Tales of A Gum Lord: Part 1

About a year ago, Jobina and I bought a small business. I had been looking for a source of passive income and had about a $1500 of my own personal money to spend. One business that you can actually buy for such a small amount of money is a candy vending route. So I started looking for one on usedwinnipeg.com and other classified sites. Soon I found one that looked promising: 24 Excel gum machines (on location). The problem was the asking price: $6500. I emailed back and forth with the person and realized that they were asking way too much money for it. Since it was only bringing in $500 every two months in profit I thought a more likely price would be $3000 as then I could pay it off in a year (of course I would have to borrow money from our savings - with Jobina's permission - to do this). The people were moving so I waited until just before they left and made the offer, less then half of what they were asking! I was quite nervous about doing this as I hoped they wouldn't scream at me or anything. Instead they countered - for an extra $1000 they'd give us an extra 11 brand new in the box machines. This seemed like a great deal and after more discussion with Jobina we accepted: $4000 for the route, the extra machines, and over $3000 worth of gum.

After I bought the machines I realized something, these things were difficult to install. They were wall mounted on not many businesses want you to put holes in their walls. So instead of installing the new machines, I decided to sell them. Our cost on those was about $73 but since they retail for around $700 (it's a huge rip off to buy vending machines new - more on that in part 2) I thought I could sell them for around $250 a piece. Two months later they were all sold at a nice profit!

We serviced the machines every two months (which was a very interesting experience!) and although the machines did OK, we never did get what the past owners said we would. At this rate it would take us at least a year and a half to pay it all back (not including our sales of the new machines) and I wasn't sure how long our gum would be good for. So after about 8 months we decided to sell. We sold the route two months ago for a lot less then we paid for it but in the end (after all of our expenses) we made about $2000 in net profit. Of course if we hadn't got those extra machines I would still be paying it off, but I think we got lucky with that. Anyway, that's my tale of being a Gum Lord, in part 2 I will tell you what I learned from this little entrepreneurial experience.

May Light increase!

Ch - Ch - Changes

At the end of his sermon yesterday, our pastor resigned.

It was kind of shocking. I had glanced over at him during the singing time and noticed him getting quite emotional - I just thought it was great that he was really getting into the worship. Later he announced they were leaving. It was an excellent resignation speak, definitely one of the better ones I've heard. He managed to be quite honest without giving too much information. He used his sermon as a nice set up to normalize the idea of transition. He didn't try to sugarcoat it all yet he didn't use the "God's telling us we have to go" thing; he took personal responsibility and even used the word "choice." He let us in on some of his reasons for wanting something different and even gave us some of his ideas for what he's looking at next. He didn't blame the church, he showed sorrow, and he let us know how hard this was for him. He helped us to empathize with him by mentioning his previous time of burnout but not dwelling on it or using it as an excuse. It was exceptionally well done. At the end, the elders came up and prayed for him. There were hugs all around with the elders and I could tell it was emotionally difficult for many of them.

So how did it affect me? Basically, I reacted like I usually do (I have seen a few of these over my time): I feel a little bit sad, fairly excited, and extremely curious. We have only been at this church for a few years and I've been so busy during this time that I have had very little time or energy to connect with the pastor (or the church for that matter!). So for me there isn't a large personal loss. I am sad a little bit because our pastor's preaching when I first heard it was probably what made the decision on which church we were going to go to. I was in a pretty spiritually brittle spot when we first visited Cornerstone and I felt like God spoke and ministered to me through the pastor. I have been both challenged and annoyed by his sermons but rarely bored - a blessing I think. I will miss him. On the other hand I feel excited because, hey, change is coming! Our pastor will move on and experience exciting new challenges (I'm happy for him) and so will our church. If anything excites me in the world it is change. I love watching churches change! Whether it's by choice or by necessity, church change is one of the most fascinating things I know of. Transitions are when big challenge happens; the potential for growth and learning is amazing. I'm not going to lie, I look forward to it! Who will the next leader be? What will he look like? Will he bring the church up or down? Will the church choose someone the same as the previous pastor or someone different? Periods of change in a church are like Christmas to me - I can barely wait to see what we are going to get. During the transition people will be stretched and some challenged to use their gifts that they have never used before. All in all it should be a great time.

Yup, so I'm sad to our pastor leaving but excited at the same time. What is God going to do next with him and with us? Only He knows . . .

May Light increase!

