People Find What They are Looking For

Wednesday, February 23, In the year of our Lord 2011
Distance Learning Office, Caronport Saskatchewan
Copy / Pasting pre-written post, 1:23 PM
Weather = Cold, Windy, and Sunny


Over the last few days I have been chipping away at this post in my spare time. It is finished, so now I am posting it.

I have spent the last six years of my education at Briercrest College and Seminary. I found it to be an extremely nourishing place full of every opportunity for personal, academic, and spiritual growth. I was rather disappointed when a friend of mine said that people should not go to Briercrest High School because there are too many students who are only there as a last ditch effort to ‘fix them’ because they got kicked out of public school. I have also heard several college students say that prospective students should not go to the college because it is too much of a ‘Christian Bubble.’

I thought these negative critiques were a bit odd because there are so many positive opportunities for learning growth in both the High School and the College, more than in any normal public education system for sure! My theory to put these critiques into perspective is that people find what they are looking for.

If you are looking to be challenged academically, to learn a subject, and you put out the effort to do so then you will succeed. All the opportunities are there, all the teachers and professors are fully qualified, experienced, and authentically care for each of their students. If you want to do something that isn’t really covered in a class you have the freedom to talk to the instructor and chances are they can point you in a good direction and to someone else who is doing what you would like to do. Academically we are a very solid school (better than or at least on par with the UofR or UofS imho). Spiritually students are given every opportunity for growth as they are confronted by The Bible and sound teaching every day. There are also professional counselors, college and seminary students, and pastors that are more than happy to take time to listen and walk with any student who has questions or is going through some real serious sh** in their life. As for life experience every student has the opportunity to build into a community in Caronport, Moose Jaw, Regina, or anywhere they can get to. We work at summer camps, Sunday schools, soup kitchens, youth centers, rehab centers, old folks homes, many of our students work at Joe’s Place in Moose Jaw where you encounter ‘real life’ real fast. There is also a required internship for many degrees where you are required to work in a job that puts what you’ve been learning to practical use. TESOL students have gone all over the world for their internship (and were specifically invited to teach English by the government of North Korea) The opportunities are vast, and I can say without any doubt that this school is indeed a VERY good place for those seeking a higher education from a Christian institution.

Why then are there also negative views on this place? I think the answer to this is because people find what they want to find. If you want to find ways of complaining or blaming someone for something you don’t like, then there is plenty of opportunity for that everywhere you go in life, and Caronport is no different in that respect.
In the four years I’ve spent in the college I’ve noted that you can always find the group of complainers somewhere around the back of the room all huddled together encouraging each other to be miserable. They complain about the food, they complain about chapel, they complain about assignments and deadlines, they complain about Youth Quake, theology, philosophy, who’s dating who, RA’s, RD’s, School Leadership, and on and on it goes. They refuse to find good information and actually talking to the people they grumble against, but they are well versed in all the hate stories of other uninformed haters who refuse to talk to the people they grumble against. One of the strangest things that I have yet to understand is how someone who claims to have come here to ‘grow spiritually’ (or at least that’s what they put on their application form) can complain about chapel. As if a daily time of meditating on God’s Word, worshipping God with the community of believers, and soaking in some very sound pastoral teaching four mornings out of the week was a real drag. Especially since you have wake up so early, like 10:30 in the morning early. My only thought is that they must really not want to grow spiritually at all, because if they did then they would accept the fact that this is how things are, actually ask God to change their heart on the matter, and stop acting like spoiled five year old twits. These people may actually want to know God, but they want to know him on their own terms and refuse to submit to him. I’ve also noticed that these are often times (not always) the same people who end up not finishing a degree, falling away from God, and end up in unhealthy lifestyles characterized by guilt, pain, and foolish decisions.

Whew, now I’m a bit off track. Sorry about that.

