RE: Rescuing worship

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Micheal Krahn’s insightful essay makes a crucial distinction between music and worship. After decades in Anglican liturgical worship I have spent the past decade in United and Congregational Churches. I notice how much more the liturgical traditions involve the laity in participatory (non-musical) worship. The Collects, Creeds, General Confession, Psalms, readings from both Testaments and the carefully crafted Great Thanksgiving before the Eucharist, and prayers after it, provide all participants with enhanced opportunity to worship God.By contrast, all that is available to Protestants is two or three songs; an address terminated by another song or two and it’s done until next week.

Bert Hopkins
Ottawa, ON

RE: Rescuing worship

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

This article struck a responsive chord with me. It leads me to think how uncomfortable I am with signs outside many churches announcing "Worship at 10:30", or something similar. Surely, worship is only part of our service. There's also Prayers of the People, Preaching, Announcements, Sharing and Fellowship, etc. Some will come, not ready to worship, for various reasons, and yet we still want them to be there. So this is another way in which the term "worship" is used unwisely, and leads to a shallow understanding of the concept. I appreciate your columnist for making us do some soul-searching on this topic.

John Gibson
Seagrave, ON

RE: Rescuing worship

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Excellent article by Michael Krahn. I have long believed that we are restricting the term “worship” to the musical performance or concert which occurs in many of our churches, particularly the charismatic and evangelical ones. Our lives as Christians are to be worship to God. All that we do, say, think and influence should be immersed in the idea of adoring, loving and praising our God and Father.
We too easily get caught up in word descriptors and it can be like moving a mountain to change our thinking. Thanks to Michael for challenging what has become an unquestioned, and unexamined, tradition in our churches.

William Hart
Dauphin, MB

RE: Rescuing worship

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Thanks for the great reminder. This continues to be an important discussion for the church. To the model of the rock concert, we could add the model of the theatre, as not necessarily the best [model] for worship. I also like Driscoll's definition of worship.

Dale Dirksen
Saskatoon, SK

RE: Lord, have mercy!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Your message really touched a chord in my heart. I have sent your message to many others. I was feeling and thinking and praying much along the same lines. Hang in there, I believe this moment in history will be a “transformation point” for the nation and the people of Haiti. A nation “scattered and peeled” will experience a rebirth from the ashes. That is my hope for Haiti.

James S. Eagles, president, Intercede International
Fort Erie, ON

RE: Orillia church witnesses inexplicable growth

Monday, January 18, 2010

What a powerful story of encouragement of how God has blessed the Orillia First Baptist church for doing church God's way. All is not lost.

George H. Epp
Chilliwack,BC

RE: Church forms group to support foreign caregivers

Friday, January 15, 2010

Good to see you highlighting relevant realities and solid responses from the folks at this assembly. This is Christianity--and it works!

Patty Kingsley
Bowmanville, ON

RE: Lord, have mercy!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Your thoughts echo mine as I continue to listen to the reports from Haiti, even now airing in the background as I write this. My prayer has been that those of us who are so comfortable within our fragile webs will pour out our resources and prayers and perhaps, in the end, Haiti will be in a better position physically and spiritually than it ever could have been without such a disaster. If God's people act as His hands, feet and bank account would, perhaps then all the pain and suffering will at least not be totally in vain.

Marcia Laycock
Blackfalds AB

RE: What will normal look like?

Friday, January 15, 2010

This editorial raises an issue that should resonate with all of us, not because the church balance sheet is in distress, but because the old normal of budget-line allocations has actually worked against making disciples of Jesus and has mis-directed so-called offerings away from New Testament patterns of financial stewardship.

Does every cluster of 200 believers need a separate building and complement of paid staff, and all that goes with that structure, at the typical cost of 85% plus of annual giving? How have we come to accept that God’s impact among us depends so much upon what’s in the coffers? What holds us into ways of doing church that cost so much? Any possibility that we like the safety, the predictability, the control?

What do we discern to be the fruitfulness of that old normal? Is the kingdom of God, the government of God in people's lives, growing in a way that even hints that the gospel is powerful? Do we have the reputation of "turning the world upside down"?

For the name of Christ, are those being discipled through the old normal deliberately engaging with the folks next door, in the adjacent work-station, on campus, at little-league practices? Would we characterize ourselves as people of bold abandon to whatever God speaks into our midst? Within our gatherings, how much is happening that could be attributed only to the empowering and directing Spirit of God? Or can most of it be credited to planning, routines and expertise—the old normal?

Perhaps there is more than a chuckle delivered by the cartoon next to this editorial: a pastor towing pulpit and electric guitar (symbols of lecture-style discipling and scripted worship) into the pawn shop in order to supplement the diminished tithes. Could there be a prophetic voice there, giving us an opportunity to have our collective spiritual imagination stirred? Could we be reckless enough to consider what it would look like if God were to build His church without our buildings, programs and specialized staff—in short, using only what He started His church with?

Jim London
Virgil, ON

RE: Haitians in Montreal wait and pray

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Great story! For Canadians who want to help out, the best way to read about the efforts of Samaritan's Purse Canada is to check out www.samaritanspurse.ca

Frank King
Calgary, AB

RE: Lord, have mercy!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Wonderful touching article. Indeed, Lord have mercy on the people in Haiti.

Janice Glatz
Winnipeg, MB

RE: An opportunity for the Church to lead

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Thank you for printing Dave Toycen’s call to action on child health and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As Toycen points out, 2010 is a year of unprecedented opportunity for Canadian Christians to collectively advocate for the end of global poverty, as the international spotlight is shed on us with the Olympics and the G8/G20 Summits.

God’s heart for the poor, the orphaned and the oppressed is so clear throughout Scripture. Let us be people who communicate that heart this year, and who hold our government accountable to the commitments they made to the poor when they signed on to the MDGs in 2000. At that time, the leaders of 193 nations declared that they would “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” Should we not take on that same challenge?

Robyn Bright, national coordinator, Micah Challenge Canada
Ottawa, ON

RE: Human trafficking bill stalled in the Senate

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

It's a sad commentary on our society that no such bill has passed into law to date and that our unelected Liberal dominated senate can stall it now. Hopefully this case can yet serve to encourage some meaningful senate reform when parliament resumes in March.
These children deserve our protection. Failure to provide such yet again demonstrates the need to improve our democracy.

Al Hiebert
Steinbach, MB

RE: Party soldiers on despite scant support

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The article stated that Canadians have a scant interest in this party's platform. I don't think it's a lack of interest, but lack of knowledge of the existence of the CHP, and for some who do know of it, apathy.

Many people are willing to start new churches from the ground up, yet expect a political party to be fully grown before supporting it. This is not the right approach. I'm sure that many readers of ChristianWeek would support a political party like CHP, but they need to become members and take the time to grow and develop the party. This includes building Electorial District Associations (EDAs) in their local ridings.

It is a waste of time and money to support a political party that may be "more established" if they do not support the views that you care about. (Don't forget that the Conservative Party gave $400,000 to a gay pride group).

Don't refuse to support CHP because of our small size. If you like the platform that the CHP supports, then I invite you to join us and help us become the large party that we should be.

Mark Price
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Couple to bring child sex slavery issues to light

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I am a part of YWAM (Youth With a Mission). God has been impressing on my heart to get involved with different social justices around the world. I was moved by this article about the child sex slavery. Thank you for what you are doing to bring the light of Christ to these dark places. I pray that I will someday be able to join a ministry such as this.

Aaron Cieply
Newton, MA

RE: Former MP finds blessing in charity work

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I was disappointed in your naming the churches with whom former MP Jake Epp had difficulties. I consider this poor journalism on the part of a Christian publication.

Esther Quiring
Winkler, MB

RE: Christian clubs on campus

Monday, January 4, 2010

I am not a religious person at all, but I am an alumnus of the University of Winnipeg. It is noteworthy that our Canadian colleges and universities have always had religious clubs available for those interested. This is freedom as it was meant to be, and is in sharp contrast to American colleges, where the establishment of such clubs is always a contentious issue.

Hugh (Bart) Vincelette
Vancouver, BC

RE: Kairos' funding cut, no explanation

Monday, January 4, 2010

CIDA’s withdrawal of funding from Kairos is a very sad case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. But there is an explanation. Mary Corkery says, “We fit the long term overall priorities that CIDA needs to carry out.” A good deal of the problem is distilled in this statement. There is a gaping and growing difference of opinion in what the priorities ought to be and how they ought to be addressed in the field of world development. Like so many para-church organizations and mainline Christian denominations, Kairos has been hijacked by an ultra-liberal feminist agenda which redefines justice and seeks to impose that definition upon the rest of humanity. In its choice and implementation of programs, Kairos has finally drifted too far away from both its own mandate and that of CIDA. CIDA, on behalf of the government, has made a very tough but necessary decision.

