Put This on your Bathroom Mirror

The following is a copy of the Thomas Question email devotional. You can subscribe to the email edition from our website.

I love it that I received an email this week from a friend at the Thomas Question and it wasn’t signed “regards” or “cheers” or “let me know” or “take care”. Instead, it was signed “bury the bunny” because that was our key phrase two Sundays ago. (In case you weren’t there it goes something like this: the turtle always wins, so bury the bunny, and Jesus said in the parable of the mustard seed that small seeds actually planted can grow to become the largest plants in your garden – so bury the bunny!)

But even more than that, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to be radically “on the same page” as a group of people trying to build an intentional, sustainable, deliberate practice of Christianity in their lives. It saddens me that Christianity has become something that you “are” apart from what you “do” much like your race is something that you simply “are”. I wonder what would happen if we “reset” our system, reminded ourselves that Christianity is a set of deep convictions attached to a lifestyle art, and began to take small steps to actively practice it.

There’s something known as the “training effect” in athletics. It’s what happens when you subject your body to very specific kinds of stress as part of a strategy to increase performance. Ten to fourteen days later, your body has grown back stronger (or so you hope). This reminds me of the scripture verse where Paul says, “I don’t run like a man running aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air…” In other words, he’s saying, “I don’t do things that don’t matter. I have a strategy. I’m after the training effect.”

I really want to challenge you to participate with us in these small steps to actual change. Build your own spiritual training effect. Make a list to put on your bathroom mirror. Make the steps small enough that you can actually do them. Make them significant enough that they will actually matter, and then turn them into small seeds actually planted. Let’s not be like one running aimlessly – with no pattern or strategy or “training effect’. Rather, let’s put some method to the madness. We’ve seen what happens when we hope for better days and take what comes as an accident of that hope. We’ve seen what happens when we vaguely “try hard”. Now let’s see what happens when we try smart.

Last Sunday, I talked to you about the difference between true and magnetic north. Magnetic north is an observed value and it’s 700 km away from true north. True north, on the other hand, is a calculated value and you can only find it if you try. All of this makes me wonder in what other way our “gages” might be wrong. In what other directions are you being pulled 700 km off the true course? Truth is not a reflex, our eyes don’t tell us all we need to know, and you are always some part wrong. Always. So correct for true north. We need great conversations with people we trust to find out in what ways we are wrong, and we need something like scripture to show us ways in which we are all wrong.

This Sunday we’ll be looking at the two layers of actually knowing people well.

To catch up on any of these messages, feel free to visit our podcast. And remember, you don’t need an Ipod to do so! You just need a computer (and if you don’t have one, then how are you reading this?)

So until then, bury the bunny, correct for true north, bring someone with you, and I hope to see you there.

CSW

THIS SUNDAY
Our last Sunday at the Homewood Suites before we move into our new long-term location on Speers Road. Visit our website for directions. Help us keep everyone informed by spreading the word.

NEXT SUNDAY
Our first service on Speers Road. We’ll be continuing the same teaching series, but we’ll be adding a new musical component. Feel free to visit our website for directions.

PODCASTERS
We’d love to be more than just a sound file. Especially those of you who don’t live close by. We’re experimenting with some new ideas about new ways to think about the church. You can help us by emailing us at info@askthequestion.ca to let us know where you live, how long you’ve been listening and how you found out about it.

I’D LIKE TO MEET AS MANY OF YOU AS ARE WILLING
Before we left our last location, I indicated I would love the chance to have coffee and talk life before September. I just need to know if you’re willing and how to get ahold of you. Email me at info@askthequestion.ca.

WE’RE MOVING FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 6TH
Don’t forget! We’ve been bounced around and so far we’ve stayed in tact. Just one more time and we’re done. Visit our website for directions.

What they never told You about North

There’s something very important you need to know about a compass if you ever need to use one. Contrary to what you may think, compasses do not point North – at least not “true” north. Instead, they point to a location which is currently just northwest of Hudson’s Bay approximately 700 kilometers from the north pole. Oh, and it also moves a little bit every year, too. It’s currently moving west by as much as a degree per year in some places. Oh and one more thing, it’s also affected by magnetic storms from time to time.

All of this means, according to a government of Canada website, that a person on a canoe trip in the Northwest Territories can find their compass in error by as much as 2 degrees a little more than 1 day in 4. And in addition to that, even on those slightly less than 3 out of 4 good days, their compass still isn’t pointing north, anyways – it’s pointing to that magic spot some 700 km away from true north.

