Alliance Connection Fall 2019

Fall 2019

Lord, Teach Us to Pray /  Reconciliation Is Not Always Pretty / The Face of Jesus / The Ripple Effect / Launching A Generation of Missional Innovators

Editorial Team: Eric Crow, Kristen Parker, Jared Taylor, and Tyler Lodge © 2019 • The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada Permission is given for up to 1,000 photocopies for use in a local church or classroom.

Canada Post Agreement No. 40064689 ISSN 2369-9469 ISSN 2369-9477 (online)

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

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Reconciliation Is Not Always Pretty

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The Ripple Effect

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On the cover: In the seat next to you on the plane. The Old Testament Christophany. In houses of prayer and coffee fellowships. In drug-addicted brothers, and alcoholic fathers. In reconciliation, theological conversation, even moments of desperation. It is our hope and prayer that you will see, and recognize, the face of Jesus.

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Why Bother?

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Launching A Generation of Missional Innovators

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CELEBRATING JESUS “WHO IS THIS? EVEN THE WIND AND THE WAVES OBEY HIM!” Every year I look forward to the fireworks display that my local community fire department puts on for Canada Day. The night sky lights up with a fantastic display of exploding rockets, brilliant colours, and breath-taking animations. I love to hear the children express their surprise and delight with screams and shouts, making the experience one of celebration and exhilaration. I find myself transported to a place of joy and fascination. The disciples never experienced fireworks but they did see the display of God’s power and miraculous intervention that astounded and amazed them. They had front row seats to the unlimited power of God expressed through Jesus.

One such moment was when they were crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat. Mark describes how a sudden storm arose that caused experienced fishermen—who knew the sea and had experienced its fury—to be filled with fear. Jesus, however, was fast asleep on the boat. He was so intimately connected to the Father and enveloped in the Kingdom of God that He was completely calm in the storm. The disciples woke Him frantically and what happened next was divine fireworks! Jesus spoke to the waves and the wind, “Quiet! Be Still!” (Mark 4:39). Immediately the wind ceased and the waters calmed—a display of God’s miraculous supremacy. Jesus is God in human flesh, the Creator of all things, and He took their breath away with a display of His glory and power. The 4 · Fall 2019

Contents Isaac's Journey 7 Lord, Teach Us to Pray

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Unburden Your Soul 12 disciples' response is significant; they ask, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

(Mark 4:41). They were in absolute awe, stunned by His majesty.

My desire for the Alliance is that we would be so caught up in the glory of Jesus, so awestruck by His divine fireworks, that we are drawn into an unbridled celebration of His majesty, mystery, and glory. The stories in this edition of Connection are an invitation into spontaneous, exuberant, and vivacious praise to Jesus.

May you find yourself filled with unrestrained wonder, declaring, “Who is this?” (Mark 4:41).

The Righteous Road 14 Reconciliation is Not Always Pretty

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The Face of Jesus

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Setting the Oppressed Free

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Extend Your Reach 22 Unplanned Divine Appointments

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Spotting Jesus in the Old Testament

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Learning to Give Jesus the Floor

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The Ripple Effect 31 Why Bother? 35 Learning to See Mystery

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Brewing Community 40 Is Our Gospel Too Small?

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Take Heart 48

David Hearn, President of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada

Jesus Only...in a Post-Christian World?

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God's Work in the Mundane

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Launching a Generation of Missional Innovators

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Jesus is the Gospel 59 The Wounded Leader 62

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FAITH and

in ACTION

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‫رحلة إسحاق‬ ISAAC'S JOURNEY

Dave

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ne of the most amazing and enduring mysteries of Christianity is the radical transformation of a person through the power of the Holy Spirit by reading and applying God’s Word. According to Jared Wilson’s new book, The Gospel Driven Church, the Bible is so powerfully effective in transforming people that the number one factor determining our spiritual growth is attending a regular Bible study. As international workers (IWs) in North Africa our hope is to see families and communities transformed by the Bible, through the power of the Holy Spirit, into vibrant followers of Jesus Christ.

In preparation for meeting friends during Ramadan, I was studying Jesus’ instructions on giving, prayer, and fasting with my Arabic language instructor, Isaac. Arabic is a very difficult language and reading the Arabic Bible is even more difficult than speaking it. Thankfully Isaac

is an excellent and very patient Arabic teacher.

As we studied Matthew 6, Isaac kept pausing the class to marvel, “These words are so beautiful, so beautiful. We need to share these words with others so that they too will know the Truth.”

Isaac has a powerful testimony of transformation through the Word. Nearly twenty years ago, he had been an imam in a small Sudanese village. He had been taught and trained to memorize and recite the Quran in perfect Arabic, which equipped him to be an excellent Arabic instructor. He became disillusioned with Islam because of 9/11 and started to question everything he held to be true.

In his search for truth, he started following Joseph Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Kony was infamous for exploiting child soldiers in fighting the government in Uganda.

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In the LRA Isaac met a Catholic man who gave him a copy of the Bible. Isaac read it voraciously, immediately recognized its power and truthfulness, abandoned Joseph Kony, and started to follow Jesus.

He returned to his village and remained a secret Jesus follower for several years until his in-laws discovered his newfound faith. They took away his wife and children and forced him to flee the country.

Despite all the hardships and suffering, Isaac is more in love with Jesus than ever before. He is well known as an excellent Bible teacher and meets weekly with 10-15 new believers to disciple and equip them to read, understand, and apply the Bible in their lives.

In Romans, Paul asks, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14).

As IWs we prioritize finding opportunities to share the Word with our friends so that they may hear and believe. We use a variety of methods to share the Word. Storying is where we verbally retell parts of Scripture in a simple and understandable story form.

Other times, we give the Bible to our friends and ask them to read sections in Arabic while we follow along in our English versions. We often ask simple questions such as, how did the story make you feel?

We then encourage them to share the story with a friend. Although our work is slow and fraught with discouragement, we remain encouraged that there are countless people with stories like Isaac's. God’s Kingdom continues to grow through the secret work of the Spirit and the Word of God, calling more and more people into His Kingdom for Jesus’ glory. ª Dave's full name is withheld for security reasons. Dave and his wife, Jen, serve a unique group of least-reached people called North Africans. After graduating from Ambrose, they served at an Alliance church. In 2012, Global Ministries approached Dave and Jen with a wonderful opportunity to serve in the Desert Sand region as international workers (IWs). Dave has served there with his family for six years. Learn more at cmacan.org/djd Photo courtesy of Dave.

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LORD, LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY Blake Penson

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was teaching and facilitating the College of Prayer weekend in Mexico City with several other Latino pastors. The focus of the weekend was the heart cry, “Lord, teach us to pray!” This theme reminded me how two years previous, my wife and I had been teaching at Ambrose University as international workers (IWs). We had been invited to stay on another year and we prayed asking the Lord to reveal His will to us. A few nights later I had a dream in which the president of the C&MA in Mexico, Tomas Bencomo, looked me in the eye as he handed me a rolled-up parchment and said, “You must

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teach prayer the way the Lord taught it and you do not have much time.” When I woke up that morning I told my wife, Kathy, the dream. The Lord had revealed His will—go to Mexico and teach His prayer His way.

We arrived in Mexico City at the end of October 2016, and only a few months later I received an invitation from president Bencomo to attend a prayer event in his church in Juarez, Mexico.

There, I experienced the College of Prayer and I recognized similarities to what the Lord had already been revealing to me through a book I was writing, 7 Rooms of The Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus is calling us to dust off and practise a prayer pattern that has long been forgotten by the modern Church. Jesus began by teaching His prayer to His disciples and then later He declared: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). He also clarified that: “In My Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). The amazing revelation is that each room in His Father’s house represents a part of the prayer that He taught His disciples.

The rooms of the Lord’s Prayer teach us that there is a divine order to encountering His presence.

We most often quickly run to the fourth room, for our needs, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Once we finish our requests, we quickly leave the room and move on with our day. We then wonder why we do not experience an intimate encounter with His presence.

That weekend in Mexico City, each person experienced a powerful, personal encounter with their Heavenly Father through Jesus’ prayer. The invitation was given to begin with the first room of relationship: “Our Father who is in Heaven.” During the prayer each one embraced another in silence, asking the Lord to embrace and speak to us as we 10 · Fall 2019

did so. If we are His Body, we can trust that He can communicate to us through one another. The presence of the Lord came with gentle power as wounded and broken hearts were healed. People personally and intimately experienced the Lord’s blessing: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12).

Embracing prayer awakened hope for all, especially the ethnic groups who were represented.

A couple who had come to the event from a group of expelled Huichol believers—who had been rejected by their community because of their faith,

We most often quickly run to the fourth room for our needs—“Give us this day our daily bread.”

losing land and home in the process—discovered a home and community that could never be taken away from them. Many indigenous people of Mexico have never experienced the embrace and true love of a father. Many have experienced abuse of one type or another. Fathers are often bound by the chains of alcoholism. Mothers are constantly working to support the family. And so, the children

raise each other. The cycle of dysfunctional families is passed from one generation to another. The order of the Lord’s Prayer, however, is a divine map that is guiding many to their true home and wholeness in Christ.

We saw this reality in a follow-up event in the mountains of Hidalgo, located North East of Mexico City. There we facilitated another weekend of prayer in a place called Ahuatitla. As the Lord’s prayer was taught and experienced by the Nahuatl believers, family relationships were reconciled and restored. Tears flowed freely, as for the firsttime children and youth received the blessing of their Heavenly Father through the genuine loving embrace and prayer of their earthly parents.

