Author: frontier

I spent the week of October 25 to 31^st in Montreal at the board meetings of the Canadian Baptist Ministries.

Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) is a uniting and enabling organization that brings the largest Baptist groups in the country together. These groups include:

∙ United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces

∙ L’Union d’Eglises Baptistes Francaises au Canada (New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario)

∙ Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (English Quebec)

∙ Baptist Union of Western Canada (in every province and territory)

∙ Canadian Baptist Women

The Board is made up of approximately 12 members representative of the independent denominations plus executive ministers, Presidents of convention, some invited guests and some senior staff.

Once a year CBM meets in the Toronto Area and once a year it rotates between the areas. We are in Vancouver the spring of 2006, Toronto in the fall, and Moncton, New Brunswick, in the spring of 2007. The Union has made it possible for my wife, Kerry, and I to travel together from time to time. Montreal was one of those opportunities. Denis Casaubon of the French Union (an executive with Liquid Air and a resident Western Canadian for several years in the 1990’s) hosted us most thoughtfully. His colleague, Roland Grimond, the French Union Executive Minister appealed to us to take seriously our commitment to French Canada in particular their heart for church planting.

We discussed governance. We looked at how to prioritize, in a needy world, the almost 10 million dollars CBM raises each year. We looked at how differently we view the complementary demands of evangelism and social justice. It was fascinating to begin to get to know sisters and brothers in Christ from over 1200 churches across this wonderful land. I filmed almost 30 film clips for our new web launch in early November. These clips last between 1 and 4.5 minutes and touch on a collage of ministries and people.

Each of the conventions reported on their work as did Canadian Baptist Women. To give you an anatomy of how we meet (which changes depending on the people) the executive ministers of each region (which are legally separate and constituted denominations in themselves) meet for a day to examine and encourage one another.

The General Secretary of CBM (Gary Nelson, a native of Calgary) joins the executive ministers on that day and both Sam Chaise (our BUWC President from Olivet in New Westminister) and the CBM President Cal Malena (Emmanuel, Saskatoon) joined us for part of the day.

The following day the Executive of the Board meets (around 16 people) and for the last two days all the CBM board and invited guests meet.

The Baptist Union reps on the board (voting and non-voting) are: Cal Malena, Heather Thomson, Alfred Reschke, Tom Mei, Glen Alexander, Jeremy Bell, Faye Reynolds, and Sam Chais.

As you will see from our video clips of the CBM board and the familiar faces of those in our own clan in the Union we are well served by very gifted people. It is a particular pleasure for me to be working with a former colleague in Sam Chaise and with Gary Nelson, a former room mate from summer work in McKenzie. The gratitude for Cal Malena as chair is enormous. Cal “rides herd” on an eclectic, passionate and articulate group; constantly connecting the collective right and left brain. Faye Reynolds led us in one of our morning devotions by not only feeding our hearts in God but also by challenging how we do ministry together.

I hope over time to give you a better idea of our Baptist life together in Canada. This was my first CBM meeting and I am on a steep learning curve.

Please find attached the CBM Ends Statement from May of last year and pray for our collective worship and service in the time ahead.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

This year marks the 60^th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. What follows is a blunt, and in some places disturbing reflection of that event.

Each year the number of veterans for the Second World War become fewer and fewer. The stories become harder to retrieve. Our dependence on memory becomes more frayed as those who have vivid, first hand recollections recoil from the burden of trying to convince another generation that war brings destruction to men, women, children, communities and nations. Yet war in our world continues. The threat of war remains intact after two and a half centuries with the European powers (along with the cooperation of North America for much of that) bringing suffering and death to 10’s of millions of people (mostly their own citizens).

As a country we are extremely ambivalent about our warring history. Despite our history of conflict we prefer to see ourselves as observers and non-combatants in a mad world. We occasionally allow for our recollection of our stellar contributions towards post WWII stability and peace keeping for five decades.

