Pulse Podcast 022: Priesthood of All Believers
Welcome to episode 22. We have been talking around these kinds of ideas for a while, the concept of congregationalism, of listening more carefully to each other and outsiders. But […]
Prayer Calendar: When the Formula Doesn’t Add Up
We like formulas. They make life understandable. “A + B + C = D” helps simplify our world. It is orderly and predictable. It is sad however, when we turn prayer into a formulaic exercise. We all do it from time to time, often with good intentions. We have a problem (A) and we add prayer (B) and we appeal for the power of God (C), and then we expect a specific result (D).
We all want prayer to be far more than that. We know prayer is about relationship and conversation. However, I find myself at times defaulting to the formula. You may as well.
As we grow in our prayer lives, is there a way to leave the formulas behind?
Recently I heard someone quote “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. They quoted it as a formula that applied to Canada, today. I will be the first to say we need humble prayers of confession. However, I believe it is a mistake to feel God is obligated to heal Canada if we pray those prayers.
He may, and that would be great, but He may not. This passage is a promise to the Hebrew people, not a current day formula to follow. Yet we sub in the pieces: our country’s current state (A) + humble confession (B) + God’s power (C) = healed Canada (D). This is not an isolated example.
How can we move past these kinds of formulaic prayer?
Let us limit our thoughts to just two basic reminders:
First, we should recognize that not all formulas are bad. This sounds contradictory. However, let me give you two examples: The Lord’s Prayer and the ACTS acrostic (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). Both could be considered formulas and if there is no intention in them can turn into ruts; yet they can move us well beyond the A+B+C=D formula.
When we take time to consider what Jesus modelled for us and pray in a similar way, or when we broaden prayer beyond a mere “shopping list” to include declarations of God’s greatness and our thanks, as well as acts of confession, it can expand our prayer life. The key might be our intentionality to broaden prayer.
Second, we could spend more time in conversational prayer. Prayer at its core is a conversation. I know that I really take this for granted at times. I have the opportunity, at any time, on any day, to chat with God almighty. Instead, I often don’t converse because I focus on “my list”. Conversation is a two-way street. Prayer is no different. We share and we listen.
I suspect for us, listening is far harder, yet it could be very beneficial. An interviewer asked Mother Teresa what she said to God in prayer. She responded, “I mostly listen.” That led the interviewer to ask, “When you listen, what does God say?” She answered, “He mostly listens too”.
Could listening move us past the formula?
Do I feel so at home in God’s presence that I am comfortable when both God and I are listening?
How about you?
Pulse Podcast 021: Priesthood of all Believers
We’ve often heard, and often said the term “priesthood of all believers,” but have we stopped to contemplate what it means? What kind of an audit could we give ourselves for this? And how well would we do on it?
Join us as we give some fresh thought to this subject for the EFCC family.
Here is the preview/teaser version, which you can show at church or with your small group, etc.:
And here it is in audio-only format:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/514843560″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
The Pulse: Reaching Beyond our Borders
As a young college student, with a heart to share the Gospel and make a difference in the world, I believed I was “called” to serve the Lord as a missionary. For me, that meant leaving the country and culture I was used to, learning a different language, and going to some unreached corner of the world to share the Good News about Jesus. At the time, I was part of another denomination, one that had all kinds of cultural trappings, including our own language and even a cookbook!
I couldn’t imagine going out to plant that denomination’s churches in some primitive tribal location. And so, like many passionate prospective missionaries of that time, I applied to a non-denominational mission to pursue my missionary career. A career, by the way, that continued in conjunction with my 40 years of pastoral work here in Canada! It is a great organisation, and continues to do great work around the world.
Now I find myself the Director of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission (EFCCM) — the international ministry arm of the EFCC. Not everyone knows that this is part of the EFCC, and it makes sense to explain why this is so.
