What Do You Want?
What do you want to read in this magazine? This is not a trivial question I’m asking. We really want to know what we could do better.
Faith
Our Beloved Buildings
Does your church building match your mission goals?
Recovering Joy
I was visiting my sister at her cottage in the summertime. It was first thing in the morning, the sun was emerging beautifully from her slumber, and I was down at the dock with my Bible in hand.
Beyond The Rules
The newborn church is still trying to figure out who’s in and who’s out. What does it take for someone who isn’t from the first generation to become a follower on the Way?
Give it to God
What do you do when you are wrestling with a big problem and you feel overwhelmed with anger and frustration either from your inability to resolve the issue or because others can’t see it the way you see it so very clearly?
Clergy Burn Out
More than 20,000 clergy left the ministry in 2010 alone in the U.S., and according to a survey done by the Francis Schaeffer Institute, 71 per cent of pastors serving churches today are burned out and battling depression and fatigue.
Day by Day
I am a drunk, a former drunk. Sober by faith. I admit I made mistakes with my children as a young mother.
Resurrection- Shaped Renewal
If we were to use the resurrection of Jesus as a model through which to assess our persistent search for renewal, what might we learn?
Called to Forget
We don’t expect God to command us to forget! Especially in the middle of a rehearsal of all God has done for us in the past.
Horrific History
I hold a picture of my parents in my hand. The picture is faded slightly, but the memories I have of them are very dear.
Injecting Enthusiasm
Deceptively, all those Boomer children and their parents filled churches in the late 1950s and ‘60s to overflowing. The result was that mainline denominations in Canada thought they were on top of the world.
Love and Other Stories
Maybe it’s that half-light creates liminal spaces where imagination opens more easily. Think romantic candle-lit dinners for two. Or the way your children’s faces change in the light of birthday candles.
Listening and Learning
It is like speaking the truth with your right hand on the Bible when you hold the feather. In a round circle at Kenora Fellowship Centre, Marvin shared his challenges.
Lent on the Land
I’m reflecting on our reading from Deuteronomy within days of the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report. It’s hard to read a text that sets a liturgy of thanksgiving for a people who believe God has given them someone else’s land.
The Gold Standard
Love is a pretty central theme to Jesus’s teachings and example. Not only was love commanded but it was set out as the primary factor for the discerning of true believers.
A Real Minister
I can say I have found the world of ministry more supportive for women in the last 15 years than the first 15 years of my service.
Walking Together
The house-mother is doing her rounds; the beam of light from her flashlight announces her presence. I have to muffle my cries and pretend to sleep.
Questions of Justice and Truth
We can celebrate that women have come a long way, but we still have major work to do. Full equality and justice
for women are still a long way off, especially when we glance at the world globally
Concerning Spiritual Gifts
Can a Christian be spiritual but not religious?
New Year’s Meditation
As a minister, I often ponder the truths that my congregations need to hear. One of the most helpful ideas has been to reflect on what I need to hear.