By Professor Andrew Dyck
As a boy, I picked raspberries for several summers. Whenever I had filled a flat with fruit, the farmer would weigh it on a balance scale to discern two truths: the truth of how much I had picked and the truth that I had not hidden rocks or dirt clods under the berries. The pointer or tongue of the scale pointed out the truth of my berries’ mass. In Latin, the tongue on a scale is its examen. Continue reading Examine the Day
Discussion and Discernment
by Bruce Hamsher
I still remember today what recess felt like when I was in the third grade. That year the game was kickball.
More pointedly, I remember the awesome red ball we used. It was the kind of ball which was somewhat solid, yet spongy enough that when it hit that sweet spot on your foot, it seemed to soar in the air for a mile. I also vividly remember the classmate who never thought he was out. (You probably remember this guy too. Every class had one.) Continue reading Kickball and Peacemaking
by Pastor Andy Woodworth
There is a short Old Testament phrase that I have found intriguing during these past weeks of this global pandemic. It is used by people like Joshua, Gideon, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel when they simply reached the place where they perceived things had become hopeless. Tired, frustrated, and out of ideas as to how to resolve their respective crisis situations, they threw up their arms and exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord!”
This word alas is less of a word and more of a sound or cry of exasperation. I would call it the sound of despair. The sound of hopelessness. Continue reading The Path of Hope
By Ken Zacharias and Brad Brandt
Paraguay is not a strong tourist destination. It is often overshadowed by surrounding, bigger, and more noteworthy countries when describing beauty, progress and peoples. It is a landlocked country with just over seven million people and where 90 percent of the population speak Guarani as well as Spanish. Continue reading Paraguay: Old News? Not When Christ is at Work in New Ways!
By James Driedger
The apostle Paul figured he could be “all things to all people” (1 Cor. 9:22). So, who is Paul for the EM Conference today and in its mission to advance Christ’s kingdom culture? Continue reading ‘Accept One Another’
By a Missionary
Dear EMC family,
These unusual times, combined with an online course on missionary care I’ve been taking during lock-down in Eastern Europe, have meant a lot of introspection. This introspection has included thinking about what EMC has done well in the course of our 20-plus years as overseas workers. Thus, this letter: I wanted to take a moment to thank you for these things, with a few other suggestions sprinkled in. Continue reading To My EMC Family: Thank You and a Few Suggestions
By Sarah Barkman
I am a turtle. Not literally, of course, but when it comes to tough stuff my default response is to hide inside my shell. The world is a very tough place, full of hurt, grief, evil, discomfort and conflict. So, I have made a nice home for myself inside my shell. It is comfortable and safe where no one can bother me. Continue reading Let’s Talk
by the Inspiring Partnership in Ministry Task Force
In 2016 the General Board undertook to collect data and opinions from all EMC church leaderships regarding their views and practices pertaining to “women in leadership” in their local churches. Following this process there was an open discussion at the 2017 Conference Council meeting where the details of this survey were presented, and small discussion groups helped to formulate a plan for a process of healthy discussion regarding this topic. The second priority listed by these discussion groups was to: “Determine what fears people have regarding women in ministry and create forums for these fears to be expressed.” Continue reading Women in Leadership: Hearing Fears and Offering Thoughts
Convention 2019 Four of Four
by Layton Friesen
To be simply Christian is to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. This is a great mystery. Your congregation is the Church. The EMC is the Church. The Church is the global body of believers. The Church includes both the earthly Church and the heavenly Church worshipping God as one in Christ. Let’s look at the Church from two views: the Church wide and the Church narrow. Continue reading The Church Wide and the Church Narrow
Convention 2019 Three of Four
by Layon Friesen
We often hear that the Bible divides the Church. Christians around the world can’t agree on when to baptize their children, on whether Christians should go to war, on women in ministry, on divine sovereignty, on the place of the pope, on what the Lord’s Supper means, or on how sinful we are actually. We can’t even quite agree on what books should be in the Bible. Continue reading What It Means to Read the Bible like the Apostles
