Catching Up

A comment I received from Steve the other day got me thinking that I'm fairly inconsitent with my posting here, so the following is just a catch-up of random things that have been going on recently:

The future of the SA

It seems to me that the SA (at least in the Western world) is dying on its feet, although there are some exceptions to this. Many of the systemic problems in the Army are ignored or reacted to when things have gone too far. About 10 years ago, at a series of lectures at the CFOT in Toronto, Don Posterski gave the warning that the one thing that could cripple the Army as it entered the 21st Century would be the outdated system of hierarchy that it follows.

At a recent officers' prayer fellowship in Sudbury discussion at lunchtime got around to the latest article in the Officer magazine by the General. In this article he basically said that the question of the sacraments would not be reopened during his tenure and that it would be up to TCs and DCs to make sure that officers in their jurisdiction followed the Army line in this. I await my call. Anyway, during the discussion an officer of over 20 years stated that he didn't like the way the 'new breed of officer' were trying to change the Army in the way that they were. Ironically, many of those seeking change are older officers and/or generational Salvationists concerned for the future of the Army. Presumably my colleague is happy at the mediocrity of the Army in our Division and elsewhere.

I had high hopes for the rumoured changes within our Territory, but when they were announced it was quite the disappointment as they were nowhere near as radical as they needed to be. Word is that the man at the top balked at the whole package and offered permission if the plan was shrinked and called a trial. The fact that one person can have that power still baffles me. Gotta love that hierarchy!

For over a year now we have been trying to be proactive in our location, but have continually banged our heads against the brick walls of red tape. We are no further ahead now than we were this time last year and have just been asked to start the whole process over again. Gotta love that system!

Anyway enough of that stuff for now (for a good read on the future of the church in general click here).

Bulgaria

I spent a few days last week fundraising for an upcoming missions trip to Bulgaria. In exactly one months time I leave for Bulgaria for a two week mission with my friend and local pastor, Jeff Harris. We will be spending most of our time in Samokov and a few days in Sofia and Kurdzhali. In Samokov a lot of our work will be in an orphanage there and at a gypsy church, as well as partnering with some local churches. We fly out on 14 May with Alitalia to Sofia, via Milan and return the same way on 30 May. I'm looking forward to the challenge and change.

Movies

With the weather being so lousy lately, I have been watching quite a few movies, both old and new. Some of these, in no particular order, are as follows:

'Babel' - enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Interesting how the connections were made, showing that in some aspects we do live in a small world.
'The Departed' - not for the faint-hearted. I can see why it won the Oscar.
'300' - good guy movie. Short on philosophy, long on action.
'The Deer Hunter' - one of my all-time favourites. Picked up the DVD recently, which is why I watched it again.
'Stranger Than Fiction' - quite funny. Different type of role for Will Ferrell.
'Children of Men' - must see movie. Very thought-provoking. Very different from the book, which is also a good read.
'Little Miss Sunshine' - funny, crude and unpredictable.
'Flags of Our Fathers' - not what I thought it would be, which made it a lot better than I expected. I want to see the other one now.
'Bowling For Columbine' - had seen it before, but bought the DVD and watched it again. Michael Moore is great; Charlton Heston is soooo scary.

Easter

We were asked out for brunch after church on Easter Sunday. It turned out to be more than brunch and better than church. We were asked to our friends', Jeff and Ginny, house along with a number of their other friends. There were about 20 of us there, including children. They do 'church' in their house for their family every Sunday, but wanted to share with some of their friends for Easter. The food was good and the fellowship was excellent. I'd love to be a part of more of this informal type of gathering and it is the kind of thing we had been hoping to move towards with our church.

Sports

What can be said about the Leafs that hasn't been said already? The Raptors are the team to watch just now. The Jays are off to a great start. Rangers should be a force to reckon with next year, as Walter and Ally will get to start off the season.

Family

Pamela is in Toronto this weekend for a course and will be back tomorrow. She hits the big 4-0 in a couple of months time. Emily and Cameron are doing fine and continue to be lots of fun. Everyone in Scotland seem to be doing okay.

Well, that's probably enough catching up for now.