Recently, PCC denominational staff announced a workshop entitled “Rainbow Pathways: exploring LGBTQi2 welcome and inclusion.” It will be led by two individuals: a pastor and social worker who identify as a “Queer Trans Masculine person of faith” and a “femme lesbian.” Here’s an opportunity to hear first-hand how others think, I thought ... Read more
Category Archives: Blog
Victory On The “Losing” Side
As we wait for the next General Assembly, many of us in PCC orthodoxy are praying, listening, discussing, discerning, and planning. It appears that a future General Assembly will approve the proposed parallel definitions of marriage in which “faithful, Holy Spirit-filled, Christ-centred, God-honouring people can understand marriage as a covenant relationship between a man and ... Read more
Where Are All the Disciples?
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched a lot of church people in a lot of ways. It continues to poke and prod and forces us to examine and re-examine who we are and how we do church. Even why. In all the busyness of doing church and worship differently since March, I’ve become a tech ... Read more
Unmasking the Essential Issue
I don’t like wearing a mask. I don’t like the fog produced on eyeglass lenses. Fiddling with elastic straps is a pain. I hate how the straps sometimes get into a battle with my precious (and pricey) hearing devices, causing them to come loose. I don’t need yet another impediment to the effective enunciation of ... Read more
Idols In Every Church
As statues come down and teams change their names during this summer of unrest, I wonder about the monuments and memorials in our own churches. It’s good that people are noticing the names and histories behind all those centrepieces in our public squares. Until now, it was only history buffs who paid any attention ... Read more
They Don’t Know What They’re Missing
It was the first time in more than three months that I’d been in a sanctuary with other people on a Sunday morning. I was filled with unspeakable joy. I sat in the first available row and was swaying with the music, hands raised, grinning like a crazy man. It felt good. For the first ... Read more
The Real Battle Is Local
“The world has a mission – to capture and assimilate the church,” said apologist R.C. Sproul. “If the church becomes an echo of the world, the mission of the world is accomplished.” In the minds of many who adhere to orthodoxy in The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC), the battle is lost on a denominational ... Read more
Safe Space to Sow the Seed
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
Lessons From the Busyness
"Are we ready for this?" That was the headline in mid-March as pandemic restrictions hit like a tsunami. Thankfully, all those arenas converted to emergency wards were never needed. Now, as we enter phase 2 of the recovery, I ask: Are we ready for a new way of doing church? ... Read more
An Opportunity, Not a Threat
One of the most-encouraging aspects of church renewal is seeing the Holy Spirit work in surprising ways. When all appears to be without hope, a Saviour appears. When churches around the world were forced to suspend in-person worship in mid-March, I was blown away by how many of my colleagues immediately opened their virtual doors ... Read more