So true is not an observed value – it’s a calculated value. Which means you must make some observations and then calculate for distortion to come up with something closer to the truth. All of which makes me wonder what other distortions I may be subject to with my myriad of other navigational aids and not even know it. My perception, my judgment, my values, my common sense, anything I see with my eyes, anything that feels as real and as obvious as an “N” for north on a compass. How do I adjust for true “truth” instead of just true “north”?

Thankfully, we are not alone. The Kingdom of God is an “adjustment of values”. It is a statement of differences between what seems to matter and what actually does. And just like any map that’s worth it’s paper has a graphic on it which shows you the difference between true and magnetic north, the Kingdom has a set of values that help us separate the things that seem good from the things that truly are.

For example, money seems to matter (that’s like magnetic north), but it’s actually freedom we really want (that’s true north). Getting seems to matter (that’s magnetic north), giving actually leads to more (that’s true north). Right now seems more important (that’s magnetic north), but eternity actually will be much more so over time (that’s true north).

In what other ways may we need to adjust our guidance system? I’d like to talk about it more this Sunday.

We hope to see you there,

CSW


WE’RE DOING IT
Just like athletes go into “training” and strive to find a pattern of activities designed to matter, we’re taking the next 7 weeks to focus on small intentional steps we can actually take instead of the big, huge things we only ever seem to think about. Move toward your future, your potential, your God and your next step.

NEW FACILITY AUGUST 6TH
We’re moving again (because that’s what we do, right?). it’s 6 kilometers east of our original location to the Encore Cinema’s on Speers Rd between Dorval and Trafalgar (see our website for directions). We’ve been given access to the main auditorium for at least the next year. Our first Sunday in this new location will be AUGUST 6th. Our service times remain the same: 9.45 am for Starbucks coffee and a 10.00 am start. Make the move with us! We’re looking forward to the chance to re-focus on becoming a church instead of scrambling over un-found real estate.

IN THE MEAN TIME
In the mean time, we have 2 Sundays left at the Homewood Suites on Burloak just south of the QEW (visit our website for directions). Join us for a unique atmosphere and a chance to experience a slightly different approach.

LAST SUNDAY
The first of 8 sentences to put on your bathroom mirror: “bury the bunny”. Check out our podcast for details.

THIS SUNDAY
A deeper look at the difference between true and magnetic north and what it might mean for the many decisions you make.

ONE MORE TIME
The teaching from last Sunday was designed to set the tone for the step that’s right in front of us as a church and it’s a great challenge about the difference between Sunday church and the thing that led to it in the first place. Listen in through our podcast.

We hope to see you there,

CSW

A Baby Arrives!

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR AN IMPORTANT FACILITY UPDATE. (Our issue may be at an end - scroll below!)

A seed is a fascinating part of life. Consider this startling truth: any tree large enough to tower over us and defy a hundred years of wind and rain was packed into a thing no larger than an acorn in the beginning. In fact, that’s what an acorn is: a tree waiting to happen. It’s a tiny package which contains everything required to start a process that builds a tree out of dirt. And you can carry it in your pocket. You can flick it with a finger. And for some number of years, even as that tree begins to grow, you could master it with nothing more than a hedge trimmer or a sharp knife or even your bare hands. But over time that acorn-sized package that you could once flick with a finger will become strong enough to shift the foundation of a house and hold you – and a dozen others like you – in it’s branches. And all of it from something no larger than an acorn. A seed is a fascinating part of life.

At 7:18 am this morning, after a few courageous pushes, the next addition to our family, Abigail, stepped into her place in this world. At this point in her story, she is just the first few tentative steps from her acorn-sized beginning. At this point in her story, she can still become almost anything. A whole web of possibilities is spread out before her like the many branches of a tree. What people will she know? What successes will she celebrate? What places will she visit? What fears will she harbor? What kind of person will her journey make her? This tiny package will collect a lifetime’s worth of memories and experiences. This is a truly fascinating point in her journey.

These are powerful principles. Can we gain the ability to see the tree in the acorn, the “man” in the “boy”, or the Nobel laureate in the finger-painting child? It’s the lesson of the seed. Life is not so much about the big things around us, but those small acorn-sized beginnings that preceded them. It’s one of Jesus’ favorite analogies for the Kingdom. Any outcome would not be possible without a humble beginning because a seed is all you get at the start. Can that change the way you look at this point in your story, right now?