So yes, people find what they are looking for. If you are looking for how to become a Wiccan at Caronport Highschool / Briercrest College and Seminary, then by golly you can find out how. There’s bound to be at least a handful of Wiccans or at least former Wiccans in the ‘I’m looking to be subversive’ flavor of the student body that are flying under the radar who would be more than happy to have a constructive conversation on the matter. If you can’t find any of those then there’s got to be a few ‘good students’ who share your curiosities and would be willing to compare notes. If you can’t find any then we allow you to purchase your own internet / read books to learn how you too can have spiritual power apart from Christ. Although these activities are heavily frowned upon and you signed a document saying that you would not do them, if you are looking for how to do it then you can find out how. Why? Because we are not a cult that blocks off communication from the rest of the world, we are a credible academic institution that believes in the Academic Freedom.

If you’re looking to just coast by and not be challenged then you can do that, although you’ve probably come to the wrong place to do it. School is expensive and the daily classes / interactions with students / professors and dorm leaders taking a personal interest in you greatly threaten the continued existence of a shallow Christian bubble. For those who are determined to not learn about the wider world and want to keep your life experience as closed as possible then you can still do that. And to be fair, it is easy to fall into routine and not get out much, especially if you are a person who (like myself) enjoys routine. If you’re looking for people who think like you do then you will find them. If you never aspire to look beyond that then you’ve created a bubble for yourself and it is only yourself (not the institution) that is at fault.

If you’re looking for drugs, sex, and alcohol then (once again) you’ve probably come to the wrong place. However, if you are smart, crafty, and subtle you will find all these things in Caronport. If you’re looking to be a belligerent fool who wants to argue about everything all the time then chances are you’ll find another belligerent fool to cut your teeth against, or at least a large volume of freshmen to pwn in order to make yourself feel superior. If you are looking to make money (once again) you’ve probably come to the wrong place, but with some good solid effort you can make money in Caronport. (maybe)

People find what they are looking for.

If you are looking to overcome lies, anger, fear, trauma, then Briercrest gives you every support necessary to do it. If you are looking to learn more about God and to know him, then you will find the school to be an extremely fertile place to grow in. If you are looking for God, then you will find him no matter where you are. If you are looking to be obedient to God and he sends you to Caronport, then keep a spirit of humility and an eagerness to learn, because God will use this place and the people in it to change you forever.

A friend of mine noted that when he comes to Caronport it really does feel like a bubble. The people are very friendly, there is little fear of any crime, there is no partying, and students walk around barefoot playing guitars on the grass in the summer time. Indeed, it is a bubble, a bubble of security kinda like a greenhouse where there is lots of things growing and being prepared for life outside. I told him that it’s also the damn scariest bubble you’ll ever be in. You deal with things in this bubble. Deep personal hurts and pains you didn’t realize existed. God grabs a hold of you and begins shaping you. If you are willing to work with God then this place is an extremely good place to grow in knowledge and wisdom. If you are not willing to work with God then this place is very frustrating and restrictive.

So there you have it. People find what they are looking for in Caronport, and I suspect this is true not just in Bible Schools but in the world as a whole.

Greg Out.

Denominational Stubborness

Monday, February 21, In the year of our Lord 2011

My Home, Caronport Saskatchewan

11:48 AM Contemplating Theology

Weather = Sunny and very cold

Every person has areas in their life where they refuse to trust in God. We put up barriers and say "I will believe you and acknowledge your works in all these areas, but not this area and not in this way." It seems to me that denominations within the Church are also this way. All of us (individuals and denominations) have points of doctrine that attempts restrict God in how he works.

Now God is God and he can do whatever he wants and it is absolutely foolish to try and restrict him. Even well meaning and the very most devout Christians will have areas in their lives where they don't realize that they are squelching the Spirit. When such an area is revealed to the Christian he can either bow in obedience or become angry and hardened. I think the same is true of denominations. When the radical truth of God's utter and complete sovereignty threatens a point of doctrine some bow in obedience, others become angry and hardened, and the denomination undergoes some doctrinal tension.

