A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article, with pictures of the meeting, appears below. Paul Philpott is a member of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, and he is presently a graduate student at Ontario Theological Seminary.
Leadership. This much debated topic is one of the issues of great concern — within church circles and without. There is little doubt that a leadership crisis exists in our society today. It is a problem that touches most spheres of life whether it be in the home, community, or at national levels of politics and economics.
Given the pervasiveness of the problem today, it was encouraging to have two hundred people attend the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Renewal Fellowship which focused on the renewal of Christian leadership.
The March 4 and 5 meeting was hosted by Willowdale Presbyterian Church in Toronto. Rev. Brian Stiller, Executive Director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, was guest speaker. Focusing on the role of Christian leadership outside the church, Stiller conducted an historical survey and social analysis of Christianity’s influence in Canadian society over the past century. The trends he uncovered were disturbing. Since the years immediately following World War II the tendency of Christians and the churches has been to recoil from positions of leadership in society. The withdrawal, prompted by the militancy of secular humanism, has minimalized the leavening effect of our faith in society.
Stiller’s call was for a renewed vision of the vital role of Christian leadership in our nation. Through the use of biblical case studies, he urged those present to work and pray toward a revitalized, sophisticated approach to our communities and country that pursues the “salt and light” model advocated by Jesus Christ: one that draws upon our Lord’s spiritual authority and not worldly power.
As a complementary emphasis to Stiller’s perspective on Christian leadership outside the church, the Saturday afternoon workshops centred on leadership in the church. There was a wide variety of selection. The nine topics evaluated what we, as leaders, should think and do by examining our theology of the Reformed tradition and the current issues facing our denominations. They also concerned themselves with how and with whom we should work towards renewal by exploring the role of prayer, worship, and practical training of leadership, young and older alike.
Apart from the times of valuable learning, participants enjoyed opportunities for worship led by the Kortright Worship team from Guelph, Ontario. Forty “early-risers” participated in the Saturday morning concert of prayer conducted by Interim Director, John Vissers. The weekend gathering also provided time for a productive and profitable annual business meeting.
All the events of our time together were marked by a sense of solidarity as God’s people. The worship and fellowship in addition to the teaching were employed by God’s Spirit to give us a renewed passion for Christ and Christian leadership.