Dreamer of Your Dreams

I love meeting dreamers and hearing their stories. When I heard that Jeff Strong was releasing a book, I immediately contacted him for an interview.

Jeff is a pastor at Grindstone Church, probably one of the most progressive churches in the Hamilton area.

He’s written a new book called Mere Disciple: A Spiritual Guide for Emerging Leaders.

I sat down with Jeff (virtually) back in June (in Mexico!) to ask him a few questions about life, writing, and dreaming…

Jeff who? Jeff from where? What do you do there?!

Originally from Kingston, I moved to Hamilton area to attend Redeemer University College in Ancaster, and am now working as an associate pastor (Emerging Church Ministries and Teaching) at Grindstone church in Waterdown, Ontario.

What’s the new book all about?

Mere Disciple is a discipleship guide for students/young adults. It’s designed to provide readers with a holistic framework for discipleship to Jesus. It’s broken up into three compact sections that sequentially move from the theoretical to the practical:

Part I explores the worldview foundations that need to be in place in order for discipleship to Jesus to become a lived reality instead of a cliché.

Part II explores the themes of money, sex, and power, and how discipleship to Jesus can redeem and transform our relationship to each.

Part III focuses on the tools and strategies needed to create a plan for daily discipleship.

So what made you decide to write this book?

Mere Disciple was the result of many motivations and factors coming together. One of the most significant ones, however, was that after years of looking for a discipleship guide for the Velvet Elvis/Blue Like Jazz Generation, I was continually disappointed and frustrated by the lack of quality resources. I became focused on taking the concept of discipleship and moving it out of the “churched” subculture (where it was overemphasized but lifeless and static) and into the emerging church context (which, in my opinion, was perilously close to abandoning the concept altogether).

How’s the response been so far?

It’s hard to tell at this point, quite honestly. Early feedback has been positive, but that’s mostly from family and friends (hardly an objective standard!). I have used individual chapters as templates for talks/discussions I’ve given over the last 6-12 months, and the feedback from those have been overwhelmingly positive.

People find the material theologically and philosophically engaging, but also grounded in the pragmatic. That’s maybe the main strength of the book: it manages to hold the conceptual and practical in tension together in a way that people find refreshing and helpful.

What’s been the most life-changing moments in your life so far?

Wow. This is a tough question to answer. In no particular order:

My marriage to my wife Heather. It’s not a moment; but a series of moments that continues to build a richness and depth into my life that is difficult to capture in words.

The birth of my daughters. My two little girls (Lauren and Kara) are such an inspiration. I dedicated Mere Disciple to them because of the unique way they inspire me to follow Jesus more faithfully and courageously.

I’ve had a series of eye surgeries (corneal transplants) over the course of my life that God has used to powerfully shape my understanding of Him, myself, and my calling within His kingdom.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far?

I think working through the issues that have emerged as I’ve had to work through vision issues have been a consistent challenge. Having periods of full, limited and no vision throughout my life has forced me to adapt in significant ways. God has used those times to powerfully teach me that it’s not only with the eyes that one sees rightly.

What’s the one question you wish people would ask you?

I think an important question I’d like people to spend more time thinking through is, “What is the difference between being a disciple of Jesus vs. a follower of Jesus?” That’s a distinction that can lead us in two very different directions as Christians, and in my experience Christians aren’t struggling through this question and its implications enough.

What’s your dream?

I want to see churches embrace students and young adults as emerging leaders within the kingdom of God. That’s not simply a matter of semantics either; how you see someone determines the opportunities you give them (or refuse to give them!). We need more churches and church leaders who view these emerging leaders as a critical part of the church, and empower them to take their place within the mission of God. Personally and professionally, I want to do all that I can to help emerging leaders find opportunities for significant engagement with the gospel and the local church as disciples of Jesus.

Sweet dude.  Thanks so much Jeff!

Be sure to check out Grindstone Church

Follow Jeff’s journey at Jeff Strong’s Blog

Check out his website where you can download a free chapter and buy the book at Mere Disciple

Our first week back in the United States was spent with CJ and Sarah Brown and their two adorable boys, Reef and Levi.  I had met Sarah in Namibia, Africa 6 years ago, and now the four of us are great friends!  We received a lovely welcome: dinner at Chuy’s (our favourite TX restaurant) and a chalk welcome message on our bedroom wall!

