A message for Church Leaders from a pastor

I am not currently on our church's elders board and have not talked to our pastor(s) about this blog, but I think it is worth a read from congregational leaders, even in rural Canadian communities where budgets can be tight.

Ken King's Leadership Example

I am a proud Calgary Flames fan - though it has been hard the past five years, being eliminated in the first round four times and then not even making the playoffs last year. I have also been a decent Darryl Sutter supporter, realizing he's made some mistakes but have not been one howling for his neck for the last year. Nonetheless, I admit that yesterday's decision that Darryl Sutter step down as GM was necessary for the club to move on positively.

I love leadership... reading about it, talking about it, doing it, and every once in a while you get a chance to see good leadership. Yesterday as Flames President & CEO Ken King led the press conference, I think it was just another example of watching (listening to) great leadership.

First, King provided clarity on everything, even before the questions were asked. He stated that he had asked Darryl Sutter to step down. Now those story-hungry reporters have no question (did he resign or was he pushed?). Then he answered the Jay Feaster questions with his statement, "I asked Jay if he would be willing to take on the interim GM role? and he indicated that yes he would accept the role, though he did not take the assistant GM role with this goal in mind" - which we honestly all wondered about when King hired Feaster to "assist" Sutter in the summer. Finally, King was clear that both men solidly supported the coaching staff and that this was a vote of confidence for Brent Sutter and staff. King was also clear that he asked both of them (Sutter & Feaster) the question independently, not because he didn't support them, but because he wanted to hear it from them separately. Again... well, there's go another batch of questions the reporters all wanted to ask.

Secondly, King honoured the character of both men. In honouring Darryl Sutter, he highlighted his excellent work in returning the franchise from the sorrowful late 90's and early 2000's. He also commented that Darryl Sutter's response when asked to step down was "what can I do to help the club in this transition?" Then in honouring Feaster he indicated the new GM's character when he said, "The first thing he said was that he was willing to accept it, but it needed to be re-stated again that this was not why he took the assistant GM job." (You mean, you didn't take the assistant GM job knowing that Darryl Sutter was being publically crucified in Calgary and that you would probably get the GM job as soon as anything went wrong? WOW! Even more amazingly, I think King & Sutter & Feaster have me believing them.)

I was just "excited" after listening to the press conference. I believe Ken King and Darryl Sutter are/were good friends. And I believe this was a tough day for Ken King. And yet it was such an example of "good leadership" and it was so beautiful to see.

A few pictures of Rachel's 1st birthday

What should we tell our kids about Santa

Great article by Mark Driscoll in yesterday's Washington Post.

Family Christmas Letter 2010

Dear friends,

For those of you who did not know, the reason you did not receive a Christmas letter last year is because our daughter, Rachel Lynne, was born on December 14. So while we did celebrate Christmas, a family picture and letter simply didn’t happen. Thus, this year has been twice as busy as last year – at least on the home front – yet we are able to find time to send you our greetings and news of 2010.

The first few months of 2010 were spent getting adjusted to the new ratio in the home – two children and two adults. Caleb enjoys his little sister… almost as much as his cars and his bike. Steve continues his work at Prairie Christian Academy and Sarah manages to chase after Caleb while holding Rachel.

The first real highlight of the year was April 11 as Sarah’s sister, Lois, was married to Gregory Lewis, a medical student from Wellsville, New York. Sarah was a (beautiful!) bridesmaid and Caleb, along with Greg’s nephew, served as ringbearers and pulled Rachel to the front in a wagon – or at least that was the plan! Since their wedding, Greg & Lois have been in Albany, the Philippines, Cambodia, Tulsa and again in Albany as Greg completes different internship rotations.

Later that week on April 17, Sarah’s brother, Jon married Kim Plett. Steve was privileged to give the charge to the couple at the wedding ceremony. “Uncle JB” & Auntie Kim live in Three Hills and are much enjoyed by Caleb and Rachel.

Over the summer months, we stayed fairly close to home, not feeling adventurous (or energetic) enough to go too far with two little ones. We took a few days to visit friends in Sexsmith, stopping at Uncle Nathan and Auntie Ruth’s in Edmonton each way to “break up the trip.” We went camping with Mom & Dad Ibbotson and Amanda for a couple days. We also took a very fun trip to Heritage Park with Mom & Dad Hunt. As you can see, we are very blessed to have both sets of parents in town and Caleb and Rachel thoroughly enjoy the blessing they receive.

Sarah and Rachel also flew out to Vernon for a couple days so that Rachel could meet Great-Grampa Friebel and visit Great-Gramma (Nana).

