Festival of Hope

This past Wednesday I was privileged to go to a very cool event in Toronto, the launch of the 'Festival of Hope'.  This will be a three day event at the Air Canada Centre, September 12-14, where Franklin Graham will preach the gospel message.  His father did it in 1995, now he's doing it.  His father brought DC Talk and Michael W. Smith.  Franklin is bringing Lecrae, the Newsboys, Michael W. Smith (for round 2!), Kari Jobe, Thousand Foot Krutch, and the City Harmonic.

There are three different reactions I think we can have as Christians.

The first is that I'm sure many of us will feel a draw to attend - after all, it's Franklin Graham and a bunch of fantastic Christian artists!  But we have to remember the biggest thing - this event is not for us.  It is for us to bring our friends, family, neighbours, co-workers, hockey buddies, etc...  It is an opportunity for them to hear the gospel message in a clear and unintimidating way (it's at the ACC, not at a church).  If we show up as Christians without bringing someone who needs to hear the gospel message, then we're just taking up a valuable seat.

On other other end of the spectrum are those who will be cynical.  For a lot of Christians, myself included, it can be easy to think of this as 'one of those cheesy televangelist/crusade events that don't work anymore".  But that's not the case.  First off, it's not just a weekend event.  There is a whole slew of events and activities planned for the months leading up to the September weekend.  You can find it all at www.festivalofhope.ca.  The goal is to get as many churches as possible to be active in this, to reach out to their individual communities, and to work together...and that's a pretty great way to spread the gospel!

Secondly, it's Franklin Graham, with the Billy Graham name behind him.  It's not about him of course, because it's God that will change people.  But let's be honest, a name garners attention, and the bigger the name, the more interest it generates - for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Thirdly, I loved what Franklin shared.  His father Billy always says that there are three keys to any major event like this - prayer, prayer, and prayer.  This event is being doused in prayer from thousands of people across the GTA, for months.

The third reaction would be the perfect one - we're excited about the event, and we're already thinking and praying about who we can invite.  If you fall into this category, NICE!  Inspire others to follow your lead!

This is going to be huge, with lives won for Christ.  I'm excited.  It's great to see churches coming together to work on a huge initiative like this.  It's great to see so much prayer happening for the lost.  It's great to see Christians excited about possibilities.  It's great to see a big scale event that you know will have a wow-factor happening at the ACC.  And I encourage you and your church to get involved and pray.  Check out the Festival of Hope website.

One last thing, a sidenote.  I arrived early on Wednesday for a press conference.  As we were sitting waiting, a gentleman walked in and started shaking everyone's hand and getting their names.  I was sitting closest to the door so I was first.  As I looked up at the man, I thought, "This looks a lot like Franklin Graham...but it couldn't be...could it?"  I was just so surprised that he stopped and chatted with each one of us instead of going straight for the mics to make his big announcement...especially as he was SO busy that day.  That's something that will stick with me for a long time, and it says a lot about Franklin's character.

Grief turns to joy with God

This was a tough week.  Last Sunday, an incredible young woman from my church was involved in a car accident and she passed away.  Talented, athletic, literally brilliant, infectiously warm, and a lover of God.  Amazing girl from an amazing family.  It was a jarring, heartbreaking loss.  There's so much to say about her, but I want to focus on a bit of a different aspect below, so you can get a brief synopsis about Amanda here - http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2014/01/07/amanda-kelsall-killed-sunday-in-vehicle-crash

I went to the funeral today, and it's amazing how God works.  In the midst of tragedy and heartache, each of her family members took the opportunity to talk about her love of Christ during their eulogies, and then to tell of how Christ's strength was keeping them strong.  They were witnessing!  They were laughing!  They were full of joy!  They were excited for their daughter/sister in heaven!  It was incredible to see their faith and their strength.  About 1,000 people were at the funeral, many non-believers, and they heard the message of Christ loud and clear - several times from many speakers.  That in itself was a testament to Amanda's faith and legacy.

I really can't say enough about this girl and this family.  I had so much respect for them before this all happened...I didn't think it was possible to gain even more respect for them, and yet here were are today.  Meanwhile, her boyfriend is in hospital with serious injuries.  I have just as much respect for his family (who also go to our church).  Both families are truly anchored in God, I have always looked up to both, and both have always inspired my faith in the past, and even more so now.

In the end, there were two things that captivated me today, shared by Amanda's family.  One was her determination to excellence.  No matter what she did, she gave it her all.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says that we run a race, but only one wins.  We should run to win, and train our bodies for that - we push our hardest and strive for our best, and it's all for God.

The second thing was that we have no fear in death.  As Christians, we really do have no fear in death because death means something better for us.  Philippians 1:21 - "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  The family got that message across clearly.  In fact, if there was one thing that was comforting all week, it's been picturing Amanda having the time of her life in heaven, and just waiting for everyone here back on earth to join here.  She's thrilled right now, and we as Christians have no fear in death because we have something better that awaits us!

Still, it is hard for those left behind right now.  We will miss her and grieve with the family.  But Christ is our strength and our joy, and her family did so well to remind us of that today.

NEW YEARS!!...resolutions...ugh...

Does anyone still make these anymore?  Apparently so.  I really like the idea - starting a new year, starting a change, starting fresh...  But I think it all comes down to the approach.

Forbes says only 8% of people actually achieve their resolutions each year.  This is just my take, but here's why I think so many people are unsuccessful.

Unreasonable goals.  It's a bit ridiculous to say, "I'm going to hit the gym 4-5 times a week" when you've never hit the gym in your life.  It's unreasonable to say "I'm going to lose 200 pounds this year" because...well, because that's a lot of weight and it takes time.  It's unreasonable to say "I'm going to fall in love this year" because you never know when that's going to happen, and forcing it is usually a bad situation.

Goals are too generic.  You can't make a resolution that you'll make more money this year without having a plan to do it. You can't tell yourself that you're going to spend more time with your family without looking at your schedule and figuring out what you're going to drop to free up some time.  Telling yourself you're going to lose weight this year without creating a reasonable plan to do it will get you nowhere.  Well actually, that's not true, you will to one place - a point of frustration..

Discipline.  Perhaps the biggest one.  Anyone can make a New Year's resolution, but only a select few will follow through with it.  Most people stick with it for 2-3 weeks, and then it's back to the daily routine they had before New Year's hit.  That's where the two points above come in handy - having a reasonable goal, and a proper plan to achieve that goal will help keep you motivated.


I didn't make an official resolution this year, but I did join a gym.  My plan is to go 1-3 times a week, and I'm not going to kick myself if I miss a week, I'll just try to get back at it the next week.  At the beginning I'm not setting specific goals until I actually start hitting the gym and seeing where I am, and then how quickly I progress.  Then I'll evaluate and make a plan of how much weight I'd like to lose and by when, how good I'd like my cardio to be, and how much I want to be able to bench press (for example) and by when.

For me, I'm working at a slow and steady approach, and trying to make it something that won't overwhelm me.  That'll just lead to failure, and I want to be in that 8%.