Blog
Praying Radically Yourself
Have you noticed something different at the end of our last decade? You can see it in services like Doordash and Skip the Dishes. You can see it in demands for services like Amazon and Uber. You can see it in the way food is prepared in super markets. Many people have moved from doing it yourself...
Get the Cross Maker Series NOW before the Easter rush.
Historical Direct from the publisher for this dynamic historical action series.
Walking your son into Manhood – Part 3
Chapter Three The concept for tasks came from observing the initiation rites of my African and missionary friends in Kenya while I raised my son there. While the Kenyans had long held traditional rites, my missionary friends adapted their concept of 12 Tasks from a comic book.[1] Despite the...
Walking your son into Manhood – Part 2
Chapter Two This past winter I watched a new family from Latin America inch their way from their car up an icy ramp toward shelter in a church. A chilling wind seemed to reach inside their good clothing and create a sense of shock and confusion. The ground beneath their feet had always been a...
Walking your son into Manhood – Part 1
Chapter One From the moment the first man walked out of Eden and looked at his new reality the weight of his future threatened to crush him. He sauntered out of paradise with a fear he had never known before – a fear that somehow the future of his offspring depended on the effort he put out to...
Katie Delancey Series
One Last Wave No Place to Run Stretching For Home
Book a Day
12 tasks of adulthood
Okay, let’s do this. Name 5 or 6 challenges your son or daughter is facing right now and tell me how you’re helping them through. What are some skills and growth areas you would like to establish in them as they face the years ahead? Is your relationship strong enough to endure the changing...
We Have a Winner
5 nods on the short list is still no guarantee of winning Word Guild’s novel of the year in the categories listed. The level of excellence continues to rise among Canadian Christian writers. Fortunately, the Cross Maker won the historical novel of the year award. The 32nd Annual Awards...
Salome – the Good Sister
Chapter One – a preview of the next book prior to final edits Goodness no longer made sense. Death was here. Hidden in the hills of the Galil. Like a hand groping forward in the darkness toward its prey. Salome quivered as the sensation raced up her spine. Silence vibrated through the trees,...
12 Tasks
Parenting is a challenge that tests the best of us. As Dr. Kevin Leman has oft stated, parenting is like being in an airline emergency. When the oxygen masks drop you need to put on your own gear before trying to help others. When things start feeling out of control in life, our children need us...
12 Tasks
Parenting is a challenge that tests the best of us. As Dr. Kevin Leman has oft stated, parenting is like being in an airline emergency. When the oxygen masks drop you need to put on your own gear before trying to help others. When things start feeling out of control in life, our children need us...
Finding our Way Back Together
Finding our Way Back Together May 2. I think the giggles are what got me. Three little girls huddled together watching the new baby sleeping in the lower level of the stroller. They hadn’t seen each other in person for months, yet a simple invitation to the family gathering at Killarney park...
Imagine Easter – part 1
Easter had to come because of one man. The first man. Of course, everyone of us since has confirmed that Easter had to be. Whatever you believe happened in Eden with Adam and Eve it is clear that the Biblical story reminds us that Easter had to happen because our first parents doubted, disbelieved...
Imagine Easter – part 2
Adam dies and the generations after him. For a while, it seems the venom of the snake in the hearts of men would go unchecked until the poison consumed anything good that was left from creation. That continued until the Creator saw how deep the poison had gone – infecting every thought and motive...
Salome – the Good Sister
Chapter One - a preview of the next book prior to final edits Goodness no longer made sense. Death was here. Hidden in the hills of the Galil. Like a hand groping forward in the darkness toward its prey. Salome quivered as the...
Faith Fellowship Baptist Church (FFBC) Reopening Plan
Faith’s mandate of making disciples for Christ from all nations continues to work itself out through our values of faith, multi-cultural /multi-generational community and servanthood. COVID- 19 has put these values to the test and our leadership and members are creatively engaging to move us...
Silence of the Lambs
by pastor Jack Why is it that churches hesitate to take to the streets to protest the eroding of their rights and freedoms? Are they unaware, unconcerned, unmotivated or unestablished enough to give their voice a platform? Romans 13:1 says “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for...
We Have a Winner
5 nods on the short list is still no guarantee of winning Word Guild's novel of the year in the categories listed. The level of excellence continues to rise among Canadian Christian writers. Fortunately, the Cross Maker won the historical novel of the year award. The 32nd Annual Awards...
Dear Child of God
Dear Child of God, You’re unrepeatable. When the divine creator intentionally knit you together in your mother’s womb to be a one of a kind, unrepeatable, unique masterpiece designed to do his specific work (Psalms 139:15; Ephesians 2:10) there isn’t a human being alive who formed a better mold...
What’s Happening to Us?
Members who Once Added Life to our Mix Every once in a while, it is a good thing to look into the mirror and check out what is changing with the person you’re looking at? As a church, it is also good to take a look at ourselves during this time when we have time. What does it mean for us when five...
