I'm a young-enough Christ follower to remember my seeker days. I was a believer in something. God for sure. Jesus, yes. But was He the actual Son of God, the only way to connect to the Creator? I had my doubts. That despite having been raised in church, knowing the Anglican liturgy by heart, having … Read more
Who is Jesus? Who am I? Who is the church of Jesus Christ? None of these questions are straightforward to answer; indeed, many spend their entire lives pondering them. It is not by accident either that I write these questions side-by-side. It seems to me that, from the standpoint of a Christian worldview, these questions … Read more
The emerging culture has moved away from texts to images and from books to screens. Those born before 1962 are "immigrants" to this new ethos. "Natives" are in their thirties or younger, and they can't even imagine a world without computers. This presents a challenge to the church to reach them. … Read More
Opposition to Physician Assisted Suicide/MAID. Like a typical town hall meeting, Renewal Cafés provide a glimpse into the mind of Christ within the evangelical wings of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. We send an invitation, accept RSVPs and open the door. The conversation then takes a life of its own. The invitation to the July … Read more
Sharing our faith to help others remember God’s grace. One of the benefits of technology is that you can easily search for words in the Bible. In preparing for a recent sermon, I searched for the word “remember”. It appears hundreds of times. In studying the various occurrences, I began to see a deep connection … Read more
Sometimes it is mind-boggling to realize that just one year ago the word ‘pandemic’ evoked pleasant images of a happy evening playing a co-operative board game with family and friends. During this past 12 months many, many ordinary people have demonstrated admirable qualities of passion, perseverance and personal sacrifice as they have risen to the … Read more
Are you ready for an adventure? Then as the bumper sticker says, “Let go and let God.” The truth is, is that we are all seeking, or at least we should be seeking, an adventure when it comes to our Christian lives and to the life of our congregations. However, many times we seem to be stuck in the rut of trying to balance the budget and trying to keep the doors to the church open. But, is this what the Christian life and church life are all about? … Read More
Like many of you, I am tired. I’m tired of the negativity, the toxic spin on the Gospel, the lack of Holy Spirit submission in so-called Christian ministry, the butting of heads. I yearn to rediscover what it is to be the church. It’s been so long. So I’m not going to dwell on the conclusion in the “Report of the Special Committee Regarding Implications of Option B” at 2019 General Assembly” which began: … Read more
Renewal Day 2023. Like wild animals removed from their natural environments, are today’s Western believers overly domesticated and thereby innocuous? Have we allowed ourselves to be tamed under the control of the ruler of this world in order to fit in and not be too offensive? Cory McKenna, the speaker at our 2023 Renewal Day … Read more
As I write this, first responders and tow truck operators are untangling 70 vehicles from a massive chain-reaction pile-up on one of Canada’s busiest highways. Squalls and blowing snow warnings have been routine from coast to coast for what seems like a week. And our poor, desperate friends in the Prairie provinces are locked in … Read more