The amazing reality is that almost everyone in Mexico knows the Lord’s Prayer by heart but have never been helped to know and experience personally the divine Author of the prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is not only for those already in a believing community. It is the very expression of the Good News in prayer, inviting all to experience the Lord’s love, forgiveness, and deliverance through the prayer He has taught us.

You can help your friends and family know Jesus by encountering Him in His prayer, so that with you they can begin the journey to their true home.

But it begins with you. It begins with a simple petition. “Lord, teach us to pray.” He is waiting for you, right now, to express to Him those five simple words which will revolutionize your life and your prayers. ¬

Blake and his wife, Kathy, worked on a church-planting team in Mexico City from 1997-1999. From 2001 to 2015, they served in a creative access country (CAC) in the Caribbean Sun, training and mentoring pastors of the C&MA house churches and developing a prayer network that united denominations. They are currently serving as team leaders in Mexico City.

Learn more at cmacan.org/bkp

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UNBURDEN YOUR SOUL Shauna Archer

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very now and then, God brings something into my life that I consider a game changer, something so meaningful that it rocks my world, for the better, and sends me down a path I would never have considered before. For me, soul care has been a game changer.

I first heard of soul care when Dr. Rob Reimer came to my church in February 2018 to lead a one-day event then speak at our district pastors’ retreat. I quickly realized my soul was not as healthy as I had hoped after forty years of knowing

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Christ—thirty of those years in ministry. I then attended two more soul care events, one in Airdrie, Alberta after General Assembly, and one at my own church this past November. These experiences have pushed me well beyond my comfort zone, into intimacy with Christ, and freedom in the Spirit that I had never had before or thought possible.

Dr. Reimer’s book, Soul Care, provides the roadmap for this journey, although I found it was not easy to implement the

ideas by myself. That is why his recommendation of being in a triad is critical advice that cannot be dismissed. I have been in two triads and am grateful for the accountability and support without judgment. Graciously walking with others, it is much easier to peel back layers of one’s life, exposing secrets and sin patterns—long buried—and even covered with a nice Christian veneer. These secrets have the power to keep us from experiencing the abundant life Christ promised.

I also received deliverance from the demonization of childhood abuse that had wreaked havoc in my life. I had no idea deliverance was necessary for me and thought only "charismatics" would engage in this. But now I truly believe that many Christians, longing for victory in their lives, which seems elusive, need deliverance to break chains of bondage and take back ground the enemy has stolen.

Both my family and church have benefitted from soul care. My husband, daughter, and others have had experiences and revelations which have dramatically changed their lives. Several Sundays we have had the altar full of people crying out to God and one Sunday

a call for baptism saw twelve people get up and walk into the water! This is becoming our new normal now that we are repenting of sin and seeking the fullness of the Spirit together.

Jesus is not surprised by what we find in our souls

about it but He certainly does not want us to live this way for the rest of our lives. My life is a testimony that so much more is available to us if we will do the hard work of caring for our souls. If we know Jesus wins in the end, why not let Him bring victory and freedom today? « Shauna Archer serves as the Family and Connections Pastor at Living Hope Alliance Church in Regina and on the Kairos National Coordination Team. Married to Tim with two young adult children, she is obsessive about loading the dishwasher and cheering for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Photo of Rob Reimer speaking at Living Hope Alliance Church, courtesy of Shauna Archer.

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THE RIGHTEOUS ROAD Katie Bowler sweet to scold us but still informs us that it has been a very long time since we have seen each other.

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ebs and I miss the entrance to our friend Maria’s house, so, we hop out of the taxi and backtrack on foot. I suspiciously step around any wet patches since we noticed on our drive by that a sewage pipe had burst. Concentrating on my feet, I almost bump right into Maria, who came down to welcome us.

“Maimouna! Khady!” She says excitedly, using our Senegalese names. It has been a long time since we have seen one another. We embrace and she holds my hand for a long time as we keep walking.

We enter her building; it seems strange to me. There is a central courtyard, open to the sky, and residents rent individual rooms. In the hallways around the courtyard, the women wash clothes and cook ceeb (traditional rice dishes). We climb up a couple flights of stairs and walk along the corridor to her room. Maria’s 15-year-old daughter looks up from her chores in delight. She is too

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Debs and I sit down in the two chairs in the little room and Maria sits down on the bed. We talk about all the usual things—family, food, work—and then the conversation turns to spiritual matters. She is very devout, making sure to keep her head covered, and to give the necessary prayers. Her sons attend a religious school in town. We ask her what she has been praying for lately.

She answers, “Health, the forgiveness of my sins… and that I would know the righteous road.” I beam, taken aback, for I had not expected such a request.

I exclaim, “I’m so glad we asked what you are praying for so that we can pray for those things too!” Soon it was time for us to go, but before we left, we asked if we could pray together. So, there we sat, Maria, her daughter, and two Toubab women. We held our hands upturned in a posture of receiving. Debs prayed, in a mingling of Pular and French, asking for God’s blessing on Maria’s family and that she would know the righteous road.

O Jesus, how we celebrate that you are placing a hunger in Maria and other Senegalese to know how to walk according to God’s way! Reveal that road to them, we pray. © Katie Bowler is an international worker (IW) in Senegal, working with the least-reached people group known as the Fulani-Fouta Tooro. She completed her Master of Intercultural Ministry, after completing a 2-year apprenticeship program in West Africa. Learn more at cmacan.org/kbo Photo courtesy of Katie Bowler

RECONCILIATION IS N O T A LWAY S PR ET T Y Brenda Smit-James

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y father was a man of few words, yet many sayings. When it came to reaching out to others, he often said, “Charity begins at home.” He was not a man on a mission to change himself—let alone the rest of the world—and he certainly was not a man who had any time for Jesus. Yet, he married a woman of deep faith—a woman who kept her faith throughout her life and her marriage—a faith he would have nothing to do with.

My mother stirred a deep love for God in me. She nurtured it, God grew it, and at the age of 13, I made a personal commitment to Jesus. As close as I was with my mother, my father and I lived far from each other emotionally. Not only were there many layers of misunderstanding in our relationship, my father also kept himself out of reach behind many bottles of beer.

All my life, I interacted with my father through my mother.

She buffered me from his hurtful ways and his drinking. Five years ago, my mother died unexpectedly from undiagnosed acute leukemia. Her death not only plunged me into deep grief, it also removed the buffer between my father and I—revealing just how painful this relationship was to me.

My father had been a serious drinker for as long as I can remember but, after my mother’s death, his drinking escalated. There was only one way he knew how to deal with any emotional pain, loss, or regret—and that was to drown it in alcohol. As my father lived

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"What are you going to do about it?" He seemed to be asking me.

"Nothing" was my reply.

in my home country of South Africa, I was spared having to watch him drink himself into his grave.

However, I heard reports of his drinking binges and the hurt it was causing the rest of the family.

During this time of grieving my mother and concern for my father, Jesus put his finger on my heart and applied the gentlest of pressure. “What are you going to do about it?” He seemed to be asking me.

“Nothing,” was my reply. In fact, I hoped the problem would go away, and soon. But Jesus would have none of that. Rather, He intended to take my lifelong father wound and use it to heal our relationship.

I had always wanted to have a story that ended with my father forsaking alcohol, accepting Jesus, and living a transformed life. It did not happen. However, shortly before my father was to die unexpectedly, Jesus sent me on a two-week mission to love my father with His love at a time when my father’s drinking was at its worst. Jesus changed my heart and gave me His eyes to see my father as a man of worth, who was broken and lost in his alcoholism. For me, this time, reaching out to seek and save the lost began at home and, because of Jesus, my father and I finished together well. ª

Short-listed in the 2018 Women's Journey of Faith Contest, Brenda’s memoir When God Says No, My Journey through Grief to Acceptance chronicles her grief after her mother’s untimely death and how Jesus transformed her relationship with her alcoholic father. Having experienced the healing power of story, Brenda teaches writing courses online to help others capture their stories. Learn more at brendasmitjames.com

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THE FACE OF JESUS Betty

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met her in an airport lineup. Farah was a grieving young widow, a university art instructor, whose husband had passed away unexpectedly 5 months earlier when they were travelling to her North African country of origin for a visit. She was returning to his country in the Mideast, to what had been their home for the past 5 years. She felt terribly alone; her grief was unbearable and she did not know how she would manage to face the empty apartment alone.

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On the airplane she was seated beside a pastor who was travelling from Canada with a group of pastors, leaders, and workers who were joining us on a vision trip to a potential new field. He spent the duration of the trip simply being Jesus to this grieving woman, listening appropriately, and praying with her.

Over the next year and a half, I had periodic e-mail contact with Farah as we prepared ourselves for our new field of ministry. She invited me to call her as soon as I arrived and offered to help me settle in. What a joy it was to see her again! She told me more about her life journey over coffees. I learned that her closest friend and colleague was also a believer in Jesus and had been crying and praying with her and supporting her as she worked through her grief.

God seemed to be surrounding Farah with followers of Jesus who were able to share His love with her at a time that she needed it most.

Farah’s friend and I both share an interest in art, so we began a weekly oil pastel class with Farah as our instructor. This brought a few more Jesus followers into her life—the group became something much more than just lessons. This was clearly illustrated on the second anniversary of Farah’s husband’s death, which fell on an art day. She did not want to be alone so, on her request, we met as usual. We shared love and flowers with her, and both tears and laughter. She was very touched. “We are more than friends, we are family,” she said.

