Recently I posted a link to my Facebook page for an article in The Christian Science Monitor. The article was about Lindsay Lohan and entitled, “The Entourage Culture Undermines Essential Values!” It was a fascinating article not because it was startling in its conclusions, or because it had any great insight that anyone with a modicum of decency and common sense couldn’t have gleaned, but because a secular newspaper was recognizing the climate and reality that our media obsessed culture has produced and was willing to state, “The emperor has no clothes.” Here’s a shocker – what we’ve been living and the no guilt, no responsibility lifestyle that we’ve promoted, doesn’t work!

Over the years traditional family values have been given the short shrift from the Main Stream Media (MSM) and have been mocked and decried as out of touch and of the Victorian era from the liberal left. Slowly, though, I believe that there is an awakening to the realization that in our attempts as a society to throw off convention and alleviate ourselves of guilt, responsibility, and to live life with regard for no one or no thing other than ourselves, we’ve become a self-absorbed culture which lacks values such as integrity and accountability and personal responsibility.

The article from the Christian Science Monitor points out that surviving celebrity is essentially the same as for everyone else. You need someone to help keep you grounded and you need something bigger than yourself, such as “spiritual values”, which give meaning and purpose to your life. Uh, that’s funny because that’s part of the message Christianity has been preaching for centuries!

If you want to read the article, go to my Facebook page and click on the link there.

Have you ever heard of “Coltan”? Short for columbite-tantalite, Coltan may just be the most important mineral you’ve never heard of. When refined, Coltan has heat resistant properties while holding an electrical charge for an extended period of time, making it excellent for manufacturing capacitors and circuit boards. Naturally the electronics industry, cell-phones manufactures, computers companies and anyone who puts a circuit board in a machine is highly interested in and knows all about Colton.

Coltan is mined in only a few places around the world, yet it is found in every cell-phone on the market today. Consider this: Apple alone sells 8.75 million cell-phones worldwide every 3 months. That’s a lot of Coltan. Mined in the Congo, Australia, Brazil and Canada (80% of the known reserves are in the Congo), Coltan has reached the rarefied distinction of being among the world’s most contested resources, coming in behind only oil and water!

Now, you may be asking, Pastor Chris where are you going with this? Well as you know, July 1^st is Canada Day. Do you know what June 30^th is? It’s Congo Day. On June 30^th the Democratic Republic of the Congo celebrates 50 years of existence. Unfortunately, much of its history (3 decades to be exact) has been characterized by the brutal dictatorship and repressive regime of strongman Mobutu Sese Seko, and the current President, Joseph Kabila, is not a reform minded leader but someone out of the same mold as Seko.

Here’s what I’m thinking – take a repressive regime and combine it with one of the most contested and valuable resources in the world and you can begin to see that the potential for abuse and human rights violations is great. So, I’m celebrating Congo day by sharing a little bit of what I’ve learned about Coltan and its value to the people of this African nation.

In a country where 80% of the people subsist on less than $2 a day and government spending on health care amounts to $7 per person annually, it seems to me that we, the cell-phone and electronics consumers of the world, have a tremendous opportunity to demand reform for the country’s 70 million people.

If you think I’m daft, consider: as I’m writing this blog I’m sitting in Starbucks. Thanks to consumers, Starbucks is now one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to free-trade coffee and making a difference for coffee bean farmers in third world countries. Coffee drinkers have a heart and when they heard the plight of third world farmers and saw the potential to make a difference through the brew they drink, they demanded change and companies like Starbucks listened.

Now, we have the same opportunity when it comes to cell-phones and Coltan. How? Simple. Recycle your cell-phones! As you know, cellular service providers make their money on the contracts they offer, not on the sale of phones. That’s why it’s relatively easy to upgrade your cell-phone every couple of years with a new contract. Recently I was having some work done on my cell-phone and noticed my provider takes old cell-phones and recycles them. I grabbed a couple of old cell-phones that I no longer used and turned them in. Recycling and reusing cell-phones reduces the need for Coltan and sends a message that we want cell-phone manufacturers to be responsible in how they buy the raw resources used in the making of their product. If enough of us will start to encourage our cellular providers and cell-phone manufacturers to recycle and to think of the miners in the Congo, maybe, just maybe, we can begin to make a difference in a country where people are living in extreme poverty.