The school year started in late August, and along with his other responsibilities as Christian Education Co-ordinator at Prairie Christian Academy, Steve is also enjoying the challenge of teaching the grade 12 Bible class. One surprise “assignment” which Steve more than gladly accepted was to coach the PCA Sabres Football team (9-man league). It was the team’s first year and they managed to win one game in front of their home crowd! It was fun and a great chance to build into the lives of a group of young men as the school year started.
Sarah enjoys the weekly Mom’s Time Out group, attending the Tuesday morning group this year that Mom Ibbotson facilitates and for which Mom Hunt leads the childcare. So Tuesday mornings are an obvious highlight for Caleb & Rachel! We host a small group of 3-4 other couples with young children on Sunday nights and have also had other families in our home.

Sarah’s Grampa Friebel (95) went to be with the Lord on Friday, November 26. Sarah was glad to be able to fly out with Rachel (and Jon & Kim) for the memorial service, and even more thankful that she and Rachel had been able to go out in the summer. We are grateful for the examples we have on both sides of our family of serving Christ and loving, committed-for-life marriage.

May you have a rich Christmas season!
In Christ,
Steven & Sarah Ibbotson

Interesting Interviews with Canadian Television Creators

Interesting interviews conducted recently by GlobalTV with the creators of two of our favorite shows - and they are both Canadians!

• Interview with “House” creator David Shore
• Interview with “Bones” creator Hart Hanson

IBM CEO Study - Capitalizing on Complexity

I haven't read the whole pdf document but it looks very worthwhile for all leaders.

Book Review - The Grace of God by Andy Stanley

Do we really need another book about grace? Yes, I enjoyed reading a previous Andy Stanley book about leadership and realize that he is an "in-demand" speaker. But on this topic...? Interestingly, in the opening paragraph of his acknowledgements, Andy Stanley shares that this same question came to his mind when Matt Baugher from Thomas Nelson books asked him to write the book. Fortunately for all of us, he graciously agreed to do so and Christians around North America (and hopefully around the world) will benefit from His insight into Scripture and teaching on grace.


In fourteen chapters, pastor Stanley covers a broad range of OT and NT characters and identifies a major principle (or two) that the biblical person's life illustrates. As someone who has grown up within evangelicalism, the individuals and their stories were familiar, and yet the understanding of grace that Stanley draws from the texts was refreshing and challenging. The book is well-written, theologically solid, and graciously convicting. For high school or college age students (or adults) who tend to choose either "law" or "grace" sides, the book is an especially well-explained treatise on the complementary-ness, not competitiveness, of this perpetual discussion. I highly recommend this book, for personal edification or a group study; for new believers as well as "mature" believers who want to be inspired to be more Christ-like without backing down from truth; and for the disillusioned who are hesitant to give Christ's grace another try.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Book Review - YHWH by GP Taylor & Paula K Parker

Reading and writing a review of GP Taylor & Paula K Parker's YHWH: The Flood The Fish and The Giant, Ancient Mysteries Retold is one of the more intriguing tasks I have embarked upon recently. The reason is that while there is nothing specifically wrong or negative I can say about the book, there is also very little to say in terms of recommending it to others.

Although not stated explicitly, it seems the purpose of the book is to "fill in the details" on twenty stories from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). And in so far as that seems to be its purpose, it accomplishes the goal decently. Positively, none of the "extra details" of the narratives contradict the biblical accounts, and they do fill in the details as one might imagine. At times, it makes up names that seem fitting for the historical time of the story, and yet at least in chapter 1, The Fall, the characters who would seem to be Adam and Eve are named Marah and Havva. The rest of the book seems to take seriously the biblical accounts as historically accurate, so this odd re-naming of Adam and Eve seems out-of-place with the rest of the book.

However, there are two negative features to point out... though they are not so much negative as non-descript. First, the writing is nice, easy to read, clear, and reasonable. Yet that it is all that one can say for the writing. It is not historically inaccurate, yet it also does not seem to include or explain any "additional" historical or cultural research that would add to the story beyond what your average high school educated student could add. It is not "brilliant writing" that makes this book come alive.

Secondly, and ultimately my largest criticism of this book is that it adds nothing to our Biblical understanding. Its nice to read on paper what me, my friends, pastors or others may have said in various contexts to fill-in-the-details of the biblical accounts. However, that is all this book is... another person's (two peoples') speculations about what happened based upon what the Hebrew Scriptures do say. Again, nothing wrong with their speculations, yet there is nothing more or less inspiring about their ideas of "reading between the lines" than any other suggestion. And there is nothing about their writing style or research or creative expression that makes this book worth purchasing as something that enlightens biblical thinking.

