An ever-increasing topic of conversation in the church is “How do we lead the church into an age that is increasingly secular?” Historically, it seemed a given that Christianity had a place at the table in society. But now, Christians find themselves in a minority, no longer at the front of the line.
On March 19–20, Steinbach Bible College held its annual Leadership Conference where speaker Dr. Gordon T. Smith addressed the topic: “The Soul Care of Christian Leaders in the Secular Age.” Throughout the conference he wisely challenged us to see this secular age in a different light. Continue reading SBC Leadership Conference 2021→
Particularly, I’ve wondered about the shock experienced by the earthworm that was stretched end to end by the inquisitive fingers of my five-year-old in our garden a few weeks ago. Or the one that was scooped from the familiarity of the strawberry patch by a red plastic shovel and abruptly expelled from the garden. Would it ever find its way back? Or did it even care, simply grateful that the sharp beak of a hungry robin hadn’t carried it away?
Often in life the things that we focus on are not the most helpful things. In the midst of conflict this happens frequently and is extremely difficult to avoid.
There are three notable things that are helpful to differentiate when we are seeking to make peace with someone. The first is the words or actions that are the source of the conflict. The second are the motives behind those words or actions, and the third is the impact of those words/actions. Continue reading How Dare You Break My Mug!→
As an informal practice, The Messenger has avoided publishing Mother’s Day articles as it’s a cultural occasion rather than a holiday according to the Christian calendar. However, as the day falls on a Sunday, most churches use Mother’s Day as a way to acknowledge the contributions of women (whether mothers or not). Continue reading A Pandemic Mother’s Day→
GT: I’m Erica Fehr; I’m EMC communications coordinator and I’m talking today with the Mount Salem leadership team. Albert Loewen is Lead Pastor, Patrick Stanat is Youth and Young Adult Pastor and Jennifer Loewen is Children’s Pastor. We’re going to be talking today about safety and a core question is on whether our culture’s increasing focus on safety has actually created greater safety, created a sense of safety, or has it actually done the opposite and created a sense of risk and danger and fear—and how does that affect church ministry? Continue reading Do Safety Measures Keep Us Safe?→
Safety has been a divisive question during this pandemic. We have also heard much about clergy sexual abuse recently—again. The grim recurrence of these headlines confirms again what the church should have known: loving and protecting the vulnerable is part of the essence of biblical faith. Is this possibly the harshest thing Jesus ever said? “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). No one can read that without sensing that Jesus had a gut-level, mama-bear instinct to protect the vulnerable rooted in the ancient Israelite concern for the orphan, widow and alien. Continue reading Love is More than Safety→
Green is the colour of summer. Look around. You will see green everywhere. Look up into the trees, a canopy, or cover of leaves shades you from the hot sun. Look down at the green grass soft and cool under your feet. Look at the garden filled with growing green vegetables, and each growing flower that has lush green leaves accompanying it. Plants and flowers need green leaves in order to live.
Our conference is engaged in numerous Canadian church planting initiatives among recent immigrants. For many of us, we are already fourth or fifth generation immigrants, pointing back to the late 19th century when our ancestors arrived. Continue reading The Great and Creative Commission→
Central Asia—We love the Evangelical Mennonite Conference! We value the connections we have made over the years in the EMC. We appreciate the staff and the leaders and the members from so many different backgrounds. And so, when we started the process of moving into a new ministry overseas, we knew we wanted to keep connected with the EMC. Continue reading Why Associate as an Associate?→
We have all experienced it. We trusted someone, believed in them, and made ourselves vulnerable in some way to their choices—and they let us down. This, of course, is painful. When it happens enough times, or when the pain is severe enough, it causes us to question whether we can even continue having this relationship. Continue reading When Trust Was Broken→
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