One of our ministers visited in Côte d’Ivoire and was invited to preach the sermon in a Sunday worship service. He spoke in English, the missionary translated to French and a local brother translated to the local language. Someone might ask, “Why didn’t the missionary learn the local language?” The answer to that is another … Continue reading The importance of French
Faith and life
Old money and new money
During my teen years, I used to pick up the latest copy of Look magazine at the drugstore and read it end to end. I can only remember one article. I don’t remember the title, but it was about people from families that had been wealthy for several generations and the new rich. The point … Continue reading Old money and new money
Are You Perfect?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his disciples: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:46). Instructions like this are found all through the Old and New Testaments. In Genesis 17:1, God said to Abraham: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be … Continue reading Are You Perfect?
Pray for them which despitefully use you
Job didn’t know why this was happening to him. All his children and all his livestock were suddenly gone, then his body became covered with oozing sores. He used dust and ashes in an attempt to calm the itching. His three closest friends came to commiserate with him and at first had no words to … Continue reading Pray for them which despitefully use you
What is Christian mission?
Do we think of mission as a structured work of the church whereby we elect a committee, choose a location to do mission work and then choose people to go there and be missionaries? What are the missionaries supposed to do when they get there? The starting point for all Christian outreach is to tell … Continue reading What is Christian mission?
Connecting the dots
In our small town school, there was a two shelf bookcase in the Grade 11 and 12 classroom. That was our library, and I read every book in those shelves during my last two years in that school. During the reading of one of those books, a historical book, I had a moment of enlightenment. … Continue reading Connecting the dots
WASP to Woke
In my school days, over 60 years ago, I learned that anyone who wasn't a WASP was less than the ideal Canadian. WASP stood for White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I could check all the boxes, and felt good about it. What I received in school was an indoctrination into the Orange Order perception of Canada and … Continue reading WASP to Woke
Defenceless Christians?
As Anabaptists/Mennonites we call ourselves nonresistant, or defenceless, Christians. Let’s take a moment to examine ourselves in one small aspect of what this means, or should mean. The question is, how should we relate to persons in our congregation whose ethnic, social or cultural identity differs from that of the majority of the members? Do … Continue reading Defenceless Christians?
Without me ye can do nothing
The words of Jesus are blunt; unless we submit our lives, our being, to His control, we are not capable of being a Christian. We can pretend, we may think we are doing a great job on our own, but sooner or later something will happen and whatever is really in our heart will show … Continue reading Without me ye can do nothing
The foolishness of preaching
Singing and prayer have always been important ingredients of worship in the Anabaptist - Mennonite faith, but the focal point of a worship service is that which the apostle Paul called the foolishness of preaching. It appears to be foolishness because there are not many powerful orators amongst us, not many who make a great … Continue reading The foolishness of preaching
Flatlander Faith 