I recently completed a painting (sorry - still no pics for those that have been asking me on FB).
I am a rank amateur… and by rank I mean smelly… but this painting was a first for me. It’s the first one I’ve done that engages me beyond the fact that I did it. When I observe it… I forget that I did it… it doesn’t seem to equate to the sum of the processes that I put into it. When I look on it… it seems irrelevant that I did it. Whether anyone else ever appreciates it or not… I know the result has transcended me. It’s a very surreal feeling and is raising questions in me about what part artistic endeavour plays in my future… and what part artistic endeavour plays in general in culture… and in the Kingdom.
It’s also put a longing in me for my manifest presence on this planet in this time to transcend the sum total of it’s inputs (my efforts, external influences, etc.). I’m wondering if God is in the remainder after all those inputs have been divided out? If it’s the difference… that transcendant part that’s still left over… that the inputs can’t account for…. that shines, draws, points to the new Kingdom. Indeed, maybe it’s only in that extra that the kingdom is actually felt and tasted and foreshadowed.
I want people to sense this same K-factor quality in my life as a Christ follower, that I sense as an x-factor in this painting.
nooc
This was one of a number of questions asked of me by a stranger who added me as a friend on Facebook. He lives in Winnipeg as I do and is apparently looking for a church to attend but found all the different denominations confusing.
This was my response:
Pleased to meet you, *****
The best way to find out about the church I attend is to read this page on our website:
http://www.riverwood.cc/page.php?page=new
It explains who we are better than I could, probably.
If you are not familiar the various denominations it can certainly be confusing. The church I attend (Riverwood) is non-denominational, meaning we are just a regular sort of community church.
Personally, I don’t believe the bible is confusing, but rather, we as imperfect people get confused and then disagree on various things and end up being different denominations and having different views on topics. Certain parts of the bible can be hard to understand or mysterious - and we might not understand those parts fully until we get to heaven.
I hope it encourages you to know that many different churches from different denominations in Winnipeg agree on the MOST important things, even if there are less important details that we may not agree on. And many of these pastors meet together and pray together and work together to bless Winnipeg. So there is a lot of unity to be thankful for.
Not all churches follow God in a biblical way, but I do think those that do are part of God’s plan to have many different “kinds” of churches, each one with different strengths and weaknesses and ways of seing things - so that He uses us all in different ways to accomplish His purposes together. Just like the bible talks about there being many different parts but one body.
Just like there are no perfect people, there are no perfect churches. Riverwood isn’t perfect. We just try our best to be faithful to what we believe to be God’s leading and direction and try to grow closer to Him.
I believe the bible is the word of God, infallible and true. I don’t look to imperfect churches or people to prove that to me… I look to Jesus to prove that to me because He said that He was “the way, the truth and the life”.
I hope you find a church that “feels like home” to you, believes the bible is true even when they don’t always understand all of it, and draws you closer to Jesus, who is the Truth.
Blessings to you,
Greg
What would you have added or left out while maintaining the “nutshell” brevity of a Facebook message?
1440 x 990
Just a quote I wanted to stick somewhere so I could remember it. Relevant to my fledging role as Director of IT & Communications at Riverwood… which involves a lot of design work.
Rene DeHaan-Canetti, executive director of Nooma:
“You can’t separate the design from the content. If it’s not consistent, it’s detrimental. From the color palette to every single word in our films, we make sure that it’s a reflection of our choices.”
Althaiophobia is the fear of Marshmallows
It’s better to buy a $1250 laptop for $800 than a $700 laptop for $700.
A $4 latte is better than a $1 cup of undrinkable coffee.
Sometimes leading the do-ers is more valuable than leading by doing.
In the church world there is sometimes more value in bringing in a professional and paying up front than bringing in a volunteer and paying for it in the end.
nooc
I have nothing to base this on but I’m convinced it really helps in the speed and efficacy of caffeine absorption.
Just gotta express my happiness with my new laptop acquired for me for my new position at church (Director of IT & Communications)
I had always been using my own personal laptop at church the last two years I’ve been working there. Our home PC has been going downhill though so we needed to keep the laptop at home now. Through a most excellent contact the church aquired for me an $1800CDN laptop for $549CDN.
The details: Toshiba Satellite MB1 - 17″ screen, full-size keyboard including number pad, Duo core processor, built-in webcam and Windows Vista Premium. I just need to bump up the RAM since just running Vista takes up half the 1GB it came with! What a cow!!
Oh yeah, also picked up a $69 Logitech laser mouse on sale for $15. Gotta love being able to use your couch as a mousepad.
nooc
According to recent stats:
59% of Canadians access the internet at least once a week… highest percentage of any G7 country.*
Canadians spend more time online per month (40.8 hours) than any other country in the world. (US is 5th)*
Ergo…. Canadians download more music, spend more time blogging, use instant messengers more frequently and spend more time reading about entertainment, health and wellness online.*
What are the implications for Canadian churches? Beyond the obvious of having a decent website.
(*sources: IAB, ComScore, Harris Interactive - all quoted in Enterprise magazine)
