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Well, the uproar is huge. Rogers has announced their price plans for the iPhone. To say that they are high is an understatement when compared to most other countries. I guess it’s another example of how backward the Canadian cell phone industry truly is. When you’re the only carrier who can handle the iPhone’s standard, then you don’t need to worry about what the competition might do.

Perhaps the uproar will make a difference. I highly doubt it. This is Canada. Rogers knows that people will scream and yell, but in the end, they don’t care.

It’s funny. While I’m not happy with the data plans being offered, I’m not really all that surprised. And, considering Rogers’ past, I actually think they are a little better than what Rogers potentially could have done. Now, don’t think that I’m saying I think their plans are fair, because they’re not. But, they are better than what I did expect from Rogers.

I’ve been using an iPhone for about three months now. So, how do the new plans fit into my type of usage? Well, I don’t think I’ll have much problem fitting into one of the middle plans. I will be careful when using Safari on 3G.

Yesterday was a typical day for me using my iPhone on EDGE. I read a few blogs, downloaded all my newfeeds in NewsGator, and checked my email about four times. I also surfed the Weather Network’s website a couple of times.

Total usage on EDGE: 7.5 MB.

One thing I DO like about the new plans is that Rogers is opening up their Hotspots free of charge. That means I can sit at Starbucks and blog, email, etc. for free. That’s a bonus for me. The number of hotspots in Ottawa continues to grow, and if I can go to any of those places to use my iPhone on wifi, then great for me!

I’m more frustrated with the "talk minutes" being offered with these plans. My cell phone is also my office phone. That means, anyone who goes to our website and calls the church office phone number contacts me on my cell phone. You’d be amazed at how many minutes that eats up for me. Now, it’s still cheaper than having a second "office line" in my home office, but still. It means I likely have to lean toward the $100 plan (which gives me 600 minutes per month).

Now, considering I was close to that cost when I had my BlackBerry, it’s not that big a deal. When I was using my BlackBerry, my cell phone bill was approximately $90 / month. The iPhone is so far superior a device to the BlackBerry, that I can handle the difference.

Am I tempted to support those who will choose not to buy an iPhone plan come July 11th? I am. But, if I’m totally honest, I know that I will still be picking up my 3G iPhone and setting up a plan with Rogers. The device has simply become too comfortably a part of my tech routine to give it up just yet.

Still, my fingers are crossed that Rogers is hearing the outrage and is considering a change to the plans. Fat chance, I know, but I can still hope.

I’m often amazed with how God does things. Almost always, he doesn’t do it the way I’m expecting him to do it. I guess that’s just another example of why it’s a good thing I’m not God.

Take peer friends. I have many friends who serve as pastors. In most cases, I probably should call them acquaintances, since it’s not like we are "buddies" or anything. As I mentioned in a previous post, I can go to a conference and typically chat with dozens of people.

However, I have very few peers who I would consider myself close with. Guys who challenge me and motivate me and encourage me to keep thinking fresh ideas. There’s my buddy Dan who is in Toronto pastoring a Baptist church. We’ve known each other since the first day of Bible College. He and I chat four or five times a year, and yet our conversations are always deep and challenging.

What has surprised me is a new friend that I have connected with. As I suggest in this post’s title, this is actually a guy I’ve known for many years. In fact, back before we planted Bikers’ Church, I was on staff at The Life Centre with this guy. I’ve always respected Jason and appreciated his passion and love for the things of God. However, I would likely have put him in that category of "ministry acquaintance."

He’s now Senior Pastor over at TLC and I happened to attend their service on Easter Sunday. I was so impressed with his leadership in that service, that I sent him a personal note commenting on it. From there, we hooked up for coffee. He dragged me to a Starbucks (for which I will always be grateful!).

We now get together every month. For me, these meetings have been absolutely invaluable. They were/are exactly what I’ve needed. To sit with a peer and just share our hearts and vision together is amazing. I have felt like so much of what I sense inside of me is in tune with Jason’s own thoughts. It is refreshing and encouraging.

I’ve always believed that as a minister (especially a Senior Pastor), you need to connect with other ministers to encourage and build each other up. Those relationships are not optional. And yet, I also don’t believe that you can simply manufacture them. There has to be a connection for those relationships to be real. For me, I am grateful and so thankful that God has opened that door for me at this time in my life and ministry.

I keep a link to his blog under my "Blogs I Enjoy" section, but if you haven’t already checked out his blog, take a minute to do so. I think you’ll really enjoy some of his thoughts.