As Christians, making a difference in people’s lives is a big part of what we’re about and it doesn’t get any easier than this.

Note: Information used in this article was taken from the magazine "Foreign Policy".

In a perfect world, perfect would be the norm, but this world is not perfect and therefore, sometimes, even perfection can be blemished. Such was the case last week when Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers pitched a perfect game that was blemished by an imperfect call.

In baseball, a perfect game is as rare as hen's teeth. 27 batters up, 27 batters down. No hits, no runs, no errors, no base runners. In the last 150 years, there have been only 20 such gems. There should be 21 and that is the reason behind this week's blog.

Umpire Jim Joyce was working first base when batter number 27 hit a groundball to the first baseman, who fielded the ball and tossed it to Galarraga who was covering the bag. An easy, 3-1 groundout for those of you scoring at home. For some inexplicable reason though, Joyce thought the base runner was safe, even though on replay he was clearly out. 99% of the time major league umpires are going to get that call correct. This, of all times, was that 1% when the call was wrong. Galarraga pitched a perfect game, but Joyce didn't call a perfect game.

Everyone makes mistakes and it is part of the charm of baseball that the human factor figures so prominently into it. What makes the difference in our mistakes is how we handle them and that is the lesson that Armando Galarraga, Jim Joyce, Jim Leyland (the manager of the Detroit Tigers) and the rest of the Detroit faithful taught us.

Start with Galarraga's initial reaction. The pictures of him show a reticent, sly smile on his face as he cocks his head at Joyce and questions the call. The typical big league pitcher when confronted with such an injustice is going to throw his glove, get in the face of the umpire and raise you know what! Joyce himself, when confronted with the reality of his blown call, responded with a gracious, heartfelt apology. Something that is pretty unheard of in the world of major league umpiring where the umpire is king. Jim Leyland didn't get on his soapbox and rip into Joyce. Something major league managers are famous for doing. The Detroit faithful, who would obviously have been upset, when told of Joyce's reaction extended such grace that Joyce was able to work behind home plate in CoAmerica Park, the home of the Tigers, the following night.

In an amazing display of sportsmanship, the following night when the scorecards were presented by each team to the home plate umpire, in this case Jim Joyce, Jim Leland the manager, sent Galarraga to do the honors and Joyce, at the end of the meeting, tapped Galarraga on the arm, wiped the tears from his eyes and went about his job. Galarraga didn't show Joyce up. Leland didn't have choice words for him and Detroit sports fans didn't pelt Joyce with objects thrown from the bleachers. All actions that are far too common in sports today. Grace, sportsmanship, redemption, all were on display by a group of people who remembered that at the end of the day, mistakes happen and this world is not perfect and sometimes forgiveness is needed.

Over the weekend there was this little event across the pond called the European Cup.  Inter Milan defeated Bayern Munich 2 - nil  to win the Champions League final in Madrid to become the first Italian team to win the treble of league, cup and European Cup in the same season.

With so much at stake, one would think that all Italians would have been backing Inter, as they are more commonly known, and throwing their support behind the Italian team representing national pride.  Ah, such was not the case, though.  Two grown men, one 60 and the other 63 were watching the game in a bar in Turin when things turned a little nasty.  It seems that national pride does not trump team pride.  One of the men was an ardent supporter of the one-time powerhouse, Juventus, which is based in Turin and which had a dismal season.  To see his teams archrivals win it all was too much for him to handle and soon a pushing and shoving match broke out between himself and an Inter supporter.  When the dust had cleared, the Juventus supporter had been stabbed and lay dead on the barroom floor.

