The Wisdom of Robbie pt. 4...

He's quoting me here.

When I saw it I smiled then almost puked. Typical 'grief' stuff there I guess.

"More Ghost More Better..."

So, we're both 'charismatics'.

"What is a charismatic?"

Well, a 'charismatic'--simply put--is the kind of Christian who emphasizes, in life and work, the miraculous, or supra-rational aspect of the Christian life. A charismatic tends to be a person who is 'experientially oriented' a 'taste/touch/see' kind of person. Someone who needs to 'feel' something in order to believe it.

We're not big on propositional truth as an end in itself. We believe that if something is true it should be able to be experienced.

There is oxygen in the air--> you should be able to breathe.

Music is engaging--> you should be able to feel it when you listen to it.

Love is better than hate--> you should have lots of loving relationships.

God is as real as oxygen--> you should be able to breathe in His presence.

God is engaged with you--> you should be able to hear and feel Him.

God is love--> you should be able to experience that in relationship.

That sort of thing.

Charismatic churches tend to be churches that emphasize singing in worship because charismatics believe that, in worship, you're actually coming into God's manifest presence as a people so, naturally, you should allow people lots of time to 1) get used to it 2) learn how to work within it 3) get whatever it is they're supposed to be getting out of that experience that day.

Charismatic churches also tend to pray for people by laying their hands on them in agreement with what the Bible teaches and actually EXPECT God to come through. Charismatic churches tend therefore to celebrate answers to prayer and they also become more bold in praying for people as they see God come through again and again.

Some Charismatic churches (at least the 'classically charismatic' ones) don't really emphasize preaching because they tend to think that because 'God is still speaking today...' we should be able to hear Him 'in the immediate' through a 'prophetic word' or a 'word of knowledge'. This is where someone with a 'gift' for sensing or hearing what God is (supposedly) 'saying' in that moment takes the microphone and 'speaks' the 'word of the Lord' to a person or group of people. In the worst case scenario in these kind of churches, the Bible is used as a 'verse vending machine' where disparate (and usually obscure) verses are 'cherry-picked' to support what the so-called prophet is saying. There's some tension here because in most of Biblical history it was a limited group of people (The Prophets) who spoke this way but many people think that after the events of Act 2 (where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church) every Christian was given the ability to 'hear' God like the OT prophets used to, so they believe that every Christian can (and should) 'hear' God when He speaks and 'share' these 'words from the Lord' when appropriate. The problem with this kind of approach (when not employed in submission to the clear teaching of scripture as interpreted and applied by a team of Elders in a local church) is that 'Larry the Mechanic' can end up speaking into your life as 'the voice of God' and, we all know (based on his track record with my car at least...), that more often than not 'Larry the Mechanic' either gets it wrong or is 'sharing' things that fall somewhat short of the truly prophetic.

To say nothing of the fact that, in Bible times, 'false prophets' were killed.

This is why there weren't a lot of 'prophets' in Bible times and why, today, every Tom, Dick, and Harry (in an undisciplined charismatic church) can grab the mic and 'play God' for a bit.

The flip side is, many non-charismatic churches stop expecting God to SPEAK to people through the preaching of the Bible about Jesus, and they also refuse to allow any 'word of knowledge' ministry to go forth in their church.

(I've found that 'word of knowledge' ministry in our churches typically works well during the worship service as the worship leader 'freestyles' a bit based on what He/She feels God is saying/doing in the moment and also I encourage people, when praying for people during ministry time, to pray with conviction the things God puts on their heart to pray. More often than not the things you end up praying are *exactly* the things the people you were praying for needed to hear. I don't think you need to preface things by saying "I feel God is saying..." I think you just pray. If you get a sense that you need to pray something really specific or outlandish I encourage people to say "Look, I realize I may be way off here, but I was feeling like I should be praying for ________. What do you think about that?" Then they either break down crying 'cause you've just 'read their mail' or they say "Nope, I don't think that's what I'm feeling..." and you just keep going.)