Some situations are more visible than others. I'm going to poke at Dispensationalism right now, because it has created some very tangible examples of what I am talking about. Dispensationalism, for those unfamiliar with it, is a system of belief that arranges all of time from beginning to end into various ways of how God works. It creates these divisions in time through exegetical study of the Bible and has played a large role in shaping theological understanding in North America. (for more information check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism)

There are some denominations under this tradition that believe that miracles no longer exist, especially the gifts of healing and of tongues. During a worship service where sick people are called up to the front to receive prayer for healing some people may stand up and leave the building in utter disgust so that they can brag that there have never been any healings in their church for as long as they have been there. There are of course other reasons besides Dispensationalism for this type of odd reaction to God's divine working but this sort of thing still happens in some churches today. God's divine freedom to do as he wants interrupts the nice little theological package that we create for ourselves. These interruptions spread down to the core of how we believe everything. It interrupts our way of reading and understanding Scripture (especially if it must be read literally from the KJV) it destroys the system of dispensations which throws into question our understanding of all of time and the very nature of God and the purposes of Israel. It might mean that the other 'less Christian' groups have had it right all along.

My thought here is that dispensations can be helpful, but they are still only abstract human constructs, not divine rules derived from distilled Scripture.

Speaking now to every person and denomination. God's freedom destroys the human understanding of God (any form of religion) which has acted as a safety net for us and a leash that we try to keep God on.

Another example from my own denomination, Baptists. Within some spheres of this denomination there is the clear understanding that Spiritual Warfare doesn't exist anymore, or if it does exist, that the rules for it are really weird. I had a friend who was clearly going through demonic oppression. It was a textbook case there was no doubt about it, it wasn't just depression or some form of mental sickness. She was working for a Christian family who refused to acknowledge the situation for what it was because 'demons can't affect Christians!' At least that's what they had always believed. Then the rules got really weird because maybe a demon could 'oppress' a Christian (float around them and make them feel terrible about themselves and give horrific nightmares) but they couldn't 'possess' a Christian (enter into them and influence / control their thoughts, actions, and speech). And one thing that demons were absolutely not allowed to do anymore was to 'manifest' (speak directly to you through the person being possessed). Yet all of these things were witnessed by us. Well then this person must not have been a Christian right? Unfortunately for this family this person fell under their definition of Christian and 'was eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit upon confession.' Needless to say, there was a lot of theological tension in that home.

My thought is that God uses even demons as tools to teach us lessons. A demon is like a nasty dog who barks and bites at you, but God is holding the leash. If a Christian is foolish / stubborn enough to ignore God's direction and warnings against things that are destructive and not good, then they do so at their own risk. God has always given humanity the ability to choose. If a Christian continually ignores God and openly tries to embrace demonic activity then God will eventually stop holding her back and allow her to embrace exactly what she wanted, complete with all the consequences and without the God that she wants to be rid of. Does this effect eternal salvation? I don't know.

We create far too much tension for ourselves by trying to dictate our understanding of how God must work to the God who is free to do what he wants, as he wants, when he wants. We try to find axioms of truth that will never change (which is a normal and healthy thing for a sane mind to do) and then mistake our own interpretations for the rules by which God must follow. Even denominations who accept all things as God's truth (Hinduism?) can't accept that God is also free to permanently reject certain things and that only God's voice is truly God's voice.

My thought is that even seemingly arbitrary doctrinal idiosyncrasies exist for a reason. Some are born out of an authentic attempt to understand Scripture, but somewhere along the road Scripture dictated God instead of the other way around. Some are born out of an authentic attempt to preserve the faith from corruption of another group who believed and did things very differently but somewhere along the road a line was drawn to keep the heretics (and God) from ever tampering with how that specific area of contention 'ought to be handled.' Some where born out of an authentic attempt to clarify theology in light of new ideas that were foreign to the original text (naturalism, evolution, individualism, democratic rights) but somewhere along the road the clarification overshadowed the original understanding. Some were born out of ignorance, fear, stubbornness, or a combination of a whole host of things.

So in light of all this, God is free to do as he wants and trying to restrict him will result in frustration to the restricter. When you realize that you have been attempting to restrict God for one reason or another then you should repent and embrace what God is doing. Don't ever give up on trying to know God but cultivate a spirit of quietness and worship.

Time Travel Winnipeg

Monday, February 14, In the year of our Lord 2011

My House, Caronport Saskatchewan

Lamenting the fact that the day is over, 11:35 PM

Weather = Melting?