Now, this is not to say that this kind of thing could only happen in Italy.  I've heard of similar accounts taking place down in the States between supporters of differing sports teams.  Mix a little alcohol with testosterone fuelled passion and such incidents are bound to happen.

What makes this story stand out for me is a quote that was contained in the online article I read which was reporting it.  Supposedly, former Liverpool coach, Bill Shankly, is reported to have once said, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death.  I am very disappointed with that attitude.  I can assure you, it is much, much more important than that!"

I think Shankly, or whomever originally made this statement, is selling us short; he was way too limited in his view of the importance of sports in general.  In our Canadian society, some people believe hockey is more important than life and death.  Americans get just as passionate about American Football.  You have parents knocking themselves out to get their kids to practice or to make games.  You have families that are disrupted by schedules around which the whole family revolves.  Sunday and morning worship are no longer sacrosanct.  It's gotten to the point where not only has the church taken a back seat to sports participation, but even the family itself is now subrogated to the demands of practice, out of town travel and competition.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-sports or anti-competition, but we are losing our souls in the pursuit of sport and that is something we should give consideration to because that is a matter much, much more important than life and death.

Recently read an interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor (don't let the name fool you; it is a highly respected newspaper that I had to read when I was a political science major in college.  I've been reading it ever since).

The article was entitled, Bringing Morality to Wall Street and it reported on a growing movement among both education and religious leaders to pressure big banks, lending institutions and stock market brokers to "stop acting unethically" when it comes to their business, lending and investing practices.  The gist of the article is that there is a crises in ethical and moral leadership within financial institutions and that business schools need to reprioritize the teaching of ethics in the training of their students.

As I read this article, I filed it away under the heading, "Nothing new under the sun!"  It seems to me that the greed exhibited in the recent downturn in the stock market, the housing market collapse, the recession and the layoffs of millions of people, is the result not just of a lack of ethical teaching in business schools, but the rejection of a Judeo-Christian ethic that is articulated best in the 10 Commandments.  Take God and the 10 Commandments out of the schools, the courtrooms and the home and you will reap unethical treatment, unlawful behavior, and economic repression of innocent victims, families and workers.

The answer isn't, as this article calls for, more regulatory power by the government or more mandatory teaching of business ethics.  Rather, the answer is to turn back to God, to repent for rejecting Him in the first place and to re-establish God's principles and commands to the centrality of our lives, schools, homes, courts and business practices.

Quite frankly, teaching business ethics in university is too late.  It is in the formative years of a young child where the foundation of morality and the golden rule are formed.  If a college student hasn't already learned how to play nicely with others before they get to university, teaching them how not to rob from others is a little like closing the barn door after the horses have already fled.

So maybe you've heard the latest out of Texas where Tarleton State University is hosting a production of "Corpus Christi". It depicts Jesus as a gay man who performs same sex marriages for his apostles and shares a kiss with Judas - and I don't mean Judas kissing Jesus on the check as an act of betrayal either.

Anyone who knows me knows that I try to down play these types of things. In my opinion, the vast majority of time people putting on these types of plays are just trying to get Christians all riled up in order to make us look silly or like we're a bunch of buffoons. Frankly, though, this time I think they've gone too far. Yeah, this play has been around since 1998 and yeah, it probably is nothing more than homosexual erotica meant to get a reaction out of conservative Evangelical Christians, but as far as I can tell, up 'til now this has been a touring play that hasn't done a whole lot of anything. That is until a state university starts to host it and thereby tacitly approve of it. Now you have what amounts to state sponsored blasphemy that not only distorts truth, but impugns the name of our Lord and Savior and desecrates His sacrifice on the cross.

Quite frankly, I'm ticked off and I think everyone who is a Christian should be angry as well. It's all fine and good to try and keep our cool and not get baited into some argument that diminishes our witness, but at some point we have to stand up and be counted and take on garbage like this.

According to 26 year old student director John Jordan Otte, he's putting on the play to bring people together and to help people see the other side of faith. In a Fox News article, another student, Christopher Hepburn said, "This is academia, and one of the attributes of academia is cultural diversity."