Betty and her husband, Don, are working in the Middle East with the Yazidi people. Their full names are withheld for their security. Betty and Don served in Poland on a 20-year journey, before embarking on their exciting adventure to the ancient land of Mesopotamia. Learn more at cmacan.org/dbo

This Easter Farah came to a women’s event at our local Arabic church where two of our team members shared some insights into Easter from Scripture as well as personal stories. Following the meeting, Farah thanked my teammate for talking about some of her challenges and shared that this was an area of challenge for her as well. My teammate responded, saying, “For this, ultimately you need Jesus to set you free. God is inviting you and is waiting for you.” Farah replied, “Yes! You have an interesting and beautiful religion. I want to know more about it.”

May Farah continue to see the face of Jesus in the faces around her, and may He continue to lead her in her journey to Him. ¬

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SETTING THE OPPRESSED FREE Michel Dube

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esus says, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18). These truths have become reality for many Guineans this past year.

Jesus is doing some amazing things in the hearts of pastors, denominational leaders, and congregations.

Before our very eyes we are seeing people being freed of shame and pain that they have carried from their youth.

God has given Stephen Albright (C&MA U.S.) and I the great honour of teaching Soul Care Conferences here in Guinea. It all began with the author of Soul Care, Rob Reimer, coming to Guinea to conduct a conference with 400 Alliance pastors.

My ministry has been mainly in reaching the lost but God has made it clear this year that He desires a revival in His church so that the Church can be strengthened to reach the lost. The Holy Spirit is moving and we keep getting requests to teach this very critical material, not only to Alliance churches, but to like-minded denominations. We have already participated in three conferences and we are participating in another six to seven in the next few months.

We recently began a conference at a church in Conakry. A Guinean friend of ours, Silas, decided to return to this church after being absent for months.

He had refused to attend because he had been hurt by another believer, Anne. The entire church was aware of this division because Silas had played an important role in the church. Silas sat at the front of the church, not realizing that he was sitting beside Anne. As he

listened to the message, he felt the hurt and anger return. After the message was finished, the acting pastor of the church told us to hold hands with the person to our left and pray for one another. Silas had no choice but to hold the hands of Anne. As they began to pray, Anne was convicted and asked for Silas’ forgiveness, and Silas—in obedience to God— forgave Anne. Silas was freed from the bitterness and was immediately filled with God’s joy. Only Jesus can orchestrate such moments.

Many men and women have suffered here in Guinea.

Women are especially oppressed and have suffered from very painful acts. Many secrets have been kept within their hearts. Secrets damage our souls. Soul care has brought healing to many women as they release their pain to our Lord Jesus. One woman, Marie, went home one evening after a soul care message and confessed everything to her husband. Her husband listened and responded in the same way. She stood up in church the next day and testified with joy that it she and her husband felt like newlyweds again.

People in Guinea are desiring to know Jesus more.

He is freeing the prisoners from their chains. He is setting the oppressed free. He is amazing and we love watching Him work. «

Michel and his wife, Denise, are part of the Guinea Team as international workers (IWs). Michel and Denise served for 8 years in Québec as IWs before moving to Guinea in 2007. Michel is involved in evangelism—he meets with men individually and does group Bible studies. Learn more at cmacan.org/mdd Photo courtesy of Michel Dube.

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Kathy Klassen

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veryone had gone to bed but I was still up watching a movie. Suddenly, my 18-year-old brother came in the door, looking a little haggard. He lay down on the couch and fell asleep. Then without warning, he leaned over and threw up on the living room rug. Once again, he had come home drunk.

We were a well-respected missionary family, settling in after having to leave our post due to government chaos. We moved to Canada when I was 16, and my

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brother was 12. As a scared teen, I stayed close to the lines, but as a dreamer and free spirit, my brother erased the lines. He was not vicious about it, but God and church were not for him anymore. He was going to find his own way.

It broke my parents’ hearts. Everything in their world was crashing in. They had to leave Ethiopia—where they met, fell in love, married, and served together for 20 years. They were trying to do what was best—and now things were outside of their control. Their only son was beyond their reach.

Many times, as Christians, we are confronted with the paradox of living in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Unforeseen things crash into our carefully crafted Christian worldview and we stall out. In despair we mumble, “all we can do is pray.”

We do not say this out of disrespect but more with a fading view of hope.

The women at the tomb the first Easter morning show us what it means to live in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Upon arriving, the angels instruct them to look into the tomb. People do not readily look into the tombs of their lives. In our North American world, we do all we can to dress up death, hoping to disguise its unpleasantness. Yet it is in the looking that they receive the words of life, “He is not here, He is risen… So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy” (Matthew 28:7-8).

While prayer may feel like a last-ditch resolve, it is really an invitation from God to extend our reach. Many of us have purchased a “reach extender” for our ailing parents to reach things off the top shelf.

Can I suggest to you that prayer can be just like that?

First—we admit things are outside of our reach. It is so important that our prayers be filled with authenticity. God longs for us to tell Him how we feel—frustrated, angry, or hopeless we feel as we try to reconcile why He has seemingly failed us.

Then, after having gazed into our tombs, we wait for the risen Lord to come. Jesus comes to Mary. He pursues her at the tomb. God comes to extend her reach, and He will for us as well.

In those moments of sheer desperation, He comes with a word, a promise, His comforting presence, and often with a fresh glimpse of His unlimited power and glory which act like a reach extender.

We then step forward, reaching out as far as we can towards Him, grasping His hand while He reaches even further into the realm of His Kingdom and His purposes. Prayer is looking into the tombs of our regrets and disappointments, and then being given words of life which enable us to go beyond our reach into the spiritual realm and encounter the resurrection and the Life.

Two years after my brother puked on the living room rug I heard a knock on the door of my university apartment. My brother was standing there with a peaceful look on his face. He had driven 1.5 hours to my university, unannounced, to share his news. A few days earlier, he had been out having a wild party weekend with his friends and they were at a bar. Two of his friends suddenly said to him; “Hey man, you need to know that we accept you just the way you are, you don’t have to prove anything to us.” Somehow, when Ken

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heard those words, it was like they were coming from the heart of God and it broke him. The Spirit of God used their words to reach into my brother’s heart and convict him. Ken left the bar on foot, walked for miles, and on that walk he gave his heart back to Jesus.

Who would have thought that something a non-Christian in a bar said could be used to draw someone back to God? God had reached through my parents’ prayers, my faithful grandmother’s, and many others. Not only did they get their son back, but he came back a new man. He started going back to church and having a personal relationship with Jesus.

Is there someone in your life right now who is beyond your reach? I had stopped praying for my brother, but God’s heart towards Him never waned. It is not too late. Take time to look into your tomb. Stay there as long as you need to, knowing that Jesus’ reach extends to you, and will extend through you into those in the regions beyond your grasp.

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1). ©

Kathy was born to missionary parents in Ethiopia. She lived there for 16 years and then moved to Canada. Upon completing degrees at Briercrest and University of Waterloo, she began working with the Navigators of Canada—where she served in university, community, and national settings for 12 years.

She was then invited to serve at First Alliance Church, where she ministered for 16 years. She presently serves in the Eastern Canadian District as the Director of Relational and Spiritual Vitality.

UNPLANNED DIVINE APPOINTMENTS Rebecca Ross

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very time we visit the remote village of our Huichol friends, God always seems to have a divine appointment for us—someone He wants us to connect with. And just as we were leaving, we got to meet Paola.

We had a plan to head back to Mexico City, however, there was a change of plans and we had to leave a day earlier.

On our way out we saw a lady dressed in traditional clothing with her little baby on the side of the road, asking for a ride. My husband pulled the truck over, and she got into the truck as two of our colleagues graciously rode in the box to make room for her in the cab. As we continued driving, she sat quietly listening to our conversation. She asked me if we are Christians and as I said, "Yes we are" She then began to open up to us and share her story. cmacan.org ¡ 25

Her name was Paola, and she was running away from one of the Huichol communities that we had just been in because her husband of two years was going to beat her—sadly this is very common in this Huichol area. Her mother-in-law had told her son that Paola had stolen something and, instead of believing his wife, he believed his mom and was going to beat her for stealing. Paola knew she did not deserve this and decided to leave with her one-year-old baby girl. She planned to travel, about 20 hours, back to her home in

the state of Chihuahua. We asked if she had money for her bus ticket home and she said no. The bravery of this woman really struck us as she had no money and left with just her baby on her back.

We felt strongly that God wanted us to help her get home. As we stopped in the next city to drop her off, we asked to pray for her and as we did, she had tears streaming down her face. We gave her money for her bus ticket home, gave her phone numbers of some Christian friends we knew in her area, and gave her a Bible. She was speechless and had tears of joy.

This was a beautiful moment which reminds me of the sovereignty of God, how He uses us to bless others, and simply show His love and care for His beloved children—whether they know Him or not. I love how God, seeing Paola in her time of need, extended His provision to her through us. I was reminded of the importance of living in the moment and being open to unexpected divine appointments that are unplanned, but Spirit led.

When things do not go as you expect—ask yourself—if God might have a divine appointment for you in that moment? ª Rebecca Ross grew up in Brooks Alberta, and graduated from Ambrose University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She is married to Jesus Florin, whom she met serving in Brave Heart Ministry and attending the same church. Their desire to serve the Lord by ministering to the indigenous people of Mexico brought them together. Rebecca and her husband work with the Huichol. Learn more at cmacan.org/rr Photos courtesy of Rebecca Ross.

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SPOTTING JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Bonnie Burnett

T

abernacle, Passover, sacrifice, atonement, scapegoat…even in English these words are daunting, but the Lord had set before me the job of explaining them to my students—in Thai. To add to it, somehow, I needed to make these Old Testament stories and laws relevant to the lives of a group of 18 to 20-year-olds in northeastern Thailand today. What do those distant times and ancient traditions have to do with us?