A few weeks ago a bunch of us went back in time. We prepared ahead of time specifically for this occasion. We made sure to bring suitable garb that would have been common in medieval times so that we could blend in as much as possible. We were briefed on how to address royalty when court was held. We also brought our own feasting gear so as to not give away our being from the future. Then we piled into two cars and traveled 8 hours to Winnipeg and somewhere between 400 and 1000 years back in time to Castle Rouge. Yes, Winnipeg had castles back then. They were part of the Kingdom of Northshield. How did we travel back in time? The Yeti showed us how.

The occupants of Castle Rouge were a fine number of men and women, very personable and welcoming of outsiders. We introduced ourselves as pirates from the Kingdom of Antir and they were most intrigued. The local merchants offered to show us their wears and I believe our Captain was able to barter for two crystal glasses which shall grace the ship nicely. We also met good man Laurie, who proved to be an excellent herald, entertainer, conversationalist, and authentically good and caring person. We met many fine men and women with incredible medieval colors and patterns. The baron, 'Evil Eric' welcomed us warmly, but it was a trick. He had been bribed by a countess to have us reveal our names. Castle Rouge was a very pleasant place where no war or sparing occurred, but there was still much danger and intrigue to be had.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves in the middle of a hidden war of subtlety and grace. Those amiable merchants, those gentle ladies, those personable men and polite guests from the east... assassins... all of them! We banned together as a crew for our lives! I am convinced that we could fair well in a fight be it with heavy or with rapier, but this was treacherous. One by one the citizens of Castle Rouge fell through treachery and bribery. Someone was found dead in the back hallway, but nobody heard him die or had seen any trace of a killer. A horrible accident at port killed a beautiful young assassin, a mast fell on her, and I know the crewman who did it. The man beside me was nearly stabbed in the back except the assassin lost her dagger at the last second and merely brushed against him. Someone poisoned the juice pitcher and many a man and woman died a slow death. The Baron himself was poisoned in like manner, except the three dagger wounds already given him allowed the poison to run out and he did not die. As I was chatting with one of the crew he was blown to pieces by a stray cannon ball which was fired by a Byzantine vessel aiming at the Turks. His killer was in turn slain by poisonous gold. Then one of the merchants made as if to give one of our ladies a necklace, but slit her throat after earning her trust. We charged this man with murder, and when the Baron held court he was found guilty and had to wear a painfully fluorescent pink hat that said 'busted.' Then I witnessed my friend Korsak stabbed in the back by the Baroness and I called the guard but it was too late. It was madness, MADNESS I SAY!

Then we were brought together for high court and we got to witness the ceremony, pomp, and shenanigans of the medieval court. I enjoyed the banter between lords and ladies and the manner in which case the Baron (Evil Eric) presided over the court. It reminded me a lot of church actually. Alas, the princess could not attend that night, she was delayed south of the boarder because of the horrendous weather. I was thoroughly amused that the Baron was referred to as Evil Eric. Apparently he is an infamous trickster who delights in causing mischief. He is already willing to hire a pirate ship from another kingdom and give us permission to raise the jolly roger in Northshield.

Then we feasted. Oh what a feast! I have never tasted vegetables like this before, with seafood dip and the fresh bread, so incredible. I think microwave dinners and fast food were two solid steps backwards from the 1300's. Tuscan Orange Salad, Cornbread with cheese, Veal wrapped in Ham! One of our crew was stabbed in the back during the feast but by that time we didn't care... the food was so good!

After much clearing and cleaning the floor space was used as a dance hall. There were many eager ladies looking for lords to dance with. At this time I very subtly and gracefully departed unseen and sat with a friend on the staircase. She had injured herself coming out of the car so she could not participate in the dancing although she wanted to greatly. I was quite sad for her. To be hurt stepping out of a car when you finally arrive at an event after 8 hours of traveling hardly seems fair. It was good to just talk and be away from the everyone else though. 8 hours in a small vehicle and the stress and noise of medieval life can wear on an introvert. It was good to be alone, but not good to be lonely. Good Laurie joined us for a time and then we went to the dance floor and parted to watch at a safe distance. During one of the last dances our ambassador 'tossed' one of the ladies incorrectly. He was expecting to toss his wife but she was somehow replaced by a shorter lady who's bust line was near exactly where his wife's waistline should have been. The captain was summoned as the lady smirked with sadistic glee as to what punishment should befall the embarrassed ambassador. Her face was bright red, and the ambassador had to constantly fan her as his hearing progressed and as the hearing progressed the ambassador became redder and fanned harder. It was decided that we would pay the lady a pound in chocolate by a certain event, but if payment was not received or found adequate, then the issue would be brought to pirate court, in which case our ambassador would be thoroughly hooped.

