The Free Methodist Church in CanadaOctober 2004 - Volume 1 Issue 6

Reflecting the diversity of ministry expression withinthe Free Methodist family

by Mark Griffin

As Labour Day approached in our home, we knewwe were in for a landslide of worry. We had givenour youngest daughter soon-to-be expired

boundaries about a postponed discussion concerning ahamster. After she lost her dear "Hammy" just this pastspring to a two-day bout with an unidentified fatalillness, she immediately began to obsess about areplacement. "Please daddy, please mommy, please,please, please can I get a new hamster?!?" My wife and Iheard this plea reiterated literally dozens of times withthe passion that only a broken hearted little hamster-widow could muster.

We gave the rodent bereavement due process,reflecting and grieving in a healthy way, but the requestsfor a new hamster were so incessant we finally limited herconversation — "we don't want to hear another thingabout the hamster until after Labour Day."

With ‘L-Day’ quickly approaching, we could see theboundary line against whining blowing away in the latesummer breezes. We had to act quickly and decisively ormy daughter would be riding the chatter-wagon again;"Daddy please…Mommy please…" My wife and Idiscussed our options and came up with a hamsterpurchase-plan effective after Thanksgiving weekend. Sobefore the floodgates of requests came open again, wecircumvented the deluge with the promise of a newcedar-chip-monger. My little princess was delighted.She squeezed my neck, beamed and said, "thank youDaddy!"

And thereafter, every time the thought of a new littleflea-bag (oh sorry — pet hamster) crossed her mind herface again would light up and she would say, "thank youDaddy that you're getting me a new hamster. I think I'llput the cage on this shelf." Or "thank you Daddy thatyou're getting me a new hamster. I think I'll call himElvis. No! Jonah! No! Goliath!"

I really didn't mind the excited musings — they wereno longer punctuated with desperate requests — theywere filled with assured and confident thanks. "ThanksDad!" I can't tell you how much that warmed my heart.Everything was right in the universe. Dad would do it.He said he would. My girl was at peace, and so were herparents!

Like my daughter, I get obsessive sometimes. It'sdisguised by what I have called a ‘prayer request list.’Perhaps my recurring requests could be better

communicated in a biblical framework of thanksgiving.We see evidence of this thankful attitude established inthe old covenant. Daily, the Levites were asked by God"to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord.They were to do the same in the evening." (1 Chronicles23:30) David encouraged thanks as a divine access pointwhen he declared "Enter his gates with thanksgiving andhis courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise hisname." (Psalm 100:4) It seems that this repetative thanksestablishes us in a right position reminding us of Hiscovenant promises and opening the way into Hispresence.

Paul, the apostle, knew thathuman nature could easily bend toworry and so he encouraged hisfriends from Phillippi to "not beanxious about anything, but ineverything, by prayer and petition,with thanksgiving, present yourrequests to God." (Philippians 4:6).I've found that although my prayershould be an expression of faith, I'mactually revealing my anxious heart,as my daughter does, by continuallypleading with God, as if to say, "Ihope you haven't forgotten Lord!"The superlative exhortation to "notbe anxious about anything" isbalanced with another superlative "ineverything…with thanksgiving".Imagine that! Thankful ineverything. Even when I am asking Ican be thankful. That is extreme.

That abounding expression of thanks is the greatconfession of hope and trust! Accordingly, I want to prayalong these lines: "Thank you Lord that you already saidin your word that you 'are not willing that any shouldperish, but that all should come to repentance.' I thankyou Lord that your word is true for my friends andfamily’s salvation. I thank you that you have a plan togive them 'a hope and a future' as your word declares."Why beg for something we've already been promised andfor something that the cross has already provided for?Does this show faith?

Essentially, our words of thanks are just rolling out

“Essentially,our words ofthanks arejust rolling outthe redcarpet toallow God tostep in asKing,enthroned inour praiseand thanks.MOSAIC

4315 Village Centre CourtMississauga, Ontario L4Z 1S2Tel: 905-848-2600Fax: 905-848-2603www.fmc-canada.org

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Wo r r y - F r e eCOVERWorry-Free Thanksby Rev. Mark Griffin

PAGE 2Editor’s Desk

A Blinding Glimpse of theObvious - Developing a farm-team in the churchby Alan Retzman

General Conference Update

PAGE 3

Thanksgiving as a LifestyleBy Bishop Keith Elford

Continuing Education Unitsby Alan Retzman

PAGE 4Passages

Church in the Boxby Jared Siebert

PAGE 5Dreaming AgainRecovering Congregational Vision for Ministryby Glenn Gibson

PAGE 6

Student Ministriesby Andrew Brown

Ministry Centre in top 10 BestChristian Places to Work inCanada!

PAGE 710 Must Reads from a Contrarianby Jordon Cooper

PAGE 8I want to be your handsby Carrie Zimmerman40008369.

continued on page 5 - Thanks

EDITOR’SDESK

Be grateful, it’sgood for you!Many years ago, on a fineThanksgiving afternoon I learned avery important truth. We were all

seated around the table, about to partake in afeast! As was our custom we were all given anopportunity to share what we were thankful for.

I remember observing, probably for the firsttime, how different my list of thanks was from myparents. Offering a quick thanks for my mom, dadand my siblings, I quickly got to the "important"items that I thought were especially noteworthy: mynew bike, an outfit that had just been purchased, abirthday party I had attended.

I listened as my mother and father gave thanksto God for all that He had provided that year. Theythanked God for health, for their children, and forthe ability to bless others. I remember thatsomething inside me clicked.

The best way to learn how to be thankful is tosee it modeled before you. I've 'learned' to bethankful because I had excellent guides who, oftendaily, would remind me of God's unfailinggoodness to me. Even when the worst ofcircumstances surfaced, I saw demonstratedbefore me grateful attitudes, trusting that God hadeverything in His hands.

