Karachistan

I'm here in Karachi ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachi ) typing this
from a sweet internet cafe. Should be a fun weekend of shopping and sight
seeing. I don't think I'll be able to upload any videos before I get to the
airport in Dubai. Again I have to mention how overwhelmed I am at how easy
it would be to live over here. I would highly recommend everyone coming for
a visit to see this amazing country. By saying 'easy' I am taking into
account the challenges that are associated with living in any foreign
country. Little tiny sacrifices like only having 3 McDonalds in a city of 14
million. But seriously, can we not sacrifice a little of our Western comfort
for the greater good of the world. Isn't that the example Jesus left us?
Let's put our comfort aside and get down to business!!

MOV to AVI

Just uploaded a video snippet of a compilation I'm working on. Here's a sneak peak:


Having some trouble converting files from .mov to .avi . Can anyone recommend a good program that would be fairly small and easy to download?

Bribing vs. tipping?

Someone today had an interesting perspective on the Pakistani cultural
phenomenon of paying 'bribes'. We might have an easier time accepting this
if we looked at it as a 'tip'.

In other news some friendly muslims let us visit their mosque last night. I
uploaded one video. I have also been taking videos of us asking local
Pakistanis what they think of 'Canada' and 'Christians'. Those might take a
while to upload as tonight is our last night here before spending the
weekend in Karachi. Homesickness has definitely set in. Hurray for no
diahrea. My beard is growing in nicely. Someone mistook me for a Pushtun the
other day. I went to the store and bought some milk and detergent on my own.
Feels like home.

Pakistan is not what you think

Sunday was the superbowl. No one here knew what that was. Nobody. Wasn't
even on the all-sports TV station (yes they have an all-sports station). The
Karachi bowling league got more coverage. Thinking of all the difference
between our countries Matt & I decided we are going to do an experminent:

We're going out on the streets of Pakistan with a camera asking people what
they think when they hear the word Canada and Christian.
After I get back I'll go out on the streets of Toronto and ask people what
they think of when they hear the word Pakistan and Muslim.
Should be *very* interesting.
I'd say that all my misconceptions about Pakistan have been obliterated by
this trip.

Terrorists? Nowhere.
Food? Amazing.
Restricted Freedoms? I preached at a church on Sunday
Muslims mean to white Christians? Always offering for us to sit in their
shops and buy us tea/pepsi and try out their English
Difficult place? Anyone could come over here to teach. Anyone.

Hopefully the videos
(http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=shawncuthilldotcom) are also helping
YOUR perceptions.

What do YOU think of when you hear the word Pakistan?

The worst part of the trip was when the goat on the bus peed on me

Hi everyone, just back from a weekend of churchin it up in Sanghar! I'll
have some videos and stuff later, but first I have to rest my rear after
another 5 hour marathon Pakistani bus ride. As for the goat, he (and his
sheep companion) where actually riding on the roof of the bus we were in and
dribbled down my window. Shower time!

'Local' means a location, not a denomination

One of the doctrines I am currently questioning is the idea of "local"
church. I understand that people were bound by their *location* to a certain
group in the New Testament, however I'm not sure they would be bound to one
certain church or denomination. I don't see the same level of exclusion
between churches in the NT as we see today. Where in the Bible does it say
we can only be members of one church at a time? The question arises "Which
church was Paul a member of?" If Paul could work and "fellowship" with
everyone from Jew to Gentile believer, Asian or European, Corinthian to
Laodecian then why can't we? Why have we created a doctrine of the "local
church" which keeps us from fellowshipping with other believers in our
cities?

Perhaps it's the stark contrast and lack of churches in countries like
Pakistan that makes us realize how petty we can be. This weekend I will be
travelling with Matt & Ruth to Ruth's father's church which is 4 hours
away!! These people are travelling 4 hours to meet with other believers and
we in the West can't get along with people at the church down the road
because they worship a little different than us? What a joke! Will heaven
not be an eclectic mix of all believers? If we really believed in the
doctrine of the 'local church' maybe we should decide to only have one
church in each city. After that one 'local' church was established we'd move
on to the next place, instead of ammassing churches of different kinds on
every corner. That way countries like Pakistan wouldn't be neglected as
terribly as they have been while we fight for the scraps that fall from the
denominational table. Could you imagine if all the churches in your
city/town actually worked together for the furtherance of the gospel,
instead of the propogation of their own denomination/doctrines?
Hmm....Wow....that's actually exciting to think for a minute of the
potential if Pentecostal, Brethren, Methodist, Baptist, Alliance,
Presbyterian, etc. all worked together to reach out, instead of against each
other. Hopefully none of us *want* to wait until heaven to experience
this...cause in heaven we will all be together...so why can't we get along
now??? :)

Please pray as we travel to the church. We will be in packed out buses,
rickshaws, taxis and who knows what else. I'll be preaching on Sunday. I
think it's actually an Anglican church. Aren't I a heretic. Someone asked
Matt once if there was an "assembly" in the area. He replied that the
closest assembly is 8-10 hours away. Countries like Pakistan kind of stretch
our thinking a bit, eh?

Also, I've uploaded a few more videos - Matt & Ruth's little Joseph walking
through town, Matt teaching and a wild ride on the back of a rickshaw!
Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=shawncuthilldotcom

Picture attempt

I'm going to attempt to post a picture by emailing it attached to this
email. It might not work.
Also, the main video page is:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=shawncuthilldotcom I add videos
to that page, then assign them to playlists to organize them so you can
watch them all together as a group.

Muharram videos : http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EBBAC84A3BB90856
Muharram pictures: http://bbc.quist.ca/pakistan/muharram/
**Warning: graphic content. Viewer discretion advised**

This is my house!!

Today is the Shia Muslim festival called Muharram. If you are not familiar
with this festival I will let local cultural guru Matt give you a run-down:

Matt here! So, way back in the day Muhammad died, as all men do. After he
died they needed to pick a successor to lead the Muslim community. Most
people wanted Muhammad's friend Abu Bakr to take over. A small group of
people called <em>shi'a</em> wanted Muhammad's nephew, Ali, to take over.
After Abu Bakr another Caliph was chosen. After him there was another and
after <em>that</em> one Ali took over. Unfortunately Ali was martyred
shortly thereafter. The Shi'as were distraught. Since then the Shi'a
people have a tradition of holding a solemn festival to remember his death.
They hit themselves with knives and metal whips on the tenth day of the
Lunar month of Muharram. The culminaion of the whole thing takes place
right outside my door!!

So there you have it. You can also check the wikipedia article -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muharram

Watch for *loads* of videos of us attempting to be CNN reporters over the
next little while of the actual festival happening right outside Matt's
front door!!

Re: More Videos

I made a mistake with the link in my last post. Here is the link to the
playlist - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4561D924B1C602F0

More Videos

More videos on the "Pakistan" playlist. Watch them one at a time, or click
"Play all videos" to watch them all together. Here's the link - >
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=4561D924B1C602F0
Keep checking back for more. Pictures might be a bit more tricky

Tomorrow is the festival with people whipping themselves so I should get
some good ones. Pray for Matt & Ruth as they have such a good rep in a very
needy community (Joseph helps alot too :)

I'm uploading some pictures to my webspace at http://bbc.quist.ca/pakistan/

Also, uploaded a video to YouTube!! ->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfDrI1UMm7Y

I'll post the code here incase I can imbed it:
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie"
value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AfDrI1UMm7Y"></param><embed
src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AfDrI1UMm7Y"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"
height="350"></embed></object> (if not this will look like jumbled script)

More soon!

