robdale.ca

This is an amazing video … check it out:
http://vimeo.com/4316077

The Motorcycle Info Day & Swap Meet has been going on for seven years now. The first year we held the event, we had a record blizzard, and yet still had a few hundred people attend. Last year, we saw around 600 people come through the doors.

This year, I hoped for 700. 700 would have been amazing. 800 would have surpassed any one’s expectations. But, we didn’t get 800. Nope. We got 1404.

1404. I’m still in shock. All day long, the bikes just kept coming in. In bunches. Friends from Montreal, Toronto, and Peterborough joined the local riders.

To put it in perspective, the largest local event is the Ride for DAD, which boasts around 1600 people.

1404. Wow.

I’m so proud of everyone who volunteered and made this event such a success. You are an amazing bunch. Thank you.

Video and pictures will be uploaded soon.

I just read this excellent post on Pyromaniacs site … worth posting here.

Porn and paper pastors

by Dan Phillips

Decades ago, I read a disturbingly candid essay by a pastor about his struggles with pornography. It was in Leadership magazine. Years later, two of his realizations still stand out to me.

The author came to see (as I recall) that he was attracted to these images because they were unreal. The women in the pictures never had bad days, were never crabby and demanding, never disrespectful and demeaning. No mood swings. They always suited his mood, his needs, his wants. They were unreal.

He came to see that he had no actual relationship with these women whatever. If (he named a female celebrity) had sat down next to him in an airplane, she wouldn’t know him from Adam. Whatever may have happened in his sinful fantasies, the two of them had no relationship in the real world.

Of course, this is why so many women resent actresses and models. It isn’t catty pettiness or smallness. It is that they know how visually-tempted men can be, and they know that they can’t compete with a fantasy — if their man is fool enough to chase one.

And they’re right, in a way. They can’t compete with these women. Because these women don’t exist in the real world! They may not even look like their pictures! Thanks to computer wizardry, the pictures we see may actually bear only the slightest resemblance to the actual women.

Nobody can compete with a fantasy.

And this post is not about pornography, men, women, nor marriage.

It is about people with paper pastors.

Now, some professed Christians sin outright, by never physically attending an actual, in-person church. We’ve talked about that, and they aren’t our focus.

But others do attend a church — physically. They come in, they sit down. They sing, they may give financially. They may look at you, Pastor, as you preach.

But you know their heart belongs to another.

Their real pastor isn’t you. It’s Dave Hunt. Or it’s John Piper. Or it’s John MacArthur, or Ligon Duncan, or Mark Dever, or David Cloud, or Joel Osteen. Or it’s Charles Spurgeon, or D. M. Lloyd-Jones, or J. C. Ryle. Or Calvin, or Luther, or Bahnsen, or de Mar, or R. B. Thieme, or J. Vernon McGee.

And they’re such better pastors than you are! You know they are!

Why?

Well, paper pastors are never in a bad mood. They’re never cranky, or sleepy or sick. (Especially the dead ones.)

They’ve never just had someone else pull their guts out with a rusty fork, and then had to turn and listen graciously to your complaint about the translation they preach from, or argue about a Greek word you can’t even pronounce. They don’t have a family who loses the time you use. They never half-listen, never have an appointment that cuts short their time. Their office hours are your office hours. They’re available 24/7, and everywhere, at your whim, and you always have their undivided attention.

What’s more is they always have all the answers! They can tell you with complete confidence and masterful eloquence. They never stammer, guess, nor search their memory. And they can prove it — whatever they’re saying! With footnotes!

And these paper pastors maintain the perfect distance. If you don’t want to hear something, they don’t press it — or you can instantly shut them up, snap! They never ask you to do something uncomfortable and follow up on you. They never persistently probe an area of sin, in you, in person, eyeball to eyeball… nor will they. Church discipline will not be a threat with them. Ever.

Because they don’t know you from Adam.

Yet how many pastors know that there are people in their flocks, thinking, “John Piper would never say it that way. Dave Hunt says that what he just preached is heresy. John MacArthur isn’t like that. Mahaney says that… Mohler says that… Lloyd-Jones said….”