Being thankful — it's a discipline that I'm stillworking on. It's easy to let your thoughts drift intodisappointment and discontent. But really, whowants to go there? Who wants to dwell on thenegative and let it well up all around you? We aresurrounded by a society that tells us we need to beindependent and self-made — not indebted toanyone (and therefore not needing to be grateful).

Yet consider what recent academic studieshave shown: people who describe themselves asfeeling grateful to God and others in general tendto have higher vitality and more optimism, sufferless stress, and experience fewer episodes ofclinical depression than the population as a whole.Grateful people tend to be less materialistic, sufferless anxiety about status or the accumulation ofpossessions. Partly because of this, they are morelikely to describe themselves as happy or satisfiedin life.

God has created us to give thanks — it's howwe best function. So, if we want to be healthy andhappier we should be thankful!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but ineverything, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your requests to God. And thepeace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in ChristJesus." [Philippians 4:5]

Lisa HowdenManaging Editor

The Bell Canadian Open, Summer Olympics and WorldCup Hockey will be almost forgotten by the time youread this. Canada's Olympic Swim Team was highly

criticized: Mark Tewksbury, previous Canadian swimming GoldMedalist said, we have no "farm-team" system in Canada. We getour swimmers from private clubs that develop independently.Canada showed its dominance in hockey during the World Cup.Why? We have kids identified early, supported in thecommunity, and hockey teams to gain early experience.Though there are "raging" hockey parents who darken thatpicture, we have an extensive hockey farm-team. There is aconnection with a strong farm-team and winning GoldMedals or World Cups.

The church needs the same. Strong "farm-teams" meansidentifying, maturing, training and deploying leaders in thelocal church. The Mature Study Team for GeneralConference 2005 will cast a vision for identifying childrenwho may become leaders. They will be encouraged to puttheir gifts and talents into direct kingdom use. It's like a farm-team for the church.

The Commission Study Team (National Ministerial Education Guidance and PlacementCommittee (NMEGaP) is responsible for this team) will "hand-shake" with Mature Study Team, toassure a seamless flow from local church to ministerial training in the FMCiC. NMEGaP is proposingmajor revisions to our "tracking" at General Conference 2005. The change makes intuitive sense. Wewill help the local church to develop a farm-team of leaders to play in the World Cup of Ministry. Thefarm-team is how we will develop healthy pastors who will build healthy churches.

Some early steps NMEGaP is taking thus far:· No longer will we use Lay Minister, Ministerial Candidate or Commissioned Minister the way wehave used them. · The local church will be responsible for the development of the call to ministry in candidates. · The local church will be given a series of interviews (designed by the NMEGaP and the local church)to be conducted by the local church official board or their designate.· When it is time to "handshake," the local church sends the candidate to MEGaP to audit/review theresults of the local church interviews. · No longer do we need to have an awkward disconnect between local church and conferencepreparing candidates.· There is a significant increase in ethnic candidates and candidates for cross-cultural/inter-culturalministry. The interview system will prepare the local church to competently guide and encourage suchcandidates without disconnecting from the local church.

These changes are in progress. The interviews are being field tested in local churches this fall, invarious ministry and cultural contexts.

Why are we making changes again? Stephen Ames is a Canadian golfer gaining on Mike Weir inearnings and wins. He had a problem with his iron shots, so he consulted a golf coach. Ames said,"I feel great off the tee. I hit with confidence and freedom." But, he added, "The rest of my gameneeds help." The golf coach said, "It sounds crazy but, 'What if you hit your irons with the sameattitude as your tee shots?' You would have thought I gave him some great revelation!" The coachadded, "I didn't say anything really, 'I call it a blinding glimpse of the obvious."

Training the local church to train leaders is a "blinding glimpse of the obvious." Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that pastors and teachers are called to "prepare God's people for works of service, so that thebody of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith…" MEGaP has almost doubledtheir interviews of candidates every year. We use to interview 10 per year. We have scheduled 70interviews in 2004. In 2005, January to May we will interview another 35. Among these candidatesare 18 ethnic pastors, not counting the 9 in Sri Lanka. This takes more time and trained interviewers.

The obvious part is that we should train the local church to develop the leaders with MEGaPsoversight. The Mature Study Team will encourage early identification of leaders and discernment ofcall. The Commission Study Team will provide tools to the local church and complete their ordinationprocess. It seems like the obvious thing to do.

Although the 2005 General Conference in Toronto seems a long timeaway, it really isn't. The study teams, the planning committee and theworkshop leaders have all been busily working putting the details

together. You can certainly join the process as well. Right now, there are fourways that you can get involved.

First, the study teams are working on a study that will report directly tothe General Conference. Everyone is invited to prayerfullysubmit their ideas and input to these study teams for theirconsideration. The Study Teams and their objectives are availableon the website and the leaders would welcome your input andinsight.

Secondly, one of the privileges of every church or member ofthe FMCiC is the privilege of introducing resolutions to theGeneral Conference according to provisions of Par. 410.5 of

The Manual of the FMCiC. Please keep the following points in mind. Aresolution must:a) have the support of a delegate of the General Conference (lay or ministerialdelegate) in order to be introduced, andb) be sent to the Ministry Centre by February 15, 2005 as per the timeline ofthe General Conference 2005.

Thirdly, many hands are needed to ensure the efficient implementationof such a large event. We greatly appreciate the individuals who give of theirtime and talents to this weekend. If you are interested in being part of thevolunteer crew, please contact the conference coordinator, Tanya Prinsep.

Finally, and most importantly, we would ask that you keep the conferencein your prayers as we work together to seek God's direction for this weekend. If you have any questions about the conference or these ways of gettinginvolved, please feel free to contact Tanya Prinsep at flareevents@rogers.com.

