BCY Regional Newsletter January 2024

The Pursuit of Balance

By Larry Schram

Everyone seems to be pursuing ‘balance’ these days, and many pastors in particular have joined the search. Apparently, those of us who are called to ministry are particularly unbalanced individuals! After reading extensively and visiting many websites claiming to have the right tools and advice, I can’t help but think of a children’s story. Do you remember the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes? The emperor was convinced by a fraud that he was wearing a beautiful set of clothes, but in reality, he was naked.

It took a small child to finally blurt out the truth—the emperor wasn’t wearing anything at all! Maybe we need a small child to blurt out the truth about our hunger for a balanced life.

Stop and think about this with me for just a minute. What is balance anyway? Is it not the Olympic gymnast perfectly balanced on a balance beam? Is it not the waiter balancing a tray of fragile glasses, filled to the brim, while skillfully maneuvering through a crowded room? Is it not the massive rock delicately balanced on a much smaller rock, defying gravity? Now, what do all those images have in common? Are they not all easily lost? All it takes is one slip, one moment of distraction, or one small earth tremor and balance is lost, and the result may be disastrous.

I know that is not really what we mean when we use the word balance. We talk about balance to describe our pursuit of a full life. Things like work, family, recreation, exercise, faith, spiritual formation, and rest need to be “balanced” so we can get it all done, and not feel guilty about what we haven’t done. There is just one small problem with this pursuit; it is just as fragile. All it takes is one sick child, one NSF notice, one traffic jam, or one conversation that begins with, “We need to talk” and our “balance” is lost.

Why do we hunger and search for this idea of balance? I think the reasons vary, but for many of us it is because we want control. We mistakenly believe that a balanced life means that we are in control of our days. As people of faith, maybe we need to remember that the only control we are called to pursue is self-control.

Interestingly, the Bible makes virtually no mention of the concept of balance, but it does talk a lot about seasons and rhythm. There are seasons in our lives where nothing is balanced—but we are, nevertheless, wildly joyful. There is also an invitation to a rhythm of life with our Lord that is contrary to the belief that we can do, have, and be it all if we only find the right, and preferably free, app.

This year, instead of trying to balance our days and weeks, let’s ask ourselves two questions:

1. What season am I in?

2. What is the rhythm of this day and week as I follow Jesus?

In doing so, we will not be able to ‘do it all,’ but we might just find some freedom.

Larry Schram

BCY Baptist Women News

Great Canadian Bible Study

Every January (or whenever it suits), Baptist women across Canada participate in a one-time Bible study. At that time, they also give a donation to a project that assists vulnerable women and children.

Great Canadian Bible Study 2024 “The Women at the Foot of the Cross” by Rev. Sandra Sutherland www.canadianbaptistwomen.com

Great Canadian Bible Study: First Baptist Church, Port Alberni on Wed Jan 24,2024 from 10:30-11:30am, for both men and women.

Great Canadian Bible Study: Trinity Baptist Church, Vancouver on Sat Jan 20, 2024 at 1:00-2:30pm. All women are welcome.

Island Women’s Day Away: hosted by First Baptist, Port Alberni on June 1, 2024. Guest Speaker: Darlene Oppel, Courtenay, BC. All women are welcome.

BCY Baptist Women’s Luncheon: on Fri, July 14, 2024 at 12:00pm, just prior to the BC and Yukon Regional Assembly from June 14-15 2024 at White Rock Baptist Church. The speaker will be Moreen Sharp. She is currently serving as the president of Canadian Baptist Women and as VP on the CBM Board. Previously, she was president of Women in Focus, then president of Baptist Women of North America. She most recently served as Executive Director of Baptist World Alliance Women.

New Pastors

A warm welcome to the following Pastors in the BCY Region:

Wayne Snider, Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church in Nanaimo.

We welcomed Wayne as he stepped into the role of Interim pastor at First Baptist Church Nanaimo and now are pleased to announce that he has accepted the role of Lead Pastor.