So, while I do not think anything bad will happen from reading this book, I cannot recommend one spend their hours reading this book, when the Book itself often stays on the shelf unopened or while other additional sources of good writing and/or biblical exposition remain untouched.

Book Review - Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado (re-posted)

I was asked to re-post this book review since Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado releases this month.


A chance to review a book my Max Lucado is a gift opportunity… so I took it! And I am not disappointed. Outlive Your Life is a wonderfully written, easy-to-read, yet challenging text of 16 nice-sized chapters. As the title would indicate, Lucado help a Christian to make a difference with their life that lasts beyond their earthly existence. With his skillful mix of wants to provide stories and examples to illustrate Biblical principles, the book is both compelling and enjoyable.

The “outline” of the book follows select passages from Acts, showing how the early church lived out a principle and thus, the foundational practices that made the Christian community a perpetual impact to all parts of the globe. Two significant features of the book help the individual challenged by the text to personally apply the message. First, a closing prayer at the end of each chapter directly connects to the theme. Additionally, a “Questions for Discussion” and “Ideas for Action” section is included for each chapter at the end of the book, that could be useful for a small group study or digging deeper into the Scripture personally. I strongly recommend this book for both personal edification and possible small group study.

Book has been provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller.

Gonzaga President appointed

I received a newsletter from my alma mater, Gonzaga University, announcing the appointment of Dr Thayne M McCulloh as president. I do not know Dr McCulloh at all but from the press releases, he seems to be a well-qualified individual who has a good solid history with the school and seems to have emerged as the person of choice while serving as interim president. The interesting thing is that as a Jesuit university Gonzaga's president has always been a Jesuit and he is the first "lay president." Again, I have no personal qualms with the individual, the precedent setting, or the "suspension" of the bylaws. Nonetheless, I can imagine that must be an interesting and challenging organizational dilemma in terms of policy, mission and potential "drift."

A second thing to comment on today: "In Plain Sight," a television show featuring Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller is quickly becoming one of my new favorites, primarily because of its exceptional writing... and the acting is good too. It airs Monday nights on Global. It is starting to rival "Joan of Arcadia" as a little-known tv show with extraordinary writing. Hopefully it lasts longer than "Joan of Arcadia."

July 2010 Pictures

Lest a couple of aunties "express their concern" that they do not see pictures of their niece & nephew posted regularly, and if any others are interested, here are some pics from July 2010.





Caleb, balancing with his trucks!






Our "Hall of Fame" boy











Rachel & mommy flying to Kelowna
to visit Nana & Grandpa Friebel

Happy 95th Birthday, Great Grandpa!

I'm so glad mommy & I came to see you!

False Statistics about Evangelical Christians

A few good links today about statistical that have been reported about Evangelical Christianity that are untrue (and invalid).

Associated Baptist Press article "Evangelicals better than mainliners at retaining youth, researcher says"
Christian Post article "Sociologist Debunks Myths on US Christianity" by Lillian Kwon
Bradley E Wright - http://www.brewright.com/ (Univ of Connecticut sociology prof)

I believe the churches in the Three Hills area would parallel these findings and it is a privilege to serve at Prairie Christian Academy in partnering with parents and local churches in seeing our young people grow in their faith and stand firm in Christ after graduation.

Vacation Reading

Did some challenging reading over the first week of vacation time in the area of leadership (one of my favorite reading topics!). The first book I read was Gary L. McIntosh & Samuel D. Rima, Sr.'s Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership (Baker, 1997). The authors did a great job reviewing the explaining the importance of understanding the dark side of leadership and then identified five types: compulsive, narcissistic, paranoid, codependent, and passive-aggressive. My personal self-analysis says that the two I am most susceptible to are "narcissistic" and "compulsive." (There's probably a couple people reading this who think I am also susceptible to "paranoid" but I wouldn't trust their conspiracy theories!)


The other book I am reading (not quite done) is Edwin H. Friedman's A Failure of Nerve (Church Publishing, 1999 & 2007). The author approaches the book from the perspective that in many situations ranging from family counseling to education to church ministry to business leadership, the well-differentiated person who is willing to "show some nerve" is the one who is most capable of leading a family/organization back to health. Regardless of the range of methods/techniques/theories that are prescribed in various contexts, it will be the person who is differentiated who will make meaningful (=lasting) change.


The first portion of the book describes how the cartographers of the late 1400's and early 1500's were sooooo wrong and yet discovery of new locations was "impossible" because of their erroneous maps and assumptions about the world/universe... and then how Columbus and so many others proved the "experts" wrong. The second portion of the book describes how continuing advances in medical/biological research show things about cells and diseases that have interesting parallels to human relationships. The discussion of the "self" within this context is quite interesting. A very interesting and mentally challenging read that provides some interesting insights into leadership.