Well, what a busy couple of days! I’ve been out of town on holidays, and suddenly I had about a dozen things I wanted to blog about! I fought the urge to start posting from my cell phone. But, over the next couple of days I’ll try to get my thoughts out on some of the things I have been thinking about.

We had a great time at Wonderland with the kids. Christina got over her fear of rollercoasters. And I went on the Beehemoth – the new ride there. It was a blast!

Anyway, I’ve only got a few hundred emails waiting for me to look at … so I’ll try to jump in here as I can.

As some of you are aware, Heather and I had a daughter who passed away after complications from heart surgery.

Today is her birthday. K.D. (Katherine Diane) would have been twelve years old today. Wow.

A few days ago, I posted a journal entry from when Brittany was born. It was an incredible experience to be a father for the first time. It was equally incredible to hold my second daughter for the first time. As I held her that first day, I had no idea of the journey I would experience with her. I did not fathom the lessons I would learn through her life. I could not have known. But God did.

As I held her that first day, God knew that seven months later we would hold her for the last time. He knew I would battle with learning to trust him in the midst of tragedy. He knew that I would question where he was. He knew I would experience tremendous pain. I am who I am today because of that experience. I needed it. It shaped me to do what I do today. For that – not the experience of losing a daughter, but for what it made me – I am grateful.

But on this day, in 1996, all I felt was the tremendous joy of knowing that God had granted me another gift. Another girl. Another child. She was beautiful. She was tender. She was mine. She is mine.

One day I will hold her again. I look forward to that day. I’m not in a rush to get to it , but I will treasure it when it comes. For now, I just sit back and am grateful for having her in my life for the time that I did.

Happy Birthday, K.D.
Dad.

Have you ever noticed how quickly we get up in arms over something? Media reports come out about some event, and we rush to judgement. Usually, we form our opininon on the issue with only a 30 second sound byte as the basis of our information. Too often, it results in having "egg on our face."

For instance, I was as shocked and alarmed as anyone else over the news of a "pregnancy pact" among teenage girls in Massachusets. You can read cbc.ca’s article here. I wanted to write an entire post about it, asking the question, "What is wrong with our youth?" However, it turns out the may not have been a pact afterall. In fact, yesterday, the cbc posted an updated article that you can read here.

Now, it is still alarming to me that so many teens (many under the age of 16) are getting pregnant. I think it does say something about society in general. But, the point is, we rush to judgement based on a short news report that clearly didn’t have all the facts.

The same could be true regarding the story of a Quebec judge who overruled a father’s grounding of his daughter. Here’s the Globe and Mail’s article on that story. Once again, blogs everywhere jumped in to criticize the judge in this story. Facebook groups were formed. Even I couldn’t believe it. Well, once again, it turns out there might be more to the story that we first realized.

The beauty of today’s technology is that we have no excuse to rush to judgement on issues. A few choice searches, a couple of clicks, and you can usually get a well-rounded view on any issue or story making it’s rounds today.

Perhaps we need to slow down a little when the media reports things. Maybe we need to take a little time to see if all the facts will come out before we say too much.

Maybe James 1:19-20 makes sense in this context: "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires"

Okay … so, this video is very cool – trust me, you’ll enjoy it.

But I challenge you to not laugh when he says, "Big brass nuts." Betcha can’t!

Enjoy:

The other day, Heather found this journal entry of mine from 15 years ago (yes, before the internet, people blogged … it was called "journalling".

It was interesting to read the words I wrote when Brittany was born. As I prepare to see her off on a new adventure, I thought it would be nice to post entry.

I’m going to edit it for content a little …

Well, I’m a dad. What a strange feeling. Actually, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I mean, what is fatherhood supposed to feel like? I went home alone from the hospital. That was nice. I needed some time alone to just thinkg about my new baby girl. I was so amazed in the delivery room. To see Brittany being born. To see her head come out, followed by her tiny body was just incredible. How can any one say there is no God? Only God, in his infinite wisdom and order could develop such a beautiful gift inside a woman. Heather did an incredible job. At one point during the delivery I turned to a nurse and said, ‘I’m glad I’m a man.’ I couldn’t imagine the pain. But she held up tremendously. I am very proud of her.

My baby girl. Brittany Heather Dale. Her dark skin and black hair are wonderful. She was so alert and lively, looking all around at her new life. She has the most beautiful eyes. I realized the love parents have for their children. It is different that the love I have for Heather, but there is the idea that Brittany is in her completeness, an outward expression of my love for Heather and her love for me. After all, Brittany is ‘us’. She has many of her mother’s features, what more could a father ask for?

