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.

Iconoclasts ... blase?

A quick note from the road ....

I've been making my way through Iconoclast by Gregory Berns. I've always been fascinated by the idea of iconoclasm, ever since Professor John Wortley taught me about the infamous Byzantine controversy in his medieval history class. Iconoclasts are image-breakers, a reference in the middle ages to smashing or removing the supposedly blasphemous images of Christ on paintings, coins, etc. Today, Gregory Berns describes iconoclasts in more appealing terms as "a person who does something that others say can't be done".

The driving concept of my doctoral work is iconoclash. Iconoclash is the idea of taking two opposing images/ideas and bringing them together in ways everyone else thinks is impossible. Rock 'n' Roll Preacher is my take on iconoclash, and the unique contrast generated by bringing rock 'n' roll and religion together gives new meaning and dimension to both terms. Music fans love discussing religion. Religious people need to talk about music. You can't really understand rock 'n' roll or religion unless you understand both.

I've been reading Andy Crouch's Culture Making, which is a call for Christians to stop trashing and bashing culture and start cultivating it instead. Right-wing (and left-wing) Christians are notorious iconoclasts - they're infamous for complaining about cultural trends. Maybe they should give up the iconoclast role and embrace iconoclash. Iconclash is the challenge to create something different -- to be constructive instead of destructive. It's Crouch's idea of cultivating culture. Shouldn't be hard for people who believe they're made in the image of a creator.

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.