In honor of the great leaders at Bay

I shared this with the incredible leaders of Bay at what I thought was my last board meeting... we came up with another board meeting since then - lol.   Much respect and appreciation to some beautiful people.

June 22, 2015

Dear Bay leaders,

These days I find myself grasping for words rich enough to give substance to the gratitude I feel for each one of you.   Some people feel sorry for me when they hear I am a pastor.  Others have horror stories of pastoral ministry.  I would be lying if I said the journey as a whole has had no challenges.  But I am deeply glad to say that serving alongside each of you has been one of the richest blessings in my life.  I love my job, and you have made pastoring Bay such a joy. 

This month as I looked back on fifteen years at Bay, I have wept tears of gratitude as I thanked God for you.  Thank you for giving your time, your money, your prayers, and your love.  Thank you for walking with God.  Thank you for making disciples.  Thank you for making Christ's mission your mission.   Thank you for standing in unity.  Thank you for all the things you do in secret for God that no one knows but him.  He will honor you richly.

More personally, thank you for being friends and being family to me and to my family.  This move to Scotland is exciting, an adventure, dreams fulfilled.  It's also hard to make, and one of the biggest reasons isn't the stuff we leave behind - it's that we are saying goodbye to such good people.  If it were just up to me I wouldn't want this to end.  But going is God's will and I know his will is good - in fact, best - so I wouldn't have it any other way.  One consolation is the hope that we will come to know people in Scotland  who are perhaps nearly as good as the folks we leave behind at Bay!

It might be scary or odd, anyway, to carry on for a season without a senior pastor.  I am trusting our Shepherd Jesus to lead you well.  I am asking Christ to release an extra measure of leadership gifting among you which makes you more than equal to the task, as you rely on him, the Head of the Church.

My family and I are deeply grateful for your prayers and support as we take this new step of faith.  We are trusting God for greater fruit in our lives and in our beautiful Bay Community Church family as we each follow Jesus into the future he has prepared for us.

As you press forward together to know Jesus and make him known, let me encourage you to cherish the fellowship you have with one another.  In the words of Dietrich Bonheoffer,

"Therefore let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart."   (Life Together).

And in the words of Jesus,

John 17:20–21 (NIV)

²⁰“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

He has started this good work in you, and he will finish it (Phil 1:6).  Glory to God.

Invitation: House Facelift Party @ The Mitchells July 25!

A family we know needs some help, and I am asking you to consider pitching in.  The family is us - the Mitchells! 

We need your help to sell our house.   We are having a Facelift Party for our house and you are invited!

As you know, God has called us to Scotland this fall.  I'll be starting three years of full time study and we'll be joining the mission of Jesus over there and reconnecting with Agnes' family.  And God has told us to sell our house as one part of financing this new calling.  It's been on the market three weeks, lots of showings, and the common feedback is "too much work."  The truth is, our house is older, it's very "lived in", and you may be aware, while I try, I am not much of a handyman.  lol.

Our realtor told us we need to drop the price and give the house a facelift. 

We are evaluating the price, and praying and trusting God that the house could sell any day.  And we are trying to do our part to make our house attractive to a buyer! 

If you can, will you help us?

Saturday July 25, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm is our House Facelift Party.  If you want to help and you can paint, haul junk to the dump, clean, pack, fill cracks,  or just do whatever needs done, you are invited!  Come for an hour or come all day.   Come at lunch and we'll make sure you're fed!

You don't need to RSVP but if you could that would help us with planning for that day.

We will have a list of jobs - you can pick ones that suit you.  If you want to see the list in advance, let us know, or if you want to come on a different day to help out - that would be amazing too.

It's humbling to ask.  But we are family and so we're not ashamed to just let you know we have this big need we really can't take care of by ourselves.    We need to ask for your help to follow Jesus where he's taking us.  No pressure, but if you are able to help, that would be amazing!

Pray for us, as we pray for you.

