Year: 2015

Dear friends,

I am not sure why I have chosen to write on this topic in the middle of the summer. Is it because I hope no one will read it, or that I can no longer suppress the urge to express my concern?

When I first began working in this family of churches, I got several guides to church buildings and architecture and made them available in the resource library. They remain undisturbed, unread, and by much of the building I see around me, have had utterly no impact on how we build God’s house.

Architecture, aesthetics, place in community, and function are intimately intertwined and not exclusive of each other. In a book that noted church buildings in all of Canada, only two Baptist churches were included, and of those, only West Vancouver Baptist was worthy of note. And it is indeed worthy of note, for its cedar and glass, set in a forest setting, points to the Creator, His creation, and our obligation to first and foremost honour Him in whatever we build. I think of what church buildings are for when I re-read God’s comments to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:12-16.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.” (NRSV)

God appeared to Solomon that very night and said, “I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always.” (The Message)

Note God’s promise to be present and available to us when we turn to Him in a time of trouble. They are powerful words. God is sanctifying and sealing his relationship with Solomon as he does with each of us, through the person, work, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We have disestablished the building as a meeting place between one another, as the body/bride of Christ; we have disestablished an expectation that within a building there can be important, significant expectation of God’s presence. This is not to sanctify space, this is to sanctify the heart of the believer, coming together with other believers to respond to what God promises Solomon, not just in a temple made with hands; “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”

There are many outstanding examples of church building and renovation in the CBWC family. I am going to mention some in point form, so that the narrative is not too abrupt.

First Baptist Church Vancouver has taken a very congregational style of building from the early part of the last century and transformed it with the use of banner, colour, biblical story and metaphor in such a way that it draws, but does not distract, the worshipper.

Strathcona Baptist in Edmonton, AB was built by Dewey DeVries (who built many of our churches). My father was the pastor. As a 10 year old I remember being part of a volunteer labour crew and travelling up a very dodgy ladder with a father who did not like heights. I have a picture of myself and other kids surrounding Dewey and G. Fred McNally during the cornerstone laying ceremony. There was a controversy at opening day at “Scona”; the focal point of the worship space is a “lifesize” wooden cross above the baptistery. My father complained that the cross looked too smooth and not worthy of the suffering of Christ. He had the carpenters go back to it and take the finish off. Crosses can be confusing in worship space; Scona’s cross had no ambiguity about it.

I would be remiss not to mention that there is one church on the prairies that looks like an abandoned Soviet-era missile silo. It is too painful to elaborate.

Clive Baptist Church, AB has the most remarkable, well-thought out interior church. It is the creation of the prayerful waiting of the congregation and the courage to change the design part way through their process. It is also designed as a community sanctuary or refuge, so the kitchen and washrooms can receive evacuees. It is an aesthetic and functional delight. It has to be experienced to be believed and is worth the trip.

Westview Baptist in Calgary, AB went through great challenges in building and paying for a magnificently functional building, which particularly addresses the educational needs of children and adults. It is a testimony to persistence and one very significant thing – despite the financial challenge, Westview tithed 10% of its building fundraising goals. They did it for church planting in AB, they contributed surpluses to the CBWC, despite their own duress. God has been faithful, along with the many congregations that have found their “start” at Westview. God has been faithful to Westview’s core congregation and growth.

Meaningful, spiritual experiences can take place anywhere in God’s creation – outside in a beautiful landscape, in someone’s living room or basement, in the courageous eloquent and harsh environment of an arid inner-city highway median where Jodi Spargur has led services during Vancouver summers with God’s House of Many Faces Church. There are many places of meaningful encounter with God; as the Celts say, many “thin places” where God seems closer than in other places.

I ask us that when we renovate, build, or seek out a place where the body of Christ meets, that we more seriously consider that our utilitarian, sometimes over functional attitude towards a church building tells the community how little we think of God’s house.

The confusion of metaphors in sectarian Protestant church buildings are to some degree a legitimate reaction to the excesses of pre-Reformation worship spaces. We have had 500 years to regain our equilibrium from reacting to those issues; we have had almost as long to recover from the Puritan suppression of the 1660’s in England. These concerns are cautionary tales, yet they should not be the wind that fills our sails in these matters.

The passage in 2 Chronicles talks about the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon and being over-awed by many things, including the temple. There is not a suggestion here that a building, any building, should over-awe anyone, but that any place where we have covenanted to meet with God and He has covenanted to meet with us, comes dripping with the anticipation, with the holy.

Please find the questions and comments in this piece to be of encouragement in our ongoing reflection, not a criticism. The sacrifice that has been made in time and money to build places, not only of worship, but multi-functional community and hospitality are sacrifices that God honours and continues to bless down through the years.

Next week we shall talk about church as sanctuary and shelter and of the time I needed to flee the church and find another one in the middle of a service.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Dear friends,

About every 5 years a federal election comes along, and I write a newsletter about praying for those who are in public life and office. Actually, this particular topic comes up more frequently than that, whether it be local, provincial or federal elections, or particularly crisis in the body politic.