I am personally challenged by this Remembrance Day in my role as a Civilian Chaplain for the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada (the home of “Smokey” Smith, Canada’s last Victoria Cross holder who died this last summer). In my role as Padre I will be screening/interviewing eight young infantrymen for service in Afghanistan. They carry with them great risk to their personal safety. If past experience is any measure, not one of them volunteers because they see the opportunity as a lark or an adventure. I am constantly moved by their sense of commitment to a peaceful world and their pride in representing Canada. They are our proxy in a challenging violent and dangerous world. If each of them pass scrutiny I will commit to keep in touch with their families and pray for them regularly over the next year.

I ask this Sunday that all of us remember some of the following things:

∙ Remember the horror of war or all who are affected by it; those who lost their lives, the injured, combatants, non-combatants, civilians

∙ Please pray for peace

∙ May we feel called to a renewed ministry of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5: 18,19.

∙ Give thanks for those who “gave their todays so that we might have our tomorrows”

∙ Pledge with those who have gone before to remember their sacrifice and convey that sacrifice to this generation.

∙ Mark a full minute of silence in the service this Sunday.

∙ Have someone share their personal experience of war, fleeing violence, or war (as a soldier or civilian).

∙ Remember the many sides of “war memories”.

 

I know of a woman who, as a six year old little girl from Germany, remembers V-E Day as the day the Russians took her civilian dad and shot him in the village square. I know a woman whose widowed cousin, in fear of the approaching Soviet army, murdered all but one of his eight children and then killed himself. I remember a friend of our family in the 1960’s in Edmonton who died a lingering, desperately painful death from being gassed in WWI. Memories are mixed, memories are different.

The apostle Paul could honour the vocation of the soldier. Peter would see the centurion Cornelius become a Christian. Jesus would declare to us that the peace makers are blessed, yet He Himself defeated death by both His sacrifice (very passive, if you like, allowing His own death) and the power of His resurrection; which was anything but peaceful or passive.

Finally please pray for our chaplains and the re-discovery of three things; Our gratefulness to God for our freedom and a personal and passionate commitment to peace. May we commit like the children of Israel, who repeatedly re-called their history (as a reminder of God’s faithfulness  ). For in re-calling history we have a greater opportunity not to repeat it.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

 

 

 

 

We have a great deal to be thankful for as Baptists as we have (by and large) been the historical advocates for the religious tolerance, separation of church and state and the biblical “marriage” between social justice and evangelism. One of the distinctives that many are most enamoured with is that we are not a “creedal” church.

Creeds are simply statements of faith drawn from the church’s historical interpretation of essential theological and biblical foundations. Not all creeds are created equal. Some were created for political reasons. Some were crafted along specific theological and doctrinal lines so as to “skew” the intent of the biblical writers.

There are advantages and disadvantages to creeds. When they were used as de facto oaths of allegiance to a secular or ecclesiastical power they were wrong. When creeds or, in a broader format, statements of faith are used as a religious or cultural tool of coercion they are equally wrong. We are all too familiar with these problems and more. We are also deeply concerned as Baptists to be able to make personal discernments and choices as the scripture and the Spirit lead. That traditional will continue in the Baptist Union.

All these concerns are legitimate within a particular historical and cultural framework. We have several contemporary dilemmas however. There is within the Christian church context in Canada a theological left which can tend towards believing very little of the historical and biblical faith and a theological right that can tend towards legalism and a refutation of God given analytical gifts. On the other hand we have a culture which denies pluralism (the right of all to believe side by side without interference or ridicule) and embraces syncretism (which puts all beliefs in a blender and declares the resulting goop a victory for taste but reduces every belief to the same value).

A statement of faith is something that can be an affirmation of belief in an age of unbelief, and syncretism. It does not need to be coercive (comply or else you are not one of us), but needs to honour the Lord by contributing to worship and community. A statement of faith, prayerfully crafted and discussed can be an affirming declaration to newcomers about who we are in Christ…united, worshiping, welcoming and at one with other Christians.