In a Christianity Today article called “Missions, Denominations and Honest Questions”, author Ed Stetzer points out that denominations are a tool and not the goal. Our primary goal is not to plant Evangelical Free Churches in the places where we serve. Our goal is to see lives transformed by the power of the gospel, and to see new believers enfolded into new or existing churches where they can be lovingly nurtured and discipled to become obedient followers of Christ.
The task of the church is defined by The Great Commission — to go into the world and share the good news of Jesus Christ. Each local church has a responsibility to fulfill that task, but no single local church could accomplish this. One of the core reasons our churches have associated is to partner, to share resources and encourage each other in this. And together we can accomplish far more than the total of what we can accomplish if we continue to work independently.
Not only is the EFCC’s Statement of Faith a compelling, comparatively simple expression of what unites us, our ethos endorses collaboration. Our commitment to inclusivity of all those who share the Hope that is ours in Christ allows us to partner with other like-minded ministries. We can build bridges because of our doctrinal position where others cannot. We can bring people together to impact communities and nations in ways that are unique and creative.
The EFCCM is not a mission committed to any one specialised form of ministry. We are a generalist kind of mission, committed ultimately to seeing the Gospel work dynamically in lives and seeing local churches being born and being strengthened to further the work the Christ began. This gives us freedom to be creative in our approaches to sharing the Gospel as we seek to serve with cultural sensitivity.
We can encourage each local church in Canada to be a Great Commission Church. We can encourage every member and adherent of our churches to be Great Commission Christians. And we can help churches and individuals find way to give practical expression to that commitment.
Ed Stetzer raises an important question that must always be before us: “Is our denomination being a good steward as a tool for the mission?” By God’s grace, we want to come together as one body across our nation, united around our ethos, and empowered to carry out the Great Commandment and Great Commission of our Lord.
Prayer Calendar: Getting Past Salt and Pepper Prayers
The other day I was talking with my friend Ron Swanson regarding the way most of us North American Christians pray. He used a phrase that I just can’t get out of my head. He said we often treat prayer like salt and pepper – an add-on, a little seasoning on top of the meal we have made.
Is this really the way we pray?
Sadly, if we are honest, we probably have to admit – yes prayer often feels like salt and pepper. We get busy doing our own stuff, and then perfunctorily sprinkle a little salt and pepper prayer into the mix.
Could we find a way to get past salt and pepper prayers?
I’ll be the first to admit, this is often where I land.
I want to pray. I know I need to pray. I know there is power in prayer. I know prayer moves the heart of God. I know that God desires a deep connection with us through prayer. I know prayer is one of the few practices that Jesus specifically taught his disciples how to do. I know lots about prayer. However, there is a huge difference between knowing lots about prayer and praying. There is even a wide chasm between desiring to have a better prayer life and actually praying. Sadly, I often fail to act on the knowledge and desire that I have. I often fail to pray deeply and passionately. I simply, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on what I am already doing.
If you are like me, you don’t really want to hear one more person give you another guilt trip about prayer. So, I will try and avoid that here. You don’t need to read another book on prayer. We’ve all read several of those, and have been temporarily encouraged; but then have found ourselves struggling along again.
Instead, I’m wondering: Do we need to re-imagine prayer?
Mark Buchanan in his book, Your God is Too Safe, writes a chapter on the loss of imagination. He uses kissing as an example – if you describe a kiss in it’s sheer physical form it almost sounds repugnant. It takes imagination to turn it into something incredible. He talks how we can rip the heart out of a communion service but explaining every last detail. He reminds us that one of the missing ingredients in our faith is imagination.
Is this what we have done to prayer? Taken the heart right out of it because we don’t have the imagination to see it in deeper, bolder, and more mysterious ways? I don’t know for sure, but I’m willing to go on a journey of re-imagination.
So, let’s imagine prayer as:
- listening
- breathing
- food
- life-blood
- war
- visiting the King
- surgery
- hanging out with our best friend
- 911
- I have several more, but you add your metaphor here
At some point, these metaphors all break down. However, could they also breathe fresh life into the old bones of our prayer lives? It’s worth a try!