Alan Yu, Senior Pastor of Westside Baptist Church

Alan immigrated to Canada with his family from Hong Kong in 1987. He grew up in a non-Christian family and came to Christ in 1990 through the Chinese Christian Fellowship at the University of British Columbia, when he studied there. He was invited to join an evangelistic Bible study led by Pastor Gladys Tsang on campus, and accepted Jesus during the Bible study. 

Pastor Gladys invited him to join the newly-planted Westside Baptist Church. He was baptized in 1990 at Westside in its first baptism and has been a member of Westside since.

Alan felt the call to full-time ministry soon after his conversion. After he graduated from university, he started studying part-time at Regent College. Two years later, he quit his professional job and started serving at Ambassadors for Christ in Canada, serving youth on campuses and in the community. While there, he had the opportunity to develop many creative ministry ideas—such as podcasts, worship discipleship, and a caring ministry through cooking. In 2009, as Pastor Anders encountered health issues, Alan started working part-time at Westside to share the ministry load. In 2011, he was called to become a full-time pastor at Westside, serving alongside Pastors Gladys and Anders. He was ordained in 2014. As Pastor Gladys and Anders retired, Alan was appointed the Senior Pastor of Westside starting January 2024.

Alan has been married to his wife, Constance, for 25 years. Constance was a computer programmer and a high-tech project manager and is currently working at UBC as a career consultant. Alan and Constance have three sons—Alpha, Archer and Aslan. Alan speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and has forgotten his French learned in high school. In his spare time, Alan enjoys trying new recipes and watching Korean drama series. Alan is also known as an “Adult Fan of LEGO.”

Winsor Boggs, Youth Pastor at Hillside Baptist Church

About halfway through a BA in Philosophy at Wheaton College, Winsor realized his calling to ministry. His time studying existentialist philosophers—such as Søren Kierkegaard—emboldened him to make a genuine difference in the world, and his heart for teaching, mentoring, and proclaiming the good news led him to church ministry.

Although he was raised around the church, Winsor’s life drastically shifted when he fully accepted Jesus at age 18, and his life of ministry is meant to pass along that blessing as much as possible.

Winsor has a passion for the arts—first arriving in Canada from the United States with his wife, Abby Boggs, as she completed a Masters of Performing Arts at the University of Victoria. The Boggs’ moved to Vancouver in 2020 so that Winsor could study at Regent College. Winsor is nearing completion of his M.Div. Abby is currently the Arts Administrator at Regent College and a core member of the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Winsor and Abby have become Permanent Residents of Canada.

Naturally adaptable, Winsor has seen many sides of church ministry, having served as a Worship Pastor before his current role as Youth Pastor. The driving-forces of his ministry are opportunities to preach the good news of God, and one-on-one conversations. In his free time, Winsor likes to try different foods, learn new things, drink good coffee, play games, and go on long walks with his dog, Hazel.

Ken Radant, Pastor of West Vancouver Baptist Church

Hi all! I’m Ken Radant, and I’m the newly-appointed lead pastor at West Vancouver Baptist Church. This is an exciting, and also somewhat daunting change in ministry trajectory for me. (Your prayers are most welcome.) For the past 30+ years, I’ve served as a professor and administrative leader in seminaries here in Western Canada;

at Prairie Graduate School, Ambrose Seminary, ACTS/Trinity Western University, and most recently Carey Theological College. It’s been a privilege and joy to work in formal theological education. But God’s plans are full of surprises, and this past year He moved some levers, flicked switches, closed and opened doors—and now I find myself focusing on direct pastoral leadership. So, I’m launching into something that is both familiar and new, and am thrilled to be working even more closely with the leadership team in the church that has been my home for the past 5 years.

I’m blissfully married to Diane, with 2 adult kids living in North Vancouver and Victoria. Once upon a time, we were cat-owners, but now we’re empty-nesters in the fullest sense. I grew up in Calgary, where I developed a life-long love for the outdoors. When I’m not in the office, I enjoy music and wilderness/water sports including skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, and especially kayaking. I guess that means the Vancouver North Shore is the right place for me!

Photos from the BCY Region

A few moments caught on camera…

This regional newsletter is published quarterly within the CBWC’s monthly newsletter, Making Connections. Have a story idea? Email our senior writer, Jenna Hanger: jhanger@cbwc.ca