I am a Retired Pastor. Presently serving as Synodical Deupty (CAN). I authored the book Guiding the Faith Journey. Previously, I have served congregations in Calgary, AB and Sarnia, ON, and Lacombe, AB.
This webinar will explore the way habits have power over the church organization and suggest some key habits that are faithful to our tradition and transformative to the church culture.
Funerals, like weddings, are family matters. So says, the church order. But it is never so simple. Families are part of communities. We come together, usually in church, to remember a person and comfort each other in the light of the good news of Christ...
In this webinar we'll introduce the basics of how to discern vision and organizational identity, when the church becomes dysfunctional and how to grow our capacity as leaders and nurture our spiritual life.
Today, I retire from writing this blog. The regular writing and posting has been demanding. And yet the simple exercise of writing a few words has forced me to give attention to passing thoughts and deepen my reflections. For this I am grateful. That some took time to read these thoughts humbles me.
Good daily habits are harder to maintain in a disruptive culture. The daily habit of Prayer and scripture reading at the table ... The weekly habit of church attendance ...Yet good habits are essential for the good Kingdom orientated life.
When looking for solutions to problems, the cross and the resurrection aren’t the pragmatic solutions we are looking for. It does not put food on our table, get our loved ones out of the hospital, pay our bills or get us to work on time... And yet, God sent Jesus into the world to the cross
Two words commonly used among God’s people are forgiveness and repentance.... Yet in my pastoral work, it seems to me that these are two practices that people often acknowledge are most difficult.
You won’t find Community Developer in the ordination form. Yet as I listen to cultural critics, spiritual directors and numerous other thoughtful people about personal growth there is a persistent reference to role of community.
Recently I read about Circles of Support and Accountability that helped many sexual offenders as they transitioned out of prison and into our neighbourhoods. It got me thinking not just about this particular engagement as a way of serving Christ in the neighbourhood, but more generally about discipleship.
It occurred to me that perhaps one way of training elders (and pastors) in the work of pastoral care is to encourage the memorizations of the psalms. And then I wondered: if we had a program of training for elders, which psalms should be memorized?
Good Question. This is yet another example of how our lifestyle in North America was never contemplated by the framers of the church order. I appreciate that they wish to have committed...
Back from Vacation so now comes a belated reply. I don't make excuses but I do want to understand and be fair. I hope I accept people as created and loved by God... loved enough so that Jesus...
Glad to elaborate.
First, let me assume that you agree with the position of Synod ’73. Synod ’73 said that there was a difference between feelings of sexual attraction to the...
Hi Steve, I noticed this article from the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Not so long ago they adopted a policy that allowed for elders serviingfor a term rather than for life. In this article...
Hi Ted, here are some suggestions:
First, if there is dirty laundry to deal with, it is usually a good idea to engage in some process to deal with these matters. Often times a good...
the overture was referred back to the committee to deal with a number of questions. It will be brought back to Classis at the March meeting.
Neil
Hi Ted, thanks for your question. I think it would help to give a little more detail about your story. I am sure others are experiencing or have experienced something similar and would love to...
We have been robbed twice. Once just the car was broken into and some electronics were stolen. The other time a person entered our home when we were deep asleep walked past our bedroom, took...
The lack of response says much. The models we celebrate are really quite few. I commend you for the teaching you have done.
Just recently I was reading about how in our culture many...
Hi Al,
seems like there are few good suggestions to help you. I suppose in part this is because so many details are missing. Generalized solutions to particular problems will often...