Author: Craig

canadians and household debt

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On weekend Henry Enchen called debt, not the deficit, the proverbial elephant in the room.  But the challenge is not just there on Parliament Hill; its in your home and mine.  Residing in our homes is a credit bill hidden on the table by a habit of denial created by the discrepancy between earnings in the wallet and expectations in the heart.  Carla Wilson reports that the average Canadian household debt is now over $90,000.

Average household debt rose to more than $90,000 in 2008, Clarence Lochhead told a recent meeting of Victoria’s Association of Family Serving Agencies. The Vanier Institute is a non-profit agency promoting the well-being of Canadian families.

The total debt-to-disposable income ratio rose to 140% last year, Mr. Lochhead said, referring to the Institute’s report, The Current State of Canadian Family Finances. 

I find the few suggestions in the article from Mr. Lochhead of the Vanier Institute on how to help middle and lower income families during a recession something that I am have not heard anywhere else in regard to the “stimulus packages” proposed.

announcement on the 2009 Summit on Feb 24th

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Hey Cityview!  Willow Creek is going to announce the speaker line-up 2009 Summit on Tuesday at 11 AM CST.  The alert is here.  This year the Tuesday announcement presented by Bill Hybles is going to be livestreamed on the Summit Facebook Group and at growingleadership.com/webcast.  Cityview has already made our early group registration for Aug 6-7 2009, however if you want to get in on this you can contact us at the office and we will help you.

the integrity test: alignment and anxiety

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On the weekend after the Integrity Workshop we began a new series at Cityview called Integrity Test:  6 realities we have in common with Jesus.  As followers of Jesus we live with a much for severe reality than others do.  We live with the reality of God’s perspective and right to our life.  We live with the costliness of His grace.  Anyone who is a new believer or even consider following Christ is probably already aware of the challenge that accompanies alignment with the Jesus and seeking to walk as walked in this world. (See 1 John 1:6)

 The first reality that the series deals with is that your alignment with Jesus may create anxiety in others.  For the follower of Jesus this is integrity 101 after the matter of honesty.  Our text Luke 2:41-52 opens a window on Jesus going to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph and then staying behind without their knowledge.  After three days they find him in the temple conversing with the elders there.  His parents are astonished.  And Jesus himself seems genuinely surprised that they did not know where he was or what he was about.  Jesus’ alignment with His Heavenly Father created great anxiety for Mary and Joseph.  In a simple reduction of the problem we can say that when faced with the anxiety of others we are pressed into an integrity test.  Will we be a people-pleaser or a God-pleaser?  You can listen to the message at cityviewchurch.ca later this week.  The listening guide is below.

1.  Alignment with Jesus means you will be doing new things and establishing new patterns.  

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:49
2.  Alignment with Jesus creates change in relationships.  

“When his parents saw him, they were astonished.  His mother said, “Son, why have you treated us like this?  Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  Luke 2:49
3.  Alignment with Jesus does not mean you abandon all your commitments.   But it does require you to sort out your obligations.

 “But they did not understand what he was saying to them.  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.”  Luke 2:50-51
4.  Alignement with Jesus propels you into essential areas of growth.  

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Luke 2:52

Jesus fully met the demands of reality.  We do not and that problem reveals again why I need a Saviour and why Jesus was fully able to meet the reality of my sin:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Corinthians 5:21

seen at Cityview this weekend

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Here is the video we showed Sunday morning before the service set to Toby Mac’s song Lose My Soul.  The song is based off Jesus teaching on following Him found in Luke 9:23-27.  Specifically verse 25:  “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very sefl?”  What a big difference from the message my kids sang at the table last week, “Baby you can have whatever you want!”

integrity workshop–this saturday at Cityview

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integrity-eventIntegrity matters.  Just imagine what life would be like if the people, buses, cars, airplanes, homes, computers you depended on had no integrity.  What if they could not handle reality?  What about you?  Can you meet the demands of reality.  I have been ruminating on Henry Cloud’s work on Integrity for over a year now and find the material relevant for my own character and leadership development.  My family and the organizations I lead in expect integrity.  They need me to create and maintain trust, face the truth, work to create results, deal with the negative, make things grow, and live with a transcendent orientation.

I am looking foward to spending part of Saturday with leaders from around the City in an exploration of Henry Cloud’s work Integrity:  the courage to meet the demands of reality; How Six Essential Qualities Determine Your Success in Business.  We will use a DVD presentation created by Cloud to highlight the 6 qualities.  It will be an interactive time between leaders.  And, we will have three local speakers:  a bank manager, a school principle, and the CEO and founder of a local company.

See you Saturday at 9:30 AM at Cityview.