GodTalk.com Blogs

What I've learned from 11 years of talking with Manitobans about God...

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:19:00 -0500

As I sit down to write this blog entry, I've just wrapped up my last show as co-host of GodTalk on CJOB 68. (For audio of some of the best moments - click here) I'm very excited to see my co-host of the last two years, Greg Glatz from Central Baptist Church, move the show into the future along with Melissa McEachern of Family Life Network. So what has eleven years of talking about God with Manitobans taught me? First of all, I've learned that personal beliefs matter. People live out of particularity not generalities and the best conversations happen when the particulars are invited to the table. It was in the 18th show, only a few months in, when I booked Charles Templeton for a live phone interview from his home in Toronto. Templeton had garnered some of Canada's highest journalistic achievements and wrote "Farewell to God" as his final tome. I was speaking with a man who had once worked side by side with Billy Graham and now was vehement in his denial of a loving God. His personal account of a shift to agnosticism was gripping and I realized that night that talking about God is very real and very personal. I offered my particular belief in Jesus Christ alongside of his agnosticism and the phone lines lit up. Particular beliefs are more interesting than general statements. I've also learned that dignity is worth it. The term "Christian tolerance" has always fascinated me. I've heard people say those two words are a contradiction in terms. I think that has to do with how people have experienced some Christians. It is my Christian belief in a Savior that gives me freedom to speak with anyone about anything. I recall one Easter when we invited a wiccan onto the show and her first comment as she walked in was, "I guess this is the day the pagans get thrown to the lions." For some reason she was predisposed to a certain kind of treatment. I suggested we really simply wanted to hear what she believed. The conversation spanned an hour and as she left the studio, she said she had never had an experience like this before and would be delighted to come back anytime. We parted as friends. What fascinated me was that the conversation had included some of the most intense caller questions and in studio comparison of Christian and pagan worldviews to date. Seems dignity does not need to be sacrificed in the face of difference. Perhaps this is self-evident but I've noticed that two-way conversations are more engaging than one-way conversations. In fact, when something is one-way, by definition, it's not a conversation at all. I remember a caller who told me one night that Jesus told us to evangelize, not to have a dialogue. I can appreciate his interest in following Jesus' invitation to give witness to the life that is found in knowing God personally, but I just haven't come across any way of sharing faith outside of a relational context. In my experience, information dumps seem to be ignored or written off as bigotry. Until further notice, I'm going to pursue meaningful relationships out of which conversations emerge. Interestingly enough, when someone asks a question, it gives us permission to be as specific as we want. One Truth that has given me the courage to keep going back on air every Sunday night is that the Holy Spirit is a really good talker. John 16:8,13 NLT says, "8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment...13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard." Seems my role is to foster an environment of dignity and care that validates people's questions, such that the real talking can happen. Keith phoned in one night to thank us for a previous conversation when he had queried if the Canada Moose were on Noah's Ark. Then recounted to us that he had discovered his faith once again. I knew who he'd really been talking with in the months between those two calls. To the extent that I have... ... evoked laughter in one person to smile for just a fleeting moment, ...provoked in one person a God-thought to ponder the mystery and meaning of life, ...inspired one person to see beauty in the ordinary people on their street, ...offered hope to one person to live another day... To that extent...I look back with gratitude, joy and satisfaction. What has given me the freedom to engage any and all conversations, is that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. It's been a privilege to foster an open conversation about the living God. Join Greg Glatz, the rocknroll preacher and Melissa McEachern Sunday night from 9-11pm. This conversation is just getting started...

Wishing Christmas celebrations weren't on the list...