Patricia Belan
Inwood, ON

RE: Organizations' Christian identity threatened

Monday, January 4, 2010

I graduated as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse, class of 1972, in Manitoba. In the ensuing years, I have earned, along with higher education, a superb reputation of which I am proud. If I had ever applied to Christian Horizons, I’d have been turned down. Period. What is significant here, and ignored by the faith-based groups, is the fact that they are funded by tax dollars. And gay Ontario residents pay taxes like anyone else. In so many other issues the religious are the first to bemoan their tax dollars being used for whatever doesn't agree with their ideology.

Hugh (Bart) Vincelette
Vancouver, BC

RE: Organizations' Christian identity threatened

Friday, January 1, 2010

While faith-based organizations have a responsibility to their donors, that responsibility is framed within the context the organization's principles and organizational by-laws, not within the context of the varied views of donors.

Donors are able and free to choose which organizations they wish to support. If they do not accept the values and principles of a particular organization, they can donate elsewhere.

This article indicates the faith-based organization is largely funded by government funds. This is a distinctly different relationship from that between an organization and donors.

However, if the funding was willingly provided in the full knowledge of the values and principles of the organization, then even the funders have tacitly given their assent. Government funders also have the freedom to choose where money will go, and can choose to support other organizations providing the services.

However, if the organization accepted funds knowing of the conditions that compromise their own principles—well, that speaks for itself. The final choice is with the organization—to live up to its principles even if it means the loss of government funding. I am confident Jesus would give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but not compromise on the principles of God.

It is not to late for the Church universal to stand up for God's truth and to put civil governments on the defensive to either do the valuable work that Christian organizations do on their behalf or to back off on challenging their faith-based values and principles.

Roy Bedford
St. Albert, AB

RE: Where are our young people?

Thursday, December 31, 2009

I am writing in response to Josh Ruth's letter to the editor. As a freelance journalist and a regular contributor to ChristianWeek, I certainly appreciate Mr. Ruth's concern about the need for open, civil debate about religion. We live in troubling times; the world is becoming dangerously popularized along religious lines. However, I respectfully suggest that Mr. Ruth is off base in his criticism of ChristianWeek. In my opinion, the piece in question was balanced and well written. And it should come as no surprise that a Christian publication offers a Christian interpretation of current events. Christian Week provides the reader with solid journalism on issues of interest to many Christians, who are often ignored by the so-called mainstream media.

In my time as a journalist, I have never allowed a source or subject to read or vet an advance copy of an article that I have written. It is the job of the journalist and his/her editor to decide what stays in the piece and what must be deleted.

Geoffrey P. Johnston
Eastern Ontario

RE: Where are our young people?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I applaud ChristianWeek for publishing an article that addresses the question of why some, namely young, people leave the church. It demonstrates an honest attempt to examine a situation that many may find uncomfortable, if not inflammatory.

I am one of the “young people” that were interviewed for the article, and it was a deliberate act on my part to speak candidly about a decision that I did not take lightly. I was the only subject who has not only stopped regularly attending church (for seemingly ambiguous reasons), but also denounced a tenet of the Christian faith—the divinity of Christ.

I was originally sent a version of the article that I thought well represented what I had to say about my experience. I am not a bitter ex-Christian, nor a backslidden drifter who left the church to lead a frivolous lifestyle. In fact, as I said in the section of the article that was ultimately cut, I often defend Christians to those who see the church community as an intolerant bunch of bigots.

That is because I still consider myself Christian in heritage. As Yann Martel writes, “I was taught to see the world through [Christian] eyes.” The fact that I no longer believe in the divinity of Christ is why I ultimately left the church, but in my opinion this sort of questioning and willingness to alter personal doctrine should be embraced in the church community. I think young people are interested in real dialogue and many of us are not willing to simply bury our heads in the sand when it comes to tough issues like the exclusivity of Christianity, homosexuality and social justice. We do not want to be judged for refusing to accept Sunday school answers on blind faith.

I raise this point because when I inquired about why a large section of my interview that was originally posted in the article had been cut, I was told “we could not give the final word to a non-Christian, when our audience is primarily Christian.”

Really? In an article about why young people are leaving the church, I think maybe you can. In fact, I think it would be considered a gracious act of openness, and would demonstrate an attempt to truly hear what is going on with “our young people,” whether nominally Christian or not.

I was disappointed by the exclusion of my thoughts because by cutting out the final part of my interview, I feel that I was characterized as someone who had simply turned from the faith, and therefore sort of invalidated. While I respect the desire to please your readership, this topic is arguably (and judging by the responses in Letters to the Editor so far) not a pleasant matter. If you want a happy ending, stick with articles about all the good stuff that the church is doing.

Josh Ruth
Winnipeg, MB

RE: "An emergency room for hurting people"

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Great new ministry ! And led by someone with such a story of her own! I know both Todd Petkau and Trevor Hutchins who are also on staff at Riverwood and totally respect their leadership. Go for it Riverwood!

Ruth Reid
Surrey, BC

RE: Orillia church witnesses inexplicable growth

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Thank you so much for that inspiring story. It truly goes to show how God moves when churches have a Kingdom mindset. Thank you and may God continue to bless your work at ChristianWeek. Keep up the good work, Doug and staff.

Marg Pollon
Calgary, AB

RE: Where are our young people?

Monday, December 21, 2009

People stop going to church because in their church they do not find “a meaningful experience and meaningful engagement.” So, why do they not go to church? Answer: the problem is the Church.

Why would anyone think that makes sense? Does this make sense? People stop eating because the food they are eating is not sufficiently nourishing.

The excuses make sense only if you too are like-mindedly ready to push the problem onto the Church, when it is a failure of individual Christians to be the Church.

Worship the God who made you with others. Don’t stop. It's basic, Biblical.

If your church is failing the gospel (does somebody know one that isn’t?) then make it answerable to the gospel so that it can be what it is supposed to be, for more people like yourself.

Edward Tingley
Ottawa, ON

RE: Prairie stays put, president leaving

Saturday, December 19, 2009

I am one of those that sighed a sigh of relief when I heard that Prairie will stay at the current campus. Priaire's history is in Three Hills and remains intact without the huge expense of moving and all the implications that come with moving.

While change is necessary at times, I believe necessary changes have been successfully been done on campus since I was there in 1970-71.

I trust the future will bear witness that not moving has been a good, sound decision.

Judith Kopchak
Rockvale, TN

RE: Church musicians urged to broaden their horizons

Friday, December 18, 2009

In my experience, local coffee house audiences will accept a performer who authentically sings from the heart about what they know, or believe - who tells of their own experiences.

Christians often have strange concepts about what comprises witnessing. When we can relax and just be who we are, without feeling like we have to "get" others to believe what we believe, we actually become a lot more attractive.

Grant Corriveau
Nanaimo, BC

RE: Compassion Canada takes Jesus mainstream

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

"So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven," (Matthew 10:32).

Thank you for being willing to stand up for truth. May God richly bless your ministry.

Grant Hutchison
Burlington, ON

RE: Ring them bells

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Rather than having our churches co-opted by global political agendas, let's think about stewardship in a disciplined and biblically warranted way. Let's approach any this-worldly 'consensus' with persistent truth-seeking rather than lazily "going along to get along."

And let's save the bell-ringing for Christmas morning.

K. Jeffrey
Ottawa, ON

RE: A day in the life

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I just wanted you to know how I go through my ChristianWeek every time it arrives in my mailbox: with a highlighter pen. I read each article and at the top mark the name of people I can share it with. I then photocopy it, underline the key parts that caught my attention and put it somewhere where he/she will read it.

In this way your paper has enabled me to share carefully considered Christian thinking and well-worded articles with people who have faith ranging from moderate to none. It sometimes provokes discussion, and sometimes doesn't, but I have never had anyone ask me to stop giving them these articles to read.

Often I find that when I have been praying for a specific neighbour or colleague, an article will 'surface' that somehow makes me think of that person or a conversation we have had. Coincidence? Not likely. "God is not willing that any should perish," so I know that this is one way He uses to answer my prayer and give nominal or non-believers (and sometimes even believers) a nudge toward greater faith in Him.

Allow me to use this platform to thank all of your contributors. As a subscriber, I enjoy the topics you write about, but it may be news to you to realize how far-reaching your thoughts actually are.

Yvonne Breg
Shanty Bay, ON

RE: Chavez attacks Venezuelan churches

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Any and every religious and political movement has its difficulties and problems. It's doubtful that many people outside of Venezuela put Hugo Chavez on a pedestal. He has enacted many social and economic changes, benefiting the poorest of his country's poor, but his rhetoric against American policy, in particular, does not enhance his overall credibility.

Does the writer of this piece mean to suggest that Catholic or other churches should not be criticized by political leaders? Is turn about not fair play when the church is on the receiving side of criticism?

Latin America's history is rife with all kinds of political and economic manipulation and abuse, often with full knowledge, blessing, and even participation by the church. It may not be as difficult to rationalize what some consider extreme behaviour against the church, just like the church rationalizes extreme behaviour against the state, when the shoe is on the other foot.

Interestingly, it seems rightist political leaders are often considered "reformers" by the "mainstream" church, whereas leftist ones are "socialists", which is church code for "evil." Talk about a link of church and politics! If the Reformed Catholic Church or liberation theologians are considered "politically radical," perhaps it is equally accurate to refer to more "mainstream" church and political organizations as alliances colluding for power and money.

Are we really surprised that an American religious group would attack a Latin American socialist leader who is vocally critical of U.S. policy? The ACN's church is decidedly not the "only moral authority" in Venezuela any more than it or any other church is the "only moral authority" in any other nation.

Tim Thiessen
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Prairie stays put, president leaving

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The facts are stated clearly, but the reports and analysis of opinions about it are heavily biased. Those of us on staff and in the town who opposed the move come off badly. It appears that the board gave in to our blind pressure, that John Ohlhauser attempted to ask the right questions and be a "change agent," and that, in Tim Callaway’s words, it was our "very deep-seated resistance to change" which torpedoed the move and the president. That resistance, he says, "could come back to haunt" PBI.

With all due respect to Callaway, his analysis is wrong. The school and atmosphere he describes may have existed in the 1970s when he was here; not now. Since Ohlhauser became president, PBI has closed its graduate school, released its entire general division, started the first Christian vocational college in Canada, hived off a mission aviation school, knocked down a dozen buildings, built a new administration centre, gotten its first transfer agreements with a provincial university and revamped the entire Bible college curriculum twice. These are only highlights. What other Christian institution in Canada has gone through such radical change in the same period?

PBI’s staff and culture are not "resistant to change"; we are not backing away from the "Crucified Life" and from going wherever God calls us to go. But we want to make sure that any proposed move is in fact God calling us. And that is why we opposed this one.

A single example. The article says that according to Ohlhauser’s analysis, "Drumheller offered more practicum placements and better growth opportunities for a technical college." In fact, PCAAT’s teaching staff carried out their own analysis which showed clearly that practicum placements would be fewer, and that the "growth opportunities" required specialized training and qualifications which would not translate easily into the ministries PCAAT students are preparing for.

A large number of considerations like this, along with many intangible factors, simply deepened and solidified the initial concerns we had about the move. If we had been convinced that Drumheller was the better place for the ministry of PBI, we could have put our energy into dealing with those concerns.

We wish Ohlhauser well. He has some outstanding gifts and has done some great things for PBI in the service of God’s kingdom. But since we now learn that he has "serious questions" about continuing the ministry in Three Hills, we are reluctantly compelled to agree that "it’s best if someone without those questions carries on." And we do feel excited about what God still has to accomplish through us here.

Douglas Lewis, registrar, Prairie Bible Institute
Three Hills, AB

RE: Ticklish times

Friday, December 4, 2009

It is indeed a sign of the times--the end times--when people are no longer willing to place their full faith in the Word of God. The lack of Bible knowledge and errant teaching allowed into the mix is noteworthy.

This is a sign of postmodernism, where subjective views override objectivity. Self is elevated above the Church.

It goes together with the huge swing to "tolerance" that has swept Canada over the last 20 years. Tolerance for all other people's views to a fault. Truth is not subjective, it is absolute. God is not tolerant. He is jealous, loving, just, holy, etc. He does not close one eye to unholy living, or to other views/gods. Mixing popular secular/politically correct thoughts with God's Word does not work. At least not to a holy, just, jealous, and yes, loving God. And it should not be our mix either.

Jon Peters
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Season of waiting

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Loved your article. I grew up in a very traditional Mennonite church
which followed the church calendar.

Later, living in a small town, we attended a United Church for the first time. Here there was even more emphasis, with the minister changing the color of his stole and discussing the colors with the children, etc.

At present we have been attending the evangelical church just across the street from us. There is much we appreciate about this church, but I deeply miss the emphasis on the church calendar,
with only Christmas and Easter being mentioned.

Selma Pauls
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Where are our young people?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

This article brought tears to my eyes. My heart is broken by what I feel is the failure of my generation (Baby Boomers) to be honest about our own faith journeys and to invite the next generation to walk with us on that journey. I totally agree with Kathy's comments that they want to engage. I am encouraged that we are at least asking them why they have left. We can learn from them and perhaps begin to travel together from where they are on the route.

Eleanor Shepherd
Pointe Claire, QC

RE: Prairie stays put, president leaving

Monday, November 30, 2009

I went to my High School 50 year anniversary and was so disappointed to find so much changed. Music was gone, missions couldn't really be found and the Maxwell Tabernacle was soon gone. What really upset me was that the whole focus of the school had changed, and I made up my mind I would not come to Prairie again. I may change my mind since the president is leaving and maybe the board will bring someone to run Prairie who graduated from there and will uphold the old values that the school with Mr. Maxwell held dear. I saw Mr Maxwell in action on the train once, with his Bible under his arm going through the train. He smiled at me and said " I am going fishing." That is what the school is all about.

I know change is necessary but when the steam tunnels were gone and the farm was gone and property sold...it just seemed like Prairie was falling apart in front of my eyes and I felt such a loss and mourned the loss. Hope to hear more about the students who are following the Lord in ministry. I might change my mind about supporting the school. I loved my seven years at Prairie. I grew up there and came to know the Lord better and found my husband there even though I wasn't looking for him. I graduated from the high school in 1955 and the Bible School in 1959.

Lillian Evans Baker
Ritzville, Washington

RE: Prairie stays put, president leaving

Monday, November 30, 2009

Did you hear the strange sound coming from all corners of the globe on Saturday, October 24? It was the collective sigh of relief emanating from hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Prairie Bible Institute alumni when we heard the welcome news that our beloved alma mater would be staying in Three Hills instead of moving to Drumheller.

Thank you for your article, which helped me to understand the current president's thinking. I must disagree with my friend Tim Callaway's depiction of Prairie as a place that has "a very deep-seated resistance to change ... that could come back to haunt them." I think the concern of the alumni that I know, was that so many changes have been made already that the next change would be "throwing the baby out with the bathwater,"--the baby being the core values of the school.

My prayer now for Prairie -- a place I left 25 years ago but which had an indelible effect on my life -- is that it will prosper and grow as it returns to the principles upon which it was founded in 1922. I trust that as Prairie does so, it will be restored to its former place as one of the foremost schools in North America for the preparation of pastors, teachers and missionaries.

Enid Sanford
Edinburg, Texas

RE: Where are our young people?

Monday, November 30, 2009

My heart goes out the young people whose estrangement from the church is chronicled in this article. It is hard for me to imagine a Christian believer arriving at such a state of indifference regarding whether or not to have regular fellowship with a like-minded local body of believers.

Such a state is certainly not anticipated in the teachings of the New Testament. At the moment we recognize we are poor lost sinners for whom Christ died and repent and receive Him as our Saviour, we are spiritually reborn and become children of God. Simultaneously we become members of His body the Church, the family of God. This kinship draws us together in love, praise, worship, witness and discipleship.

The apostle Paul makes this unity/diversity structure of the Church clear as follows: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:4-5). And again, "From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself in love as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16). We need one another.

Regarding the witness of the Church to a watching world, Jesus taught, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Professed faith that does not issue in mutual love and Christian fellowship, if not in doubt, is at least an anomaly. It is unknown in the teachings of the New Testament.

Bert Warden
Abbotsford, BC

RE: Bible humour: it happened in the bathroom

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Rob Alloway clearly had a lot of fun writing this column. Congratulations on another very fine piece of writing!