We began by revisiting the burning bush, the Red Sea, and plodding through the laws of atonement, and soon Jesus began to make His presence known. We recognized Him in the Passover lamb; a lamb without blemish, whose blood saved God’s people from death.

We saw Him in that single goat, loaded with the sins of the people, led out of the camp, and let loose in the wilderness to take the people’s sins far away.

It was almost hard to bring the last day of class to a close, and Mui, one of the Laos students, shook her head and confessed, "I always felt the Old Testament was not really relevant to my life, but now I see it is very relevant." With a smile, her classmate, Baiteuy, added, “I have never understood how to see Jesus in the Old Testament, but now I recognize Him all over it.”

Our tabernacle, our Passover lamb, our sacrifice, our atonement, our scapegoat…I can hardly wait until I can teach, again, those wonderful words of the Old Testament. Bonnie and her husband, Derek, work with the Thai on the Thailand Team; they have been serving in Thailand since 1999. Bonnie and Derek met at Canadian Bible College (CBC) and have been married since 1993. They have three kids, Carlin, Jesse, and Jemma. Learn more at cmacan.org/dbb

We gazed at Him, the high priest, dressed in white as He entered the presence of God to make a sacrifice for the sins of God’s people.

And we glimpsed Him over and over in the bread of life/manna (John 6), the spiritual rock from which we drink (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the unleavened bread offered as a sacrifice (Mark 14:8). Those wonderful words of the Old Testament are full of pictures of Jesus, and we found ourselves with lumps in our throats as we realized that we, also, were there—pictured as the people of Israel: rebellious and needy, but oh, so loved.

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Learning to Give Jesus the Floor Jeremy Peters

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n a surprising turn of events, I did not end up preaching on Easter Sunday a few years ago. Jesus had a different plan. Despite my efforts to prepare well for this pinnacle event in the life of the church, I was struggling with what direction to take the Easter sermon. I shared my challenges with a colleague and, through the course of our conversation, he tentatively offered to preach for me on Easter Sunday. I thanked him for his kind offer but considered it a non-starter.

I got off the phone with him and my wife, Lisa, asked me what the phone call was about.

“Can you believe it? Nathan offered to preach for me next Sunday. I told him there was no way.”

So, we went to prayer and I said something like, “Jesus, I am shocked to be having this conversation with you.

I am surprised Lisa thinks you might want Nathan to preach on Easter Sunday. Should she not know better?

But it is not my church. It is Your church. And You can have whatever You want. So, what are You saying, Jesus? Who are You assigning the task of preaching next weekend?”

During the silence, two stories came to mind. One related to a comment card we had received just that morning in which the person had written:

Without a second thought, Lisa asked: “Why not?”

“For the first time we really feel that this is not the ‘pastor’s church’ with the pastor’s vision leading the way.

Instead, this is Jesus’ church, and He is leading the way.”

“What do you mean, ‘why not?’ – it’s Easter Sunday!?”

Hmm.

“So. Why does that matter?”

The second story related to a time when Lisa was reassigned to work on a particular unit, even though the supervising co-worker who normally worked that floor was present and available. Despite the objections from this co-worker that this was her floor and that Lisa should be placed on a different floor, the Head Nurse firmly stated: “I am the one who directs the workflow of this facility, and I am the one who assigned Lisa to that unit. End of story.”

“Uh. Is this a trick question? Because it's Easter Sunday…and I'm the Lead Pastor, and this is the biggest Sunday of the year!”

“I don’t see why that matters. Jeremy, you say all the time to our church family that you are not the Head of the Church, that Jesus is…so I don't think it matters who the messenger is—what matters is that people hear from Jesus.”

“I know and you have got a great point… but perhaps it would help if I said this a little more slowly. It’s E-a-s-t-e-r.”

Undeterred, Lisa said: “We should go to listening prayer and ask Jesus about this.”

“Ok, but is He not going to just tell us it’s Easter…?”

Lisa and I both knew what Jesus was saying. This was His church and He was the One choosing to redirect the workflow. Jesus is the Head, and He can have whatever He wants.

We have been on a journey over the past eight years of learning what it means for Jesus to be the Functional Head of His Church in St. Albert, seeking to invite Him to give real-time leadership and direction in the church where we serve. We continue to cultivate some habits in our team meetings—to keep us attentive to the wisdom and counsel of Jesus—so that He can regularly direct our workflow. cmacan.org · 29

Habit #1. Be looking for places to invite His input.

Sometimes we do not actively look for opportunities to invite Jesus’ input on the decisions before us. We often open and close our meetings with prayer but, inbetween, Jesus’ direct input can go missing. We have learned to expect that Jesus will want to have the floor at various points in our discussion. We anticipate that we will need to stop our conversation in order to give Him space to speak—by practicing listening prayer together.

Habit #2. If an opinion is being shared, invite Jesus to share His as well. As a team leader, I work intentionally to try to ensure everyone at the table has an opportunity to speak to whatever it is we are discussing. Along the journey, the simple habit we have cultivated is that, whenever we are having a discussion where we are sharing on a topic, we try to make sure we create space for Jesus to share. If we are discussing the same topic for more than 30-45 minutes, it is probably

time to stop the conversation and check in with Jesus for any further insight, counsel, or direction.

Habit #3. Use the why question. After listening for Jesus’ initial thoughts on something, if we need further insight to help us discern whether it is truly His voice we are hearing, we ask why. We have found that through asking Jesus why, we often receive additional insight that helps affirm that we really are hearing His voice and often solidifies our way forward. Time after time, we come away from meetings with such a strong sense that it seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit. Some pretty amazing things—and surprising things—happen when we give Jesus space to be the Functional Head of the Church. Sometimes Jesus even redirects the workflow for an Easter service. « Jeremy loves the adventure of living as an apprentice of Jesus, learning how to follow His leadership of St.Albert Alliance Church in real time. Jeremy and his wife Lisa have deeply enjoyed serving together at St.Albert Alliance Church since 2004, where Jeremy currently serves as the Lead Pastor.

Kristen Parker

Have you ever thrown a pebble into a pond? It makes a quiet plop, creates a small circle of ripples, and then disappears. Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond?

It makes a loud SPLASH, causes waves to form, and creates a large circle of ripples that spread across the pond—much farther than the pebble spread.

The ripple effect happens when an initial event is followed by a chain reaction of events. It happens when we throw pebbles and rocks into ponds, and it happens when we share the Gospel.

Kristi Hopf is an international worker in Niger serving the Fulani people, a group of people the Jaffray Project is reaching. She is involved in a program that teaches local Fulani agricultural strategies, such as zaï holes1 and

composting. Christophe, the agricultural trainer, had a village representative plant an experimental field to demonstrate what was taught. The rains were scattered this year. The Fulani farmers had planted multiple times, but there was not enough rain to sustain the millet. People were saying that, “An invisible umbrella had been placed over Niamey, the capital city, to keep the rains out.” Other people said that their religious leaders were saying that, “There will be a drought this year and no millet will be harvested.” While all of this was happening, Kristi prayed. And when the rains still did not come, Kristi urged others to pray with her.

Creating zaï holes is a farming technique done by digging small holes in the fields before planting season, filling them with compost, and allowing rain water to gather in them. A farmer will then plant their seeds in these holes.

1

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Robert Jaffray gave his life to Christ when he was 16-years-old. Shortly after he made this commitment A.B. Simpson, founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), mentored him. Jaffray had a burning passion for missions and this created conflict in his home life. His father owned the forerunner to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

Robert Jaffray Sr. intended to pass his money, influence, and power onto his son—but only if his son chose not to pursue missions.

Jaffray faced an ultimatum, and he chose to follow God. His radical sacrifice led him to China where he relied on God for strength and perseverance. Jaffray and his colleagues led many people in the Guangxi province to faith in Jesus and they planted churches in the Wuzhou areas of China. In 1911, Jaffray launched a mission into Vietnam. Today, the C&MA in Vietnam has more than 1 million members, over 550 ordained pastors, and over 2,500 churches.2 Jaffray worked and trusted God. The result was a ripple effect which continues today.

This year in Niger, Kristi helped plant a field, and she trusted God for rain. The day before the millet would die due to a lack of rain, God answered her prayers and 2

http://awf.world/familythatunites/

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Many Rohingya people are fleeing to refugee camps where they may hear about Jesus for the first time.

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provided. Though the rains continue to be less than normal and some fields are dying, while others are still growing, the villagers have noticed that the height of the millet planted in the experimental field surpasses that of the regular plantings.

Through the agricultural program, Kristi has developed relationships with the Fulani. Every week a group of them gathers and Kristi tells them a story from the Bible. As Kristi teaches agriculture, she has been telling the stories of Noah and Joseph. She teaches patience and tells them that, just as God showed Noah and Joseph how to prepare for lean years and hardships of the flood, the Fulani can prepare for what may come. She is astounded at how many of the village chief ’s family have begun attending the story times! The Fulani are thirsty to hear more about God. There are people all over the world who are eager to hear more about God. The Jaffray Project sends international workers to least-reached people groups such as the Fulani, Wolof, Yazidis, and Balinese Hindus.3 This annual campaign launches new workers and supports the Global Advance Fund.4 Today, Jaffray Project donations are at work training new workers, like Bryan and Jessyka who have spent the past year studying the language and culture of their region.

The Fulani are thirsty to hear more about God.

than a pebble, we can make a larger impact with more support. Through the support of our Alliance church family, we have seen people impacted across the nations. Just as Jaffray, Kristi Hopf, and Bryan and Jessyka did, we urge you to consider what sacrifice you can make to add to our ripple effect.

