By Brian C. Stiller. As we look at churches and organizations today, we can see that there are many in need of torch passing. But either the senior leader desperately holds on too long with no attempt to train or give opportunity to the younger, or the tension produces so much conflict that the younger leader heads off … Read more
Tears – A gift for the Church?
By Esther Mcllveen. If God thinks our tears are significant enough to bottle them and holds them in such high regard, we in the church should ask for the gift of tears. We may find ourselves weeping over our city – as Jesus wept over Jerusalem – due to the host of ills which exist. … Read more
The Discipleship Project
By Doug Schonberg and David Moody. The Discipleship Project is a tool for stimulating, promoting and measuring adult spiritual education, based on the assumption that even a 10% increase in serious, intentional adult spiritual growth can offset operating deficits and increase volunteerism for children and youth ministries. … Read more
Worship Workshop: Freedom & Order
Bill Steele offers some alternatives to the stiffly formal and intellectual mood that one sometimes encounters in church worship, with obligatory singing and cold prayers. … Read more
Living Churches: A Hope of Life and Growth
By George Anderson. “God specializes in graveyards.” This little church which had no Sunday School or Bible study groups and had about twenty adults attending seemed like a valley of dry bones. Humanly speaking the answer seemed to be “No” but the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Jesus said “Yes.” … Read more
Tithing – a Spring-board to Generosity
By Esther Mcllveen. Tithing is both the wisest investment of our money, as well as a command first given to the Children of Israel. Tithing was not just a requirement of the wealthy, for in Exodus the “poor were instructed not to give less.” Tithing was to become the norm for all the children of God. … Read more
Obituary – Rev. Robert Leishman Taylor
We wish to remember Rev. Robert Leishman Taylor, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and member of The Renewal Fellowship. He will be missed. … Read more
Perspectives on the Church Doctrine Report on Human Sexuality
John A. Vissers urges the commissioners to the 120th General Assembly in June to adopt the report of the Church Doctrine Committee: it talks about God. The crisis of faith is that we are being asked to believe in ourselves more and more as sexual beings, and in God less and less. … Read more
The One Essential
By Jonathan Shaw. No church's ultimate effectiveness will rise to stay above the level of its corporate prayer life — witness the phenomenal growth of the evangelical church in South Korea. Events such as prayer evenings and prayer retreats can focus corporate prayer. … Read more
The Timothy Principle, by Roy Robertson
Reviewed by Stephen Jenvey. This book covers basic principles needed in one’s life before fruitful discipleship can take place: consistency in the daily devotional life, understanding and being able to explain the plan of salvation, having a prayer plan, and approaches to Bible study … Read more
Timothy: Taking Over In Ephesus
By Eugene Peterson. The church at Ephesus, established by Paul, was, at first, the model church, but by the time Timothy was sent there, had become a mess, with a culture of religion without commitment, spirituality without content, and not much concern about God. What did Timothy do about it? … Read more
The Human Sexuality Report
A promising, seventeen-page interim report on “Human Sexuality” which is now available for study asserts that a Christian sexual ethic will make wise use of tradition, reason and experience, but will subject these to the witness of Scripture. … Read more
A Churchful of Ministers
By Michael Green. In mainline churches, there is a clear distinction between clergy or ministers and laymen. The clergy are the professionals, and the laymen the amateurs. All this would have sounded very strange to New Testament ears. They knew nothing of any such distinction! … Read more
What To Expect From Your New Senior Pastor
Anonymous. 43 rules for driving him out of the ministry or out of his mind … Read more
Strengthening Our Prayer Ministries as a Fellowship
By Dr. C. Gordon Ross. At a workshop following the annual meeting of the Renewal Fellowship, held in Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, on March 8, a number of ways were discussed to help congregations improve their prayer life. … Read more
The Power of Commitment, by Jerry White
Reviewed by Jack Charleson. We live in a society where there are repeated demands on our time, talents and financial resources. … All this requires that we develop a level of “commitment” in order to be responsible in serving, not only those seeking our involvement, but more importantly, the Lord who is directing our lives. … Read more
A Presbyterian Lay Training Centre
Rev. Cal Brown, Convenor of the B.C. Synod Committee on Church Growth, outlines the plans for the development of a Presbyterian Lay Training School, to be located in British Columbia, with the encouragement of the National Church Growth Committee and the General Assembly. … Read more