Many of you will not know that we also write all the Premiers, Leaders of the Opposition, and Lieutenant Governors in Western Canada, all the federal party leaders in Ottawa, the Governor General, and Mayors of the major cities in Western Canada every Christmas to let them know of our prayers, and to thank them for their service and public life. We have done this for several years and it is truly a privilege and we trust an encouragement, that we do so. We have chosen, in our historical place of separation of church and state, to in-the-main not identify with particular political parties. There are examples, many examples, of people of profound faith and public life; there is not extensive room in this newsletter to mention them and it sometimes causes dissention to include some. So, I will forego.

Some of the present federal leadership hopefuls have an intimate connection with faith and have been comfortable indicating so. Some have not. Our personal homework in this area is easy enough for us to follow. It is important not only to pray for those in public life and all those who stand for election; it is also important to engage the issues. There are a considerable number of issues to weigh through an economic, political, and common sense kind of lens. Folk of a more conservative Christian perspective have usually fared poorly in post-election support of political leaders… for instance there are no Protestants (never mind Evangelicals) of any sort on the American Supreme Court… you will have noticed I have picked another country with the indignation of an outsider rather than choosing anything closer to home. If we are to think economically, politically and common-sensically about things, we should also consider some of the spiritual implications of those who seek our vote, whether it be their personal character or the political platforms of the party they represent.

There are issues around the poor, God’s creation, national security and individual rights, which all political parties have commented on, and which demonstrably all have their strengths and weaknesses. I mention that as a challenge that we do our homework.

A few last things:

Ron Orr, a CBWC Pastor from Clive, has just being elected (as a member of the Wildrose Party) to the AB legislature in the Lacombe-Ponoka riding. Another person with long connections with the faith (and for much of that with Baptist churches) is Annie McKitrick, who was elected in the riding of Sherwood Park, as a member of the NDP.

I have long history with both, a deep and abiding working relationship with Ron and Donna Orr, and, regardless of how any of us feel about politics, am profoundly proud of them both. (I wish to point out that I am not an Albertan, but that very statement says a lot in and of itself, doesn’t it, when someone from outside the province makes comments on politics within a province).

The takeaway from all of this is that we should pray for those who run for office, and we should be informed by our faith in how we reflect on the issues that influence our votes. And that scrutiny is far more complicated than many of us would like to believe. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: “If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain.”

By the way – that is supposed to be a joke, not a political statement!

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Dear friends,

If the title sounds a little like a well-known British television series, it’s been cancelled. Prayers, however, are ongoing, I trust.

I wish to share some items for prayer in the middle of our summer, and look forward to updating you as the days and weeks unfold toward the fall.

Pray for summer day camps, daily vacation bible schools, and all forms of non-residential camping. After an incredulous 7 year hiatus, New Life in Duncan, BC restarted camp last week expecting enrollment of 90. An additional 60 showed up – how exciting is that?! Thanks be to God. Good on you.

Pray for all our camps and their Directors:

• Keats Camp (Dan Galpin, Camp Director)
• Zao Outdoor Ministries (Board of Directors; Mattias Morrison, Ministry Coordinator)
• Gull Lake Centre (Steve Roadhouse, Executive Director)
• Mill Creek Baptist Camp (Alyssa Cameron, Executive Director)
• Camp Wapiti (Jerilyn Brainard, Executive Director)
• The Quest at Christopher Lake (Sean Cruickshank, Executive Director)
• Katepwa Lake Camp (Jimmy Schimmel, Executive Director)

We have just passed mid-point in the camp season about a week ago, and there are serious challenges of personal resources and spiritual vulnerabilities that are part of this season of camping. Most camps usually have their teens at the end of the summer; this is the crowd that is full of most opportunity and potential, but can also be most challenging. Please pray for re-commitments to the Christian walk and brand new decisions to follow Christ in a personal relationship. Please also pray for the churches that are, even now, getting ready to receive folk back from camp.

Pray for church Boards, especially moderators and treasurers (those very same treasurers who love summer cash flow),church staff and those who take responsibility (whether paid or volunteer) in following the calling of Christ to care for the Body. Might they be renewed and restored in preparation for what the “new year” of September brings.

I ask for prayer for our partners in ministry, whether it be Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) in their search for a new Executive Director, or Carey as they transition into new programmes and some new faculty.

Please pray for the orientation of the new CBWC Board leading up to the first meeting in September, and for those with new roles (like Laura Nelson our President and Kayely Rich our VP of Personnel and Programme), as well as those who are new to the Board: Greg Sumner, Herb Ziegler, Ravi George, and Loralyn Lind.

Pray for Heather Thomson and Jill Schuler (nee Cardwell) who are putting together the Banff Pastors Conference. Registrations are well ahead of last year. What a rich experience to look forward to.

I will leave you with three images from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) in Durban, South Africa, of last month. The first is from John Upton, who is the outgoing President of the BWA from the Virginia Baptist Association. A remarkable and gifted individual, who to my jetlagged ears when I arrived in Durban, said these very helpful words:

Leadership is not an identity.

It is a function.

I am first a child of God.

And am sometimes asked

To function as a leader.

The second is from Paul Msiza, the new BWA President for 2015 – 2020, who told the winsome and funny story that whenever he drove through a village in rural South Africa, dogs would chase his car until it stopped. At that point, their barking stopped too. He drew the gleeful, sometimes painful, analogy that when we are moving, changing, heading forward, there is lots of commotion and opposition… but surprisingly very little resistance when we have ceased to move, or are becalmed…. there is no threat in paralysis or entropy.