Pakistanization

Hi everyone!! I'm here at Matt & Ruth's place and lovin it. I can't get to
blogger.com or Facebook.com so I'll slowly be uploading pictures and videos.
This morning we took a walk though Kunri. Stopped at the local "Tim Hortons"
for a tea with Matt's very friendly friends. We had breakfast and met an
afghan boy who also gave us free tea. Walking through these streets makes me
realize how unfounded our fears of Mulsims are. May fear never keep us from
bringing light to these people. I brought the MacLeods webcam so if you
catch me on MSN I can give you a tour of their place!!! Videos are being
uploaded as we speak - brb

Vote for Jesse!!!

My friend "Jesse David" has entered the Mix 99.9 contest and is one of the 5 finalists. Please vote for him (help him get played on Toronto radio and help him win 10,000 bucks!) by clicking here selecting "Jesse David - Bloodshed in our streets" and clicking "vote" at the bottom.

Hi from Dubai!!

Hey everybody, it's 3:39AM local Dubai time (6:39PM Toronto time) and I just got in from London, Heathrow. I'll be taking off at 7AM for Karachi! Not much battery power so I'm going to throw this post up and try to find a plug.

Hell-ifax

Well folks I'm writing this from the airport in Halifax. My flight is
delayed from 10:55PM to 1:30AM. Burger King is closed. Not all is lost. Tim
Hortons is open and there's free internet! Yeehaw. If all goes well I'll be
in London tomorrow morning, then on to Dubai, then Karachi. Matt has
mentioned on his blog that the Pakistani government doesn't like blogger, so
I'm attempting to get past them by emailing this blog post. Thanks for your
prayers. Let's hope this works.

Need a title v 26

Pakistan - Day 1 - Muharrum

Seems the first day I arrive in Pakistan there will be a Shia festival called Muharrum. This festival mourns the death of Ali, Muhammads grandson and Shia's flood into the streets to mourn by beating themselves on the back with metal whips!! Click on the picture to enlarge or Click here for more pictures

Wednesday prayer requests - Pakistan!

Hey everybody, just got in the door from 3 days away with Hayley! We stayed at the Corkinview beach house on Point Prim. Today I'm getting all ready for my trip tomorrow to Pakistan!! Please pray as I travel across the world. I will try to check in along the journey so keep checking in. Also pray for my wonderful hosts - Matt & Ruth Cook!. You can tell I'm excited cause I'm overdosing on exclamation points!!!!

Happy Birthday to SimpleGathering.com!!

Today marked the 2nd anniversary of a little website called SimpleGathering.com. Last year we were at 11913 posts and this year that's been doubled to 22031! Users have also increased from 262 to 473. Thanks to everyone their contributions!

Monday's hot topics - Defrocked Volume 2

A fairly heavy topic for us over the past month has been "What happened to you guys?". We have appreciated the prayers and support of many of you during our time at Bridlegrove, and many have been confused as to why things had to end. We have asked ourselves this question as well. Thanks for understanding that things aren't easy to process or explain. Part of the process for us is evaluating what went wrong and taking time to heal. Along with my first post about being "defrocked", I'll attempt to put together a sort of ongoing therapy session over the next few weeks and months to help me deal with some of the trauma.
On the forum, someone even brought this up - click here - and I have gone into a little more detail about why we aren't at Bridlegrove anymore....well we are still members...but...well see for yourself.

Video of the Week - My Rock star sister-in-law

Here is the first video from my rock-star-sister-in-law Cindy Davis.
Does anyone else think she sounds like Jewel? :) Here is Cindy's Myspace with all her awesome songs!! For those who don't know she is married to my rock-star-brother-in-law Ryan - here

Hovind gets 10 years

As I reported back in November Kent Hovind was convicted of 58 counts of tax evasion. Yesterday he was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Here is the article with the details

Random Minisitry pics - Derek got baptised!!!

You may remember our friends Maggie & Derek that we asked you to pray about oh so long ago - here. Well recently Derek got baptised!!! Please continue to pray for them as they grow in their faith. Here are the "before" and "after" pictures :)

Wednesday prayer requests - on Friday

alright, this week is bonkers and it's only going to get crazier so here are the wednesday prayer requests!

First - I booked my Pakistan tickets so looks like I'm leaving next Friday!! Wahoooo!!

Also I got an email from my friend Anita who is moving to Kenya for 2 years to help at Rift Valley Academy! Here is Anita's awesome MAC page with all the details.

In Montreal : The Windshiled wiper that got me this room

I'm typing this from a hotel room in Montreal. Got nice and stranded waiting for a flight today. It was my best airplane day ever. Let's review:

1. Flight at 10AM = cancelled
2. Flight at 1PM = cancelled
3. Flight at 3PM = cancelled because windshield wiper is broken on plane.
4. Flight at 4PM = line up and wait to see if name called....full
5. Flight at 5PM = finally boarded, then hear "Sorry the pilots will be one hour late please get off the plane". Get off. Wait. Board at 6PM. Wait. Announcement. Wait. Pilots arrive. Wait. De-ice. Wait. On runway. Take off at 8:15PM. Arrive in Montreal at 9:15PM. Miss connecting flight to PEI. Book flight next day at 3PM to PEI. Get free room at Ramada because of that little windshield wiper.

Did you know that if your flight is cancelled because of "weather" Air Canada won't pay for your room? I was pretty upset about that (considering I had waited, oh all day, for my flight only to be told that I had to pay for a room), so I went to the customer service desk and since my 3PM flight was cancelled for "mechanical" reasons I got a room. So here I am. 1AM. Blogging. Hopefully I'll get on my 3PM flight to PEI tomrrow.

So to review:
1) Weather delays = no room
2) Mechanical delays = free room & meal vouchers!

Monday's hot topics - Happy Martin Luther King Day!

In God's providence I was down in Atlanta at the Martin Luther King memorial just last week. It was quite a moving experience, similar to the holocaust museum in Israel. I was overcome with feelings and thoughts that I had never experienced. "How did this happen", "Why", "Who would do something like that". I had experienced these all before but one emotion came up that I hadn't felt before, "Lord forgive me and my ancestors for my our attitude of collonial domination". I'd never really thought of how we as white, euros EXPECT things we don't even realize. We think we are civilized. We think we are the best. We think others need to become "like us" instead of "like Jesus". We came to Canada and booted the natives cause they were "not like us", not "people". The land was "uninhabited". Disgraceful.

Same with slavery. While we here in Canada have abolished slavery a long time ago, I saw things at the MLK jr. memorial that happened in very recent memory. Walking through the memorial I saw a picture that i will never forget - click here for my pictures. It was a picture of a lynching in Atlanta. A black man hanging. Whites all around. Little children watching. The thought that struck me was that the little children in that picture would still be alive today. Racism exists and we need to ask God's forgiveness for how it has affected our lives.

I didn't think it existed till I started at Bridlegrove and moved to Scarborough. People would say to me "Oh that's the black church"....Huh? Pardon? I felt like saying on many occasions "Do you attend a 'white's only' church"? I'm not saying that people do this on purpose but examine your heart to see what's inside.