G E N E R A L C O N F E R E N C E U P D A T E

ABlindingGlimpseoftheObviousDeveloping a farm-team in the church

by Alan Retzman - Superintendent of Personnel

M O S A I C 2

Ilove Thanksgiving! In a matter of seconds I can be back in mychildhood memories where our teacher decorated the bulletin boardswith pictures of cornstalks, pumpkins and the horn of plenty spilling

out its abundance of fruits and vegetables. And the Thanksgivingdinners…Wow! There is always a gang of people around the tablelaughing and teasing as we enjoy the feast of turkey, mashed potatoes andgravy, pumpkin pies with whipped cream… It is awesome. Because wehave two nations (Canada and US) represented in our home, some yearswe celebrate Thanksgiving twice!

Thanksgiving, however, is to be more than a long weekend ofcelebration. In the believer's life, it is to be a foundational mindset all yearlong.

I have been helped to think more deeply about this by Henri Nouwen'sbook, The Return of the Prodigal Son — A Story of Homecoming. It isobviously a book about Jesus' parable of the father entreating his two lostsons to come back to his love.

A lot of speakers and writers have spoken to us about the restlessnessof the younger son that matured into rebellion and sent him off on hisjourney of looking for love, meaning, and fulfillment in all the wrong

places. If you sit with the picture inJesus' parable and get real honest andlook around in our culture, you begin torealize that restlessness of spirit is not justa condition of the younger generation.Unrighteous discontent is anintergenerational reality and its result isempty ugliness, often accompanied bypainful and complex consequences. Atthe same time, godly contentment thatcomes from a grateful spirit is a beautifulthing to see… and it too, I've noticed, isa multigenerational reality.

If selfish restlessness is thecondition of the younger son, self-centered entitlement is the olderbrother's malady. In his discussion ofJesus' story, Henri Nouwen gives somehelpful insights. Resentment, rivalry,self-righteousness, and jealousy all feedoff this sense of entitlement that oftenplagues dutiful and faithful people. Ifyou have never really been outwardlyprodigal and you have been a person whohas generally done the right things, Ithink you know the seduction of theentitlement temptation. I see it in ourculture. I see it in the church. I confess

that I have met it in my own interior life. It toois multigenerational. It is wrong.

Where can those ensnared by self-centeredentitlement get a healthy perspective? Nouwen'sdiscussion of the elder brother and of Jesus'parable of the labourers in the vineyard (where thepeople who signed on at the end of the day gotpaid the same amount as the people who workedall day) can help. (See Matthew 20).

What was Jesus saying to us in both cases? IfNouwen is right, and I think he is, you will see theway North Americans normally think get flippedon its head! He says that the length of time thatwe labour for the Lord does not entitle us tospecial favour. In the economy of the kingdom ofGod, perks do not come as a result of the lengthof our tenure or the intensity of our labour. Godloves us more than our work or even ourfaithfulness.

Enjoying the relationship while it is happening is the reward. Themonths, years, decades of fellowship that we share with the Father — as weparticipate with what He is doing in the world — is a blessing that neitherthe latecomers nor the prodigals will ever be able to have. By their choices,they missed out on the precious gift of time in rich relationship. Faithful,dutiful people who work hard believing that this is rewarded byentitlements also miss it. God invites us into day by day, joy-filledfellowship with Him. Period. The Christian life is not to be seen as timeendured in the salt mines that assures us one of the best seats in the houseor the unquestioned right to greater influence in kingdom life.

When we get the idea that life-long faithfulness entitles us topreferential treatment in the kingdom, we are buying into a mindset thatis the very opposite of who Jesus is and what He stood for. Henri Nouwenhelped me see this. He says that in contrast to the youngest character inhis story, Jesus is the true prodigal. He was able to leave heaven and comeinto this far-off country without getting lost in its self-centeredworldliness. The reason for this is found in the motives of his heart. Hecame as an obedient son with a "concern-for-others" orientation ratherthan as a rebellious son trying to slake his thirsty restlessness. He left the"home" of heaven, but heaven never left him.

Likewise, Jesus is the true elder brother. He rejoices in his wholesome,unbroken, eternal relationship with the Father and joyfully celebrates whenthe rebellious come home and the latecomers are showered with graciousgenerosity. His gratitude for the love of the Father gives a freedom to benonjudgmental about rebellious prodigals or self-absorbed elder brothersor latecomers.

I see it. I want to be more like Jesus. That is true Thanksgiving.

“When we get the

idea that life-long

faithfulness entitles

us to preferential

treatment in the

kingdom, we are

buying into a

mindset that is the

very opposite of

who Jesus is and

what He stood for.

By Bishop Keith Elford

Thanksgiving

THE PURPOSE of documenting CEU's (Continuing Education Units)among our ordained and commissioned pastors has very little to do withmathematics and everything to do with growing in discipleship. We shouldnever stop learning. Structured learning experiences for pastors and staff likeconferences, weekend classes, seminars are all examples of ways to getlearning concretely into our schedules.

In the personnel office we are "tracking" CEU's. But we are not, norwant to be the keepers of the math. The policy is: One CEU is equivalentto 24 hours of contact time." You may ask: “Does this include lunchbreaks?”, “Does this include travel time?”, “What if I'm only there for 21hours?”, “Can I combine two seminars to get a CEU?”

The purpose of the CEU is to encourage life long learning. Those thatare life long learners will likely be far exceeding the requirements. Those whoneed a "wake up call" will hopefully be encouraged to get going.

The learning experience can and should be directed towards a growtharea identified in a performance appraisal or through an accountability

p a r t n e r.C E Us t r u c t u r e dexperiences are tobe flexible, practical tothe local church, or more academic according to your need.

Only those who are already finished "tracking" for CommissionedMinister or Ordained Minister need to submit CEU for "tracking." Prior tothis the word "continuing" does not apply. You are still getting your requirededucation.

In the personnel office we want you to report when you complete a CEU,the policy will guide you. We will not "number crunch," or “become beancounters" (though we love and need them.) So relax and continue to be adisciple of Jesus Christ by continuing to grow in the knowledge of Jesus.

