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A New Word and My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:48:00 +0000

I thought of a new word for the English language that I think sums up the approach I am going to take for my blog over the next while: "Sporactivity." I like to blog and write, but sometimes life is life and it gets busy. Therefore, I am going to embrace some sporactivity (sporadic activity) for my blog in the days to come. I haven't left, I'm just "sporaticizing" the blogging world.

Rhythm of Time

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:18:00 +0000

I preached on rest last Sunday and what it means to keep Sabbath rest in our lives. In tackling the subject, I used the illustration of rhythm. Interestingly, what makes a beautiful rhythm or melody are not just the notes played (the musical activity done) but equally important are the rests, or the ceasing/resting of activity in the music. If the ceasing of sound did not occur, then it would be just noise. I related the Genesis creation account to this (on the seventh day God rested/ceased then blessed it and called it holy) and that God has establish a rhythm of rest that we as humans, too often, war against. This warring comes at great cost to our lives and relationships as it was never how we were created to live.

What would it mean to live in a proper rhythm of activity and rest in our lives, that when working together, would create a beautiful sound scape?

How ??? is your God

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:23:00 +0000

This Sunday I preached on the concept of time. Among other things, I communicated that time, unlike our marred concept of it, is beautifully and wonderfully created by God and in Genesis is called 'good.' In the process of my sermon preparation I keep coming back to the popular, yet not completely accurate, phrase: "How big is your God?" The reason I wonder about the accuracy of the phrase is that since all matter is created by God, then God isn't "bigger" than it. God is not bigger than anything, because God created the conceptional nature of size. God would, by definition, be "beyond size." That does mean, even more profoundly so, that the universe pales in comparison to God who created all that we know and experience.

So..."How 'beyond' is your God?"

Being the full "you"

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:10:00 +0000

The following stems from conversations I have had with recent graduates who are attempting to determine where God is calling them. It is meant as a reminder to both myself and others:

If you truly believe you have been called by God to serve in the capacity your in…and…If you truly believe that you are in the place God wants and desires for you…and…If you believe God only ever desires us to be real, authentic and without pretense…then…you must also equally believe you must be yourself and yourself alone. You can’t be anyone else, no matter how great or gifted they might be. It is not only impossible but a worthless exercise that only will end in disastrous disappointment.

This of course is difficult. It is difficult because people often project their opinion of who you should be. However, the only expert, besides God, on you is, well, you. Then I would simply ask: What are you waiting for? Who are you trying to be? Why are you spending so much energy trying to be someone or something you can never be? Why, instead, don’t you just be you and allow God to profoundly use you as the exact person he wants in your present location and circumstance. To be anything else would simply be hypocritical and dishonoring to yourself and, more importantly, to the God who wonderfully and beautifully created you.

My TV appearance, New Church Website, Renovation Overdrive and Missions Rethink

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:49:00 +0000

My TV Appearance
I was recently on TV talking about "The Edge," our Youth Drop-In Center, at Parkview. It was a cool experience to talk about our church's vision for engaging our community by meeting practical needs within. It was facinating to have talked for several minutes on camera and then only see two small clips on TV - but there were good clips:)

New Church Website
Our church is going through a major website overhaul and are launching our new (very cool) site in a few day. If you get a chance check it out www.parkviewalliance.com. We still have a lot of "polishing" to do and the potential of things we can do through it is amazing.

Renovation Overdrive
I been in renovation mode in our house for the last couple months since moving it, but for the next few weeks, I officially move into "renovation overdrive" as I complete our upstairs installing counter tops, new flooring, painting, shelving, lighting, building cabinets and cabinet doors. I like doing it but the pace is a bit much these days.

Mission Re-Think
I have been facinated with world missions lately which has trusted my into several books that I will post about together soon. There are:

Glocalization by Bob Roberts Jr.
GloboChrist by Carl Raschke
Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan

Colonial Carry-Over

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:21:00 +0000

I had a great conversation with one of our church leaders the other night about the possibility of bringing someone from overseas to do a short-term ministry in our church sometime in the future. In other words, reverse the traditional North American mission's model - which would be interesting to say the least. In the midst our conversation, I began to realize how much our culture's colonial roots still exist in my thinking. I talked about the appropriate concern of making sure that this person was ready for a ministry like this and then I thought: Why don't we assume that when we send a team to a different country that they would have those questions of us? Do we just assume that they should be grateful to have a group of North Americans minister to them? I guess it has just made me think about some of the things we assume when we interact with other cultures - often without even realizing it. Maybe our ancestor's colonial worldview still lingers closer than we think.