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:26:00 -0500

This posting is an excerpt of a recent email to a friend. Our conversation was struck up when he told me about his friends who wished they could be like him and not have to celebrate Christmas... Here's some of my response... "I celebrate a present reality as much as a historical reality. The nuances of trying to peer back into history and seek out the veracity of cattle lowing and baby waking is tenuous at best. I am left with lots of questions in that regard. However, my lived faith in the present tense is how I find that story to be true. I'm offered the birth story of Jesus as the Son of God as a radical claim that leaves me no option but to accept or reject it and my decision has implications. Obviously I don't suggest to people to believe because of my experience, but my experience helps give me confidence to take the risk into faith. At the end of the day, I ask myself, What's the risk of believing the following? That the Creator of the universe loves me, that God provides a means for me to deal with my depravity, that God bears out in humanity through Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection a way for me to experience life to its fullest, that my capacity to forgive and be forgiven even exists... What risk is that to me, compared to turning away and saying, I'll imagine that I am the maker of myself and my own destiny. I have chosen to risk into faith because I see life there. My faith is not about proving the historical veracity of birth narratives (many of your questions so well articulated are mine as well...). At the end of the day, I want to LIVE with purpose, with forgiveness, with hope and a future. This is a messed up world, how exactly am I to make it, without some help? God says, I'll give you the dignity of just offering. Here's how I see it. I will always enjoy probing philosophical and historical questions, but at the end of the day I simply wish more for you. I meet people who choose to fundamentally doubt God rather than risk into God. There's lots of fodder in our world for doubt, all in the name of religion. But do I think Jesus can make a difference in your life, for sure... And is it because I can produce a DNA sample of the manager's straw or claw back the injustices and deceit that you have innocently had to endure? No, it's because I am just barely confident enough to suggest that God shows up in the present tense, and a way to know that is to simply say, 'I'm willing to be loved'." Thank you for all the engaging and life-giving conversations of 2008! We'll talk more in 2009.

Can our Canadian leaders do what my kids and I did last night?!

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:16:00 -0500

I have some ideas about what went wrong on Parliament Hill, most people do. But what this situation needs now is a bit of parental wisdom. The good and helpful question now is not about who spilled the milk or who stole the peanut butter but rather, how do we make things right? And I am speaking out of personal experience from as recently as yesterday after school. Obviously things didn't go so well when my kids (aged 13, 11 and 9) got home after a long day of reading, writing and arithmetic. I wasn't there to see it all unravel, but I did get a distraught cell call once the feathers had flown. As the story goes, people were trying to meet their basic needs by putting together a snack of crackers and peanut butter, and somehow things got personal, really personal. A bit of selfishness, a bit of misunderstanding, a bit of stubbornness and before you now it we've got a full out crackers and peanut butter tug of war that comes to some less than admirable behavior as people take out their frustration on each other. Very quickly people are hurting, they feel insulted, wrongly accused and they're angry. I secured the area over the phone by sending people into respective areas of the house and planned a conversation one on one with everyone involved when I got home. What transpired over the next couple hours was not easy, it wasn't exactly fun, but the end results are remarkable. After hearing people out, inviting responsibility taking, and making some clear parental errors myself by exaggerating the circumstances and escalating rather than de-escalating the rhetoric, we came to a brief but most profound moment. We looked at each other and said, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, will you forgive me?" And I heard the words coming from and to me and to each other, "I forgive." The heavy emotional air lifted, the sense of possibility returned and we could get on with figuring out what snack would be for everybody today. For the record, it's crackers and chocolate milk - back to basics, will add in the peanut butter in time. Late last night, as we prayed before bed, all of the parties involved in Crackergate spontaneously thanked God for forgiveness, for making a way to make things right. How else would we have found a way through? The moment wasn't about concessions, it was about confessions and forgiveness. I know it was only about crackers and peanut butter and you may be saying, you went through all that for just that?! While we're just one simple Canadian family out on the frozen tundra trying to figure things out, I can't help but wonder what Canada would be like if our leaders could do what my kids and I did last night. Perhaps there'd be more crackers and peanut butter to go around come the New Year if they did. (Snack suggestions always welcome...)

