Growing engagement with Scripture
♪Bible memory was a big deal when I was in Sunday school. My reward for memorizing the most verses in the class was a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game and dinner at Boston Pizza! Core memory.
Things we’ve heard once too often
♪Have you ever heard a so-called “truth” once too often? Here’s one I heard recently: “being on mission is not just about going overseas as a missionary; it’s also staying home to serve God wherever you are.” Who could argue? But suddenly I had heard this one too many times. Instead of a timely truth I now saw a donkey my generation loved to flog.
Have you ever heard of Horatius Bonar?
♪Have you ever heard of Horatius Bonar? He was a pastor in the early 1800s who wrote 600 hymns and poems. I tried to find a relatable comparison in my life. I figure that in 13 years of marriage, I’ve probably written close to 600 grocery lists.
Partnerships: Questions that need answers
♪In my travels around the conference through the years, I have been part of many conversations that coalesce around certain themes. One question in particular is why we administers our own missions program, when we can and do partner with more than 20 other mission agencies.
Inspiring prayer
♪Maybe this has happened to you. You receive a group text that says, “I just received a bad diagnosis.” Immediately, the 🙏 begin to flood the group. In a world that’s focused on social media thumbs ups, hearts and lol’s, these prayer emojis remind us that our concern has been heard by others and brought to the Father on our behalf.
Tough love or true love?
♪We often hear about how angry and cruel public discussion has become today. But we often hear excuses for our bad manners. One excuse is to claim that, far from being rude, we are only showing “tough love.” Much cruelty is justified by those two words.
Road trip naps
♪I’ve slept through some of the best scenery in North America. Or, at least, that’s what my husband says. We’ve traveled along Oregon’s coastline, through the Rocky Mountains, in the Sonoran Desert, and along the Mississippi River.
The pagan blanket
Many know Venus Cote. Whether it's from watching Tribal Trails, hearing her speak at churches, prisons, and schools, or being welcomed into her home, Venus is known for her outpouring of love and testimony of God's power.
Embracing opportunities in Spain
I tried to stay objective but within minutes of landing in Málaga, Spain, to go and visit our EMC workers, I was captivated. Four of us from Canada spent almost two weeks there, and one of our main focuses was to discern the future ministry of our new work in Algeciras.
From pantry darkness to marvelous light
♪ Either my pantry is shrinking or my kids are growing. I’m not referring to their caloric intake (though that does involve a pantry shrinkage of a different sort). I’m talking about the tiny pantry space itself, which multi-tasks as our official glow-in-the-dark testing station.
Shared accountability in missions
♪ To whom is the church accountable in terms of evangelism, outreach, social justice, discipleship, and leadership development? Clearly, it is primarily accountable to God in obedience to the instructions of Scripture. Do conference boards and leadership have a right to speak into this area of the life of the church?
Believe in the Trinity and you shall be saved
♪ Do I have to believe in the Trinity to be saved, really? Listen to the thunder of the Athanasian Creed from the early church: “Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic [historic Christian] faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.
What are we inspiring
♪ The conversation surrounding passing on our Christian faith to the next generations can become quite heated these days. On the one hand, some feel that parents, family members and especially church leaders should sit back and let the next generation choose their beliefs without any interference or coercion. On another side, there are Christian parents who expect their children to accept their beliefs without dialogue, questions or opportunity to explore their faith.
We need grandparents in children’s ministry
When I served in the children’s ministry in my home church as a young adult, one of our faithful volunteers was Grandpa Ed. Grandpa Ed showed up nearly every week and was what we called a “listener”—he wasn’t in a classroom or teaching a Bible lesson, but as kids worked through their memory verses in their classroom, he was available in another area to work one-on-one with kids to memorize or recite their verse. And they loved him.
Pastors pastor women
I state the obvious: As a male pastor, I should be a pastor to women. It should not be said of my ministry that the men got good teaching, mentoring, and compassionate attention, but not so much the women. Female pastors may have these challenges too, but here I am focusing on men.
Tenacious faith in grief and sorrow
The bathroom floor seemed an appropriate place for a meltdown. My sympathetic friend waited for me to gather my thoughts. Though separated by a province, we were connected by phone and heart.
Celebrating a lifetime of ministry
Tim and Laurel Schroder’s first trip to Pukapuki, Papua New Guinea (PNG), included an eight-hour boat trip up the river during which they nearly collided with another dugout, wrecking their propeller and almost swamping their boat with all their belongings.
My little thief
♪ Do you remember the good old days? When we could walk to the corner store, pick up milk, chocolate bars, maybe a new bike? You can’t get away with that anymore. They have surveillance cameras now. Well, theft is no laughing matter.
Half-finished projects
♪ I was thinking about Adam and Eve while I pushed my wheelbarrow full of dirt and weeds to my discard pile. What was tending the garden like for them?
Missions committees: thinking outside the box
♪ According to the information we have from our churches across Canada, approximately half our congregations have a missions committee of some sort—though how they function varies.