I was scared to death the first time I changed her diaper. It reminded me a little of the movie, ‘Three Men and a Baby’. I didn’t have a clue how to do it. Heather led me through the experience. Brittany obviously felt I needed time to learn. As soon as I was finished, as I was pinning the final side, she convinced me to do it again. So, I changed another one.

Brittany scares me. After all, I have to take care of her. She is completely Heather and my responsibility. How we care for her will dictate her entire life. She is ours. Last night was a little easier. I wheeled her back into the nursery and went home. But in a day or so, she will be coming home, with us. Parenting is a 24 hour a day job; 365 days a year. What an awesome responsibility.

While I am scared, I am also excited. I can’t wait to have Brittany at home. To hold her without nurses coming in. To love her in the privacy of my home. To play with her. I can’t wait until she is old enough for me to take to the circus. I want to be there when she sees her first clown. Yet I know that time will go quickly. I don’t want things to happen to quickly. I want to enjoy each moment. I need time to prepare for BOYS!! I need to get my gun license. I need target practice.

Well, time does go quickly, doesn’t it? Did you enjoy each moment with your children? Are you doing that now? I’d love to know your thoughts on how you felt when your children were born.

One of my favourite authors is Alan Hirsch. He has written a number of very challenging books that have helped shape my thinking on what it means to pastor in 2008.

Today he has posted what I think is an excellent article about why we need to cling to the word missional and not allow it to be abused by those who don’t understand the significance of it. I hope you take time to read Alan’s post and then let me know what you think of it.

If you were to ask most pastors what their greatest desire is, you might be surprised at how they respond. Contrary to what many thinkg, most pastors are not in this for the power or money! In fact, very few do what they do for negative reasons at all. It’s unfortunate that the few "bad apples" get all the publicity (hey, isn’t that true of any profession?), but it would be unfair to pain all pastors with the same brush.

Most of the people I know who are in full-time ministry do what they do because they sincerly want to touch people’s lives for the better. At the end of the day, when the dust all settlers, they simply hope that something they did – whether it be a sermon they preached, a word said in a counselling session, or a smile over a potluck dinner – will have made a difference.

Most pastors are not foolish enough to think that they alone will change the world. In fact, I don’t know many who have that lofty a goal. They simply hope that in a small way, they will tocuh the lives of a few, who will in turn touch the lives of a few more.

And in that last statement, you find the ultimate desire of most pastors. That what they do will be reproduced in another. That a few people – and really a few is enough – will be touched by them and will then make a difference in a few more.

That’s why a day like today is so special. The Bikers’ Church family attended a service just outside of Ottawa today. We were at a church in North Gower. We do a service there annually. Only this year, we did things a little different. Rather than me preaching, I asked the pastor if it would be okay if Marty spoke. Marty is the volunteer assistant at Bikers’ Church. He has only ever preached one other time in a church other than Bikers’ Church.

And so, he spoke. And I was so very proud of him. He did a great job. As he always does.

However, for me, the pride I feel when it comes to Marty goes much deeper than a sermon. Perhaps only a pastor will understand what I’m trying to say here, but there is something very special when you watch someone preach who has grown and developed with your help. I’m not foolish enough to think that Marty’s growth is only because of me – he has a lot of input through a number of people, including the Ottawa School of the Bible, where he gets his training.

In the Oil Change devotional that I write, I have just begun 1 Timothy. It is a letter written from Paul to Timothy, a young man who has been influenced greatly by Paul. In a small way, I can feel the pride that Paul must have felt toward Timothy.

Marty, I am very proud of you.

I’m sure that many of you in Canada have heard the story about the Quebec Grade 6 girl who took her dad to court after he grounded her from attending an end of year school trip. Apparently the father grounded the girl after he discovered she had posted pictures of herself on an internet dating site.

If you haven’t read the story, you can find CBC’s version here.

At first I thought this was a very black and white story. It was ridiculous that the judge would overturn the case. However, the more I’ve read on it, the more a realize that this story goes much deeper. This girls parent’s are divorced and her parents on not on good terms with each other.

It turns out that the girl had a major fight with her step mom, and decided to go live with her mom. Her mom gave permission for her to go on the trip, while dad forbade it.

While I still don’t think it’s a good idea for a court to get involved in an issue like this one, I do think there is a much bigger concern in this story. What is wrong with two adults when they basically allow a situation to escalate to this level? Why isn’t this mom and dad sitting down like mature adults and working through this issue until they come to a mutual understanding. I don’t care how they are doing when it comes to their relationship with one another, there should be the ability to set aside those differences when dealing with their children.

Unfortunately, that isn’t always the situation, and as a result, we end up with cases like this one.

Sometimes I’m amazed at our country.