The whole policy is available on line. <<www.fmc-canada.org>>

by Alan Retzman, Superintendent of Personnel

[CEU’s]Continuing Education UnitsDeveloping a life long appetite for learning

The Return of the Prodigal Son ~ Rembrandt,1668.

as a Lifestyle

3 M O S A I C

Dr. Livingston, I presume? Church as medical missionTaking seriously the Mission of Next Church, and the mission ofall faithful churches everywhere, we want to let everyone in onGod's big secret: "I'm changing everything and you're invited."

Dandelion Bouquets (aka Macaroni Masterpieces): thepriesthood of all believers — Our church values the activeparticipation of everyone, all the time. We welcomeeveryone's contributions, learning from God's acceptance ofus to allow grace to permeate all the experiences we bring toone another. And as priests together, we want to affirm thatGod through Jesus has invited us to enter together into thePresence of God, which means speaking to God and listeningto God, not just talking about God.

If You Come, You Belong: open and welcoming community— There are no tests to pass, no forms to sign, before you arewelcomed and accepted as one of us. We want ourcommunity to reflect what God through Jesus offers us all —full and free forgiveness, and the liberating power oftransformation.

And a Little Child Shall Lead Us: family-friendly (respect for,and involvement of, all ages) — We are all "we" - we desire toavoid thinking in terms of "us" and "them" with regard todifferent ages. We can all learn from one another and we canall help and support one another. We want to find ways foreveryone to be able to participate in meaningful worship andlearning, including a multi-faceted "choose your ownadventure" approach. We want to discover the gifts that Goddesires to bring to our community through the children in ourmidst. We want to learn how to see again with a child's eyesand heart, and we want to submit ourselves to the wonder,imagination, humility and receptivity needed for entry into theKingdom of God.

Stinky Socks: messy people seeking God in the context ofnon-threatening intimacy — We want to be authentic with

each other. We don't want to pretend to be any better ordifferent than we are. We seek to be a community that gentlyencourages everyone to move out of aloneness and intointimacy. We will find ways to do this through our physicalsetting and arrangement, which will tend to be face-to-face,flexible, fluid and changeable, and through our various waysand means of church. We will also seek to establish andencourage a network of small groups meeting regularly forBible study, prayer and mutual support.

Highly Organized Chaos: wild creativity within a full-featured service — We intend to have a liturgical frameworkthat will enable every service to be a full-featured one,expressing the height and breadth and fullness of God'sprovision for our needs. Within this framework, we want toencourage a high degree of creative participation that will attimes seem even dangerous, but will hopefully also be excitingwith new and unimagined possibilities. We want to expend agreat deal of energy in tapping into the creative imaginationwith which God has gifted each one of us.

Crazy Glue: unreasonably sticky faithfulness to God and toeach other — We want to be faithful to the revelation of Godin the person of Jesus Christ. We want to be faithful to eachother, to care for each other as Jesus cares for us. And wewant to be faithful to the traditions and wisdom of the faithfulSaints of God in all ages, understanding that we in our owntime are not standing alone, but rather stand on the shouldersof those who have gone before us. We will commit ourselvesto "giving the dead a vote (though not a veto)".

Sure - why not? you'll never know till you tryWe value change and experimentation — trial and error, aswell as trial and success. Because you never know till you try.And because the lavish outpouring of God's grace andblessing is new every morning, constantly creating for us newlife, new possibilities and new directions.

Passages

Church in the Box is a new concept in Church,presently operating as a second service withinNext Church, 89 Colborne Street, Kingston,

Ontario. We have inherited our general mission,vision and purpose from Next, and are affiliated withThe Free Methodist Church in Canada. Our in-houselaunch (landing?) took place on D-Day, June 6th,2004. We have spent the summer preparing ourselvesfor our official public launch sometime in the fall. Weare fine-tuning our activities as we go — seeing whatworks well, what could work better, and whatexpectations we need to change.

Like Next Church, we want to be a church whoseprimary purpose of mission is reaching out to ourcommunity rather than folding in upon ourselves.We also believe that God has given us our owndistinctive calling as a church. We are preparingourselves to reach out specifically to people who arelonging for intimate, participatory, family-friendlycommunity. So Church in the Box (CITB) is tryingto look like this:

Face-to-face: we meet in the Lovenasium (thegym) of Next Church. We sit in an open circularpattern so that we can face each other. We are tryingto encourage even the music (voice and instrumental)to be participatory and face-to-face. We often use ourcentral space for activities (e.g. stories and songs withchildren, communion table, prayer activities).

Highly organized chaos: we follow a liturgicalformat to ensure a full-featured service, and everyattempt is made to do this with free, family-friendly,chaordic creativity. A different person leads usthrough each of the elements of the liturgicalframework, sometimes after spending time in thoughtand preparation during the week, sometimes on thespur of the moment. Everyone who comes to CITBis invited to sign up for the various leadershipopportunities. Leaders are always encouraged to

provide activities that involve high levels ofparticipation from everyone, and that requirestretching our creative and imaginative boundaries, aswell as our individual comfort zones!

Family-friendly: we all stay together throughoutthe service. This means that we have set ourselves theongoing task of looking for new and creative ways torespect, involve, and learn from all ages. This meansdesigning and following our liturgy with an awarenessof the needs of all ages, and providing several hands-on, thematically-related activity opportunities in ourmeeting room (arts, crafts, special projects). We havealso chosen an early start and finish (9-10:30 a.m.) asa family-friendly worship time.

Every service of CITB offers a Biblically-basedmessage, a Journey through the Book. We are tryingout various message formats that will require andreflect thoughtful preparation on the part of the leaderand active participation by the entire gathering. Oursummer series was designed to prepare us as a churchfor outreach in the fall, so we were working our waythrough the book of Luke to see how Jesus preparedhis followers for this same task (see Jack DeanKingsbury, Conflict in Luke).