Leading with a Limp
One of the challenges we are facing during the Covid 19 crisis is how to lead when we don’t know where to go and how to get there. In Genesis 32 we see Jacob wrestling with a stranger who wrestles with him through the night. Neither seems to be winning and the stranger asks Jacob to release him....
Cross Maker Series – 5 nods as finalist
I was honoured today by the Word Guild Awards when judges gave 5 nods toward the first two books in the Cross Maker series, in Historical, Adult and Romance categories. Take a look half way through as Sherry Stahl reads out the names of fiction books being recognized. You'll see my cover pages...
12 tasks of adulthood
Okay, let's do this. Name 5 or 6 challenges your son or daughter is facing right now and tell me how you're helping them through. What are some skills and growth areas you would like to establish in them as they face the years ahead? Is your relationship strong enough to endure the changing...
Katie Delancey Series
One Last Wave No Place to Run Stretching For Home
Who am I?
Who am I when locked up alone behind closed doors? Who am I when restrictions prohibit the habits and wanderings that are such a part of my daily routine? Who am I when the screens are all shut down and the voices all fade away? These are the questions many of us are trying to avoid during these...
The Cross Maker
Jack and Gayle Your first taste of The Cross Maker Chapter One Caesarea, Palestine 28 A.D. The one man Caleb ben Samson wanted to see on his cross was Barabbas. For today, it looked like he might have to settle for a substitute. The burning rays of the Mediterranean sun stretched the shadows from...
Salome
Salome is the newest novel in the works. If you've enjoyed the Cross Maker series then you're ready for something fresh from the same time period. If you haven't read the Cross Maker series then order up and enjoy the read so you'll be ready for Salome.
Get the Cross Maker Series NOW before the Easter rush.
https://word-alive-press-bookstore.myshopify.com/collections/historical https://word-alive-press-bookstore.myshopify.com/collections/historical Direct from the publisher for this dynamic historical action series.
The Next Generation
Almost everyone loves a baby. Welcoming several into our church family through recent dedications has been inspiring. We readily stand as a church family and pledge ourselves to pray and to support the parents as they do the hard work. Then the teen years arrive and the wrestling for independence....
Doing Real Life Face to Face
Have you had moments where you felt a tinge of loneliness lately? There didn’t seem anyone available to share in your joy, your challenge, your desire, your hope? The space around you seemed a little too empty? Vancouver continues to be considered one of the loneliest places for people who want...
Developing a Hunger for God
In a season of feasting, celebrating and giving it is not always apparent who or what we are hungry for. The health of Faith’s family depends on an ongoing hunger for God but when all our needs are met how do we stay aware of this underlying hunger? In John Piper’s book, A Hunger for God, he...
Spiritual Leadership
In our recent Remembrance Day ceremonies, we recognize that many of the war’s leaders emerged under fire from necessity. Not often enough, we recognize that many of the church’s leaders arise from the reality of the spiritual warfare we are involved in. In our November Leadership Forum we will be...
Building a Church Family Culture
September 8th Faith Fellowship’s family paraded around 62 flags representing the nations who had come to gather in worship. Three more countries had representatives but we didn’t have their flags – yet. We talked about courage – the courage of God for entrusting less than perfect people with a...
Belonging, Becoming, Believing
Michael Whitmer’s book, Don’t Stop Believing ( Why Living Like Jesus is Not Enough) helps us to pause and reflect on the relationship of Belonging, Becoming and Believing. For as long as I can remember being part of a Bible-believing church the order for newcomers has been clear. Believe then you...
Wholemindedness
This week at Faith we talked about being wholeminded. Wholemindedness, according to Paul in Philippians 4:4-9 happens when we align our character, confidence, contemplation and conduct. The only way alignment happens is if we live as if Jesus is near. Our character becomes foundational when we...
Why Christian Kids Rebel
In his book, Why Christian Kids Rebel, Dr. Tim Kimmel reminds parents not to get fixated on the external appearances of a child who is just trying to fit into his culture. He says that if we understand ‘rebellion’ to refer to “actions or attitudes that contradict the core spiritual beliefs the...
Are we really One?
Faith’s family is made up of individuals from over 50 nations trying to worship, fellowship, serve, pray and give generously together for the glory of God. C.S. Lewis, British author and apologist, argues that this life is a preparation for the life to come and that we should be preparing for the...
Growing Gracefully
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” -Leo Tolstoy “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future” -John F. Kennedy Great leaders recognize that change is inevitable and certain but that...
Restorative Justice?
Years ago, I was part of a community which was given responsibility for the health, education, spiritual life and relationships of 500 students. We had 100 staff members working together to attempt to provide a sense of Christian love and care. Not everyone got this right and students felt the...
Some of us love surprises and some of us don’t.
Some of us will do all we can to know all we can before it happens so we keep that illusory sense that we are somewhat in control of what is coming. One of our members tries to “stay ahead of the curve” by asking questions about everything she can think of. It helps her stay connected and helps...