Satellite Church Article

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:22:00 +0000

I stumbled across this article on satellite churches that is asking some of the same questions I have been asking. I am not against satellite churches per say, by why aren't these question and potential problems discussed more?

Also, the article mentions Shane Hipp's book, Hidden Power of Electronic Culture, which I would highly recommend - you can read my review of it here.

Caption Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:09:00 +0000

I have been in both community newspapers over the last week and thought I would share the pictures used with a bit of a caption contest. Here they are:

Picture #1: From the Standard

Picture #2: From The Voice

Leave a comment with your captions...have fun and mock away:)

Haggai: Re-Trace Follow-up (Prayer of Examine)

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:38:00 +0000

As part of our current sermon series on Haggai, this morning we talked about the idea of RE-Tracing our spiritual journey and how God has worked in our lives (individually and together as a community) so that we can then see our present and future with a new perspective.

As part of RE-Tracing our past, I mentioned the Ignatius Prayer of Examine and so I thought I would include a few links here:

Written Prayer of Examine that you can use to reflect on the end of your day.
Free MP3 Prayer of Examine that you can listen to with your Ipod, Mp3, media or CD player at the end of your day.

I trust these will be helpful in your spiritual journey as you RE-Trace the work of God in the tapestry of your life, knowing that your situation is not a surprise to God and that God is calling you to something more.

As always, I hope my messages get to the route of what the word "sermon" stems from (conversation) and that they would truly start spiritual conversations. Thus. I would always invite your comments, concerns, stories, prayer requests, etc. as we pursue life together.

I'm Back and Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Well, I back to the blogging world after a bit of a hiatus. With moving, doing a bunch of work on our new house and starting my new role (Lead Pastor of Parkview Alliance Church), things have been busy to say the least. Although things have been busy, I am feeling like I am getting into a routine and looking forward to reentering the blogging world. With that being said, I am still trying to decipher the direction my blog should take. I have some interesting thoughts and ideas that I have been working through and at least for know, I am looking forward to examining them here.

Its coming...

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:29:00 +0000

In a few days I will be back regularly posting on incipiosermo.com. I am getting more and more settled and a routine is emerging. I'm looking forward to re-engaging the online blogging world.

Posting soon,

Bryce

Taking a Break

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Mon, 26 May 2008 04:01:00 +0000

As you may have noticed I have been taking a bit of a break lately with my blog. With school over and with starting a new ministry in a week, I thought I would take a well deserved break from the blogosphere.

For those who check regularly, I am not gone completely and will return soon.

Thanks for reading.

Question #41: Why are these so similar

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:13:00 +0000

My friend Jon has invited people to an interesting discussion on his brilliant blog about the similarities of theme in both our Valedictorian addresses. Like him, I am not sure if the similarities are because we are both friends, we read each other's blogs, have similar experiences before seminary, or if it is symptomatic of a wider questioning of "success" in ministry. Take a read of his address and feel free to comment on his discussion here.

Is this a growing common theme? What does it mean? Is it good or bad? Where will it lead?

Valedictorian Address

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:00 +0000

This last week was Graduation weekend and it was awesome on so many levels. I was honored to be Valedictorian of this year's graduating class, giving the Valedictorian address at the Graduation Banquet the evening before the commencement ceremonies. Because not everyone was able to attend the banquet, I thought I would post a written copy of my address here...

Good evening Board of Trustees, Faculty, Staff, family, friends, honored guests and most importantly, those we are honoring tonight: the Taylor Seminary Graduating Class of 2008.

As I was reflecting on my words for this evening, Taylor’s mission to develop Christ-minded leaders who make a difference in the world kept coming to mind. Consequently, I want to share a couple observations from the New Testament story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch about some important and vital truths we all must remember as we seek to serve God in his world.

Many of you will probably be familiar with this story that is found in Acts Chapter 8 and I am also sure there are some here who are less than familiar with it. Therefore, let me set the stage for the narrative we will look at this evening.

At the beginning of Chapter 8 we find Phillip ministering in Samaria with great success. We read that “crowds” were coming out to hear him speak and perform miracles. In fact, Luke tells us that not only were crowds gathering, but Phillip’s ministry saw a difference being made in his world. Luke even describes the mood of the entire city being transformed into one of “great joy.” In all accounts, Phillip was experiencing numerical success in ministry that would have gotten him acclaim, popularity, and if this took place in our culture today: interviews on popular TV programs and most definitely a book deal with Zondervan. He was experiencing numerical success and in that success, God does something completely unexpected, He sends an angel to tell Phillip to “Go south on the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

As Phillip walks along the road he notices an important Ethiopian official reading the Book of Isaiah and the Spirit tells Phillip to go and stay near him. God calls Phillip away from a ministry to thousands in order to travel to a ministry of one. As Phillip asks the Ethiopian questions and explains the meaning of Isaiah, the Ethiopian comes to know Christ and like a good Baptist, he sees water on their journey and asks to be baptized.