Then we retired to the families that housed us the first night, ate some pizza, had our lives threatened by some very tired and disgruntled crewmen, and promptly went to bed. The next day we traveled back through space and time (under Yeti's constant instruction) to Caronport in the present. It was a wonderful journey, one of which I will not soon forget. :)

[see video from event here]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9PYyHEXn8&feature=player_embedded

Blister = Band-aid?

Thursday, February 3, In the year of our Lord 2011

My House, Caronport Saskatchewan

Winding down from work, 5:18PM

Weather = surprisingly warm + windy

Yesterday I had it in mind to bake bread. Two friends of mine introduced me to focaccia bread which is both very easy to make and very yummy to eat. This is the third time I've made it on my own and I do believe that I am getting better at it!

I took the pan out when the bread was golden brown and tried moving the bread into a better location to cut it when my hand flew up into the air, the knife went flying, and my mind screamed 'cold water on fingers NOW!' A split second later it registered that I had burned myself. A split second after that it registered that my fingers didn't actually hurt much. A split second after that I concluded that I must have burned off nerve endings which made the internal voice of 'cold water on finger NOW!' yell even louder.

Anyway, the burn was painful after the initial shock wore off and the bread tasted awesome. Later that night a blister formed on my finger and I didn't think much of it, because blisters form on burnt fingers like 2 + 2 = 4.

It occurred to me at work how fantastic blisters are though! I was poking it because it felt funny, like a layer of numbness over something that still kinda hurt. It kinda felt like a band-aid. Then the revelation dawned on me, of course it feels like a band aid, because that's exactly what it is! Blister's are the body's band aids, they are a protective covering of a damaged area complete with a water buffer to both heal and absorb impact. Blisters are awesome! What an incredible function of the body!

Most people look at blisters as a bad thing, but they're not. Someone might complain that they got blisters from walking in new boots for instance, but could you imagine the pain and greater chance of infection of the body did not make blisters to protect itself? The bisters aren't the problem, but they are a noticeable effect of the problem (constant rubbing has damaged your skin).

So blisters are awesome, and I still want to avoid getting them if I can.

The Great Prairie Wind

Tuesday February 1st, In the Year of our Lord 2011

My House, Caronport Saskatchewan

Done with work for the day, 7:55 PM

Weather = Friggin COLD and WINDY

It is currently so cold that it doesn't matter whether or not you measure in Fahrenheit or Celsius, they both meet at negative 40 and below that it doesn't matter, it's just friggin cold. Saskatchewan is a frequent contender for 'coldest place on the planet' and will sometimes bump Antarctica, the North Pole, and Siberia out of the way. Today may have been one of those days.

I recently traveled with friends to Winnipeg and the weather did not want us to go. The wind blew so much snow over the road we could barely see it ten feet in front of us (which is rather unnerving when traveling at 120 km/h.) The trip was excellent, and I will write about it later, but right now I need to write about the weather.

The Great Prairie Wind can scare me sometimes. Everything is so flat and there is nothing stopping all the wind from one end of the prairie (which is larger than France) from blasting to the other end. It is as if the wind comes from the very edge of the earth and threatens to pick you up and blow you off the other end. Even tonight as I returned to my car on the edge of town it was as if I were on a different planet, all that blowing snow and that wind hitting me in the face travelling all the way from who knows where! It becomes an entity all on its own and it is so big and stretches over such a huge distance. Sometimes, when it gets big enough, it will flip cars, uproot trees, and demolish entire buildings.

What a fascinating place to live in.