This is the typical hogwash that permeates what passes for higher learning in our secular colleges and universities. Trying putting on the real Passion Play in the name of cultural diversity at Tarleton University and see how far that will get you. According to a university spokesperson, "Legally we have to protect the student's First Amendment right."

My response to this is, what about the truth? I thought universities and colleges were supposed to be about truth! I'm not calling for a Christian version of a Fatwa on the part of Jesus' followers; I am saying we should exercise our right to protest and to express our disgust. It's somewhat ironic that when college students produce lies, innuendo and trash in the name of "art", they are freely expressing themselves, but when, as in this case, Christians or others take a differing point of view and express their feelings, we're labelled bigoted, intolerant and homophobic or some other derogatory name.

I'd encourage you to get hold of David Harris, pastor of Hillcrest Church of Christ in Stephenville, Texas and let him know that you are praying for him in his stand against this unholy trash.

The events of the earthquake in Haiti are quickly fading in the conscience of our North American media and our own minds.  There are always new sound bites, new stories or other incredible events of the day to capture our attention and imagination.  That does not, though, diminish the questions that we ask or the unresolved answers that we seek. 

The events may change, the circumstances are different, and the locale and the people are not the same, but the questions remain.  From 9/11, to Thailand, to New Orleans, to Haiti, in the last decade we have see unbelievable devastation and the only constant has been the loss of human life and the questions that seek to make sense of tragedy.

I've given some thought and prayer to this, especially in light of our own much smaller tragedy here at CHC. The conclusion I have come to is the answers we give are so often trite and meaningless in light of what has transpired.

I can't tell you the government is durable and will come together to help alleviate pain and suffering.  It didn't work down in the U.S. with Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti government has been virtually wiped out in the earthquake.

I can't tell you the military is going to make things right.  While we've seen heroic efforts on the part of the military in Haiti, that always has to be weighed in light of what a military's first function is - the defence of a country and the waging of war - two purposes that stand juxtaposed to humanitarian relief and the ease of suffering.

I can't tell you that our financial markets will come to bear and that massive amounts of money and material aid will solve the crisis.  Money and aid will definitely ease the suffering, but they are incapable of preventing what has happened in Haiti, New Orleans and Thailand.

Psychologically, the events of two weeks ago have damaged and hurt people. The pictures and stories have frightened people, and the "what ifs" have confused people.

The political system is not imperishable, the military is not omniscient, the financial markets are not limitless, and our psyche is all too fragile.

So, what am I as a pastor supposed to say and how do I answer the questions that are inevitably raised?

I was talking this afternoon with a friend who was relating that his wife wanted assurances and wanted to know that as Christian we are immune from the kinds of things that we're seeing coming out of Haiti.  That is certainly understandable and a reassurance I wish I could give.  I want to be able to gloss over our vulnerability and I want to be able to say that if such an earthquake struck us here in the Lower Mainland we would withstand it far better than the poor souls of Haiti.  I want to look at our strength and ability and say that we are better prepared, better equipped, better able to take care of ourselves, but there is nothing in scripture that tells me we are immune from the tragedies we have witnessed in the last several years.

Rather than reading about freedom from difficulties the scripture writers, such as Peter, warn against being surprised that we face trials.  I Peter 4:12-19, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trials when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  But let none of you suffer as a murder or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.  Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  And 'If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?'  Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good!"

Now obviously Peter is writing about persecution for our faith, but the principle remains the same.  Our strength is not in the absence of difficulties, or in the hope of human intervention.  Our strength is not in our earthly existence, but in Biblical truth that God's judgment falls on believer and unbeliever alike, and is used for purifying in some cases, punishing in other cases, and leading to repentance among all.  Our hope is in the truth that no matter what may befall us, or what we may face, nothing can separate us from the love of God!  Not distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or war.  No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us!  (Romans 8:35,37).

