Renewal

Start with Prayer

fredstewart

The church of my youth gathered each New Year’s Eve to usher in the New Year with prayer. It was the acknowledgement that the enormity of the challenges ahead could only be faced with divine help.

Am I Thankful?

fredstewart

In thinking about Thanksgiving holiday observances, I was drawn along a path that is relevant to personal renewal. It started with wondering why we needed a holiday to remind us and focus us on thanksgiving.

Calling Us Back

fredstewart

September, for many of our churches, is a month of ministry startups for the school year. So there is the challenge of calling people back into our activities and programs.

A Palpable Intentionality

fredstewart

The 140th General Assembly appeared to have an increasing level of frustration as the days went on. It was likely different for each commissioner, but somehow as the assembly was drawing to a close, there was a similar feeling that not much had changed and expectations were left unrealized.

Encouragement Tour

fredstewart

When I began with the fellowship, I made the commitment to visit every presbytery at least once. It requires some creativity, and a lot of encouragement and help to accomplish this goal.

Great Expectations

fredstewart

I get great satisfaction from observing different cultures and attempting to learn from them. As this was my first visit to South America and to rare excursions beyond tourist areas and cruise ship ports, the experience was even richer.

Warming the Heart

George Robertson

I was relaxing between meetings at the General Assembly in Cape Breton. A friend quietly sat down beside me. He suggested to me that God could use me to call together a group of pastors in my presbytery to pray with each other. The idea resonated with me.

Remember and Be Renewed

fredstewart

The word “remember” appears in the Bible hundreds of times. In studying the various occurrences, I began to see a deep connection to the spiritual renewal of God’s people, corporately and individually.

Not Just Baby Jesus

fredstewart

My two rural churches will open their doors to a good number of visitors this Christmas Eve. 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 of the greatest event in history.

Forgive and Forget

fredstewart

In the mid-90s I did an internship in a church north of Toronto. While there, divisive conflict exploded into open warfare. I’ll never forget the outburst of one of the angriest seniors.

All Are Valuable

fredstewart

I think it is important to anticipate a few of the challenges that might keep some of our ministers from participating in a spiritual community with their peers.

Intentional Community

fredstewart

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 than I have received for all the things I have ever written combined. I hit on something significant: many ministers are burning out.