In the middle of great numerical success, God calls Phillip to take a lonely journey down a dusty desert road and moves Phillip from ministry to hundreds/thousands to a ministry of one, shattering what I term the “exaltation of efficiency.”

We live in a culture that values efficiency at a rapidly growing pace. In fact, recent studies say that fuel efficiency has now become the number one customer concern for new cars, topping safety which has led the way for many years. You see this translated into appliance and furnace purchases, employer/employee relationship strategies, leadership material, and time management programs. The value of efficiency is pervasive and even sneaks its way into “ministry” as well. Although we will all serve and lead in different ways and in different ministries, we will all be faced with this “exaltation of efficiency” at some point as we lead.

Some of us will face the “exaltation of efficiency” when our ministries are not experiencing numerical growth. We serve in a culture (Evangelical Church culture) that often defines ministry success solely in numerical terms. If God is calling you to be a pastor, you will experience this with attendance, commitment, membership, or baptism numbers. If God is calling you to be a missionary, you will experience this when you come home from the mission field as people ask you how many people came to Christ. If God calls you to be a Sunday school teacher or Bible study leader, people will ask how many are coming to your class every week. And sadly, it is not just those on the outside who ask these questions but we ask them of ourselves (consciously and sub-consciously), often making decisions on our future and self-worth solely based on a numerical evaluative scale. The problem is that success is not simply numbers. Success must always be holistic in nature. The problem is that, we as leaders, too often assume our definition of success is God’s definition. Phillip’s ministry to the Ethiopian was no less successful than Philip’s ministry to the crowds in Samaria. We must always remember that in God’s economy the ministry to the one is equally important as the ninety-nine.

Some of us will face the “exaltation of efficiency” when God calls us to a ministry that doesn’t make earthly sense. In the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian, we notice Phillip being called by God from a large ministry to a ministry of one. In our culture where we exalt efficiency, it is difficult to imagine moving down the “corporate ladder” of ministry; however, I would suggest there are times when God might be calling us to do just that. God may call one of us to walk down the corporate ministry ladder and walk alone on a dusty road, not because he is punishing us but because in his economy efficiency and productivity are viewed on a different dimension. May we have the courage to follow God’s call wherever it leads, even if it breaks our culture’s view of what we should be doing or what is “successful.”

Some of us will face the “exaltation of efficiency” when ministry is extremely difficult - when we struggle with discouragement and disillusionment. Some of us will serve in ministries that are less than numerically successful and will be tempted to quit. Some of us will be called to serve in places that make no earthly or career sense. But all of us will experience the fact that ministry and leadership is hard, ministry and leadership is demanding, and serving against the tide of efficiency can be very, very difficult.

As we attempt, with God’s help and empowerment, to be Christ minded leaders who make a difference in our world, we must always have a Christ-centered view of ministry that understands the one as equally important as the ninety-nine, we must always be willing to serve and at times follow God down the corporate ladder, and we must always remember that although it is hard, we are not alone and it is worth it.

Our world is in desperate need of Christ-minded leaders who will not just make a difference but who are radically different in both their character and their perspective.

May we be those kind of leaders, seeking God’s glory and not our own.

Graduation Invitation

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:28:00 +0000

I don't have enough official invitations to send out to everyone, so I thought I would post a digital copy of the invite on my blog and do an open invitation to my Graduation on May 4th.

Peace Be Still

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:38:00 +0000

I created the following video as part of my final project for a class I took a few weeks ago and thought I would share it with you.

Enjoy...

Question #40: Children & Church

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:48:00 +0000

This last Sunday I had the opportunity to go to a local Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) and attend their worship service with my Inter-cultural class. It was fascinating on so many levels and I learned a lot. You can learn a lot of things from a classroom or a book, but nothing beats learning by experience and this was no exception. The Sikh community was incredibly welcoming and gave us a full tour as well as hosted us for lunch.

One of the highlight for me was seeing the children run around freely and unencumbered in the midst of their worship. Even during the prayers (which was a highly respectful time), kids were just being kids and it was acceptable and embraced. Children were frequently running back and forth from father to mother, grandmother to grandfather (men and women sit on different sides of the room) without it being a distraction or annoyance to anyone. This is one of those things I wish was more evident in Christian churches as kids were just being kids, even in the midst of their worship and teaching.