In the best and the worst of times, when all is giving way and nothing makes sense, our hope is in the fact that the love of God will keep us, the love of God will sustain us, the love of God will, if necessary, bring us home to be with Him.  Though death may seem to gain the upper hand in these tragedies, our existence is not limited to this time, place, or planet.  In all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.  That is our hope today as we look at the world around us and while that may not answer the question of why, it does sustain us in our uncertainty!

The question many of us have asked in the aftermath of the tragedy down in Haiti is, "How can I help?" Living in Canada, we are blessed far beyond most people in the world and when tragedies such as the Haitian earthquake happen, we respond with open and generous hearts.

At Central Heights, we are fortunate that our own Bill Blaney is on the frontlines of disaster relief and humanitarian aid around the world. I say fortunate because we have a ready avenue through which we can respond and do our own small part in alleviating suffering. As Executive Director of GAiN Canada, Bill travels the globe bringing the hope of Christ along with the message of Christ to desperate and needy people. When the earthquake struck Haiti, I knew it would only be a matter of time before Bill was heading south. Thus, it didn't surprise me when shortly after the first reports of the devastation began to circulate, I received an early morning call from Bill who was already in Florida and awaiting transportation to Haiti. Bill was just calling to let me know what was happening and that he could use our prayers and support. Bill then spent the next week in Haiti coordinating GAiN's relief efforts and initial response.

The Sunday after the earthquake, the leadership of CHC asked the membership if you would help support GAiN's work in Haiti and you responded with typical generosity. In just over a week, we have been able to send over $9,000 to GAiN's Haitian relief fund with more support still coming in.

The beautiful thing about the work GAiN does is that they deal with both the initial need and then stick around to help rebuild and get people back on their feet. So many relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, specialize in the first response, or arrive after the initial disaster and offer humanitarian relief, but they don't do both. Further, GAiN is working in the name of Jesus and makes no apologies for sharing the gospel of true hope with those they are helping.

Through your generosity, GAiN will continue to be able to help the refugees of Haiti start over again and through your gifts, people who lost hope can find the Author of true hope and life.

Thank you,

Pastor Chris

So allow me to address this little shindig taking place over in Copenhagen, otherwise known as the U.N.'s Climate Change Conference.  First, for the inconvenient truth, contrary to popular belief, reports are that for the past decade the climate has actually been cooling.  For a further treatment of that subject, pick up a copy of the book Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.  Global cooling or global warming, though, is not what brings me to the blogosphere to critique the Copenhagen conference.  Consider this little ditty from our national newspaper, The Financial Post, "The 'inconvenient truth' overhanging the U.N.'s Copenhagen conference is not that the climate is warming or cooling, but that humans are overpopulating the world."  The solution proposed to this dire circumstance? "A PLANETARY law, such as China's one-child policy, is the only way to reverse the disastrous global birthrate... which is one million births every four days."  In case you missed the proposed solution, stop having babies is the mantra that is springing forth from this august gathering.

This of course, is rich with all manner of fodder and presents an amusing opportunity to poke at all kinds of taboo subjects emanating from the liberal left, but my point isn't to bring up reproductive rights and whether men can create laws that place restrictions on a woman's uterus, but rather to point out what such a law would mean in terms of a one world government, a one world enforcement policy, one world monetary requirements, one world rule of law and the list goes on.  Whatever direction this debate takes, this whole discussion is heading down the primrose path of global domination by the antichrist.

I don't want to be an alarmist, but we should not observe these types of global events with benign disinterest.  What is taking place in gatherings, such as the one in Copenhagen, will have profound effects well beyond what is decided with regard to the global climate.  In the guise of saving the planet, if the Financial Times is to be believed, this conference has moved from reducing greenhouse emissions to touching on the sanctity of life and the possibility of some worldwide governmental enforcement of laws prohibiting a woman from having children.  I don't know how this idea will play out in socialist Europe, but I'm guessing it isn't going to fly high in Peoria and nor should it.  While scripture reveals to us the understanding that the antichrist will arise, that there will be world wide domination by a one world government and that Christians will be persecuted, that doesn't mean we should ideally stand by and not resist or speak out against the evil that events such as this portend.