Paula Thomas
Toronto, ON

RE: Mother speaks out 20 years after Montreal massacre

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Wow! Thank you for sharing Monique Lepine's story.

Don James
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Orthodox Anglicans sign constitution for new province

Thursday, November 26, 2009

"For liberal or inclusive Anglicans, there is the Anglican Church of Canada. But for conservative or orthodox Anglicans there is now the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)."

I take issue with Frank Stirk's implication (intentional or not) that liberal and inclusive Anglicans are not orthodox. I, and many other Anglicans, would consider ourselves to be both inclusive and orthodox, holding to the faith expressed and defined in the historic Christian creeds while maintaining open minds and hearts on issues facing the contemporary church.

There has been too much infighting, divisiveness and rancour within the global Anglican communion (primarily over one issue), in recent years. Comments like these by Mr. Stirk do nothing to alleviate this, and in fact have quite the opposite effect.

Steven Thiessen
Winnipeg, MB

RE: "Urban Saint" story released

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Excellent article on this "saint that walked among us." I knew Harry [Lehotsky] and his ministry qualities and heart. What people don't know is how he challenged each and every one of us to become better people--to look after one another, regardless of their lot in life.

The Catholics have the monopoly on "sainthood." I hope they might reconsider a Baptist!

I'll be buying copies of the book for Christmas presents for friends and family members.

Dan Palsson
Portage la Prairie, MB

RE: Does God listen to drunk prayers?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Wow, this is an amazing and powerful story. Thanks for sharing it, Tim.

Frank King
Calgary, AB

RE: Ticklish times

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

How disappointing, sad and scary to read Doug Koop's editorial endorsement of Phyllis Tickle's position relating to the emerging church. To hear that "Our Holy Book no longer carries the full weight of authority typically accorded it" should have elicited censure from Koop, not "that's tough to hear."

One is left to wonder what "new locus of primary authority will come to the fore a hundred years from now." Whatever that form is, we know will be man-made and therefore totally non-authoritative.

We Christians are staggered to hear Koop say "we have never been able to base our lives and beliefs on definitive certainties." Hebrews 6:15-20 speaks of God's Word, given with His oath, as an anchor for our souls. Matthew 5:17-19 gives us Jesus' pledge that His Word will never pass away. This Word He gives to His disciples as truth by which alone they can be sanctified (John 17:14-19).

It seems sadly ironic that Tickle's surname fits so well with the apostle Paul's warning to Timothy that there will be those who "will not endure sound doctrine, but want their ears to be tickled." Koop writes: "Tickling may not be comfortable, but neither is it deadly." In this case it surely is, and nobody's laughing.

Robert Lively
Parkhill, ON

RE: 100 Huntley Street hosts still lying low

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Thank you for the two stories (Sept.15 and Oct.1) on the Mainse brothers. The process of discipline and their subsequent restoration would be meaningfully welcome. There are two other areas that Crossroads would do well to pay attention to:

1) Talking a bit less about themselves and the longevity and efficacy of on-the-air programs. Proverbs 27:2.

2) 100 Huntley Street should also rethink the periodic TV fundraising techniques they undertake. The auctioneering-type publicity on air does not exactly lend credence to another scriptural passage: 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Narayan Mitra
Kamloops, BC

RE: Where are our young people?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I have grown up in the church, so to speak, and have never felt like leaving it. The reason is because I do believe the central teaching of the church, namely that Jesus Christ is God's Son and came into the world to remove the sin that separated humans from God. This belief is central to my faith and going to, or being part of the church undergirds that belief.

It is very helpful to me to know and understand the reasons young people give for not attending church services. Thanks for publishing your article.

Jake Harms
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Church welcomes gifts of the disabled

Monday, November 16, 2009

First off, let me say that pastor Robert Gagnon is an awesome man. I know that because he is my big brother. It has brought me to tears to hear that someone could be so hateful to such a good man. Every one in this world is different, but they all deserve a chance. He is one of God's children and God has asked him to work in the house of the Lord. Gagnon is a strong man, so if you have nothing nice to say, please say nothing.

Amanda Gagnon
Toronto, ON

RE: Rediscovering the "exponential Jesus movement"

Monday, November 16, 2009

After centuries of Christianity being the dominant religion in the western world, what has happened to the Christian Church? Has it lost its life, its essence that made it stand out to those who observed it from outside the fold?

The problem may be that the Church has been “too successful” in influencing the society of which it has been a part. Because of Christians, society has actually become more humane, more concerned with the welfare of all its members and more caring so that even society’s most “lowly” members are considered to have the same rights as its more privileged citizens.

Social responsibility has risen over the centuries so that now there no longer appears to be such a wide gap between the behaviour of the general members of society and the behavior of members of the Christian church.

In the ancient Roman times others witnessed something in the lives of Christians which made them stand out. But that awe the early Christian community drew from others does not appear to be so present now. The lives of Christians now are no longer seen as being so obviously different, so that there has been less and less impetus for individuals to seek the life Christianity offers.

In the early years of Christianity, society observed Christians acting in loving concern for their neighbors. When plagues struck, Christians did not try to escape into the hills, but remained and ministered to the sick and threatened.

How do we witness, through our actions, that Christ in our hearts can make a difference? We must re-examine our lives and go back to the strengths of the early Church. We must show our light by what we do, and that light must shine brightly enough in society to make a noticeable difference.

David Graham
Scarborough, ON

RE: Canadian team visits Mennonite colony plagued by rape

Sunday, November 15, 2009

As a Christian psychiatrist with a particular interest in post-traumatic disorders, my first intuitive response to reading the article and seeing the photo of the young men behind bars is that the whole accusation is a pack of lies, perhaps some mass hysteria to cover for some worse deed that there is no permission to talk about.

In societies where oppression and repression is the rule, lies are generated upon lies in order to keep those in power, in power.

They hung a man by his arms to get "the truth" from him? I wonder who it is that really has the truth and has to develop such lies and torture to make the lies seem like the truth?

May God give the Banmans and their team discernment and courage to expose the truth and bring God's healing!

Stewart Wakeman
Winnipeg, MB

RE: H1N1 facility opens for Winnipeg's homeless

Friday, November 6, 2009

It's wonderful to see Christians being Christ-like and doing something practical for the homeless. God bless the Salvation Army for their good works to the poor and needy!

Walter Kambulow
Burlington, ON

RE: Ticklish times

Friday, November 6, 2009

I'm sure the editorial is correct (as will probably be demonstrated by responses to it) that "many Christians—especially conservative Protestants—are dismissing the message and rejecting the messenger." Wishing it were not so, however, doesn't change the reality that I think Phyllis Tickle has accurately assessed.

Mark Galli's article, Yawning at the Word, in Christianity Today demonstrates Tickle's point for evangelical churches. Liturgical churches that insist on reading three substantial portions of Scripture and a Psalm are hearing more Scripture than many churches that talk loudly about scriptural authority.

Having attended "The Great Emergence" workshop, I was convinced by most of what Tickle said. I was, however, disappointed that the whole analysis of church history and especially the current transitional time did not take into account the huge portion of Christians in the Orthodox church. It also seemed more relevant to North America and Europe than to the Global South, where the centre of gravity of Christianity has now moved. I would like to know whether the shift she describes is happening outside of what she calls the Latin church in the Global North.

Dan Nighswander
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Ticklish times

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Thank you for this Doug. And thank you Phyllis Tickle. Ecclesia semper reformanda.

Colleen Peters
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Ticklish times

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Thanks for the piece. I think Phyllis Tickle is describing a real shift for one segment of the Church, which you rightfully describe as "many Christian believers in conservative Protestant congregations." It's less disconcerting for others, and hardly a societal shift as she seems to suggest. I would suggest that the perceived challenge to some of the authority of Scripture is a piece of a greater societal shift that includes deconstruction of institutions and their authority. But if Tickle is suggesting that a shift from sola scriptura will change society, I think she's giving the conservative Protestant Christian church far more influence than they have in western society.

Tim Thiessen
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Ticklish times

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I didn't hear Phyllis Tickle, nor have I read her book, but a good number of people from our church went, and I've also read quite a bit about her thesis. I enjoyed your summary of the day and her work. I like your line about each epoch having its "rough spots and benevolences." And I resonate with that sense of hope that pervades Tickle's work and your piece. We're part of a much wider cultural context; we simply can't help shifting in many ways, and of course the currents we're in provide their challenges. But it's never ultimately about us, is it, or what we manage to do? God, who got the incarnation right that first Christmas in Bethlehem, continues to get it right in every subsequent age. "I am with you always!"

