Helping Christmas visitors connect the dots. My two rural churches will open their doors to a good number of visitors this Christmas Eve, if history is any predictor of the future. As our context becomes more and more secular and un-churched, there is a growing challenge for us to convey more than a partial story … Read more
Renewal can be found in unity. In the mid-70s, I spent a year working in a TD Bank in one of the Lake Ontario towns east of Toronto. The Toronto Dominion Bank was the coming together of the Bank of Toronto and the Dominion Bank some 20 years earlier. I shouldn’t have been surprised that … Read more
Last month I attempted to make the case for how important it is for our ministers to be part of intimate spiritual communities with their peers. I also shared the priority and focus we at the Renewal Fellowship are prepared to put on encouraging and aiding as many ministers as we can to find or … Read more
In January of 2012, I attended one of a series of roundtable discussions that Gordon Haynes conducted across the country on the issues facing the church in the next 10 years. What impacted me the most was the introductory comment by Gordon indicating that there are already on file precisely 16 similar reports to the national church dating from 1964 on, indicating that change needs to happen in the Presbyterian Church in Canada to reverse our declining membership … Read More
God, in Jesus Christ, wants to be experienced. He longs for an intimate closeness with each of us who are called “living stones … precious living stones” … the church. We are the people of God called the church … not a social club or even a place to gather. We who believe in Jesus are the Bride of Christ. We are the Church! And our renewal will be found in believing the Word of God, through being in dance with His Holy Spirit, and acting on what we hear … Read More
As I write this, the March issue of the Record has been available for only a couple of weeks. In that time I have had more feedback about my article, Minding the Minister, than I have received for all the things I have ever written for public consumption combined. I hit on something significant: many ministers in our denomination are burning out. This is a problem worthy of our attention. What is needed is focus and strategy. After consultation with our national board over the past year … Read More
Easter comes in April more than 80 per cent of the time this century. This year it comes at the end of March. For me it means Lent comes quickly after Advent and the Christmas season. It seems that one is barely over and planning for the next begins. It didn’t take me too long in ministry to realize the importance of planning my vacation and study leave carefully to ensure … Read More
“Clearly communicating the heart of the Christian faith presents a very significant challenge” in a culture that is “illiterate to Christian ideas, often hostile to them,” says John Vissers, formerly Principal of Presbyterian College, Montreal. This summer, Vissers spent three weeks in Ghana and Malawi. “It makes you wish that Canadian Christians had more passion.” … Read More
If you are reading this column, I guess the Mayans, or those who would interpret their artifacts, got it wrong. The world did not end on Dec. 21, 2012. That leaves me with the same challenges I faced last year. Some of you may identify with me. In our case, I believe that the Renewal Fellowship is at a major crossroads. Like many Presbyterian congregations, our members and other supporters are largely grey-haired … Read More
This is my favourite time of year. I suspect I am not alone. The time leading up to Christmas is full of planning and activity in every area of my life. Family plans are huge. Plans to get together with friends are also important. Shopping becomes a bigger focus and stores are full of seasonal goods and excited people. There is an increased pace in life. Churches are planning and presenting special services and programs … Read More