Pastor Jacob Birch and are we Christ-ians or Bible-ians?

Mark Moore - a blogger my brother Rich Birch linked to - wrote a very intriguing post today that i want to interact with. The post is entitled The God Who Is Like Jesus. It's an introduction of sorts to three sermons he has preached on similar topics that i have yet to listen to, but hope to soon.

The 1 sentence observation that summarizes his message is:

Christians in all times and all places are CHRIST-ians, not BIBLE-ians.

I get it... I mean the founder of my denomination preached the same sermon over and over again so many times he turned it into a hymn entitled Jesus Only. A ramped up recent adaptation of its lyric and tune is here:

Pastor Jacob Birch and a Poem for Apolcalyptic Thursday

William Butler Yeats

The 1st stanza of The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre 
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;   
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;   
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

Yeats, (not a Christian) writing at the end of WWI and the Russian Revolution, about how 20 centuries of "of stony sleep" brought on by the Christian worldview were about to be overwhelmed and devoured by the "blood dimmed tide" and "rough beast" of violence that he saw arising in the 20th century. Given the news of late... one can't help but reflect upon Yeats' vision with a mixture of admiration and horror. 

Pastor Jacob Birch and a Rationale for Community Gardens Part 1

I plan over the next 3 or 4 weeks to publish a 4 part series on Community Gardens based on my experience here at Glengate Alliance Church 

The 4 parts will be:

1 - The Whys of a Community Gardens
2 - The Whats of a Community Garden
3 - The What Nows of a Community Garden
4 - The Whos in a Community Garden

Pastor Jacob Birch and #feartheconspiracy

Pastor Jacob Birch and Short Term Mission Trips

I have led 3 short term trips (1 Japan and 2 to Mississippi) and raised many thousands of dollars for individuals and groups of all ages to go on STMs from the various churches i have been apart of. There are many positive attributes to STMs and most of them are found by following these 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Go on a Short Term Mission Trip. Add Pastor Jake's 11th... give 10% of your total short term missions trip budget to a long term missionary through something like the Global Advance Fund of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. Read, understand and Obey.

Update - August 30th 2013

I just received a short term missions prayer letter from a congregant that has probably gone on 20+ STMs through our church, denomination and many other missions. They shall remain nameless. But i read their letter over and something bothered me. So i read it again. And again. Then it hit me. 

Using the power of Google I search for the terms "God", "Jesus Christ", "Jesus", "Lord". "Mission" and "Holy Spirit". Here were the results:

God - 0 found

Jesus Christ - 0 found

Jesus - 0 found

Lord - 1 found (noting that someone they met had accepted the "lord" some years beforehand) 

Holy Spirit - 0 found

Mission - 5 found (all either used in the word missionary, describing someone they met or in the title of a group they were working with) 

I,Me,We,Us - 22 times 

Pastor Jacob Birch and Israel Picture of the Day

Well actually this picture is taken in Jordan at Petra. Two tour members riding camels in front of the Indiana-Jones-made-famous "Treasury" tomb. 

Pastor Jacob Birch and a Prayer for Tim Bosma

Psalm 10^[a]

¹ Why, Lord, do you stand far off?^(A)
    Why do you hide yourself^(B) in times of trouble?

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,^(C)
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts^(D) about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.^(E)
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.^(F)
5 His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by^[b] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”^(G)

⁷ His mouth is full^(H) of lies and threats;^(I)
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.^(J)
8 He lies in wait^(K) near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.^(L)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
⁹     like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;^(M)
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.^(N)
10 His victims are crushed,^(O) they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God will never notice;^(P)
    he covers his face and never sees.”^(Q)

¹² Arise,^(R) Lord! Lift up your hand,^(S) O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.^(T)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?^(U)
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?^(V)
14 But you, God, see the trouble^(W) of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;^(X)
    you are the helper^(Y) of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked man;^(Z)
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever;^(AA)
    the nations^(AB) will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;^(AC)
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,^(AD)
18 defending the fatherless^(AE) and the oppressed,^(AF)
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Psalm 10

Pastor Jacob Birch and Bike to Work Week

You biking to work this week? I hope so. It is such great exercise and -as a pastor - it connects you to the neighbourhoods and people of your city in a way that flying about in a car never will.

Here is a fantastic Bike to School program that also includes lots of the "gamification" aspects that so fascinate my wife and her academic research.

Pastor Jacob Birch's Poem of the Day

High School Training Ground by Malcolm London

Pastor Jacob Birch's Impossible to believe but true TED talk

Impossible to believe, but true TED talk. Learn to read Chinese, easily.

Easy to Read Chinese Language TED Talk

May 8th - Happy Jerusalem Day

This is a picture of the Israel Flag which flies near the entrance to Masada. That is the Dead Sea in the background and the hills of Moab (in modern day Jordan) in the far background. 

Pastor Jacob Birch's Connect 2013 Report

So i went over to Connect 2013 #canedu13 to watch Heather present her poster. She had a steady steam of teachers investigating how she uses blogging to interact with her students. I also picked up brochures for new lamp-less video data projectors #casio, smart boards #irover2 and a building management software package (www.ebasefm.com) for our facility.

Pastor Jacob Birch's World Prayer Request Today

From Operation World, today we are praying for Macau.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau

Pastor Jacob Birch's Favourite 1 Hour After Work Ride

http://goo.gl/maps/Zl9UF

Pastor Jacob Birch's Favourite Meditative Holy Land Statue

AT the top of Mount Carmel in the Jezreel Valley of Israel is the site of Elijah's triumph over the Prophets of Baal. To commemorate that victory is a monastery that has this interesting statue in its parking lot. It is all very pastoral and relaxed... save for this statue of Elijah brandishing a sword and using his foot to hold down one of the doomed prophets.

Pastor Jacob Birch's Best Sermon Video Used Yet

Joined Shiftworship a few weeks ago. Really appreciate their content. My fav sermon-aid video thus far is Clocking Out...

Clocking Out from ShiftWorship

Pastor Jacob Birch's Favourite Education Conference

http://www.cvent.com/events/connect-2013/event-summary-670c7fa3e0bc485c8e9c32fab42f3e26.aspx?p=10

My wife presents her "poster" tomorrow about her research from U of T. Go check it out.

Pastor Jacob Birch's Best Quote from To Transform a City

"Our understanding of the church is shifting from seeing it as a place where the many send the few to seeing it as a place where the few equip and send the many. Missional thinking embraces the belief that God intends for every one of his children to be living  on mission, partnership with him in his redemptive mission in the world." page 21

Pastor Jacob Birch's Prayer for Today... Habakuk 3:17-18

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,^(A)
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,^(B)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,^(C)
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.^(D)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=habakuk%203:17-18&version=NIV