The current statement of faith in circulation that has been approved by the Baptist Union for use at Carey Hall is the one that some use as our reference point. There is a tradition that the academy-seminary is the creator and repository for such documents and the Union is part of that tradition. I have initiated a discussion with several circles of leadership in the Union so that we might work on a statement of faith. I have outlined the historical problems with such issues. I have tried to explain why we need to explore such a statement. This is an era which is in need of orthodoxy, clarity, community, and worship not coercion, triumphalism, and rote.

Please find three statements of faith’s or creeds attached. Let’s discuss freely, think through and arrive at some consensus in the months ahead. I look forward to hearing from many of you.

Let’s find new ways to express faith together apart from the clutter around us; a dynamic, historical and compelling faith for this day and for the years to come.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

 

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hades; the third day He rose again form the dead’ He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible:

And in on Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made;

Who for us men and for out salvation came down from heaven,

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,

and was made man, and crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;

He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again

according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven,

and sitteth on the right hand of the Father:

And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead;

Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one catholic and apostolic church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 Carey Hall Statement of Faith

We accept wholeheartedly the revelation of God given in the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments and confess the faith therein set forth. We here explicitly assert the doctrine which we regard as crucial to the understanding and proclamation of the Gospel and to practical Christian living:

1. The Sovereignty, love, and grace of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in creation, providence, revelation, redemption and final judgment.

2. The divine inspiration of Holy Scripture and its entire trustworthiness and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

3. The value of each human being as created by God. The universal sinfulness of humankind since the fall, which alienates all from God and subjects all to condemnation.

4. The full deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, whose substitutionary sacrifice is the sole ground of redemption from guilt, penalty and power of sin.

5. The justification of the sinner by the grace of God through faith alone in Christ crucified and risen from the dead.

6. The illuminating, regenerating, indwelling and sanctifying work of God, the Holy Spirit, in the believer.

7. The church as set forth in the New Testament and understood historically by the Baptist community.

8. The expectation of the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ, our participation in the resurrection, and the hope of eternal life.

 

 

I came to this task and calling as Executive Minister with a passionate commitment to find God’s story as His activity is made known amongst us. I promised to find those stories and find as many ways as possible to tell them. I am committed to these stories for two “clusters” of reasons. The first cluster is that telling stories of God’s presence reminds us of his faithfulness, causes us to worship Him and provokes us to anticipate with renewed hope what He will yet do. The second “cluster” of reasons for the “telling stories” (the former and more familiar phrase is sharing our testimonies) is best described in the following quote that the Union’s executive assistant Linda Kilburn shared with me last week from Brendan Manning. As Linda handed the piece to me she said, “I read this and I thought, this is what Jeremy does.” She’s right, I do.

Only mystics, clowns and artists, in my experience, speak the truth, which, as Blake keeps insisting, is perceptible to the imagination rather than the mind. Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is far too serious a business to be left to theologians and exegetes alone. From the Middle Ages those professionals have monotonously neglected art and the imagination as guides to religious truth. I find myself in complete agreement with those who wish to reinstate the mystics, clowns, and artists alongside the scholars. The imaginable is the believable. To modify Wittgenstein: What we cannot imagine, we must confine to silence and non-belief.

Part of our story telling is in conversation, meetings, talks and even in this newsletter. Part of our new culture of story telling will be in a revamped web-site that is being designed by Steve Fisher of Lacombe with technical input from Alice Paradis in the Calgary office. There are so many ways to communicate through the website today I want to mention just one. ON Tuesday, November 8 a re-launched web will begin with the introduction of daily video clips. The first day will feature a series of biographical clips of about 1 to 2 minutes in length, putting names to faces, describing our tasks and explaining how to contact folk. There will be some “clips” that day of camps in the summer of 2005 and a couple of sample items from other places. From that day on there will be a new video clip of 3-5 minutes in length every day of the year. Our problem will not be in finding enough stories to fill a years worth of web-site time, but limiting the stories to just one day. We will start with one clip a day and see where we go.