After our public launch, we intend to begin our"official" existence by explaining and exploring whatit is that CITB stands for — and why. This willinvolve looking at our "Eight Great Values", whichwill be surrounding us on eight commissioned mural-sized paintings on our walls (see below). At present, weare proposing that when this eight-week series isfinished, our weekly themes will focus on helping usas a community to meet Jesus, whether for the firsttime, or more deeply than ever before (see Jean Vanier,Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel ofJohn).

Jared Siebert is co-pastor at Next Church, Kingston,ON

EIGHT GREAT VALUES OF CHURCH IN THE BOX

M O S A I C 4Introducing:

by Jared Siebert

AppointmentsDon Oldford, PastorVennachar FMC, Vennachar, ONAugust 15, 2004

OrdainedMilton Edwards [September 19, 2004]Elisabeth Natividad [September 19, 2004]Daniel Massey [September 26, 2004]

New Assistant Superintendent Rev. Dennis Camplin

[replaces Rev. Scott Woolhead]Rev. Doug Wightman

[replaces Rev. Fred Hubert]

Change in StatusRev. Clark DeMille - retired

Rev. Sok Em - Released for Service -Missionary to Unreached People andHands Across the Pacific"

Transfer to anotherdenominationRev. Huckle Choi - to Baptist Conventionof Ontario & Quebec

Churches in TransitionCaistor Centre FMC, Caistor Centre, ONEastern Koinonia FMC, Toronto, ONKaren Crescent FMC, Orillia, ONKillarney FMC, Killarney, MBMelfort FMC, Melfort, SKNew Hope FMC, Bracebridge, ONO'Connor FMC, Kakabeka Falls, ON Richmond Hill Chinese FMC,

Richmond Hill, ONRoblin/Grandview FMC, Roblin, MB &

Grandview, MBSouris Valley Community Church,

Estevan, SKSurrey FMC, Surrey, BCTimmins FMC, Timmins, ONWesley Chapel Japanese Church,

Toronto, ON

Pastors in TransitionDavid BarbourGermain FortinWalter McIntyreNorman ShepstoneMike SmeltzerDale VinkleScott Woolhead

Celebrating Anniversaries

Cordova Mines FMC101st Anniversary

Ridgeway Community Church[formally know as Ridgeway FMC]

120th Anniversary

Holt FMC 95th Anniversary

Visit the website:www.fmc-canada.orgGreat ArticlesPhoto GalleryUpcoming Events

5 M O S A I C

DREAMING AGAINR e c o v e r i n g C o n g r e g a t i o n V i s i o n f o r M i n i s t r y

The following story is true. The identity of this Ontario congregation has been removedto help readers focus on the story principles rather than the story itself.

the red carpet to allow God to step in as King, enthroned in our praise andthanks, He comes doling out the benefits of the Kingdom in accordancewith His word. The function of thanksgiving is not founded in a "name itand claim it" attitude, but rather an "ask once and then trust" posture, aposture that pleases our Father. I somehow feel that asking repeatedly likethe persistent widow needs to be understood in the context ofthanksgiving. We ask boldly, not telling God what to do, but actuallyreminding ourselves of His promises and then resting in that. That hasreally taken a lot of pressure off of me to travail (read "worry") in prayer.

Biblically sound prayer will make bold requests in the context of thanksand in the light of His impeccable track record. My daughter couldinstantly relax knowing that I had made a promise. She just keepsthanking me for what she believes will come even though she has not seenthe evidence of it yet (Hebrew 11:1). Thank God that His will is going to

be done on earth as it is in heaven. We can call it forth by faith! Howliberating! I'll just ask God to be Himself, Faithful, Just, True, Healer,Redeemer, Saviour…in His time, in His way and I will boldly present myrequests to Him knowing that He will do what is best, because He said Hewould. I am at peace. My responsibility is simply to be grateful, ineverything, "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in thename of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 5:20)

Since the hamster ordeal, I've set aside the prayer request list andreplaced it with a thanksgiving/prayer list. It's much more restful. Noworries will keep me awake at night. Only the sound of a hamsterscratching on its cage.

Rev. Mark Griffin is Lead Pastor at Lakemount Community in Grimsby, ON.

THANKS continued from cover

Only twenty years after being planted, the church was slowlyheading for trouble. They had grown to almost 200 worshippersin a village of 1,800 (in a township of 4,200 people). But then

things began to go the other way. By the summer of 2002, they had been without a senior pastor for

more than a year. They had reached the bottom of the list with no prospectsin sight. Attendance was now less than 100 and offerings were slowlydeclining. Pockets of turmoil bubbled just below a placid façade ofChristian kindness. Board concern was now on the rise. It was summertimeand congregational morale was sagging badly.

“A lot of people are on holidays,” said the youth pastor as we looked atthe twenty people sprinkled across the sanctuary for a July eveningmeeting. “But we’ll tape your presentation and people can hear it whenthey get back.” I kept my expectations low and gave my standarddescription of the “Vision Renewal” process. After answeringsome questions, I headed for home, assuming thatnothing much would result.

But I was wrong – and not for the first time.It took four months, two more presentations,and a congregational vote. But when theystarted “Vision Renewal” in November, theyhad made the commitment to “dream again”as a church.

“Vision Renewal” is a simple approachto helping a congregation to seek God’svision for future ministry. It is addresses thetendency of the local church to shift theirfocus over the years from the possibilities ofthe future to their present problems and pastsuccesses. Vision Renewal invites the wholechurch family to a season of prayer and listeningto God and each other as a way of revitalizingcongregational life. Following an “A-B-C-D” process,the church takes a 37 week journey that they themselvesdirect with the help of a “coach” and a resource packet.

So the process started with both hope and nervousness. After forminga “20-20” team of eight key members, they establishing the December 1morning service as the “kick off ” of stage one (“Assess the ChurchSituation”).