Familarity with "Luxuries"

Jobina's parents drove out for a visit and we spent a nice evening with them catching up on life stuff. They do a lot of traveling and since we are going to Belize we were discussing accommodations. They mentioned something that I found quite interesting. Recently they did extensive renovations on most of their house. It was already a very nice home, but now it looks amazing. Granite in the kitchen bathroom, new hardwood floors, new paint, etc. It's quite beautiful; a pleasure to be in and rejuvenating for the mind, body, and soul.

The thing that's interesting is that they love their newly updated house so much that they find it difficult to adjust to staying in a hotel which is invariably not as nice. It's tough to spend money on a room that's actually a step down from what you already own and can stay in for free! At first I had trouble following them. I can see what they're saying, but is it really that difficult to take a step down? After all, hotel rooms (at least in the mid-high range) are usually pretty nice.

As we talked though I rolled this around in my mind and then finally I got it. I thought about how although our house is "super lived in" and "in need of repair," we have a king size bed. Had it since the first day we were married (a mentor of mine gave me the following advice when I got married "Buy a good bed!"). So every time (which is not often) we stay in a hotel and we "have" to stay on a mere queen size we feel slightly disappointed. Why? Because for us it's a step down. We have to get into a "small" queen size. Even though a queen size is certainly adequate for sleeping in, we wrinkle our noses at it. We may even not sleep as well in it.

This is the peril of familiarity with luxuries. Luxury is not easily defined, after all it's in the eye of the beholder. For the poorest or the richest man, there is always something they would look on as being luxurious - beyond their usual standard. It's easy to take a step up, terribly hard to take a step down. I'm not sure if one can protect oneself from this fact of human nature. Paul learned to be content with whether he was in want or had plenty, but how did he achieve this? Thankfulness? Practicing his faith? I suppose that when we get a luxury of any kind we must honestly remember that it can be both a blessing and a curse. How we handle it determines the outcome. I'm just not sure how to make sure it's always a blessing! And if I lose it I can still be content? Maybe others have some ideas about this.

May Light increase!

Random Thoughts on Wimber

"The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern."
- Proverbs 29:7.

I read the following quote by John Wimber on ysmarko a couple days ago and have been thinking about it alot. Actually, I try to forget about it and then it pops back into my consciousness at weird times (like when I'm waiting for clients, greeting a table at OG, or taking a bath). Here it is:

Years ago in New York City, I got into a taxi cab with an Iranian taxi driver, who could hardly speak English. I tried to explain to him where I wanted to go, and as he was pulling his car out of the parking place, he almost got hit by a van that on its side had a sign reading The Pentecostal Church. He got real upset and said, “That guy’s drunk.” I said, “No, he’s a Pentecostal. Drunk in the spirit, maybe, but not with wine.” He asked, “Do you know about church?” I said, “Well, I know a little bit about it; what do you know?” It was a long trip from one end of Manhattan to the other, and all the way down he told me one horror story after another that he’d heard about the church. He knew about the pastor that ran off with the choir master’s wife, the couple that had burned the church down and collected the insurance—every horrible thing you could imagine. We finally get to where we were going, I paid him, and as we’re standing there on the landing I gave him an extra-large tip. He got a suspicious look in his eyes—he’d been around, you know. I said, “Answer me this one question.” Now keep in mind, I’m planning on witnessing to him. “If there was a God and he had a church, what would it be like?” He sat there for awhile making up his mind to play or not. Finally he sighed and said, “Well, if there was a God and he had a church—they would care for the poor, heal the sick, and they wouldn’t charge you money to teach you the Book.” I turned around and it was like an explosion in my chest. “Oh, God.” I just cried, I couldn’t help it. I thought, “Oh Lord, they know. The world knows what it’s supposed to be like. The only ones that don’t know are the Church.”

When you joined the kingdom, you expected to be used of God. I’ve talked to thousands of people, and almost everybody has said, “When I signed up, I knew that caring for the poor was part of it—I just kind of got weaned off of it, because no one else was doing it.” Folks, I’m not saying, “Do some-thing heroic.” I’m not saying, “Take on some high standard, sell everything you have and go.” Now, if Jesus tells you that, that’s different. But I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, participate. Give some portion of what you have—time, energy, money, on a regular basis—to this purpose, to redeeming people, to caring for people. Share your heart and life with somebody that’s not easy to sit in the same car with. Are you hearing me? That’s where you’ll really see the kingdom of God.

For some reason this story and Wimber's words hits me hard. Something is sparked in me, but I'm not sure what to do with it. Like many evangelicals I have divorced myself from the everyday life of the poor and needy. I am in the top 5 percent of the richest people in the world yet a mile or two away from me people live on the street. Helping the poor seems like such an impossible task (there are so many!) yet we are clearly called to do it. The message of Scripture is really very simple: help the needy. It's not hard to understand; it's just hard to do.