So what are you doing to end racism? Do you live in a nice white picket-fence community? Are you segregated? Do you have friends of other ethnicities? Do you intentionally seek to break down those barriers? *Click here to post your thoughts on the forum

May God remove all racism, expressed or hidden, from us this day - Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2007

Facebook vs Myspace

Who would win in a boxing match? Which is better and why is everyone telling me to sign up for them?

Question of the day...

Got this in an email:

u know how in the bible it says that during the great flood all the humans and animals died except for noah and the animals in the ark, what about the fish? did they have some in the ark or did they survive outside of the ark?

Answers anyone?

Howdy y'all from the South!!

Just blogging here in Atlanta, Georgia!! I'm here at 'The Urban Forum' with people from around North America who are hacking it out in the ghetto for Jesus. The conference is being held at the Salvation Army conference center/seminary - more details and bio's on the speakers at the 614 blog.

The cool thing about being here is that everyone is living/working in the inner-city. It is the first conference I've been at where people don't look at me and say "you live where?? oh dear, that's dangerous". It's quite refreshing to hear from others, wether they've worked in AIDS hospitals in South Africa (my room mate Doug), homeless shelters, ex-muslims who are now following Jesus, etc. etc.

Yesterday we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial/Museum - click here for pictures which was quite moving. It was appauling to see pictures of the way blacks were treated as recent as 50 years ago. As a group we said prayers of repentance and reconcilliation. It was also sad to think that today hidden tones of racism and segregation still exist within society and even the church. Tonight we are going to hear from Shane Claiborne of "The Simple Way" - www.thesimpleway.org/. Right now it's supper time so I'll catch ya later.

Little Mosque on the Prarie

Last week I saw a promo for a new show on CBC called Little Mosque on the Prarie. It's a comedic attempt to show how Eastern Islamic culture blends with Western Canadian culture. Starts tonight. Should be interesting. Check it out. Pray for Muslims.

Monday's hot topics - Iraq War & US foreign policy

Well now that Saddam is dead, let's move the discussion on to the Iraq war. Isn't it time it was over? It's been over 3 years now and I can't say I'm all that confident it will end well. I made some comments on the forum about this, showing my displeasure and got quite the response from my American friend who goes by the username Itry:

Your comments seem like nothing more then an anti-American rant to me. Maybe soon we will see Shawn Cuthill burning American flags? If you wish to appropriately complain that Bush was hasty in assuming that we could rebuild Iraq that would be an appropriate comment. You seem to be more interested in painting a picture of America as "the great evil empire." Such an attitude is astonishing to me when the only boarder Canada has is with the USA and that border is nearly completely unprotected. I am not suggesting Canada militarize the boarder, but their attitude of Americans as the "great evil empire" does not square with their lack of fear of America.

What do you think about Iraq? Are you a flag-waving American, or a flag-burning Canadian :). Click here to post your thoughts

Random ministry pics/video

I was back at Bridlegrove today, missing all my little homies. Sadly I didn't see any of them there. Here's a picture from a much happier time in the summer of 2006. Also a video of the same day in church:
I did have a great time with the young people who were there! They were asking about those funny guys with name tage called Mormons. What they believe, what they don't believe, who Joseph Smith was, how Mormonism is a cult and different from biblical Christianity. I left the young people with a challenge and so I thought I'd put it out there to you to - > Order a Mormom.
To your house, to someone you love. Give a Mormon missionary a challenge. Show them that you know your stuff. Click here to visit the Mormon.org website and sign up to have two friendly folks with name tags arrive at your front door. I dare you. Lemme know if you take the challenge and how it turns out.

Lego Bible updates

Check it - > David & Goliath updates here

I'm a wimp for Jesus!

Last month I mentioned Geoff Ryan and his network of 614 churches. They have a reputation of being sold out for Jesus, gritty, inner-city and incarnational to the core. That means 614's pop up in the worst areas of Canada and the world and live out Jesus to the lost, last and least. I'm actually going to an inner-city "Urban Forum" conference next week in Atlanta, put on by Geoff & the 614 crew, to learn from others who've been in the ghetto longer than me. You could say that the 614 team are the most wild bunch in Canada, intentionally moving into ghetto's across the country to share and show Jesus' love.

But reading over their latest entry on the 614 blog made me feel like a complete wimp when it comes to the small sacrifices I've made for God. Here is the text about the "Back to Jerusalem" movement in China:

One portion that I found especially encouraging is found on page 290....

Every Back to Jerusalem missionary receives training in several main subjects. These include:

1.) How to suffer and die for the Lord. We examine what the Bible says about suffering, and look at how the Lord's people have laid down their lives for the advance of the Gospel throughout history.

2.) How to witness for the Lord. We teach how to witness for the Lord under any
circumstance, on trains or buses, or even in the back of a police van on our way to the execution ground.

3.) How to escape for the Lord. We know that sometimes it is the Lord who sends us to prison to witness for Him, but we also believe the devil sometimes wants us to go to prison to stop the ministry God has called us to do. We teach the missionaries special skills such as how to free themselves from handcuffs, and how to jump from second-storey windows without injuring themselves.

This is not a 'normal' seminary or Bible College!
If you ever visit one of the places where we are training our Back to Jerusalem missionaries, you will see how serious we are to fulfill our destiny in God. You may see people with their hands handcuffed behind their back, leaping from second-storey windows!
Nothing less is required if we are to break down the walls that separate Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists from knowing the sweet presence of Jesus."

Gulp

Question of the day...

hey shawn, i was wondering if u would have the time 2 answer this question also. when the flood started, why didn't people just grab a bunch of food and jump on a big piece of wood that would act like a raft or something?
Answers??

Wednesday prayer requests - the broken hearted

Jesus' mandate was to "bind the brokenhearted". Today someone sent me a poem that expresses some of the pain associated with a broken heart. As you read this, pray for someone you know that has a broken heart. Think about sending them this poem to show them that it's OK to mourn and hurt and heal.

When the heart
Is cut or cracked or broken
Do not clutch it
Let the wound lie open

Let the wind
From the good old sea blow in
To bathe the wound with salt
And let it sting

Let a stray dog lick it
Let a bird lean in the hole and sing
A simple song like a tiny bell
And let it ring
(by Leunig)

May our ears be attentive to the song of the broken hearts all around us.

Choosing Bible over bling in Toronto

A month ago I reported on the "hip hop church" phenomenon sweeping the inner-city in the United States. I sent the article to my friend ROCK (see CRUX video) and then the next day the Toronto Star called him about doing a similar story about hip-hop churches in Toronto!! (no connection just freaky coincidence)

After the interview ROCK sent me this link to the article:

http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/164830

a movement to redefine musical styles often associated with drugs and violence, and bring the word of God to youth.
By Leslie Scrivener
December 24, 2006...

Stephan Wright, whose stage name is R.O.C.K. (Representative of Christ the King) is a youth pastor at Bramalea Christian Fellowship Church, and uses hip hop in almost every service. He's practical and knows that most young people aren't interested in listening to earnest sermons early on Sunday morning – so youth services are in the evenings, often on Fridays.

"Events like this are entertaining and fun, but there is a message behind it," says Wright. One of the messages is that God is in everything. "After the music stops they are encouraged to live a life for Jesus, instead of day to day."