Beginning the congregational prayer adventure and conducting achurch-wide (everyone age 13 and up) “Ministry Fitness Check” surveywere the two big items on the agenda that day (or so I thought). “Oh, bythe way,” said the church secretary as we finalized the service plans. “Theother thing in the morning service is that youth pastor is reading his letterof resignation.” “Oh, no!” I thought. “This will kill whatever momentumthey have left.”

But I was wrong again. Not only did the whole congregation completethe survey, the youth participated fervently in the prayer experiences ofVision Renewal. When the church met in early January 2003 to discoverthe results of their self-assessment, all ages participated and came to quickagreement about where God was blessing as well as what challenges loomedbefore them in the future.

It was then that the 20-20 Team kicked into gear and began to “Buildthe Profiles”. One group did an “inventory” of church assets to realisticallydetermine what possibilities could be tackled in the future. Anothersurveyed key members to compile a profile of the unique values andpurpose that had shaped their church identity and calling within their

community since their earliest days. A third gathered communityinformation and talked to residents and leaders about needs andopportunities to serve that their church could be meeting in the future.

The church literally changed direction. It happened in the meeting inwhich the “profiles” were reported and the congregation discussed whatthey had learned. Standing at the end for closing prayer, the 20-20 Teamchair invited the congregation (their seating plan points away from theirvillage) to turn around to look out the back windows at their “missionfield.” Prayer statements, like “Lord, forgive us for forgetting why we’rehere” and “give us a love for our town”, sprang spontaneously from thosewho led. Some of the underlying conflict between people got straightenedout too.

It is my opinion that much of what was happening resulted from all thepraying during Vision Renewal. This became evident when stage three,

“Cast the Vision”, got underway.Meeting in clusters of eight to ten

people all over the sanctuary, everyone wasinvited to share the ideas, images, and projects that had

been impressed on them while listening to God inprayer. Taking risky steps, people opened up and thehigh degree of agreement they discovered was botha surprise and delight! The “vision statement” thatemerged with the help of the 20-20 Team isunique to the church and to this chapter of theirhistory. “By the year 2008 …” is how they weretalking now. The people were now “pumped”because they “get it” – they helped to create thestatement by listening to Jesus together.

In early June 2003, the 20-20, churchboard, and key leaders held an “off-site” overnight

planning retreat to “Develop the Action Plan”. Goingan hour away from home to a hotel with a meeting

room, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. On theFriday night, I helped them break the vision statement down

into several measurable goals. We taped them up on the wall andthen knocked off for the night.

After breakfast, I showed them how to brainstorm the key steps toreach those goals and began to tape them on the wall under the goals. Bylunch time, one of their leaders said, “We get what to do — just take a seatand watch us finish this off!” They not only added completion dates, butnames to the projects. They now had a working ministry plan!

A lot has happened since then – the community leaders’ banquet, a newsenior pastor (selected out of three enthusiastic candidates), the churchsponsored skate park, and more. But that’s another story.

“Vision Renewal helped us to identify the strengths and the areas ofneed in our congregation,” said their 20-20 Team chair. “We learned howthe community views us as well as what our community needs. We cametogether as a church family to seek God’s guidance and now we have anaction plan for the future.”

For more information on “Vision Renewal”, contact The FreeMethodist Church in Canada Ministry Centre at 905.848.2600 or contactGlenn Gibson, Church Development Consultant, at 519-576-1659 orggibson@outreach.ca.

Glenn Gibson is the Director of Church Revitalization Ministries of OutreachCanada and serves as Consultant on Church Development with The FreeMethodist Church in Canada.

Ihave heard it many times … " This generation of young people are the oneswho are going to change the world …" The inference being that today'syoung people, more than any other group before them, are ready to be used

by God to impact the world. Is this an accurate statement? Is this generationreally different in some way? I recently asked myself those questions.

On the one hand … there is lots of evidence that points to the fact that themajority of "Christian kids" are essentially the same as their "non-Christian"counterparts when it comes to beliefs and lifestyle choices. Studies show thereis not much difference between the two groups in terms of teen pregnancy,smoking, drug and alcohol use, the music they listen to, the movies andtelevision they watch, and even in behaviours such as lying and stealing. Thereis more temptation and degradation in society than ever before andunfortunately many of our kids are caught up in it. It's sad but true.

On the other hand … there is also lots of evidence that God is working insome of our youth in amazingly powerful ways …

· "Dating God" — I know and have met numerous students who havecommitted to giving up dating for periods of up to and over a year in order tofocus on God. They are putting God before relationships in a radical and newway.

· "Worship" — One pastor recently said to me, "When I was growing upas a Christian young person, all we sang were these crazy action songs … butthese days, kids really worship God!" It is awesome to see young peopleconnecting to God through worship in fresh and meaningful ways.

· "Jesus Freaks" — Kids are beginning to stand up for their faith more thanever before. I know of a group of kids who all last winter held Christian clubmeetings outdoors because they were prohibited from meeting in the school topray and fellowship. God is using them as powerful witnesses in their schooland community.

· "Prayer" — This past summer at a few of our family camps I had theopportunity to gather with young people for a nightly prayer time. There wasno offer of food or crazy activities, just time listening and praying to God. Itwas an awesome experience of connecting to God and each other. Here is whatsome of those young people expressed about that experience of prayer:

" This past week we were involved in a number of activities but the timethat blessed us the most was our prayer time at night."

" I felt God's presence … like knowing that it was him for sure!!" "This was the first time I ever prayed out loud with other people…it was

awesome!""Another thing that touched our hearts was the time we took to get quietand listen to what God wanted to tell us that day""It was so encouraging having others pray for me and with me!"

" I used to think that I wasn't one of those "praying" types …but now Iam one"

How amazing to hear young people talk about their experience with prayerin this way.

These are all things that encourage me about what God is doing. Many ofthese kids are miles ahead of where I was spiritually, when I was their age.

In trying to figure all of this out, I asked some students what they thoughtabout their generation in terms of its place in history. They told me that asChristian young people they were increasingly being forced to decide between"going with the flow" and taking a radical stand for Christ.

