Rouge River Community Church

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

What I learned from my first team triathlon.

On the week end my family and I travelled back to my home town so I could compete, with my sisters, in a team triathlon (aka a triathlon relay). What a blast! My oldest sister did the 750m swim, the next sister the 20K bike ride, and I did the 5K run. Our purpose in entering the triathlon was to remember our mom who died three years ago, and maybe to stave off our own old age just a little bit. We have all recently hit major age marks, mine being the big "4-0". So, in no particular order, what I learned from being part of this team...

Teams succeed when each member is highly committed.

We committed to doing the triathlon months ago. Talking it over, we decided that based on our unique gifts and abilities, Jo Ann would swim, Tammy would bike, I would run. There was very little debate over who would do what. It just fell together. From there, I worked hard to run 3-4 times a week, and to swim as a form of crass-training (go cardio!). I can honestly say that I kept at the training faithfully. Each week I would talk to my sisters and hear their training stories. I became more excited as we we got closer to the race because I knew they were as committed to the triathlon as I was. Going into the race, we had no delusions of winning the competition- but we finished strong! We didn't finish last either, which was a nice bonus!

Keeping it positive is essential!

What I loved about the experience was how positive we were throughout. That positive attitude enhanced the entire experience. Sure we were nervous, especially race week end, but we kept telling each other how much fun it was. When Jo Ann was in the water she had a crew of wild crazy fans cheering her on. When she exited the water to head to the transition area where Tammy was waiting on the bike, we showered Jo Ann with encouragement and cheering. Tammy had the hardest go of it because her 20K bike ride took her away from the start/ finish line the most. But every time she went by, her family and friends were cheering the loudest. When it was my turn to take off on the run, our crowd pushed me onto the run the course with a solid wall of "Go-go-go!". I thought the run course would be lonely. I was definitely running alone, passing people or being passed (d'oh!) only occasionally. But at each kilometer marker, volunteers and fans congregated to pass out water and Gatorade, and to cheer. I didn't even know these people, and they were cheering for me! Awesome! I ran as hard as I could in the race. As I came within 500 meters of the finish line, there was a lady spraying down the runners with a misting garden hose. That was so nice! Just as I came through the mist and my sunglasses began to clear, there was my oldest son all by himself, yelling, "Dad! Dad!" Then he started running with me- me inside the course, he outside in the spectators area. The last little hill and curve revealed the finish line to me, and all my family and friends going absolutely nuts! It sure made the last half kilometer easier. The race was over, and even though we didn't "win", just the fun and super-positive atmosphere made the day all the better!

I'm sure in the days ahead, as I reflect on the triathlon, I will learn more about myself and about life. What I know right now is that is was hard work (totally worth it) and a lot of fun! We have already started to talk about next year, and have set a really healthy goal: improve our time. Who's with us?

Peace

Posted By Andre Lauzon At 3:04 PM • Comments (0) Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

All Used Up

I was counting today how many people I know that have walked away from full-time ministry. I am not talking about those who have left to pursue a different career path, or those who retired. I am talking about those who have walked away from full-time ministry because of the church. In my 15+ years of being a pastor, I count 15 people hitting the exit and not coming back. About one a year throw in the towel. And that's just people I know personally.

I think of the extremely talented worship pastor who called it quits after getting kicked in the soul by two different churches. Or the pastor who had heart trouble, and found out via the bulletin that the church had hired his replacement. How about the passionate-for-Christ children's minister who was treated like dirt by a group of parents because she wore jeans on a Sunday? They yelled at her until she cried- until she cried!

I wish I could tell you that these are isolated instances, but they are not. There is story after story out there of people committed to ministry being verbally, physically, and spiritually abused by those they serve and lead. What is wrong with evangelical Christianity? I think these stories are evidences that its all used up.

Yup- all used up. The movement that is evangelicalism in North America has run its course, I think. I'm not just talking about the fundamentalists, or the old school evangelicals. I'm talking about the whole stinking lot of Bible carrying, Good News preaching, worship worshiping, gender discriminating, self-satisfied small-group attending evangelicals. And if it's not all used up, then at least I'm all done with the lot of them.

Anyone who is a regular reader of this space knows that I see myself as post-protestant. Just like the Reformation was needed to undo the extremes and wrong turns in Roman Catholicism 500 years ago, we are in desperate need of another reformation right now. Evangelicalism has become at its best, a cross between a bad romantic comedy ("Jesus is my boyfriend!"), and a WalMart employee rally, and at its worst, an insipid self-help movement that is all about the almighty "me". Excuse me while I vomit.

