The Rumour is True!
Yep, I am taking steps toward retirement from the CBWC role of Mountain Standard Regional Minister. I’ll be carrying duties well into January, but someone else will likely take up the mantle at that point. After that time, I expect to be more available to assist with the needs of our kids and grandkids, and hopefully have a bit more time for travel and fishing as well.
This is written months ahead of my departure date, but the CBWC Board needs time for some due process. Even if the Board makes a hire at their September meeting, the chosen individual likely needs to give three months’ notice, then I’ll need some crossover time with them for orientation. Guaranteed is the fact that the next person will bring a different personality and do some things differently… just as in pastoral ministry no two people are identical in how they fulfil their role. Pray for the individual to be chosen!
Looking back over thirteen years, I have to say that most activities of my duties have amounted to wonderful privileges. I’ve always enjoyed travel and meeting with people and providing resources. There are/were only a few areas where I could speak with a sense of “This is what you have to do.” Usually, all I could do is advise from my perspective, show options, assist in the direction a church or pastor has already chosen, all the while showing support within Scriptural and CBWC guidelines.
We have some wonderful and fantastic pastors, board members and laypeople. I wish all could see how, when I visit churches of various types, God shows up. Everyone and every church is truly unique. The most common phrase I have heard over the years is “We are not a normal Baptist church” which, I must say, is both common and normal. Our ability to be unique within our own context is likely the greatest strength of being Canadian Baptist.
I am sure I will miss parts of being in this role, but I am sure God has someone else who can venture into areas I have not, taking our church family into an even healthier level of ministry together.
Thank you all for the grace shown me over the years. May God continue to lead going forward!
Your co-worker, Dennis
Creative Life, Happy Life Retreat!
Art is the lens through which I experience the world. Art is the medium to present the human condition… love, fear, bewilderment, pleasure, distaste, brotherhood and all the subtleties that we all know…
— Alton Tobey
We often talk about God as Savior, God as King, God as Love. What is less explored is God as Creator and what that means for us. Those simple words “In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth”(Genesis 1:1) cannot cover the vastness—the absolute, breathtaking magnitude of what it means that God is Creator. He is the original Artist—creating creatures, nature, galaxies and intelligent species in such detail and beauty that our minds simply cannot comprehend it.
We, as humankind made in His image, have in us this desire to create. Whether you are drawn to painting, writing, quilting, photography or some other avenue, all of these things stem from the Great Creator Himself. It is an incredible tool He has given us. Not only as a form of self-expression, but as a way to express truth, to challenge that status quo, and to explore what it really means to be human. Whether you write worship songs or secular songs, paint scenes from your backyard, design cards, knit a scarf, or take photos of weddings––all art is a form of honouring the Lord.
Lynn Cole, from Brownfield Baptist Church, and her family are hosting a retreat at Gull Lake Centre this October to explore this very thing. The Creative Life, Happy Life retreat is for anyone who is creative, or wants to be. Over the course of the weekend, folks will have time to work on individual projects, listen to Lynn speak, take part in some group activities and share about their work. Whether you have a project you are working on, want to start something, or just want to relax and learn, this is the weekend for you.
Lynn has been the speaker at many functions—including multiple camps and leadership training weeks at Gull Lake Camp, SERVE in 2010, Women’s Retreats (including the 2017 CBWC Women’s Retreat) and various youth events.
Over recent years, Lynn has discovered the joy and importance of creating art through her work as a painter. She is currently being certified as an Art Therapist.
“For me, creating art is a form of therapy. It gives me a sense of connection to my emotions and an outlet to express deep things that can’t be put into words. Plus, it’s just out right fun!” Lynn said.
Art is also one of the most effective ways to reach people, to relate to them and convey a message. Just think how a song has the ability to sweep an entire crowd of people away, how a book can capture millions of people’s time and attention, how a painting can evoke feelings in generations of audiences. Art is one of the most powerful communicators that the Lord has given us.
The Creative Life, Happy Life Retreat is meant to encourage those in the church to celebrate and explore their creative urges. It will also be a time to learn how to use your art to further God’s Kingdom and why the arts are so important and needed in this day and age.
“The world needs our voices through the arts because often—at our best—our voices are the voice of the God that lives within us,” Lynn said.
To register for the event, CLICK HERE. Any questions? Feel free to email jenna.cole93@gmail.com
Assembly Made Changes to Credentialling Categories
With our newly approved CBWC Ministerial Protocol Manual, if you were a ‘licensed minister,’ you now have a new title as ‘credentialled minister.’ Those just hired with a CBWC church or ministry are automatically ‘registered ministers.’ Anyone who is hired by a CBWC church or ministry is accountable to the standards of the MPM. The new delineation of categories is found in the MPM located on the Careers page.
Many had thought that a ‘licensed minister’ had a ‘license to marry,’ but the truth is that a ‘licensed minister’ only had a license to minister within a CBWC context. Marriage licenses are distributed differently by the Ministerial Credentials Committee and that process is described in the MPM.
The CBWC will no longer have a category entitled ‘Accredited Ministers’ but will annually produce a copy of our ‘credentialled ministers list.’
The ‘credentialled ministers list’ should then include only those active in paid CBWC ministry contexts.
You can also find in the new MPM a copy of the new CBWC Identity Statement in the MPM Appendix.
Photos From Our Community
This picture is from the CBWC Assembly 2022 held in Calgary May 26-28. At these meetings, the Identity Statement and changes to the CBWC Ministry Protocol Manual was approved.
From June 6 to 8, the CBWC Executive Staff was in Calgary meeting with our newer ministers at our New Ministers Orientation. This meeting had been delayed two years due to Covid. The meeting was a bit larger than most years, but this time of orientation is important to those new to the CBWC.
On June 5th, after a couple year delay due to Covid, Brightview Church held an ordination service for their lead pastor, Chris Maclure. The church has had a very healthy season under Chris’s leadership. Chris has been intentional about leadership development and discipleship, and growth in this rural context is evident by just walking through the door. There is a good and positive spirit in the church, and a hunger for God is evident.
Our Northern Cluster of the Mountain Standard Region often meets on Zoom each month. This provides those in more isolated communities to join and have some collegial support. These people meet faithfully and are an encouragement to each other.
At a recent Southern Cluster of the Mountain Standard Region, a few of us were able to meet afterwards over a meal and enjoy being comrades together.
Our Edmonton cluster met together after Assembly to share together on two questions: what conclusions can we accurately draw from Assembly, and what are not conclusions to draw from Assembly. The interaction was quite healthy in this gathering.
Our Calgary Korean Baptist Church held an anniversary service on June 19th and had that event coincide with the ordination of one of their own, Hanseung (Henry) Kim. This event included some of Henry’s family from South Korea as well individuals from other Korean churches across Calgary. For me, it was a wonderful privilege to share in this experience. This community shows a healthy amount of generosity and truly committed to the cause of Christ.
Note the organized and youthful choir that shared at Calgary Korean Baptist Church on the day of the church’s anniversary and the ordination of Hanseaung Kim.
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