Thinking After

Author: rjdean76

  • Story, Sketch, Sermon, and Song

    I am pleased to share the platform with a remarkable lineup of presenters at a free workshop at Kildonan Community Church this coming Saturday entitled, “Story, Sketch, Sermon, and Song.”
    The workshop aims to encourage and equip preachers and attentive listeners in the use of story, song and art-making as integral aspects of proclaiming and engaging the Word. Presenters include award-winning storyteller Brad Woods, Winnipeg songwriter and musician Rachel Colman, and art-therapist Joye Platford. For more information and to register, visit:
    Story, Sketch, Sermon, and Song Workshop, Kildonan Community Church, Winnipeg, 6 December 2025 | AllEvents

  • A Prayer for a Province in a State of Emergency

    I was privileged to spend the past three Sundays teaching on the Apostles’ Creed at McIvor Church in Winnipeg, MB. This past Sunday the Teaching Pastor Jon Klassen led us in a timely prayer for the province of Manitoba which finds itself in the grip of wildfires. He has given me permission to share the text of the prayer below.

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  • Upcoming Lecture by Ephraim Radner

    Providence Theological Seminary is pleased to host the distinguished theologian Ephraim Radner for a lecture entitled, “When Time Will Be No More: Reading the Bible without Historians,” on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00 pm at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg. There will also be a livestream option for remote attenders. You can register here to receive the livestream link.

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  • World Down Syndrome Day

    I am embarrassed to admit that I did not realize today was World Down Syndrome Day until I noticed the brightly coloured, mismatched socks my wife was wearing this morning. The Down Syndrome community is close to my heart, as it was a dear friend, a woman with Down Syndrome, who first suggested to me the name that my wife and I would ultimately give to our daughter. So I was deeply heartened to discover that our local high school was marking World Down Syndrome Day.

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  • Upcoming Public Lecture

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  • Theological Resistance in Troubled Times

    I am pleased to have been invited back to Canadian Mennonite University to once again offer a six-week course on the life and theolog of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The course, entitled “Theological Resistance in Troubled Times: The Compelling Witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer” is part of CMU’s Xplore program, which is geared towards lifelong learners. The course is offered entirely online and will run on six consecutive Thursdays from 9:30-10:30 am (CST) beginning on February 20. Xplore welcomes all interested learners from across Canada and beyond. To find out more about my course, visit the Xplore homepage here.

  • Trinitarian Preaching

    I was interviewed about my current research project for the most recent edition of Eye Witness: The Magazine of Providence. You can read the interview below.

    https://issuu.com/providencereader/docs/eye_witness_2024_web/24

  • Petition on the Misuse of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    I’ve added my name to a growing list of signatories to the petition against the misuse of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s legacy in support of Christian nationalism and political violence. The petition was started by Lori Brandt Hale, who currently serves as the President of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section. You can view the petition here.

  • Upcoming Public Lecture

    My colleague Joshua Coutts will be sharing some of his recent work in the upcoming Fall Seminary Symposium at Providence. The title of his presentation is “The Absence of Jesus: John’s Gospel for a Secular Age.” The lecture is open to the public and includes a free lunch for those who attend in person. The event will also be live-streamed. You can register to attend in person or remotely here.

  • The Crucifixion of Ideology

    I recently contributed an essay to a new online community, Living in Truth, aimed at supporting, encouraging, and cultivating a distinctly orthodox Reformed voice within Canadian Christianity. The essay, entitled, “The Crucifixion of Ideology,” emerged from a sermon I preached during Black History Month a year and a half ago. The assigned Gospel reading for the day, John 3, proved to be the stimulus for some important theological reflection on some of the cultural struggles facing Western cultures today. You can read the essay here.