The kind of charismatic churches Robbie pastored were proper charismatic churches in the real sense. They emphasized Spirit-filled worship, and made room in the service for 'ministry time' where qualified church leaders could 'speak into' people's lives while praying for them and, in Robbie's churches, the Bible was preached about Jesus.

But he always expected God to 'show up'.

I'll never forget the first time Robbie walked into my first church plant (in the heart of downtown Toronto) and, all bug-eyed, asked me how in the heck we managed to have THAT much 'Ghost' in the room? What he was saying was that he could *really* feel the presence of God in the room, and that it was good, and that he thought it special. His "how do you do it?" was a real question.

I told him, "Well, that's what we've asked for..."

That God would presence Himself with His people in worship, word, sacrament (ministry time) and community.

That's all we ask for.

'Cause we're charismatics.

At the heart of it, I believe in God, and the story of the Bible, ONLY because I continue to EXPERIENCE it from week to week, month to month, year to year, decade to decade in my life.

For me it involves goosebumps and crying.

When I walk into a church service I'm looking to *feel* something. When I do, usually two things happen. In the worship I get goosebumps all over my body then I start crying because I'm deeply moved by an awareness that God is real and that He loves me in spite of me. Then, if the preaching is any good, at at least one point during the sermon (and the *really* good ones have more than one moment like this) I feel as if the preacher, who has no reason to know me or the details of my life, is speaking DIRECTLY AT me. We refer to this as the preacher 'reading my mail...'

aka: being prophetic.

If I don't FEEL the presence of God in the worship time, ministry time, and fellowship time (as the redeemed interact together) I don't want to go back. If I don't FEEL the presence of God in the powerful preaching of the Bible about Jesus, I don't want to go back.

If I do, I do.

Simple.

So, the above being true, it stands to reason that MORE of it would be better. If God was going to MANIFEST Himself in your worship service such that people's *actual* lives were changed, wouldn't you want Him to do MORE of it? If God was actually going to FILL your preaching (or the preaching, if you're not a preacher) with His own POWER such that the people listening felt like you were preaching directly at (and for) them, wouldn't you want Him to do MORE of that?

Yes you would.

If the Holy Spirit was actually going to TESTIFY to people, on an ongoing basis, that Jesus is real and Jesus LOVES them in spite of them, resulting in enough encouragement for them to 'keep going' in their increasingly harder lives, would you want Him to do MORE of that?

Yes you would.

If the love of Jesus that was spilling into people's lives as they experienced MORE of the Holy Spirit began OVERFLOWING from their lives into the lives of the 'real' (normal/non-christian) people in your town, resulting in them coming to your church and getting ROCKED by the presence of the Holy Spirit and becoming Christians, wouldn't you want God to do MORE of that?

Well, yes you would.

More Ghost, more better.

If you, as a person, found a church where, week in and week out, you could AUTHENTICALLY experience the life of God Himself at work in the midst of that group of people, wouldn't you keep going back? Would anything stop you from going back? Conversely, once you'd EXPERIENCED what happens in a 'real' charismatic church, would any amount of marketing, programming, or social networking get you to go to a church where the worship had NO GHOST, where the preaching had NO GHOST, and where the people had NO GHOST?

Heck no.

Once you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, nothing else will do.

So, that's why me and Robbie and our friends went charismatic. We realized (early 90's) that ONLY the actual, manifest presence of the actually LIVING God, would be enough to capture the hearts of our disillusioned, relativistic, pluralistic, sensualist peers.

Only the Ghost will do.

So we say...

"More Ghost More Better..."

The wisdom of Robbie.

Love you man,

T

The Wisdom of Robbie pt. 3...

This is a hard one to write.

But it's SO Him.

"BE POSITIVE..."

He even wrote it in all-caps. "BE POSITIVE..." Oh Robbie, I hear you. I can see you smiling as you say it.

"BE POSITIVE..."

Even now? Even in this? Even while my wife has your kids at the indoor playground today with ours while your wife is downtown studying 'cause she misses you so dear?

I don't think I can be.

