I retired four years ago after 39 years as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC). This naturally put me out of the loop for a while with much of what goes on…
Two-Faced Renewal
The ancient Roman god, Janus, was portrayed with two heads looking in opposite directions. January, the first month in a new year, shares this concept of "double vision" – conveying the sense that as a…
A Call to Prayer
I suppose most of us have heard the words “change” and “transition” enough these days to last us a long time. The small course corrections that we all make daily sometimes (often?) result in significant…
Mass in Motion
Tom Cochrane sang “Life is a Highway,” but that musical metaphor of the journey is one that God’s people have been taking to heart for more years than Yonge Street has miles. Ancient Israel’s beginnings…
Five Years of Fortune
It is time for me to bid this column, the Renewal Fellowship and my Encouragement Road Trips a wistful goodbye. At 67, I can no longer pretend to function at the energy level or capacity…
Understanding and Interpreting the Bible
Virtually all branches of the Christian Church refer to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the standard of belief with regard to their doctrine and to their practices of faithful living and…
Renewing of Minds
“Do not be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 Sometimes…
Some Assembly Required
I sit here in Blind River, Ont., a Timmy’s stop on the drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Pembroke, I find myself reflecting over the past few weeks. As some of you know, I am…
The Parable of a Lighthouse
In 2004 as a meditation at a ministerial meeting, our local Catholic priest read us this powerful story. I often think of it and it challenges me and should challenge us all. (Many unattributed versions…
Helping Clergy Families
A great privilege and joy of my work with the Renewal Fellowship is that I get to have a lot of one-on-one conversations with our denomination’s ministers. There are many areas of discussion. I have…