Grocery shopping and play-doh were some of our activities at the Brown’s.  (Yep, those on the right are both cows, though might I add Sarah’s blue one look like a dog…) These kids are little charmers – they sure know how to smile! On this visit we also got some Texas BBQ at a family owned and operated restaurant (which happened to be Sarah’s perma-craving when she was pregnant!)

On the last night we had a date night with Sarah and CJ at the Cheesecake Factory, followed by some Barnes & Noble.  Our date night ended in a rainstorm of Texas proportions!  It was such a blessing to hear about all that God is doing in their lives. Sarah and CJ have two awesome blogs you can follow: Strength Nomad andFlipFlopParenting.  Be sure to check them out!

After a week with our friends, we took a 32 hour bus ride from Houston to West Palm Beach, Florida.  Ghettoest experience ever. At the bus station, it is quite common to see guys trying to get into the waiting area without tickets and have a nice shouting match with the guards.  When the bus arrives, you have to hustle your way onto it because even though you bought a ticket, you are not guaranteed a seat (genius, Greyhound, genius).  There is a lovely scent of sweat and alcohol in the bus, which provides a lovely environment along with a lack of reading lights and extremely packed in seats.  Careful where you put your feet – they might just land in the sticky substance someone left behind from a previous trip.  When the bus stops for a break, we are the only ones not getting out for a smoke.  When the bus ride is about to resume, there is a revolt from a bunch of thugs who want a second smoke break right away.  The bus driver yells.  The thugs persist.  The bus leaves late. There is a guy who pretends to be blind ‘preacher’ to pick up ladies, an attention seeking white thug making 5 pre-6am phone calls so loud that the whole bus can hear, and more grills than a church BBQ.  And of course, the whistling at girls went on all night long.  We drive through the swamps of Louisiana and wonder how on earth people would settle on a floodplain.  But, judging from our traveling companions, that is the last thing on their mind.

Here is a factory built in a swamp that is in a regular hurricane region.  And a picture of the bridge that we ride on for hours because there is that much water.  My risk management prof would have some serious new examples for his class is he saw this!

Needless to say, Greyhound needs some major competition.  Buses in Central America were luxury vehicles compared to this craziness!  Fortunately, we made it safely to Florida, where the lovely home of mummi and vaari (my grandparents) was waiting.  Sadly, these people that have fallen through the cracks probably don’t have such a welcome.

Michelle

1. Eating veggies takes more effort when you have to boil or sterilize water to clean them.
2. When the rainy season comes, you can set your watch by the clouds.
3. It is way better to watch the World Cup in a country that appreciates it!
4. You know you’re in Mexico when you fall asleep to the sound of dogs howling, roosters crowing, donkeys braying, tubas blasting, and firecrackers exploding.
5. Living out your calling and passion is the best feeling in the world.  Michelle was able to dive into anti-trafficking work more than ever before and completely lost track of time!  As Gary Vaynerchuk says: “Live your passion. What does this mean anyway? It means that when you get dressed up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations …You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work.” Breaks and a Sabbath are definitely necessary, but doing what you love is energizing and exciting!
6. Bigger lunches and smaller dinners are SUCH a good idea.  Siesta is included in the package!
7. Some people will do anything for a peso.  One day we took a colectivo taxi, and the driver purposefully ripped us off one single peso…not because a peso is worth that much, but to make a point. Jay confronted him and he sheepishly handed it over. Sheesh!
8. Yes, popcorn can be popped in a campfire.
9. Planting agave is very fulfilling!
10. Often non-Christians treat people better than Christians do.  We should learn a lesson or two at times.
11. The upstairs front seat of a double decker bus will keep you grinning the whole ride!
12. If a sign says carniceria (meat/butcher shop), chances are they will simply have half a cow on the counter and you get to pick what part you want them to cut off.  Chicken? Pork? Nope. Just beef.
13. Many of the world’s greatest problems could be solved if we eliminated greed and selfish ambition.
14. Next time we travel, we are taking two laptops.  That’s what’s needed when you run three blogs!
15. In Mexico, people show more passion – they party harder, cheer louder, and dance wilder!
16. The Day of the Dead is a celebration of lost loved ones on November 2nd in Mexico – by far the biggest holiday of the year.  Families get together and talk about those that have passed away…which allows children to learn about deceased family members and the lives they lived.  It is not a day of mourning, but a day to remember and celebrate the memories. What a beautiful way for community to come together!
17. You can live super cheap if you live remote: Zirahuen was a little village outside the town that was close to the big city.
18. Most of us have no idea what government corruption is.  Our neighbour in Mexico had not been paid since January, even though he was working hard and the government had promised him a paycheque.  Life can be so hard with poor leadership.
19. The bus from Morelia, Mexico to Houston, Texas takes 26 hours, and sometimes it gets lost en route.
20. On that bus from dawn until dusk, movies play at a high volume…one right after the other for the entire trip.
21.  VHS is SO fun to watch!  Rewinding was an exciting event for us because we had not done it in so many years! Be kind…rewind…
22. Michelle’s romantic relationship with doing laundry by hand is officially over.
23. Jay officially has a new term of endearment for Michelle: “the bestest bean in the mud.”  Neither of us knows what that means.
24. Yes, it is possible to make it through 4 months in Central America without getting hit with Montezuma’s revenge…other than the very random cases of pneumonia and bronchitis, our bodies did quite well!
25. It is amazing how a third of a year can fly, yet how many lives one can live in that time.
26. God is good.  His direction is flawless, His love limitless, and His grace endless.  Living for Him wherever we are is such a gift!