Pray with us for the initiatives we are taking to reach these groups to share the Gospel.

Partner with us financially by donating to the Jaffray Project.

When we listen to God’s calling and take up His task, we can trust God to create a ripple effect from our actions. The same way a rock makes more of an impact

3

Learn more about the impact of these donations at cmacan.org/Jaffray

The Global Advance Fund (GAF) underpins all the C&MA in Canada international worker support.

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Kristen Parker is the Copywriter / Copy Editor at the National Ministry Centre for The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. She is passionate about words and creativity. Kristen and her husband, Chris, enjoy board games and taking care of their house plants.

WHY BOTHER? Vera Kuranji

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e were sitting in the simple office that we use for meetings. Each of the chairs brings back memories. This is where we usually sit and talk to young men and women who come desperately needing help.

Distressed, unable to even look us in the eye. At the end of their rope.

Addiction seems like a life sentence.

Jana could not sit still, his feet kept moving, hands in and out of his pockets. It was as if he was waiting for a late train that would take him somewhere, anywhere, out of the hell that he was in. Already close to 40, addicted to drugs and alcohol for most of his life, he gave us a fairy-tale story about how he used to be someone special.

We stepped out of the office for a minute, for a quick consultation. The first thought that came to my mind was, “Why bother... he will let us, me, down. It does not look like a good investment... it is too complicated." My husband said, "I can see him change." The brief hallway meeting was over in seconds. We entered back into the office and extended our hands to him; he could not look us in the eye. We took a step of faith—the same step we did, and do, with hundreds like Jana.

God met Jana and started changing him day by day. Jesus lifted his head, gave him a smile, allowed him to smell the beauty of spring, and restored his desire to write and sing songs. He now worships with people in church, speaks openly on radio and television, and uses every opportunity to testify.

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Jana said, "I had my own bed in a psychiatric hospital, and I was there almost 20 times. Each time I got out I was worse. My family and friends did not want anything to do with me. Through God, I have a new life, a home, a wife, and a child. I have hope, a family, and a purpose!”

When I see him lead worship, talking about the love of Christ which transforms lives, I worship too. When I worship I am reminded that I almost did not want to bother because the Enemy does not want us to bother with tasks that appear too hard. When I have another “why bother” moment, I sit in that empty office for a few minutes and reflect on the people that sat in those chairs, and I remember their transformed lives. Where would Jana be, right now, had we not extended our hands—had we not allowed Christ to do what only He can do? ª Vera and her husband, Danny, are international workers (IWs). They were both born, raised, and married in Serbia. They immigrated to Canada in their first year of marriage, where they had their four children. In 1986 they were called, by God, back to Serbia to serve the Serbians. They have led refugees, people living in poverty, and those without hope to Jesus. Learn more at cmacan.org/dvk Photo courtesy of Danny and Vera.

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LEARNING TO SEE MYSTERY Domenic Ruso cmacan.org · 37

Y

ou have probably seen one. It is called an autostereogram. It is an image that, at first glance, is impossible to see. What looks like a random pattern of colours slowly becomes clear if one stops to focus with expectation. Christopher Tyler, the pioneer of this way of seeing, discovered how 2D images, when presented in a specific pattern and light, had 3D potential to be slowly grasped by the human eye.

Surely, we are not talking about replacing Jesus but instead replacing our ideas—or limited 2D categories— for much richer and deeper language that will point people to the loving mystery of the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Spirit. No matter your context, God will provide new ways to help you see His love at work in your life, so that you can help others to see this mystery they are being invited into.

New inventions like this remind us that life is full of opportunities to see deeper and clearer what is not always visible at first glance. For Christians, this is urgent work which awaits all those who are serious about reaching those who do not see the Father’s love for the world clearly. This love will always be considered a mystery and thus it is never easy to see. It requires focus, rooted in an expectant heart, knowing that God loves to show up and set people free.

As a church planter in Quebec, I am regularly reminded that people need extra time and help to see what God might be trying to show them. Years of pain and confusion associated with churches, religious beliefs, and the message of Christianity clouds things and adds layers of complexity. Yet, having spent some time reflecting on the larger history of Christianity, I know that every season provides new opportunities to learn and rearticulate the faith in new ways. As the theologian Richard Bauckham has noted, "The biblical story refuses to be summed up in a final adequate interpretation that would never need to be revised or replaced."1

1

Jesus’ Invitation to See More Paul, who had to be blinded before he could see, reminds us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. It was in Jesus the Son that a broadened portrait of what the Father’s love means for us now was made clear. And yet, some could not see that. Those who read the Scriptures, who knew the prophets, were unable to see. There seems to be a type of spiritual blindness that grips those who are insiders for too long. For this reason, Jesus’ followers are called to go. It is in the going that our eyes readjust to the new flashes of God’s light redeeming the world. While the Hebrew people will always have

Richard Bauckham. Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World, Grand Rapids: MI. 2003, 93.

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a unique place in God’s revelatory plan, they were the beginning of it, not the end. Where is God calling you to go? There you will see.

For some of us this is a lesson we still must continually relearn. How is God readjusting how you see your context, your city, your kids, your church? Is it making you humbler and thus hungry to learn about the depths of His love? We often believe that people will come and see the truth of Jesus in the same way that we did. This is normal but limiting in many ways.

For this reason, we need a new conversation in our churches, in our schools, and in our homes, that not only addresses what people see but how they see.

refocus how we think of God’s love and its relation to the philosophical ideas of the time. The Word speaks and things happen. While this is always essential, we are wise to consider a shift that will address our own time.

As a hyper visual culture, we need a refocus to see that Jesus is not only the Word, but the image—the portrait—of the invisible Father whose love permeates His creation. The book of Colossians was for a church in Colossae that was to lead and make visible the mysterious love of the Father through the Son. At a time when many continue to think they can have Jesus without the church, we are wise to reconsider that Jesus is the Head of the Church and not just our lives. Only then will a world hungry to know how things can be held together in injustice and suffering understand that Jesus is at work restoring things by using those who are broken and blind to see.

As a hyper visual culture, we need a refocus to see that Jesus is not only the Word but the image of the invisible Father

Learning to See Again We are living in a time when the Church needs to get more serious than ever about how people are choosing to see. The old models of following the rules, or obeying the words of an authoritative figure, have long been trampled by our postmodern concepts of knowledge. Furthermore, the Digital Revolution and the rise of social online interconnectivity has changed the rules about how we learn and how we hear the stories of others. This is the new canvas that we must draw on if we want to help people see the mystery of how Jesus presents to us the image of the invisible God, who is love.

Throughout Christian history, especially following the Reformation period, Jesus’ unique role as the Word of God took precedence. Subsequently, preaching the Word of God in a way that uplifts the Glory of Jesus as the Word became a rallying cry of the time. The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the "logos”, which we translate into English as “Word”. This was meant to

If we are going to fulfill the mission of Jesus, we must return to a renewed biblical understanding of how to help future disciples of Jesus to see in new ways and to be open to reimagining how to humble ourselves before the mystery of Jesus at work through His servants. Mysteries, by their nature, cannot fully be grasped, but they can be experienced when 2D categories are infused by the Light of the World providing a 3D image that stirs us to desire to see the Kingdom of God come on earth as it is in Heaven. ¬

Domenic Ruso is the Associate Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Laval University. He has a Doctorate in Historical Theology, Specialization in Reformation Studies from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. He is the Principal Pastor at the180 Church in Laval, Québec.

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BREWING COMMUNITY Dave Sattler

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he prosperous suburbs on the north shore of Vancouver Harbour were not immune to the Global Financial Crisis. This became evident in the closing months of 2008 as I began to see more homeless people bustling on North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Avenue.

North Shore Alliance Church (NSAC), where I had worked for more than a decade, was also experiencing a rise in people at the front door seeking one-on-one meetings with a pastor, looking for cash or a grocery card. Praying for guidance, I instructed the church staff to ask anyone showing up unannounced to come back on Wednesday at 2 p.m. My original thought was to hand out food cards and maybe put the coffee pot on. I had no idea that our temporary solution would blossom into Coffee Time, a vibrant weekly gathering of over 100 people in NSAC’s basement, at the corner of East 23rd Street and St. Georges Avenue, in North Vancouver.

A decade after first putting on the coffee, a team of 25 volunteers—including co-founder Maree Scott—serve free hot drinks, muffins, music, fellowship, a short Bible message, and $10 grocery cards. A common theme at Coffee Time is that the volunteers reap as many, if not more, benefits than the participants they serve. Lawrence Thompson, a regular participant, calls Coffee Time a “one-of-a-kind place for Christians and non-Christians.” The sermons and songs keep him coming back.

The gathering, of course, is only one of a myriad of inspiring outreach organizations and support groups on the North Shore helping new immigrants, the poor and destitute, and those grappling with mental 40 · Fall 2019

illness and addiction. Yet, one must only spend a few minutes at Coffee Time to sense that much more is happening than free coffee and muffins. Our outreach and its spin-offs have become places of renewed hope in the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives. The transformation process begins at the entrance. At each meeting, participants are individually welcomed before moving toward a series of name-card display boards.

Each board covers a section of the alphabet.

Amid hugs and high fives, the clients sign in for the grocery card they get after the one-hour meeting.

One of our volunteers, Dave Greer, designed the board system to establish and nurture relationships with the participants by presenting a familiar face every week. Each of the greeters really gets to know people on their boards.

Although we do not offer meals, like other nearby churches, Coffee Time emphasizes the strengthening of connections between our volunteers and participants. In some instances, Coffee Time is an example of broken people helping broken people.

