Dear Folks,
I want to refer to some meetings that we talked about two newsletters ago under the title “A Busy
but Good Time”. These meetings were a great encouragement and I am thankful for them, but I want
to refer to the busyness in my previous title. I want to “repent” of this busy theme. We are busy
and it is a very good kind of busy as well as a time of great encouragement. However, evangelical
church culture has for many years pursued a policy and behaviour more akin to the Home Depot’s
view, advertising “More Saving, More Doing”. Often our activity, which while intense and at times a
major commitment of our time, is based on a far too casual waiting on God for guidance. I don’t want
to reinforce what was once a funny slogan on buttons and shirts, “Jesus is coming, look busy” (My
tentative apologies to John Fluevog, the world renowned Christian shoe designer and retailer based in
Vancouver who had these printed up and he gave me some.) Eugene Peterson has oft quoted a poet
posing the question to the Lord, “Lord, teach me to care and not to care, teach me to sit still”… great
quote, wrong order. I appreciate deeply Peterson’s sentiment. But I think it should begin “Lord, teach
me to sit still so that I might learn to care and not to care”. So being busy is not wrong. It just needs to
be balanced. Busy is also a result of prayerful preparation and attentiveness, not to out own plans, but
to what God might do beyond imagining.
Let us remember together the groups that have had meetings recently:
BC Area Meeting
o May 4-5
Monday (May 14th) thru Tuesday (May 15th) morning, the CBWC Foundation Board meeting, chaired by David Watt. Members include:
o Peter Burnham
o David Connop
o Henry Dethmers
o Herb Kroeker
o Jeremy Bell
o Steve Newransky
o Jack Borchert
Finance Committee: Tuesday May 15th, in the afternoon
o Greg Anderson – VP Finance
o David Connop
o David Watt
o Michael Hayes
o Gary Calderwood
Ministry Networks: Wednesday May 16th and Thursday May 17th
o Camping
o Youth Leadership Team
o CFAM
o Women in Focus
o Executive Staff
o Church Planting Team
o Communications and Stewardship
o Rocky Mountain College and Columbia Bible College
o Area Ministry Teams
o Short Term Missions
o OAR – new ministry looking at the needs of older adults
Dessert Evening, May 23rd in Calgary
Carey Board, Carey Senate and Carey Convocation
o Carey Senate meeting, May 25, held at Carey
o Carey Board meeting, May 26, held at Carey
o Carey Convocation, May 27, held at First Baptist Church Vancouver
FBC Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary Celebration, May 27th
It is not appropriate for me to comment on the meetings held by the CBWC Foundation, Finance
Committee and Carey Board and Senate, (who will do their own communicating to their constituency),
but from my perspective they all have encouraging things to share.
The Ministry Network group assembled about 40 of our leaders who met in their groups together.
Garry Mullen from VantagePoint Community Church in Edmonton and Brent Kennedy, Moderator from
First Baptist Vancouver, walked us through a seminar on social media. A seminar on that topic divided
the room into the competent, the incompetent and the bewildered. We were all very grateful for the
process.
Thank you for your prayers. God is great.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy