I have a confession to make…

I’m not perfect.

GASP!

No seriously, I’m really screwed up.  I think before I speak, and sometimes I act before I do either.

Which led me to the realization that I am blessed to share with you today: the biggest mistake I’ve made this year.

About 5 years ago, there was a particular situation which I did not think through whatsoever at all.  Some crazy stuff (nothing sinful, just crazy) went down and I ended up getting booted from that ministry.

In hindsight, I was a total idiot.  Super unwise. Very disrespectful.  Total blockhead move.  The leadership made the right call in asking me to peace out for a season.

But it didn’t end there.  Because as time went on, I found out that this team had been spreading the misunderstanding to others.  Lots of others.  My past has been held over my head, and grace was being withheld.  I got furious, pointing out the obvious hypocrisy of their actions, and of course, the glorious Christian rumor mill was spinning at full speed!

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On January 31st of 1783, Mr. Benjamin Vaughan wrote a letter, sent from Paris to the New World, to a one Benjamin Franklin.  In that letter, Vaughan implored Franklin to sit down and write an autobiography of his life.

(For those unfamiliar with Benjamin Franklin, he was an author and the inventor of bifocals, the indoor furnace, the public library, the fire department, the lightning rod, and the United States of America, among other things!)

(And yes, the city near Toronto where Wonderland is located is named after Benjamin Vaughan! He was a British commissioner who was instrumental in the Treaty of Paris.)

In Vaughan’s letter, he gave a list of reasons why Franklin MUST write down the story of his life:

Franklin’s history was directly tied to the rise of America.

Because formal education wasn’t doing its job

Because he had the listening ears of the youth of America and it was in youth that almost all great life decision are made.

So that already-wise men could have a roadmap to mark their progress.

To improve the average level of character and wisdom of the new colonies.

To paint this new America in a better light around the world.

But in my opinion, Vaughan wrote one reason that stands far above all others. I believe it might have been the reason for which Franklin did indeed eventually sit down to write his classic work.

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Sin is a funny thing.  As my professor would say, it’s not funny ‘haha’ but funny ‘peculiar.’  Coveting, murder, lust, gluttony, and idolatry are all sin and eventually hurt us as well as others.  Though we can immediately identify these as negative and harmful, it is more difficult to spot them when they have not yet developed into the monsters they become.  In his book Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne says this:

Most of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty.  Coveting begins with appreciating blessings.  Murder begins with a hunger for justice.  Lust begins with a recognition of beauty.  Gluttony begins when our enjoyment of the delectable gifts of God starts to consume us.  Idolatry begins when our seeing a reflection of God in something beautiful leads to our thinking that the beautiful image bearer is worthy of worship.

If you have a strong passion for justice, an appreciation for beauty, or a love for cooking, be sure to keep them in their proper place.  Sin often is birthed out of what we love, not what we hate.

Michelle

I love meeting dreamers and hearing their stories. When I heard that Jeff Strong was releasing a book, I immediately contacted him for an interview.

Jeff is a pastor at Grindstone Church, probably one of the most progressive churches in the Hamilton area.

He’s written a new book called Mere Disciple: A Spiritual Guide for Emerging Leaders.

I sat down with Jeff (virtually) back in June (in Mexico!) to ask him a few questions about life, writing, and dreaming…

Jeff who? Jeff from where? What do you do there?!

Originally from Kingston, I moved to Hamilton area to attend Redeemer University College in Ancaster, and am now working as an associate pastor (Emerging Church Ministries and Teaching) at Grindstone church in Waterdown, Ontario.

What’s the new book all about?

Mere Disciple is a discipleship guide for students/young adults. It’s designed to provide readers with a holistic framework for discipleship to Jesus. It’s broken up into three compact sections that sequentially move from the theoretical to the practical:

Part I explores the worldview foundations that need to be in place in order for discipleship to Jesus to become a lived reality instead of a cliché.

Part II explores the themes of money, sex, and power, and how discipleship to Jesus can redeem and transform our relationship to each.

Part III focuses on the tools and strategies needed to create a plan for daily discipleship.

So what made you decide to write this book?

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Inflation sucks.

Basically how it works is this: the government prints money, thus there’s more money circulating, thus all the money is worth less. Prices go up.  Buying power per dollar goes down.  If inflation for a year is 7%, that means if you had $100 sitting in your account right now, it would be worth $93 exactly one year from now.  Or your government can print tons, hyper-inflate your economy, and you’ll need a truckload of bills just to go grocery shopping.  Inflation sucks, doesn’t it?! 

Moral of the story?  Don’t save too much money.  Money was not created to be saved.  You should either spend it (wisely) or invest it.  Because if you just hold on to it, it’ll slowly waste away.

My new favourite word is INVESTMENT.

Specifically, in regards to my time.

Time is alot like money, except that it’s way more valuable.  And time works a LOT like money.  It should either be spent wisely, or invested.  But you can’t save time.  You can’t bank it away for a rainy day.  The clock never stops.  And so it works a lot like inflation… if you you don’t spend it wisely or invest it, you simply lose it…FOREVER.

What am I trying to say?

If you want a million dollars, then put $200/month for 6 years in a mutual fund and let it grow for a few decades. You can’t just expect it to magically happen.  Or you can play the lottery and hope for the best. (= crazy)

If you want to see growth in areas of your life, you can’t just expect it to magically happen. Or you can hope for the best and realize there isn’t a lottery for instant character growth, relational health, or spiritual intimacy.

Action step:  Write a Life Investment Plan.

Here’s how:

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