I also was hit by the taxi driver's comments about "not charging you money to teach the Book." Even though there are some good reasons for Christian authors, etc., to get paid for what they do, it always leaves a slightly bad taste in my mouth. Would Paul do the same if he had the chance today? I'm not so sure. Also, as a counselor I want to help people but (unless I work in a church) I will most likely have to charge people for my services. A man has to feed his family after all and its been found that clients work harder and faster in therapy if they have to pay something. But still, it feels strange to think about charging. I wish I could do it for free. Anyway, these are just my random thoughts for the day.

May Light increase!

Iron Man, The Boy, and Me

Last night Jobina surprised me with a nice little gift. I came home from counseling and she had lit a nice warm fire (ambiance) and then gave me two presents: a chocolate egg filled with mini Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs and an Iron Man comic book. This was totally unexpected, usually we just watch Survivor on Thursday nights and have a nice evening at home but Jobina made this night special. I love Easter Creme Eggs and was a little skeptical about the "mini" version but they tasted absolutely delicious. And the comic was so enjoyable to read - I just love Iron Man - and it's been years since I've read a comic book cover to cover. Reading the comic whetted my appetite for the movie to an almost fever pitch. Have you seen the latest trailer? It is so awesome!

This morning Riker was all over the comic book and we spent some time together using the comic cover as a model and using plasticine to make little Iron Man figures. Lots of fun! I thought that both our figures took different but are distinct and contemporary takes on this classic B list (soon to be A list after the movie comes out) superhero. It's also just a lot of fun working with plasticine, on comic book figures, with your son! Definitely I feel blessed. Makes me feel almost young again. Here's Riker's version:


Here's mine:



And here's both of them together:


Mine's pretty sad (for a guy in his 30's) but I think the Boy has potential.

May Light increase!

What Kind of People Become Counselors?

I post this for the encouragement of my fellow counselors out there (we now know the truth about you)! It's a postsecret from a week or two ago. I saw it and immediately smiled:


Here's another counseling-related one from the good folks at despair which also made me laugh (although one could argue the good taste of it):


P.S. Counseling humor is more then a little morbid, but hey, it's necessary to cope!

It's The Process, Silly

"Relativity applies to physics, not ethics." - Albert Einstein

Jobina and I went out to my parents farm for Easter and we had a great time hanging out with friends and family. As usual our kids were the stars of the show, impressing everyone with their general sense of "cuteness" which is always entertaining. After dinner, the men sat around a talked and eventually we got into a discussion about church, politics, and marriage.

A common thing about problems in these three areas often boiled down to abandoning the ethics during the process of resolving them. First we talked about politics. Stephen Harper talked big when he was in opposition about ethics, honesty, accountability and how too much power was in the PMO's office. And now that he is prime minister? Well, all that talk is gone and though he's better then those he preceded, power has begun to corrupt members of the party. What happens (to everyone in power I think) is that we begin to believe the lie that the end justifies the means. Once you believe this, you are tempted and eventually compromise your morality and ethics. Example: you believe in telling the truth. But what if it would really hurt the government to be honest? Thus, for the good of the government (and the country) in your mind, you choose to be dishonest. An example of this is Canada handing over POW's to the Afghan government, knowing they could face torture. Lies were told to protect the government ("we didn't know!"), the mission in Afghanistan, and the Tories grip on power. Ethics were abandoned for "the greater good." Then people found out. Trust in our leaders is shaken.

It is the same with churches. For the "good of the church" a pastor, board, or elder will abandon their sincere Christian ethics. What does this look like? Dishonesty, gossip, cruelty, manipulation, etc. Happens all the time. How has your church done it? Maybe it's by covering something up (like abuse or sin). Maybe the pastor lied to protect the unity of the church. Whenever the crap hits the fan in a church it's usually not because of an initial event, but the unethical process of how it's handled. Even the most difficult situation can be handled in a civil and forthright way if people don't abandon Christian ethics. Unfortunately we often do.

How do we change these things? I think it's by being ethical in our processes and challenging the irrational belief; the end does not justify the means. The means is just as important (and sometimes more so). When our government, our churches, and spouses begin to live this out, then we will see health, hope, and trust return. What process have you recently been involved in where you chose to go against your own ethics? How did you justify it to yourself? Most importantly, what can you do now to make up for things and insure it doesn't happen again? Are you willing to commit to doing it?

May Light increase!

Happy Birthday Jobina!

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.

(English Proverb)

I just wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Jobina! She is the most amazing woman and I love her dearly. Please visit her blog (. . . Think Noisy and Colorfully . . .) and wish her well!