I guess I never really thought about it.  In a recent article I was reading, Frank Jacobs elaborated on the theory of “Mental Map Oversimplification (MMO)” That’s not an actual theory, it’s just a term that Jacobs made up, but that doesn’t make it any less real.   Jacobs maintains that because maps are so…

It was my birthday the other day, and it was well celebrated on Facebook. As I read through the birthday messages, I marvelled at those who had taken the time to wish me a happy birthday. I heard from folks that I had attended junior high, high school and university with. There were posts from…

“One-third of Canadians fine with prescribing assisted suicide for homelessness.”  Seriously, folks, that was the headline in a recent article in the National Post.  The survey discovered that 27 percent of respondents said MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) should be available to those in poverty, while 28 percent said the same for the country’s 30,000…

This wasn’t the Penn I was planning to write, but it is practically impossible to ignore the wildfires that devasted our communities.A few random thoughts, I have never felt so helpless or heartbroken as a pastor than watching our community burn on Sunday evening.Angela and I opened the church in case it was needed and…

Is it enough to acknowledge that you made a mistake if you aren’t willing to make it right? That doesn’t seem all that helpful. Before we left for our vacation, I contacted my cell phone provider, asking them to put a roaming package on my phone. It’s a good package, and I often use it when…

The power of a word. Recently, while travelling in Columbia, Angela and I had the opportunity to visit several cultural sites.  And I noticed their history displays spoke about the church coming to Columbia to evangelize the indigenous people.  Interesting.  In Canada, it is usually said that the church’s mission was to convert the indigenous…

I thought it was a joke, but apparently not.Have you seen the newly updated crown on the Canadian Coat of Arms? It was just unveiled last week. It looks like an illustration from a fairy tale or a possible Disney offering, “The Snowflake King.”In an effort to modernize the design, and perhaps in an attempt…

I didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. A while back, I received an e-mail from a preacher asking for my forgiveness.  And I wasn’t sure that he had done anything to me that I could forgive him for. Apparently, he had preached some of my messages and had passed them off as his…

I was sitting in my office annex the other day and was listening to folks use Canada's third official language as they ordered double-doubles, triple singles and four-by-fours.  Which begs the question: is a coffee with four creams and four sugars still a coffee, or is it liquid candy? But again, I digress. As I…

A recent news story headline caught my attention the other day. It read, “Syphilis cases in babies skyrocket in Canada amid health-care failures.”And it made me go, hmmm?The article seemed to imply that the reason syphilis cases in babies were skyrocketing in Canada was our failing healthcare system.There was a time that escalating syphilis cases…