With our love,

David, Agnes, Acacia, Elijah, Andrew and Levi

PS. God's provision for us has been amazing so far - getting accepted in seminary just in time, receiving a house in Scotland for a fraction of normal rent, and we are trusting he has this in his hands too.  Thanks for believing God with us on this journey.

The Mitchells are Moving to Scotland!!!!!!!

Note: this Sunday Agnes and I announced our family’s call to Scotland.  Below is my letter to you about this journey.  Would love to connect personally this summer and after we go, stay in touch as God leads each of us on our journeys.  We are here for another 10 weeks!

June 13, 2015

Our dear Bay family,

This may be the hardest letter I have had to write.  Words cannot describe the feelings behind it.

Fifteen years ago the clear call of God led me to become part of the ministry of Youth For Christ Comox Valley and Bay Community Church.  Two years later you confirmed God's clear call on my life to pastor this amazing church family. 

I have always been committed to Bay for the long term and imagined spending the next thirty years serving here and probably retiring in Comox.  I did my growing up here, many of my closest friends are here, and I love this church and this Valley. It probably would take nothing short of a two by four to jar me out of this comfortable place.

The two by four hit me last month while I was worshiping in chapel at Regent College in Vancouver.  I thought I was there for a theology class, but I was there to hear a call from God.  The voice of God has been persistent and strong since that time.  The call has come clearly through Scripture, circumstances, open doors, a multitude of godly and prophetic counsel from people close to us, and the redirecting of our hearts.  As my mentor Barry Falk said when I told him my story, "This is one of the clearest calls I've seen in my life."   While it's hard, it's also exciting, and we can't say no to Jesus.  The truth is I thought at first I could put it off a year, but God has made it so plain that the time to go is now.  In fact he has been blowing the doors open to make this happen.  It has taken our breath away.

God has called me, Agnes, and our family on a new adventure.  He is leading us to Scotland, where Agnes grew up and where she and I met at Bible college.  Hindsight is 20-20, and we can see a masterful tapestry of providential care that has prepared us for this step.   We will be heading out at the end of the summer.

It will be incredible for our kids to get to be part of Agnes' family and culture during this new season in our lives, and very sweet for Agnes to live in her homeland again.  We have a sense of calling to mission as we go, that perhaps in some sense we're being led in the ministry footsteps of Agnes' father, Rev. John Ferguson.  Agnes is quite a preacher and I wonder if she won't be preaching again.  We're hearing God say, "There's a spiritual battle going on here in Scotland, and I'm calling you to join the ranks."  Previously, I had set aside aspirations of doing significant further study; now God has awakened that dream and is opening a door for me to do a 3 year theology degree at Edinburgh Theological Seminary, starting in September.  I believe God's purpose is to increase the tools in my toolbox, preparing me for a new season of ministry. After that, we trust God will lead us, and we pray we will be ready and faithful.

We love every one of you like family and it has been such a holy and joyful privilege to live among you.  You have loved, served, invested, honored, and shared yourselves with us in such a wonderful way; we have been humbled and blessed over and over.  Our cup has overflowed.  What an incredibly faithful, nurturing and affirming church family our kids have been able to grow in.  What models you have been to us of faith and faithfulness, prayer and sacrifice, mission and obedience.  I see Jesus so strongly in this church and I am very proud of you in the Lord.  I am so excited about how God is at work in Bay.  I have great faith that even with all the great things God has done in Bay's past, your best days as a church are waiting for you to discover in the very good future he has planned.    We are praying for you and we are confident.

It will be so hard to say goodbye to you!  As your pastor my heart is absolutely torn, but I know it will be okay.   I want ask you to bring me joy by doing these things: walk closely with Jesus, keep building a community of disciples, and live the mission for the sake of the lost and the glory of God.   Trust God to lead you in his way and time in choosing a new pastor who has a heart after God and will help you to grow in grace and truth, faithfulness and fruitfulness.  Honor, pray for, and partner with him and his family as they serve you.

I have been honored to support many of you through life transitions.  Now we are asking for your support. 

