The Joshua House
a missional community of worship following Jesus...

I wanted to share a helpful interview with Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA.  He touches on the whole issue of clean vs. unclean in Christian/Church life today.  You’ll remember in our discussion on Sunday night on Acts 10 how I mentioned him in regards to this issue.  We certainly have a lot of unlearning and learning to do as God’s people today.

To view the 5 min. video just click here 

Living in a Co-op can really have its interesting moments.  Let’s say I’m chatting with someone I haven’t spoken with or seen for a long time.  It’s good to catch up and listen to how the other person is doing and all the changes that have occurred.  Almost always the conversation is pretty upbeat and we are both tempted to oversell how good things are actually going.  But that’s ok, there often isn’t time in these conversations to admit how things really are.  Somewhere along the line the question, “so where are you living these days?” comes up.  Now perhaps it shouldn’t really matter, but the reality is I can answer this question in one of two ways.  I can simply say I live in an area of northwest Richmond called Terra Nova.  For anyone who knows Richmond this will immediately conjure up images of the Fraser River meeting the ocean, strolling on the dyke with the scenic coastal mountains in the background, gated townhouse communities, people walking their little dogs that wear little dog reflective jackets that are nicer than mine, million dollar homes which you’d think were abandoned if you didn’t see people come out maybe once a year to either wash their Mercedes Benz or prune their prize-winning rose bushes. Many would probably also mention the Starbucks we have on the main corner which I think would win the skinniest Starbucks in the world award.  

Now I can leave it there and let people think I must be doing pretty well for myself for living in such a swank neighbourhood or I could share a little more by adding that I also happen to live in a Co-op.  I always add the part about living in a Co-op as well.  This has at times ended that part of the conversation because people in middle-upper class suburbia will often attach a stigma to Co-op housing by lumping it in with other forms of social housing.  I’m already used to this because people generally don’t know what to do when I tell them I’m a pastor either.  Sometimes, when our church gets missions teams up from the American south and I explain where we live and where we are doing church before they come, they think I’m talking about “the projects.”  But even many Canadians have many misconceptions about what Cooperative housing is as well.  So let me briefly explain:  Simply put, it is a community of people who have entered into a limited partnership with the government to create more affordable housing for those who need it and to bring together people of various income levels to live together in an intentionally cooperating community.  We have Ph.D’s, lawyers, pastors, single mothers, mechanics, construction workers and social workers all living in the same complex together.  Most pay a market rent which tends to be at most 90% of the rent prices in the neighbourhood and those who can’t afford that, around 1/3rd of the residents, also get further rent subsidies from the government.  Glenda and I thank God for this place because not only has it allowed us to stay in Richmond near our family in a time of incredulous real estate prices but it has also allowed us to live out our dream of creating intentional Christian community within an existing community here at the Co-op.  

Now I bring this all up because I have to be honest in saying that at times I am tempted to leave the part of our living in a Co-op out of such a conversation.  And my question is, why?  I think you’ll agree with me when I say it’s because we live in a world where most people are tempted to play favourites.  We tend to stick with those who are most like us and if someone doesn’t fit our particular sphere of culture, economic status, etc. we might not be as inclined to build a relationship with them.  This is a real problem today, as it was in the time of the New Testament.  On Sunday in Acts 10 we saw how God taught Peter (a Jew) that He doesn’t play favourites and was just as willing to give His Spirit to Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Jesus as he was to Jewish converts to Jesus.  This was absolutely revolutionary to Peter who like all Jews was taught not to associate, or even eat a meal with Gentiles.  

Is this not still just as revolutionary today?

So my question for you is do you play favourites?  Or do you, like God, invite people of all ethnicities, socio economic levels, cultures, sub-cultures, age groups, religions, etc. into your life? 

God certainly doesn’t play favourites and neither should His people!

First let me say thanks to my fellow church planter Nick from Tapestry church in Calgary (part of our incarnational church network - The IIB Network) for passing this on.  It seems like we are both on a similar quest for the holy grail of figuring out how to be a missional church of Jesus followers in modern day Canadian suburbia.  Not as easy as you think!  The gospel both affirms and contradicts many values and lifestyles found in your average suburban community.  So where do we begin?

Here is a take on Ten Ways to be the People of God in Suburbia by Chris Smith.  Clearly not a comprehensive list but perhaps a decent place to start.

For those of us who are trying to figure out what to do with this whole Halloween thing as Christians, I want to offer a pretty good article on the whole thing that explains my current take on it.

Have a read and let us know what you think.

For the article, click "here" 

I love coffee, as many of you probably know, and so I am often found drifting into coffee shops for my occasional caffeine fix.  There is one coffee shop near my house that Glenda and I sometimes go to with Ethan and Taia on our walks to the park or the supermarket.  It amazes me how often I see parents in there with their children just trying to get their coffee only to find that getting your stroller through that shop is like trying to put on a pair of jeans you wore when you were in high school.  Could these coffee shops be any smaller?  The odd time Ethan gets a little excited and gets in the way of the hip yuppie trying to put some cane sugar in his half-caff, espresso macchiato or perhaps he gets a cold stare from an independent older lady for interrupting her quiet time with her O (Oprah) magazine.  All in all, it can be a pretty trying experience just wanting to get some decent coffee while out for a stroll with your kids.  The other day a friend of mine showed me a new coffee shop down on Commercial Drive where their church community occasionally meets.  It is a family friendly coffee shop with wide isles, big tables and a toy/play area.  How cool is that?

Overall, I have to say, trying to start a new church where basically half our congregation is children under the age of four has been challenging to say the least.  I think even the whole issue of raising children in general in our culture is one that many people often struggle with.  Although our city has made some great strides in trying to make itself more kid and family friendly, there continues to be at times a quiet undertone out there that crying, screaming children just aren’t that welcome in certain circles.  How are things different in our churches?  How do we really view children?  Are they really a blessing or are we often times tempted to see them more as a pain, getting in the way of what we would rather be doing?

“But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16)

“Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all–he is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)

Pray that we would truly see children as Jesus sees them, as a treasure from the Lord and as a taste of His Kingdom.