is probably the most distinctive belief of Christianity that distinguishes it from other monotheistic faiths (i.e. Islam and Judaism).

So we are going to give it a shot at looking at it, and learning about it. St. Augustine once said, “There is no subject where error is more dangerous, research more laborious and discovery more fruitful than the ones of the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” And I think that is very true. So come Sunday we are going to be exploring the Trinity and hopefully discovering something more fruitful than we ever imagined.

by Andrew Mills

Theology 101 Series

On Sunday we are kicking off a brand new series called Theology 101. We are going to be diving into some topics we kind of usually keep to the edges and might not really address like:

  • What is God really like (doctrine of God)
  • What is Jesus actually like and why is he God and does he have superpowers (doctrine of Christ)
  • What is the Trinity and does it even matter for our lives
  • How does Jesus actually save us – is there like a ledger sheet or something?
  • What will happen at the end of time? Is heaven full of clouds, and hell full of fire?

We are going to be looking at these questions and more. Giving time to thinking them through and asking more questions. So I hope you can join us!

Theology 101

by Andrew Mills

A Long Look at Your Loving Acts

1434528_82656078This Sunday we are going to be having people share stories of what God has done in their life in the past year. This is a really important practice to have. Sharing stories transform people. It brings people into our lives, and share our lives with them.

And looking back and remembering what God has done is crucial to moving forward in faith. Without looking back, we can often miss what God has done, we can miss how he moved.

So we are going to take some intentional time and pause, remember, and share. In essence, we are going to try to practice Psalm 77:11-12 where we read this:

Once again I’ll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts.

This is the perfect time of the year to give a long loving look at God’s acts. To actually sit and ponder all he accomplished this year. Before moving forward into next year, we need to remember and reflect on what God has done this year. But that is just the first step, the next step is to share with others what God has done. To actually lay out on the table what God is doing.

So that’s where we are going on Sunday, but whether or not you join us I think this practice has value. Why not sit and give a long loving look at the acts of God in your life this past year. And then best yet, share those with someone, because when we do that we not only remember how God moved in the past, but give him space to move in the present.

by Andrew Mills

“God helps me get to the North Pole” : Theology from a 4 year Old

IMG_4512Today I’d like to share the work of my 4 year old.

Now I’m not sharing his work because he is an amazing artist, or because I want to sell his work or anything (although you’re welcome to buy it).

I share it because of something he had written at the bottom of the page.

God helps, “Get to the North Pole”

Now at first glance that is a very silly thing to say. It seems just like the type of thing a 4 year old would say. Except that this is actually a very deep theological statement, it’s just said in “Hudsonese”.

The past few weeks Hudson keeps talking about his grandpa, my dad, who died when he was just a few months old. He keeps talking about how he misses grandpa and wants to see him. So he asked where grandpa is, and I told him “Grandpa is in heaven”.

And because he’s 4 he had lots of follow up questions, “Is heaven far? Can we drive there and see Grandpa? Is it farther than Caleb’s house? Why can’t we see grandpa?”

And lastly, “How do we get there?”

We talked about this and the point he got was that God, because his love is so strong, can take us to heaven. And that heaven is far away, like the North Pole.

So when Hudson says God can help us get to the North Pole, it’s a comment on the power of God. That God is able to get us places we couldn’t get on our own. That the love of God is strong enough to draw us to heaven, and to bring heaven here. That God’s loving power is enough to do amazing things: like get us to heaven, bring reconciliation, cause resurrection, bring healing, bring hope, bring transformation, and of course, get us to the North Pole. 

While you might not see the phrase, “God helps me get to the North Pole” in any theology textbooks, it’s still a true statement. And may that statement give you hope today, just like it gives Hudson hope. That God’s love, power, and strength can change lives – and apparently get you to the North Pole.

by Andrew Mills