Preaching what the text says

Just got back from one week of vacation and am checking in on some favorite websites. A really good article at the Stand to Reason site by Greg Koukl. If we really believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, we should preach/teach that way (not use the Scripture as a diving board that we jump off).

Updated pics of our kiddos

Pictures from June 2010

Random thoughts on a Friday morning

Just a few things that have been going through my mind in the last couple weeks that I thought I'd post on the blog. You may find them interesting, humourous, strange or any/all of the above.

*Why do people, especially Christians, seem to put common sense and basic civility aside when they log in to Facebook?
*I care about news in my "friends" lives (eg. baby's birth) and am glad to see these kind of updates on Facebook. But I don't care that you went to the grocery store, made xyz for lunch, etc. Get off your computer and do something. Do nothing except enjoy silence!

*Professor Stephen Hawking has been in the news recently as he is taking a research chair position at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, ON. Much of the discussion has focused on "how can Hawking not believe in God when his writings & lectures about the origin of the universe consistently point to the need for 'something' to have started the process"? Dear friends, do you really think Stephen Hawking's issue with God has to do with the origin of the universe? I would humbly suggest his issue with God has to do with something a lot deeper and more personal (than cosmic). If I need to spell it out further: How can a good, all-powerful God allow a brilliant person like him to suffer from a life-sucking, body-wretching, disease like ALS?

Why do I love living in Three Hills?
*Cruise Night - our son Caleb can be entertained for hours just sitting at the side of the road.
*The town garage sale which includes a free pancake breakfast.
*Where else can you get great deals like 2-for-$1 Coke/Pepsi (1L)? Three Hills IGA 25th Anniversary!

Hope you have a good weekend and
Happy Father's Day to my dad and my father-in-law,
both who are out of town for the weekend!

Review of Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Review of Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

A chance to review a book my Max Lucado is a gift opportunity… so I took it! And I am not disappointed. Outlive Your Life is a wonderfully written, easy-to-read, yet challenging text of 16 nice-sized chapters.

As the title would indicate, Lucado help a Christian to make a difference with their life that lasts beyond their earthly existence. With his skillful mix of wants to provide stories and examples to illustrate Biblical principles, the book is both compelling and enjoyable.

The “outline” of the book follows select passages from Acts, showing how the early church lived out a principle and thus, the foundational practices that made the Christian community a perpetual impact to all parts of the globe.

Two significant features of the book help the individual challenged by the text to personally apply the message. First, a closing prayer at the end of each chapter directly connects to the theme. Additionally, a “Questions for Discussion” and “Ideas for Action” section is included for each chapter at the end of the book, that could be useful for a small group study or digging deeper into the Scripture personally.

I strongly recommend this book for both personal edification and possible small group study.

Book has been provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller.

Remembering the Fear, Thankful for great medical personnel

I went to the Three Hills Health Care Unit today for some regular bloodwork. Just ahead of me in the line was a mom with her young son, I would guess about 4-5 years old. I was reading a book when the lab technician called him in and fairly quickly I could hear him beginning to cry. Suddenly a rush of memories and emotions flooded my heart, mind and tear ducts as I remembered the many times I had to get poked and prodded by medical personnel. After just a few seconds his mom and the ladies taking the blood were able to relax him and soon it was all over. Yet I "felt" the fear again, not just of the pain of the needle but of the unknown and how much it could/would hurt. Yet I'm also grateful that these people did their job kindly yet carefully and properly to help me "get better." A few minutes later it was my turn and I got my bloodwork done, and remembered as had been drilled into me by my mom, "Always say thank you to the nurses & doctors for taking care of you."

In leadership, sometimes one must battle fear and recognize there's going to be pain before things get better. Yet when healing takes place, you'd never want to go back to the place you were in before the pain. And always say "thank you" to those who help you get through the pain to a position of health.

Sports Collectibles... gone crazy

I enjoy collecting hockey cards... and I also enjoy the investment opportunity they can present too. I am hoping to build a decent collection for my son and daughter so that they can "cash in" at some point in the young adult years for college (or something beneficial). Nonetheless, these two stories from Tuff Stuff show that collecting hockey (or baseball) cards and other memorabilia has gone and can go *c*r*a*z*y.


