Is God relevant?                           Clement Yeung (Winnipeg)

It is just a regular weekday evening. The three of us are having supper at home and sharing about what has happened earlier that day. The conversation around the table is undirected and casual, even tangential at times.

Our son Caleb describes the different university application forms he has to fill in. I have taken a look into some of them and they are indeed tedious. You have to write short paragraphs about yourself, including all your achievements. Also for many American universities, if a student wants to apply for financial assistance, he needs to put down the income of his parents supported by income tax documents. Talk about privacy!

My wife mentions about her interaction with some ladies from mainland China. These ladies are new immigrants that have shown interest in Christianity. We are very happy to meet them but soon realize their terrible baggage from the past. Some are separated or divorced with children. Some have been dedicated to demons in their youth. Others have been treated like maids at home simply because of their parents favoring males.

That day I have my share of difficulties at work as well. An in-hospital patient who has been improving steadily suddenly makes a turn for the worse. His son works as a pharmacist at the same hospital. The son is a fine Christian gentleman who has tried to share the gospel many times with his father unsuccessfully. We pray that his father will improve and have another chance to hear the gospel.

Recently I have been reading one psalm each day. That night I arrive at Psalm 104 which praises God for being the creator of heaven and earth. However, my mind is occupied by our dinner conversation and the accompanying problems. Then a question flashes across my mind: “Is God really relevant today?” How is He related to our present day problems? Is He relevant to my son’s university application? Does He understand the background and the burden of the new immigrants? Does He care about my patients? For a long while, my mind remains blank. I cannot read on. So I just close my eyes and pray.

Then a strange thought hits me. It comes powerfully in the form of a question: “Where are you?” It is the same question God asks Adam and Eve when they are trying to hide from God. (Gen.3:9) They have eaten the forbidden fruit and become shameful of their nakedness. Surely God knows where they are hiding. The question really is: “Where are you in reference to God?” With that question, God is urging all of us to keep Him as the focus of our lives. This is the real meaning of worship – keeping God as the focus of our lives. With God as the centre, we will always find Him relevant because He keeps bringing us back to reality. Relevancy depends on two factors: reality and the focal point. The unseen reality is that God still reigns. This is the reality we need to go back to again and again. When we are obsessed with our anxiety and ambitions, God is no longer the focus of our lives. God remains relevant as always but we have made ourselves irrelevant by not recognizing reality as it is.

“May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” (Psalm 104:34)

 Just how awesome are God’s promises? This event has taken place over the past 6 months and I have been reaffirmed to realize that God’s promises are never failing.  This testimony does have casualties… what do I mean? Well, it involves three families and only two promises from God.

Back in July/August of 2006, my wife and I were having a casual conversation of owning a dog.  Our conversation led us to Burton, B.C. where a family had just had Samoyed Puppies.  My wife and I agreed that we would get one if it was less than $500 and would fit into our ministry plans.  The cost was only $450 and because the breed was a gentle “people” kind of dog, we had taken our first steps in getting our puppy “Grace” or as we call her “Gracie”.

We had told some friends of ours (Family 1, henceforth) about Gracie when they jumped at the chance of adopting her sister… It was at this point that my wife received a word from the Lord saying that this puppy for Family 1 came with a promise (From God) that they would be a whole family once again (one son had been away for some time).  Family 1 had chosen the name “Faith” for their puppy.  AFter this, Family 1 was wavering back and forth having said no to buying this puppy and the puppy being sold to someone else.  It was then that I knew God’s promises were never failing as the new owner wouldn’t have the time to care for Faith and so Family 1 had their chance to get her back and they did.

About 6 weeks later, my wife and I drove to Golden, B.C. to pick up our new family member as did Family 1.  At this point I would like to mention that my wife and I were staying with friends (Family 2, henceforth) while our house was being completed.  We met Gracie and Faith with much enthusiasm and our love for our Gracie has grown ever since as my wife and I receive God’s promises through our Gracie everyday.  However, the same could not be said for Faith.  After only three days with their new puppy, Family 1 was adamant that they made a mistake and needed to give her up.  As Family 2 shared our family’s joy with Gracie, they decided they wanted the blessings that came with Faith, so they adopted her from Family 1.

