Posted on June 9th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Church • Cross • Culture • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • Missions • Northwest • Seminary
Categories: Cultural Issues • Missiology
Jarrod Haas is a student in the Cross-cultural Leadership Training Program, CLTP @ Northwest, working towards an undergrad level diploma in preparation for cross-cultural ministry among Asians. CLTP is a one year, mentored, experienced based program that prepares the student for Master’s level seminary studies as well as equips them for ministry either internationally [...]
Posted on June 4th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Church • Cross • Culture • God • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • Missions • New Testament • Northwest • Prayer • Seminary • Theology
Categories: Cultural Issues • Missiology
Jarrod Haas is a student in the Cross-cultural Leadership Training Program, CLTP @ Northwest, working towards an undergrad level diploma in preparation for cross-cultural ministry among Asians. CLTP is a one year, mentored, experienced based program that prepares the student for Master’s level seminary studies as well as equips them for ministry either internationally [...]
Posted on May 28th, 2008 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Church • God • Jesus • Ministry
Categories: ACTS Seminaries • Graduation
Graduation this year was held at South Delta Baptist Church. It was a beautiful day for a graduation and the celebration was memorable. Our graduation speaker was our own president, Dr. Larry Perkins. He summarized his address this way:
The theme ACTS has adopted this year is “Come together, Go Further.” By [...]
Posted on May 8th, 2008 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • God • Holy Spirit • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • Scripture • Seminary • Translation
Categories: Book Reviews • Leadership • MinistryTalk
Dan Allender has provided a provocative look at several serious aspects of ministry leadership in his book “Leading with a Limp.” He writes primarily out of his experience as the founder of Mars Hill Graduate School located near Seattle. His thesis is clear: “to the degree you face and name and deal with your failures [...]
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: God • Gospel • Holy Spirit • Jesus • Seminary
Categories: Biblical Languages • New Testament
The Psalmist declared “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me” (Psalm 71:17) and he desires that God continually would teach him to do his will (Psalm 143:10). His experience and expectation is that God does instruct him, with the result that he knows God and his ways. While this [...]
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Culture • Discipleship • God • Gospel • Jesus • New Testament • Old Testament • Seminary • Translation
Categories: Bible • Blogs • Ethics
Paul’s choice of words in his letter to Christians in the province of Galatia reflects careful intention. The issues he confronts are extremely serious, the opponents powerful and persuasive, and his audience somewhat befuddled. Strong warnings mingle with cries of frustration as he encourages these believers to keep running well the [...]
Posted on April 10th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Church • Cross • Culture • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Prayer • Seminary
Categories: Cultural Issues • Culture • Leadership • Missiology
The Power Distance Contrast
In Pakistan there is a strong tradition of "holy men" who are called Pirs. One day I had a visit from a young man who informed me that he was the Pir of his village. I was puzzled by this because he was dressed in modern clothes and did not have the [...]
Posted on March 17th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Cross • Jesus • Ministry • Theology
Categories: Cultural Issues • Missiology • Missions
The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones, 1925. Abington Press
E. Stanley Jones was a highly influential missionary who worked in India during the time of Gandhi. The principles for cross-cultural ministry presented in this classic are as valid today and in any context as they were when this book was written. His [...]
Posted on February 26th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Cross • God • Jesus • Leaders • New Testament • Religion • Seminary
Categories: Christian Life • God's Love • Godliness
I came across an interesting theory. People act according to their conviction about the nature of God. If God is perceived as an autocratic patriarch whose rules must be followed without question, then that is how the leaders of that group will act. If God is viewed as a stern judge who is inflexible concerning [...]
Posted on February 18th, 2008 by Dr. Brian Rapske
Other tags: God • Jesus
Categories: Bible Study • Christian Life • Culture
You can’t get away from it. Everyone’s talking about profits and losses.
The global economy is moving into a deep recession–perhaps even a depression–some say. Others are just as convinced that the markets are moving through a period of "turbulent correction" trying to find "a bottom" from which they will eventually "power upward" again to new [...]
Posted on February 15th, 2008 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • God • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership
Categories: Board • BoardTalk • Church • Leadership • Ministry
When you are seeking additional people to serve as part of the church board, what aspect should receive most attention – skill, experience, character or attitude? Certainly Paul warns us not to ask a novice in the faith or someone who has not had experience in leading a family to fill this role. So experience [...]
