Posted on November 5th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor The following comments are actually a repeat of a blog presented over a year ago. Since that time, the relevance of Significant Conversations in facilitating the change needed to make a kingdom difference has begun to be noticed. The Center for Intercultural Leadership Development is now offering coaching to FEBCC churches in the areas of [...]
Posted on September 16th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor The Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with September this year [See 30-Days prayer focus for daily online prayer items or a downloadable calendar]. Historically, much Muslim – Christian interaction has been negative and detrimental, with the Crusades being the most glaring example that impacts relationships to this day.
However, there are those who are building [...]
Posted on June 11th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor NOTE: A companion workshop to these articles is available to multi-ethnic churches that provides information, exercises and interaction to encourage the implementation of those disciplines that promote healthy intercultural relationships. Please contact Mark at mark.naylor@twu.ca
Whose rules rule?
In the innovative cultural simulation game, Barnga, created by Sivasailam Thiagarajan, groups of people play a simple card game [...]
Posted on January 17th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor It feels impolite and invasive to challenge someone on a personal level
I am uncomfortable with direct methods of evangelism that early on present the hearer with an invitation to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Part of my unease has to do with my Canadian upbringing. It feels impolite and invasive to challenge someone on [...]
Posted on December 13th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends
Edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson, Michael J. Sleasman. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. 285 pages, $29.99, paperback.
Most of our churches in the Fellowship are not missional, but communal in orientation. That is, their primary orientation towards the community in which they are placed [...]
Posted on December 4th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor The Common hunger of Humanity
What we as human beings search for and value in life is the “meaningful” and the “good.”
With regard to the “meaningful,” we are always trying to make sense of our world. Hopelessness, which is what we seek to avoid, is the antithesis of the “meaningful” and happens when the [...]
Posted on November 23rd, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor Joy’s (1) emotional pain was evident as she related her move from her family’s mono-ethnic Chinese church to a multiethnic congregation. She felt guilt as if she had somehow betrayed her home church.
Bob pastored a multi-ethnic congregation but was frustrated by his inability to recruit leadership from certain groups.
Jane enjoyed belonging to a church [...]
Posted on October 19th, 2007 by Dr. Kenton Anderson J. P. Moreland of Talbot Seminary was the keynote speaker at this year’s meetings of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He took the opportunity to offer a proposal for “apologetic preaching.” While such an approach is not new, Moreland seemed to suggest that apologetics could and should take a much higher place in our thinking about [...]
Posted on October 18th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins In a recent issue of Mcleans a lead article raised the alarm that our Canadian commitment to multiculturalism may be eroding. The key question that Canadians are debating is this: what reasonable accommodations should Canadians make to cultural and religious minorities? Where should the limits be drawn? The writer claimed that many in Canada are [...]
Posted on October 5th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor Five aspects of evangelism common to our churches that need to change if we are to make a gospel impact in our communities:
a. The individualistic nature of evangelism. People commonly view Sunday worship as their expression of church, while the rest of the week is lived without church involvement. For example, I have seen [...]
Posted on October 2nd, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at Albion Church. The fellowship–an energetic, young congregation of some 70-80 believers–meets in the local community hall on the north bank of the Fraser River. Their pastor who invited me to preach is Dan Ost. My decision to say yes was a ‘no brainer.’
Dan’s emailed invitation [...]
Posted on October 1st, 2007 by Dr. Kenton Anderson I heard Jeff Arthurs from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary read this little parable at an Evangelical Homiletics Society gathering many years ago. Afterwards I asked him for a copy so that I could share it with my classes. It was published in 1919 by William Eleazar Barton, otherwise known as “Safed the Sage”. The piece has [...]
Posted on August 2nd, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske Yesterday, August 1st at 6:05 pm, an extended section of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota suddenly collapsed, sending dozens of vehicles, together with their drivers and passengers, plunging into the Mississippi River. The images yesterday were of emergency personnel and citizens on the scene scrambling amid the tons of twisted metal and broken concrete [...]
Posted on July 30th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor Every now and again I hear the phrase “how many people have you led to the Lord?” The meaning of this evangelical lingo is “how many people have committed their lives to Christ under your guidance as you have explained the gospel message?” Although my desire is for people to commit their lives [...]
Posted on July 19th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor One of the primary responsibilities of the cross-cultural Christian worker is to discover how God’s revelation of himself in both the written word (the Bible) and the living Word (Jesus) resonates with the cultural group with whom she or he is developing a relationship. In our ministry among the Sindhi people, we discovered that [...]
Posted on July 13th, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske Last night our family had a dinner and DVD night at home. After a delicious taco salad, we settled in to watch Miss Potter, about the famed children’s author Beatrix Potter who gave the world Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck and a host of other characters and their various adventures. A significant sub-theme in the movie [...]
Posted on July 10th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor A number of years ago after delivering a sermon I was rebuked by a young woman. It would be nice to say that this was a unique occurrence, but unfortunately, such is not the case. I had made some disparaging remarks about the “Four Spiritual Laws,†a tract that provides a four step understanding [...]
Posted on April 12th, 2007 by Dr. Lyle Schrag I never met E. Stanley Jones, but over the years he has served as a Mentor to me. His book Song of Ascents is one that is a constant source of insight and wisdom … and perspective. Over the last couple of years it’s been hard to find perspective. Not since the Jesus people revolution [...]
Posted on February 27th, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske When you next meet with your non-Christian friend, make the case to her that she’s an evangelist and ask her about her message and its effect. Whether people have great faith in Jesus Christ or none at all, everyone is “preaching” a message. When they hear the word “evangelist,” most folks think of Billy Graham. [...]