Strasburg Card Sells For $16,403
On eBay sales Stephen Strasburg's baseball card is living up to the hype. Strasburg's one-of-a-kind 2010 Bowman Chrome SuperFractor rookie card sold on Ebay Inc's auction website, sold for $16,403 after opening at 99 cents. Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball's 2009 first-year player draft by the Washington Nationals, is in Triple-A and is scheduled to make his major-league debut during a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 8. Since joining Triple-A Syracuse on May 4, Strasburg has gone 3-0 with a 0.39 earned run average in four starts, striking out 27 batters while walking just four.
The equivalent card for Nationals rookie pitcher Drew Storen, who has a 1.69 ERA after being picked nine places behind Strasburg, is being sold on eBay with a "Buy It Now" asking price of $4,999.

From Scott Fragile's 7th Inning Sketch at TuffStuff.com
Although my share of watching sports history unfold live is modest at best compared to some of the more seasoned sports fans I know, I've never been tempted to add to my list unnaturally. I appreciate having been at the various events because of the thrill and excitement they provided at the time and because of the great memories they provide all these years later. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for many other collectors. In fact, the list of "fake attendees" of a recent game is growing by the thousands as I write this. The reason behind the increase is because the Florida Marlins are currently selling the 11,000 or so unused tickets from the Marlins-Phillies game on May 29. That was the day Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay tossed MLB's 20th Perfect Game. The reason the tickets are now on sale more than 48 hours after the 27th out was recorded is because the Marlins are hoping to cash in on the speculative nature of fans and collectors. The team is selling the remaining tickets at face value and my guess is they will sell at a much quicker rate than the attendance-challenged Marlins typically see them leave their box office. So, for under $20 you can purchase a piece of history and tell your grandchildren you were in attendance the day Halladay made history. While some will cherish the tickets and add them to their respective collections, others will undoubtedly look to flip them on eBay and make a quick buck. The White Sox and Athletics did something similar for the perfect games pitched by Mark Buehrle and Dallas Braden, respectively. Collectors looking to make a quick buck after Braden's gem earlier this year shelled out anywhere from $15-$75 for after-the-fact ticket purchases on eBay, but considering Halladay's resume is far better than Braden's, collectors looking to scoop up a piece of history can expect to pay more than that if they go the eBay route. I guess I don't have a problem with the premise of making the unused (used, whatever you call them) tickets available, but I know I'd be bumming if I was one of the original 25,000 in attendance and my limited-edition collectible just morphed into a 1-of-36,000. To me, buying a ticket after the fact is like saying you were at the game because you saw the highlights on Sportscenter. The bandwagon-jumping "fans" who purchase the tickets in the next few days will have to live with themselves and the rest of the 250,000 people who will claim to have been at the game 30 years from now. For me, I'll just keeping attending sporting events for all the right reasons and hoping history evolves right before my eyes.

Leaders Who Micromanage

Interesting article by Perry Noble on the truth that good leaders do micromanagement... on occasion!

Book Review - The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers

I find it difficult to write a meaningful review of this book because it says a lot of good things and yet it took too long to say it... and its not even 200 pages. As the author bio describes on the back cover, "Mark Sayers is a highly sought-after speaker, commentator, and thinker in the areas of faith and culture." Although I had never heard of him until reading this book, I can believe the bio is accurate. Sayers presents both a good analysis of how identities are being created in various ways in the 21st century as well as a solid biblical theology of personal identity within community.



Unfortunately, he spends so long - eight chapters or 77 pages - describing the various ways in which individuals present themself, some of which becomes overly repititious, that you cannot wait for the solution to be presented. In and of itself, that is not necessarily a problem, though when the solution is covered in two chapters (admittedly 90 pages in total) it seems to be a combination of not enough detail and too much broad stroke theology. Again, there's nothing signficantly wrong theologically or in terms of argumentation, the writing style (at least to me) just doesn't seem to fit the initial "analysis" provided in the opening chapters.



An intereseting book with good things to say, though it really seemed to this reader to be an awkward read.



This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson publishers.

NHL Playoff Predictions - Round 3

Not that my picks in round 2 were very good (50%), but here's my picks for the conference finals. In the Western Conference, its #1 San Jose vs #2 Chicago. This is probably going to be a magnificent series and I think it will be Sharks in 7. In the Eastern Confererence, I'll pick Montreal to beat Philly in six games.

Jesus Makes Beautiful

After awaking this morning and getting all ready to head to work, I checked back to our bedroom one more time and my dear wife caught my eye. Our precious Rachel was making some happy sounds from her bed and so I went to her room and talked with her for a minute before bringing her in to Sarah. Meanwhile, our big boy Caleb also awoke, having come into our bed about 7:00 pm and now rolled over to see mommy, Rachel and daddy. And for me it was just (another) one of those moments where I realized how blessed I am. God has lavished His grace and kindness on me and I'm in awe. The words of this song (I remember Keith Green singing it) probably say it best.