Looks like rapping for Jesus is here to stay...and coming to a town near you!

Saddam Hussein hanging video

Has everyone seen the Saddam Hussein execution video yet - click here? I sat and watched it with the family on New Years eve and it just seemed so odd and rushed. Hayley's grandpa, who is 99, could still remember the last hanging in PEI.

I got to thinking "Why exactly did Saddam Hussein receive the death penalty"? The official reason given is:

the murder of 148 people, torture of women and children and the illegal arrest of 399 others.

Is it just me, or does it seem a little strange that the US is not going after other dictators? If the issue is "crimes against humanity" (which are horrific, that's not the issue) then why isn't the US dive-bombing North Korea right now? Why didn't they do jack in Rawanda? Seems like the US just likes to pick and choose which dictators are a "threat". The whole execution of Saddam smacks of retaliation - considering Saddam was best buds with Rumsfeld in the 80's. Maybe Bush knew he had weapons of mass destruction because the US gave them to him to fight Iran! I haven't really done my homework on this, but it seems that there are more people dying in Iraq today than when Saddam was around. Or at least that's what THIS coffin maker is saying - click here

Before the war, we were making about two or maximum three coffins a day for people who had died from diseases or car accidents. But today we make at least 20 a day for victims of the violence....
I remember a day, some four months ago, when I and my colleague had to make 50 coffins. Soon there will be no more places here in the cemetery to bury so many bodies...
It is very sad to see Iraq like this today. I hope that my children one day will live in a better country without violence but in a country filled with happiness and dignity."

So let me get this straight, there were no weapons of mass destruction, Saddam still got the death penalty, and violence is now rampant and bordering on civil war. Seem strange to anyone?

The athenBLOG happy new year translator....

Are you hoping to pass on New Years greetings to a friend who speaks a foreign language but not sure how the translation will work? Hope no more, here is your athensBLOG Happy New Year translator!

(Leave a comment and let us know how many of these you can speak and if you can offer any help on the pronunciations)

Afgani: Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans: Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian: Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian: Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic: Antum salimoun
Assyrian: Sheta Brikhta
Azeri: Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali: Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Bulgarian: Chestita Nova Godina
Cambodian: Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan: FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chinese: Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican: Language Pace e Salute
Croatian: Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg(Welsh): Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czechoslovakia: Scastny Novy Rok
Denish: Godt Nytår
Dhivehi: Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch: GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo: Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto: Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians: Head uut aastat!
Ethiopian: MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Finnish: Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French: Bonne Annee
Gaelic: Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician: Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German: Prosit Neujahr
Greek: Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati: Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian: Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew: L'Shannah Tovah
Hindi: Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
HongKong(Cantonese): Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian: Boldog Ooy Ayvet
Indonesian: Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian: Saleh now mobarak
Iraqi: Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian: Felice anno nuovo
Japanese: Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle: Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada: Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii: SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA
Khmer: Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea: Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish: NEWROZ PIROZBE
Lithuanian: Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian: Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian: Srekjna Nova Godina
Malay: Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi : Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam : Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Maltese: Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal: Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian: Godt Nyttår
Papua New Guinea: Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines): Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto: Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian: Saleh now ra tabrik migouyam
Philippines: Manigong Bagong Taon
Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi: Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian: AN NOU FERICIT
Russian: S Novim Godom
Samoa: Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian: Sretna nova godina
Sindhi: Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese: Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki: Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak: A stastlivy Novy Rok
slovenian: sreèno novo leto
Somali: Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish: Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili: Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish: GOTT NYTT ÅR! /Gott nytt år!
Sudanese: Warsa Enggal
Tamil: Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Telegu: Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urduv: Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek: Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh : Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Remix - Year in review

(I had originally posted this on December 20th, but thought it would fit better on December 31st)

Here's our 2006 year end report:
Microsoft Word document - here
Adobe Acrobat PDF file - here

Seems a bit anticlimactic going on about all the great stuff that happened this past year seeing as our ministry is over, however when I sit back and think about all the opportunities God has given us it is encouraging. You could say this is a "year in review", like they have on TV this time of year. As you look over the various events of 2006 don't pray for us so much, pray for all the special people who we've come in contact with along the way. Here's an overview:

January report -> Mounting huge gospel sign at Bridlegrove - here
February -> Horrific tripple murder down the street - Shawn on the national news
March -> 4 Boys complete Christianity Explored course
April -> Q1 report
May -> My mother's stroke
June -> End of school CRUX youth rally, featuring Gyasi Ferdinand, Florida team visits for missions trip to Toronto
July -> Q2 report,
August -> Greece missions trip, Chester Le Sunday school
September -> Kevin moves, Cookie moves
October -> 5 youth from Bridlegrove baptised - videos here, Q3 report
November -> Year end report

It's 2007 already in the Phillipines!!

Here in PEI it's currently 9:25PM Atlantic Time, but my good friend Heidi Lane has already been celebrating the new year for hours now. She has been serving God in the Phillipines for the last few years and today I just discovered her blog - here. Click on over to see what she's been up to and don't forget to pray for her and other missionaries who are overseas for the holidays. And while you're thinking and praying why not get practical and send her some financial support via MSC. Happy Holidays Heidi!

Happy 6th Anniversary!!

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary!! It's interesting because this will be the second year in a row that we wil be attending a wedding on our anniversary. Last year it was Matt & Starr Wilks who got married on Decmeber 30th. This year it's Bev Clarke getting married to Joseph Bondt in about 4 hours. Anyone else out there have an anniversary on December 30th?

New counter - ClustrMaps

I found this awesome little counter called ClustrMaps and installed it on Christmas eve. You can find it at the very bottom of this blog. It shows a map and puts dots where people are who have visited your site! Click on the picture to see the full-sized map.

Need a title v25

This is a picture of my sweet in-laws. Can anyone think of a good title?

Gary Weeks' Myspace?

Some of you who read my blog may know Gary Weeks. What some of you might not know is that he put out a CD recently. I was on his son Jesse's website and came across this link to Gary's site, where you can sample songs from his album!! Check it out - http://www.sellaband.com/elwood/

Merry Christmas in the muslim world

Joel Rosenberg has an amazing Christmas article on the record number of ex-muslims celebrating Christmas this year. Here is the amazing first sentence from his latest blog entry:

More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year, despite intense persecution, arrests, assassinations, and widespread church bombings.

Let's continue to pray for these countries over the holidays:

Iraq: more than 5,000 new Muslim converts to Christianity
Egypt: some reports say 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so.
Afghanistan: only 17 Muslim converts to Christianity before 9/11/01, but now more than 10,000. Dozens of baptisms every week.

Happy 25th Birthday Hayley!!!

Every year it's a struggle to not forget Hayley's birthday, considering it's on December 25th. This year Olivia got her a special present, she took her first steps today!!! Here's a video we got of the historic event:
To show Hayley that the world has not forgotten (she's 25 today), please leave a little comment wishing Hayley a happy birthday!

Early Christmas present from the gospel halls

Looks like the gospel halls like me. Just click here

Milestones - Olivia's first steps!!

