Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Hello? Hello?




The phone rang last Monday morning at 1:20!  1:20!  You know that if you get a telephone call at that hour it can't be good news. Nobody calls you at twenty after one in the morning just to say hello or to tell you that you’ve won the lottery. (I can assure you the lottery call would definitely be a wrong number at our house). We have had people call at that hour to say G'day but that was because they were confused about the time difference.
It is amazing how many thoughts can go through your mind between the time the phone first rings and when you finally pick it up.  Within seconds, you have considered every possible tragedy that might have necessitated someone calling you at that horrendous hour, because you know in your heart of hearts that it just has to be bad news.  In our case whoever was calling hung up after I answered the phone and the caller ID just said “unknown number”.
I wonder if our prayer lives are reflective of early morning phone calls, they only happen when there’s a problem?  God wants us to bring Him our troubles, but I’m pretty sure He wants to hear the good news as well. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Say What?




I didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. Last week I received an e-mail from a preacher asking for my forgiveness.  And I wasn’t sure that he had done anything to me that I could forgive him for.
Apparently, he had preached some of my messages and had passed them off as his own, or it might be more accurate to say is that he tried to pass them off as his own because he got caught.  As I understand it, part of what was required of him by his elders was that he contact me and ask my forgiveness.  The problem is that I don’t think he wronged me. 
Many of my sermons are posted online for preachers to use.  I assume they will use them as a resource in preparing their own messages, but I’ve been wrong before.  I truly believe that there is no limit to the good that can be done if you don’t care who gets the credit. (I stole that quote)
The problem of course wasn’t that he was preaching messages that I wrote, the problem was he wanted people to believe that he had written the messages himself so he was guilty of lying to his church and would need to seek forgiveness from them, not me.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

It was twenty years ago today. . .




It was twenty years ago today. . ., and you might be thinking. . . that ” Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play….. but that’s just showing your age.  It was twenty years ago today that the Guptills arrived back in Canada with the dream of a new church that would impact a community and make a Kingdom difference.  A church that would reach the pre-churched, the de-churched and the un-churched.   And a lot has happened since then, much of it unplanned and so here we are.
Cornerstone has seen a lot of changes since the day that it existed only in my dreams.  We worshipped in movie theatres, schools, retirement homes, conference rooms and parks before we finally settled into our own building.   The music has changed, the overhead projector made room for PowerPoint and suits gave way to jeans but the dream isn’t over. 

My friend and mentor Laurel Buckingham used to cast a vision for the day when the most disinterested person in Moncton wouldn’t be able to ignore the presence of Moncton Wesleyan Church.  
And I continue to dream of how Cornerstone can continue to impact the community, make a Kingdom difference and reach the pre-churched, the de-churched and the un-churched.  And we won’t be ignored.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Cheer Up Ye Saints of God, there's nothing to Worry About, (Everyone on the Chorus)



It was a beautiful morning and as I walked toward my Smart Car I pushed the magic button that would retract the roof.  Really, what’s the sense of having a convertible roof that you can open with a button if you never open it with the button?  And as the roof began to open a horrible screeching sound started and my first thought was “Great, just what I need.” It had been that type of week….. I mean month. And then the noise stopped and I realized that my neighbour was using a pressure washer. 
And I immediately asked myself, “Why had I defaulted to the negative?”  I consider myself to have a fairly positive outlook as I’m the kid still digging for the pony. And yet I have discovered that lately I have been allowing my circumstances to dictate how I view life. And that’s not the person I want to be. 
And so I am choosing to embrace the positive, notice that I said choosing, because I believe, at least in my case, I have the ability to make that choice.
And really, it’s no harder to look for the positive in life rather than the negative.  So why not try it and let me know who it turns out.         Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.