Congratulations to our 2020 Ordinands!
Ordination is an act of the local church. The churches in the CBWC have covenanted together to recognize each others’ act of ordination. The CBWC helps facilitate this by offering training and support to see that each candidate successfully completes the educational and theological requirements needed for recommendation to gospel ministry.
This year, we had ten candidates attend the Ordination Preparation Workshop (OPW) at Carey in February, to work through some of the Baptist and CBWC distinctives of our theological thinking, understanding of
Scriptural authority and view of ordination practices. Time was also spent discussing pastoral resiliency, emotional health, and spiritual practices for prevention of burnout and ministry failure.
Due to Coronavirus restrictions, we did not hold the Ordination Examining Council in May as planned, and instead interviewed the candidates in an online OEC in October. Our goal was that every candidate would do well before the Ordination Examining Council (OEC), and indeed, all candidates who went before the council were recommended for ordination! Two of our candidates were previously ordained and therefore did not appear before the OEC but were recognized on completion of OPW by the Ministerial Credentials Committee. We look forward to the ongoing, fruitful ministry of all our ordinands for many years to come.
Brian Carnahan is pastoring at Bethel Baptist in Sechelt, BC since 2018 and came to us from the Fellowship Baptist in Ontario. Brian received his M. Div. from Tyndale Seminary and was ordained in 2014. He and his wife, Joanne have two children, Brandon and Alicia.
Brian Munro is pastoring at Kitimat First Baptist. He is married to Susie and they have three grown boys—Duncan, Matthew and Steven. He is a graduate of Taylor Seminary and pastored 15 years in Saskatchewan before accepting the call to Kitimat in 2018.
Aaron Hansen is an associate pastor at Cranbrook Baptist Church with a focus on mission and youth. Aaron hails from Cranbrook along with his wife, Robyn and came out of a Pentecostal background and served with Young Life before coming to us in 2008, first in administration while starting his M. Div. work at Carey. They have two children, Paige and Payton.
Chris McClure is married to Myrna and they have three daughters—Kaylie, Janaya and Tianna. They served in ministry and mission in Kenya before completing his studies at Trinity Western University. Chris was called to serve at Brightview Baptist Church near Falun, Alberta in 2011 and has had an impactful ministry there.
Doris Kung-Poon is serving at Trinity Baptist in Vancouver in their multi-cultural outreach ministries. She is a graduate of Taylor Seminary (2005) with an M.A. in Intercultural Studies and has a Doctorate in Worship from Northern Seminary. Multi-lingual in language, Doris is a gifted evangelist and is strong in discipleship. She is married to Joe and has one daughter.
David Ohori pastored in Port Alberni in the role of youth pastor before returning to his hometown of Prince George in 2011 to serve at First Baptist there. He and Carmen have six children. Recently, David received a call to pastor at Kaleden in the Okanagan, and so his ordination process began in Prince George but was affirmed and completed at Kaleden. He is a graduate of Carey.
Dean Haugan is well-known as a pastor’s kid, having grown up in the CBWC family. He is a graduate of Ambrose University and has served at both First Baptist in Calgary and now at Leduc as Associate Pastor of Youth. He is currently completing his M. Div. at Carey and is married to Jenna. They have 2 young daughters, Daidrie and Maya.
Peter Anderson is our American son from Wisconsin.He came to study at Regent College and became the Youth pastor at Westpoint Grey Baptist in Vancouver. He served there for 11 years before he felt God calling him to a new ministry, which fortunately for us turned out to be Director of Next Gen Ministries with the CBWC. He and his wife, Brianna, enjoy their three sons—Lincoln, Everett and Levi.
Reymus F. Cagampan is a church planter in Winnipeg, first pastoring in the Philippines, then coming to Canada to serve at Maples Evangelical Church in Winnipeg, and then called to work with Greenhills Christian Fellowship in 2011. He completed his M.A. at Canadian Mennonite University in 2017. He and Angie have a daughter and a son.
Tyler Hagan serves as Discipleship Pastor at Westview Baptist in Calgary for the last 6 years. He and Charity are parents to Noah and Tilia. He is a graduate of Briercrest, where he met his wife and life-partner in ministry. Tyler has a high view of Scripture and a deep love for God’s people.