To see the latest prayer calendar, click here.
Prayer Calendar: The Spark for Mission
I’m old enough to remember the campfire tune, “It only takes a spark, to get a fire going.” It’s fun to envision Smokey the Bear singing it as a fire prevention jingle. Seriously, a spark could be a good metaphor for prayer and mission. Sparks are initial impulses. A spark in an engine eventually moves your car.
Could Prayer Spark Mission?
I firmly believe prayer is the leading edge of mission, or the spark! Over the last two years, the Revitalize theme has called us to grow in gospel sharing. My worry is that we tend towards manufacturing results based on our efforts.
After Dave Acree retired from ably leading us as Prayer and Spiritual Life Catalyst, we had to make a decision about who was going to be the EFCC champion for prayer. In attempting to make that decision, we kept coming back to a key thought. Simply this, there seems to be a vital link between prayer and mission. Therefore, it could make sense for the National Mission Director to champion prayer and here I am.
Having offered that explanation, I have three quick thoughts as to how prayer can spark mission:
Prayer should put us in a posture of submission
Our prayers ought to come from an, “Our Father, who art in heaven”, posture. We acknowledge that we are under the will of our heavenly father and open ourselves up to what he wants to accomplish in and through us. I think that is a key characteristic of a disciple. I have recently been grappling with this simply definition of a disciple, “a person who hears the voice of Jesus and responds in obedience”. If our prayers led us to that kind of obedience, would we see more gospel sharing?
Prayer reshapes our understanding of God’s love
Just a bit before the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” To love as God loves, means all people are worthy of our love, and care. Praying for enemies opens us to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. It sparks true love within us. We move from seeing enemies to seeing people in need of love and the Good News of Jesus. What would our witness look like if we truly took this command of Jesus to heart?
We pray to the Lord of the Harvest
Let’s finish with Luke 10:2, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Could our prayers actually multiply the mission workforce? This statement of Jesus indicates they could.
As we contemplate the state of the church, our meager witness, or a seeming lack of spiritual passion, I suspect the spark of a remedy is not in new programs, or better buildings, or more cash…but simply in reconnecting with the One who is the hope of the nations.
Pulse Podcast 020: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on TWU’s Law School
We’re not really a current events podcast, but we thought this was of sufficient importance and interest to engage with it.
The Supreme Court’s decision on TWU’s Law School has implications for the church and for religious education institutions in Canada.
We’re just not sure what they are specifically.
If you’d like to reach out and dialogue with us on this, you can engage us on:
Here is the preview version you can share in more time-sensitive venues:
And here is the audio version:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/472580148″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
The Pulse: What do we Mean by “Evangelical” and “Free”?
Many of us who serve our Lord in Evangelical Free churches run into the inevitable question “What on earth is evangelical free”? In a world that talks about caffeine– or sugar-free, “evangelical free” sounds like we are free of evangelicals – that all the evangelicals have been purged, thrown out of our churches! In times past, the original terms “evangelical” and “free” were considered relevant and powerful. However, times change and words can either change meaning or switch from connoting a positive message to a negative one.
The Evangelical Free Church movement is an international movement with a history that makes the two terms meaningful, once properly understood. Let’s consider the two terms in order.
EVANGELICAL
The word “evangelical” refers to the gospel or “good news” of Jesus Christ. Our spiritual ancestors in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were dismayed at the moralistic, social religion of the state churches into which they were born. Rather than religion based on following social norms, they sought salvation in Christ and to follow Him as Lord. They found the need for this salvation and sanctification in Jesus in their reading of the Scriptures. They formed “believers churches” where individuals made a decision to accept and follow Jesus.
They served the Lord’s Supper and studied the Bible in their homes. Their first question for others was not “Which church do you attend” or “What do you believe about ___?”, but rather, “Do you know Jesus?” Like them, we are people who see the gospel of Jesus as our prime concern. We wish to know Him, share Him, and follow Him. In this sense, the Bible becomes our authority for what we know about Jesus, His good news, and what He calls us to follow.
