Archives for June, 2008
America in Decline
Thomas Friedman has an amazing column in the New York Times today about America being in decline.
On top of it all, our bank crisis is not over. Two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs analysts said that U.S. banks may need another $65 billion to cover more write-downs of bad mortgage-related instruments and potential new losses if consumer loans start to buckle. Since President Bush came to office, our national savings have gone from 6 percent of gross domestic product to 1 percent, and consumer debt has climbed from $8 trillion to $14 trillion.
I am curious to see what the Canadian stats are, especially consumer debt vs. savings compared to the U.S. My question is that while the Bush tax cuts helped out short term with the economy, is there going to be enough revenue to launch the ambitious kind of changes that Friedman is calling for?
Contextless Thoughts
- Oliver is still in the NICU at RUH. He is doing fine but is still too small to take home. The nurses are trying to fix him up with the little girl in the crib next door but there isn’t a lot of chemistry there.
- Mark is irritated by the rule that he can’t see Oliver whenever he wants. There was a poster up for the RUH Foundation and he muttered, “I won’t be giving any money to them!”
- Lee is moving out soon (It was a couple of years ago he was going to move in for a couple of months). He has a nice renovated apartment in Lakeview which he doesn’t know if he is going to keep because he wants to be closer to work. Either way it looks like there is a move in my future. Mark is torn as he hates the idea of his uncle moving out but he really wants Lee’s large bedroom in the basement. He has floated the idea of moving out with Lee but that hasn’t gotten much traction.
- A friend of mine drives a Ford Explorer but spent less then $400 on gas last year. He walks the ten blocks to work every day even when it is -40 degrees out. He only drives when he has to be somewhere after work that he can’t walk to. Considering that the average American spends almost $4000.00 a year in gas, that’s a considerable saving.
Celebrity Culture
Scott is talking about the celebrity culture in the church on his weblog and he makes a good point, the church is obsessed with celebrities and superstars like the rest of the world. I don’t know if I accept his examples totally but his point is right on.
I have a similar story about being at WillowCreek. I worked at a church that used to purchase 20 tickets or so to the Leadership Summit and fly down most of its staff to hear “leaders” talk about leadership. The second time I was there, Wendy, myself and others were milling about in the lobby and people were literally lined up at the door. When the door to the lobby opened, these people ran into the auditorium so they could get to the front of the building supposedly so they could get close to Bill Hybels. I am assuming they were under the impression if Bill sweat on them or they could smell what kind of deodorant he used, they would be better leaders. It was a little odd to see and not the norm but at the same time I think it is something that permeates church culture.
The church is a lot like NASCAR, it markets and sells those that are successful. The stories of success are what is needed to sell books, book people into conferences, sell DVDs, or have people come to your church. While there is a lot of talk about faith and God’s blessing, there is an entire industry out there that is selling the opposite message, it is about speaking, leadership, vision and they have the tools to help get the church there and I think we have bought into that far more than we will ever admit. To sell those items, they need a face and a story to share and depending of the product, they partner with those that people resonate with, kind of like George Foreman and his grills.
Some people in the church seek out celebrity status while others it just happened to. Those that seek the status will quote whore themselves to irrelevance and keep releasing the same book with a different cover and a couple new stories again and again. Others will be stuck with it because at a certain point they captured the imagination of a people. I don’t blame them and I don’t even blame the industry that produces them. Their bottom line is the bottom line and for decades have been producing all sorts of crap. The people I blame are those of us who are looking for the secrets, the easy way out, the success, the glory, and will pay $295 for a one day seminar with them as they tell us what they wrote in the last three books.
It comes from a lack of leadership, a lack of confidence, a lack of trust, and a lack of faith in our ownselves and instead of admitting it, we go looking for it from someone else. This is a deep structural problem in the church, one that is reinforced by the system rather than challenged which is why I think people are often attracted to movements on the fringe of the church, it’s where they would be if they had the courage to go there. Instead we make those who are there into celebs and try to live through them.
More funding for affordable housing
The Government of Saskatchewan made my work a lot easier with an announcement today that they were increasing certain aspects of Social Services funding, especially for emergency shelter rates and per room rates, both which have a huge impact on what we do around here. For us who are working extremely hard in getting an emergency shelter open for women and children, this is a wonderful step forward. I was at the announcement today at the Saskatoon Cabinet Office and around the table, several other agencies knew what this meant for us (and them) and many of us left with a bounce in our step. Tomorrow will be a long day finishing up a lot of projects but it will be a long day in the best possible way.
Here is the CBC’s coverage of the announcement. The Star Phoenix has more.
Flavour of the Month: Missional
Alan Hirsch is challenging the idea that missional is about to join emergent and other catch phrases on the scrap heap of word that the church has changed into buzzwords. While I agree with his post, I think he is in the unfortunate position of trying to hold back the tide. As long as the western church is as consumer driven as it is, it will co-opt, use, and spit out a wide variety of ideas according to it’s need. I have written about it before, it is the Hootie and the Blowfish syndrome (or more properly, it is called Flock and Flow).
On a non-buzzword note, Bill Kinnon has an excellent post today called, What is Missional?
Wendy with Oliver
Survivor
I survived my time at Riverbend Institution and have some photos to show our barbecue preparations on the Centre’s Flickr page. 200+ hamburgers, 200 smokies, and a lot of salad, dessert, and drinks. It was a pretty nice afternoon for everyone and I was able to connect with some guys that used to be at the Centre and some that may qualify to stay in the future.