Carey Theological College: Reflections on Hope During Advent
Rev. Dr. Colin Godwin, President
2020 brought uncertainty, doubt, loneliness, perhaps fear or even the unthinkable into many of our lives. We know that during times of barrenness, God lifts us up and gives us hope with a way forward. In Genesis 25:21, Isaac experienced that when he prayed for Rebekah’s barrenness and God answered his prayer with hope as
she conceived. In the midst of a COVID-19 year, Carey’s hope came in many ways through our Lord Jesus. We welcomed 24 UBC students into our student residences, we moved forward with plans for the construction of our new ministry centre, we continued to serve our theological students through our innovative online learning experience, and we were joined by two new Biblical studies faculty members, professors Amy Chase and Wil Rogan. Below, they give us a glimpse of who they are by each sharing a devotional for this season of hope.
Dr. Amy Chase, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies (Old Testament)
For me, from a large family with a holiday business rush, Christmas recalls multi-generations working, eating, talking and laughing together. But holidays can seem bittersweet if some beloved among us do not share the faith, want to attend services together, or otherwise
partake of Jesus. For such feelings, Advent supplies comfort and hope.
In Advent we anticipate not only the birth of Christ but also his coming into each person’s heart and his return to reign. Zechariah, one of Israel’s prophets, foresaw that future day when Messiah will set things right. “ ‘Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,’ declares the Lord” (2:10). “The Lord will signal for Israel’s children and gather them in. He will redeem them; they will remember him, and they will return (10:8-9).”
Many nations will be joined with the Lord on that day, says Zechariah (2:11). They will urge one another, “Let’s seek the Lord!” and they’ll grab hold, ten per Jew, saying, “Let us go with you; we have heard that God is with you!” (8:20-23).
For those worried about their children, Zechariah also assures. On that day when the Lord saves his people, they will sparkle like jewels in a crown: young men flourishing from ample grain and young women from new wine (9:16). Restored Jerusalem’s streets will be filled with playing boys and girls (8:5). And if this seems impossible, too marvelous to conceive, the Lord asks: “…but will it seem impossible to me?” (8:6).
The Lord’s coming kingdom will be so crowded with his gathered people there will not even be enough room (10:10). The city of God will be so crammed, its walls will burst (2:4). But not to worry: God will protect. “I myself will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be its glory within” (2:5). So, if your precious ones are not all yet gathered: be comforted, anticipate — and be glad.
Prof. Wil Rogan, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies (New Testament)
When we think about Christmas we can’t help but think of the stories of Jesus’s nativity in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Conjured up are images of shepherds, and joyous sounds of angels’ songs, and warm, friendly beasts around an infant, who as an infant was
nonetheless God-with-us. Somewhat less popular at Christmas, but no less pertinent, is the Gospel of John’s story of Jesus. Although John includes no nativity and mentions only in passing Jesus’s mother, we are told that the Word that was with God in the beginning became flesh, dwelled among us, and made possible our birth from God (John 1:1–2, 13–14). In other words, by some mystery, the flesh of Jesus gives our mortal flesh the capacity to be born from God, or, as Jesus was to say to Nicodemus, to be born from water and Spirit (3:5).
Early Christians understood birth from water and Spirit as what happens to a person in baptism. Submerged in cleansing waters, one is born from above. I have not yet grasped the mystery of the birth that happened to me as Theodore Petrikis pushed me down into the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But I do know that Jesus has come to mean everything to me, and this would not have been possible without his becoming flesh. I can’t help but think that baptism has brought me into the story of Christmas—not merely by way of memory or imagination or faith (though all those things are involved), but by God’s work. Christmas will always be for me a story about God’s work in Jesus. And, in baptism, I’ve found that it has become my story too. Since Jesus became flesh, my mortal flesh is bound to Jesus, bound to see his glory, and bound to be with him forever. Thank God.
We invite you to visit our online course list to learn more about Carey and consider taking a course with Dr. Godwin, Prof. Rogan and/or Dr. Chase or one of our other faculty members, Dr. Joyce Chan and Dr. Ken Radant as an occasional student; one of the simplest ways to take courses at Carey. Students enrolled into our degree programs from a CBWC member church are eligible for 40% financial aid in the 2020/2021 academic
The Small Stuff
By Jenna Hanger
Julie was not a baker.