It is not uncommon for some Coffee Time participants to be visibly perspiring as they move into our meeting room. This is because they just finished

exercising at a fitness class specifically designed for Coffee Timers at Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre across the street from NSAC. Officially known as the Active Living program, the free 45-minute session was established in 2011 in partnership with the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, Vancouver Coastal Health, and fitness instructor Karen Harmon.

In September 2018, the BC Recreation and Parks Association named Karen the industry group’s Fitness Leader of the Year for her work with Coffee Time clients and other fitness participants living below the poverty line.

Among the fitness program’s participants is Doug Schlamp, a Coffee Time regular, who has struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues.

On a warm day in July of 1999, Doug jumped 27 meters (90 feet) off Vancouver’s Granville Street Bridge in a bid to silence the voices in his head.

After physically recovering from what he calls an “act of madness,” Doug’s life gravitated toward the North Shore and a series of group homes where he lived until the middle of 2018. Over the years, many Christians offered to help Doug give up his drugfueled illicit lifestyle to follow Jesus. He felt they did not understand him, so he pushed them away.

He eventually found his way to NSAC, the church that gives away grocery cards. One day I asked Doug if there was anything he wanted prayer for. Given his history of illegal substance abuse, his answer surprised me. “My lungs,” he gasped, “I need to quit smoking.” While he had learned to manage his drug addictions, kicking cigarettes was more than he could handle on his own. Doug continued to smoke even after his doctor told him his lungs were shutting down.

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Coffee Time leaders Dave Greer, Maree Scott, and Dave Sattler

For two years, Doug and I prayed for the power to quit cigarettes. Then something happened. Doug awoke one day and did not feel the urge to smoke until early afternoon. Another morning came and he held off the urge to light up until early evening. After that, he pledged to quit smoking for good the next time he felt the same sense of calmness.

Today, Doug has not had a cigarette for nearly three years.

Over the past decade, a significant number of conversions and baptisms at NSAC have come from our Coffee Time congregation.

Clearly, God is using this urban ministry to transform lives. «

Dave Sattler is the Outreach Pastor at North Shore Alliance Church in North Vancouver, BC. Passionate about raising up the next generation of Christian leaders, he has been a pastor at NSAC for more than 20 years. He loves Jesus, hiking and camping with his family, and cheering on the Vancouver Canucks.

Photos courtesy of David Sattler.

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I S

O U R

G O S P E L

T O O

S M A L L ?

Joanne Beach Church leaders at a conference in an East African nation were discussing the fact that, while approximately 80% of their population claim to be Christian, their country is still rife with issues: corruption at multiple levels, tribal conflicts, domestic abuse, extreme poverty, gender inequality, garbage strewn everywhere, environmental degradation, HIV/AIDS, and more. After reflecting on this, they concluded, “the missionaries brought us too small of a Gospel!”

A gospel message that focused primarily on spiritual things and a future hope of Heaven after we leave this world was not complete.

Evangelicals have traditionally taught a gospel message that started with the problem—that all sinners are separated from God. Jesus’ death and resurrection provides salvation, and if we place our trust in Him, we will go to Heaven. Our discipleship focused on reading the Bible and prayer in order to live a morally holy life.

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While these components are important to understanding personal salvation, it is not the complete message of the redeeming work of Christ. The complete gospel message must include the entire narrative of Scripture. The Good News must start in Genesis—with the creation story; the place where we encounter how God intended for His entire creation to function prior to the impact of sin in the world.

The garden narrative describes a place of complete harmony, reciprocal respect, and an intimacy in relationship between God and humans, between male and female, and humankind with the rest of creation. The Garden was a place of peace in a space where all physical and relational needs were met.

A place where humans, created in the image of God, were given the mandate to work with God to nurture wellness and wholeness for all of creation. Dare we call this the first commission?!

Genesis 3 outlines how the impact of original sin brought disharmony to all the relationships that existed in the Garden. The rest of Scripture tells the narrative of God’s actions to redeem what original sin broke, leading to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus which will ultimately culminate in Christ’s return to earth to make all things new (Revelation 21).

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The Apostle Paul clearly teaches this as well. He presents the cosmic Christ, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in … and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20, emphasis added).

The Greek word for reconcile is apokatallassō, which means to bring back to its original state of harmony, and making peace, eirēnopoieō, which means to establish harmony.1 What a message of hope—that Christ is reconciling all things—all the relationships that are in disharmony; He wants to bring them back to the place of shalom demonstrated in the Garden of Eden.

When Jesus sent out the twelve, and then the seventy-two, to carry on His ministry (Luke 9, 10), He told them to first find the person of peace in a community. A person who wanted relational harmony, health, and wholeness for the community.

They were then to announce that the “Kingdom of God has come near.”

Their ministries included physical and spiritual healing. Everything Jesus taught His followers involved living countercultural to the way of the world; seeking first His Kingdom—in other words, seeking the reign of Christ here and now.

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Luke follows these stories in his Gospel with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The teacher of the law asks how to inherit eternal life. Jesus prompts the teacher to give the answer that he needs to love God and his neighbor as expressed through the Good Samaritan principle: caring for justice and physical needs of people—even strangers—at personal cost, risk, and inconvenience.

When humankind is taking seriously the mandate to steward and care for creation, communities will flourish because when the land suffers, the rest of creation suffers; when the land thrives, people thrive.2 When the church works to ensure that communities have sustainable food sources, we communicate that in God’s economy there is food for all so that no one goes hungry.

As the church seeks to continue the ministry of Christ, we need to cast out structural spirits of injustice and oppression. We must address broken worldviews that are part of cultural or religious systems that are antithetical to God’s ways.

A Gospel that truly reflects the Good News of Christ’s redeeming work will do so much more than address the hope of an afterlife in Heaven. Embodying the Gospel is about bringing the Kingdom of God near; it is reflecting the reign of Christ within communities which nurtures wholeness and well-being in every area of life.

When our international workers—working in cultures that are oppressive of women— empower women and girls through education, we introduce the truth that women also have dignity and value.

This is the Gospel in its fullness that the world so desperately needs to hear about

When relationships are functioning as God intended, people will not be held in bondage to injustice, poverty, and oppression.

1

James Strong. Strong’s Concordance. 1890.

2

Hosea 4:1-3

This is the Gospel in its fullness that the world so desperately needs to hear about; a transforming faith that impacts every aspect of our lives and relationships. Every act that seeks to bring justice, healing, dignity, sustainability, and wholeness are foretastes of God’s Kingdom which Jesus will establish in its fullness when He returns. As we seek to live out a Gospel that is Christcentred, Spirit-empowered, and Mission-focused, O God, help us to embrace a fuller Gospel that seeks the reconciliation of all things. ©

Joanne Beach is the Director of Alliance Justice and Compassion at The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. She has traveled to over 50 countries which has allowed her to experience what God is doing in many different cultures and contexts. Joanne earned her Bachelor of Religious Education at Ambrose University, formerly Canadian Bible College, and her Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe College in the area of International and Urban Development.

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TAKE HEART Rachel M

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t was 4:00 p.m. in the middle of Ramadan, the month-long fast of our Muslim friends, and the town was quiet because most families were at home. My nursing friend, Faith*, had invited me to her house for Iftar—the breaking of the fast. Faith and I both fasted that day in preparation, and both of us with hope. You see, Faith came to know Jesus three years ago. She continues to engage in Islamic religious holidays but now with the understanding that her fasting is not an attempt to earn her way to Heaven. Instead, she fasts to intercede for her friends and family so that they might know Jesus too.

We took a taxi to her house that day, as it was 45° C, and we were already dripping from the short walk to the main road. We prayed that Jesus would give us the words to say, that He would open hearts and minds.

We knew we were entering battle. Faith’s father beats 48 · Fall 2019

her almost every day. He walks from room to room daily, reading the Quran over the home. The last time I visited, the Spirit closed my ears so that I could not understand a word coming out of this man’s mouth.

Jesus told me, “You will only hear truth”. I heard nothing. I shared this with my prayer groups back in Canada and called up my army to begin to pray for this man, this home, and this family.

But this time it was different. We sat together and, as usual, he began to talk about his holy book. “Take heart,” Jesus told us, “I am with you.” Conversation led to asking Faith’s father if he had ever read the Bible.

He replied, “No.” We acknowledged all the stories that he had told us and asked if, next time, we could share some stories too. To our delight—and surprise—he said yes. And then Jesus took it one step further. Faith’s dad asked for a Bible! How can this be? This man’s

heart is hard. He is vicious, mean, and unrelenting in his own beliefs. Over time here, I have learned not to question the ways in which Jesus works. He constantly surprises me!

A few days later, after school, we gave Faith a Bible to give to her father. She came back to tell me, “Miss Rachel, I don’t know if my dad opened his Bible. But, it sits on his nightstand next to his Quran.” This is a victory, my friends! The truth has entered this home!

One of my greatest lessons from the past few years has been to say, “Yes!” to Jesus, even when I am scared, confused, or unsure of His way of doing things. Often, He asks me to say something or do something that seems so small and insignificant—maybe to give a Bible to someone, share a verse that has been on my heart, a word of encouragement, or to pray for them.

The question I often ask myself is; “Do I have enough faith that, even in those small things, Jesus will do a big work?” Many of those commended for their faith in Hebrews 11 never saw the fruits of the harvest. Yet there was a harvest. Jesus invites us into this season of planting, no matter how small the seed. I do not know what will happen with Faith’s father. But I do know that Jesus is writing his story and He’s not done yet! ª *Name changed

Rachel is a nurse educator in a small rural farming town hospital in North Africa. Rachel and her team-mate started a nursing school in 2017 and its goal is to raise competently trained nurses who shine the love and compassion of Christ. Rachel loves discipling her students and sharing stories from our Good Book with her friends in the community. Learn more at cmacan.org/rm

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in a Post-Christian World?