FREE
As I mentioned before, our Scandinavian forbears grew up in the state church. The government and the church were inextricably linked. This meant that the church influenced the political realm and that the political realm influenced the church – for good and ill. All citizens were members of the church, regardless of whether they believed and followed Jesus or not. “Free” churches formed as believers’ churches – free from state control. They wanted to be “believers only”, but open to “all believers.” This won them persecution from the state in a time where the state could not imagine that religious pluralism could work without mass chaos and religious wars ensuing.
Our Free Church ancestors believed that freedom to live out their faith could only be limited by the Bible itself. Their cry – “Where Stands it Written?” – was a declaration that individuals and believers churches should be free to practice their faith from government and religious control; only the Bible had the authority to limit that freedom.
So, in the end “Evangelical Free” means that we are people of the good news and the Word. We are focused on Jesus, His salvation, and his Lordship in our lives. We assemble as families of believers in churches that are free from state control. Today, we assume that separation of church and state is a good thing. Our spiritual forbears thought so too – but they were censored and persecuted for that belief.
Hence, we trust that “Evangelical Free”, rather than suggesting that our churches are free of evangelicals, instead indicates that they are full of people who are saved by the grace of God and who are a loving and gracious community of faith, following Jesus as Lord!
The Pulse: We Are All Storytellers
We are – by nature – story tellers.
We sit around kitchen tables, coffee shops, and local parks, and we tell stories. We tell stories of our lives, of our children, of our hurts, joys, and losses. We listen to others tell their stories. And each story leads to another. We catch glimpses of one another’s needs, fears, joys, and treasures. We understand one another’s lives and we share our lives with others.
But when we talk about becoming a “Gospel Sharing People” like the early Free Church pioneers, we immediately begin to complicate the sharing of the Good News with programs, or booklets, or videos that can explain it to ‘them’ (to those people who need to hear the Gospel). We develop processes and skills to ‘explain it all’. We stop being ‘storytellers’ and we turn our efforts towards being ‘teachers’.
Most people think about sharing the Gospel as a theological statement. That is true even among those who are adamant that we must first develop relationships. Relationships provide the fertile soil in which truth grows. Once the permission has been granted by virtue of the relationship, the thinking is that the believer can move on to determine how best to provide the ‘theological data dump’ the lost person needs to hear.
I think there is a step missing.
Let me share something I have observed when we talk in our churches about Evangelism and sharing the Gospel. It seems that whenever the conversation turns to sharing the Gospel, one of the first questions someone in the group asks is, “What is the Gospel?” It is a very real question. But, if you take that question out of the academic realm and move it into our churches, it is also the question that stops the whole process of sharing the Gospel in its tracks.
When an average Christian thinks about sharing the ‘theological data’ of the Gospel, they worry about “getting it right.” They are afraid they might miss something or miscommunicate an important truth. They are so afraid of getting it wrong that they are paralyzed from sharing it at all.
That does not mean that we should ever stop teaching the theology of the Gospel. It is important to ‘get it right’. Paul sure thought so. Just read through Galatians again. The other Apostles who wrote letters to the early churches also took great pains to explain the Gospel as clearly as possible. So, I am not advocating that we abandon the study of God’s Word to understand the height and depth and breadth of the Gospel (Eph 3:18-19).
Instead, I have come to see a need for a ‘step’ in between building relationships and sharing the Gospel. This is a step (like building relationships) that ought to come naturally to all of us. We need to get back to being ‘storytellers’. We need to encourage people to tell their story – to ‘Be Witnesses’ of the Good News.
Every day we talk with neighbours, friends, family and co-workers about common, everyday experiences. We talk with concern and compassion. We share common needs and hopes. And we have opportunity in every one of those conversations to share the Good News of Jesus.
- We parent differently because of how we trust Jesus to watch out for our children.