Dora Dueck
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Ticklish times

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I feel devastated! I never ever thought I would read in ChristianWeek words supportive of such wishy-washy views on the authority of the Bible as those expressed by Phyllis Tickle.

Of course her caveat is that the Bible is not going away and that it is still trustworthy and it will continue to be "significantly authoritative." Well, thanks for at least that concession!

No, no. If the Bible is not indeed the very Word of God, if it is not the ultimate source of truth, then the foundations of our faith are destroyed. If I did not believe Jesus was telling the truth when He said, "I am the way, the truth and the light; no man comes unto the Father except by me," I would be lost eternally.

I think this is the second piece I have read in ChristianWeek that is partial towards Tickle. Have you published anything that calls in question her views?

In your last paragraph you state: "We live by faith, not by sight and have never been truly able to base the conduct of our lives and beliefs on definitive certainties." I think the martyrs down through the ages have had a different view. They found that the Word of God was worth dying for. Many others today around the world are finding it so as well.

I'm sorry to have to disagree with you.

Bert Warden
Abbotsford, BC

RE: Ticklish times

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I left the seminar by Phyillis Tickle very fired up and excited to love God's Word and to love the truth of God's Word. I left being more committed than ever to Sola Scriptura. I am so saddened and heartbroken that so many people, young and old alike, would see Tickle as an example. She said that anyone is arrogant to believe that Jesus is the only way to God. I guess she believes that Jesus is arrogant in what He says in John 14:6.

If this is indeed a new reformation we had better pray for people even more bold than Martin Luther who will stand up to these so-called reformers and be willing to lay down their lives for Scripture alone and for Christ alone. God's Word is still our sole authority even if the culture does not believe it is so.

Gary Smith
Landmark, MB

RE: Reformer fights failure with fury

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

While I'm inclined to agree with much of what Warren C. Smith writes in his "Lover's Quarrel" treatise, I find it's almost impossible to plant one's self totally in one camp or another.

Smith is critical of mega-churches and the "universalism" of Billy Graham's mega-evangelism of the last 50-plus years.

I find it interesting that Smith takes on Dr. Graham from the evangelist's home turf--Charlotte, North Carolina.

As a high school student in the sixties, I wrote a paper on the controversy then swirling around between the Graham organization and Bob Jones University. The approach that Billy Graham always took was not of confrontation but rather reconciliation.

The truth that the Graham legacy has imprinted on the 21st Century evangelical church is that universalism doesn't mean that everyone will eventually be saved--but rather that all nations, tongues, colors and political persuasions are welcome to come and hear the message that Jesus, the Creator's Son, died for the whole world and rose again so that all are welcome to choose whether or not to come and drink from the fountain that flows from the heart of God. All colours, economic classes, conservatives and liberals, are welcome to drink and find healing and hope through Jesus, the Way Maker.

Jim Uttley, Jr.
Winnipeg, MB

RE: The truth about sports isn't sexy

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Thanks for the informative article that introduces us to the terrible practice of human trafficking in the sex trade "industry" that takes advantage of large sporting events.

But I take exception to the statement: "And like me in 2006, millions of sportsfans around the world are about to have their eyes opened to the impurity of sports."

The disgusting practice of human trafficking does not make sport more impure. The increase in trafficking simply makes trafficking more impure.

Sport is not perfect as you state. I think many of us want sport to be last bastion of purity. Once we realize that politics, business and much of culture is corrupt we hope that our games will be the last ones to stay pure. But alas they are not. Humans are broken because of the "fall" and everything they touch becomes stained - even sport.

The true victims of trafficking are the young men and women who are bought and sold, and their families. But to a much lesser extent sport is also a victim in the tragedy. The event organizers in no way want, encourage or endorse this criminal behavior. The perpetrators are just taking advantage of the events or using their platform for their own ungodly purposes. The guilty ones are the trafficking agents and their customers, not the sport organizers or participants.

If drug deals take place on the corner beside a church, it does not make that church more impure. If criminals are selling sex near the stadium, it does not make the game more impure.

Let's join in the outcry and fight against human trafficking without implicating sport as part of the problem.

Dave Johns
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Pigeonholing evangelicals a political error

Monday, October 19, 2009

"Given the choice, many Canadians would rather eat glass than endure another useless election that will scandalously cost $300 million and likely produce another pizza-Parliament with another minority government. But common sense and politics are rarely used in the same sentence."

First of all, elections in Canada are not "useless." Every election, whether perceived in public opinion as timely or not, is an opportunity to exercise one part of the democratic process.

Second, that elections cost money to administer is not "scandalous." It is a reflection of the fact that in Canada, we value the democratic process and are prepared to make sure our elections are free, fair, and well administered. The people who work for Elections Canada perform a valuable public service, whether or not public opinion favours the timing of an election call.

I don't even know what a "pizza-Parliament" is, but Joe Couto obviously does not approve of minority Parliaments. That fact is completely irrelevant. If Canadians, in the exercise of their democratic franchise, elect a minority Parliament, it is the duty of MPs to serve the public as best they can. That Canadians have done so for...is it three, elections in a row?...may simply indicate a more deeply held view that they want political parties to learn to work together, rather than focus on polarizing and divisive tactics of the past.

Finally, if Couto has such a low regard for political involvement as to degrade it so, perhaps he should leave it alone and decline comment. Otherwise, he is merely reflecting a political view of his own, and sharing in the very process he denigrates.

Tim Thiessen
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Sri Lankan author urges less arrogant gospel

Monday, October 19, 2009

Very true. We Christians first need to ask God through His Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and love to reach out to those outside His Kingdom. Thank you, Mr.Fernando for your valuable insights.

Dinesh David
Chennai, India

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Monday, October 19, 2009

Thank you for your thoughtful article. We are very distressed by a needless death. This young fellow did not get enough support. One would have thought Pioneer should have given it.

Philip Wood
Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I feel that your article is completely without Christian compassion.

Kay Speed
Gueph, ON

RE: Nobel Committee jumps the gun

Friday, October 16, 2009

Thanks for that insightful article. I completely concur. I do believe that Barack Obama has been awarded this prestigious prize way way too soon. He has done very little thus far, and perhaps nothing to justify this hasty decision.

G. Betzold
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Nobel Committee jumps the gun

Friday, October 16, 2009

This article well written. Peace without God is certainly elusive and bound to fail. Peace will only come when the Prince of Peace is on the throne. Obama has not even begun to bring peace to the world situation. In fact, as I keep up on the American news and my contact with folk from south of the border, I believe that Obama will divide America. My American friends say America is very close to anarchy and civil war. This is very frightening. Many have placed their hopes on this man. There is already a shift in his popularity as many see the real Obama. Thankfully our hope is in the Lord not in political figures.

Hugh Hamp
Shelburne, ON

RE: Grappling with God in the wake of a son's suicide

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

God is sovereign and good. This week, God has again demonstrated to our family His sovereignty and goodness. We are the objects of his care. Note how the timing of our first grandchild’s birth redeems the day of our son's death:

Oct 6, 2008
12:30 a.m. our son Brad heads out down the train tracks.

At about 4:00 a.m. he is pronounced dead.

Just before 6:00 a.m. the police wake us up to tell us the sad news.

Oct 6, 2009
12:30 a.m. Jen and Andy (our daughter and son-in-law) head for the hospital.

At 4:16 a.m. Tikiah is born.

Just before 6:00 a.m. Jen wakes us up to tell us the good news.

God is sovereign and He is good.

P.S. Tikiah (Tiki) is named after Tiki Barber, Brad's favorite football player. For years Brad would say, "Seriously Jen, you should name your kid Tiki." Tikiah means "one who worships."

Russ Toews
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Nobel Committee jumps the gun

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It might be an impetus to help keep Barack Obama on course, having received such a widely acknowledged honour. And he did say he was going to give the money to charity, which is good.

Ruth Reid
Surrey, BC

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Friday, October 9, 2009

I appreciate the reminder, near the end of Doug Koop's article, that few of us could endure such awful media attention. In that regard, it seems that IVCF did everything possible to protect children.

But I am respectfully wondering if they and others did everything possible to protect David Dewees, himself a child of God. Did anyone discern the strong possibility of suicide? Moreover, what role might "well-meaning" Christian gossip have played in the way this story seemed to get out of hand in the media? Finally, did anyone remember to help Dewees see that a cardinal principle of God's grace is that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less?