Lee Beach

Jesus only is our message, Jesus all our theme shall be, We will lift up Jesus ever, Jesus only will we see.1

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here is a good chance that it has been a long time since you sang these words in a worship service at your local Alliance church. They are from a hymn written by the Alliance founder, A.B. Simpson, and for many years it was sung regularly in most Alliance churches around the world. Perhaps in its day— early 20th century—it was a radical expression of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a modern world that was increasingly becoming secularized and religiously plural. However, if it was radical one hundred years

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ago, how much more radical is it today? In a day when exclusive truth claims are highly contested and religious exclusivism is seen as dangerous, the claim that Jesus Only is an appropriate religious perspective, is most often considered a narrow view—at best—if not outright bigoted, at worst. Yet, true Christianity holds to that very claim—that Jesus is the unique incarnation of God, and God’s clearest revelation of Himself. Jesus is the pivot of human salvation and there is something in Jesus that can only be found in Him and nowhere else.

It is now common to understand Western culture as being in a “post-Christian age.” Meaning that, if the Church and Christian ideals once played a central role in informing culture, that is no longer true. So,

how can any movement proclaim, “Jesus only” and still have any credibility with the broader culture? To answer that important question, perhaps, we need to understand what we mean by Jesus Only as a core doctrine of Alliance thought. What we may find is that it is a message of inclusivity and love, more than it is a message of exclusion.2 While there are many important theological issues connected to this topic let me focus on three ideas that seek to connect the claim of Jesus Only with the challenge of proclaiming that belief in a post-Christian context.

human beings on earth. He writes, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).

Then, John makes clear who he is referring to when he writes, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). In these verses the gospel writer equates Jesus with God.

1. Jesus Only does not mean that there is no truth or beauty in other religions or in the lives of those who have no religion.

In the ancient world it was not uncommon to have stories of people who were thought to be gods. This kind of story was part of the lore and belief systems of ancient people. What is a wonder to John is not that a man could be a god, but that God could be a man. The incarnation offers a radically different idea than the perspective that it is possible for a human to somehow possess a divine nature. It is not a human adopting something of the divine nature but God taking on human form. In lowering Himself in this way God's actions indicate that something is happening that changes everything.

Belief in the idea that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God does not deny the idea that God is at work in this world in a multitude of ways. It does not deny that other faiths have value or that people who do not claim any kind of religious faith do not have important insights to offer, or the ability to live lives of truth and beauty. While we affirm the centrality of Jesus in salvation, we should also affirm that God works in many ways to bring people to that realization. We must affirm that even those of us who have discovered God through Jesus can still learn from people of other faiths or from people of no faith.

Not only do Christians share much in common with other religious faiths but we can often learn from their practices. Can we learn something about fasting from understanding the Muslim observation of Ramadan?

Can we learn about compassion from the agnostic doctor who volunteers to serve in a war zone? There is truth and beauty everywhere in this world and our belief in Jesus Only does not deny that.

2. Jesus Only Affirms Jesus’ Uniqueness In the opening verses of the Gospel of John the author clearly offers his perspective that Jesus is unique as the God who has come in human form to dwell among

When we speak about Jesus Only this is what we are talking about: as the God-man Jesus Christ is the one in whom God's work finds its most poignant expression.

Ultimately it invites people to consider the idea that the God of Christianity is the God who has come to us and revealed Himself in an unprecedented way and this is something that only Jesus can provide for us.

3. Belief in Jesus Only Acknowledges the Centrality of Jesus in Human Spirituality When Simpson wrote the chorus of "Jesus Only" he wrote, "Jesus only, Jesus ever, Jesus all in all we sing, Saviour, Sanctifier, and Healer, Glorious Lord and Coming King." This is not a doctrinal affirmation; this is an invitation to enter the divine life and experience

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God's fullness. It is a spirituality that centers on Jesus and affirms that through Him all the possibilities of knowing God's presence and power are ours. When we affirm the idea of Jesus Only we are embracing God's ultimate self-manifestation in Christ as an essential element of entering the fullness of life that God has made available through relationship with His Son. Further, Jesus Only affirms that while God may work in many ways, it is Jesus who will ultimately bring us into God’s eschatological presence. While we may have long discussions about what that looks like and who is included, it is the work of Jesus Only that brings us into ultimate union with God. This is a message of hope to all people because it is a message that says to the world that, through Jesus, God has come to them, acted for them and made the way for them to know Him intimately and eternally.

While the message of Jesus Only has always been a scandal it is not necessarily a message of narrowness and exclusion. It is a message that still acknowledges the reality of God’s diverse working, that affirms His love for all humanity through His participation in human life and His desire for everyone to experience Him personally. In declaring Jesus Only, we affirm that ultimately the work of God in our lives flows through Jesus and it is in Jesus that God is found most fully and most truly. This is the message that drives our movement as Alliance churches and offers us the possibility of a vibrant spiritual experience that we can offer to the world. 1

A.B. Simpson. “Jesus Only” published in Hymns of the Christian Life c.1908

Lee Beach is the Associate Professor of Christian Ministry and Garbutt F. Smith Chair of Ministry Formation at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON. He is the author of The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom and Co-author (With Franklin Pyles) of The Whole Gospel for the Whole World: Experiencing the Four-Fold Gospel Today

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GOD’S WORK IN THE MUNDANE Josie Mcallum

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he weekly routine of children’s ministry can be very demanding. It involves many behind the scenes tasks to be completed every week to ensure Sunday mornings run smoothly and effectively, for the children and volunteers. This work can be mundane and feel superfluous, seeming to have no real “Kingdom value.” I will admit that, at times, this was my attitude towards these preparatory tasks.

Every Monday morning, I would come into the church and clean up everything from the classrooms that we had spent the previous week creating and gathering, only to put those often unused supplies back away.

Then, I would spend 15-20 hours setting up for the coming Sunday, preparing the supplies for seven Sunday school classes. Often it seemed like a routine with little value. How was all of the time I was spending on cutting, craft preparation, and gathering lessonteaching props teaching and leading the kids towards Jesus’ love?

I felt frustrated by this question but, when you ask God a question, He reveals an answer. God worked on my heart through a conversation with one of the Sunday school teachers. Through this conversation I gained a greater understanding of volunteer support and appreciation. When the volunteers are able to focus on the message of the lesson they will be teaching, and not worry about the supply preparation, they can better communicate the message and truths of the Gospel to the kids. This is a very tangible Kingdom value.

This process of learning to love the mundane, routine aspect of children’s ministry really helped to grow me as a ministering person. Spending upwards of five hours on cutting craft supplies each week provides a lot of time for reflection. During this reflecting time, I felt that God was working on my heart. Learning that God is at work even in these simple tasks, and that I can bless people through this time really helped to shift my attitude towards this “thankless” work. I now use this time to intentionally listen to God and have real back and forth conversations with Him. It has taught me to better appreciate these opportunities in my week and to view them in a different light—a Godcentred light. Through my Pathways field education experience, God has been showing me the value that can be found in the most routine of tasks.

So often it is easy to get emotionally swept up in the idea of big picture ministry. It is sometimes easy to romanticize the front-line work that may turn others towards Jesus, that helps vulnerable and hurting people, as the only work of value. God has been working on my heart to teach me to love even the mundane, routine, and continual moments of ministry because each of these moments are moments spent with Him. « Josie McCallum is a ministry intern at Owen Sound Alliance Church in Ontario and an undergraduate student of Pathways School of Ministry.

Josie's ministry passion is to serve children and their families, teaching them how much they are loved by Jesus. She enjoys creative writing, as well as, playing and writing music with her husband Joel.

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L A U N C H I N G A G E N E R AT I O N

O F M I SS I O N A L I N N O VAT O R S Frances Kim

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magine 80 diverse young adults from across Canada, coming together in Montreal for a one-week leadership gathering, all wondering the same thing: “How can God use me for His Kingdom? How can I be on mission for Him?” The annual Envision Summit is a unique space that provides leadership development for young influencers from across the nation, focused on skill and soul.

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This year, we introduced the Creative Challenge, a 24hour, intensive, collaborative event where young adults work in teams, tackling real-case issues. 11 teams were tasked with presenting solutions to an expert panel regarding some of the most pressing issues facing Alliance missions today. Some of the resulting ideas would serve the Rohingyan refugees displaced in Malaysia, or engage the T-people living in Parkdale, Toronto, or spur initiatives for reaching a creative access country discerned by our General Assembly as a strategic opportunity for gospel witness once again.

What was incredible to see and hear from our leaders, was that some of them saw—for the first time—how their education, giftings, and skills could contribute meaningfully toward effective, missional impact.

“The Creative Challenge was a great activity for me to engage my faith practically in a real life crisis. […] It was great to see the church work together.

And coming in intimacy and sincerity, seeking God together.” (Ran Xiao - Young leader from Chinese Church in Montreal) 56 · Fall 2019

“Through the Creative Challenge, my eyes were really opened to how narrow a view I previously had of missions and what I considered possible. Envision Summit has helped me dream again.” (Adelle Ngo CMD Young Leader) This was an opportunity for these young people to use their voices to speak into these challenges and be awakened to the depth and complexity of the issues that Alliance leaders wrestle and discern through regularly.