So, because it’s awkward for your pastor to say it to you — and because I’ve no church who’d suspect I’m talking to them, at the moment — I’ll just tell you plain:

Brother, sister: John Piper isn’t your pastor. John MacArthur knows nothing about you. Dave Hunt never got on his knees and prayed for you. Lloyd-Jones won’t come to your house when you’re recovering from surgery, or one of your children shatters your heart, or your marriage is shaking and rocking and barely hanging on. Charles Spurgeon won’t weep with you as you weep.

You could buy or not buy _____’s next book, and he’d never know it. But if you’re in a manageable-size church with a caring pastor and you’re suddenly gone next Sunday, he’ll be concerned. He may call. He may ask if everything’s okay.

God gave you the pastor He gave you.

God told Paul to tell you:

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

God told the writer to the Hebrews to tell you:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

Your flesh-and-blood pastor can’t compete with these paper pastors for the same reason you can’t compete with paper women and paper men.

Because they’re not real.

This is a sad story no matter how you look at it:

LONDON (AFP) – The father of “Slumdog Millionaire” child actress Rubina Ali tried to sell his nine-year-old daughter for adoption in a bid to escape the Mumbai slums, a British newspaper said Sunday.

News of the World alleged that Rafiq Qureshi wanted 20 million rupees (400,000 dollars, 310,000 euros) for the girl, who played the young Latika in the British hit film set in India.

“Slumdog Millionaire”, a rags-to-riches tale of children from the slums of Mumbai, won eight Oscars in February, including the best picture Academy Award.

News of the World said its reporters posed as a wealthy family from Dubai, employing its regular “fake sheikh” sting tactic.

The weekly tabloid said a Mumbai informant told them that Qureshi was touting for the highest offer, having already been approached by a Middle Eastern family.

The newspaper published pictures of the actress, her father and uncle posing with their undercover reporter, plus video clips of Qureshi and his brother-in-law during their meeting last week.

“Yes, we are considering Rubina’s future,” Qureshi was quoted as saying.

He put the reporter in touch with his brother-in-law Rajan More.

“We are interested in securing our girl’s future,” the star’s uncle was quoted as saying.

“If you wanted to adopt we could discuss this, but her parents would also expect some proper compensation in return.

“Whatever money is agreed by Rajan, I will accept.

“We can discuss everything about this deal when we meet. There’s a lot of interest in Rubina.”

Qureshi, Ali, More and some other relatives met the British reporters in a Mumbai hotel, the newspaper said.

“We need two or three months,” Qureshi allegedly said. More added: “Until then we can negotiate the amount. We’ll come to Dubai, the girl will come and go.”

“It’s 20 million rupees,” the uncle was quoted as saying.

“This discussion will not go beyond the three of us.”

Qureshi proudly carried Ali through the Mumbai slums in February after she returned from the Oscar glory of Hollywood.

Next time I play a trivia game, I want her on my team:

What can you say? This video is incredible.

There are a lot of different people who read this blog. Many are members of Bikers’ Church. Others first connected with me through The Oil Change. Some built a relationship while I was interim pastor at City Church. Still others connected through Twitter or Facebook and like the “geek” in me.

I love the diversity of the people who read this blog. And, I try my best to keep the posts as diverse as possible. I share about all the things I’m passionate about on here.

However, recently, my focus has been on Bikers’ Church. As I shared in the last post, I need to brag a little about how amazing the people of CCBC truly are. I am so excited as we head into the riding season for what this year holds for the church.

Today, I want to brag about a couple of other churches and what they have shown me about being a part of The Church. You see, it’s not only about the “little ‘c’ church”. There is a greater Church that we are a part of. And I have been blessed lately by the generosity of two churches in particular.

Arlington Woods Free Methodist Church is located in a very quiet neighbourhood in the west end of Ottawa. When we first launched Bikers’ Church, they opened their doors for us. We stayed there for seven months until we had outgrown their room. A few years ago, we needed a new home, and heard that they had renovated their facility. Once again, we found ourselves back at AW. And we have been blessed ever since.

This week, we begin some major renovations at Arlington Woods. They have made a long term commitment to us, and we are so blessed by their generosity. They work so hard at accommodating us and giving us all the space we need to grow and develop new ministries. So, thank you, AW.

The other church that has blessed Bikers’ Church (and me personally) in the past year or so is The Lifecentre. I have had the honour of doing some online ministry with their pastor, Jason Boucher, and as well, have built wonderful relationships with all their staff. A few months ago, they opened their doors and offered us office space. It is so wonderful to have a place outside my house where I can work from. And, I have a great time connecting with their team during the week. As well, Lifecentre has opened their bulding to some of our major events, including our upcoming Info Day.

