Even Justice For An Enemy

There has been a lot said in the media about Omar Kadhr since his $10.5 million dollar settlement with the Federal government was announced earlier this month and not all of it was true. As John Oliver says, "memes aren't facts." You need to be careful who you listen to, so consider the following summary …

Attending a Church With 50 Members is Good For You (You Just Don't Realize It)

If you talk to church leaders – it won't matter what tribe you ask – they will likely tell you that attendance is down in their local congregation. Very few churches these days report numerical growth and many are in steady decline. That's bad news right? The problem with this issue is that there is …

A Distracted Mind

This week I've been learning about Spiritual Reflection at a one week intensive course at Lipscomb University. We talked about a study done by two Harvard researchers who wanted to track the connection between where your attention was focused, and how happy you were. So they developed an iPhone app that contacted 2,250 volunteers at …

Beyond Betrayal

"Hosea and Gomer" by Cody Miller. Hosea 3:1-5 1 The Lord said to me, “Go, love your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen …

Why Christmas is a Good Time to Grieve

I won’t be trite or fancy with this topic because there are many people I know and love that have a tough road to walk at Christmas time. What I mean by the title is this: the Christmas story, properly understood, is a great comfort to those who are grieving. Blogger Jon Bloom puts it …

What Fresh Water Means

I read an interesting article today by Craig and Marc Kielburger in the Globe and Mail.  The two brothers have been social activists since they were 12 years old, co-founders of Save the Children and were the ones that came up with the "Me to We" campaign.  Every elementary school I know of has a …

Adding Silence to your Prayer Life

I remember a summer camp skit I saw years ago where a family was gathered watching TV and one kid got up and said, "I'm heading off to pray, anybody need anything?" I think we all appreciate that prayer is not just the practice of asking God for stuff.  Prayer is about expressing concerns and …

Being an Agent of Hope

I read sobering article in the Globe today by Richard Wagamese.  He is a author and journalist who was born and raised a member of the Wabasseemoong First Nation in Northern Ontario. He wrote in The Globe about his struggle to run  a story telling workshop for teens in a Northern BC reserve.  He found …

A Webinar on Sabbath Rest

A post for my preacher buddies. What an awesome age we live in!  We don't have flying cars or robots that make supper but technology has brought some amazing blessings that can be used for ministry. I attended an online conference this morning (right from my desk) that was hosted by Forge Canada, a missional …

21st Century Hymns

One of the benefits of setting up the PowerPoint for worship on Sunday is you often have to type the words to the songs into the computer. I have often found a profound sermon hidden in the words of a hymn we will sing (often more profound than the sermon I was going to preach). …