"BE POSITIVE..."

I don't feel like it man. I feel like our life is never going to be truly, unabashedly positive again.

"BE POSITIVE..."

(I feel like he's getting annoyed now)

So, here's the thing. In the face of Robbie's death the only way to "BE POSITIVE..." is if I *actually* believe that God exists, that Jesus is God, that the whole story is true.

Is the whole story true?

I gotta' say, these days, I struggle with that three or four days out of seven.

"Wait a minute, aren't you a Pastor? Don't you have to preach every week? How are you doing that if you're really struggling with unbelief in the way it seems you are?"

It 'aint easy lemme' tell you.

In my last pastorate I spent a year or so learning how to preach 'the light' from 'the darkness' so I'm not a complete stranger to this, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that that 'garden variety season of sorrow' was NOTHING compared to what I (and we) are dealing with now.

The simple truth is half the week I'm kind of not on speaking terms with God then, around Thursday or so, I start to think about Sunday and start meditating on my text, then--because I've done it so long--I'm able to effectively (almost clinically) construct a sermon, then--when I arrive at church on Sunday--I just hope that the Holy Spirit fills the proceedings and gives me enough juice to speak with unction and conviction in the face of my unbelief.

Crazy right?

It's true that I'm so low that I realize that what I call 'The Holy Spirit' might just be a 'feeling' I get by being part of a 'group dynamic' that I've been conditioned (through years of being raised in this environment) to 'receive' as positive, and/or life-affirming.

I realize I could be completely deluded, that Robbie could just be dead (like Steve Jobs said in his book when thinking about death, "Or maybe it's just 'click' and you're gone...") and we could just be waiting our turn. It could be true that he's only alive in our memories now (like every day when I use our bodum to make coffee the way he taught me) and that life just sucks and that there's no meaning and no purpose and no plan.

I realize I could be (in the ultimate sense) of all people, most miserable, 'cause my faith is a farce.

I get it.

So, to deal with that (and I'm having to deal with it, such is the depth of despair and hopelessness that assails me regularly in the wake of Robbie's death) I've turned to a very, almost-utilitarian approach to this whole Christianity thing. I think to myself, "So, what IF this whole thing is a farce. What IF I'm deluded? What IF there's no hope, no meaning, no reason?

How's it working out for you, this whole 'being deluded' thing?"

And the simple answer is...

Pretty well.

I look at Kate and the kids. I look at my folks and the Halls. I look at his closest friends. I look at my family.

None of us have given up hope. No one's gone off the rails. No suicides, no bankruptcies, no people running off on their spouses to go 're-discover' themselves in the midst of this deep season of doubt.

So, none of us are losing our minds.

Could it be because we've already lost them?

Aha! Now we begin to round the corner, don't we?

See, if we've already 'lost our minds' (having believed in actuality, all these years, what we've professed to believe) then we've got no more mind to lose, which means that what the Bible says is *true*. It IS functionally true in us that "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord..."

Which is why none of us (not even sweet Kate) has decided to kick the bucket.

"But you've already said the love of God isn't real..."

I SAID sometimes I'm not SURE it's real anymore.

So call it something else. Call it 'culturally learned or conditioned warm fuzzies'. Well, they're working for us. Yes, I said it. Whatever it IS that's helping us, it's very clear that there's something that's helping us.

Which takes us back to 'ground zero' in terms of our belief system.

If SOMETHING is working, all we have to do is figure out what that something is. So we look around at life to try and figure it out, and here, we find ourselves in the same territory we've been walking since we were children and came to faith in Jesus.

See, we looked at trees turning color come fall and we thought this couldn't just be by accident. We studied world religions in university and realized that all of them were basically the same except for Judaeo-Christianity and it seemed, further, that they were all kinda' borrowing from Judaeo-Christianity and it was abundantly clear that our Profs. only hated Christianity which made us very suspicious that that must mean that they suspected only Christianity was true 'cause, otherwise, if all the religions were truly the same, if the (supposedly) many paths up the spiritual mountain were all really ONE path, then why single one out to be rejected?