Posted on February 6th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: God • Gospel • Jesus
Categories: Cultural Issues • Missiology
The story of Umar and Marvi is a legend of the Sindhi people that expresses a fundamental tribal value of the Sindhi people. A young, beautiful teenage girl (Marvi) is kidnapped from her tribe by a young prince (Umar) who is enamoured by her and wants to make her his wife. She is taken to [...]
Posted on January 17th, 2008 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Cross • Culture • God • Gospel • Jesus • Marriage • Seminary
Categories: Cultural Issues • Evangelism • Missiology
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 January 7th, 2008 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Bible • God • Gospel • Jesus • Prayer
Categories: 2008 Challenge • Bible Study • New Year
I would like to present you with a tough but exciting challenge for 2008 . . . but let me back up a little!
This past two months I have been somewhat restricted in my activities because of a ruptured achilles tendon. After 4 weeks in a fiberglass cast and now another almost 4 weeks in [...]
Posted on December 12th, 2007 by Dr. Lyle Schrag
Other tags: Church • Jesus • Leaders
Categories: Christian Life
Over the last couple of years, I’ve found myself increasingly distressed by the quality of evangelical worship, or lack thereof. It’s gotten to the point where I have to discipline myself from ranting over the loss of the deep symbols of our faith, the absence of holy moments and spiritual drama, and the general illiteracy [...]
Posted on December 6th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • New Testament
Categories: New TestamentTalk
Considerable discussion is occurring about the appropriate way to define an "Evangelical". John Stackhouse (Church and Faith Trends volume 1, issue 1, EFC website) proposes a definition that includes the following elements: orthodox and orthoprax, crucicentric, biblicist, conversionist, missional, and transdenominational. There is much to commend such a definition, although personally I think it emphasizes [...]
Posted on December 4th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Church • Cross • Culture • Jesus • Seminary
Categories: Cultural Issues • Evangelism • Missiology
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 December 3rd, 2007 by Dr. Lyle Schrag
Other tags: Bible • Church • Cross • Jesus • Leaders • Ministry • Seminary
Categories: Church
As full disclosure, I should confess that I’ve been a fan of Willow Creek before Willow Ceek was Willow Creek. In the mid-1970’s the youth pastor of my home church in Park Ridge, Illinois was a Trinity College student named Bill Hybels. I always enjoyed coming home on holidays from Seminary just to see [...]
Posted on November 14th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Cross • Culture • God • Jesus • Seminary
Categories: Bible • Cultural Issues • Culture • Hermeneutics • Missiology
Three ways to understand the Bible
My wife, Karen, heard a message by a young woman with no theological training on Jer 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you….” The young woman spoke of the verse as if it was addressed to us today and talked about the plans God has for us. Although [...]
Posted on November 13th, 2007 by Dr. Lyle Schrag
Other tags: Bible • Church • God • Jesus • Ministry • Prayer
Categories: Athiesm
In the last few months, I have encountered a number of people who seem “taken” by the current campaign to promote the message of atheism. Such books as God is Not Great, and The God Delusion seem to suggest that there is something solid to the life and belief of the unbelievers. Which is why [...]
Posted on October 25th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Church • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • Theology
Categories: Church • Preaching
The following is a response from my wife, Karen, to a couple of recent blogs found on this site:
In his Oct 17 blog "The Foundation for Hearing God," Loren Warkentin wrote:
We Christians have become acculturated to this [fast-paced] style of living and I believe it has affected our spiritual lives. We are easily bored. If [...]
Posted on October 22nd, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske
Other tags: Bible • Church • Jesus
Categories: Bible • Bible Study • Biblical Languages • Christian Life • Church • Discipleship • Ethics • Hermeneutics • Preaching • Translation Issues
It’s that time of the semester once again. The Registrar’s office has asked each professor to indicate whether they are requiring an examination that needs to be scheduled into the examination week for their courses. The schedule is out and professors and students are all now aware of when each examination will need to be [...]
Posted on October 19th, 2007 by Dr. Kenton Anderson
Other tags: Bible • Church • Culture • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • Scripture • Seminary • Theology
Categories: Evangelism • Faith • Preaching
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
Other tags: Church • Culture • God • Jesus • Marriage
Categories: Christian Life • ChurchTalk • Culture • Evangelism
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 8th, 2007 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Cross • Jesus • Thanksgiving
Categories: Internet • Salvation • Thanksgiving
Warning!!