Our church is nothing more than a step or two from an acorn sized package of ideas right now. A huge web of possibilities is spread out before us, and this is our point of maximum possibility. Like my one-day old daughter, at this point in our story as a church, we can still become almost anything. But it’s something we have to choose to see. It’s the lesson of the seed. Our next chapter begins this Sunday at 10 am at the Homewood Suites (visit our website for directions). Be part of the journey.

We hope to see you there.

CSW

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IMPORTANT FACILITY UPDATE
The 6 weeks has become 3! Many thanks to all who’ve “ached” through our many ups and downs. This process has been daunting at times. We took a courageous step in giving up our contract at Silver City because we felt it was the best “big picture” thing to do in the midst of a difficult situation even though we had no immediate backup plan. It serves as a kind of confirmation that a surprising opportunity has emerged in it’s place with better options for kids ministries, a better meeting space for our Sunday services and equipment storage as a bonus. Our first Sunday in the new facility will be August 6th. We’ll make an official announcement with all the details in our service this Sunday. We hope to see you there!

LAST SUNDAY
Our last Sunday at Silver City focusing on a potential “launch sequence” for unleashing the rest of a great church. You can listen to the service from our website.

THIS SUNDAY
The first in our “6 weeks of a slightly different service”. We’re meeting at the Homewood Suites on Burloak just south of the QEW (visit our website for directions). We believe this will be a critical part of the “acorn sized beginning” of our next chapter (see devotional above). It’s something we’ve talked about at length over the past two Sundays (you can listen for yourself on our podcast). We’ve got the 90 minutes on a Sunday up and running – now help us with the “launch sequence” to unleash the rest of a great church.

The Thomas Question Next Step Research Project, Saabs and Fighter Jets and Cell Phones

Any process is defined by the creative limits of the individuals involved in it.  As an example, consider what would happen if you took a group of people that normally designed fighter jets and asked them to build a car.  You’d get an entirely different perspective.  And according to Saab USA, this is exactly what you get when you buy one of their cars because the company was founded by 16 aircraft engineers.  So last fall they launched a "Born from Jets" marketing campaign that features fighter jets and automobiles side by side to emphasize the point.  Their message is, "We build fighter jets.  Imagine what we can do with cars."

Consider another example:  5 times a day, every day, all over the world, more than a billion Muslims need to know where Mecca is so they can face it when they pray.  How handy is it that one over-seas cell phone manufacturer has models which include 5 daily prayer alarms and a built-in compass which points the way?  It’s a feature you’d only think to include if you got close enough to another culture to gain a whole new perspective. 

It’s a simple idea.  New products come from new perspectives, and that can only happen when we include more people in the process and really listen to each other.  It’s the only way to build phones with features you would not think to include and cars with a bit of fighter jet in them. 

Now what about church?  It’s something you build in a different way than cars and cell phones, but it’s still something you build.  And I wonder who we are listening to?  I wonder what other perspectives might be out there?  Church is often built by church leaders to look like a church because that's what a church looks like.  And only then do they ask, "Now how do we involve more people in it?" Pastors develop sermons to look like sermons because that's what sermons look like and only then do they ask, “Now how do I make it sound relevant?”  But what about new perspectives?  What about yours?  When is the last time we sat down together, church attenders and church leaders, to ask ourselves, “how have things changed?  And how should that change the church?”

Well, rather than build it first and ask those questions later, I’d rather ask them now.  Some of the best ideas I’ve ever encountered came from great conversations in a coffee shop when nothing else was planned.  And then I’m scribbling furiously on napkins to capture some idea that emerged while we were just doing life and talking to each other.  So I wonder what would happen if we just talked, outside of a usual Sunday format, about the honest issues, questions and messes we all live with?  What I’m looking for is a new perspective:  yours. 

Sunday services are great, but this is about building the rest of a great church (this is something I talked about at length last Sunday, visit www.askthequestion.ca to hear it on our podcast).  We’re designing 6 one hour Sunday morning experiences to explore new perspectives with you.  We think it’s something you won’t want to miss.  It starts with some Starbucks on Sunday July 16 at 10:00 am at the Homewood Suites on Burloak just south of the QEW in Oakville.

We hope to see you there and we hope you'll journey with us. 

CSW