It’s been 3-4 months since and during that time, Family 2 had an answered prayer as their son who left the nest 2 years ago to live life on his own was struggling to find his place in God’s will and had decided to come back home to live in order to finish his MCATs because he knew that’s where God wanted him and that he would need to live with his parents to complete this task… the parents of Family 2 had been after him for months to at least come home and seek God’s will before going out on his own and I must admit that I didn’t see him coming home for some time until my wife and I took Gracie over to Family 2 to have a play date with Faith and saw him there.  On the ride home, my wife shared with me what she received from the Lord 6 months earler and it hit me that God’s promise was never failing.  Family 1 claims that it was God’s will for them to part ways with Faith but to me, it was their promise for their family to be reunited and now that promise that came with Faith has now rested and been realized by Family 2.  Family 1 still lives life with one of the sons still away from home…

How often have we disqualified ourselves from aspects pertaining to God’s will because we refused to see or hear the promises that God had in store for us if we just walk his path… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6

Pastor Naoto Yuki

One of the leadership books I found helpful recently is “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable” by Patrick M. Lencioni.

Rather than pages of “theories” about teamwork, the author spend about 80% in STORYTELLING: a fable about Kathryn–a new CEO with her leadership team at a high-tech company called “DecisionTech”

Here are two versions of the overall summary of the five dysfunctions:

The Original version from the book:

The AFC version (from staff retreat at Whistler, Sep 2006):

Although the topic of “teamwork” is nothing new, the story-telling format is a relatively “postmodern” approach. I am also amazed at the similar leadership challenges faced by the characters, compared to my own

       March 1st of every year is the deadline for buying your RSPs. As a result, there’s always a buzz around that time regarding “what to buy”, “what’s hot”…I over heard a conversation between a few of the 20 somethings young professionals in my church. They were excitedly talking about “GIC”s!!! Having worked in the investment industry for a number of years, I was incredulous that anyone, let alone people in their 20’s, could get so “excited” about GICs!
       Thanks to the great Mutual Fund boom of the 90’s, RSPs, GICs and all forms of investments are a prominent part of our lives in North America. I know of many Christian investment professionals and even more Christian investors. The questions that I asked myself during my 9-year tenure in the industry are: How is the Christian faith related to investments? Is it “ok” for Christians to invest? Is there a “theology” of Christian investing? How does my being a Christian effect my investment philosophy? How does my investing impact my faith?
        My observation is that for most Christians, investing is “neutral”. For these Christians, their being Christian does not determine their investment philosophy nor does their investments impact their faith. In effect, there is a invisible “wall” separating the “spiritual” life from the “secular (read: investing)” life. Since Project Contempo is set up specifically to smash this “wall that divides”, I will offer up the following points (stones) in an attempt to lure out the reader’s responses (jade): In your most recent investments (RSP or otherwise), is your

1. Ultimate Aim: God? or did you invest for yourself (Freedom 55), for your family’s financial security?
2. Motivation: to be a good steward of the money God gave you? or were your investments (RSPs, GICs, Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds, Options, Futures, Real Estate…) motivated by greed? i.e. I want more! I want to be a millionaire, I want to retire at age 35?
3. Method: When you buy stocks, bonds, Mutual Funds, Options and Futures, are these really “investments”? Or are these merely glorified gambling devices?
4. Effort: Did you put too much effort into investing or too little? I know some people, who are not working in the investment field, research, buy and maintain their own portfolios and spends practically every waking moment (outside of work) monitoring the progress of their portfolio. On the other hand, I also see others who have no clue what is an investment let alone how it works. They just listen to their friends, neighbors, co-workers…for advice and follow along in a herdlike way. Is there a balance in the way you approach investments? If you have no clue, is that really “trusting in God”? Or is that sloth? Laziness? Irresponsibility? If you are hunched over your screen “looking after” your portfolio, is that “dutifulness”, “good stewardship” or is it perhaps you just like the excitement of gambling (oops, I mean day-trading…)? Does your priority in life need to be readjusted accordingly?