The Cultural Divide

Adapting to differences between generations. We live in a country of ever-increasing cultures and subcultures. We live at a time when we realize that in the past, many confused winning folks for Jesus with winning folks for our culture. Cultural insensitivity has many times held us back from an effective witness to our faith in … Continue reading The Cultural Divide

A Lesson for the Teacher

Sweating profusely after the hot midday hike along a winding road, I carefully eased myself into the crowded and dilapidated Toyota minivan. The minibus was made for eight and had seen its better years in Southeast Asia as a taxi, but, like Abraham and Sarah, new life was being wrung out of it. Two nursing mothers and several preoccupied Muslims were my nearby companions. For the next hour, 18-20 of us lurched along the potholed highway, occasionally stopping at tattered villages to … Read More

Paris Presbyterian Church Sports Camp

Sports Camp is a mission on the move. Through sports, the leaders strive to emulate the work of Jesus by focusing on building relationships and leading by example. This is the model of ministry that Sports Camp has been built upon. Every time there is interaction with someone, that person is being influenced. Our influence is dominated by our actions. Certainly, a week at camp allows for a lot of interaction. The goal at Sports Camp is to make all of our actions intentional, actions that reflect Jesus. So how do we use that opportunity? … Read More

Glenbrook Upward Soccer Camp

This past summer, the eyes of the world were watching the World Cup of soccer in Brazil. The names of Maynard, Messi, and Rooney, if they were not already known, became even more well known as they played in soccer stadiums across Brazil. With each day’s coverage, the CBC usually had a panoramic view of the city of Rio de Janeiro, including the famous statue of Jesus Christ with His arms outstretched over the great city. What does soccer (or football to most of the world) and Jesus Christ have in common? … Read More

Celebrate Freedom: Freedom Session Report

Last year, I attended “Freedom Session”, a Bible-based twelve-step program, aimed at freeing us from our addictions, compulsive behaviours, and tendency to do the wrong things. The goal is to find healing and freedom through Jesus Christ. The main reason that I went to Freedom Session was to support my wife in her need to attend in order to deal with painful depressing memories from her youth. I also wanted to evaluate the program to possibly take it back to our home church. I also thought that, just maybe, I could also learn something on the way … Read More

Am I Thankful?

The more I pray for, study, and seek renewal for the church, the more I realize that personal renewal is a necessary part of what happens corporately. I am not completely sure if it is a precedent condition, a coincident condition, or a result of the other. I am pretty sure there is reason to ask a “Chicken and Egg; which came first?” type of question about many of the past times of renewal. 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… Read More

Adult Discipleship Studies

We have been blessed in so many ways this year and want to share our recent experiences and thoughts with you. First, we are grateful for the thanks, queries, and comments regarding the studies we wrote about in a 2013 Renewal News article. We only recently learned that while most churches do Bible studies, these “theme” studies are still very much in the minority. This is partly because the concept is fairly new and the books and DVDs are not readily available in local stores. But we go online to see what new studies are available and which themes would be of help to our church. … Read More

As Iron Sharpens Iron

Recently, I had a three-hour conversation with a colleague whom I deeply respect and genuinely like. Our conversation went "around the world" in one sense, but found its focus on God, the things of God, and being leaders of God’s people. It was the kind of conversation that leaves one energized and encouraged about the task of serving God’s kingdom. It doesn't matter whether you're in church leadership or not — you need a friend with whom you can have those comfortable conversations. … Read More

A Palpable Intentionality

Every General Assembly I have attended has revealed a unique personality. Although complex to describe, it is much like a very interesting friend, with many nuances and subtleties. Each also has a dominant emotion. I am not sure if it becomes better known via the various issues or if it is simply developed and enhanced. … Continue reading A Palpable Intentionality

A Christmas to Remember

I had the opportunity to hear Rodger Nishioka (Associate Professor, Christian Education, at Columbia Theological Seminary) speak this past fall. One story he told was about a research interview he did with a woman who lived in an apartment building across from a church. She told him that nothing that happened there had any effect on her life. She said that if that local church ceased to exist, it wouldn't make any difference to her. Dr. Nishioka then challenged us to think about whether … Read More

Remember and Be Renewed

Sharing our faith to help others remember God's grace. One of the benefits of technology is that you can easily search for words in the Bible. In preparing for a recent sermon, I searched for the word "remember". It appears hundreds of times. In studying the various occurrences, I began to see a deep connection … Continue reading Remember and Be Renewed

Intentional Spiritual Community

Having just finished the three-day retreat for Presbyterian Church in Canada ministers – two full days bracketed by two half days – at Crieff Hills, I spent some time listening to the comments of the other participants, and was struck by how often certain words came up. With that in mind, I decided to expand on them a little: community, blessed, discipline, relationship. … Read More

The Story

Here at Norman Kennedy Presbyterian Church, we have just completed a great year of reading, studying, preaching, teaching, and talking our way through the Bible using Zondervan’s The Story resources. A year ago, our session discovered and reviewed these helpful resources, and committed to improving our congregation’s biblical literacy in 2013 by following The Story. In brief, The Story is an abbreviated, chronological, easy-to-understand version of the Bible that is written in … Read More

Good News Journey – Find Life In Jesus

To the untrained, secular ear, "Presbyterian" sounds every bit as mysterious as Shiite, Sikh, Druze, or Methodist. At Chippawa Presbyterian Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario, when we were inviting people to worship, we began to realize that people with no faith background felt quite uncertain about what exactly it was they were being asked to consider and experience in a Christian church. We also recognized that people in our congregation struggled … Read More