Beautiful (by Dennis Cleveland)
Beautiful, beautiful, Jesus is beautiful, And Jesus makes beautiful things of my life.
Carefully touching me, Causing my eyes to see, Jesus makes beautiful things of my life.
(c) 1982 Maranatha! Music CCCM Music (Admin. by Maranatha! Music)

I proudly confess that I have often substituted Rachel's name into all but the last "Jesus" in the past few weeks as I sing it to our daughter. Nonetheless, I trust that when I'm beaming with pride over the family God has given me, Sarah, Caleb and Rachel that "all eyes see that Jesus really does makes beautiful things of our lives."

A couple pics of Caleb

These two pictures of Caleb provided courtesy of Auntie Beckie (Rebecca Nicolson).

Get a Free Book from Multnomah WaterBrook Press

The Radical Question by David Platt is being promoted by WaterBrookMultnomah Press, a publisher for whom I am pleased to do some book reviews. Although I have not yet read (or reviewed) this book, you can request a free copy of The Radical Question by going to clicking here or you can download and read chapter one here, or just find out information on The Radical Question by going to the Radical book web site.

NHL Round 2 Playoff Predictions

Here are my predictions for Round 2 of the NHL playoffs.
As was the case for many people, they can't go much worse in the Eastern Conference!

Western Conference
San Jose over Detroit in six games - San Jose had their scare in round 1 & Phoenix proved Detroit is more beatable than we all thought.
Vancouver over Chicago in six games - Luongo easily outbattles Niemi. Chicago is a good young team, but not quite ready to get to the next level.

Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh over Montreal in five games - Though I'm still shocked Montreal dumped the offensively powerful Washington Capitals, good for them! But the Penguins are in a class by themselves in the East.
Philadelphia over Boston in seven games - Boston was impressive to beat the Sabres and made Ryan Miller look very human (something no one could really do this hockey season). However, I'm picking Philly to keep rolling with a good balance of strong defence, solid offensive balance, and Brian Boucher.

Open and Shut

Another great episode of House, MD on Monday April 26, 2010 titled "Open and Shut." Basically, three great paradoxes concerning marriage:
1) Be honest with your spouse about the little things that "annoy" you... and be willing to let these indiosyncracies stay as little things.
2) What people sometimes see as a barrier or "excitement killer" in marriage, is actually God's protection for both partners.
3) Trust and forgiveness are so vital for a marriage.

Okay, well I'm not sure I summarized those best, yet I can assure you I have an amazingly patient and incredible wife!

That kinda husband in 50 years!

I was coming home from the office a little early on a Friday afternoon (in my wheelchair) when Mr M passed me driving up to our area of homes. I was a little surprised to see him in our neighborhood, but waved nicely as he waved to me. A few seconds later my initial surprise found answer as I saw him stop by our neighbour's house. Mr R was carrying his box - I don't know what's in it but I'm guessing pictures of him and his wife, maybe their children and families, etc. As I drove by, I could see Mr R praying with his arms outstretched to the Lord in the car and Mr M with head bowed. I pieced the details together in those few seconds and realized Mr M was probably picking up Mr R and they were driving together to the L Nursing Home to visit their respective wives who are in care there. And I teared up as I drove by and thought, "Lord, I want to be that kind of husband in 50 years... or whatever!" Personally, I can't imagine outliving Sarah, given that I'm already older than her and perhaps "not as healthy" (too put it politetly!). But if for some reason in God's design she's in an extended care facility and I'm healthy enough to live at home, "Lord, I want to be that kind of husband" if that day comes. May God help me!

Leadership Reflections April 2010

Just a few miscellaenous storylines running through my head... and a few blogs... related to leadership:

• Jarome Iginla (captain of the Calgary Flames) - he could just dive in a hole and avoid the media, as apparently teammate Craig Conroy wishes he would, be he comes out every day and answer the call with the media. Whether its questions about how poorly he's playing, why the team cannot win when they desperately need to, of if he's even going to be a member of the Calgary Flames next year, he just keeps answering the questions. He's the leader. He's been given (and earned) the "C" and so that's his job he believes. He doesn't complain about being in a Canadian market and admits he loves being in a hockey-crazy city where the hockey team is the topic of the day. Good on ya, Jarome! Way to step up and be a leader even when its tough.
• John Piper's upcoming leave - although its been reflected upon plenty in the last week, just want to express my appreciation to Pastor Piper for his godly example in realizing that something is amiss and taking necessary steps to deal with the soul concerns. BTW, equal kudos to their church elders for giving him a paid leave, even though Pastor Piper suggested he not be paid for this leave. Oh yeah, and again, good job by John Piper for inviting Rick Warren to speak at the next "Desiring God" conference.
• I just gotta say: my heart is blessed reading the blog of Pastor Mark Batterson and the National Community Church in Washington, DC. Though I do not even pretend to understand American politics, I believe God may be doing something in Washington, DC when His Church is so keenly alive. No, I don't know what... how... but God is still moving in that city through His people.