Oh...'cause it's TRUE! That's why.

We watched babies being born, we went on canoe trips together. We saw God's majesty in creation. We built ministries and saw hundreds (thousands if you combine all our efforts) of people's lives changed by this *thing* that was supposedly just a delusion. We saw God's Spirit at work in His Church. We looked at our marriages and found that, of everybody we knew, our marriages (those of our dearest, closest friends) were really the only ones that seemed truly happy and functional. We saw God's goodness at work in His promises fulfilled. Could it be random luck that made all this the case, or was it our collective ACTUAL, RADICAL, AUTHENTIC, HEARTFELT, LIFELONG belief in the LIVING, RISEN, LOVING Jesus Christ the-God-of-the-universe that was *doing* it for us?

Man, you do the math!

We were at his funeral together. There's no-one alive who could've stood in that room and felt what we all felt and kept a straight face (or dry eyes) while protesting that what was *really* happening there was some kind of powerful 'group hypnosis'.

Idiots.

Fools.

Unbelievers.

The only answer in the face of this that is of ANY worth is that JESUS IS REAL, JESUS IS GOD, JESUS IS OUR FRIEND, JESUS HAS ROBBIE AT HIS SIDE EVEN NOW, AND JESUS IS RETURNING TO TAKE US ALL HOME ONE DAY UNLESS WE ALL DIE FIRST!

That's right.

We still believe.

That's right.

We STILL believe.

Robbie's body is in the ground on a hill that we all drive by at least once or twice a month and, though it hurts (oh, but it hurts) as we drive past, it doesn't hurt to the point that it drives us off the road.

What it's doing instead is forcing our eyes to Heaven.

'Cause we still believe.

And THAT'S why we can still...

"BE POSITIVE..."

(Oh good, he's nodding now)

The Wisdom of Robbie.

Love you man.

T

The Wisdom of Robbie pt. 2...

Okay, day two, part two.

He's quoting my Dad there.

"The Kingdom belongs to those that show up!"

Very cool.

See, Dad, and Rob both had a pretty utilitarian view of how God calls a person to do a thing. Dad was fond of saying "You don't *find* the will of God, the will of God *finds* you..." or "You *go* where you're invited..." or "The Kingdom belongs to those that show up!"

Showing up.

Just being there.

This view was tempered by many years in the pastorate. Dad pastored full-time for the first half of his life. He assisted my Grandfather in Sudbury, did a stint in St. Thomas (ON), another in Montreal, then took his first solo church in Newmarket Ontario. That church exploded (as in grew fantastically) then he upped sticks for Israel where he and Mom planted, what is today, Israel's largest church, King of Kings Assembly. Returning to Canada in 1990 Dad began what continues as his major ministry avenue, hosting 100 Huntley Street. He expanded into his own TV ministry in the mid 90's then went to Vancouver to pastor a large urban church there for a few years. Today he is again hosting 100 Huntley Street and, for the past 10 years, has been working hard developing Visionledd, an HIV/AIDS relief agency with a particular focus on sub-saharan Africa. Along the way he's written several books, mentored hundreds of young pastors, including a certain Daniel Robert Hall.

He just kept showing up and so did God.

Dad, and Rob's, sense was that life is a great adventure. The urge for constant forward motion was something Robbie and Dad really shared. Rob would get restless if he wasn't always working on something, planning something, doing something that required Gods intervention. This is, probably (I never talked to him about it in great enough depth to 'say so' with authority) a big part of what led he and Kate to sell it all and embark on their epic pilgrimage across Europe and, ultimately, to Africa, three kids in tow.

One of the things I found really amazing about Robbie was his ability to just 'show up' somewhere and make an impact. He was one of the most gifted 'pastors' I've ever seen. Perhaps his greatest gift (as far as I saw it on display) was his ability to connect with people and to model a vibrant Jesus-focused Christianity for them such that they began copying him, and ended up as vibrant Jesus-followers themselves as a result (in part) of Robbie's influence on their lives.

