Getting Over Yourself (a book review)

 Getting Over Yourself by Dean Inserra; subtitled "Trading Believe-in-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity"

Inserra has written this to discuss a problem that he has seen in many modern churches: the "Instagramification" of Christianity, with "trendy pastors who preach a message of personal success, betterment, and victory" who are social media celebrities, which "allows one to have a theistic source of faith and an emotional connection to Jesus without the demands of biblical discipleship and conduct." (pp.12-13) He refers to it as "pop-Christianity" or "new prosperity theology" that has replaced rags-to-riches and immediate healing with God-sized dreams and visions and achieving "God's best" while ignoring the tough parts of Scripture.

Inserra does a good job showing the problems with "pop-Christianity" from different angles, looking at what it is, where it came from, and what it is doing, all the while comparing its teachings to Scripture. He looks as the dangers of being gospel and doctrine-lite and trying for church growth through pragmatism (what you draw them with is what you draw them to, so if you're not drawing them with Christ, you're not drawing them to Christ). He shows how Scripture is being misused in these churches and by these teachers to encourage self-fulfillment instead of being disciples, and he does it while pointing clearly to the gospel. 

At the same time, he does not deny that God has a plan for our lives or that His plan is good and amazing; the problem is that His plan isn't necessarily what we think it is and it was never meant to focus on us (or to encourage us to focus on ourselves). Inserra isn't making Christianity into drudgery or something boring, but shows that it is actually bigger then we imagine when we make it about ourselves.

In the final chapter, he points to how we can have abundant life in Christ: Ask God to help you be gospel-centered; by grade, through Scripture, seek to increase your knowledge of God; pursue the ordinary life; find godly community; and pray for willingness to be marginalized.

Getting Over Yourself  is written in a simple, straight-forward way that is accessible for anyone.

"I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this

review."

Nehemiah

 A very long time ago, when I lived in Thunder Bay, my pastor preached through Nehemiah. I don't remember everything he preached (I don't even remember every book he preached through), but two of the Nehemiah sermons have stuck in my head and I remember them every time I read Nehemiah.

The first is from the very beginning of the book, when Nehemiah asks about Jerusalem, hears what is happening, prays, and plans. I think the sermon was titled "Look Out, Look Up, Look In" (or something close to that). The general idea is to know what is happening, pray about it, and see how you can help. My memory is pretty short on details; I just know that I've remembered it at various times when I've felt overwhelmed. First I look properly at what it happening, then I pray about it, then I think about what to do about it. It works much better than my temptation to worry about it until it's even more overwhelming and then pray about it.

The second comes from the list of people building the wall in chapter 3. It lists groups and people who worked on the wall as well as what part they worked on. The think I remember is the Tekoites who are mentioned twice as making repairs, but the first mention adds that their nobles did not support the work. It seems to be generally agreed that the nobles felt that the work was beneath them and they refused to stoop to manual labor. The question, if I remember correctly, was: "How do you want to be remembered? As someone who did the work of the Lord or someone who refused?"

This read-through, I made a list of people who are mentioned as working on the wall; specifically, I looked for the groups who aren't usually thought of as builders: priests, goldsmiths, perfumers, officials, daughters, and merchants. None of them would have been used to building walls, but all of them helped. 

Sometimes I think that we get stuck in "this is who I am" and forget that we may be needed to serve in other ways, for a greater or lesser period of time. I'm pretty sure most of those people did not become builders after the wall was done; they served where they were needed and then got back to their regular life, whatever that looked like.

Sometimes I think we can also get stuck in "this is who this other person is" and not ask them for help or expect them to do anything other than what we think they can do or should do.

I think we should try harder to be like the people building the wall. Sometimes we can and should do things that we (or other people) did not think we could do.

Jack vs. the Tornado: A Book Review

Official disclaimer: "I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review."

Jack vs. the Tornado by Amanda Cleary Eastep is the first in the Tree Street Kids series. It's a simple story, quick to read and quite enjoyable. I read it in a couple hours one evening and found it good enough to keep my interest despite being intended for the preteen years. It's not overly predictable in the details (and that's saying a lot given that I've been reading for years and can often tell you how preteen fiction -- especially newer fiction -- will turn out after the first chapter).

The main character is well-written and easy to empathize with. Jack just turned 10 and has to move from the farm to the suburbs. He's homesick and just wants to go back to the best fort in the world: his hayloft. He has a plan, and of course his plan doesn't work out the way he had intended (or there would be no story). Instead, he gets pulled into the lives of his neighbours and ends up happier than he had thought he could be in the suburbs. I like that while everything doesn't go smoothly for Jack, all his issues are normal 10 year old problems and complications: homesickness, a younger sister who can be annoying, a disagreement with a friend, dealing with storms. Aside from it being tornado season (a normal thing for where he lives), there are no excessively dramatic incidents. The story reads like something that could happen in any suburb.

The supporting characters are a bit 1-dimensional just yet and gather to form the Tree Street Kids group with all the necessary characters: the bookworm, the one with the backpack full of everything, and the one who takes photos of everything. I am hoping that their backgrounds and characters get fleshed out in future books (this one was focused on Jack, of course). 

The book is published by Moody Publishers and has a distinct Christian feel: the family prays together and attends church; there are some Scripture verses; Jack prays when he is afraid; and Jack tries to figure out God's plan in having him move. At no time do the Christian elements feel forced or like they've been inserted to make the book a Christian book; they are simply a reflection of who the characters are. 

Overall, it was a good read and one that I will happily pass on to friends with preteen aged children.

