♪ While the start of the new year is now a couple of weeks in the rearview mirror, statistics say that most people will have already “failed” at their New Year’s resolutions. That’s why, this year, I decided to focus on small changes that I’m more likely to stick with.

Here’s a picture of our monthly Senior’s meal

♪ 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?

♪ Gordon and Sharon Skopnik have been serving South Sudanese refugees for 21 years and have seen for themselves that helping can end up hurting.

For 88 years, Steinbach Bible College has been empowering servant leaders to follow Jesus, serve the church, and engage the world. We send students back to their churches and into the world to serve there.

We started the month with a baptism/membership reception on the 1st. What a blessing to hear the testimonies of how God has worked and continues to work in all the candidates.

In every church family, there are a variety of surnames. Some of them at ACF are Fehr, Fair, Steele, Pitta, Unger, Friesen, Corder, Enns, Hughes, Plett, Carpenter, Young, Leal, Cameron, Cure and of course many more which can be referred to in humorous ways.

♪ 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.

♪ A recent article by James Wood recounts his evolution from a fanboy of Tim Keller to a critic (www.firstthings.com, May 6, 2022). His argument sparked a flurry of responses, both positive and negative (from David French at frenchpress.thedispatch.com and Rod Dreher at www.theamericanconservative.com, for example).

♪ Each Conference Council is an opportunity for delegates to speak—on behalf of their churches about the items on the agenda, and especially after lunch during roundtable discussions. This year the discussion focus was on connecting.

This year we saw a few concrete examples of the success of the government responding to you and the issues you care about.

♪ 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.