Seems to me Robbie was evidence that a Charismatic approach to life is the best one there is.

What I mean by that is this; you live FULL of the Spirit ("be-being-filled with the Holy Spirit..." in a present-continuous sense, a la Ephesians 5:18) and the Spirit in and at work in you is enough to draw the people you come into contact with to the Father.

If you're FULL of the Spirit (like Robbie was) then, in truth, all you have to do is *show up* and God does the rest.

This is perhaps the heart of Dad's instruction.

"The Kingdom belongs to those that show up!" *assumes* that you show up full of, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

"The Kingdom belongs to those that show up!" assumes a Charismatic theology.

"The Kingdom belongs to those that show up!" doesn't work unless you show up *with* something; said something being the presence and manifest power of the Most High God.

Robbie certainly had that in spades.

The wisdom of Robbie.

Love you man.

T

The Wisdom of Robbie pt. 1...

So, I got Kate's permission to write this series of posts, just in case you're wondering...

Mom and I took a day trip to Rob and Kate's old KW neighborhood this week to collect their last things. Most of the trip sucked. This whole "life without Robbie" thing is getting no easier.

I actually started getting chest pain as we turned onto their street.

To add even *more* joy to the process we had to look into each box and bin to make sure we knew what was inside.

Awesome.

Then we found his 'office' files.

Oh wow.

The picture above is of his notebook. I'd seen him use this notebook over the years. He'd use it at lectures, at church, when brainstorming, while out playing. It was a fixture.

Well, wouldn't you know it, he'd written all over it. Written little snippets of motivational lines that helped him keep doing what God had called him to do.

I took seven pictures of the seven thoughts scribbled on it and figured I'd do seven posts (one each day, starting today...) reflecting on his thoughts.

"Always Thankful...Always Celebrate!"

Is that Robbie, or what?

He was one of the most positive people ever. Yes, he got prickly, but by and large his *demeanor* was one of happiness. It was clear that, in Jesus, and in his wife and kids, he had found a simple kind of contentment. He had a very close group of friends and a large group of friends with whom he just plain and simple enjoyed life. I think I only saw him truly mad once in my life.

He was thankful.

He also knew how to celebrate. I remember many parties, whether family get-togethers, or actual parties, where Robbies voice was always loudly raised, his eyes always bright with joy, and he just kept circulating throughout the room talking to everybody. He loved a good party.

He knew how to celebrate.

He was a weird mix of exuberant and laid back.

And he loved basketball.

I mean, how awesome is it that his 'work notebook', in addition to having pithy theological/motivational sayings scribbled all over it, was also festooned with plays to be run on a basketball court?

Beautiful.

When I saw that, I *knew* I had to write about it.

Here was a guy who had his priorities straight.

Thankful, prone to celebration, and a basketball nut.

Let his life remind you today to find things to be thankful for (so look around, and get noticing things) things worth celebrating and, in the midst of it all (taking your cue from him), be sure not to take yourself so seriously that you forget to play.

The Wisdom of Robbie...

Love you man.

T

Sitting and thinking...

I spend a lot of time sitting.

That's me on the ground between takes recently.

Sitting.

Typically, when I'm sitting, I'm thinking. Thinking about what's next, thinking about how to solve whatever problem has just cropped up, thinking about how to make sure what I'm doing dovetails as perfectly as possible with what I'm supposed to be doing.

So I sit.

I realized years ago that I needed to give myself permission to be still, to sit and look like I'm doing nothing. See, it had come clear to me that, when I'm sitting, I'm not actually doing nothing, what's happening is I'm recharging.

Letting the brain recirculate.

Letting the soul quiet.

Taking a moment to take stock and 'realize' where I'm at.

This sounds 'zen' I know but, in fact, it's Biblical.

"Be still and know that I am God..."

If God is real, if He made you for a reason, then--seems pretty clear to me--when you're still you get a chance to re-connect to your raison d'etre.

Yes?

So have a seat ladies and gents, have a seat.

T