"Church kids" today are being "forced off the fence". Some are beingtransformed by the world, but Jesus Christ is radically transforming manyothers. I think the gap between the two groups is going to continue to widen.

The mission of Free Methodist Student Ministries throughout thedenomination should be to turn our students into disciples of Jesus Christ. Iam a huge believerin 1 Tim. 4:12 thattells us that ouryoung people can beo u t s t a n d i n gexamples for us intheir speech, life,love, faith and inpurity… but I alsobelieve that theyneed a lot of help,encouragement andchallenging to cometo that point.

What is neededto make this happenare spirituallygrowing leaders whoare willing to "setthe bar high" forthemselves and theyoung people theyare ministering to. Iam excited aboutthe privilege I haveto work with ourFree Methodistyouth and youthleaders as we embarkupon the journey ofstrengthening ourd e n o m i n a t i o n a lministry to students.

Is this generation really different? I am still working on the answer to thatquestion … but what I know for sure is that God is doing some amazingthings with some radically committed young people. So let us support,encourage and challenge our youth, because it just might be that … " Thisgeneration of young people are the ones who are going to change the world …"

Andrew Brown will be continuing in his role as President of Reach Forth(www.reachforth.net), a multi-denominational evangelistic sports and youthministry in Hamilton, ON, as well as serving as Student Ministries Director forFMCIC.

Join us in Hamilton Ontario on October 22-24as we gather together for the first ever

Acquire the FireFree Methodist Youth Weekend

Schedule IncludesFriday pm ATF Opening Session

Friday pm FM Youth Event (Worship, Missions,Testimonies, Food and Fellowship) at Buchanan Park Church

Saturday am&pm ATF All Day

Saturday pm FM "See ya for Supper" Event

Sunday am FM "Tell us all about It" at our Hamilton area churches

Contact Andrew Brown at<<andrew@reachforth.net>> for updated information

on this weekend

M O S A I C 6

The Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC), the Best Christian Workplace Institute and the Bridgeway Foundation invitedCanadian organizations to participate in "The Best Christian Places to Work in Canada" survey. Confidential feedback regarding

‘people practices’ based on employee and corporate surveys was gathered. The Ministry Centre of The Free Methodist Church inCanada agreed to participate in order to determine how our ministry compared with other Christian organizations of similar mission and

size. We have been told that we ranked in the top ten (beyond that, placing within the top ten are not released)."We believe Christian ministries should be model workplaces and this survey encourages organizations to continue to strive for excellence.

We are pleased to honour ministries whose employees have affirmed their role as model employers. They are showing the world how Christianvalues, ethics and spiriuality can be integrated into the workplace.” said John Pellowe, CEO of CCCC.

The Ministry Centre was recoginized as one of the finalists at the annual CANADIAN COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN CHARITIES CONFERENCE inWinnipeg on September 29, 2004 and a story about them will appear in the November/December 2004 issue of FAITH TODAY.

ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS that I ever read about churchlife was church consultant/thinker Lyle Schaller's book, Reflections of aContrarian and it became of kind of motto. Over the years I have lovedbooks that challenged the status quo. Thinking through those challengescan make for some great reading as well as some invigorating debate.Here is a short list of authors that may look at the world and in somecases the church in ways that are outside the norm.

The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church,by Reggie McNeal :: In the book McNeal takes on sixdogmas of the church growth movement and provides acompelling alternative for church leaders to moveforward in a new direction. Like many books thatchallenge sacred cows, my original reaction was toprotect the status quo but McNeal makes a compellingcase for both the need for change and the opportunitythat it brings.

Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony, by StanleyHauerwas and Will Willimon :: The book is fifteenyears old and is still controversial. On one hand thebook will force you to think through how we asChristians live out in the world but on the other handthe book is frustrating in places as it asks many morequestions than it answers.

Free Culture, by Larry Lessig :: This seems like an oddpick because why would a Canadian Free Methodistcare about a book by maverick Stanford law professorLarry Lessig. Lessig is referred to as one of the first"cultural environmentalists" and writes an informingand entertaining look at how big media and changinglaws have radically redefined our present and endangercreativity in the future. You can download the book forfree from www.free-culture.cc/freeculture.pdf or shellout for the hardcover.

The Genesee Diary, by Henri Nouwen :: Nouwen, aRoman Catholic priest who moved from Holland to theUnited States spends seven months living in a TrappistMonastery. The book comes from his daily journalentries as he learns to adapt to community life,understand prayer, and undergoes the rigours of thedaily work of the Trappists. Like most of Nouwen'swritings it conveys intimacy, understanding, andcommunicates his struggles as he enters into a journeywith "God Alone".

Smart Mobs, by Howard Rheingold :: HowardRheingold is one of the technology fields most respectedfuturists and Smart Mobs is his metaphor forunderstanding a series of sociological changes broughtabout by new technology while he was in Tokyo acouple of years ago. As he strived to understand whathe was seeing, his journey took him around the world.Smart Mobs is both fun and also disturbing as hedescribes what our future will look like in a wireless connected world.

The Ingenuity Gap, by Thomas Homer-Dixon :: A seriesof stories about his travels around the world, Homer-Dixon weaves them together to make a compelling casethat the problems facing humanity are growing fasterthan our ability to deal with them. It was also thewinner of the 2001 Governor General's Literary Awardfor Non-Fiction.

A Thomas Merton Reader: by Thomas P. McDonnell :: Manyevangelicals have never heard of Thomas Merton but manyaround the world cherish his writings on spirituality, war,poetry, and his life as a servant of God. He is perhaps bestknown for the best selling book, The Seven Story Mountain(not his best book but the story behind most of his otherbooks.) This is a one-volume synopsis of his quest for truth,from both from his major works and his lesser-knownwritings as well.