Above all, please pray for us.  This whole adventure was initiated by Jesus, it is for him, and we can only walk it through intimacy with him.  Pray that we would stay rooted in the grace and presence of Jesus, and strong as a family.  Pray for all the preparations - there are a lot of details to walk through in a short timeline.

If you have wisdom about international moves with children, share it with us!   If you catch us crying, offer a hug.  If you feel led to drop off a meal or help us sort through fifteen years of stuff or get our house ready for transition... come on over!  

We are going in faith - God has clearly called and we are fully confident in his provision.  Once our house sells, we expect to have 40-50% of the funds needed for the three years ahead.  We are prepared to work part time as God leads and opens doors.  We are trusting God to move hearts of people to support us if that is his way.  Coming this far this fast has been a miracle, and we are thanking God in advance for the miracles he will do.  We would value your prayer that we will walk strong in faith and see God provide in his way and in his time.

We would love to connect with you personally before we go - give us a shout and let's get together.    We hope to have space for guests in Scotland - start planning your visit nowJ.

Jesus is coming.  After we're gone, if we don't see you again here, we'll see you there.  Let's bring along as many as we can.

Philippians 1:27 (NIV)  Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.

All our love, respect, prayers, and gratitude,

 David, Agnes, Acacia, Elijah, Andrew and Levi

Crazy Brilliant guy from the 3rd century: Origen of Alexandria

The Life and Times of Origen of Alexandria

When I was a high school student, the last thing I would spend my spare time on is reading history.

But as I’ve gotten older and especially in the past year I have become fascinated with the question of how we got to where we are today.  And the answer is found in history.

One of my goals this year is to get a better grasp on this history of western civilization.

As a Christian and a pastor, naturally I’m interested in the interesection of Christian faith with western history.

I took a class related to that this summer.  For that class, I researched the life of a 3^rd century man you may not have heard of, but whose impact was enormous.  I believe whether or not you are a person of faith you will find his life inspiring.

He was the greatest biblical scholar since the apostle Paul, and influenced the following 1300 years of biblical interpretation.   If you’ve ever heard of the Bible containing a deeper or allegorical meaning beyond its literal-historical meaning, the roots of that idea trace back to this man.  [He also provided one of the first near-complete lists of the New Testament books, and wrote the first systematic theology and a massive Hebrew-Greek parallel edition of the Old Testament.]

Much of his life is recorded by 4^th century historian Eusebius.  And many of his 2000+ works were preserved by Latin translator Rufinus.

His name: Origen of Alexandria, Egypt.  He was born to Christian parents around 185 AD.

His father was his most significant teacher in early life.  In the year 202 Emperor Septimus Severus initiated an anti-conversion law with severe persecution.  Soldiers came to their home and collected Origen’s father.  Origen, 17, wanted to go to be martyred with him, but his mother prevented him from emerging by hiding his clothes.  Origen told his father, “mind you, don’t change your mind on our account.”   He didn’t, and he was beheaded.  A year later, Origen was called on to fill in as a theological teacher.

Origen was not only a Bible scholar; he was throughly trained in the disciplines of Greek education.  In his school, to which thousands came over nearly 30 years, he taught philosophy, logic, natural science, geometry, and astronomy as a primer to ethics and theology.  One writer says he studied by night and prepared the faithful for martyrdom by day.  It was not only other Christians who attended his school.   So highly respected was he, that Greek philosophers sought his counsel and sometimes dedicated their writings to him.  His popularity may have afforded him some protection, but he was often on the run avoiding plots on his life.

At age 47 (232 AD) he accepted an invitation to leave Egypt for Palestine to serve in Caesarea.  This coincided with his excommunication by the Alexandrian bishop, perhaps motivated by jealously  In Caesarea where he live 20 years, Origen was ordained a priest, founded a Christian school and library, preached, counselled the persecuted, and built meaningful relationships with the Jewish rabbis.  It was during this time he wrote the majority of his works.

