You don’t have to be a politician to get elected

Many of you know that I have long term political aspirations.  I haven’t even started my run for provincial office yet and I’ve already won my first election!  No I’m not talking about the federal by-elections last night, and no I’m not talking about election in the spiritual Calvinist sense (many of you also know I don’t swing that way), I’m talking about my election to the Saskatchewan Mennonite Brethren Board of Faith and Life like I aluded to last night.  I am officially the newest – and youngest by at least a decade – member of the SK MB BFL.  How’s that for an acronym?  Basically this board is responsible for spiritual well being of the denomination.  We interview and review theological statements from pastoral applicants.  We discern theological positions on issues that member churches may present to us.  We deal with issues of conflict resolution in our member churches if they ask for it.  We are kind of the defenders of the SK MB Statement of Faith.  Of course because the MB deomination is based on congregational government, our decisions aren’t necessarily binding on all the churches if they decide otherwise, but so far that hasn’t been an issue.  The picture at the top is of Menno Simons, the founder of the Mennonite church.  I guess he’s supposed to be my new hero now. 😉

It’s kind of a weird feeling.  I’m only 27 years old.  I’ve only been in the denomination for about a year and a half.  Now, as a member of this board, I’m responsible for telling Mennonites how to be Mennonites, many of which have been Mennonites all their life.  It’s exciting to think that the board thinks highly enough of me to have me as a member of the board, and humbling to know that I will have the least experience of all the members.  It was actually really encouraging today to hear that even if I hadn’t volunteered to serve, they planned to asked me to serve on the board because of my experience with the ugly side of church ministry.  I look forward to offering the wisdom God has given me, but I really look forward to learning from the wisdom of the other members too.  No matter what though, I guess it’s the next step on my road to becoming Pope. 😉

It’s Election Time Again!

Well, it’s been four long years in waiting, but it’s finally provincial election time again!  I realize that I’m a bit of a political junky, but I do think that elections – whether provincial, federal or even American – are a ton of fun to watch, right from the commercials, to the debates, and the results shows where they “declare a winner” before even 1% of the polls are counted.  Most of you know I really enjoy politics so this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.  With all of these things in mind, I’m opening the first ever “Humble Musings of a Curious Man Election Pool”!  If you follow this link, or click on the “SK Election Pool” tab at the top of the page you can make your entry in the pool by leaving a comment.  Simply submit your guess on how many seats each party will win and what their percentage of the popular vote will be.  The winner will receive recognition in the form of their picture as the header on my blog for the next week and maybe even win dinner with me if they’re in the area.

I’m so looking forward to the Wednesday night results show!  Until then guess away.  The deadline for submissions will be 8pm CST on Wednesday, November 7/07.