Bill Maher's Religulous offers up refreshing spiritual reminders

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:17:00 -0500

At 10:40 p.m. on a Thursday night, my radio show co-host, Greg Glatz, and I walked into SilverCity Polo Park to take in Bill Maher's rant against religion, a mockumentary called Religulous. I brought a mic and recorder so we could interview moviegoers on the way out. In an interview with CBC's "The Hour" during opening week, Maher expressed his intentions for the film: "My hope is that people will walk out of the movie and say, 'Religion is silly!'" So going in I was quite aware of how the edits would go, and Maher delivered as I expected. There was little editorial integrity in the ways people were set up to look foolish; there was little logic in Maher's extreme use of literalism to interpret all sacred texts and experiences; and Maher made sure the majority of his subjects were no intellectual match for his quick wit. Needless to say, most people aware of Maher's manner and past enterprises would assume that the religiously faithful would not willingly subject themselves to this kind of derision. You might be surprised to know that I walked away from the movie feeling refreshed. First of all, I realized that proper confidence in God is different than certainty. It seemed that Maher's subjects felt they had to offer certainty on all issues in order to make their faith tenable. That very quickly got them into spaces beyond their mortal capacities. The reminder that my faith in God can manage doubt was refreshing. Second, the invitation to live my faith authentically where word and deed are coherent came through loud and clear. Saying one thing and doing another is a quick and easy target for laughable hypocrisy. And third, it was refreshing to be reminded that facing rather than fearing derision can serve as a doorway. I went to see the movie gladly, and I came out spiritually refreshed and even happier than when I went in, and that is anything but a ridiculous religious experience. To hear what moviegoers said on the way out of SilverCity that night, click here.

Is Christianity a laughing matter?

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:33:00 -0500

Murray Stiller is our guest tonight, Sept 28, on the radio show. Is it possible to satirize religion, Christianity in particular, in good faith? Join the conversation 9-11pm CST at http://www.cjob.com or 680AM in Manitoba.

Look who's apologizing now...

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:08:00 -0500

An email from a GodTalk listener gave me a heads-up this week about the following headline... Church makes ludicrous apology to Charles Darwin... Seems political correctness is popularizing apologizing... (Photo credits: Daily Mail Online UK, Darwin on the left, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams on the right) The article includes the details of this week's website apology from the Church of England as follows... "The Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still," Rev. Malcolm Brown writes on a church Web site marking next year's 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. While not an official apology from the Church of England, it definitely feels like an apology nonetheless. This whole episode got me thinking about the origins of apologies and what they're actually good for. Apologies at their best express regret and ask pardon for a fault or offense. So here's what I'm thinking, if we are now going to take responsibility for misunderstanding, how about we begin by expressing regret and asking pardon from God for ignoring His care, His compassion, His good earth, the good people He's created and the forgiveness He offers. Now that's an apology worth making official. As far as apologizing to Darwin, we'll talk about that on the radio show Sunday night.

Westboro Baptist Church adds to punishing reputation

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:46:00 -0500

When I saw the headlines of the past 2 days about the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church coming to Canada, I knew I wanted to respond. A grieving family shouldn't have to deal with these kinds of added grief, sadly the nature of public media makes it almost impossible to avoid them. My deep sympathy goes out to all involved. It's not the first time the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas has been in the news for threatening to dishonor the living who are mourning the dead and, unfortunately, it won't be the last. Their message to their northerly neighbours is that "God is punishing Canada" as evidenced in the tragic death of Tim Mclean, a Greyhound bus passenger. While Westboro's proposed protest does a lot to promote their media notoriety it does nothing to promote the cause of God in the world. This disturbance has come about because the people of Westboro Baptist have confused the difference between God and humanity - God is God and they are not. I offer here a few simple clarifications in case anyone else finds themselves at some point caught in the same confusion. #1 About humans: "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) Always act in ways that make things right, offer undeserved favor to others at all times, humbly acknowledge and accept that you are a creation. #2 About God: "The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." (Psalm 145) #3 About judgements: There is a day when God will make final assessments, and they will be wholly true and right. (II Timothy 4:1) So while Westboro continues to establish its punishing reputation, God continues to offer compassion.

Does my spiritual life lead to cursing?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:54:00 -0500

Last week I had the privilege of spending 5 days in Montreal. On Friday afternoon, a guided tour took us literally into the shadow of the Olympic Stadium, affectionately known as "the big O", and to the poorest French-Canadian neighbourhood in Canada. Standing in a backlane with one of the townhouse occupants, he described the spiritual dynamics in these surroundings. He had moved into this neighbourhood a couple years ago with the interest of creating a better community. The comment which has left me pondering the Canadian religious landscape and my role in it is when my newfound friend said, "We do not say the words 'God' or 'Jesus' in public because we care about our neighbours too much." Given Quebec's religious history in the 20th century and people's living memory of it, their disdain and disappointment in some of what has happened has brought the culture to a point where terms that used to signify some of the most sacred practices have become words that are now used to curse each other. So words like 'God' and 'Jesus' are used as insults rather than blessings. I left Montreal with a question. How am I living out my spiritual life in the neighbourhood? Does it lead to cursing?