The last vignette I cannot begin to capture for you, but it was the last keynote address from Joel Gregory building on this year’s theme of Jesus as the door from the BWA motto. He spoke about opportunities and doorways, closed then open, and I am going to listen to it on a regular basis for months to come. I leave it to you to ask the Spirit to use what he has to say without further comment.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Dear friends,

My Father’s Day card for my dad this year was a picture of a very much younger man, reading a book on the beach, with his feet resting on an even large stack of summer reading. Call that an archaic way of absorbing information, or call it what it is – bliss!

As a model of truly eclectic reading, I turn to my mother Elizabeth (who is extremely and broadly well read) and my wife Kerry. I am a collector of biographies, and have been reading historical fiction and biographies since the age of 7. I am a history major, I did guided study with J. Edwin Orr (a great Irish evangelist and historian of revivals), and Geoffrey Bromiley, from whom I learned historical theology and church history. Bromiley also did a guided study on William Wilberforce and the relationship between the Clapham Sect and the Utilitarians. I feel like the matchmaker Yentil from Fiddler on the Roof, putting book and person together, to which Shelby Gregg asks “is there anything better?” Sure some things, but not a lot.

I have asked several people from a broad range of backgrounds to tell us of their summer reading. By the time you get this, we will be into summer, but dig in, buy, borrow, or simply vicariously enjoy.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

 

Michael Engbers (FBC Prince Albert, SK)

The next seven books on my reading list, in no specific order are:

Static Jedi by Eric Samuel Timm – This was a gift from a ministry group doing a presentation at our church and it speaks to the noise in the world and how that can challenge our ability to listen to God.

Mentoring Leaders by Carson Pue – a book someone gave me as they cleaned out their library. I’ve had a number of conversations about mentoring lately and thought this would be a good read on that topic to help me expand my understanding of what it means.

Affirming the Apostles Creed by J I Packer – This fall I’m doing a sermon series using the Apostles Creed as an outline for the series. Thought this would be a good way to dive into some of the preparation for the series.

A Failure of Nerve – Edwin Friedman – I read an earlier book by him called Generation to Generation and wanted to read some more of what he has to say about how organizations are like families and how we can lead them.

What’s in a Phrase? – Marilyn Chandler McEntyre – this author has been mentioned to me before, and so I grabbed this book for a more devotional style reading.

Necessary Endings – Dr. Henry Cloud – Not planning any major endings soon, so to me the best time to read on something is before you deal with it. I also know that I can hold on and be hesitant to bring an ending to something, and I hope this gives me some insights into the topic to chew over.

The God of Hope and the End of the World by John Polkinghorne – this book was recommended by a friend who is an Anglican Priest. The book is written by a man who is a theoretical physicist and Anglican priest. The recommendation is that it’s a very intriguing read so to me it was worth giving some time too.

 

Colin Godwin (President, Carey Theological College)

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This is a short read (only 150 pages) that I haven’t cracked open since my undergraduate days. One of my personal, academic and spiritual interests is virtue. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman general and former persecutor of Christians, may have become a Christian later in life. In any case, he was an outstanding leader, and his thoughts on Temperance; Fortitude; Prudence and Justice influenced the theology of the early Church.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. If you are an introvert or are married to one, I highly recommend looking at the TED talk that Susan Cain did in 2012. It is also a great introduction to her book.

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. ‘What do others think about me?’ seems to be a rather universal question. Alain de Bouton takes a philosophical and humourous look at the human obsession with measuring up. I hope to gain some further insights about the consumeristic and status-conscious culture that has invaded Canada.

Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. Part of ambition is modeling yourself after those you’d like to be like. Austin’s philosophy of ruthlessly stealing and remixing the greats might sound appalling at first but it is actually the essence of art. I’m a big fan of innovation so I look forward to some insights from Austin Kleon.

The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity by Kory Kogan, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne, time management and productivity experts at Franklin Covey. Our most valuable (and limited) resource is time. I look forward to hearing a few more good insights about how to focus my energies on the most important things in my life, including work, family and my faith.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Another one of my personal, academic and spiritual interests is power. In recent years, I have read about power and powerlessness as it shapes international development work in Africa (and elsewhere). In the 48 Laws of Power, Greene provides an unashamed view on how power actually works in practice, both for good and for ill (but mostly for ill, I think). Jesus taught us a different way (Matthew 5-7; 1 Corinthians 1:18), but it is nonetheless useful to understand how the world ‘works’.

Why Mars And Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress by John Gray. I missed the entire series of ‘Mars and Venus’ books on gender and relationships when I was overseas. I picked this one up and look forward to reading it with an eye on both the book and Canadian culture.

Three books from Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory and a devout Christian: Managing the Nonprofit Organization, The Effective Executive and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Two of these I have read before but want to reacquaint myself. I look forward to reading The Effective Executive for the first time, as well as the ‘sequel’ written by Larry Bossidy, Execution: the Discipline of Getting Things Done.

Carey’s VP Academic, Dr. Chung-Yan Joyce Chan, has had her second book published: William Dean and the First Chinese Study Bible. In addition to being written by a colleague and friend, this book fits well into my longstanding interest in Bible literacy and its role in global evangelism.