"if you don’t know what an alpha release is, don’t use this software!!"
I love the concept of free web software - a web application that has been designed by someone out there in cyberland who has put it up on the net to be downloaded and used freely (donations always appreciated). It is in this [...]
Posted on October 5th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Church • God • Gospel • Jesus • Ministry • Missions • Scripture • Seminary
Categories: Christian Life • Discipleship • Evangelism
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
Other tags: Church • God • Jesus • Prayer • Seminary
Categories: Baptist • Conversion • Evangelism • Gospel • Salvation
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 September 27th, 2007 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Bible • Culture • God • Gospel • Jesus
Categories: Christian Life • Culture • Godliness
On my way to work this morning the radio station to which I was listening had an announcement regarding some of the up-coming fall TV shows. I found myself reacting to the announcer’s casual monologue. What he was describing was entertainment comprised of watching godless and adulterous relationships, of watching actors and actresses portraying a society whose [...]
Posted on September 26th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Church • God • Jesus
Categories: Bible Study • Christian Life • Discipleship • Spiritual Formation
For the past couple of years I have been leading a Bible study on the theme “touching the robe of Christ.” This was adopted as a paradigm for the desire to break past misleading interpretations, religious terminology and church traditions and trappings in order to connect with God through Christ, to experience the reality of [...]
Posted on September 19th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Church • Cross • Culture • God • Gospel • Jesus • Ministry • Missions • Prayer • Scripture • Seminary
Categories: _Uncategorized
… where “heaven overlaps with the earth.”
God loves words
He started the world with words
Let there be light!
His words became conversations
Adam, where are you?
And his conversations continued
I am the LORD your God, I delivered you. You are my people
But when God wanted to speak his deepest message of love,
the [...]
Posted on September 19th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Church • Cross • Culture • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • Religion • Translation
Categories: _Uncategorized
Resources
Intercultural Network Canada has a number of interesting and innovative resources for developing effective cross-cultural relationships. Their mission is to cross cultures to reach, resource and release ethnic leaders for Jesus Christ. For those who like to throw parties as a means of creating new friends, check out the Party Hints Package.
How does one Grow as [...]
Posted on September 19th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Bible • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • Ministry • New Testament • Theology • Translation
Categories: Bible • Bible Study • Biblical Languages • Hermeneutics • Ministry • New TestamentTalk • Preaching • Theology • Translation Issues
No, this is not an attack on any Bible translation. But it is a serious question — how do our translations of the Bible influence the forming of our Christian worldview? We believe that God intended his Word to be translated into every language. Yet as we make the transition from Greek or Hebrew text [...]
Posted on September 18th, 2007 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Bible • God • Gospel • Jesus • Seminary
Categories: Book Reviews • God's Love
Over the years of my Christian life I have often grappled with the questions, "How can I have a relationship with someone I cannot see, hear or touch? What kind of a relationship is it if one party is limited by being bound to this humanity?" I know, and have preached on the theologically correct [...]
Posted on September 12th, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske
Other tags: Cross • God • Jesus
Categories: Bible • Faith • Resurrection • Salvation • The Cross of Christ
Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of 9/11. Many media pieces featured some aspect or other of the tragedy. Some were retrospectives of the event itself. Others covered planned commemorations. I watched one that discussed the engineering implications of 9/11 for high rise building safety.
Among them, two reports in particular struck me. One was a radio [...]
Posted on September 10th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Bible • God • Jesus • Leaders • Ministry • Old Testament • Prayer • Scripture
Categories: Discipleship • MinistryTalk • Spiritual Formation
Great interest now focuses upon fostering spiritual formation within all segments of Christianity. In its best forms, Christian spiritual formation uses various exercises and disciplines to form us to be like Christ, in thought, word and deed. Jesus himself taught his followers to pray, to resist evil, to love, to serve, to pursue righteousness, to [...]
Posted on August 27th, 2007 by Mr. Loren Warkentin
Other tags: Bible • Church • Cross • God • Jesus • Ministry • Seminary • Translation
Categories: Godliness • Gospel • Grace
Have you ever been bemused by God’s way of doing things? I have, and in the end have stood in awe of His timing, patience, grace and goodness.