If you ever wondered what it would take for countries to give up their sovereignty and people to surrender their freedoms so that biblical prophecy could be fulfilled, you are watching the genesis of that slippery slope unfold.  The people gathered in Copenhagen are looking to replace God.  Government is now going to be our savior and the planet is going to be our God.

Say a big "Thank you!" to the men and women who serve and protect us!

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from a couple in our church telling me that their nephew's wife was one of the four police offices shot and killed down in Lakewood, Washington.  With horror, I flipped on the news and watched as the reports unfolded and this senseless atrocity was played out in front of our eyes.

At a time like this it, behoves us to make sure we let the men and women who protect and serve us, whether as police officers or firefighters, know that we appreciate them and the job they do.  Here's what I want to encourage you to do; the next time you are at Starbucks or your favorite coffee bar and you see a police officer, or officers, standing in line or waiting in the drive through behind you, pay for their coffee and tell them thanks for the job they're doing.  Oh, they'll tell you they can't accept and that they're just doing their job, but don't pass on the opportunity to at least say thanks and don't hesitate to insist on picking up the cost of their coffee.  It's the least we can do.

Let's not let this tragedy pass us by without taking the time to reaffirm our support and thanks to these brave men and women.

Pastor Chris

When will gay rights activists and the government figure out what the separation of church and state means?

You've heard it until you can recite it in your sleep. We are a country, actually a continent, where the separation of church and state are sacrosanct. Or are we? Take for example the issue of gay marriage... someone please take it (cue the drums). Gay rights activists would have us believe that the right to marry is a legal right which the government bestows. That's not true! For centuries, long before Canada and the United States ever came into existence, marriage has been the territory of God and the church. God ordained marriage between a man and woman. It is the government which has since come along and usurped that fundamental responsibility of the church and placed itself in the position as arbiter over marriage. It would appear on this issue, at least, that the doctrine of separation does not exist.

Case in point, last spring the state of Maine, through the state legislature, passed a law legalizing gay marriage. Clearly in doing so the government was infringing and imposing on the church when it decided to enact such a law or at the very least, it was removing the church's authority to oversee and administer this important and biblical institution.

To this imposition, the voters in Maine backed the government down. If you're counting, and I am, that's 31 times different states have voted on this issue and 31 times states have defeated similar laws and legislation by popular vote. What makes the Maine vote so interesting, is that Maine is traditionally seen as a liberal leaning, independent state that would be sympathetic to gay rights activists and their cause. Thus the defeat of this law is viewed as a blow to gay marriage.

Here's the thing, I'm not advocating that anyone's rights or freedoms should be impeded on. I'm certainly not advocating, in the name of God, disrespect or violence over this issue. I do believe, though, that marriage is the purview of the church and as such should be left to the church.

"It's just sad to see that in this day and age, the most offensive thing on a shirt can be what people see as a religious symbol." Stephanie Bennis.

What's that all about you say?

Well it seems that Stephanie, a senior at Penn State University, has created quite a little stir among the Nittany Lion faithful. Apparently every year Penn State has what they call a, "White Out" game at one of the football teams regular season games. If you're not familiar with the Nittany Lion's football team, they are nationally ranked down in the States and their uniform is a simple white jersey with a number on it, and a simple white helmet with a blue stripe running down the middle. To celebrate the white out game all 100,000 fans who attend wear white, creating as you can imagine, a sea of white in the stands. As part of this celebration, each year students design and then vote on a shirt that is to be sold and worn at the game. Hey, it's capitalism at its finest. Create an event, and then sell t-shirts for it. Who says you can't get a good education at a university anymore?

So, this year Bennis and a fellow student designed the shirt that was chosen by the students as the best design and the one to be worn at the white out game. It's a white shirt with a blue stripe running down the middle of it (just like on the helmets) with the school's name, "Penn State" cutting across the stripe. At the top of the stripe is the ubiquitous Nike swoosh, hey they want a piece of the action, and on the back of the shirt are the words, "Don't be intimidated... it's just me and 110,000 of my friends" printed over another blue stripe running vertically down the middle of the shirt. If you google it you'll find a picture of the shirt.