 

You will see and hear stores of

-the church that hosted the town’s volunteer fire department and 400 folks showed up to give thanks for them

-the church that helps single parent households get ready for school in the fall

-a story about work with new-comers to Canada

-a “clip” about some community Christmas service and outreach ideas

-a celebrating of lives transformed in Christ

-a life changing experience for some folk visiting El Salvador

 

I feel foolish even trying to list the topics we have begun or planned to have as there are just far too many of them.

So here’s a challenge. At the end of this letter are the technical specifications for film and video on our web site. If you have a story of what God is doing in your midst please give myself or Linda Kilburn a call and we’ll walk through how that story can be shared with the rest of Western Canada (hey, this is the web….shared with the world).

God longs to make Himself known amongst us and this is but one way and a am beginning at that. Welcome to a festival and season of sharing God’s faithful presence amongst us…a promise of things to come.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

 

P.S. See you at the web in November

P.P.S. As you read this on Wednesday, October 12, the Mustard Seed will be having a fundraiser/celebration of Pat Nixon’s receiving of the Order of Canada Medal in Calgary. Please pray for that time.

J.B.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 8:00am on Monday morning, October 3^rd, I waited at Vancouver Airport for the plane to take off and head toward Calgary. The flight attendant cheerfully bid us all a good afternoon. My day was already happening too fast. As we landed in Alberta on a crisp, clear, beautiful Monday morning, once again our zealous cabin attendant wished us well. “Have a good weekend”, he gushed. Now my week was going to fast. It was now 9:20am on Monday morning and I had been bid a good afternoon and a good weekend. I needed perspective. I needed the wisdom, company, and conversation of those who are challenged, chastened, and comforted by life in the church in its many forms.

I left that Monday for a true time of fellowship with some Baptist Union pastors at the Entheos Retreat Centre outside Calgary. (Incidentally, it was delightful to see Bob Ball’s name as a founding board member and Norman Archer as an early supporter). The purpose of the time was to  bring together two groups of senior staff to talk to one another. The first group were pastors (only a few of them) with congregations of 125 and over. The second group (only some of them too) were seniors ministers of churches over 275. The time was organized by CHAPS coordinator (Church Health and Planting), Dayle Medgett, and Church Planting director, Dan Watt. We had some further (scheduled and unscheduled) input from Cam Roxburgh, Tom Conan, and Mark Buchanan. Sam Breakey, Alberta Area Minister, and George Munchinski led the 125 plus groups along with Dayle. Gary Nelson, Canadian Baptist Ministry General Secretary, also led the larger church group.

The meetings were called an Affinity Group Gathering. “Affinity” is defined by the Gage Dictionary (a truly Canadian invention) as “a natural attraction to a person or liking for a thing.” Our affinity at Enthreos was not for a thing but for a person (our common ground with Christ) and the church in worship, community and service.

I was challenged and moved by the stories. I heard and was deeply touched by the giftedness of those present. There were those who understand the “corresponding” like David Superior, Bruce Marten, Callum Jones and Mark McKim. There are those who are authors like Mark Buchanan (incredibly gifted) and Tom Cowan. Some have a passion for liturgy like Tim Colbourne or justice like John Prociuk (and Tim too). Some are gifted with the creative cultural edge of things like Sam Chaise (BUWC Board Chair and my boss), Greg Charnya, and Bob Bahr. Cam Roxburgh and Dan Watt spoke of their longing for church planting and I re-call Jake Kroeker and Gary Nelson reminding us of our cross-cultural commitments. I loved Tom Lavigne’s story of the community dinner for volunteer firefighters.

I only give you a glimpse of the diversity and interests and do not begin to touch the heart nor depth of these gifted folk amongst us.

I’ll stop now, I’ve only mentioned half those there and am indebted to them all, especially when they offered to lay hands on me, pray for me and encourage me. God has given us incredible passions to seek his will, cause for our lives, and desire to seek to live, worship and serve in Him. There are more and more “affinity” groups on the drawing boards in the Union. As the months progress we’ll hear of those already going and explore new areas in Evangelism, Justice, and various aspects of the Arts.

