♪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.

♪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.

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. 

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.

♪ 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.

♪ 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?

♪ 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.

♪ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.