Calling on God at the fairgrounds

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:06:00 -0500

On Sunday night, GodTalk's Melissa McEachern exercised her splendid investigative skills at the Red River Exhibition fairgrounds. The GodTalk team went on a hunch that the name of God was perhaps in vogue on the fairgrounds. I'll keep this short, but I must say that the findings were remarkable. I figured we were onto something when we put this investigation together, but the response rate and findings leave me convinced that spiritual life is alive and well in Canada. To hear the live audio click here.

Winnipeg rapper and Christian minister mistakenly pulled over by cops - exploring his options...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:30:00 -0500

Sunday, June 8 On Air Editorial - click here for audio and caller reaction! He feared his reputation would be damaged because he was mistakenly pulled over, frisked and searched. Fresh ie has very good reason to believe his reputation is at stake in what happened on Wednesday afternoon on the corner of Ellice and Donald. After three days of intense media scrutiny, front page headlines of "rapper wronged", "fresh ie accuses cops of racial profiling" and interviews on all of Winnipeg's media outlets... these ARE days when reputations are made or marred. As I opened the press release sent to my inbox early Thursday morning from Fresh IE's publicist I found myself wishing I was not reading what was there. The press release and ensuing media frenzy is a missed opportunity of the grandest proportions for Fresh IE. The press release stated that Fresh ie found the police's apology on the scene both "repulsive and unacceptable"! and concludes by saying that he "will be examining his legal options in the next few days in regards to this unfortunate incident". That's what the press release said, but here's what it could have said. It could have stated that Christian rapper and inner-city youth minister was mistakenly apprehended on Wednesday afternoon by Winnipeg police. That he was clearly shaken by the unfortunate incident, but wants to thank the Winnipeg Police Service for their ongoing efforts in putting their lives at risk for the sake of all citizens. It could have stated, that just the day before he had joined with many of Winnipeg's pastors and ministers in praying specifically for the Police Service. It could have stated that while many who find themselves on the unfortunate side of injustice and mistaken identity may quickly seek out legal counsel, Fresh's own personal experience and message to aboriginal youth across our nation is that of a loving and merciful God who does not treat us as we deserve. So rather than pursue legal condemnation, Fresh will pursue gracious commendation. Make no mistake, reputations were definitely at stake on Wednesday afternoon when the cruisers pulled in. But Fresh ie's reputation has nothing to do with police dispatchers, it has everything to do with what was said and done when the police left. In terms of reputation, Fresh has now joined the ranks of those who in the face of tragic circumstances call for justice at any cost. That's what he won in the media scrum. And what did he lose? He lost the priceless reputation of being forever known as the inner-city Christian youth minister who in the face of mistaken identity offered a grace so unusual it can only be credited to something God would do. Faced with injustice, do you call for justice or offer mercy? Now it's your call.

'Open' secularism won't help Quebec or the rest of Canada for that matter

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:51:00 -0500

Father Raymond J. De Souza suggested this week in his National Post column that 'open' secularism won't help Quebec. I agree. It also won't help the rest of Canada. The difficulty with the Bouchard-Taylor Report on reasonable accomodation of minorities in Quebec is that it includes both freedom of conscience and religion and neutrality of the State in its definition of open secularism. How can you both foster religious expression and be neutral to it? What the report ends up doing is suggesting that some civil servants should avoid wearing religious symbols at work in deference to neutrality while other public spaces like schools should continue promoting particular religious expression. It all gets a bit complicated, to say the least. This conversation brings me back to one of my core beliefs about living together in Canada. The best and most productive conversations are those that genuinely engage real convictions. Nobody lives a "neutral" life. So let's start talking about our convictions and stop acting as if only some people have them.

Is God in control?!