One more thing about last week, before going to Entheos I spent a couple of hours with Pat Nixon the director of the Calgary Mustard Seed Ministry and church. I experienced so many things that I can only give you a glimpse to encourage you. I saw one of the living areas for those wanting and willing to see change in their lives as well as the beds with hand made quilts given to each individual to keep and take with them into a new life. I was sobered by the beautiful mural painted by a young man who later took his own life…a reminder of the pain that sometimes never gets resolved in some people’s lives despite the best of supports and advocacy. I was encouraged that the Seed is about changing lives, transforming them not just covering up wounds or handing out placebos. Most of all I was challenged by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson’s question to Pat one day as they drank tea together in the dining hall of the Seed. Her Excellency asked Pat what motivated him to do the work he did at the Mustard Seed. Pat simply said “I do this as my act of worship to God.”

May that be true of each of us. May that be true of me today.

Thanks be to God.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Canada has a new Governor General. Her name is the Honourable Michaëlle Jean. As we mark her appointment to this office may we remember 1 Timothy 2:1-3:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.

Let us set aside for a moment how we feel or think about the way we are governed in this country and take the passage we have just read at face value. I will be welcoming Governor General Jean to her new position on behalf of the Baptist Union in a letter which will assure her of our prayers and support for this challenging new role she has assumed in light of the scripture we have just sited.

Our new Governor General’s appointment has not been without some controversy. The one that I particularly refer to is her expressed desire to “affirm” her oath of office rather than to place her hand on the bible, as has been the custom of Governor’s General in the past. I applaud her decision to be true to her own convictions rather than, in bad faith, to affirm something she does not believe in. Her position in this matter should reassure Baptists who believe firmly in the separation of church and state, even if they would like to be encouraged that our leaders depend on Almighty God for strength. The issue raised here is not simply one of authority and where that authority is derived from. It is also a question of personal integrity. The last time I was in court as a witness I chose to “affirm” rather than place my hand on the bible for two very simple reasons. The first was it has seemed to me in recent years that the state does not regard the scripture as the basis for its rule of law and therefore the use of the scripture in such contexts is in appropriate. The second reason is simply our Lord’s encouragement not to swear on anything except on our own word and that that should be enough. Matthew 5:33-37:

But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “yes, yes” or “no, no”, anything more than this comes from the evil one. 

On a lighter note, I have several things that I either admire or have in common with Governor General, Michaëlle Jean. My sister, Jennifer, married Uriel Pierre who is from Haiti. Like the new Governor General, I am an immigrant and have at times been discriminated against because of my background. I think we could all identify and be pleased with her sense of energy and commitment and we wish her well. But when we “wish her well” it will mean that we take seriously the passage in 1 Timothy that we began this letter with. It would be a good thing if we began to pray for our all our leaders in public life and to make that a regular part of personal and congregational worship.

We have 8 camps in the Baptist Union and they have all reported encouraging summers. In British Columbia we have Keats and Sylvan. In Manitoba, Pelican Lake. In Alberta, Gull lake, Wapiti, and Mill Creek. In Saskatewan, Christopher Lake and Katepwa. Below is a simple graph of how many campers attended this year.

 

 

Camp 2005

Keats 1880

Mill Creek 347

Gull Lake 588

Wapiti 308

The Quest at Christopher Lake 416

Sylvan 142

Katepwa 203

Pelican 171

 

I mentioned the attendance at camps this summer because of the central role that camps play in our life in the Baptist Union. I also want us to remember them in this fall season where many are recovering, celebrating, and reflecting with thanksgiving to God for all that happened this summer. As many of you who have been involved in camping know full well, the life cycle of a camping in the non-summer months only take on a different tempo. There is much planning, prayer, recruitment, and thought that happens between the hectic summer seasons. We’ll talk more about what happened this summer at camps in a later letter.

 

Warmly in Christ

Jeremy Bell

I would like to begin this week’s letter by giving thanks for Ying An the Baptist Union Development Fund Treasurer who is leaving us to work for the SNC Lavelin. Ying has had a fascinating journey in these last five years; coming to Canada, learning English, coming to First Baptist Calgary, working at the Baptist Union (being hired by Michael Packer), coming to faith in Christ and contributing to the life of our denomination.