Olivia took her first steps today!! We were in the living room when she took 2 steps to Lukas. Sadly our digital camera is currently broken, but I ran over to future shop and scooped up the first one I saw. Hopefully I'll be able to record the moment some time today. The Future Shop visit was wierd. It's the only one in all of PEI. If you want electronics it's the place to go. When we got there I asked about a few cameras and the reply I got was "sorry, we're all out of those". I thought that was strange, but he went on to explain that they only have about 5 digital cameras in stock and they were completely SOLD OUT of memory cards. Sold out 3 days before Christmas? Good old PEI

Messianic Muslims?

I just read this very intriguing blog post about Messianic muslims:

isa al-masih

This is how Messianic Muslims refer to Jesus.

It seems that they are very similar to the first Christ followers who maintained their Jewish identities, worshipped in the synagogues, observed Jewish cultural mores (dietary, etc.), but acknowledged Christ's saving work and followed his ways.

We've heard of Messianic Jews and accept their retention of their Jewish-ness, but what about Messianic Muslims? Can muslims believe in Jesus and still retain aspects of their Islamic culture? Read the PDF below and then decide.

http://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/17_1_PDFs/Followers_of_Isa.pdf

Monday's hot topics - The Star of Bethlehem

Star of wonder,star of night...that was an interesting star alright! It's one week before Christmas and on the forum Jpursey raised a questions we've all thought about at some point:

Can anyone explain how to identify the place over which a star stops?

Now of course we know it was miraculous, but exactly what does it mean that the star "halted over the place where the child was"? Post your thought on this miracle on the forum - here

Need a title v24

This morning before church I was reminiscing with Josh Harding about a time I took him and kyle along with me to speak at a chapel. Here is the picture below. Can anyone think of a good title??

Video of the week: 'Jay, have you found a bar to start your church in?"

I saw this poster on another blog and was intreagued to follow the link. I had assumed it was some new emergent churchy thing but what I discovered was a new TV show titled "One Punk Under God". It's on the 'Sundance Channel' - here and it's the story of Jay Bakker, the son of Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker!!! Watch this trailer for the series:

Jay has also written articles for CNN and is attempting to bring a new level of transparency to Christianity through the ashes of his parents scandal. His methods might be quite different but his message is grace and forgiveness to those who are broken and wounded from religion. Their motto is "a church for people who have given up on church". Let's see what Len thinks about this one :)

Wednesday prayer requests - Refugees

Last month I attended a seminar where the speaker showed statistics on refugees worldwife. His statistics stated that Afghanistan has the highest number of refugees scattered throughout the world. I emailed him and asked for his source and he pointed me to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). You can see all the statistics on their website at http://www.unhcr.org/. It's quite a fascinating read, but it made me wonder what the church is doing for these "aliens in the land" as the Bible calls them. Are you praying for refugees? Are you seeking to reach out to them?

Touchdown in the C-town

Just arrived here in good ole PEI. I'm just downloading emails and thought I'd feature one sent to me by Salvation Army Officer Geoff Ryan. For those who don't know Geoff, a few years ago he set up shop to share the love of Jesus in the countries worst ghetto - Regent Park. This new church is called 614, named after Isaiah 61:4, and you can read all about it on his site - 614network.com. You may remember I took the Florida group down to visit this inner-city church - here. Geoff and I have developed a comaradary (spelling?) as we both live and work in the inner-city of Toronto. Geoff sent me this article today titled "Rap gets Religion":

Over the last year, regular hip-hop church services have been held at the FaithDome, attracting 7,000 to the mega-church in South-Central Los Angeles, and since February, (Kurtis) Blow, who became an early hip-hop star with his classic 1980 record "The Breaks," has led a hip-hop congregation at Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Inglewood that meets on the first Friday of each month...

With established hip-hop congregations in Harlem, Philadelphia and Inglewood, and two more begun last month in Dallas and New Jersey, (Kurtis) Blow balances hands-on ministry with projects like the television series and an upcoming European tour to promote his forthcoming album, "Kurtis Blow and the Trinity."

A hip-hop congregation?? Looks like rapping for Jesus is here to stay. Seems like Len and others were wrong back in March 2005 when I featured a post on the new hip hop church. Plz ppl dun be hatin on ya bredren ya dig!

Plans

Here's what we know for sure:

1. We are still members of Bridlegrove Bible Chapel
2. We will still keep in touch with the youth at and around Bridlegrove
3. Our stuff is currently in storage while we go to PEI for Christmas
4. When we come back from PEI we will be relocating within Toronto
5. Lukas will finish kindergarten at Bridlegrove's daycare

More details in the near future.

Marriage Do's & Dont's

Imran writes:

After 3 months of marriage, heres what Ive learned:

1. Pretend to listen when told tales about how x relative did y nice thing. Your head movement should be:
Shake-shake-break,
shake-shake-break....

5. Perfect answer for 'What did you say?' is 'I said what I shouldnt have said'...

Read the rest of Imran's do's & dont's of marriage - here :)

Wednesday prayer requests - Defrocked!

Just a quick prayer request on a personal level. The picture to the left sums up how we're feeling. I'll talk about the picture at a later date but for those who don't know yet, my ministry as youth worker at Bridlegrove Bible Chapel has come to an end. This was a very painful experience. If anyone has questions just leave a comment or email and I'll try to answer. We have really appreciated the prayers and support of so many of you over the last 3 years. Please continue to pray for the youth in this area. The Lord has blessed us abundantly and no one can take those wonderful memories away. We look forward to keeping in touch with these youth in the future.

While this is a very difficult time we know that God is at work in a big way despite current circumstances. First though, we're going to PEI for Christmas to recover and relax. So, we may be in the tomb for 3 days, but the resurrection is coming soon!! Thank you so much for your prayers. Please pray specifically for Lukas who may have the most difficulty adjusting to a change like this.

Need a title v 23

Got this pic from Laura Peric's blog. Can anyone think of a good title??

Monday's hot topics - Commandments or Faith?

Forum member Pawn Raider recently posted this question on the forum:

Hopefully someone can help me with this. While the Bible states that we are no longer under the law but live by faith, how does one reconcile this with what Jesus Christ stated in John 14:15 where He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. How can we live by the commandments of Jesus if we are free from the law? Paul wrote in Galatians 3:21, Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. How does one explain this.

Good question. Can you explain it? Post your thoughts on the forum

Left Behind....the video game???

By Grayson Kamm
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL –- The makers of a new video game say its Biblically themed action is designed to stir thinking and talking about matters of eternal importance. But opponents on the First Coast say it’s offensive to Christian beliefs.With flashy graphics and intense action, Left Behind: Eternal Forces has the hallmarks of a hit video game, but with a Biblical twist. Set just after the Rapture in the Book of Revelation, the game puts you in charge of civilians and soldiers with the Tribulation Force –- an armed group fighting against the army of the Antichrist. That fighting sometimes means killing. And some religious groups are furious.

Parenting 101 v9 - Ears

Tonight Lukas said to me:

Daddy, what would happen if people didn't have ears?

Video of the week - Autistic water boy saves the game

This video was sent to me by Quist a few months back. It is gauranteed to make you cry:

I can't wait till Sunday morning

There is a song by a Toronto musician named K-OS - here - called "Sunday Morning" that will always remind me of our time here at Bridlegrove. Specifically, the fond memories of driving around picking up kids on a Sunday morning. Sometimes I would even sing this to them to help them get up for church :)

Everyday is Saturday night, but I can't wait for Sunday morning, Sunday morning

Monday's hot topics - Marvin

Marvin recently signed up on the forum after being in jail for 15 years. He writes:

My name is Marvin. I was saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ in 1976. But I have not always walked in the faith. I commited a felony offence for which I was arrested, convicted and spent 15 years as a guest of the State. I was released a couple of months ago. My half-brother, Michael (who a few of you know) was nice enough to take me in until I can get on my feet. He suggested this site to me.