As an old man Origen was tortured and pressed to renounce his faith.  He didn’t, but the abuse left his body weak, and he died in Tyre 253.

Idiosyncracies

Origen’s mastery of Greek philosophy made him a highly skilled critic of his host culture.  However it also distorted aspects of his Biblical theology.  A later church counsel rightly pegged his proposals regarding universal salvation for everyone including the devil himself as heresy.

He was an ascetic, often fasting from food, wine, sleep, and even shoes.  In his devotion to serve God, he literally made himself a eunuch through castration.  Nevertheless These lifestyle choices made him the “ancestor of the great monastic movement”^[1].

Contributions

Origen's goal was to make the Bible practical for everyday people.

His life is an example of healthy critical dialogue with people of 

opposing worldviews, with meticulous care establishing rappoire with Greek philosophers and Jewish rabbis (learned Hebrew just to be able to dialogue with Jews intelligently).

His role in the History of Biblical interpretation:  he popularized the allegorical, or spiritual interpretation of Scripture.  That is, in addition to the literal meaning of the text, there is a spiritual meaning with Christ at the centre.   

He promoted a sense of wonder in God.  I finish with this quote from Origen in On First Principles:  “For whatever be the knowledge which we are able to obtain of God, either by perception or reflection, we must of necessity believe that He is by many degrees far better than what we perceive Him to be.”^[2]

---

[1] Jean Danielou in McDermott

[2] Origen, “De Principiis,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Frederick Crombie, vol. 4, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 243.

Malaysian Air massacre: does it matter to God?

You, like me were most likely sickened to your stomach to hear of the Malaysian passenger airliner downed over Ukraine on Thursday.  The jury is still out on who shot it down. 

 

I cannot begin to imagine the grief and anger of those who lost family members in an act of senseless, calculated mass murder.  

But I can identify with many who hear this story and ask, “if God is real, doesn’t he care?  What is he doing?”   These are massive questions and we can never pretend to solve all the mystery they imply, on this side of history.  Nevertheless if the Bible truly is a word from God, it must have something to say to us in this. 

The words of Dr. John Lennox are fresh in my mind, as he shared in a public lecture at Regent College this week how he walks with friends facing massive pain and injustice.   He points to the cross of Christ.  “If that’s God on the cross then God does not remain distant from our suffering but himself has become part of it.”  And he reminds us that final justice is promised.  “The flip side of a  God of love, is that he is a God of justice.  A God who doesn’t dispense justice isn’t a God of love at all... It will be utterly fair.   I believe one day you will look back and have no more questions.”   

I do not pretend to think these words in themselves could bring comfort to people dealing with such inhumane loss.  But I am convinced to my core that they point to the person who can: Jesus Christ.  Read one of the four New Testament Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John – for the historical account of Jesus Christ’s entry into the human race, sacrificial death, and his literal resurrection from the dead - the proof that when he returns, all will be set right.   

Why do people of all nations celebrate Christmas?

Don’t you think it’s amazing that an event that took place in an obscure part of the Middle East 2000 years ago is celebrated today up and down the streets of our valley, across our nation, and around the world?

Think of all the people who have ever been born.   Do you know how many that is?    Carl Haub is senior visiting scholar at the Population Reference Bureau.  He guestimates that throughout human history, 107 Billion people have been born.

Out of all those birthdays, there is one that divides history into before and after.

One that switches on billions of holiday lights.

One child given as a gift to the world, setting off a gift giving season unlike any other.

One person whose life inspired millions to live lives abandoned to the good of others and the glory of God – from adopting orphans, caring for the sick and dying, setting up schools, hospitals, and universities.   Creating great music, art, and science, and going to the uttermost parts of the earth to bring hope to their fellow man.

One person whose birth was all but hidden on earth but announced from heaven.  And in our day that announcement is fulfilled all around the globe.

Luke 2:10 (NLT)
"but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people."

There is certainly today a lot of shopping and making money associated with Christmas.   But it has not been able to hide the real meaning behind the celebration.