Koop reminds us that: "It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble" (Luke 17:2). I completely agree that both the secular law and Christian principles regard the abuse of those who are legally "little ones" as abominable and punishable. However, I submit that in God's eyes we are all "little ones" in various ways.

I don't mean to accuse anyone of not providing Dewees with close support after taking all the legal and "right" actions in this case, because I don't know the details, but I do mean to raise the general and provocative question of what constitutes being a "little one" in the Kingdom of God, and how that may affect our ways of dealing with problems.

Marjorie Cooper
Lansing, Michigan

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Thanks for this story. It is a reminder about the importance of the Church defending and loving all sinners, not just those with safe sin.

Dale Dirksen
Saskatoon, SK

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Whatever the facts in this sad situation, that David Dewees felt compelled to take his own life only compounds a tragic situation.

The article reminded me of Psalm 130:3 "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" As Doug Koop so poignantly wrote: "Is there any among us who could stand unashamed under spotlight scrutiny and blazing media attention to every aspect of our life and character?"

If the charges are true, then there is no excuse for this sinful breach of trust, and yet, we must all be grateful that the final judge of all the earth will judge justly and has great mercy for those who truly repent.

David Daniels
Whitby, ON

RE: Artist preserves sacred tradition

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Someone has to preserve this historic form of art. I met the man personally; he is a man who loves his painting. I am glad to learn how it all started. Just a brush and paint. He is an amazing guy. Thanks Josiah for the article.

Erick Nduwimana
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Grappling with God in the wake of a son's suicide

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

As someone who has struggled with many of the same issues, I felt I needed to share the writings of Father Ronald Rolheiser. He makes a point of writing about suicide yearly because it is so misunderstood. I have found such comfort and compassion from his words that I can't help but feel it will bring a new level of understanding and healing to the Toews family.

Here is his website with a list of all the articles he has written on suicide.

Many blessings.

Adriana van Ineveld
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

In my opinion, David Dewees should not have been summarily dismissed from his teaching job. I have heard of many situations where professionals have committed worse deeds, including severely injuring people while driving drunk, where loss of job was not the result, let alone before conviction. I am not even sure that the police should have been notified. Not every moral transgression requires police intervention.

After all, what we have here is not a pattern of evil deeds but, as I understand it, a serious deviation from a pattern of excellent behaviour. Does reputation and a lengthy track record mean nothing? In sum, I believe that the camp authorities over-reacted and that considerable guilt should be experienced by those who played major roles in precipitating a needless death.

John H. Redekop
Abbotsford, BC

RE: Tragedy tells cautionary tale

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Accusations against someone can destroy that person's reputation, career, private and public persona. The shaming and scandalizing can never be taken back. As a consequence, that person may take their own life.

Why do adults get so publicly displayed and disgraced, even when there has been no trial? When there is a trial, the victim usually gets all the protection and none for the accused. I have seen two lives destroyed by wrongful accusations and convictions, all because the young people played the victim card and the legal system let them get away with it. Who holds them accountable? What protection can be given to any accused before there is a conviction. Why the public display and disgrace before a trial?

This sickens me. We do not live in a society with a good justice system.

Sam Buick
Waterloo, ON

RE: A near miss for the United Church

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I am appalled and offended that a writer who confesses to being a Christian could be so unjust, unloving and unintelligent in his response to the United Church's attempt at boycotting Israel.

Just because we regret past injustices, must we excuse any bad behaviour?

The Holocaust was an awful thing, but I cannot accept nor excuse the slaughter of innocent Palestinians, the mistreatment of human beings or the arrogance that many Israeli citizens and the government have about the land and people of the West Bank.

I believe Couto said it right when he said: "He didn't free the tax collector, the prostitute and the sinner to go and pick on someone else." God did not free the Jewish people from oppression only to have them oppress others.

I especially find appalling the seeming lack of research in your article. I can accept that other people have different views, but to blatantly ignore facts is sloppy journalism and an embarrassment to me as a fellow Christian.

When I visited the West Bank last month I took a photo of a family's living room that was fire bombed by Israeli settlers in Hebron. You can call them "alleged attacks", but I have seen them. I have heard people's stories; I have watched mistreatment and been powerless to stop it; I have felt the pain and persecution that Christians in the West Bank feel.

Do some research, Couto, and then maybe you can say "I'm sorry."

C. Friesen
Saskatoon, SK

RE: Renewed Islamist violence in Nigeria targets Christians

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

We are praying for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering throughout the world. Congratulations ChristianWeek on updating us with the true news.

God bless you.

Azher Kaleem, president, Tree of Life International
Pakistan

RE: Salvation Army provides concrete solutions for pressing needs

Monday, October 5, 2009

Thanks for sharing this article. We have recently moved to this community, due to my son-in-law getting work here, and have seen how devastating this is . Ive heard of young people doing two or three jobs just to pay rent. They don't think they'll be able to keep it up, they are not able to save like they thought they could.

The money appears to be in the oil fields, but not everybody wants to work there or is able to get a job there. There are so few resources here for people who come because of family, not for an oil sands job. And then, once you are here, it seems you are stuck. That is my impression.

Patricia Lalonde
Fort McMurray, AB

RE: Stay out of church, human rights tribunals

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Perhaps it is best that such a complaint comes before the HRC , as it will inevitably be dismissed, thus setting a precedence. The church cannot be compelled to choose servers at Mass that it doesn't want. That would be ludicrous. On the other hand, it is sad that the parishioners in question have such a negative and exclusionary agenda. But that is, of course, their right.

Hugh (Bart) Vincelette
Vancouver. BC

RE: Promise Keepers Canada charts independent course

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Thanks for the article. Clearly stated. I appreciate the emphasis of working with men at the local church level. The big events are good, and I hope Promise Keepers Canada will have one soon here in the west, but it is the daily, weekly encouragement and growth that men need.

I affirm Promise Keepers Canada in the direction they are heading.

Henry P. Klassen
Grond Forks, BC

RE: A near miss for the United Church

Monday, September 21, 2009

I have always enjoyed turning to Canada Today, confident that Joe Couto will have a few faith-based comments and views that invariably prod me into thinking differently about contemporary issues and my own Christian beliefs.

I regret to say, however, that his diatribe against the United Church really sent my blood pressure up.

While I am not a member of the United Church, I strongly object to Couto’s criticism that it is “open to the moral perversion of modern anti-Semitism” because it objects to the known (not “alleged”) abuses of Palestinians.

Just because the United Church (along with a healthy segment of the Canadian population) abhors the brutal excesses of the Israeli military (in Gaza for example) is no reason whatsoever to label them anti-Semitic. Is Amnesty International anti-Semitic? What about the U.N. Commission investigating Israeli war crimes during the assault on Gaza? Are they tarred with the same brush?

Couto concludes with a scathing indictment of the United Church’s theology: “a church held hostage by a godless minority…” Pretty judgmental and totally irrelevant to his accusation of anti-Semitism. Pretty unchristian too, if I may say so.

Gerald W. Hankins
Canmore, AB

RE: The B-I-B-L-E

Friday, August 28, 2009

The questions are and always have been: which Bible and whose interpretation of it? These questions make moot the notion of "infallibility."

Tim Thiessen
Winnipeg, MB

RE: Prof dares students to fast from media

Thursday, August 27, 2009

This article, coupled with the recent news reports on "multi-tasking"--usually having to do with things like computers, phones, texting, iPods, etc.--are a powerful warning to our culture on the emptiness and danger they can bring. Maybe the Amish are on to something.

Jim Church
Peace River, AB

RE: Teens to get time off to see the Dalai Lama

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Though the Dalai Lama may be a model of cheerful compassion in a situation of injustice, he believes and advocates ideas that are false and contradictory of Christian faith. Though he is not known for these beliefs, he believes there is no supreme being to whom we are ultimately accountable. This is essentially atheism, which is the worldview of secularism.

It is right for public schools to teach cheerful compassion, as the Dalai Lama does. It is wrong for public schools to teach an atheist worldview, which the Dalai Lama also does. Hence, it is inconsistent for the BC school board to encourage 18,000 school children to learn from the Dalai Lama, but not from Christian leaders about how to live in a world of peace.

As Christians we believe that peace comes from respecting that all humans are created in God's image and are sinners for whom Christ died. The Dalai Lama does not believe this. It is sadly not surprising that secular school administrators want their students to learn from thee Dalai Lama. That does not make it right.

