Jim

It was good to see many of you during our visit to Alberta and Saskatchewan this past summer (and we were sorry to miss many more of you!). It was a real encouragement to see what the Lord is doing in Canada.

We did notice a couple of unintentional/unexpected themes emerging during the summer. One theme was aircraft – yes, strangely enough, starting with a tour of CFB Moose Jaw, a centre of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aircrew training (a visit arranged by a friend – thanks!), and continuing with other events, such as seeing the Snowbirds (the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron) in Cold Lake, visiting flight museums (such as…), and spending time with people who have flown or repaired aircraft (most notably family members!). It wasn’t planned – it just kinda happened throughout the summer.

The other theme kept coming up quite unexpectedly as well. That is – God’s Word. Now, of course, that was the topic of the main sermon I preached throughout the summer. But hearing people’s responses – and then seeing the topic come up again and again without us mentioning it, with people who hadn’t heard the sermon – there’s no doubt there’s something on people’s minds.

Of course, Christians are always talking about the Bible. But it was more specific than that. It had to do with learning from the Bible, the preaching of the Word.

Many, many people were concerned about the direction preaching has gone in many churches.

Personally, I think that the preacher’s job is to stand up, read the Bible, explain what it means, and sit down.

However, many Canadians are concerned that the focus is shifting elsewhere. And those who are hungry for God’s Word are not getting fed. Some people were concerned about their denomination. Others had actually left their church, to find a church where the pastor actually taught verse by verse. Still others were in churches that had changed and were no longer really teaching this way, or were attending a church (due to limited options) that seemed to have a very low view of God’s Word.

No one likes people who complain about their churches all the time. But these weren’t complaints about the colour of the walls, or differences of music style, or “that one guy” who is a real pain. These were not people jumping around from church to church because nothing “fit”. These were people with genuine concerns, trying to make sure that they and their families were being taught from God’s Word.

Over and over we were in a random conversation, and the topic would come up, and Shari and I would look at each other – “Again!”.

I learned a lot about Canada and the direction things are going. But this was certainly the topic that stood out. And here are the two things I came away with:

1. It was encouraging to see how God is working. There are many pastors who are faithfully preaching the gospel, faithfully explaining what the Bible means, verse by verse, book by book. I had the chance to listen to a few sermons (even though I preached a lot too!) and talk with pastors and people from their congregations. Christians are finding creative ways to serve God in the midst of a unique culture and rapidly changing society. These are the things you don’t hear in the media.
2. The other side of the coin – there is reason to be concerned. Pastors, teachers, leaders – you need to realize that believers in Canada are hungry. They’re hungry to hear the Words of the Head Shepherd. They’re trying to figure out how to serve at a secular job, where to send their kids to school, how to help a sick family member, whether or not to move, how to deal with death. The answers are not in psychology and the latest statistics, not in science and not in the latest news. The answers are in the Bible. I pray that more and more Christians will take a book of the Bible and start studying it, verse by verse. Whether it be from a pastor (I hope so!), or teaching a Sunday School class, or with a neighbour, or in a small group, or in family devotions. Or maybe all of these.

Thank God He is working in Canada! May all of God’s Word continue to teach His people. That’s the only way we’ll really fly.