A number of years ago (in another world) I taught at a Bible college deep in the jungles of Kalimantan (formerly known as Borneo). For several years I [...]
Posted on August 10th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • Culture • God • Jesus • Ministry • Prayer
Categories: Board • BoardTalk • Church
Referee? Dictator? Coordinator? Coach? Parent? The role of the chairperson in a church board gets stereotyped in many unfortunate and misleading ways. Perceptions of this role will significantly affect how people act when appointed and how individuals respond to a person in this role. As Jesus framed it, every role in his kingdom is a [...]
Posted on August 2nd, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske
Other tags: Cross • God • Jesus • Theology
Categories: Bible Study • Conversion • Evangelism
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 31st, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • God • Gospel • Jesus • New Testament • Old Testament
Categories: Bible Study • Biblical Languages
Eugene Boring in his new commentary on Mark’s Gospel published in the New Testament Library (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006) proposes that the first word in Mark’s Gospel (archÄ“) signifies both beginning or origin, and norm, which he proposes should be translated as "the norm for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (32). There [...]
Posted on July 30th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: God • Gospel • Jesus • Ministry • Scripture
Categories: Evangelism • Missiology
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 24th, 2007 by Dr. Brian Rapske
Other tags: Cross • God • Gospel • Jesus • Missions • Old Testament
Categories: Bible Study • Church
Our house has been a-hum with guests most of this month. But as busy as we’ve been, the joy has been greater. Sitting around the crowded dinner table laden with good things this week, I’ve been reminded of how many times in the past my family and I have been the beneficiaries of God’s great [...]
Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • Cross • God • Gospel • Holy Spirit • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Marriage • Ministry • New Testament • Northwest • Old Testament • Prayer • Scripture • Seminary • Theology • Translation
Categories: _Uncategorized
The application of literary criticism to the Synoptic Gospels has stimulated many new readings of Mark’s[1] Gospel. In particular one application of rhetorical criticism[2] invites the interpreter to discern the various ways in which the author seeks to direct the implied reader to a specific conclusion. In the case of Mark’s Gospel attention has turned [...]
Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Bible • Church • God • Gospel • Holy Spirit • Jesus • Leaders • Ministry • New Testament • Old Testament • Translation
Categories: _Uncategorized
In Matthew 12:38-42 Jesus compares himself to two Old Testament figures - Jonah and Solomon. In both cases he indicates that "one greater than" either of these individuals is now present and active among the people of God.[1] It seems apparent from Matthew’s arrangement of the gospel materials[2] that the choice of these particular individuals [...]
Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by Dr. Kenton Anderson
Other tags: Bible • Church • Ethics • God • Gospel • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • Scripture
Categories: _Uncategorized
January 12, 2001
It is thought that spiritual people don’t make good leaders. Yet a biblical view holds that leadership without spiritual character is incompetent. Integrating competence and character is frightening for spiritual leaders aware of their failings. However, leaders with the integrity to own this kind of honesty will find the grace they need to "finish first."
Spiritual leaders [...]
Posted on July 20th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: God • Jesus • Religion
Categories: Religion
Macleans magazine did their annual ‘happiness’ poll of Canadians on our national holiday. While some aspects of Canadian life generate stress and disappointment, the trend continues to show that Canadians, by an overwhelming majority are happy — in fact may be one of the happiest people living on this planet. Of course, the degree of [...]
Posted on July 19th, 2007 by Mr. Mark Naylor
Other tags: Bible • Cross • Culture • Discipleship • God • Jesus • Ministry • Prayer
Categories: Evangelism • Missiology
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 17th, 2007 by Dr. Lyle Schrag
Other tags: God • Jesus
Categories: God's Love
Okay, trivia fans, here’s a question. How many steps can a sparrow take in a minute? It’s summertime and as I was lounging in the shade of my deck, thinking of what I could post on this web space, I found myself watching a flock of sparrows bouncing around the yard. And I began to [...]
Posted on July 16th, 2007 by Dr. Larry Perkins
Other tags: Church • God • Jesus • Leaders • Leadership • Ministry • New Testament
Categories: Church • Leadership • Ministry
The missional church movement calls the church to rediscover its kingdom identity and purpose as the people of God. Now we hear that churches will require a new kind of leadership – missional leadership – to guide their re-development as missional congregations. Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk in The Missional Leader. Equipping Your Church to [...]