- We face adversity differently because of our faith in an all powerful God who has not lost control.
- We don’t face any of life’s issues on our own.
That’s a truth we have put our trust in – he is with us always (Mat 28:20).
We have a story to tell of God’s Story at work in our lives. We see the joys and treasures of life through a lens of praise and thankfulness. God’s Story of blessing and creative genius. And, we are all story tellers by nature.
I think we need to get back to ‘Being His Witnesses’ (Acts 1:8). That means telling our story of God’s Story. It means being storytellers of what we know and what Jesus is doing in our lives every day – those everyday lives our neighbours and friends live alongside us. We need to stop thinking about how we can share our ‘theology’ and start thinking about how we can share ‘our story’ of all God has done for us.
We need to be ‘witnesses’ before we are ‘teachers’.
As we work on relationships, we’ll have lots of opportunities to share our story of God’s Story. He’s strengthening us, encouraging us, and giving us hope in the things we face every day. Our neighbours and friends need to hear those stories. And when God’s Spirit makes the connection between His Story and their story in your friends mind, they will be ready to hear (and asking to hear) the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Pulse Podcast 019: Bishop Curry’s Royal Wedding Address
This time on the Pulse podcast, we’re talking about Bishop Curry’s sermon at the recent royal wedding. It’s unusual that we address a specific current even on the podcast, but we think there are several reasons to do that about this: It made quite a stir on all media channels, and it continues to!
We feel that there is enough in it that makes it worth talking about in our context.
First off, if you haven’t seen it, please do:
Here is the podcast:
Here is the preview version we welcome to share with your church or small group:
And finally, the audio-only version:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/453723039″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Pulse Podcast 018: What is a Gospel Sharing People?
Our theme for the upcoming Conference is Revitalize: Growing as a Gospel Sharing People. In preparation for that, we think it would be a worthwhile exercise to define that, so we know what we’re collectively trying to establish.
It’s important to note: this isn’t just the theme for our Conference, it’s the commitment that is being expressed all across the EFCC family. It’s how we encourage discipleship, and it is part of being a disciple.
This is the short (~3min) preview version of the video that we invite you to share with your church, or small group, etc.
And for all you audiophiles, here is the audio file:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/445549482″ params=”color=#9c5074&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Prayer Calendar: Ritualistic Prayer
The word “ritual” doesn’t play well in a Free Church tradition. I hesitated even using it but couldn’t shake it loose. I use it with this definition, “a customarily repeated often formal act or series of acts.”
Why the negative connotation?
Maybe it’s because we associate ritual with churches of questionable beliefs, or maybe we think that praying something over and over again causes it to lose its freshness or even meaning. Maybe it’s because of the throw away world in which we live. With diminishing attention spans, we’re easily bored. Use something for a while and then on to the next thing. Instead of change being an important part of life, it has become so much the fabric of our lives that repetition won’t be tolerated. Whatever the reason, “ritual” is in need of a new press agent!
In the midst of our complex and ever-changing world, I find myself longing for simplicity. Ritualistic prayer is one of the ways in which I find it.
Let me explain.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them what we call the “Lord’s Prayer”, to be repeated or recited regularly. In Jesus time on earth the Jews prayed repeated prayers three times a day, a practice that Jesus himself may have followed.
Before I preached last Sunday, I publically prayed two prayers, one for myself and one for the congregation. This is my “ritual” every time I preach.
- “Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (from Psalm 19)
- “Speak Lord, for your servants are listening.” (from Samuel)
I start off almost every day with three ritualistic prayers with our triune God in heart and mind.
- “Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I will love you with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength and that I will love my neighbour as myself.”
- “Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I will take up my cross and follow you.”
- “Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Why do this?
- It’s meditative; it causes us to think deeply about scripture and where it connects with life. Notice that all of these prayers are directly from scripture.
- It’s focusing; it causes us to focus on God and what he wants.
- It’s centering; it causes us to center attention on what is important and best in the midst of life’s complexity.