Start Here book review

Alex & Brett Harris, authors of Do Hard Things, have written a useful and friendly guide to taking the next step in Start Here. The authors want to help those young people who have a desire to "do hard things" get started on that journey and this is a how-to manual for that process. With the teenage or young adult audience in mind, the book is an easy read.

Although simple and straightforward, the book does contain good "life principles" for any person to follow and is not without doses of reality (eg. criticism will come, people will get excited about your idea but fail to follow through, etc) and the encouragement to keep going. Likewise, they do a good job in the opening chapters talking about discovering your natural talents, spiritual gifts, and discerning God's will. These sections have broader application than just a "hard thing" project, and are useful life skills for a Christian young person, presented in a Biblically consistent manner.

Overall, I am eager to hear the Harris brothers verbally when they are in Canada (Surrey in May and Edmonton in June). If their writing is any indication, it should be a challenging and inspiring day for our teenagers/young adults and will help them get started on making choices that will give their life the purpose and meaning God intended. Any teen who reads these books will be better for having done so.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Press.

Book Review forthcoming

I just received this book on Friday, March 19. I'm hoping to have it read and the review posted by Friday, March 26. Here's the promo info send to me by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing House.

At the age of eighteen, Alex and Brett Harris wrote Do Hard Things—and launched a movement that would change a generation. Young people around the world were ready to be inspired, ready to move beyond complacency, ready to rebel against society’s low expectations.

Now the highly anticipated companion book, Start Here, answers the questions Alex and Brett have received from thousands of teens on their worldwide conference tour and popular online community: How do I get started? What hard things does God want me to do? How do I keep from getting discouraged or burned out? What is the best way to inspire others?

Filled with stories and insights from Alex, Brett, and other real-life rebelutionaries, Start Here is a powerful and practical guide for young people who are ready to take the next step and blast past apathy. Let the rebelution continue.

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing House.

Finding Jesus at College

A challenging article from the Chronicle of Higher Education relating to students faith development at Bible colleges and universities. Makes me want to buy the book and read the data!

Latest Pictures of Rachel

Q&A with Phil Ryken, Wheaton's Next President

Nice interview with Phil Ryken who has recently been selected to serve as Wheaton College's next president. Solid leadership philosophy comes through in the interview.

Book Review - Love & War by John & Stasi Eldredge

I was hoping I could read Love & War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of in reasonably quick time as it arrived just in time for Valentine's Day... though ideally I wanted to read it through together with my wife the first time. However, the Eldredge's have written another excellent book... yet like their other works, it takes some time to digest sections of each chapter. Thus I have not finished reading the book... and will try to read it through with my wife on a second reading. Nonetheless, there are already three comments I can make:

1) The Eldredge's bring 25+ years of marriage experience to their writing, in addition to years of pastoral counseling. I have been married for less than three years and believe my wife and I have a fairly healthy marriage with good, open communication. Reading this book may help us go deeper together and consider potential future issues before they arise. Nonetheless, for me to "critique" this book seems potentially arrogant, at the very least risky.
2) The Eldredge's are vulnerable and authentic about the truth that marriage is hard work (even) for two people who sincerely love each other and desire to follow Christ. The stories they share, and the way in which they frame the discussion with their gifted word-smithing, provide real examples of the challenges a couple may face and they aren't afraid to get nitty-gritty, even making one uncomfortable.
3) While the Eldredge's previous books (especially John's) have been questioned for theological concerns, thus far Love & War shows a strong, orthodox theology of creation, humanity individually and corporately, marriage, sin, salvation and eschatology.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book and would recommend it to any Christian couple.

This book was provided by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing for review.

Recent pictures of Rachel

Recent pictures of our precious little lamb, Rachel.
<--January 16

January 27













February 9

Miscellaneous leadership reflections of January 2010

Just a few miscelleneous reflections related to leadership as January 2010 comes to an end...

1) The Calgary Flames are in the midst of a horrid seven game losing streak. All the doctors of Alberta could be employed full-time just setting broken ankles from all the Flames fans jumping off the bandwagon! The common theme from hockey experts as well as passionate fans with varying degrees of knowledge or insight seems to be "there's something that needs to be changed among the core group of players." I'm not personally convinced that there is a problem, personality-wise or talent/skill-wise with the core group. Furthermore, I'm also not convinced that any judgments - or decisions about breaking up the core group - should be made on this team until the NHL playoffs are over... though admittedly that does presume the team gets into the playoffs, an assumption that the current losing streak is bringing into suspense.

2) The Patrice Cormier hit and the ensuing suspension delivered by the QMJHL are appropriate. Cormier's hit was late, intentional, and vicious - you could see his elbow come up directly to Michael Tam's head. Credit to Cormier he issued a statement indicating he would not appeal the suspension and accept the punishment (which is pretty significant for a player trying to make an impression on the NHL team that has drafted him). Additionally, credit the NJ Devils for also making a statement that they will uphold the spirit and letter of the suspension (ie. not call him up to their AHL minor league team to play). A player making a stupid choice, being dealt a severe though appropriate punishment, and accepting it like a man. Really, when was the last time that happened? Maybe he wasn't that bad a choice for Canada's World Junior team captain.

3) Haiti Earthquake Disaster and Relief. I've talked with many people who have travelled internationally and they all agree that whatever other country they may have visited (eg. India, Philippines, etc), nothing compared to Haiti. Haiti was a whole other level of poverty, tragedy, lack of health-anything, lack of political-anything, lack of education-anything, and corruption... long before the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The earthquake that seems to have suddenly drawn everyone's attention to this area of the world has just exacerbated an already unbelievably horrific day-to-day existence in this country.

I don't agree with Pat Robertson's assessment that this earthquake was God's judgement on Haiti. Nonetheless, I think the Scripture is clear that when a nation chooses to honour God in their values and decisions, there will be "success." Likewise, when a nation chooses to explicitly exclude God from their life, it should not be surprising when God allows them to reap the results of their desires and choices (again, pre-earthquake the statistics for Haiti on infant mortality, poverty, life expectancy, etc were deplorable). Admittedly, this may not have been the people's desires as much as the will of a few political and dictatorial leaders.

It is amazing how the world has rallied to the support of Haiti... and it is my prayer that as acts of kindness and care are shown to Haitians, they will also hear the Gospel and begin growing a solid foundation for living for this country until Christ comes again. I think it is really cool that our Canadian government has stepped up to match gifts that citizen give to Haiti in such a generous way, even in the midst of our "economic troubles." Organizations like Samaritan's Purse and Haiti Arise are two that I would encourage friends to consider.

Moses' First Leadership Mis-communication

In the first message in a new series on Moses’ life, our pastor (Tim Strickland) brought out a point from Scripture I had never noticed before. The day after Moses kills an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew slave, he tries to intervene in a fight between two Hebrews and they have a rather indignant response to him (see Exodus 2:14).

The point I had not noticed is the Acts 7:24-25 commentary on this situation…which is not explained in the Exodus account. “Moses supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.” (ESV)

In other words, Moses kills the Egyptian who was beating on the Hebrew slave and expects that the Hebrews will now realize that this guy who grew up in the Pharaoh’s place is really on their side and now is ready to stand up to the Egyptians and save them from the enemy. But Moses’ fellow Hebrews have no such idea. In fact, they seemingly think the opposite. “You think just cuz you’re part of the Pharaoh’s household you can kill whoever you want and nothing will happen to you.”

How often in leadership situations do we presume that others know the reason and rationale behind our actions and decisions… when they may have no clue as to why we made such a choice… and in fact, may think the opposite of our intention? A person could walk away, as Moses did, or throw his/her arms up in frustration, asking “why won’t this people respond to my leadership?” A leader needs to clearly communicate… even stating the seemingly obvious… the reasons behind an action/decision to minimize the probability of misunderstanding.

Rachel at one month

Just a couple pics of Rachel at one month old.

New Pictures of Rachel

A few more pictures of Rachel taken in the first week of January.

Christmas 2009 Pictures - Rachel

Rachel falling asleep with mommy and Caleb on Christmas Eve.
(Caleb had a little accident so his hand is in a cup of cold water)


Rachel's stocking had a few gifts for our precious little lamb.

Rachel and Mommy on Christmas day... in my Christmas outfit.

Christmas 2009 Pictures - Caleb

Caleb got a truck, among other things, in his stocking and was quite thankful!

Caleb got many other wonderful gifts, but his favorite seems to be his Black & Decker tool bench with power saw, drill, hammer, nails and screws!

Caleb is ready to watch the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon... well, actually daddy enjoyed watching it more then Caleb!