Jay & Michelle

Our last few days in Zirahuen were great, and we even had the chance to have our neighbours, Isa and Pichi, over for a real Canadian roast beef dinner!  Afterwards Isa surprised us with a gift she had made for us: pig neck pillows for the bus to Texas! (What, you thought we snuck REAL pigs across the border?!)  Thanks Isa and Pichi for your friendship, your help with Spanish, and your generosity – you will be missed!

We took a 26 hour busride from Morelia, Mexico to Houston, Texas.  In the night our bus got lost in a small village in Northern Mexico and had to pull a 20-point turn on a small dirt road.  In an area where buses get held up and kidnappings are not uncommon, it was a bit unnerving to have a bunch of guys surround the bus as it was changing direction.  Fortunately we were both so tired we barely kept our eyes open through the ordeal.  Thanks to Isa, our stuffed pigs added some serious comfort during the long ride!

We were picked up at the bus station by our dear friends Sarah and CJ, and are now spending the week here in Texas with them.  Turns out we missed the eye of Hurricane Alex by one day, which hit Northern Mexico the day after we passed through the area.  Experiencing a hurricane on a Mexican bus…not the best idea. We had no clue there was a hurricane heading our way and only realized it when we arrived in Texas.  Another close call!  Houston is in the outskirts of the hurricane and we have recevied alot of rain here, which cools down the temperature quite nicely.

After not seeing home community for so long, it has been so great to spend time with Sarah and CJ.  We are fully enjoying our time in Texas, though being able to speak in English everywhere again is certainly an adjustment!  Tomorrow is 4th of July, which we are looking forward to celebrating TX style!

Jay & Michelle

Actually…it’s more like the changing daily phases of lake Zirahuen, the lake that we see from our veranda here in Mexico!  The water colour changes quite a bit whenever the weather does.  Here is the lake in the morning.

Here it is half an hour later, in two shades of blue.

A couple hours later…as the winds pick up and the rains get closer…

Here’s the full on storm…can’t even see the water:

And here is the calm after the storm.

This transition has happened every day for the last three weeks!  Pretty cool.

Michelle

Over the past four months, we have had some delicious food here in Central America.  Thought we’d would throw up some pictures!

Part of our breakfast in Puriscal.  Sequoyah, one of the kids of the woman we were house-sitting for, had climbed on the cabinet with all the dishes and made it crash down by accident, leaving only plastic plates like this Batman one in usable condition!

Jay proudly eating the tilapia he caught from our neighbour’s pond in Costa Rica.

Panama version of shave ice – literally shaved from that huge block!

The beautiful fruit and veggies we’d prepare every day at Rancho Margot.

Jay made chicken wings from scratch! HUGE ones at that!

Michelle’s creation (with the expert counsel of Alonso) of a sweet melon dessert! The flower from the garden is edible by the way.

Another Alonso-Michelle creation…

This one Jay came up with and we all added our creative energy into.  Turned out AMAZING! Especially right out of the oven…

A vegetarian’s dream dish

Jay making a milkshake in Antigua, Guatemala…on a bike! When you pedal, the blade in the blender turns, creating the delicious strawberry treat!

Jay trying barracuda on Caye Caulker Island, Belize.

On our 22 hour bus ride from Chetumal to Mexico City, we ate at this roadside cafeteria, a welcome change from the juice and crackers we’d survived on for several hours.

Jay, Joe, and Niklas popping popcorn on the campfire at the Bosque. It worked…every kernel that popped and didn’t land in the fire was a celebration!

A man at a Mexican music show feeding Jay some soup…we actually had no idea who he was or why he did this, but the soup was good!

Michelle’s first time making guacamole. Mmmm!

Oaxaca cheese: looks like poop, tastes like heaven

A little taco/chorizo/quesadilla stand that is only open on the weekend in Zirahuen, Mexico. Our ritual on Sunday evenings!

And here’s our 3$ meal.  We love Mexican food!

So there you have it, delicious food from the strip between North and South America!  Maybe it’s inspired you to go do some experimenting in the kitchen this week!

Jay & Michelle

On our way to the Bosque Village in May, we had to stop in a town called Patzcuaro for a night.  As we sat down for dinner at a beautiful outdoor restaurant in the Plaza Grande, we kept saying in awe, “what is this place?”  The plaza was lit up and the historic buildings had mysterious courtyards filled with delicious smells and vibrant music.  Though we had never even heard of Patzcuaro before, we fell in love immediately.

After leaving the Bosque Village, we moved to Zirahuen which is a 25 minute drive from Patzcuaro.  Turns out our neighbours drive there twice a week, enabling us to get rides into this charming town regularly.  What a blessing! Here are a few of our favourite moments/things about Patzcuaro.

#1: The signs.  By law in the state of Michoacan, all store and business signs must be in the traditional colours of red and black.  This keeps the town looking unified and non-tacky, and we think it is a great idea.

#2: The music scene. We were invited by our neighbours to attend a local concert, and listened to the beautiful traditional Mexican guitar by three guitarists from Mexico City (Dan, we listened to it through your ears!).  Afterwards we were invited to an after party of sorts in the lobby of a hotel, where the designers of the guitars were showing off some of their new work.  One of the guitars they passed around took two years to make by hand!

#3: Incredible food for good prices. Patzcuaro is a destination for Mexican tourists, so there is lots of variety without the high prices of North American tourist destinations.  In addition to the delicious local cuisine (which is our favourite so far in Central America), one day we discovered an incredible Italian restaurant that we were still talking about the next day.  We were told it was called Buena Vista, but after searching and asking more people, we were informed it was Buena Vida.  Finally we found it, and it was called Dolce Vita!

It is owned and run by a an Italian man and his Mexican wife, who have triplet girls running around spilling salt and making mischief.  The restaurant is in a courtyard, and the family lives in a room off to the side.  Beautiful.  In my opinion, the pasta was second only to Don Vito’s in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

#4: Out-of-the-blue fiestas.  One day in Patzcuaro the streets seemed unusually quiet, as if everyone was waiting in anticipation for something.  All of a sudden fire crackers started going off, people started throwing bread, and we found ourselves on a full street packed with a crazy celebration!  It was Corpus Christi, which left a huge impact on me later that day.  Traditional clothing, trumpets, and butterfly fishing nets…I wish Canadians partied like this!

Another surprise party took place in in the Plaza Grande as Jay and I were reading on a bench.  All of a sudden beautiful Cinderella-type music began to play and girls entered the plaza dressed to the hilt while friends and family took picture after picture.  We learned this was a ‘quincinera,’ a full-out celebration when a girl turns 15.  It was delightful!

#5:  A gorgeous library. The library is an old beautiful building in Plaza Chica, and has an incredible mural on the back wall depicting events of global history. We discovered however that the English section had been moved down a few blocks to an ex-pat restaurant!  Sure enough, the place was filled with white people, we found it quite funny.  It has been great to have a book collection available to us here, and Jay and I have added some Grisham novels to our list of books read!