She was a Youth Pastor.
She supposed she could technically be both, but if she was to pick another way to describe herself she would say planner, not baker. She was gifted with planning events; she was organized and meticulous. Her back-up plans had back-up plans ready to be executed at a moment’s notice. Often, she headed up planning the bigger events for church, even if it was out of her wheelhouse. Ever since she was a kid, Julie had kept a careful calendar, colour-coded with notes on how long each scheduled event should take. Her brother used to tease her about her calendar-keeping ways, and now her co-workers did, but with admiration behind their jibes.
But this year all her plans, and back-up plans, and back-up-back-up plans were blown to bits. For the first time in her life, Julie’s calendar was mostly empty. She tried to do some things with the youth while things were shut down. They did a few virtual events, and she met up for a six-feet-apart coffee with as many as she could, but there was no getting around the fact that there just wasn’t much to be planned.
So now, Julie was baking even though she was not a baker and had very little experience making anything that didn’t come out of a package. It was a simple enough recipe, her mom assured her, even she could handle making sugar cookies. They used to make them together when she was a child at Christmas time. Julie mostly watched, waiting until it was time to slather them with icing and sprinkles. She would lick her fingers clean, sneaking gobs of green, white and red icing out of the bowls when her mom wasn’t looking. Almost as much or more ended up in her belly instead of the cookies, but that was half the fun. To her, sugar cookies-cut in a variety of bells, angels, stars and pine trees- were linked to the sweet aroma of hot chocolate and lights twinkling against the black night. Just the smell of them brought to mind snowflakes falling in heavy waves and presents wrapped in bright crinkly paper stacked under a tree.
Julie looked at the rows of cookies now, waiting to be decorated. A pile of angels lay crowded together with their crumbling edges overlapping, breaking all the social-distancing rules. She should draw little masks on them… but maybe that would be too depressing. Funny, but depressing. These were supposed to boost morale, to make the receivers think about tinsel and carols, hot drinks and colourful lights. All the wonderful small things of Christmas.
Her dad used to tell her not to sweat the small stuff. He said it often, worried about his little planner and her overly detailed notes. But Julie liked sweating the small stuff. Small stuff she could control; it was the big stuff that she couldn’t. Like a global pandemic, like all church events having to go virtual or be cancelled. Those were the big stuff.
The small stuff was feeling the icy sting of the night air as you admired the neighbourhood lights and leaving homemade jam on the doorstep of your favourite display. It was thoughtfully buying presents and sending Christmas cards to let people know you were thinking of them. And it was baking cookies to add to goodie baskets that would be dropped off at her youth kid’s doors.
It was possible that the small things were how they were going to keep the Christmas spirit alive this year when everyone was spread out and alone. The small stuff made you smile, pause and appreciate. This Christmas, there might not be the big events she loved to plan like Christmas concerts, banquets and large Christmas eve services. But there were still small gestures, small moments, and it would be more than enough. It would be beautiful.
Humans of CBWC
In a year of isolation and social-distancing, connecting with others has been a challenge that we’ve all had to face. One of the best ways to connect with others is through storytelling. This past year, we have been privileged to share stories from different members who make up our CBWC family under the hashtags #humansofcbwc and #weareallcbwc. Being able to hear the stories of these folks has been such an honour. Modelled after Humans of New York, these mini-bios have been a hugely successful campaign that many people have been inspired by and felt a connection to. We’ve had an artist, a chaplain, retired and active pastors, a camp program director, a teacher, retired missionaries and more submit their stories to us, and we are excited to continue growing our list of contributors! If you would like to check out their stories, visit our Facebook page.
If you know someone from the CBWC family who might have a story to share, please pass their contact information to jhanger@cbwc.ca, and please help spread the word to your church (maybe even include a notice in your bulletin!) This is a great way to stay connected during this time of social distancing, and it’s also a wonderful way to get to know the many faces that make up the CBWC!
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Making Connections is the monthly newsletter of the CBWC.