Al Hiebert
Steinbach, MB

RE: Priesthood after politics

Thursday, August 20, 2009

It was good to see Elizabeth May reiterating her Christian faith.

I was particularly impressed with the fact that she is taking studies at St. Paul University, in partial preparation for a possible future in Christian ministry.

I would encourage her to include, in her work, some courses in conflict management. St. Paul is most well-regarded for its initiatives in that area.

May has often exhibited a pit bullish approach toward the prime minister and the current governing party.

True, she is in an adversarial political setting. But, as a Christian, she has the opportunity to exhibit a more conciliatory stance.

Indeed, she has nothing to lose by encouraging Conservatives and Liberals -- as the two largest parties -- to work together on some of the issues which are important to her.

Lloyd Mackey
Ottawa, ON

RE: Couple to bring child sex slavery issues to light

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Thank-you for bringing this issue a bit more into the light.

Lynne McIlvride Evans
Port Perry, ON

RE: Priesthood after politics

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I was thrilled to hear that Elizabeth May is a committed Christian, since I am also, and have been getting progressively more involved in supporting the Green Party. This just encourages me to keep supporting their efforts.

Ruth Reid
Surrey, BC

RE: Tattoo artists inks God's canvases

Saturday, August 15, 2009

I am really shocked at the recent article of a tattoo artist in Winnipeg. So much for guarding your eyes at this little tattoo shop. The fact that Ritson tattoos lewd images of half-naked women plus has adopted the idea that Bettie Page is eye candy is so against what God calls us to guard ourselves from. We are to be careful with our eyes, hearts and thoughts.

God commands us (doesn't ask us) to be watchful and protect our wrongful thoughts from taking over our lives. This is for our benefit so that the enemy cannot get a foothold on us and tempt us into deeper sin.

ChristianWeek puts it on the front page of their newspaper with all those lewd half naked women on the wall showing in the background. Wow, time to change the name of the newspaper to WorldlyWeak.

Proverbs 6 speaks of the dangers of adultery and describes it this way: "Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?"

Then Jesus takes adultery a step further and says in Matthew 5, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Today the harlot is our society. The programs and commercials on TV, advertising billboards, posters, movies, internet, tattoos, etc.

These are all things unto which we have to guard our eye, thoughts and heart. Praise God that the harlot will be dealt with as we read in Revelation. 18.

Also Praise God that we have Jesus to forgive us of our sins.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John, 1:9).

I cannot believe that ChristianWeek would condone this article. Obviously Christianweek is into eye candy. Maybe it helps to catch the eye of the reader by being placed on the front page, but at whose expense?

No Thanks ChristianWeek.

Curtis Kalinski
Beausejour, MB

RE: The idol of Big Government

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

While I sympathize with Joe Couto and everyone else who had to endure the recent municipal strikes in Toronto and Windsor, I do not share Couto's low opinions of unions and so-called "big government."

The right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively are hallmarks of Canadian democracy. Before Canadian workers won the right to organize in the last century, many had to toil long hours in dangerous conditions for little pay. The union movement did much to address those social ills. And it is important to remember that some Canadian churches did much to support workers in their struggle to win a "living wage." Indeed, social justice was integral to the "social gospel," which helped to establish the Canadian welfare state as we know it today.

Where would Canadians be were it not for Tommy Douglas, the legendary CCF Premier of Saskatchewan and the father of Medicare? It took the power of "big government" coupled with the vision of Douglas, a politician committed to the social gospel, to make public health care a reality.

Individualism is both important and desirable. But we must never forget that we are also members of a larger civic community that cares for one another. Unions and government help to remind us of that.

Geoffrey P. Johnston
Kingston, Ontario

RE: Years spent in gay community equips author

Monday, July 27, 2009

Re: “Years spent in gay community equips author” (June 19, 2009)
Welcome to the most neglected and misunderstood mission field in North America. A number of years ago I moved into the gay neighbourhood of Toronto, shortly after I started to attend a large evangelical church.

I still shed tears when I recall the many honest, very broken and searching men who poured out their hearts to me as the community chaplain, only later to be rebuked by an evangelical pastor with a reckless tongue and an un-Christ-like heart. Sadly, most of those men were raised in homes where the Bible was read and prayers were said.

As I minister among the growing number of homeless, a number of them tell me of their “secret sin” and are looking for a way out.

I remember going with a Christian man who was struggling with unwanted same-sex feelings to speak to an evangelical pastor who invited this man to give out condoms on the busy street with an invitation to this large church.

The successor to this pastor told another Christian brother, “Praying for your kind is useless.” Going to another evangelical church of a very different denomination, this brother was forbidden by the senior pastor to speak to anyone in this church before, during or after the worship service or using the washroom at anytime.

Over the many years I have been in urban street ministry in Denver, Chicago, Calgary and Toronto, I have found many times churches respond to the issue of homosexuality with either an angry and judgmental response or an acceptance of homosexuality.

Both are equally wrong and inaccurate representations of God’s response. Too many of us have found it is easier to see this as right versus wrong than to love them. Are we not to welcome the brother and sister but not to affirm them?

In his book Love is an Orientation, Andrew Marin seeks to build bridges between our homosexual neighbours and those who have a passion to engage them in conversations about the good news of healing in Jesus Christ.

There is much we can learn from Marin who is incarnationally present in the gay community of Boystown in Chicago.

The Bible contains a gracious word to the gay and lesbian community, giving genuine loving solutions that will bring understanding and freedom. Brian Keith Williams, founder of All Nations Church, has written the book Ministering Graciously to the Gay and Lesbian Community to educate the people who want to learn how to relate to those who are entrenched in what is called an “alternative lifestyle” to find the path of peace and freedom in the recovery of their lost soul.

It continues to be my heartfelt prayer that I may have the opportunity to reach those wounded brothers, that lasting change requires not only pointing the way, but also grabbing their hand and walking alongside. Are you ready and able to walk with me?

Al Stewart
Toronto, ON

RE: Former drug lord meets God after near-death beating

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Wow what a testimony. Praise God that He picks us up off the floor and restores us -- if only we ask.

Kimberley Payne
Millbrook, ON

RE: Former drug lord meets God after near-death beating

Friday, July 17, 2009

I had the privilege of meeting Michael at a writer's conference about a month ago. Mike reminds me once again that we serve a God who has provided a Redeemer, and if there is a breath in us (and there was only one breath left in Mike) then we stand to receive that redemption, no matter what we've done or what's been done to us.

Thank God who in his His mighty love responded to this broken little boy in a giant man's body. I am waiting with great joy and anticipation as to how Michael Bull Roberts will help others come into the freedom found only in Christ.

Michelle Sim
Oakville, ON

RE: Former drug lord meets God after near-death beating

Friday, July 17, 2009

Nice testimony Mike. May you continue to serve the one true God. You have been pulled out of the dirt that had no future, to that
wonderfull world of JESUS. All praise to HIM alone Mike!!

Diane Woudenberg
Waterdown, ON

RE: Hard times at Huntley Street

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

As an investor in Crossroads Television System and a strong supporter of Crossorads Ministries, I felt very satisfied with the letter I received from David Mainse stating that the situation is definitely one of Ron and Reynold being "duped" as you put it, not consciously aware of wrongdoing. The fact that they have stepped down from leadership until the situation is resolved seems to me evidence that there is no cover-up happening. Having been involved with the ministry for many years, I feel its integrity is well established and this storm, like so many others it has faced, will be worked through with God's help to a positive conclusion.

Ruth Reid
Surrey, BC

RE: One plain Bible please; hold the fixings

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Re: "One plain Bible, please; hold the fixings" (June 5, 2009)
I appreciate David Daniels' concern regarding all the study Bibles on the market. I agree that there are far too many people and publishers flooding the market with editions we do not need!

Having said that, can study Bibles (or those using them) confuse divine inspiration with human interpretation? Perhaps, but that can also happen simply using a Bible with no study notes. Translation itself involves interpretation; there is really no such thing as "word for word translation," since word meanings, idioms, grammar and sentence structure differ considerably from language to language. Often it is a case of choosing among several possible translations from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into English. A translation committee will tend to put its primary choice in the text, with other options in footnotes.

And often a passage can be misleading for the English reader if there is no background or explanatory information given. The meaning of a word in the original text may be broader or narrower than its closest equivalent in English. Or there may be known or suspected specialized meanings in a particular period of history. I suggest that a good study Bible is a valuable tool, but should be prepared by a team of competent scholars who are at home in the original languages.

