Dreams Unlocked

I read 59 books in 2016. Here they are: January River Dwellers - Rob Reimer - DMIN Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness- Tim Keller Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling Pursuit of God - AW Tozer Into Abba’s Arms - Sandra Wilson - DMIN Fasting - a Neglected Discipline - David SMith How to Read the Psalms - Tremper Longman III February 8. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made - Paul Brand and Philip Yancey 9.  Invitation to Solitude and Silence - Ruth Haley Barton 10. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill 11. Prepared to Preach - Greg Scharf 12. Hipster Christianity - Brett McCracken March 13. Secrets of the Vine - Bruce Wilkinson (2nd time) 14. Road to Character - David Brooks Introduction to the Devout Life - St. Francis de Sales Continuous Revival - Norman Grubb How Can I Get Through to You? - Terrence Real - DMIN April 18.  Strengthening the soul of leadership- Barton - DMIN 19. Leading Across Cultures - James Pluedemann ...

I have now lived in the United States for 3 and a half years. I, my wife and 3 kids are all Canadian citizens. One of the most interesting things I have discovered while living here is the sharp racial divide that exists here. There is nothing similar in Canada. Even the systematic racism against First Nations people is not the same. There is simply not the same amount of large populations of First Nations peoples living in urban centers. There does not seem to be a very large or significant First Nations middle class. And Canada is simply not an old enough nation to have the lengthy history of race relations as America does. First Nations peoples were not brought here as slaves but they were subjugated to European colonialism in their own land. Felicia and I just watched a very compelling documentary called 13th on Netflix. It is a history of the black experience in America since the passing of the 13th amendment outlawing slavery. It is a fascinating piece that chronicles th...

On Monday this week I was invited to speak on a panel about the proposed "Ithaca Plan", put forward by the Mayor's office in the city of Ithaca. This is a comprehensive proposal to treat a drug epidemic in our county which claimed 3 lives over Mother's Day weekend this year. It was a meeting which ran from 12:30-4:30 (My involvement was about an hour long.) I sat on a panel with a clergyman from Chicago who leads a national movement of Clergy for Drug Renewal, and a former District Attorney from Washington D.C. who also campaigns for drug law reform. Here are 2 things that I shared that I think are worth passing on to you: My motivation to speak out -  One is the nature of God. The God of the Bible is revealed as a God on the side of the poor, marginalized and rejected. Constantly choosing the younger and weaker to accomplish his purposes. Another  motivation is the nature of humanity. Human beings are created in the image of God and because of that fact both de...

I am currently teaching an adult education class in my church called "Personal Spiritual Formation". It is based on material put out by the dean of the seminary I currently attend, Dr. Ron Walborn. 25 adults signed up for the class and I ended up having to turn away others who showed interest. As we have been working through the material someone commented to me that this class is not what they thought it was going to be. This class covers things like grieving and honesty. I think what has happened is that for many of us spiritual formation simply means learning more things - head knowledge. But, the material I am teaching goes deeper - it goes to the heart. The reason I feel this material is important is because there is something missing in contemporary Christianity. We have lost our hearts. What I mean is is that we have absolutely excellent academic training in areas of theology, hermeneutics, exegesis and biblical scholarship. Almost anyone can now access some of the ...

I got a Bible! I am having an identity crisis. For almost my entire adult life I have self identified as an evangelical Christian. But, my identity has been hijacked. Evangelical Christianity has been severed from its roots in the gospel and has been replanted amidst very confusing political soil. And I don't know who I am anymore. This dilemma traces its origins back several decades. In the 1980's progressive Christian Tony Campolo was loudly declaring that evangelicals in America no longer believed in the Jesus of the gospels, but instead they had transformed him into a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Republican. And THAT Jesus is impotent to do anything for us. (Because he is a figment of our imagination). Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention has renounced the label and now calls himself a Gospel Christian. Evangelical traces its roots to the word evangel - which in turn traces its root to the Greek word euangelion - which means "good news...

A couple of weeks I used an illustration in a sermon concerning the anthropologist Margaret Mead. In a University lecture, Mead asked the students what was the first sign of civilization? She held up various objects: a bowl? a weapon? the forging of iron? Mead said none of these were the first signs of civilization. She then held up a human femur bone. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the bone had been broken and then had healed over. She said - the healing of this bone means that someone cared for this person. Someone hunted for them. Fed them. Insured their personal comfort. .... all at expense to their own needs. Civilization began there and is only sustained if human beings can continue to display these same acts continue on through our line. To care for the broken among us is the sign that the body of humanity is still healthy and functioning. This story that I have shared via my friend  Selina Robinson  shows us what will be part of the downwa...

My band of brothers in the DMIN program. I got back Wednesday evening after a 10 day intensive of the first module of my Dr. of Ministry program at Alliance Theological Seminary. Classes ran from 8 AM - 5 PM everyday except for Sunday. My cohort has 11 students and then I was in a smaller group of 4. We will study together for the next 3 years, gathering twice a year for this same immersive experience. My journey to this particular seminary is quite interesting. I was actually prepared to study at another larger and better known seminary. But God stepped in and changed my direction. It happened through a Christian family camp in the Adirondacks that we attend every summer.   Camp of the Woods is a beautiful Christian resort that brings in top rate speakers and has an excellent children and youth program. This year Dr. Martin Sanders of ATS was one of the speakers. He spoke on "the soul". Felicia, my parents and I were profoundly moved by his messages as he spok...