December 1, 2000 Culture open to gospel

ALL THINGS must come to an end sometime, and this will be my final Sharing The Joy column for the Journal. It has been a wonderful privilege for me to have written this column about evangelism for the past several years. In the...

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October 1, 2000 Focus of ministry must be on Jesus, not new building

AS I BEGIN writing this article I am surrounded by chaos; but it is creative chaos! One week from now our new church building opens in Streetsville, and the place is a hive of business as trades people and parishioners work to...

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May 1, 2000 If we can't be evangelists, we can at least be witnesses

I HAVE BEEN reflecting on a fascinating incident in the ministry of Jesus, as recorded in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel. Seated beside a well, Jesus begins a conversation with a Samaritan woman who comes to the well to draw...

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March 1, 2000 It's easy to forget to say 'thank you'

A PLEASANT THING happened this week. I received a lovely note from a parishioner saying thanks for some small thing that I had done, that had been particularly appreciated. After I read the note, I was aware how good I felt. I...

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November 1, 1999 Three-way connections are key to effective ministry

IN THINKING OF congregational life, and especially congregational health, I find it helpful to think in terms of striking a balance between three key elements which I refer to as the "three way connection." These three...

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September 1, 1999 Biblical literacy needed for vital congregations

LIKE MANY OF YOU, I have given a lot of thought to the question of congregational vitality. What does it take for a congregation to become vibrant and magnetic, growing its members into mature disciples and bearing a credible...

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May 1, 1999 Asking the right questions key to 'open table' issue

SHOULD WE be inviting the unbaptized in our worship services to receive communion? Until recently this question would have been answered with an immediate and unequivocal "no." But in some quarters this is being rethought...

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March 1, 1999 Fear of Y2K offers opportunity for practical ministry

MUCH HAS BEEN written in recent months about the possibility of chaos and confusion at the turn of the millennium due to our dependence on computers for almost everything related to our modern lifestyles. It is a certainty that...

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October 1, 1998 Discipleship a lifelong process of learning

N THE GOSPELS the first followers of Jesus are called disciples. At the close of his earthly ministry, Jesus instructed these disciples (and through them the church) to "go and make disciples of all nations," (Matthew 28:...

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April 1, 1998 Christian's faith not 'reasonable, rational'

THE STORY OF EASTER is an outrageous one. On Friday, a man was executed and buried. On Sunday, he was alive again, and out walking around. The story of the Resurrection is at the heart of the Christian faith and it is an...

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