#6: Legit barber shop.  Last week Jay discovered an amazing barber shop with the best straight razor shave he has ever had.  I know, Jay should have been born in a more classic era!  The barber was meticulous, as you can see from how concentrated he is in this picture. It took over an hour to do do just the shave, and Jay was so relaxed he fell asleep!

#7: Don Chucho Oaxaca Cheese. This little store looks is not even labeled from the front, but oh does it have delicious food!  Our new favourite is Oaxaca cheese, which melts better than any other cheese we have ever tried.

So that is Patzcuaro, the town that has stolen our hearts!  We are so grateful to have stumbled upon during our travels, and highly recommend it to those who are planning a trip to Mexico!

Michelle

This is Matt and Julie, with travel documents in hand.  Since they got married 3 years ago, it has been a dream of theirs to live abroad for a while – to experience new culture, new languages, new community, and new adventures.

This year they began to feel the urgency for change, and decided to be intentional about pursuing what God had in store for them.  So at the end of February they drove to Montreal for a full weekend to think, pray, and listen. Julie says they ended up spending way more time in their hotel room reading and praying together than touring the city, and came back with a definitive answer.  In May they made the big announcement to family and friends: “We’re moving to FRANCE!”  They packed up their apartment, quit their jobs, said their goodbyes, and boarded a plane yesterday.

Some support their decision, while others think they are crazy.  Why leave your family, secure jobs, and comfortable lives, when language barriers, unsure job situations, and lack of community await on the other side of the world?  A while ago Julie posted something on her facebook wall that serves as the answer to this:

Dreaming doesn’t cost anything.  Not following your dreams does.

Sure, there are sacrifices that must be made.  But they pale in comparison to what can be gained.

In an email, this is how they describe the necessity of moving to France:

“It is a time to travel the world, learn to be adaptable, throw off our type A personalities, live simply with only the bags on our backs, dematerialize ourselves, get away from the North American style of living,  and learn to be free of our securities in order to trust God in an unleashed sort of way.”

As we like to say: change of place + change of pace = change of perspective.

Matt and Julie, our friend Roxanne sent us the photo above from Cuba. Translated from Spanish to English, it reads:

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one.” – John Lennon

You are not alone in this adventure!  We are proud of you,  support you 100%, and can hardly wait to see how God will work in your lives and in those around you.  Have a wonderful first week in France!

Jay & Michelle

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. -Mahatma Ghandi

A few months ago in San Jose we had to take a taxi from the Puriscal bus terminal to a hotel in front of which we were going to catch a bus.  We hailed down a cab and asked him how much it would cost to take us to the hotel.  We settled on 2,000 colones (about $4.00 USD), and settled in for the 15 minute ride.  The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the hotel as arranged, took our payment, and drove off.

Our bus had not arrived yet, so we decided to look around for something to eat. We walked around the corner and came to a shocking realization: we were right back at the Puriscal Terminal where we had caught the taxi from!  The taxi driver had known that the hotel we’d requested was a mere 20 metre walk away, but had fooled us into thinking it was further by driving around for 15 minutes. We felt so violated and ripped off, and suffered from a bad mood for a few hours.

Faith in humanity: -5 points.

Fast forward 3 months.  Jay and I had run out of food this past Tuesday, and market day wasn’t until the following day.  Not wanting to eat yogurt for dinner, we decided to venture out to our favourite little local restaurant in Zirahuen. (Note: it really is more of a kitchen/home than a restaurant…the family opened up their kitchen to whoever wants to come eat and the cook, Lupita, is adorable!)

We ended up sitting at a table with 4 Mexicans from Morelia who worked together, and had stopped into Zirahuen for lunch.  Above you can see one of them force feeding Jay some fish!  Our conversation with them touched on all kinds of topics, from life in Canada to sex trafficking, adoption, marriage, and church planting.  They listened patiently as we expressed ourselves in Spanish and were genuinely interested in what we had to say.  They told us about their families and life in Mexico.   It was wonderful!  At the end of our meal they paid for the whole thing, encouraged us and shook our hands, and promised to check out our anti-trafficking blog.

Faith in humanity:  +10

We know that all people are broken and no one is perfect.  But we have experienced here that for every person that rips us off or treats us poorly, there is another who is willing to extend their grace and kindness to us.  This is the same in all countries, across all cultures.  Being blessed by others is like a kiss on the cheek, and it has inspired us to bless those we meet all the more!

Michelle