The Carey Hall Board of Administration will be working on some strategic planning in the fall. In preparation for this, I will be reviewing two important books: Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka and Steve Zimmerman and Extraordinary Board Leadership: the keys to high impact governing by Doug Eadie.

Finally, some fiction reading, two classic science fiction stories: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1973) and Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970).

Faye Reynolds (Women and Intergenerational Ministries)

For light reading I like to pick up a Jodi Picoult and John Grisham read because they usually have some moral or ethical dilemma or issue of injustice that they deal with, so entertainment with some thought-provoking content. This year’s titles were: Handle with Care (JP) and Grey Mountain (JG)

By chance I picked up, “The Road” by Cormac MacCarthy and it was a rather dark, apocalyptic read of a father and son trying to travel south with few supplies and resources after some catastrophic event that has left most dead in a grey, smoke filled world with a few bad people and a few good people. The challenge was to meet up with the good ones and not the bad. It purportedly speaks of the enduring human spirit and the light of goodness that survives, but I found more darkness than light in his tale.

The Reason for God: Timothy Keller. I am not usually drawn to Apologetic writings but Keller has been insightful on a few fronts and since I had also recently read Love Wins by Rob Bell, it was nice to have a counter perspective on eternal consequences. The most helpful point Keller makes for me is that if we do not believe in some kind of after-life accounting of deeds done, then humans have tendency to mete out justice on our own terms in this life, and vengeance perpetuates violence. When we truly trust God to sort out justice, knowing full well that he is righteous and gracious and merciful, we are less likely to take things into our own hands in this life.

I have a few favourite authors that I like to revisit in the summer like meeting up with old friends again. Frederick Buechner, Walter Wangerine Junior and Madeline L’Engle are on the top of the list and this summer I have chosen to re-read L’Engle’s Genesis Trilogy. She has an amazing way of seeing the humanness of the Biblical characters while embracing the miraculous within their life tales as God works with them, through them and often in spite of them. She understands so well the art of story that allows her to enter into the lives of the central characters in Genesis at almost a literal, face-value approach, and yet bring them into today as our stories that continue to speak into our personal faith journeys. A few of her illustrations are dated, but her insights are timeless and she is a master with words.

Aaron Dyck (Senior Pastor, Gateway Baptist Church, Victoria, BC)

1. “Making a Meal of It: Rethinking the Theology of the Lord’s Supper” – Ben Witherington III

Ben’s always been a favourite of mine. Gateway is the most theologically diverse church I’ve ever been a part of, and our community’s backgrounds range from un-churched to Pentecostal, from Closed Brethren to Catholic and beyond. One of the places these collide is Communion, or “the Lord’s Supper.” Witherington re-frames the Lord’s Supper in such a way that not only invites disparate persons to the table, but demands it.

2. “Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony” – Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon

This is my third read through this book, and it is proving as prophetic as ever. Published in 1993, its call for the Church to be the Church, and the observations of the consequences when it tries too hard to relate with culture, is spot on.

Mark Doerksen (Heartland Regional Minister)

These are the books on my reading list for the summer. If the fishing is good, my reading list will dwindle significantly.

Daniel Block, Deuteronomy: The NIV Application Commentary. I audited a course by Dan Block this spring, and I have been reading this commentary since. His spin on the book would be that of recovering the gospel according to Moses, and he speaks much about how the Israelites would have seen the covenant as a grace to their community.

Daniel Block, For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship. Dan spoke of this book in his class a bit, and I’ve long been interested in the topic. Dan tries hard to convince his readers that worship is not about our enjoyment, but about whether or not God is pleased with our worship. I think it’s a good reminder for us all.

Timothy Keller, Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism. I am always interested in perspectives on preaching and teaching, and I find Tim Keller to be quite a good communicator, and so I’m going to try and get through this one.

Gary V. Nelson & Peter M. Dickens, Leading in Disorienting Times. The name Gary Nelson was familiar to me, so I picked this book up and look forward to reading it. I agree that these are disorienting times for society and the church, and I’m interested to see what these authors have to say about leading in such a time as this.

Mark McKim, Christian Theology for a Secular Society: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land. Mark is the pastor at First Baptist Regina, and loves theology and having people learn more about theology. I picked this up in the fall, and am looking forward to completing it. The topic is related to Nelson’s book, and I appreciate Mark’s motivation as he writes. He attempts to relate Christian teachings to a secular society and to what is happening in the local church.

N.T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, Part 1. I have been working on this for a while now, and it’s one of those books that I want to finally complete. A caption on the back of the book says that Wright explores the whole context of Paul’s thought and activity and then shows how those influences enabled him to engage with the many complexities the early churches were facing.

July 23, 2015 — Let us rejoice and celebrate.” With this announcement, Baptist World Alliance President John Upton officially declared the start of the 21^stBaptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa, on July 22. The Congress’s theme is ‘Christ the Door’.  The first BWA conference ever held in Africa concludes on July 26.

You can watch live streaming of the conference here.

The roll call of the more than 80 nations encapsulated the celebratory atmosphere as more than 2,500 Baptists joined in singing songs such as “Shine, Jesus shine”; “Light of the world you stepped down into darkness”; “Lord, the Light of your Love is shining”; and “We are marching in the light of God.”