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:59:00 -0500

I'm writing this blog in my van, parked on Main Street between appointments. The free wireless Internet connection from the adjacent Chinese "all you can eat for $8.25" Buffet lets me effortlessly create and publish my thoughts. There's a surreal sense about this experience in small-town Manitoba. Literally millions of Chinese in Sichuan province are without cuisine and a whole lot more today as a result of a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake earlier this week. The fact is that advancements in technology have privileged me with the ability to communicate with you and also allow me to be aware of far more in God's world than I know what to do with. An email this week from a GodTalk listener asked the question again, is God in control?! It's a good question, and it comes up at least as often as our wireless and cable networks let us know that 10's of thousands have died yet again in a cyclone, earthquake or famine. The question wouldn't be so difficult if I was God, but of course I'm not, so the question gets posed to me because I have the supposed audacity to believe that capital "g" God actually exists. To believe in gods is fairly easy - anyone can believe in a non-authoritative entity of their own making. But to believe in "G"od is a whole other matter. My response to the listener's question is this: Let's ask another question - do you find God to be trustworthy? I may not be able to understand everything that goes on in this world and I may not be able to understand the ways of a Creator, but do I find the living God trustworthy? In other words, can I "hang in there" with God because of what I have come to know, even when some things don't make mortal sense to me? I have a humble confidence in capital "g" God, far more confidence than believing in a god of my own making.

Photographer humanizes the innercity

Fri, 02 May 2008 17:59:00 -0500

Saturday, May 3 at 7pm, Greg "the rocknroll preacher" Glatz will play lead guitar with the Royal Unruh Band in an effort to support inner-city kids through Urban Potential. Winnipeg personalities Larry Updike and Brian Barkley from CJOB's morning show will host the event. Every Sunday night I sit in the newsroom for an hour before our show and listen to the police scanner blurting out the sad, sordid and sickening story of life in the city. What makes it onto the news is more of the same. I invite you to click on the photograph to see a different story. A story of potential, promise and possibility. Patty Boge (offthepagephotography) took the photos. She has done what few do - humanize rather than humiliate those who live in our inner cities. Look at the photos, look at them carefully...then tell me about who lives in our inner city.

Saving society from religious wingnuts

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:57:00 -0500

I wish I could take credit for the headline, but I must attribute it to Edmonton Sun columnist, Mindelle Jacobs, and her April 9 editorial. While her column focuses primarily on the polygamous commune in Bountiful, B.C., I'm convinced her sentiments resonate with people universally. This week alone in our backyard, we've got a radical rabbi hiding out in Canada being wanted by Israeli police in a bizarre child torture case, and a Boston priest pleading guilty to stalking Conan O'Brien. Aside from the serious problem of how media headlines tend to vilify entire religious communities through the misuse of broad-sweeping labels ("rabbi", "priest"), an even deeper concern is how religious wingnuts come to be! What is it that precipitates these bizarre phenomenons of truth, lies and cruelty? As I read these stories, I wonder if Mindelle would include me in her assessment of religious wingnuts. I am a person of profound convictions, I believe that God is alive and created the universe, I believe that my beliefs should shape my behaviors and I hope that they do. So where's the line between conviction and crazy? We'll talk alot more about this question on the radio show Sunday night, for now, here are a couple responses. The difference between conviction and crazy is this: [More]

Live Philippine crucifixions more than just "unhealthy"...

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:10:00 -0500

On March 18, AFP news lead with the headline, "Philippines warns 'crucifixion bad for health'". Not only are present day live crucifixions bad for your health, they are also completely and utterly pointless. These literal re-enactments of Jesus' crucifixion reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the original historical event and its spiritual consequence. Christy Kenneally, host of a new documentary series called Decoding Christianity was present in the Philippines and stood close enough to the scene to be splattered by blood. When he joined us on Good Friday, March 21, on the GodTalk radio show, my stomach turned as he described what he had experienced. In the hours and days following the interview I have thought many times about the extent to which humans will go to make good on their sense of wrong. Driving 6-inch spikes through your bare hands is one way in which people attempt to absolve themselves. While this truly is a great act of devotion, it tragically reflects devotion to humanity's attempts at making things right, rather than God's offer of forgiveness. Jesus was nailed to a Cross exactly so that I would never have to do the same. Of course, believing that and accepting that demands I confront my ego. And that, for many, seems a greater challenge than the pain of literal crucifixion.