Making Sense of Church by Spencer Burke :: Spencer Burke,pastor and co-founder of TheOoze.com looks at sevenmetaphors of change for the church. He shares both hisjourney from one to another and also dialogues about themwith TheOoze.com community. Like McNeal he challengesthe status quo of evangelicalism and gives an alternative pathto a discontinuous future.

Take and Read: Spiritual Reading: An Annotated List byEugene H. Peterson :: Peterson blesses his readers with abook that is a list of books that he has found helpful in hisspiritual journey. It is a wonderful tool and a book full ofpeople who have defined, questioned, reformed, andnurtured Christianity for two thousand years.

A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café by Leonard Sweet :: Sweettakes a contrary look at the spiritual life using stories, poetry,metaphor and Scripture to awaken its reader of a spiritualslumber. Sweet is famous for his books on church andculture. As good as they are, my life has profited even moreso from his books on spirituality and this is perhaps his bestwritten book on the topic.

Jordon Cooper is Pastor of Lakeland Community Free Methodist Church inSpiritwood, SK. You can visit his website: www.jordoncooper.com

7 M O S A I C

On July 25, 2004 I was weeping and praying for purpose in myspiritual life while driving to a bridal shower two hours away frommy home. I was feeling passionate but felt undirected in what to do

with it and where to go. I was beginning to think my purpose was simply tosupport my husband with his first mission trip to Sri Lanka, which wasscheduled to leave in three days. To lift my spirits, I had a song playing inmy car called "I want to be your hands" by Audio Adrenaline. These lyricsbrought me back to the place of "SURRENDER" …

Why can't I do the things I want toI am willing but yet I am so afraid

You give me strength when I say . . .

I want to be your handsI want to be your feet

I'll go where you send meI'll go where you send me

And I'll try, ya, I'll try to touch the world like you touched my lifeAnd I'll find my way to be your hands

I've abandon every selfish thoughtI've surrendered everything I've got

You can have everything I amAnd perfect everything I am not

Twenty minutes later, I received a phone call from my husband, Jody. Hisfirst words were "Carrie, want to go to Sri Lanka?" His second words were,"You might have to leave tomorrow!" My first thought was, "Wow, do I everhave to watch what I pray for!" Needless to say I was on a plane 24 hourslater heading to Sri Lanka. I was accompanied by Rev. Dan Sheffield andPastor Jeyarajah. Jody and the rest of the team would follow two days later.The purpose of this mission trip was to continue building a relationship withSri Lankan christians, which Dan Sheffield, Alan Retzman and a key group

of former Sri Lankan pastors, S. Jeyarajah and Ben Gomez,had already started two years prior. Other duties on

this mission trip were to accept existing SriLankan independent churches into the FM

family and ordain and transfer the pastorsof these independent churches who have

met the FM qualifications. We were toaid in developing a board ofadministration for the new FreeMethodist Church in Sri Lanka andhelp register the Free MethodistChurch.

This two week mission trip wasjam-packed as the team visited six

different worship services in sixdifferent churches, all in different areas

of the country. The team also led aconference for the Sri Lankan pastors to

organize and build the foundation of the FMChurch in Sri Lanka. The new board developed a

purpose/mission statement and developed a goal to draw 5O new churchesinto the Free Methodist fellowship in the next three years. They alsodeveloped a list of projects that would help them further their ministries in

Sri Lanka, with which we may be able to help them.The goals that the team had established were allaccomplished, yet the real successes of thetrip were the relationships we continuedto build among the team and with theSri Lankan people.

I can honestly say I grew morespiritually in fourteen days duringthis trip than in my whole spirituallife. Before I left for Sri Lanka Iwas brought back to a place ofsurrender — allowing God to leadme to a place where he wanted meto be. For me this trip was notabout completing the agenda thatwas set forth (although it wasamazing to see it accomplished) it wasabout opening my worldly eyes to aspirit-led life — to see the Sri LankanChristians with a tenth of what we have, and

yet a spiritual life that is ten times more focused on God's purpose. Theyworship, pray and evangelize with everything God has given them, evenwhen persecution for their Christian faith is a reality. They are truly notafraid of the challenges of their world.

The Sri Lankan Christians, who are now a part of our family, are livingin what North Americans would call worldly poverty, but yet they are richerthan I am. My new family has shown me how rich you can be when you trustGod with everything you do. I would give everything I have in NorthAmerican to be in the same spiritual place that they are. But, I know I can'tbuy into that place, I just need to surrender and not be afraid.

I still don't know fully what my spiritual purpose is, but I know I amnow better prepared for it. Whatever this mission trip has prepared us for, wecontinue to pray for daily spiritual strength. Since I've returned from the tripmy new favourite song by Audio Adrenaline is "Walk on Water". The wordshelp me get excited and not be afraid of what God has planned for myhusband and me . . .

Just like Peter I want to go fartherTread on the sea and walk on the water

Step where he steps and go where he goesSide by side when the sea below rollsI'll be all right when the wind comes

I'll be all right when the waves come crashingI'm not afraid no, no for this is my father's world.

I pray that I will never forget what I learned in Sri Lanka and that I willcontinue to ask myself these two questions: (1) How rich am I? (2) Who amI afraid of: the world or God?

Carrie Zimmerman attends Queensway FMC in Niagara Falls, ON.

Canadian team arrives in Sri Lanka

Carrie (left) praying with members of a persecuted church in Colombo

Colombo neighbourhood

Sri Lanka Board of Administration and Canadian leaders

Colombo, Sri Lanka [population 2.5 million]Buddhist 71.9%; Hindu 12%; Muslim 8%; Christian 7.6% (Evangelicals 1.3%)Colombo, a major port city is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka (19million). Colombo is the largest city in the country and owes itsimportance largely to its large, artificially created harbor. Buddhism is thestate religion and although freedom of religion is allowed, there issignificant discrimination. Since 1980 there has been revival and strongevangelical growth from 50,000 to nearly 240,000 in this country .Unreached peoples: Sinhalese, Moors, and other smaller groupings.