Keynote speaker Peter Chin of South Korea said that because the world is filled with so much darkness, it is imperative that Baptist Christians shine the light of Christ.  Chin declared that the darkness affecting humanity is reflected in suffering, death, ignorance, discrimination and abuse.  There is also darkness, he said, in the levels of deception and political corruption and oppression that exist. Economically, darkness is demonstrated in the levels of greed, poverty and debt that are so prevalent.

But worst of all, he said, there is “spiritual darkness, a darkness where people say there is no God.”

To overcome such darkness, the light that brings healing, forgiveness and life need to shine. According to Chin, such light comes only from Christ, who “holds the power to expel all darkness.”

He stated that the light of Christ serves at least two functions. It eliminates darkness and it illuminates what is hidden.

Because darkness is so pervasive, Christians have a responsibility to shine the light of Christ in “our countries, our workplaces, our schools, our homes,” and to ensure that it shines in “our churches.”

Each Christian should ask, “Does my light still shine? Is my light’s radiance brightening the world around me? Or is it like the light of a dying ember, fading.”

Every Christian should “shine the brightness, the warmth, and the light of Jesus to the world he loves,” Chin announced.

The night was enriched by a cultural presentation by South African Baptists, recounting Baptist history in the country and the broader history of South Africa’s emergence from apartheid to being a “rainbow nation.”

The congress continues from July 22 to 26 at the International Convention Centre in Durban. The next conference will be held in 2020.

Dear friends,

For some years now we as a denomination have offered, on an annual basis for new pastors and staff, a 3-4 day experience of orienting people to the work of the CBWC (and its partners). This particular event (New Pastors Orientation or NPO) was intended to encourage, to build up a sense of community, to offer people the opportunity to be able to make new friendships, and to form personal affinity clusters with churches with similar issues. A list of topics that have generally been part of this event include, but are not limited to, the following:

Module 1: An Overview of Baptist Church Life

1. Culture Statement
2. Marriage: A Statement Affirming a Christian View
3. History of Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM)
4. An Act to Incorporate the Baptist Union of Western Canada (BUWC)
5. Outline of Baptist History
6. General By-law of CBWC
7. Background Info on French Baptist Union
8. Organization of CBWC
9. CBWC Organizational Charts
   1. Board
   2. Staff
   3. Staff roles and responsibilities

Module 2: Partnerships and Possibilities

1. Partnerships and Possibilities Guide

Module 3: Resourcing Local Congregations

1. Urban Camping
2. Bible College and Partnerships and Bursaries
3. Refugees and Uprooted Peoples
4. Children and Families
5. CBWC Youth
6. Women in Focus
7. Clergy Care
8. Centre for Healthy Aging Transitions (CHAT)
9. Justice and Mercy Network
10. Pensions and Benefits

Module 4: Educational Opportunities and Accreditation

1. Education Policy
2. Carey Theological College, Institute, and Centre
3. Graduate Internship Programme (GIP)
4. Continuing Education Units

Module 5: Church Health Resources

1. Settlement
2. Risk Management
3. Conflict Resolution
4. Church Planting

Module 6: Connecting Opportunities

1. CBWC A-Z Guide

Finances and Resources

1. CBWC
2. CBWC Foundation

Module 8: Pastoral Ethics and Wellbeing

 

This has been a regularly evolving body of work. The challenge, however, has been that NPO does not reflect our polity, which is the priesthood of all believers and a training, engagement and fostering of leadership amongst those who are not paid staff. We are going to begin in September by launching a series of many courses, some live streaming, some YouTube, some internet and some with our partners at the Carey Institute around training of leaders in our churches and ministries, whether they be new leaders or ones that have for years needed the encouragement and training that new staff have been receiving for years. Here are some of the topics that we have looked at up to this point:

1. Bylaws
2. Settlement
3. Church planting
4. Church renewal
5. Reading a balance sheet
6. Evangelism
7. Introduction to Treasurer’s Corner
8. Presenting financial information
9. Social media
10. Your church’s website
11. The electronic church
12. Those difficult conversations around conflict

We would add many of the modules from NPO to this as well.

But, far more importantly, we would like to hear from any of you who have ideas about what should be on this list. Topics like information storage, security, helping your church become carers of God’s creation by environmentally responsible, all those things and much more…. but here I go again, I am adding to the list, when I have asked you to.

I will be back and forth over the summer. I will be gone for 3 weeks holiday in July, off to Baptist World Alliance (BWA) meetings in South Africa at the end of July, and in the office in early August (with some study leave later that month). Talk to Shelby with your notions.

Many thanks,

Looking forward to that creative process.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Dear friends,

I’ve asked my colleague Mark Tubbs to pursue some of the Scripture passages that are significant to our country. So just a little past Canada Day, I wanted to share with you two such examples that I’ve looked at and that he’s done more research on. I’m very grateful for it.

A Mari Usque Ad Mare – “He shall have dominion from sea to sea” (Psalm 72:8)

Two contrasting accounts of the original use of the term “dominion” to represent the Canadian nation vie for supremacy. Both are plausible, and both are reproduced in paraphrase here for your benefit.

