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Getting In (the Theory of Bounded Sets)

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Ric Strangway

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the difference between “insiders” and “outsiders.” Today I want to pick up that idea and go a little further. For centuries the Church has placed a high value on holiness, devotion and the kind of moral behavior that reflected that. Along with that has come numerous different ways we have “set the standard” and “raised the bar.” Some of it has been good, and some of it has been not-so-good. What I mean is, often when the church has gone to great lengths to let the world know where stands, it creates…

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Inside v. Outside.

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Ric Strangway

Inside v. Outside. It’s weird how it works. Sometimes you’re in and sometimes you’re out. Sometimes you’re part of something, and sometimes you feel like you’re the last person on earth to belong. It’s like you’ve got a disease that could go viral and everyone is avoiding you. Sometimes it just feels like you’re on the outside. Have you ever thought about church like that? People have lots of reasons why they think the church is just for “insiders,” and many of them are true. But my question is, have you ever thought of why so many people feel like…

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The Stories Of Our Lives

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Ric Strangway

Story. Everyone of us has a story. Everyone of us is in search of a better one. That seems to be the way it goes. We all have stories. It’s part of what it means to be human. We all are intricately linked with others in our story. There’s places, plotlines, adversaries and friends. Sometimes it’s a comedy. Other times it’s a tragedy. Many times we just don’t know. The truth is though, we all are living out a story of one kind or other. And we all are looking for something more to make sense of our story. In…

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Things I Am (Re)Learning This Summer

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Ric Strangway

Rest is a good thing! It seems like the last few weeks has reminded me of something that I have been slowly learning for a long time … God’s idea for life is better than mine. What I mean is, I too often think that I can just keep going, that I can work and keep busy and be involved in all the things that I am interested in and not really worry much about how things are going beneath the surface. But I have come to realize again, that I can’t live that way. I can’t just keep moving…

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Where Was God In The Tsunami?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Ric Strangway

Where was God in the tsunami? I have to admit that’s not an easy question to answer. But it’s an important one to talk about, because my guess is that’s the question your friends and neighbours want to ask you. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, neither do I admit to fully understanding the mystery of God’s will, His sovereignty and the forces of evil. Sometimes my mind falls into a bit of confusion trying to make sense of it all. But somehow, this week, I feel compelled to at least put out a few biblical thoughts as…

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Life With Others

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Ric Strangway

I sometimes wonder if God’s idea of the church isn’t just some kind of a dream. Like an oasis in the desert that’s somewhere out there. You look for it. Long for it. You keep searching for it. But you never ever find it. I mean, the idea that we could do life with others, that’s a pretty big idea. How do we connect with others in a meaningful way when our own lives are fractured, stunted and dysfunctional? We struggle at the best of times to survive a week with the people we live with in our own house, ...

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The Weight of Living

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Ric Strangway

As we move through each week I often wonder how you are doing… there’s just so much stuff coming at all of us, isn’t there? I mean, between family, friends, church, work, school there’s so many demands and expectations and responsibilities. It’s amazing that we even survive! It’s like part of gets lost in all this. Every time something happens, every time we get pulled, some thing gets lost in us. Maybe a little bit of our humanness. A little bit of who we are. Which brings me to another thought. One a little less discouraging. I’ve been reflecting…

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