There is a reason Christmas is celebrated around the world.

It has to be something greater than presents.

It has to be something greater than “just for the kids.”

It has to be greater than an opportunity to make a buck.  Because in many places Christmas has little to do with buying and giving gifts.

What is the reason that Christmas is celebrated around the world?  It is because we have a universal need.   And Christ alone meets that need.

Some people talk about sin.  Brokenness in our relationships, brokenness in our lives.  Fear.  Addiction.  Shame.  Bondage.  Feeling lost.  Empty.

The Bible gives a diagnosis for this problem: we have lived separately from the God who knows and loves us.

 God is the great king of all things.  And we’re living in the king’s world, in the bodies our creator formed for us, but we’re not living under the authority of this king.

There is a gulf that exists between him and us, and that gulf exists within our own hearts.  Unless the king himself comes as a fellow human, takes on our brokenness and sin, and bridges that gulf, we are lost.

In Christ that is what God did.

God became a baby who would grow to be a boy, and then a man who would never step out of obedience to God.  Then he would take our place and die for our sin on a Roman cross outside of Jerusalem.

He faced the greatest imaginable shame at the cross.  Yet he did it for love.  He did it for you.
WE don’t remember the names of any of the thousands the Romans crucified.  But we remember the name of Jesus.

We don’t hold school holidays and international celebrations for the birth of anyone like we do for Jesus.  But we do it for him because he is worthy of our highest praise and our full allegiance and he is
certainly worthy of a party that spans the continents and the oceans of this planet that he loves so much.

Luke 2:11-12 (NLT)
"The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."

The king of kings was born that day.  Had they known who he was they would have custom built a palace for him in Bethlehem.   But they didn’t recognize him.    There was no room for them in the inn, so they laid him in a manger in stable, with the animals, and only the lowly shepherds to adore him.

But he calls you and me today who know how the story unfolds to honour him as our Lord who we will obey, and our saviour, who we will trust with our lives.

And so on his behalf I issue that call to you.  Believer or current nonbeliever.

Do not think that you are included in his gift, if you call him your saviour but refuse him as your Lord. Do not think that you are excluded from his gift, if your guilt feels too great, because God’s son has paid your debt in full.   Do not merely celebrate the holiday of Christmas.   But commit your heart to Christ. Do not only give your gifts to you family.  Give your life to the Father who gave us his Son.

Courageous: Insights From the Lips of a 10 Year Old I Know

If you haven't seen it, you should: Courageous the Movie is now out on DVD and HD cable.  It's an action packed story with a  phenomenal challenge to those of us who are parents and especially men to live out our calling.

I had the privilege tonight of reading a letter a 10 year old from our church wrote to Randy Alcorn, author of Courageous: the Novel.

Here is his letter which Randy posted online.  Read the whole post and comments here.

Christian, you shine!

Dear writers of Courageous: Mr. Alex Kendrick, Mr. Stephen Kendrick & Mr. Randy Alcorn,

My name is Christian and I am ten years old. I love the bookCourageous that you men wrote. It’s awesome; and it’s my favourite (same with the movie!). Here are 20 notes that stuck out to me:

1. When you’re going to do something you have to do it right.
2. You HAVE TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY
3. Don’t let peers tell you how to do everything, take initiative, stand out, and do what’s best.
4. Making decisions takes a lot of prayer and thought.
5. To go against the flow is hard but it’s worth it in the end.
6. Say the truth even when it hurts.
7. To be courageous you need to have a lot of integrity.
8. Never give up on God.
9. Work hard.
10. Interview your daughter’s date.
11. Be a man of your word.
12. Love your family so much that you would be willing to die for them.
13. Don’t treat one family member better than the other.
14. Don’t ignore the advice of elders.
15. Be the head of the home.
16. Never give up.
17. The prayers of little children are very powerful.
18. Don’t be lazy.
19. Never give up on your children and influence them when you can.
20. Never let go of the wheel (be the man of your life).