In his book True Patriot Love, erstwhile Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff suggests that his great-grandfather George Monro Grant, a Nova Scotian Presbyterian preacher and ardent Canadian nationalist who also served as Sir Sanford Fleming’s secretary, used the term in reference to Canada in multiple sermons during the push to complete the Canadian National Railway. Grant drew biblical inspiration from Psalm 72:8, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”

The other tale recounts Father of Confederation Samuel Leonard Tilley’s suggestion that Canada be officially designated a “dominion” in the British North America Act of 1867 (Sir John A. Macdonald preferred “kingdom”). Like Grant, Tilley’s inspiration was the King James rendering of Psalm 72:8. Canada was the first of Britain’s colonies to claim the title of “dominion,” although New England had earlier been unofficially referred to as a dominion of the British crown.

Whether the term as applied to Canada originated with Grant or with Tilley, the suggestion was a prophetic one, full of faith that Canada would one day stretch from sea to sea – which it did not in 1867. The 1871 Constitution Act was the first to employ the term as a reality, with British Columbia joining Confederation. Only thenceforth did the waves of the Pacific lap the shores of the new dominion. The first recorded official use of the Psalm 72:8 phrase as a Canadian motto was in 1906, when it was engraved on the mace of the Legislative Assembly of the new province of Saskatchewan.

But the story of the motto, with its millennia-old biblical reference, continues to be written in the 21st century. In 2007, the premiers of the three Canadian territories campaigned for the motto to include the third sea to the north – the Arctic Ocean – alongside the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Such an amendment would serve to acknowledge Canada’s vast geography, and more importantly, to entrench an inclusiveness toward northern and primarily aboriginal residents in Canada’s official motto. On a hermeneutical note, the addition of another “sea” to the motto would not wrest the verse from its original biblical context to any greater degree than the original motto already has.

Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam – “They desire a better country” (Hebrews 11:16)

One of the earliest suggestions for the Order of Canada’s motto, courtesy of the first Canadian-born Governor General, Vincent Massey, was Psalm 72:8. Other tepid proposals included “A Productive Maple” and “Our Achievement Is the Nation’s Achievement” – neither of which struck a chord with Canadian uber-patriot and politician John Matheson, who spearheaded the development of the structure of the Order in the Lester Pearson government. Almost a century after Grant’s nationalistic sermons and Tilley’s confederation efforts, Matheson heard a sermon whose text inspired him to propose a fragment of Hebrews 11:16 as the motto for Canada’s new order of merit. Prime Minister Pearson and his Cabinet accepted the proposal immediately, agreeing with Matheson that the non-posturing yet hopeful phrase recalled most Canadians’ immigrant origins. In the words of that academic and enigmatic Canadian scholar Northrop Frye, “It seems to me very characteristic of Canada that its highest Order should have for its motto: ‘Looking for a better country.’ The quotation is from the New Testament, where the better country really is the City of God, but the feeling it expresses has more mundane contexts.” Not nearly so mundane was the clerical error that led to the Prime Minister’s Office issuing a press release on the day the Order’s motto was announced in Parliament, which mistakenly publicized Hebrews 12:16 as the new motto: “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.” If you’ll pardon the pun, the press and the opposition politicians took their pound of flesh at the Prime Minister’s expense, whose office quickly apologized for the error and rectified its mistake. The correct verse, Hebrews 11:16, is now a prominent and inalienable piece of Canada’s most prestigious order of merit.

A comprehensive account of the development of the Order of Canada is Christopher P. McCreery’s The Order of Canada: Its Origins, History, and Developments (University of Toronto Press, 2005).

JB: I find it an irony that the Governor General’s website, whose proprietor is a practicing and devout Anglican (like Baptists, those two words describe different activities), should obscure a lovely simple verse like Hebrews 11:16 by translating the Latin yet omitting the biblical attribution as if it were sourced from Shakespeare – or even worse, from Helen Steiner Rice. Or to paraphrase Robert Newton, the dissolute English actor who, while playing Long John Silver in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, admonished his scruffy crew that “you lot need every scrap of scripture you can get.” It is a testimony to the secularization of the Canadian civil service even back in the 1960s. By the way, scholar Mark Noll, author of What Happened to Christian Canada?, which is in such need of updating that it needs a complete rewrite, would probably agree with that eminent and echinated Western Baptist politician, John Diefenbaker, that “they can’t even quote Scripture correctly.”

Let me wish you all a blessed and happy belated Canada Day, my friends and compatriots.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Dear Friends,

The following letter addresses issues that have recently arisen around the BPC topic, particularly about the participation of Tony Campolo, who was initially one of our keynote speakers. Tony’s original topic was “When Christians Disagree, How Do They Then Get Along?” It became challenging for some, given his recent statement on same gender marriage. What follows is the sixth draft of a letter from the Board, which all Board Members have agreed can be released under their name, with one exception.

The letter itself is self-explanatory.

I am away on holidays and attending the Baptist World Alliance in the next few weeks, however some of you may have thoughts you want to share. I would ask that you send your thoughts to myself and Laura Nelson (CBWC Board President) for reflection. Upon my return, both Laura and I can reflect on these together and at that time, we can continue the dialogue with anyone who wishes.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

—

Dear CBWC Churches,

This letter addresses some concerns that have been raised (both pro and con) regarding the roster of speakers at the Banff Pastors & Spouses Conference in November 2015. The original invited participants included:

• Sam Chaise leading worship.
• Markku and Leah Kostamo speaking of a biblical, theological and story-telling narrative on Creation care (Leah and Markku attend one of our churches).
• Greg Anderson leading a Bible study.
• Tony Campolo, a Baptist sociologist, ambassador for World Vision, and well-known evangelist and activist.