Ying was not only our treasurer, but is an engineer. Ying’s warmth, clear faith, and graciousness is one of the highlights of my experience in the Calgary office. When Ying first came to the Union she was learning English and sometimes found it hard to find the right words to express herself. Now that Ying is leaving we are all having a hard time finding the right words to express ourselves. It is our turn to struggle with the right words. While Jack Borchert and Stu Dinsmore (amongst others) will have more to say as they know Ying better, let me end with a verse, Romans 8:38-39, whose theme is “there is nothing that separates us from the love of God in Christ”. Some people are reminders that the Lord is near. Ying is one of them. Go in the Lord, Ying, and with our blessing.

By the time you read this a fascinating week will have unfolded as I continue to be oriented to the works of the Baptist Union. It began on September 19 as we set up our trial run of our Resource Centre (see last week’s letter). Today (September 20^th), I am preparing a report for the board and finalizing agendas for Senior Staff on Wednesday (the senior managers of our work who meet twice a year).

On Thursday the 22^nd and Friday the 23^rd the Executive Staff meet. Who on earth are they? They are the Area Ministers; Paul Pearce and Sam Breakey with Ken Theissan the Area Minister Designate for the Heartland. John Prociuk, Director of Ministry, Jack Borchert, Executive Director of Baptist Union Development Fund, Brian Stelck, President of Carey Hall, David Holton, Director of Administration and Finance and Linda Kilburn, Executive Assistant, along with myself.

Friday evening, September 23^rd, had Sam Chaise, the Baptist Union President, leading the Planning and Priorities group for the Board through to Saturday at noon. This group looks at some of the policy, research and planning issues that we must use to prepare for the fuller board meetings in October. It includes Sam, as the President, David Connop, Beth Millard, and Marshall Miner, who are Vice-Presidents of various policy groups, as well as representatives from a variety of ministries including the Baptist Union Development Fund, Carey Hall, and other Senior Staff.

I’ll have a break on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and catch a 7am plane to Calgary for a day of meetings with the Calgary office and Pam Stevenson regarding the Resource Centre along with Jake Kroeker of First Baptist and some others.

Tuesday I’ll be in Edmonton with the Edmonton Area Ministerial for a good part of that day talking about visioning and planning process that we hope to undertake with the Baptist Union. On Wednesday I will be in Saskatoon to meet with several folk from two churches; Cal Malena as Chair of CBM, Terry Summach and Rob Priestly around some creative ideas, and Paul Matheson from First Baptist Saskatoon.

I will be attending the Carey Hall board meetings on October 1^st and also attending the Affinity Group meetings that are being led by Gary Nelson in Calgary the following week.
I thought I would give you an overview on the variety of experiences in our ministry in the Baptist Union. I am thankful for your prayers and excited about the work we are undertaking together.

 

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

As Canadians we so rarely allow ourselves heroes. We save our adulation for people in their dying rather than pausing to give thanks for them when they are with us. We are getting better. We almost allow ourselves to give thanks for Romeo Dalerre, Katrina LeMay Dolm or Ric Hansen. But these folk are too few and far between. The very public and disgraceful display of Peter Newman and Brian Mulroney do little to help the public discourse on public figures we admire. Terry Fox is different. Terry (someone we refer to with the familiarity of his first name) is someone we love. With few exceptions (except perhaps Tommy Douglas and Cardinal Leger, interestingly, both pastors) there are few Canadians in the last fifty years to whom we are so attached.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Terry’s run for cancer research. Three million children in 10,000 schools will join in a run in Terry’s memory and to contribute to a fund that has raised over a third of a billion dollars in the last 25 years.

We often have trouble in our church communities dealing with community heroes, calamities or villains, for that matter. We often find it awkward for some reason to think about the events in our world that everyone else is talking about. Many of us cite examples of churches that have seeded the sacred to the secular. When Karl Barth said one should preach with the Bible in one hand the newspaper in the other. Many of us have observed and are afraid of an imbalance. Just because talking about current events and issues is different it does not suggest it is impossible.