Following the Creative Challenge, Kathryn Klassen spent time powerfully teaching on the Father Heart of God, Forgiveness, and Footholds. In small groups, participants vulnerably shared their stories about their areas of struggle. They received prayer and encouragement from one another. One participant described it perfectly by referring to 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” and hearts were primed for what was to come.

As a team, it is our honour and joy to organize, facilitate, and mentor young leaders on what Global Missions can look like in our lives. We see ourselves as a team that comes alongside young leaders in helping them discern God’s calling in their lives. It is our prayer to continue to create space for this generation to exercise their radical faith, skills, and passions in a creative environment for fresh expressions of Global Missions. Please join us in prayer for these leaders as they navigate what’s next and ask God to reveal to them how He wants to use them, for His kingdom and His glory. Their best is yet to come! © Frances serves as the Assistant Director of Envision, providing oversight for the Envision office team in Toronto as well as the ongoing development of our International and domestic sites.

Our evening service was led by the President of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, David Hearn, who challenged our leaders to not live as “wimps” or “whiners” but to recognize their identity as “warriors” for Jesus. He challenged them to go out into the world with all the authority given unto us by Jesus. Chains were broken, and walls crumbled down, as leaders stepped forward to surrender their lives and their calling to Jesus.

The tagline this year was, “create space and be expectant.” As the first ever all-Canadian Envision Summit, we wanted to create space for God, for one another, and expect for Him to move among us in ways beyond our wildest imaginations. Each and every day, participants were stirred deeply in their hearts, challenged to take risks for His Kingdom, and learn again and again how to surrender to Jesus. Envision Summit 2019 marked a turning point for us as the Envision Canada team. Not only did we encounter the power of Jesus personally for ourselves, but our eyes and hearts were opened to the great potential of the coming generation within the C&MA in Canada. cmacan.org · 57

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JESUS IS THE GOSPEL Bernie Van De Walle

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e have all heard the critique, “He cannot see the forest for the trees!” It is not that trees are bad; in fact, they can be beautiful. It is just that if someone’s view is too narrow, they may miss either what they ought to see or, at least, miss out on so much more. We all know, of course, that each of us is prone to this malady.

The fourfold Gospel was formulated to address a similar condition. A. B. Simpson, the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, was active in the mainstream of late nineteenth-century evangelical life and thought. He praised, supported, and participated in its major emphases and trends.

Regarding Revivalism, he championed its emphasis

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on the necessity of being “born again” and was, himself, a strident and successful evangelist. In relation to the Holiness Movement, he lauded its emphasis on the need for holy living and Spirit-empowerment for service.

The greatest majority of his preaching and teaching addressed this issue. Concerning Divine Healing, Simpson supported its emphasis on the goodness of bodily existence, experienced healing himself, and operated retreat centres where people could come and seek healing from God. Finally, in regard to the growing interest in premillennial eschatology—the idea that the imminent return of Jesus will usher in the Heavenly Kingdom—Simpson encouraged his listeners and readers to work tirelessly in mission that they may actually bring this reality nearer.

While a participant in and champion of each of these four trends—Revivalism, the Holiness Movement, the Divine Healing Movement, and Premillennialism— Simpson did not accept everything about their underlying theologies and practices uncritically. For example, in regard to the Holiness Movement, Simpson identified what he saw as the shortcomings of the two leading options of the day: the Wesleyan perspective and that of Keswick.

With respect to the Divine Healing Movement, he was sure to critique the theological and practical errors of many of the supposed “faith healers.” While Simpson’s critiques of these various theological trends may be found in a number of areas, his single greatest criticism of the theology and practice of late nineteenth-century Evangelicalism came in one particular area.

of these movements a tendency among its adherents to seek to gain—in some way or another—something from God. In Revivalism, the desire was for a thing called regeneration. In the Holiness Movement, the desire was for empowerment. Within the Divine Healing Movement, it was a longing for healing, health, or vitality. For the Premillennialists, the object of hope was the Rapture, Heaven, or the like.

Simpson, however, sought to remind his audience that none of these things actually existed; that is, they had no independent existence. Instead, he noted that each of these “things” is nothing other than names that we give to the consequences or the manifestations of the primary blessing of God’s saving work: the indwelling of the all-sufficient Jesus Christ, Himself ! This means that, not only, is Christ our Savior— Christ is our Salvation. To be “born again” is nothing other than to have the very life and vitality of the indwelling and resurrected Christ, Himself, overflowing in the believer.

It is not that Christ brings along with him a compound called “vitality” that He, then, applies to us; He, Himself, is that vitality. The same holds true for the other aspects of the fourfold Gospel. None of these “blessings” exists other than as a name for the consequences or manifestations of the presence of Christ, Himself, living and moving within the believer. Simpson would note, then, that it is idolatrous and, therefore, rather un-Christian to seek for something, whether that “thing” be called regeneration, sanctification, healing, or the millennium.

None of these “blessings” exists other than as a name for the... manifestations of the presence of Christ

There was a tendency among the popular interpretations and practices of the four movements mentioned above to commodity, objectify, or “thingify” the grace of God. That is, there existed within each

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In a somewhat prophetic tone—prophetic to the Evangelicalism of which he was part—the fourfold Gospel proclaims that it is the indwelling Christ Himself, alone, who regenerates; it is the indwelling Christ Himself, alone, who sanctifies; it is the

Saviour John 3:16

Sanctifier 1 Thes. 5:23-24

indwelling Christ Himself, alone, who is life; it is the indwelling Christ, alone, for whom we should long.

Therefore, Simpson’s major contribution to the Evangelicalism of his era is his reminder to these various movements and their adherents that their proper focus must never be on commodities or things that one imagines may be received from God. Instead, he reminded late-nineteenth century Evangelicals that the proper subject of their longing and the sole provision for the Christian life is nothing other and nothing less than Jesus Christ, Himself. It is Christ Himself, not Christ and regeneration. It is Christ Himself, not Christ and power or holiness. It is Christ Himself, not Christ and healing. It is Christ Himself, not Christ and a kingdom. Jesus not only delivers the blessings of the atonement, Jesus Christ, Himself, is the blessing of the atonement!

Christ is not merely the “instrument” of our salvation— it is not just that He brings us something other than Himself that saves us—He is, Himself, the “content” of our salvation. Christ, and Christ alone is, at one and the same time, both the Giver and the Gift of salvation.

While nineteenth-century evangelicalism was sure to remember the first, it was prone to forget the second.

For Simpson, the only gift—the only salvation—that exists is that of the Giver Himself.

Healer

Isaiah 53:4-5

Coming King Acts 1:11

The world has seen momentous change in the 132 years since the founding of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The world that you and I inhabit would be alien to our grandparents and our great-grandparents.

So very much has happened; so very much has changed. Yet, it is said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. After 132 years, in spite of all of the change, people are still people. That has not changed. After 132 years, people—even sincere believers within the Church, even people within the Alliance—are still prone to idolatry, to chasing after objects, commodities, or products. Even the sincerest of people are liable to misdirect their longings, their desires, and, consequently, their worship.

Therefore, should someone ask, “After 132 years, is the message of the fourfold Gospel still relevant?” my answer would be, “As the fourfold Gospel is rightly understood and rightly centred on the indwelling person Jesus Christ, Himself, ‘Yes! Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!’” (Revelation. 22:20). ª Bernie is the Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Ambrose University. He serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, as well as, Chair of the Alliance World Fellowship’s International Commission for Theological Education. Bernie is married to Colleen and has two wonderful sons: Dave, married to Hannah, and Ken.

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THE WOUNDED LEADER Curtis Peters

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van resonated with the message given by our Canadian Seamless Link church pastor. The pastor had come with one of his board members to provide leadership and soul care training for our Caribbean Island national leaders of an Alliance house church movement. Ivan is a local church pastor who also oversees leadership training for the churches in the Eastern District of the Island. He is passionate and sacrificial in his leadership, on this occasion spending about 30 hours—one way—in bus terminals and uncomfortable trucks to travel across the country to receive this training.

Ivan, like so many of our house church pastors, gives everything he has to follow Christ; but, also like so many, he was a wounded leader. He approached us after the message about the need for healing of wounds and forgiving those who have done the wounding. He asked if we could pray for him to find healing in his relationship with his father, who was ill and living in a different province. He explained that he loved his dad and had a deep desire to be with him when they were apart, but he felt emotional distance whenever he went to visit him. The Canadian pastor was already praying with someone else, so his board member and I

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sat down to pray with Ivan and to invite Jesus to reveal any wounds that he wanted to heal. Quickly, Ivan was reminded of a time when his dad, a shoemaker, refused to teach Ivan how he did his work. Ivan had sat down at the sewing machine and asked his dad to teach him. Sadly, his dad responded angrily and hit his son instead of granting the request.

We asked Jesus where he was in this memory.

Jesus showed Ivan in a vision that, as Ivan sat there crying, Jesus had been standing there with His arms outstretched, longing to give Ivan a hug. Ivan was deeply moved by this vision and went over and embraced Jesus. After we finished this powerful time of prayer in Spanish, the Canadian man (who had not understood all that we had prayed) stood up and gave Ivan a big hug—just like the vision we had just prayed through in Spanish! It was a deeply healing moment that transcended all culture and language barriers.

Jesus healed a wounded leader through the embrace of one of His sons. Curtis Peters was recently elected as the District Superintendent of the Eastern Canadian District after serving as 11 years as an international worker in the Caribbean Sun region. He is married to Tricia and has three boys, Lucas, Micah, and Liam.

JUNE 16–19, 2020

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Sherwood Park Alliance YEG / Sherwood Park, AB For more information visit

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Chri st-c entred • Spirit-emp owered • Mi ssion-fo cused

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