All was set until June 5th when Campolo issued a statement in support of same-sex marriages and embracing those that were same-sex attracted and in committed relationships into the life of the church. Rather like Stan Grenz’s book Welcoming But Not Affirming, the majority of our churches would welcome folk from a variety of persuasions but would not affirm same-gender relationships nor same-sex marriage.

The CBWC position on same-sex attraction, same gender marriage, and clergy participation in the same, has been a process which has involved a considerable amount of reflection, thought, and discussion beginning 11 years ago. To refresh our memories, here below are the pertinent documents from the CBWC: the CBWC Statement on Marriage; the Resolution on Same-Sex Marriage; and the Terms of Reference for the SSA Resource Group. By the grace and strength of God there has been good work done in this area. Please review these documents to contribute to your own clarity on the topic. The vote clarifying that clergy could not perform same-sex marriages was over 90% in favour. We at the CBWC are clear on our position. It should be noted that there are now, and have always existed within the denomination, a wide diversity of theology and practice. Campolo’s recent statement, however, has become publicly controversial, creating a lightning rod kind of effect.

There is a strong group that is of the opinion that Campolo should not come and an equally strong group that believes he should. The middle ground in the constituency would be ambivalent. Either option, however, whether an explanation of his presence or absence, would be unsatisfactory to many. Campolo was asked to come to Banff because he is both an evangelist and a proponent of societal concerns, and holds both the conversion and justice narratives in tension. While Campolo has many strengths, his unambiguous position on same-gender marriage, and the fact that Assembly voted overwhelmingly against clergy participation in same-sex marriage, made necessary a discussion with Campolo on what topic he would address at Banff.

Campolo was recently invited by the Salvation Army in Western Canada to speak. They came to an agreement with Campolo that SSA unions would not be addressed in any of his talks to them. Like ourselves, they had begun to deal with this topic and wanted to continue on that trajectory.

In light of contrasting desires to remove Campolo on the one hand and retain him on the other, the Board has decided, with one exception, on the following: that Tony Campolo should be invited to speak on a topic other than the original one; and that two other speakers, Gordon T. Smith and Leonard Sweet, come and share as speakers for the Banff Conference in 2015. Gordon T. Smith is president of the Alliance-based Ambrose University and will speak on “When Christian disagree then how do they get along?” Leonard Sweet is E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School and is a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University. He will speak using Scripture and culture to reach those born after the boomer generation. Tony Campolo will speak on the topic of deepening the prayer and spiritual life of the pastor.

The schedule will look something like this:

Monday Evening

Concert with Ordinary Time

Tuesday Morning

First session: Markku & Leah Kostamo (The Church at Southpoint, Surrey) – The care of God’s creation from scripture and story.

Second session: Tony Campolo – Deepening the prayer and spiritual life of the Pastor (Part I)

Tuesday Evening

Gordon Smith – When Christians disagree how do they then get along?

Wednesday Morning

First session: Leonard Sweet – The church, scripture, culture, and the pre-boomer (Part I)

Second session: Tony Campolo – Deepening the prayer and spiritual life of the Pastor (Part II)

Wednesday Evening

Leonard Sweet – The church, scripture, culture, and the pre-boomer (Part II)

Thursday Morning

Communion with Leonard Sweet

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have tried to discern what is the best way to proceed.

Jeremy Bell, Executive Minister

Laura Nelson, CBWC President

 

Marriage: A Statement Affirming a Christian View

Terms of Reference for SSA Committee

An employee walks into their supervisor’s office on a Friday afternoon to indicate that they have accepted a new job offer in a similar organization. Without saying a word, the supervisor calls Human Resources and asks them to join the conversation. The departing employee is informed that their position is terminated immediately, is accompanied to their office, fills a cardboard box with their personal possessions, forbidden to log onto the computer, surrenders their access cards and codes, and is escorted from the building.

I have seen and heard of some variation on this theme from many friends and acquaintances. I have seen this occur in both secular and faith-based organizations. What happens when pastors or staff leave a church? What ought to happen when pastors or staff leave a church? I’m not at all sure that we’ve worked that one out well. Some, including my own, at Kits Christian Community Church in 2005, are kind and deeply appreciated leave-takings. I have Kari Boyle and Kevin Best, both friends and officers of the church, to thank for that.

Some churches experience their pastors leave for positions elsewhere; some terminate with cause; some without cause. Some simply watch the dwindling financial indicators of sustainability for staff until there are few alternatives except anxiety-driven and often poorly-executed separation.

There are legal rules, regulations and means to employ, engage and disengage staff. Assistance can be obtained from your regional office. Two very important factors, however, must be observed. The first is that any person set aside for tasks in the church, whether they be paid or unpaid, needs to have clearly laid out job descriptions and expectations. Those expectations must be measurable, the incentives for meeting them clearly laid out, and the consequences of not meeting them also just as clear. These expectations must be reviewed after the first three months of engagement, and at least on an annual basis thereafter, with the expectation of future employment or disengagement. These issues will be the topic of further writing. Today I want to touch on how we take leave of one another well for there are many encouraging ways to do this and many of us must become better at it than we are now.