The Sunday morning after Terry Fox died I was on a summer holiday in a worship service that was inordinately packed for a summer Sunday. Terry’s passing was mentioned in the prayer but no where else in the service. About halfway through the sermon a women in the congregation got and in a deeply torn and grieving voice challenged the preacher as to why he was not speaking to us about Terry. Without waiting for an answer she stormed from the service. The minister (one of the most gifted preachers I know) had probably not yet arrived at the point of his message touching on Terry, but the pain of the woman in her loss (face it, Terry’s loss was a collective loss) was too much for her to bear. This scenario unfolds often in our churches on Sunday morning, but without anyone bothering to interrupt the proceedings. The silence of the church on public issues (never mind justice, evangelism or social concerns) is deafening. We confuse separation of church and state (essential in every culture) with an abdication of the prophetic (a topic for another day) or a lack of pastoral concern for what we are all going through in everyday life. Many of our church folk exit the building emotionally and spiritually when the issues of the day are ignored while we slavishly keep to the preset teaching plan. I am not suggesting Sunday should  be devoted to the last horror from the newspaper. I am suggesting we can no longer afford to be duplicitous in a collective ignorance.

There are several ways to address this that may be helpful. I have tried each of these with various effectiveness. The call to worship and pastoral prayers are clear and right places to  re-contextualize and to respond to events around us. I have often seen the use of moments of silence (not nano moments but actual clear spaces of time) to reflect on an event and find that asking people to stand for that near the beginning of the service is especially helpful.

We need to let people grieve or recover. More importantly we need to declare that in the midst of war, hurricanes, the death of a loved one, famine and other fearful things that God and his people are “a very present help in times of trouble”. We need to recall Peter’s words to Jesus, “Where else can we go Lord?” or the Psalmist in Psalm 116 who cries, “I love the Lord because he has heard my voice”.  I have also set aside a prepared sermon for a Sunday to preach on a more pressing topic (at times started a series on suffering as with 9/11 and the Tsunami). For practical reasons a simple and clear comment at the beginning of a sermon is often more helpful than changing the entire talk. A comment combined with the offer to pray with people after the service points us back to the care of God and opens up discussion and prayer amongst one another when we are most in need of it.

So thanks be to God for Terry Fox and others like him. Thanks also to the Lord for His presence in times of trouble and for the prayers of encouragement from God’s people when we so sorely need it in these difficult times. May we by the Spirit and scripture discern our response to these difficult days and find God’s perspective in them.

 

Warmly

In Christ,

 

Jeremy Bell

 

 

We want to talk this week about resources for personal, congregational and spiritual foundation.

When it comes to resources it is probably best to refer to Charles Dickens’s comment in A Tale of Two Cities; “It was the best of times and it was the worst of time.” It is the best of times because there is a seeming abundance of good quality, culturally relevant, biblical material that is available. It is the worst of times in the sense that much of the material is very expensive, written by people we don’t have a working trust with and frankly, for many of us in this sprawling territory called Western Canada, material that is hard to access. (I tried to access a nationally reviewed book this week only to be told no one had it and its’ Winnipeg publisher might not ever re-print it regardless of demand!)

We are about to launch a resource centre in the Baptist Union with a twist. Well, there are several twists. Firstly, books, DVD’s and other resources will be available to order through our website. Secondly, after visiting the web, surveying the material you will have the material sent to you within that working week. If you order on Monday-Thursday for instance it will find its way to you on or before the following Friday. Thirdly, the package you receive will contain a stamped and addressed return envelope to return your resource material back to the Union Office when you are finished. This service will be available by mid-November, in time for many excellent Advent and Christmas resources.

The selections below are being used for a pilot project in a sample group for September through October. We’re working out the ordering, responding and retrieval systems to offer clean, effective encouragement and ministry to one another. Future listings will include everything from Gumbel to Blacaby, Stott to St. John of the Cross, the Alpha Marriage Course to our outstanding array of authors like Bruce Milne, Mark Buchanan and Stan Grenz amongst others.

