Reviewed by David Jennings. Until Christians start speaking in the public square, they cannot criticize anyone for not listening. … Read more
How is your Beloved better than Others?
By Louise Holert — Last year I received two very special gifts. The first – I was granted a three-month Sabbatical by International Neighbors, a ministry to international students in Seattle with which I have served since October, 1985. The second – I was invited to be a Missionary-in-Residence at Regent College for the spring semester of 1994. … Read more
Natural Church Development, by Christian A. Schwarz
Reviewed by J.H. (Hans) Kouwenberg. Christian Schwarz conducted a comprehensive research project with over 1,000 large and small, growing and plateaued participating congregations throughout much of the world to discover certain principles of "natural church development." … Read more
A People’s Guide to Our New Understanding of Mental Illness and Suicide
By George Nichols. Grief needs sympathy, problems need counseling, and depression needs medical care. Depression is a highly curable medical illness which ends fatally for about 10 to 15 percent of the people who have it and are not treated. … Read more
Renewal and Outreach in One Package
By Anne Douglas. Alpha came to one congregation as an answer to prayer for an evangelistic Bible study. Some have made first-time commitments to Christ; others have drawn much closer to God. This is their church's most effective ministry to non-Christians. … Read more
We Are Not Alone
J. Barry Forsyth represented the Renewal Fellowship at a meeting of renewal leaders in Washington D.C. With representatives of so many organizations present, it was evident that we are not alone in the Renewal Fellowship Within The Presbyterian Church in Canada. … Read more
Editorial – Fences
By Calvin Brown. Theological fences (creeds and confessions) are useful to help people understand their faith, but they can also be used to persecute people. The temptation is to tear down all fences rather than develop the maturity to discern which fences are good and which ones are not. … Read more
Q. How Do You Spell ‘Miracle’? A. F-A-R-E-L
Martin Geleynse recounts the progress of Institut Farel, an institution of pastoral formation and lay training for francophone churches in Quebec, since its establishment in 1978. … Read more
A Leadership Gap
By Brian C. Stiller. My generation inherited the vision and the styles of those who grew up in the 40s and launched their ministries in the 50s. But it seems the spirit and energy to lead has bypassed much of my generation. … 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
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
Boldly Going Where God Goes: Kingdom Risks
By John Bowen. The kingdom of God and the work of evangelism do not progress unless Jesus' people are prepared to take risks. The book of Acts holds several examples of evangelism that involved risk-taking. We grow only through change, and change means leaving behind what is familiar and comfortable, and that is risky. … Read more
Can These Old Bones Live Again?
By Harold Jantz. In a denomination with declining membership, in the PCC there are pockets of renewal with very dynamic and exciting congregations across our country that are winning people to Christ and growing. … Read more
Thoughts on Maundy Thursday
By Margaret Avison. His actions are whole-hearted, clear, spontaneous, and therefore can be interpreted, after, as purposeful too. … Read more
Annual General Meeting 2003
The Annual General Meeting and March Renewal Day was hosted by Paris Presbyterian Church on March 8 with enthusiasm and evident joy that set the tone for the whole event. It was a wonderful day and many commented that it was the best Renewal Day they had been to in years. Photos by Jack Harewood and David Stewart. … Read more
Charting Our Course
The Board outlines the purposes and concerns of The Renewal Fellowship, and intends to use these to shape their discussions, planning, and programs. … Read more