These churches get it. They understand that there is a larger church in the National Capital Region. That together, we can reach so many more than separately.

And so, I am blessed today because I am part of The Church and not just a church.

Do you ever have days where you sit back in awe of the people who are in your life? I do. Often. And today is one of those days. And so, I need to brag a little.

I love Bikers’ Church. Not so much the idea of what Bikers’ Church is about, although I do think it’s pretty cool. A missional church reaching out to the motorcycle community in a conservative city like Ottawa is … well … cool. I love that God has called me to such a mission. Who would have thought that pastoring could be so much fun? I really am blessed to pastor a very interesting church.

But when I say I love Bikers’ Church, I’m really talking about the people who make up this church. They are an amazing group of individuals. If you were to look at them as a group, you would be amazed that they actually connect at any level. After all, we have everything from Scooter Trash to professionals. We have people from every background you can imagine. And yet, they come together under one purpose: to discover God’s love and to live a life as a follower of Christ. Amazing. They sit together, laughing together, believing together, encouraging one another. It truly is amazing.

I am also humbled by how much they trust leadership. Not in a blindly-follow-the-leader type of way. Far too often they hear me discourage that kind of following. People who follow blindly are foolish. It’s good to ask questions. It’s good to dialogue. It’s good to discover for one’s self.

Rather, they trust leadership to lead. And they love leadership when we fail. Instead of attacking when those in leadership make a wrong decsion, they encourage. As the lead pastor, I can’t begin to explain just how refreshing that is. To know that I have the freedom to try things, to dream big dreams, knowing that I have a group of people who stand with me, encourage me, believe in me. Again, amazing.

Recently I made an annoucement about the future of Bikers’ Church prematurely. I should have waited until all the “i’s were dotted” before saying anything, but I didn’t. In my excitement, I rushed ahead of the process. In the end, our leadership team decided that it was not the right decision for Bikers’ Church. If we went in this certain direction, we would lose a bit of our identity. It was right for us to step back from this decision.

When I stood before our people on Thursday evening to tell them that we would not be going in the direction I had announced a few weeks earlier, I was nervous. After all, the people were very excited because I had really pumped them up. I had been very excited! I pulled out all the stops when I made the initial announcement. And now, here I was, standing before them, apologizing that I had stepped out too quickly. That I had made a mistake. That it wasn’t the right direction after all.

And how did the people respond? Unbelievable support. Not one criticism. Not one complaint. Were some disappointed? Clearly. But that disappointment didn’t turn into personal attacks or criticsim. Instead, everyone took a deep breath, nodded their heads, and refocused on the mission at hand. What other word can I use to describe it but … amazing.

So, yes. I serve the most amazing people in the world. I really do love them.

And God, if you’re reading this blog, thank you for the blessing you’ve given me.

Saw this on another blog … thought it was funny:

You grew up in the 80s if . . .

1. You’ve ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE
2. You watched the Pound Puppies
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton Dance
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil’ Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls
7. You know that “WOAH” comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched “Fraggle Rock”
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars… and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to “Duck Tales” (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen…and still know the turtles names
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side
17. You played the game “MASH” (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it
19. L.A. Gear….need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to “JEM” in Kindergarten. (She’s Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books
22. You know the profound meaning of “WAX ON, WAX OFF”
23. You wanted to be a Goonie
24. You ever wore fluorescent neon clothing (some of us…head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf
27. You took lunch boxes to school…and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets
29. You still get the urge to say “NOT” after every sentence
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure you kept saying “I know you are, but what am I?”
36. You remember “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You’ve gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples
43. Don’t worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say “Care Bear Stare!!”
49. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool…and don’t even flinch when people refer to them as “NKOTB”
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on “Saved By The Bell,” The ORIGINAL class
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi – > YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
55. You just sang those words to yourself
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing “We are the World”
61. You tight rolled (pegged) your jeans
62. You owned a banana clip
63. You remember “Where’s the Beef?”
64. You used to (and probably still do) say “What you talkin’ ’bout Willis?
65. You had big hair and you knew how to use it
66. You’re still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren’t you!