A good study Bible will explain translation and interpretation options, cultural, historical and archaeological background, and perhaps also discuss varying interpretations of key verses on topics like baptism and the millennium, etc. Doesn't the reader have the right to know what the options are, and where those holding diverse views are coming from? That encourages thoughtful study.

So, don't be afraid to use a study Bible. Just do some careful checking before selecting one!

Vern Raaflaub, professor emeritus, Concordia Lutheran Seminary
Edmonton, AB

RE: Editor does the Write thing

Thursday, June 18, 2009

So, you're speaking on how to deliver the bad news in good taste, how to expose sin graciously, how to tell the truth in love, how to do what the Bible does so well: give the whole human goods so we are reminded of how much we need God.

Christ's church needs good writers--not verbal entertainers, but artists with an edge. Two edges.

Thanks for being such a writer. I pray for you, and now I have added reason to do so.

Bill Tuininga
Edmonton, AB

RE: Death is not a prolife answer

Friday, June 5, 2009

You handle an emotional, divisive issue with great skill and sensitivity.

When I was in my twenties, I was a nominally “pro-choice.” I was wrong. As I matured, listened, learned and lived life, I came to understand my position was morally indefensible. I recognize that in extreme medical circumstances abortion is the only option to save the mother's life, and is therefore regrettably necessary. However, as you point out, the vast majority of abortions are performed to preserve the current lifestyle of the would-be parents. Killing an unborn baby for the sake of convenience is morally repugnant.

My point is this: If I can change my mind on such an important issue, surely others can also be swayed by reasoned appeals to intellect, compassion and our better nature. The only way to change minds and effect change in a civilized society is to engage in civil, respectful debate conducted in a non-violent environment. Killing an abortion doctor is murder. Plain and simple.

When I heard the news of the brutal killing of Dr. George Tiller, my heart sank. Violence only radicalizes and divides. Jesus Christ won people to his cause with love and compassion, meeting people on their own terms. Christians need to follow his example. I pray for the unborn, but also for parents thinking of aborting the lives of their unborn kids. Thanks for tackling such a difficult issue. It takes courage to wade into this debate.

Geoffrey P. Johnston
Kingston, ON

RE: Harper needs a water pistol

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Joe Couto should stick to topics he knows something about. He knows nothing about rural life in Canada, nor use of weapons in crime, the two critical issues in the long gun registry discussion. The analogy to car registration is egregious; such registration primarily serves to protect the owner of a car, not victims of crime. Why not register knives, a weapon actually used in crime? It makes much more sense than long guns.

Police organizations have good reason to tow the activist line. They already have enough harassment. Couto needs to conduct a survey among officers where party line is not required. His “coincidence” comment is just as absurd; Couto has established no correlation between unregistered long guns and suicides or murder of women. There are other unsubstantiated assertions; it is impossible to restrict automatic weapons apart from this long registry? We are used to government waste; this registry is the most notorious, not only of taxpayer money, but of the time of citizens requiring the use of long guns.

August H. Konkel, president, Providence College and Seminary
Otterburne, MB

RE: Harper needs a water pistol

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I first want to comment on how much I appreciate your newspaper. It is refreshing to be able to read news from a positive, Christian perspective that is almost always politically and denominationally neutral.

That is why I am puzzled by your decision to publish Joe Couto’s most recent column. I don’t think it is too out of line, other than the usual ramblings of a journalist with an opinion. In fact, I agree with the preservation of the long gun registry (although I would use more valid arguments for doing so).

What bothers me is that it is a secular column. I don’t see the relevance of the column from a Christian perspective, nor do I see a hint of effort where Couto tries to tie the subject back to Scripture or Christianity. Your website states that “...Canada Today columnists discuss current trends, issues and opinions, and provide insight as to how people of faith might respond.” I read the column twice to see where the “insight” might be hidden and was unsuccessful in finding it.

There may be many persons, like me, who put down the paper after reading Mr. Couto's column and miss the Christian testimony found in the rest of the magazine. I did, however, pick up the paper again and was blessed by many of the other articles.
Be cautious in selecting columns that have at least a hint of significance to the Christian faith. A blank spot on page five would have been just as beneficial to your readers.

Les Funk
MacGregor, MB

RE: Presbyterian church leaves denomination

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I hope this can be a positive update on this article. Today, May 24, 2009, Trinity Community Presbyterian Church is alive and well and its membership voted today unanimously to call Mike Hamilton as our new minister. We have not only survived the departure of Carey and his followers, but have continued in our mission to preach the gospel in the community and around the world. Carey's hope to buy out the building from the Presbyterian Church failed when more than 50 members and adherents met in October 2007 and pledged to support the ongoing ministry.

We were able to reduce the outstanding mortgage to about $234,000, and then the Presbyterian Church showed its wonderful support to us by taking it over from the bank.

Each week we have been led in worship by our own worship team, visiting musicians and a wonderful group of ministers and a couple of lay leaders who brought us their messages.

So no, we aren't dead, or dying. We are alive and well and following the Lord's teachings.

Rob Ward
Oro-Medonte

RE: Peter Youngren buys Canada's largest Christian TV channel

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Since publication of this story, the CRTC has given regulatory approval and World Impact Ministries is expected to start operating the channel by June 1.

I do believe that God, by His Holy Spirit, speaks to believers by urging us to pursue certain paths, and I also believe that God can speak through visions. I am not given to visions, though during a five-hour prayer time in 1973, I believe God spoke to me in a vision that lasted 10 to 15 minutes (not five hours). I frequently draw strength from that experience. When the opportunity to purchase The Christian Channel was presented to me I did not consider it to be “the voice of God” but an opportunity that may indeed be from the Lord.

The article makes mention of our desire to rally broad-based support from Canadians for the channel, soon to be re-branded Grace TV. The writer then makes the valid point that we have not yet actually made contact with such groups as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Canadian Counsel of Churches, the United Church of Canada, etc.

Taking ownership of The Christian Channel has been a long process which culminated in the recent approval by CRTC. We received legal advice to be careful to not speak for TCC or present ourselves as the owners of the channel until CRTC’s approval. Now, upon such approval, we plan to contact a broad range of people who we believe have similar goals to our own concerning presenting Christ to Canadians.

We are concerned about the lack of gospel awareness among Canadians, and we seek to join hands with those who have a similar concern. Like the apostle Paul, our goal is to find ways to present Jesus Christ crucified in a way that can relate to the every day lives of Canadians and people around the world.

Peter Youngren
St. Catharines, ON

RE: Peter Youngren buys Canada's largest Christian TV channel

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The reference to the “five-hour vision” came from World Impact Ministries’ website, www.peteryoungren.com.

Eds.

RE: Peter Youngren buys Canada's largest Christian TV channel

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I regret any confusion caused by our website regarding the very meaningful vision I experienced in 1973. It did not last five hours, but maybe fifteen minutes, during a five hour time of prayer.

Peter Youngren
St. Catharines, ON

RE: Evangelical hockey fights hard to keep it clean

Friday, May 15, 2009

Our Christian grandson plays in a regular hockey league and a couple of years ago while he was playing in the Bantam division he was involved in a "fight." He was checked from behind but did not retaliate, so the opposing player punched him in the back.

Our grandson tried to avoid fighting by falling to the ice but the other lad jumped on him and continued punching. Meanwhile, the officials stood and watched, doing nothing to stop the action. Our grandson then got up and wrapped his arms around the other boy's, but again the officials stayed away, watching. Finally, in frustration, our grandson pushed away the other boy firmly and the officials moved in, charging both with fighting and assessing our grandson a two-game suspension.

We reported and complained to the regulatory body for our area and the officials must have been reprimanded because even though my husband works with two of them, they refused any further conversations with him after that.

A small victory perhaps but we must continue to pray for our young people who are trying to hold on to and exhibit Christian values in a world that doesn't accept or understand.

Wish there were more Christian sports groups like these men in your article. Keep up the good work!

Dale Phillips
Wetaskiwin, AB

RE: Peter Youngren buys Canada's largest Christian TV channel

Monday, May 4, 2009

This is wonderful news after listening to and watching shows full of mixed doctrine, condemnation and ill-representations of our beautiful Jesus. I am looking forward to the refreshing messages and shows this ministry will offer. I have great confidence that Jesus Himself is behind all of this. My spirit is jumping with joy!

Julie Karanfilis
St. Catharines, ON