 

1. Gordon Fee, How to Read the Bible and Get the Most Out of It

2. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

3. Brian Maclaren, A Generous Orthodoxy

4. Gary Haugen, The Good News About Injustice

5. 2 workshop CD’s from Holy Trinity Brompton in London

6. The Celtic Book of Prayer from the Northumbria County (a book I use for my daily devotions)

 

We are providing these resources for three simple reasons. We want good resources within the reach of every leader and church in the denomination. “Easy Reach” can mean overcoming economic, geographic or cultural barriers. We want people to feel they can freely sample and “test drive” material to discern whether “fit” for self or church. Lastly, we want to encourage the inter-pollination and sharing of ideas, learning, good reading, and good listening so that we will encourage one another and deepen in our walk together in Christ.

We want to make resources accessible with the testing out material to be straightforward. We want to see the Baptist Union weave one of its many strands of community by sharing resources together; resources where you live, whatever you can afford, and however the Lord is leading you.

 

Thanks be to God.

Warmly in Christ,

Jeremy Bell

P.S. Remember we will test drive the resource centre September through October, and put it on-line on November 8.

This week’s letter is in three parts but despite that will be briefer than some of my earlier notes. I want to begin by commenting briefly on Hurricane Katrina. Then I want us to reflect on some items for prayer and finally turn to the personal choices that we all need to look at as we enter the fall.

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath will have profound effects for many years, if not generations to come. We have become somewhat insulated from disasters that afflict our world – from war to famine, earthquakes to tsunamis. We have even become regionally isolated in our own country when we have heard but not been moved from our own experiences of ice-storms, floods, fire storms and droughts. One American leader made the comment that his own culture “had developed an enormous capacity to have patience with the suffering of black people”. While I agree with him, it is incumbent on each of us as Canadian Christians to ensure we do not develop any tolerance whatsoever for the suffering of any in our land and I wonder who we are willing to ignore and who we are willing to embrace. Let us pray for all those affected by the events of Katrina and prepare to learn lessons from these experiences. Gary Nelson, General Secretary of Canadian Baptist Ministries, has said that CBM is coordinating over 75 volunteers from Canada in a relief effort. Please contact them if you would like more information.

I want to emphasize prayer for youth and children in this newsletter. I am especially concerned for campers and staff returning from our denominational camps and the new season of youth groups, Sunday school and other activities that will be starting soon. Maybe “concerned” does not convey the right notion … in fact I am very excited about the work that is going on in our midst in children’s ministry. I was particularly challenged to read in the bulletin from New Life Community Baptist Church in Duncan this last Sunday the statistic that 83% of those who sit in church on Sunday came to faith before the age of 13. That fact says something about the significance of early childhood contact with the Faith but also says something about our lack of effectiveness in adult evangelism. By the way, New Life celebrates its work with children by regularly having over 280 out on Sundays…. thank you Lord! So let’s pray, encourage, mentor and support our ministry to children and youth as we begin this fall.

Lastly, a story on a personal note. A primer for the fall. I have a terrible relationship with the TD Canada Trust in Duncan, British Columbia which is near a cottage we often visit as a family. Whenever I visit this particular branch (incidentally, the staff are tremendous and very patient) I am in holiday mode and therefore forgetful. This last July was the worst when money that I had taken from my account got left (by me) in the cash dispenser never to be seen again. My bank machine experience is a bit of a metaphor for my requests of God especially in this fall season. I go about the usual rituals of asking God for relationship and much else only to either ignore or neglect to receive what he has offered. Often in the fall we set out with intentions of personal spiritual formation and growth, asking of God and others, only to walk away from all that he has for us. I sense that this comes from getting caught up in a lot of fairly understandable business rather than beginning with clear, intentional listening time with God as we enter our fall together with Him and with one another. My wife Kerry has often reminded me (and I need constant reminding) that the word obed (the root of obedience obviously) means “to listen”.

Even now Lord Jesus give me a longing and capacity to listen.

Warmly,
In Christ,

Jeremy