Wanted: one punk and two stolen guitars

As the host of the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68, I have an opportunity to reach a large audience on the air and on the web. On last night's radio show, I did something most preachers never do: I put out a $500 bounty on the thief who stole my guitars last week (see picture on the left).

The Gibson Les Paul and Heritage 535 were expensive guitars. They had sentimental value that is worth much more than dollars and cents. But the real reason I put out the bounty is that I can't sit back and do nothing. I can't put all the onus on the police to solve society's problems single-handedly. The Winnipeg Police Service is handling the forensic side of things. I'm focusing my efforts on reinforcing good citizenship and bringing perps and punks to justice. THAT'S what my bounty is really all about.

Some people think I've got it all wrong. They think I should be more forgiving and less materialistic. They think I should focus less on putting criminals behind bars and more on doing something about the social problems that lead to crime. They think I should do what Jesus would do.

For the record: Jesus wasn't a limp noodle or a wet blanket. He called it as he saw it. He offered truth to the deluded. He offered grace to the downhearted. I offer the same.

And I'm offering $500 to the person who turns the thief into the police and helps me get my guitars back in safe condition. I promise: I'll visit him in jail.

If you have any information leading to the solution of this crime, please contact Constable Machado at 986-8111 or dmachado@winnipeg.ca.

Praying for Winnipeg ... one kilometer at a time

Last night, I embarked on a shopping adventure. I went looking for shoes. Because I didn’t leave the house till 10 p.m., I severely limited my choice of stores to Wal-Mart and the other Wal-Mart. At first, I thought this was going to work for me. I found shoes I liked at Wal-Mart #1, but they didn’t have any size 10’s. So I headed over to Wal-Mart #2, where I found my size, but the magic was gone. I didn’t like the shoes anymore.

Wal-Mart #2 was closing, so I went back to Wal-Mart #1 (open 24 hours) to see if I could find a better set of shoes. It just wasn’t happening, so I decided to cut my losses and do something else. (A 24-hour Wal-Mart is no place to spend a Friday night.)

I felt like a road trip.

Whenever I go looking for adventure, I drive west. I don’t know where I’m going. I just keep driving till I find what I’m looking for. So I wheeled onto Portage Avenue, plugged in the iPod, and headed toward the edge of the city. As I passed the streets and buildings where my family and friends live and work, I began to pray.

By the time I approached the perimeter, I had a vision: I would circle the city in prayer. When I hit the perimeter highway, I veered north and began my 82.3 kilometer road trip around Winnipeg. In the darkness I passed from one corner of the city to the next, praying for people the Scriptures describe as widows and orphans, foreigners, and the poor. I prayed for the sick, the homeless, and for people going through tough times. I prayed for my family and friends. I prayed for the people that listen to our radio show on Sunday nights. I prayed for all the people of Winnipeg, and I prayed that somehow these prayers would make a difference in ways I’d never know.

I’ve driven the perimeter highway my whole life, but when I got home last night I felt like I’d been on a road I’d never travelled before. I hope to travel that road again. If you see someone in a black Pontiac racing round the perimeter in the dark on a Friday night, honk: the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher is praying for you.

Tune in to the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68 (www.cjob.com) on Sunday night from 9-11. I'm going to talk about my road trip religious experience. We're taking your calls at 780-6868 / 1-800-665-2202.

Culture making ... or culture faking?

One of the best books I've read in a long, long time is Andy Crouch's Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. I'm going to talk about some of Crouch's insights at our MissionFest Manitoba workshop today.

The workshop is called" Leave boring and bigot behind: be a Christian in a multi-faith world". Dave Balzer, the show's host for 10+ years, and Melissa McEachern, the show's producer, are bookending my comments. We'll give our audience a behind-the-scenes look at the creative energy that brings the GodTalk Radio Show to Winnipeg's largest news/talk audience every Sunday night.

MissionFest Manitoba 2009
Grant Memorial Church
877 Wilkes Avenue
11:30 a.m. Rm. 249

Would love to see you there!

The birth of a rock 'n' roll preacher ...

I recently shot a promo video for Family Life Network. It tells you a little bit about my faith journey and how I got the name Rock 'n' Roll Preacher. I'm still grateful for the day I walked into a Joe English concert with a lot of questions and walked out with a newfound sense of joy and peace. It was a beginning.