I think we also managed to create enough smoke from the grill that many of the guard towers at Sask Penitentiary were unusable and water bombers were put on standby.
The European Man Bag in Concert
I am not allowed to say who e-mailed me this but the guy in the mullet and short shorts looks a lot like a certain chaplain I know.
New office
I moved into a new office last week. Three times as large as my old one but no window. The bigger benefit is that I am beside the food services coordinator and when sales people from the food wholesalers bring by some samples, I am there to give any needed opinions on what was good. Yesterday I had a dessert that was so amazing and rich that if I wasn’t a diabetic before, I would be one now. The miserable part of my new office is that I am constantly kicking out other people who see my new office as a perfect place to store their stuff.
Off to Jail
I am off to the Saskatchewan Penitentiary outside of Prince Albert for the day. The half-way house at work is hosting a barbecue up there and I off with some other co-workers to meet some inmates who will coming up for parole soon. My department also handles some guys who are out on voluntary parole so it is good to connect with them as well. I have never been to the Sask Penitentiary and I am looking forward to seeing it.
In filling out my security clearance papers, it mentions that this allows you to go into the jail. That’s nice and everything but I want to make sure I can get out of it again. I hope there wasn’t another set of forms I had to fill out to leave again.
Friday is Take Your Dog To Work Day
There is also a theme song.
Resonate Blogs
I have been experimenting with Yahoo! Pipes and have created mashup of the bloggers who make up Resonate. You can subscribe to the RSS feed at feeds.feedburner.com/resonateblogs.
Workfare
On Friday I was with some co-workers as we viewed a four-plex on the west side of Saskatoon. It had tenants living in it and it was worse than I ever thought was possible. Human feces, needles, people drinking early in the morning and kids running around in that environment. There had been some water damage to the roof at some point and the mold was collapsing the ceiling. The house would need at least $100,000.00 in repairs which is kind of sad as it appeared that it has been recently renovated. Even worse it wasn’t the house I had originally asked our realtor about. He wouldn’t show us that house and said, “It’s way worse.”
I walked out wondering what can be done for a segment of society that is content to sleep in their own feces, endanger their kids, and themselves. I have been reading a lot about what the church can do with social justice but I wonder more and more if there is a better solution to how we approach social services in Canada.
A friend of mine is a strong proponent of her version of workfare. She feels that if you are on the “payroll” of the government out of choice, then there needs to be something given back. We aren’t talking Bowling for Columbine workfare but rather maybe four to six hours a week of parenting, budget, cooking, G.E.D., rehab, or life skill classes at a local church or school. Childcare and coffee would be provided and it would be good programming worth the time and effort. It would teach parents new skills, offer a social break, and provide a break from their kids as well. I like the New York city approach as well where there is cash incentives to get things like immunization shots, check ups, and for school attendance myself but the goal would be to help people out of the cycle of poverty and substance abuse, not as a punitive measure.
I believe strongly in a social safety net but there is something wrong when we are enabling people living in a flophouse high, drunk, and living in their own crap. I hate to see my tax dollars go to that but more importantly, I hate to see kids growing up in that thinking that is normal.
I have been reading a lot about churches and social justice lately and some of it is really good stuff but very little of it talks about how to reach the extreme poor in western culture and I am afraid that they are forgotten both by the government and the church, partly because the problems are so complex and the time and financial commitment would be so great to overcome it. Of course the other side of it is how much does it cost to have several generations of families being raised with the idea that Social Assistance will provide for them forever.
I don’t know if Workfare (or I guess it should be called Edufare or something like that) but what we are doing right now doesn’t seem to work. Of course another part of me wonders if every culture has a segment who refuses to take care of themselves and I saw some of it on Friday.
What are Canadians so blase about Father’s Day?
The Toronto Star has a long article about why we care less about Father’s Day then Mother’s Day.
What do dads want? It’s time, again, to ask ourselves that question. Even if dad himself couldn’t care less.
After all, he knows what he’s going to get today. Most will get cards (many of the joke variety). Some will get clothing (ugly sweaters, plaid ties, socks). Still fewer will get the things they might actually want, such as tools, electronics and alcohol, according to New York-based consulting firm Brand Keys.
We may love dad, but when it comes to Father’s Day, it sometimes seems we’re just going through the motions.
Wendy and Mark do a good job every year with Father’s Day. While the iTunes Gift Card is becoming a staple gift around here, I got some speakers for the cabin as well and of course Wendy came home today. Wendy and Mark were inspired by the Amazon Father’s Day gift guide which provided her some good and laughable ideas of what to get. Of course the coolest thing I saw on there was this. It makes carrying a diaper bag look manly.
Related: Barack Obama takes absent fathers to task.
An alternative to pricey vacations this year
The staycation. At $1.39 for a litre of gas, I can see their point. We do this to a degree in Saskatoon. We look at what events we want to attend, make a list, and plan around them. One of the reasons we bought the cabin is that we want to spend more time doing nothing and not traveling. With the price of gas and living in Saskatchewan, getting “somewhere” is quite pricey.
Our Cabin Weblog- Recently listened to music
- David Gray – Be Mine October 19, 2008
- David Gray – December October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Knowhere October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Real Love October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Last Boat To America October 19, 2008
- Recently additions to my library
- Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church by Lynne Hybels October 26, 2008
- The Teeth of the Tiger, A Novel by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
- The Agenda Inside the Clinton White House by Woodward Bob October 26, 2008
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell October 26, 2008
- The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
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