I haven't taken the step to get back in fellowship at an assembly yet. I just go and sit at the back. I was put out of fellowship when I was convicted. For now I just want to take it slow, one day at a time.

The Lord Jesus is GREAT! Isn't He? He saved my soul despite my poorest efforts.

Thanks for listening,
Marvin

Can't say I've ever had such close fellowship with a convicted fellon before but don't let him scare you,click on over to the forum and say hi to Marvin

Where did you get that sweet headcovering? The Mantilla Superstore of course!!

Ever wonder where all those ladies in our assemblies get their headcoverings? No it's not from that little basket at the back, it's from Sue Crowe! Now just cause she's the mom of one of my old Sunday School students doesn't mean I'm biased, but come on, these are some of the sweetest headcoverings in the GTA. Check out her website at http://mantillas.tripod.com/ (you might even recognize one of our forum members modeling them). Now don't ask me what the word mantilla means, but don't wait until the easter conference, just click on over and pick some up today!!

Happy First Birthday Olivia!

Wow! Our little girl is one year old today! Looking over some of her baby pictures it's hard to believe it's been a full year. Happy birthday!

Monday's hot topics - Cult avoidance

While few of us will likely get caught in cults that would drink poison Kool-aid, many of us could fall victim to cult-like tactics if we're not careful. Aussie forum member Johno recently raised the issue in his Cult avoidance topic on the discussion forum:

it is important that we are constantly aware of the possibility that any group can go crazy and become cult-like...
Three features in common:

1) Pyramidal structure: In a cult, one person or group of people has total and unquestioning authority over all members.

On the surface, Brethren assemblies should be unlikely to fall prey to this one; we're precious about plural leadership. But if we dig deeper, would we find in some assemblies that there are people who have more authority than they should, and a reluctance to lose this power?

Click here to find out what the other 2 are. If you were at the Toronto Easter Bible Conference this year, you may remember that Mike Attwood said something similar. On the conference DVD he states:

"There should be no CEO among the elders - no Chief Elder Operating"

Later on he states this leadership issue is a problem he sees as he travels and ministers throughout the assemblies in North America:

"You know one of the biggest problems in assemblies today? The bible is very clear. Proverbs 13:10 says 'Only by pride cometh contention'. It's pride. It's the kind of attitude that says "if it's not my way, it's the highway". That's the kind of attitude destroying assemblies. We have too many Diotropheses'."

Many assemblies I've been in preach against a one-man-ministry, but how has your assembly ensured it won't spiral into cult-tactics? How do we gaurd against this individually and corporately? For that matter, has anyone ever been in a real cult before? Share your experiences on the forum - here

Random ministry pics - Tribute to Cookie

A little while ago I posted a tribute of sorts to Kevin, one of our youth group guys who moved away. Now it's Cookie's turn (or as his birth certificate reads "Akeem"). You've heard about him in the past, and how he moved to St. Catherines. Now he's getting his 15 minutes of fame in the local Toronto Observer via my friend and reporter Cassie.

Cassie recently did a report on us and even interviewed some of our youth group guys. Here's some clips from the article, along with the picture above (of Cookie, me, Jamoy and Davian):

Every Friday night the teens are welcome to come to the church to participate in a game of basketball and discuss passages from the Bible. Cuthills goal is to communicate with them at their own level and become involved in their everyday lives...Two Sundays ago we had 13 kids in church, where it used to be three' he said. 'And that is a snowball effect. These guys will be looked to by their siblings as leaders, and hopefully that will impact a whole other generation.'

You can read the entire article - here. Keep praying that as these guys grow in Christ they would continue to impact their peers!

Video of the week - Guns in Pants

Here is a video I've had in my collection for some time now. It's advocating dress codes in schools and makes an interesting point.

Will you be the savior of the broken?

Heard a very cool song recently by a group called My Chemical Romance titled The Black Parade. It's the first few minutes that really caught my attention. Here are the lyrics that I think all of us should take to heart:

When I was
a young boy,
My father
took me into the city
To see a marching band.
He said,
"Son when you grow up,
will you be the saviour of the broken,
The beaten and the damned?"

Will you?

More prayer requests - Pakistan

Pakistan approves reforms to Islamic rape law

The amendments disappointed human rights activists who wanted the law, known as the Hudood Ordinance, to be scrapped altogether. The law has made prosecuting rape cases almost impossible, while women who press charges risk being charged with adultery.

Need a title v21

This is a picture I took at Adam Harding & Leah Collins wedding. Can anyone think of a good title?

The sayings of Lukas v30 - Bed time

Last night the kids were in their room after bath. I came up to see them and Lukas greeted me with this problem.

Lukas: Umm...daddy....mommy says it's time for a story...but we want to watch a movie now...so....could you do something about fixing that for me?

Monday's hot topics - Forum Philosophy

In the past week I've had at least 3 people say to me "What is the purpose of your forum?". One email summed up the question this way

I feel confused about my presence in this forum. The bottom line is the question of the purpose of the web site. If the purpose includes fellowship, then "what concord has Christ with Belial." I signed no doctrinal statement to post here. I can come on this channel and be gathered unto the name of Satan and still post. Yet, the name "simplegathering" bothers me. The name of the channel reflects fellowship. There is little doubt in my mind that there are heretics and apostates on this web site. I recognize that the owner of the forum has crossed lines. He has fellowship issues mixed in with evangelistic issues. He has a section on assemblies, and prayer, and insider talk for pBrethren, but has Imran moderating his own section of the web site. He allows apostates and heretics to post. I prefer to see it as little more then a method of communicating with others. I view this channel as the same as a chance meeting of someone on the street. Yet, there is confusion. There is a lack of clarity of the purpose of this website. If the purpose of this forum is to discuss spiritual things. Why would I discuss spiritual things with many believers and a few apostates and heretics, and one outright unbeliever?

Well just to be clear, at the very top of the forum there is a section titled READ THIS FIRST. There is an explanation about the purpose of each individual section of the forum. So incase anyone didn't read the "READ THIS FIRST" first, now's your chance - here. I did want to pick apart the email a bit and ask what everyone thinks about this statement. Are we not supposed to mix with people in this world and talk about Jesus and our faith? Are we supposed to only keep to ourselves? Sounds to me like the jews that had no dealings with the samaritans? Compare this attitude of "us & them" to Jesus' attitude as he mixed with sinner & tax collectors in order to reach them. Did he cross lines? Did he confuse fellowship with evangelism? Have I? As you read over the forum, what do you think? Have I crossed the line?

R.O.C.K.in myspace

For those who don't know R.O.C.K. he's the homegrown Toronto christian rapper that we've had at Bridlegrove/CRUX 3 times now. We were hoping to have another CRUX next Saturday but things didn't work out. Luckily he's doin another youth rally on the Friday night if you want to check him out. You can get details on that youth rally and also sample some of his flava on his myspace page at :

http://www.myspace.com/rockmc

The sayings of Sylas v2 - Stinky!