Well, apparently the front of the shirt bears a resemblance of a cross and which has created a small amount of consternation among people, fans and non-fans alike. As an evangelical Christian, when I saw the shirt I thought it looked like a cross. If anyone should be offended it should be those of us for whom the cross is an important symbol of our faith and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sins. I could argue that the cross shouldn't be taken lightly, or misused. Let's face it, though, I could clearly see that was not the intent of the designers and I have enough common sense to realize that all they were trying to do was emulate their school colors and the simplicity of the team's helmet.

The uproar, pardon the pun (Nittany Lions, you get it?), hasn't come from the evangelicals, it's come from the loony left who find anything even remotely resembling a Christian symbol offensive, even when it's obviously not a Christian symbol. We've arrived at the place where paranoia and a lack of common sense now rule our public discourse. Of course I'm just cynical enough to believe that these anti-religious groups don't really care whether it's a cross or not, they're just in it for a piece of the action. Their names in the headlines and their palms in front of their donors, that's what this is really all about. Fortunately, in the fight against everything that is P.C., cooler heads have prevailed and the shirts were not pulled from campus bookstores. Rather, all 30,000 shirts were sold. (At $15 a pop, that's $450,000. I wonder what the mark-up on one of those things is.)

All that to say, "It's just sad to see that in this day and age, the most offensive thing on a shirt can be what people see as a religious symbol."

Central Heights is a vision of God and we exist to savour, strengthen and share that vision.

1.    Savour - we savour God as we worship Him, exalt Him, and declare His glory. Our facility should enhance our worship experience by pointing and directing our attention to God. It should reflect our view of His worth, glory and value which then results in the praise of His name. When we declare the greatness of God and proclaim His glory, but our building is worn out, tired and lacking aesthetically it sends an inconsistent message of who God is and how we view Him. Not only should the facility enhance worship, but it should make the transition from the curb to the pew easy and pleasant as people enter into our building.

2.    Strengthen - we strengthen people in God as we educate and disciple them. It is our duty to see that each person who comes to CHC has the opportunity to hear and learn about the greatness of God. Each generation passes onto the next one the infinite value and worth of God by teaching, educating, and modeling the transforming power of the gospel. Among other places, such as the home, educating and modeling takes place in the context of a classroom which facilitates and enhances learning and discipleship. Having the space for education is important, but our building also needs to be attractive and contribute to the learning process by allowing for ease of access, movement of people and a sense of security and well-being for parents dropping off children.

3.    Share - we share God with people as we reach into our neighbourhood and community with the message of the gospel and by offering programs and ministries that meet the needs of people. Our building should not only house these ministries, but help promote them by being inviting and beneficial to hosting people. Our building stands as a beacon in the community and adds to our message of the gospel. Through it we communicate to our neighbours that we are active members of our community and ready to help them. Our building speaks to people of how we view God. Thus it communicates a message of the majesty and worth of our Lord and Saviour. As such, our building is not just a facility, but it tangibly represents part of the message we proclaim.

Have you seen the story about Professor Lawrence Scott Ward, a marketing professor from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business? Apparently the good professor is going to be doing some hard time for making child pornography and lying to authorities regarding a Brazilian teen he was trying to smuggle into the United States. Officials say Ward has preyed on teenage boys from around the globe for years. His sentence is for 25 years and as he is 66 years old he may never get out of jail. I hope for his sake he gets help while in prison and can make peace with God, but he is where he needs to be for the good of society.

