Leon Johnston
I am the pastor of Wolf Creek Community Church of Lacombe, AB. My wife is currently training to be a Registered Nurse. I have four children, all of whom study at Lacombe Christian School. We enjoy camping, gardening, music, cycling and swimming.
Posted in: Listening to God Through Reading
Hello Rebecca,
Thank you for responding to my blog post on spiritual reading. I'm glad you're enjoying reading books spiritually. Yes, I agree that there are so many good stories to read! (So many books and so little time! :) Sounds like you're enjoying non-fiction (autobiographies?). I have a few biographies on my shelf that I plan to enjoy over the summer. Let's keep listening to God through our reading.
Peace of Christ!
--Leon
Posted in: Listening to God Through Reading
Good to hear from you again, Rebecca.
I'm glad you're finding such enjoyment and spiritual nourishment in your non-fiction reading. Yes, I too enjoy hearing people's stories--whether it be about themselves or others. I find they give me perspective and inspiration. That's the wonderful thing about spiritual reading: when we read books spiritually, we realize we're not alone. God is with us.
Peace of Christ!
--Leon
Posted in: 5 Social Media Improvements You Can Make Today
Hi Jerod,
Thank you for passing on these tips for more effective use of social media. I especially appreciate your advice to keep tweets shorter, for easier reading and more interaction.
Thank you!
--Leon
Posted in: What's a Preacher to Do?
Hello Scott,
Thank you for writing this article. I appreciate this conversation about preaching, which is always a priority, but usually a challenge. Preaching is my top pastoral priority right now, but growth seems slow. And yet, God is faithful. I've found two mentors recently to help me in this area: Timothy Keller and Bryan Chapell. It's good to be mentored! What I'm learning from these seasoned preachers is that the Gospel message must be preached regularly in the local church and Jesus is always central to the sermon.
I enjoy your insights on preaching. Please keep sharing them!
--Leon
Posted in: Terror in Boston
Hi Greg,
Thank you for commenting on the recent Boston bombing. Thank you for reminding us that the sin of the human heart is the real enemy here, and that Jesus came to restore Shalom--thanks be to God! May the Lord continue to bless the Salaam Project.
--Leon
Posted in: Three Bits of Advice for New Pastors
Hi Timothy,
Thank you for commenting on my essay. I appreciate the attention you've given to prayer as a pastor--having it named in your position description. I suspect that many parishioners just assume that pastors are praying, but do they really encourage the pastor in this important spiritual discipline? And of course, are pastors taking the time to pray? I sense there's a growing recognition of the importance of prayer for church leaders and lay people, which encourages me.
May the Lord continue to nurture you soul and empower you for ministry!
---Leon
Posted in: Three Bits of Advice for New Pastors
Hi Greg,
Good to hear from you! Thank you for taking the time to write.
I'm glad that you resonate with the "three bits of advice" I discuss. This tells me I'm on the right track!
So good to hear how a seasoned pastor like yourself continues to actively learn and grow in ministry. A good example for me! Thank you!
Happy Easter!
--Leon
Posted in: The Stewardship Series
Hi Melissa,
I'm encouraged by your focus on stewardship. This Sunday we'll be completing a three-week stewarship series developed by Robert Heerspink, called "The Joy of Generosity" (Reformed Worship, March 2001), which has been helpful. Yes, it's interesting how infrequent we talk about this subject. And I'm also guilty of avoiding it. But as one author reminded me recently, giving is data that must be analyzed. If nothing else, this study has challenged me to give more, which is a good thing!
With Gratitude,
Leon H. Johnston
Wolf Creek Community Church
Posted in: Do We Have to Vacate?
Hi Chris,
Thank you for this blog post. I like your angle. We too "vacate" a bit during the summer, as we love to go camping and visit family. But like you suggest, I'm trying to take more "Sabbath" during my vacation. Slowing things down, reading more, spending more time in quiet. We also spend considerable time in our backyard, working in the garden, but also spending time in solitude and silence, in God's creation. But as much as we enjoy staying home during summer holiday time, we've also learned to get a way a bit, as you'll know that when a pastor is home, he is "on-call."
May the Lord bless our Summer-Sabbath breaks!
--Leon
Posted in: Recalculating! Recalculating!
Hello Jolanda,
Thank you for writing yet another interesting and encouraging article about the teaching ministry.
I agree: January is a good time to make course corrections--to learn from the first "semester" of Sunday School and improve things for the second "semester."
May the Lord continue to bless our Sunday School teachers and students.
And may he also bless your teaching ministry!
Leon
Posted in: Getting Started with Twitter
Hi Jerod.
Thank you for writing this helpful blog post on getting started on Twitter. I've been tweeting for about a year now. I really enjoy it! I like your angle on service/mission. How can I serve/encourage others and proclaim the Good News through Twitter? I'm still thinking about that. For now, I like to post a #verseoftheday and also reveal (in appropriate ways) the life of a local church pastor. Anyway, thanks for giving me some things to think about regarding social media. Peace to you!
--Leon H. Johnston
Posted in: Getting Started with Twitter
For anyone who wants to learn more about how to use Twitter, I would suggest reading Claire Diaz-Ortiz's book, Twitter for Good. It is especially helpful for organizations who want to tweet, but also helpful for individuals. I will likely refer back to it occassionally as a reference tool as I seek to #twitter4good.
--Leon H. Johnston