Last night Lukas was sitting on the couch next to Olivia. She started to crawl away and he grabbed her around the waist to bring her back. In the process Lukas got a wiff of her dirty diaper:

Lukas: Yuck, this diaper is stinky!
Sylas: Can I smell? Can I smell??.....Yuck

From bad to worse

As if the Ted Haggard thing wasn't enough bad news, Kent Hovind is about to go to jail for 288 years!!

Kent Hovind, founder of Creation Science Evangelism, was accused of failing to pay $845,000 in employee taxes at the dinosaur theme park, an amusement park that exposed visitors to the view of Hovind and his followers that humans and dinosaurs coexisted and that evolution did not occur.

Hovind, who faces a maximum of 288 years in prison, was taken into custody Thursday evening after the jury read its verdict.

Monday's hot topics - Sex, Masturbation, Internet Porn, and Gays

Forum member Daoust raised an interesting question on the forum recently:

I was wondering if anyone who attends a brethen assembly has ever heard a sermon in their assemblies where a speaker either mentioned or openly discussed sex, masturbation, pornography and it's addictiveness or homosexuality and how all of these things are affecting/will effect our youth/children in the years to come?

Can't say I ever have. Have you? Should we be discussing these things in church? Post your thoughts on the forum - here

What we can all learn from the Haggard scanal

Below is a portion of the apology letter from Pastor Ted Haggard. For those who don't know him, Pastor Haggard lead a 14,000 member church and was President of the National Evangelical Association in the US until this past week when he was caught in serious immorality. How did this mighty leader fall?

When I stopped communicating about my problems, the darkness increased and finally dominated me.

The core lesson that each of us can learn from this whole thing is this:

-> Hide temptations and sins = disaster.

-> Confess sins = healing

As James 5:16 says:

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

Random ministry pics v7 - 3 on 3 tournament

Recently I came across the website for Nicey's food mart, the premiere Carribean grocery store in Toronto, located at the corner of Chester Le and Morecambe (where some of our youth come from). On the site is a "community events" page click here which featured some pictures of the Nicey's 3 on 3 basketball tournament last summer. While I was not directly involved with planning this tournament our boyz won it and I got to see a bit of the event, so I wanted to post this sweet picture of Nabil in action! Last Friday we had a fun time as these youth played the men of the church in a game of basketball. Nabil was the MVP, sinking 3 pointers like he was Larry Bird!! Thankfully none of the mature participants had to be hospitalized :) Praise God for the fun last Friday and also for the times of sharing that took place after the game. Please keep praying for these guys!

Remember Remember the 5th of November

Not sure why I posted that title. I guess because it's November and it's starting to get cold. October was such a monumental month but such a blah month all at the same time. In October we had a bunch of events at church and also saw a dramatic increase (again) in the number of kids coming out to church as friends tell friends. We had up to 23 one week but the average was about 15 or so. Tough to know what ways to help these kids. Thankfully many have stepped up to be mentors to them.

Anyhow the reason I'm writing this late is because I found a cool little charity called the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (www.cccc.org). They are basically like a big helpful "certification" agent that offers membership to those churches and charities that want to keep up to date. Basically it's like the ISO9000 craze where businesses get all "certified" to show that they actually do what they say they do. With Christian charities it should be a no brainer right...well not exactly. Laws change all the time and these guys are really good at helping keep you up to speed with them. I went to a seminar they held on the 19th of October and it was absolutely packed with info. 3 hours and a 50-page binder later I am much more knowledgeable about things churches & charities need to do to keep up.

I've been combing their site and found this neat little page (click here) titled "Evaluating a ministry". I've been having some fun looking over some of the info on some of the charities I donate to...give it a try. It has a link to a Canada Revenue agency page - here - that lets you search for all the info on your charity of choice.

There's alot to keep up with these days. Please pray for us who are in ministry as we face a myriad of legal implications involved in our work. For example someone sent me this link about one of the most respected evangelicals in the US who was forced to step down over unproven allegations. May God help us to rightly divide the word and rightly avoid these pitfalls.

November loggin in

01Nov06 - Wed - Prayer with elders (Des), Gordon over for supper
02Nov06 - Thu - sick
03Nov06 - Fri - youth, Pothaar over
04Nov06 - Sat -
05Nov06 - Sun - BofB, FBH, evening MBC
06Nov06 - Mon - office
07Nov06 - Tues- zoo
08Nov06 - Wed - TW for dinner
09Nov06 - Thur- speak at Awana
10Nov06 - Fri - youth to Don Valley, set up for missionary breakfast
11Nov06 - Sat - Missionary breakfast
12Nov06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 16 - (Mickey, Travon, Kellz, Omar, Clayon, Jamoy, Hansel, Christoff, Olivia, Kyleisha, Dominique, Infinity + bro, Moses, Maya, Mae,) 9 over for lunch, evening service
13Nov06 - Mon - office
14Nov06 - Tues-

The sayings of Lukas v29 - Dry banana

Today while we were getting ready for school Lukas started talking to me:

Lukas: Remember when Olivia was born? I'm gonna remember that forever.
Daddy: Luke, do you remember what you said when you first saw Olivia? (below)


He thought about it for a minute.
Lukas: I remember daddy, she really felt like the driest banana ever!

Monday's hot topics - Christian "ghetto"?

TWP made a very interesting comparison between the "Christian community" and the "Gay community".

It's enough that we closet and ghettoize ourselves, and that we have pride parades/marches in the street. The numerous similarities to gay culture are getting a little bit embarassing.

When pressed on the issue he elaborated:

But (Generalizing, putting forth the image/stereotype each group is saddled with):

Some Homosexuals__________________Some Christians
===========___________________==========

-have special symbols____________________-ditto
they can put on their cars to
identify them to others

-march in "Pride" parades__________________-ditto

-enjoy ballady, syrupy, overly_______________-ditto
emotional songs

-are likely to wear t-shirts with_______________-ditto
characteristic slogans on them
which often seem cheesy and
insincere to others

-characterized by a plastic cheerfulness________-ditto
that can seem very fake

-want people to understand that they _________-ditto
are different, and to appreciate and
perhaps even emulate their lifestyle
choices

-feel their way of living makes them special ___-ditto

-want to change the world so it will___________-ditto
conform more to how they choose
to live

-tend to make others uncomfortable__________-ditto
if they start to talk in great detail,
apropos of nothing, about their
personal feelings and views on how
people should live, especially if
there is insufficient relationship
with the person they are prosyletizing

-tend to dress in an identifyingly_____________-ditto
neat and tidy style

-want to ensure the government_____________-ditto
recognizes their lifestyle choices,
and that their chosen lifestyle and
the elements of its culture remain legal

-tend to be self-ghettoized into a distinct ______-ditto
subgroup of society, not mixing socially
with groups that include people who do
not choose to live the way they do

-may find it difficult to confess their__________-ditto
chosen lifestyle to others, who
may not understand

Made me question how I practise my Christianity. Are Christians too ghettoized? If so, is it even a bad thing? Very thought provoking comparison. What are your thoughts?

Noah's ark commercial

Got this video from a friend in Israel:

Made me wonder, why did God make mosquitos?

Monday's hot topics - Arguing

It seems from time to time that folks on the forum get into arguments and disputes.TWP asks "Is arguing always bad and a waste of time?"