Two things about this report from Fox news entitled "Ivy League Professor Gets 25 Years for Making Child Pornography by Exploiting the Poor!" concern me though. First, the way the article reads what really got Professor Ward into trouble was his lying to the authorities concerning what he was doing. Lying is bad! No argument there, but it almost sounds as though if he had come clean he wouldn't have gotten as much jail time as he did. Am I to understand, then, that if he hadn't lied he would have gotten a significantly reduced sentence? Me? I think child porn deserves 25 years on its own merit. For lying to authorities, tack on some more time. My second beef with the article is the insinuation that exploiting the poor somehow made this whole thing worse. If the kids he was exploiting came from middle class homes would that somehow make it better? I don't think so. Now having said that, I recognize the poor often get taken advantage of and they are easier to prey on because of the lack they suffer, but isn't child porn bad enough without the class distinction or have we reached the place where we are so desensitized to crimes such as this that we have to bring up the added offense of exploitation to really get people upset?

I mention all of this on top of the breaking news that Roman Polanski, the film director, was arrested in Zurich Switzerland for having sex with a 13 year old back in 1977. There is a notable hue and cry from Hollywood's elite over Polanski's arrest with the sentiment being the relationship was consensual and therefore Polanski did nothing wrong.

While many of us are outraged, none of us should be surprised. This is, after all, the fruit of the lie we have bought into. We have exchanged the glory of God for a pitiful substitute and we worship and serve ourselves and creation rather than the creator (Romans 1:21ff). Paul tells us in Romans God's wrath is being revealed because we no longer honor God or give thanks to Him.

All we're doing as a society is substituting one value for another. We're exchanging a diamond for the tennis ball the dog chews on. We're exchanging gold for rebar, rubies for nuts and bolts. Let's do the opposite. Along with Paul let's count everything rubbish that we might gain Christ. Do not exchange God for anything. Exchange everything that you may gain God!

I noticed in a recent edition of the Vancouver Sun that there is going to be a Peace Summit with the Dalai Lama coming to Vancouver the end of this month.  The Summit will be built on dialogues with "scores of noted spiritual and educational figures".  One of the highlights of the event will be "We Day Vancouver," which is billed as "a special Summit program" at GM Place for 16,000 student leaders from BC schools.

We live in a free society, so all of this is perfectly legal, and rightly so.  We live in a democratic society that values free expression, religion and the right of people to practice both.  That said, the event seems to be attracting the full backing of the Vancouver Sun which has invited the Dalai Lama to sit as guest editor of the September 26^th edition of the paper.  Even that is perfectly within the rights of the Vancouver Sun's publishers and editors to do.  What this illustrates for me is the ongoing and increasing pluralistic and syncretistic nature of the society we live in today.

Today there are certain topics, such as religion, politics, sex and the superiority of the Calgary Flames over the Vancouver Canucks (I only said that in honor of Pastor Lyndon who's last Sunday with us is this weekend), that are taboo and if publicly discussed will get you into trouble if you offer up anything other than the platitude "That's your belief and practice and these are my beliefs and practices.  If you want to follow your beliefs, that's fine.  I'm going to follow my own beliefs."  Today as long as you live by the philosophy of "Live and let live!" you're OK.  As soon, though, as you deviate from this syncretistic philosophy you will find yourself seriously lacking in the personal peace department which the Dalai Lama trumpets because you will find yourself under attack and being labelled intolerant, bigoted and prejudiced.

Syncretism, pluralism and compromise are at the heart of the major religions, philosophies and "isms" of the world.  They are not at the heart of the Christian gospel.  The gospel is narrow, the way is straight, and the room for compromise is limited.  Jesus stated it clearly, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life!  No one comes to the father except through me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.  From now on you do know Him and have seen Him!"  John 14:6-7.  Not a lot of wiggle room in that statement.

Everyone has their philosophies, beliefs, and rules, but God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ.  These movements, philosophies, teachings, religions and "isms," if they don't lead to Jesus, they lead to death.  The central message of the gospel is "All we need is Jesus; love Him, live for Him, obey Him, Serve Him!"  Christian faith is not just another world religion.  Jesus is not just another cultural form.  And, Christianity is not just another human philosophy, doctrine, or teaching we need to incorporate into our lives.  Jesus Christ is God, raised from the dead, living and authoritative for our lives.