Some of the biblical stories of leave-taking are that of Moses’ departure (Deut. 31-34), Joshua’s installation (Josh. 1) and his departure (Josh. 24), Elijah’s departure and Elisha’s accession to his prophetic role (2 Kings 2), the ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:1-11), and Paul’s leave-taking of the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-38). Many of you already know these biblical examples. Now I want to give you three examples of leave-taking that are, in my experience, encouraging and helpful. I would go so far as to say they are models for healthy leave-taking. The first two are drawn from the excellent liturgical resource, Gathering for Worship: Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples created for the Baptist Union of Great Britain (Canterbury Press Norwich, 2005). If you would like a copy of this resource, please contact us in the Vancouver office at 604.225.5916.

Recognizing and Giving Thanks for Faithful Service (P. 91)

There will be times when a local church will want to mark a special occasion, such as the completion of a term of service by a deacon, elder, youth leader or other person in the fellowship, or the anniversary of a minister’s induction to that pastorate.

The act of recognition and thanksgiving may be included at an appropriate place in Sunday worship or a church meeting.

A is a disciple of Jesus Christ,

In baptism she/he was buried and raised with Christ

and commissioned for service.

We rejoiced especially that

she/he was called by God

to serve this church in its life and witness

through the ministry of an elder / a deacon / a teacher etc.

 

We are disciples of Jesus Christ

and we celebrate God’s call

to all who minister amongst us.

 

The service being recognized is outlined and a prayer is offered, extempore or as follows.

 

God of grace,

we praise you for the call to follow Jesus Christ

as a company of his disciples.

We thank you for all the gifts of ministry

you have lavished upon us

and for the gift of one another.

Now we thank you for A

and for her/his faithful service.

Continue to guide and sustain her/him, we pray,

that she/he may glorify you

in a life of discipleship and grace.

These blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ,

our Lord and saviour. Amen.

 

Blessing Departing Members (P. 92-93)

This act of recognition, thanksgiving and farewell is an opportunity to celebrate the fellowship of the church and to pray for those who are leaving and will need to belong to another local church elsewhere. It may occur during the Lord’s Supper, at another suitable point in a Sunday service, or at a church meeting.

Those who are leaving are mentioned by name, along the reason for their departure and any other relevant personal information.

A and C, we rejoice in your having been a part of this fellowship

and we want to wish you farewell

and seek God’s blessing as you move to . . .

In baptism

you confessed your faith

were buried with Christ

and raised with him to newness of life.

You were incorporated into the body of Christ

and commissioned for service and witness

in the church and in the world.

We have together sought

to follow Christ

and to be his church in this place.

Now you are called elsewhere.

We shall miss your companionship,

but rejoice that God will bless others through you

as we have been blessed.

 

The leader prays extempore, or as follows. Alternatively, the congregation may say together

Faithful God,

keep, preserve and protect A and C

all their days.

By the power of your Holy Spirit,

may they be salt of the earth

and light for the world.

Lead them to a new fellowship

and to new ministries,

secure in the faith

that binds us forever in the body of Christ. Amen.

 

Go in the peace of Christ.

 

The congregation may say

 

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine up on you

and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you

and give you peace.

 

Those departing may say

Amen.

A third example: I’ve known a certain local pastor since our undergrad days. I have never let him forget that we both applied for a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship for seminary; he got one, I didn’t. I framed my rejection letter and hung it on my office wall as a motivation until, to my amusement, it fell off one day and shattered. Last Sunday his church recited the following liturgy as he transitions out of full-time ministry. I thought I would leave it much as it is without particulars, but do want to note that the elder that led off this section of the service was the same chair of the board that had called my friend to be a minister twenty years before. I’m sure there are some things I would change, but it’s a good start – particularly the asking and granting of forgiveness and understanding which is the challenge of separation post-ministry.

Sending Forth in God’s Name

A Rite of Ending

Elder: On date, church’s name called pastor’s name to serve as ministry role.

Departing Pastor: Members and friends of church’s name, I thank you for your love, kindness and support during these past length of ministry service. I am grateful for the struggles, the learning, and the opportunities we have shared. I ask you for your forgiveness for the mistakes I have made.

Congregation: We receive your thankfulness and offer our forgiveness. We ask you to forgive our mistakes. We are grateful for your guidance and your gifts.

All: As we part, may we know God’s grace and peace.

The congregation is invited to stand.

Elder: Will you, the members and friends of church’s name, release pastor’s name from the duties of ministry role in this place?

Congregation: We will, God being our helper.

Elder: Will you respect the new relationship that now begins and offer your encouragement and prayers for her/his life and ministry hereafter?

Congregation: We will, God being our helper.

Elder: Will you, pastor’s name, release church’s name from dependence upon you as ministry role?

Departing Pastor: I will, God being my helper.

Elder: Will you respect the new relationship that now begins and offer your encouragement and prayers for continued ministry here?

Departing Pastor: I will, God being my helper.

Elder: Let us pray. Holy God, your love for all is everlasting. Help us to trust in the future which rests in your care. The time we were together in your name provided laughter and tears, hopes and disappointments. Guide us as we hold on to these cherished memories and move forward in new directions. Keep us one in your love forever, through Jesus Christ.

All: Amen.