Multiplying Everything
When friends gave my youngest a kaleidoscope, I didn’t ask if they read this column. It proved to be the perfect gift, regardless.
Life
Traditions
We are known for the tradition of “we’ve always done it this way.” Yet as a denomination we frequently forget the second part of our tradition—the part that asks: What do I find important in the church that I want to bring forward and hand over to the next generation?
When the Hunter Becomes the Hunted
Last autumn found Davin and me leaving home before daylight to travel up to the headwaters of Knife Creek on day three of our annual father-son deer hunt.
Rhythm for Rhythm
When I asked a fellow tourist from Dublin what she thought of Hanoi, she exclaimed, “I crossed the street!” We laughed because it is an accomplishment.
In the Details
It was an easy afternoon’s trip on a river that Gerald and I had known virtually all of our lives.
The Red Spot Project
Would Dad understand the Red Spot Project?
Summer Time
The Spouse bought me a new watch battery and it came with a lifetime guarantee. Isn’t that strange?
A Polarizing Figure
While most people don’t know a great deal about John Knox, they do have an opinion on him.
A Mathematician God and a Killer Preacher
Video Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist teaching at City College, New York. He is the author of eight books on string theory and quantum […]
On Belonging
Early in ‘72 Dad had to go to Yemen where he had a job through the United Nations. The Sunday before he left, he made an announcement at the start of worship: “I have to go away for work and I’m leaving my family in your care.”
Called to the Church: Rev. Bill Elliott
For many years I tried to conform to the heterosexual norm that seemed to be the only acceptable way of being in my world. The loneliness and despair I often felt were a burden I feared I might never be free of.
Space to Grow
At the end of the month, my firstborn is turning 10. A milestone for both of us.
Called to the Church: Rev. Mark Chiang
To my family, there was nothing more evil, more beyond the power of God’s love, than being gay. As my dad would write in the PCC chat rooms, gay was a choice you made after rejecting God and abandoning yourself to hedonistic lust.
Called to the Church: Aubrey Hawton
It hadn’t been drummed into me, but it certainly was clear: good Christian boys dated good Christian girls, got married and had kids—and it had better happen in that order, too!
Born Again Mission
The New Testament church existed on the margins of society, often functioning underground. It was a counterculture community. In that sense, it was a prophetic community.
Food, Drink and Documentary
Restaurant There is something to be said about visibility. I’m not a huge fan of using people’s money to build gigantic cathedrals when a congregation […]
Called to the Church: Laura Laird
I grew up confident in the knowledge that God hated me.
Same Old Story
Little people love repetition. They find comfort in their favourite game, or song or story, repeated time and again. And again and again.
Reborn Leadership
Some would say that the Church is dying out and failing in the 21st century, at least in the Canadian context. But is something else happening besides failure?
A Closed Triangle
This is a snapshot of a typical Protestant congregation today, which is likely to have more people attending on a Sunday who have no strong denominational ties.