What the church will look like after the COVID pandemic has run its course is hard to say. Will modern society’s confrontation with its own mortality lead to genuine pursuit of deeper truth or will it lead to a doubling down on the human project of getting out of life alive? Will social distancing cultivate a hunger for more meaningful forms of community and authentic relationships or will the move that many congregations have made to online platforms further reinforce our worst consumerist proclivities? It is perhaps too early to tell. Continue reading Reading Barth Together
Category Archives: Events
Living Well, Dying Well
I had the privilege of preaching at Niverville Community Fellowship this morning. In November, I will be presenting series of seminars in their adult education program on ethical issues surrounding Medically Assisted Dying. However, from a Christian perspective, it’s impossible to ask what it might mean to die a good death, if you don’t first consider what it means to live a good life. Hence the title of my upcoming series, “Living Well, Dying Well.” In advance of that series I preached a sermon this morning that brought Psalm 8, Genesis 3:1-7 and Hebrews 2:5-18 into conversation. You can watch the sermon here. (The sermon begins around the 36 minute mark.)
Radio Interview and Other “Breaking News”
Upon returning from holidays last week, I found myself thrust back into a series of meetings and obligations. As things settle down, I hope to catch up on a few posts that I have had in mind. This past Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at First Presbyterian Church in Kenora. While some significant challenges lay before the city of Kenora, it is a beautiful spot and home to my family’s favourite town mascot/statue: Husky the Muskie! This morning, in the wake of Tullian Tchividjian’s announcement that he was starting a new church, I talked with Alissa Moffit at CHVN 95.1 FM in Winnipeg about the potential of pastors being restored to ministry after abusing their authority. You can read excerpts from the interview here.
Easter Sunday
I’m looking forward to the privilege of proclaiming the resurrection on Easter Sunday at the Church of Pentecost Canada in Winnipeg. Hopefully not too many people are scared away by my appearance on the poster!
It’s Still the End of the World!
It was able to share an enjoyable evening last night with an engaged group of people at the McNally Robinson bookstore in Winnipeg. One of the things I was attempting to do in my lecture was to recover the eschatological character of the Christian faith, bound up as it is with the coming of Messiah and the pouring out of the promised Spirit. The irruption of the eschaton introduces the distinction between church and world, which is clearly elucidated by Hauerwas and Willimon in the following quote which appeared in my lecture: Continue reading It’s Still the End of the World!
Providence Public Lecture
If you’re in the Winnipeg area tonight and looking for something to do, consider dropping by the McNally Robinson bookstore for my free public lecture: “‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It’: Reclaiming an Eschatological Imagination.” If you’re not able to make it, but are interested in the topic, you’ll have another chance to hear the lecture on Tuesday at the Cultural Arts Centre in Steinbach, MB. Failing that, you could always consider registering for my upcoming modular course the week of March 4-8 at Providence Theological Seminary on “The Holy Spirit and Last Things.”