Some of you are saying, "Whoa Andre! You go too far!" I've had this discussion with both lay people and professional ministry staff. Some say I am too harsh on congregations that treat their pastors badly. Ultimately, their argument comes down to this- they think the pastor likely deserved it. Did you catch that? I don't care what kind of huge screw-up a pastor is, he or she doesn't deserve to be abused. That's like faulting a battered woman for not being able to take a punch. That's just frigged up.

So, I declare myself no longer associated with the evangelical movement. I've got nothing against God, Jesus, the Bible, or the Gospel. These remain the cornerstones of my ministry. I'm just done with churches who won't help the poor or hungry because they don't want to look too liberal! I'm done with those that value the suit someone wears on Sunday morning more than the person in the suit. I'm done with those who care more about class distinction than sin distinction. I'm done with those who measure church effectiveness by numbers, not faithfulness. I'm done. As far as I am concerned, it's all used up.

I'm missional. I'm emergent. For this I do not apologize. I serve in a fantastic faith community that treats me better that I probably deserve. They love me, and I love them. For this I am truly thankful. We are near the edge of the next wave of Christianity. The Reformation put the Bible back into the hands of the people; this next reformation will put ministry back into the hands of the people.

If you read this, and don't come to the River, you should come. Not just for a Sunday- that's not what we're all about. You should come on a Thursday morning when there are clients in our office using our free laundry service. You should come on a Saturday when we have the latest edition of the ReUse Store, giving away free clothes, housewares, etc, to 30 or 40 families in need. You should come with us when we deliver furniture to a family of new Canadians who have been sleeping on the floor for months. You should come with us when we pick up food donations from local firehalls for the food bank, or sort hundreds of pounds of food during food drives. You should be with us when all of our hard work and caring shines through, and that person or that family asks us about Jesus, because its in his name we serve.

However, if you enjoy nit-picking about the worship band, or passing judgment on the pastor's sermon, or gossiping about the colour of so-and-so's new dress, stay right where you are. We don't need you or want you. But if you want more- a place to work hard and a community you can commit to- look us up. We could use the help.

Peace

Posted By Andre Lauzon At 4:01 PM • Comments (2) Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Spanish Civil War

I have been reading about the Spanish Civil War lately. Hugh MacLennan's The Watch That Ends The Night was a recent re-read for me, and things just took off from there. The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939. It pitted the democratically elected government (The Republicans) against the fascist rebels of Fransisco Franco. It was a test of how Europe and the whole world would deal with the rising tide of fascism.

The Canadian connection to all of this rests primarily with Dr. Norman Bethune, the brilliant surgeon who led the blood services division for the Republican side early in the war. Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor-General of Canada wrote what I thought was an extremely fair biography of Dr. Bethune. Bethune's contributions to medicine, especially war-time medicine, has not been adequately recognized int his country, me thinks, due to his being a communist. A small statue in Montreal, and that's about it, really.

Almost 2000 other Canadians volunteered to fight on the Republican side during the war. Most were recruited from the working classes of men hit so hard by the Great Depression. Most were new Canadians, originally from Europe. Almost all had their passages to Spain paid for by the Communist Party of Canada, headquartered then in Toronto.

It is into this context that MacLennan writes his novel about Jerome Martel, really depicting Bethune before and after the war. I love MacLennan's ability to transport the reader back to the Montreal of the 30's and 50's. After my latest reading, I have come to ask myself a question, "What would I have done had I been an adult in 1930's Montreal?" Would I have gone to the discussion groups about "the Spanish Question"? Would I have joined the Communist Party? Would I have gone to Spain to fight on the Republican side?

At first glance, it doesn't seem to make sense for me to do any of those things. I grew up in a very Liberal (as in party) home. But I am a pastor. I have fundamentalist and evangelical roots. I am middle of the road in my politics. Given those same facts in a different decade, would I have chosen the Republican side in the war? Would I have had any opinion? The one thing I am sure of is that I am wired to give myself to a righteous cause. I think that cause in the 1930's was the republican side of the Spanish Civil War. I think that cause today is the missional church. More on this in the next blog entry.

What would you have done? Put yourself in Montreal in the late 1930's. Would you have cared about the Spanish Civil War? What side would you have chosen then? How about today? What cause do you give yourself to freely, if any? I look forward to your comments- use the link below!

Peace

Posted By Andre Lauzon At 10:35 AM • Comments (0) Trackbacks (0)

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