You were Beautifully Made for Relationship.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I read today that most Canadians consider marriage to be passé. At best, it’s a social event on a calendar designed to last as long as two people want it to. More than half of our country are not in a marriage relationship. Is it cost, culture, community or...
Singing Pigs
Have you ever spent a lot of time, effort and resources working on something that turned out to be a waste of time? Charles Swindoll says he has a friend who has a plaque on his wall reading: “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” Swindoll focuses us on the...
Who is Unreachable?
Our church motto is to make disciples for Christ from all nations. The word ‘nations’ actually refers to ethnic groups even if we don’t have flags to represent them all. The sign outside our church says “50 Nations – One Family.” Sometimes we might think that if we have one representative from...
Secularism and Medicine in Canada
Dr. James Dobson, in his book Fatherless, envisions a society in 2040 where current Baby Boomers are pressured into transitioning out of life so that their wealth can be passed on to the next generations; expectant mothers undergo near mandatory screening of their unborn child to screen out...
At Home with Suffering
“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him…” Philippians 1:29 Two weeks ago was devastating for my friend. She had lost her wallet and all her credit cards. The weight of the world was on her shoulders as she dealt with the police and...
A MAZE ING religions
It doesn’t take long to be in Canada before you realize that most Canadians honestly believe that if religion is a valid option in this tolerant society than all religions are equally valid. It is true that some Canadians believe religion is dangerous and not something for any sane person to...
What’s the Difference?
A TIME magazine article by Reynolds Price from November 28, 1999 states that “the single most powerful figure – not merely in these two milleniums [sic] but in all human history – has been Jesus of Nazareth … a serious argument can be made that no one else’s life has proved remotely as powerful...
Truth and Culture
Many of us who are followers of Jesus grow up in a bubble of truth we assume defines reality as it is. To others being nurtured on the sap of secularism the arrogant, or even tentative, truth claims of Christians can only be condemned as intolerant. The Christian World has just re-energized its...
Save the Planet
I watched three young teens race their bikes down an alley and hurl their left over snack packs onto the ground as they sped away. Plastic bags, Styrofoam containers, chicken-bone wings, fries, paper napkins, half-used plastic cups with dipping sauce – abandoned. Things like that aren’t hard to...
We prayed
Well we did it. We celebrated Resurrection Day. We affirmed that Jesus is alive in this universe, in this world he made, in this country he rules, in this church he leads, and in us individually. He is alive. He is alive and so we prayed. We prayed in our small group Wednesday night; we prayed in...
How do you believe this?
In this age, when an avalanche of fake news through social media almost crushes us with statements and claims which stretch the limits of our ability to believe, it can be easy to dismiss the gospel claims about who Jesus was, why he lived, died and rose again. Existential skepticism, reasonable...
Pull up a Plate
There’s nothing like food to bring people together. I’ve gotten closer to people over Halal chicken, Thanksgiving turkey, Sushi, Vietnamese noodle soup, tacos, ice cream sundaes, hamburgers, potatoes with peanut sauce, casseroles, and biriyani or steak dinners. Our church believes in hospitality...
Overwhelmed
Maybe you’ve felt this way. Overwhelmed. You know it’s not just the day. It’s not that no one seems to care what you say or do anymore. It’s not that you feel empty and confused. It’s not that your smile is plastic and your gut is permanently twisted like a pretzel. It’s not even the avalanche of...
Serving in the Hood
From the foundation of Faith in the 1940’s in South Vancouver, serving the neighbourhood has been a priority for us. In recent years that has involved housing for refugees, partnering with the Foodbank and South Van Neighbourhood House, operating two daycares, hosting the Royal Conservatory of...
In Less Than 5 seconds
If I met you for the first time, how long do you think it would take you to form an opinion about who I am and whether we could have a relationship of any kind? Duane Elmer, in his book Cross-Cultural Servanthood (p. 48), cites an American study which demonstrated that it takes between 2.4 and 4.6...
VALUE: Cross-Cultural Servanthood
Our staff are reading an interesting book called Cross-Cultural Servanthood by Duane Elmer. Faith Fellowship heralds three values: Faith, multi-generational and multi-national community, plus servanthood. This book blends the last two values for us. The way this value looks for us includes the...
VALUE: MULTI-GENERATIONAL AND MULTI-NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Visioning what heaven will be like is something beyond us even if “we can only imagine.” Revelation 5:8-10 pictures living creatures and elders in worship before Jesus singing a song that says “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood...
VALUES: FAITH – PART TWO
Our insurance company sent us a DVD on “Facing the Risk.” It features a section on the top ten liability risks facing Christian Charities. It also presents an overview of effective abuse prevention strategies for our organization. I mentioned yesterday that part of our value of FAITH at Faith is...
Values: FAITH -PART ONE
In Faith’s family we have three key values which we use as a grid to mark the kind of community we would like to see. Today, I asked a newcomer over coffee what he observed about his experience so far at the church. He said, “I’ve been to a lot of churches and it’s different here. It feels like a...