Was Paul wrong to withstand Peter to the face over Peter's life choices? Were Paul and Barnabas wrong to have a dispute? Is it always a good idea to be silent rather than discuss things that may cause disagreement? Does any good ever come from discussing things of this nature? If so, when is it worthwhile to argue or discuss or oppose someone, and when is it not?

Post your argumen...uh..I mean...opinions on the forum here :)

Costas Macris safe with Jesus

The Founder of Hellenic Ministries Costas Macris passed away last Wednesday. He was 71. Here is the announcement from his son and President Johnathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Johnathan Macris
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:15 PM
To: info@hmnet.org.gr
Subject: He Won!

My Dearest Friends and Family and to all who knew and loved my father, Costas Macris:

My sweet, sweet daddy finished the race and won! Daddy stepped over the finish line at 12.40, Wednesday, October 18, two days after my birthday. He gave all he had in this life to gain the victors wreath (crown) of righteousness and eternity with Jesus!

I long to write more about this incredible monumental day in our lives...but for now, it's pretty busy preparing for the memorial/funeral celebration to be held at the First Evangelical Church on Monday, October 23 at 1:15pm Athens time.

Thanks for walking this road of sorrow and joy mixed together.

With gratitude,

Johnathan, for the Macris family

PS I've included the invitation for the funeral/memorial service below.


______________
The Family has chosen to make a Memorial Fund for two of Dad's last desires: 1) The completion and publication of the 'Logos Zontanos' Bible in the modern Greek language; 2) A well at Porto Astro. The Tuesday before he went to the hospital we confirmed plans to move forward on the publication of the Bible, on Wednesday I urged him to cancel the appointment we had with the drilling company so that on Thursday he would have energy for the surgery..... Now we must finish the task he started.


Hellenic Ministries/Greece
12 Lydias St.
Athens 11527
Greece

Office: + 30 (210) 777.9845
Fax: + 30 (210) 748.3733
Mobile: + 30 (694) 523.6554
E-mail: info@hmnet.org.gr
Web site: www.hmnet.org

Happy Birthday!!

My little boys turned 5 and 3 today

Video of the week - Snakes with legs!!

I showed this video last night at Awana in relation to God's cursing the snake in Genesis and thought I'd post it here today. This is a video of the Boa constrictor at the Toronto zoo in the Americas pavilion. Notice the title "Ancestors with legs" and the commentary about how snakes used to have legs (before Adam & Eve sinned)

Wednesday prayer requests - Immigration

India poised to overtake China as top source of immigrants

62% of the applicants being processed originated in Gulf region countries. Mr. Kurland speculated the surge from that area probably comes from Indian labourers in those countries who, after working in the Gulf states, prefer to seek a new life in Canada rather than return to India.

These are the two most populous countries in the world. The mission field has come to us. What are we doing to reach these people with the gospel?

Monday's hot topics - Christian Music

Forum user "In_the_Lords_army" started a discussion a while back about Christian Music.

In christian music, (the topic at the time was christian rock), does it have to be music with a christian message all the time....or can christian rock just be christians who rock?! I was just wondering on everyone elses oppinion

Got an opinion? Post it on the forum - here

Wednesday prayer requests - The Pumpkin Hunt!!

That's right it's back again! The Pumpkin Hunt is on October 28th at Sanctuary. Download the poster and get your youth group cause you ain't gonna wanna miss this one. The pumpkin is back and the first team to find all the clues gets to smash him to bits. See you there!

Need a title v20

We'll get back to regular "Hot topics" next Monday but since this is Thanksgiving here in Canada I wanted to post this nice fall picture.
Can anyone think of a good title?

Rejoice!!

I figure we get enough negative news in a day, so whenever something good happens I'll post it here on the athensBLOG so we can rejoice together!

On Tuesday morning I started the engine and noticed a little smoke coming from the front. I opened the hood to discover oil leaking directly onto the pavement, and lots of it! Yikes.

I turned the car off and got CAA to tow it to the mechanic. Needless to say we were terrified it would be a massive bill. After a lengthy wait the mechanic called to tell us that the "oil switch" had broken and after only 95.00 or so we had our van back!! Thank you Lord for keeping our van together!!

Video of the week - Bed time at Cuthills

Ever wonder why it's sometimes difficult to get us on the phone? Here's a peek into a usual bedtime at our home :) (is bedtime one word or two?)

PS. You can also see some videos of the baptism that took place on Sunday at Bridlegrove - click here

Wednesday prayer requests (on Tuesday)

Journalistic wonderboy Paul Roides made us this awesome graphic last night. For those who don't know Paul, he is not only the creator of this blog, but he's also the inventor of the "McPray" concept and the designer of the first McPray logo, which you see on the left margin. We feel very privileged to know Paul, and many others of you who have shown your love to us through McPrayer :) Many of you around the world have told us that you are McPraying for us and at the end of the day that is the greatest gift you could give us. So thank you Paul, and thank you to each person McPraying!! :)

Monday's hot topics - Circumcision

Forum member VEaston opened the can of worms when she posted recently on the forum:

I think it is time for a lively discussion on circumcision. I haven't been able to find a whole lot of Christian opinions on this touchy subject, yet I'm sure most of us who've had children have had to make a decision on the subject at some point...

Post your thought on this touchy subject on the forum - here

October loggin in

01Oct06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 11 (Dom, kyleisha, Olivia, Alpha, Noah, Raphael, Moses, Mae, Maya, Joselyn & sister), read story to Sunday School, evening Baptism
02Oct06 - Mon - prayer, meeting 7-9
03Oct06 - Tues- car in for repair
04Oct06 - Wed - Prayer with elders (Des), prayer
05Oct06 -Thurs- Read to daycare, lunch with CWood, speak at Awana, Colin over
06Oct06 - Fri - zoo, meeting with Adair, Evaline, Tricia. Youth
07Oct06 - Sat - Pervez
08Oct06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 15
09Oct06 - Mon - Thanksgiving, parents over
10Oct06 - Tues- Max PC, Gideons
11OCt06 - Wed - DVBC pumpkin hunt video
12Oct06 - Thur- Read to daycare, Awana, Pothaar tuxedo
13Oct06 - Fri - office, Pothaar rehearsal
14Oct06 - Sat - Pothaar wedding
15Oct06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 23 (Dom, Olivia, Kyleisha, Travon, Jamoy, Hansel, Christoff, Clayon, Alpha, Moses, Mae, Maya, Shamar, Janise, Jocelyn, Kadyja, Troy, Damian, Nathaniel, Tyrell, Oral, + 2 new)
16Oct06 - Mon - Office, airport
17Oct06 - Tues- Ron Adams meet, party
18Oct06 - Wed - prayer, lunch with PC, hamilton seminar
19Oct06 - Thur- read to daycare,
20Oct06 - Fri - dominoes @ wilfreds
21Oct06 - Sat - boys birthday
22Oct06 - Sun - HP parents to airport
23Oct06 - Mon - office catch up
24Oct06 - Tues- Kyle
25Oct06 - Wed - prayer with elders, prayer
26Oct06 - Thur- Ron Adams, Awana
27Oct06 - Fri - Youth vs. F.O.M.
28Oct06 - Sat - Pumpkin Hunt
29Oct06 - Sun - BofB(shared), FBH with 15, evening service
30Oct06 - Mon - office catch up
31Oct06 - Tues-