What would it look like for our Christian worship services to be more family friendly and naturally relaxed around children? What makes it so tense when a child cries or a child gets antsy? Why do we feel awkward or embarrassed when this happens ?

Question #39: Community

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:52:00 +0000

I think we are often oblivious to the pervasive individualism in our society and culture. We go about our lives and don't realize how much or world-view is affected by our very individual perspective. Interesting, it hasn't always been like this, as I have been reminded of recently in my studies. For example, did you know that in medieval times people didn't sign their artwork - there was no thought of individualistic ownership or copyright? Did you know that in the Ancient Near East, the perspective of life-after-death was a communal one; they believed that they would simply live on in the memory of their community? Those are just two examples that has led me to the question:

Have we, in our culture saturated with individualism, lost sight of a communal perspective on life, theology, ministry, art, worship, reading, prayer, preaching, family, life, work, school, etc.? Are we blind to an important community perspective? How would that perspective affect us?

Question #38: Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Have you noticed that the "minute of silence" has gotten shorter and shorter over the last several years - we even call them "moments" of silence now. There seems to be a weird cultural allergic reaction to silence that permeates almost every activity (individual and corporate). This simple observation leads to the following question:

Why are we so uncomfortable with Silence? Do you take time to purposely "fast" from noise? Do you Sabbath from active sounds?

Question #37: Barriers to a Multicultural Church

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:43:00 +0000

What are some of the barriers to multiculturalism in the Church and what can we do about them?

Question #36: The Church and Social Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:19:00 +0000

The following question stems from my trip to the downtown east-side of Vancouver (it is the poorest neighborhood in Canada) and an informal meeting with the leader of a secular social advocacy group. The guy was fascinating and, although he has some different ideas and means to social change, he made the statement that the churches were doing commendable deeds by handing out food and clothing. He even went so far to say that they were doing such a good job that people could always find something to eat in the Downtown Eastside. However, he also commented that the churches were doing nothing to solve the problem, they were just treating the symptoms of it.

His comments got me thinking...

What is the extent of the churches role in society with social justice? Do we only treat the symptoms or do we fight for beating the disease?

I am a strong proponent of separation of Church and State but I admit, he got me thinking. Do we as the Church just stop at addressing the symptoms of hunger and not deal with the disease of our cultural, social and government systems that have cause the problem the the first place? Where to we stop in our fight for justice?

I am not sure of the answers but I have definitely started to ask the questions.

Major Update: The Most…

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:06:00 +0000

It has been a while since I have posted and thanks for being patient. I have been sick over the last week, which has led me to focus on only what I needed to do in order to survive. But I am better now and have a lot to update you on, including:

The Most Exciting: As on June 1st, I will be the Lead Pastor of Parkview Alliance Church in Vermilion, AB. We are really excited about our next ministry and our new church family. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us as we discerned God’s direction.
The Next Most Exciting: We purchased a home in Vermilion that is in a great location and is big enough for our family – this is a huge answer to prayer.
The Most Challenging: School is crazy busy but I am on the homestretch with 6 weeks left in the semester. I think I have something like 100 pages of papers to write and I am not sure how they are all going to get done. Better said, I am not sure how good they are going to be.
The Most Experiential: My trip to Vancouver (The Vancouver School of Theology) for the Canadian Theological Student’s Conference. I meet tons of new people from across the country and from diverse denominational backgrounds. Among the highlights for me were: conversing with people, the trip and tour of a Catholic Monastery in Mission, BC, our trip to Downtown East-side Vancouver (we toured two different churches and heard them describe their unique approach to their ministry, we had lunch with some street people, and we visited some organizations in the area as we walked around in small groups), going to the historic Vancouver meeting of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools (it was profound on so many levels). In all, it was busy, relational, experiential, challenging and profound. I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to go and represent my seminary at this ecumenical event.
The Most Frivolous: We now have TiVo and it is awesome!!! It has revolutionized the way we watch TV.

I will be back Monday continuing the question a day series.

Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:53:00 +0000

I have been meaning to write a post since my trip to Vancouver (which was awesome) but I have been sicker than a dog for the last few days (today included). I haven't forgot about the blogging world but at this point I am just focusing on what I have to do to survive.

Missing in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 02:46:00 +0000

I will be taking a short hiatus over the next week as I am in Vancouver representing Taylor Seminary at this year's Canadian Theological Students' Conference. This years theme is "God in the City: Faces of Faith."

Question #35: Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Bryce Ashlin-Mayo) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:55:00 +0000

How is the world changing - shifting? How does this shift affect ministry, the church and the communication of the Gospel?

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