On Researching Sunday School Curriculum

 I have been doing a lot of research into Sunday School curriculums lately, mostly to ensure that we are using the best I can find for my students. I have plan for their time in Sunday School and want to cover things in an orderly manner. 

There were some curriculums that I didn't bother with, not because they were bad, but just because they weren't what we needed. I have a curriculum for the first 4 years that covers the narrative parts of the Old and New Testaments, giving them a broad overview of the Bible and how God has worked. For the older students, I wanted something that would allow them to dig deeper into Scripture and that would focus in on specific areas. For that reason, I skipped over anything that was basically just Bible stories.

At the same time, I came up with a short list of things that will make me completely reject a Sunday School curriculum:

1. Bad theology (that should be a given)
2. "The Netflix of Sunday School"
3. Bad names, including “Harvest Kids Now” and “Kids Kount” (problematic for different reasons)
4. No easy option to see a sample of the curriculum (either no option at all or the need to give them too much information so they can put me on a mailing list). Also, no outline, scope/sequence chart, or anything that lets me check out the curriculum. If I can't see what I would be teaching, I won't even consider it.
5. Focusing too much on "fun" rather than learning (News Flash: Children can learn from simple, straight forward lessons taught by teachers who love what they are teaching and who love the children; while extras are fun, they should be an add-on once in a while, not a key part of the teaching.)
1. Too much superfluous “extra” that has to be waded through (5 pages of fun activities with puppets, drama, object lessons, and video clips and only 2 pages of exploring Scripture)
2. The idea that we have to gain their interest in the lesson through slightly related activities before we can start to teach them
3. “Creative gizmos help your volunteers teach like Jesus"
4. The option to have them watch the Bible story on DVD
6. No worksheets/activity pages/anything children can do to reinforce the lesson and take home so their parents can see what they are learning.

Obviously not all of these are equally bad; some are just opinions (especially point 4 and 6). Part of my problem with the other points (aside from bad theology; that's just plain wrong) is that it makes Sunday School less serious and less important than the studies that adults do. Our focus in Sunday School, just as in all the ministries of the church, is Scripture. And yes, we have fun while we do it, but if my focus is on making the lessons fun and easy with creative gizmos and puppets, then the children will find the rest of church boring. If our focus is on Scripture and worshiping God together, then they will find that the rest of church is not that different and they'll grow more naturally into the adult studies.

One of My Elders

 Allow me to introduce you to Adam, one of the newest full elders at GraceLife. I've been friends with is family for several years now (I'm not sure how long exactly, but long enough that we're family now). One of my greatest blessings this year was getting to spend more time with them; I was there fairly often this summer (perks to being unemployed). If I ever disappear, it's because I went spend a couple nights there and I was kidnapped by either Adam's wife or one of the children who would like someone who has nothing better to do than read to him all day. They're my people.

Seriously: I changed cell phone providers in part because my old provider didn't get service at their house and the new provider does. Now I can spend more at their house there without worrying about missing calls about potential jobs.

This has caused a bit of a dilemma though. As you can see from the video below, Adam is a really, really good preacher (also he reads narratives extremely well). I also think that he's a good shepherd who cares for his people. I am in completely in favour of him becoming a pastor, but I am equally opposed to him taking his family elsewhere, even for training. You see the problem? If he becomes a pastor, he needs to train in Edmonton (we really need a seminary) and then join the GraceLife staff.

Now: Listen to his sermon, and enjoy it, and be convicted by it (I was; I need to keep looking at whether I'm obeying God completely or just mostly sometimes; "mostly obeying" is still disobeying). 

What I Realized Today

 Dealing with stuff has helped me know how to pray for people who are dealing with the same or similar stuff.

One day I'll make a list of how any and all troubles in my life have helped me, besides the general making me more sympathetic, patient with people (especially the wee ones), and giving me strategies to deal with even more stuff.

Pastor Tim Has Been Released!

 Today was a good day; Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist who was arrested June 15th for holding church services has been released!

From his wife Raquel's Facebook:

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released... (Hebrews 13:23)

I am really loving that verse!!!!

There's been a flurry of activity this morning! Today, July 1st, Alberta lifted all health restrictions including the ones that required him to tell people what to wear, where to stand, not to come to church, and to not practice hospitality. They've also rescinded the May 13 Rooke Order, the one that he was arrested for, since the lifting of restriction nullifies their definition of an "illegal gathering".

So all that to say... Tim is coming HOME!!! We can now gather as a church family to worship the living God and practice fellowship and all the “one anothers” without fear of fines or imprisonment. I am praying for our brothers and sisters in the rest of Canada who do not have this reprieve. It's been a roller-coaster week, full of many disappointments, but God was so faithful to keep directing my heart and mind to his sovereignty over all things, his goodness, and his power. He gave us his Son, we can trust him in all things.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

Saints, thank you for praying. Glory to God who heard and answered your prayers to sustain us and give us hope to persevere. Glory to God for answering our prayers that souls would be saved and that church would be strengthened through all this. Glory to God who has counted Tim worthy to suffer dishonor for his name's sake. Glory to God that the name of Jesus is going far and wide and he is receiving the honour due his name!

The battle is far from over, but my beloved is coming home!!!

Happy Canada Day!

Song - Canadian national anthem "O Canada"—All four verses!

 

The Fence is Down!

 The news said that we would get our building back on July 1st. Today the fences came down. We still can't get in (the security is still there and keeping us out, except the people caring for the lawn, dealing with weeds (in what would otherwise be our flowerbeds) and a couple other people; we think our admin guy, but we don't know for sure), but the fences are down and it looks like we really can go home. AHS still hasn't informed us of that fact.

Somehow, GraceLife ended up with what we're thinking of as our anthem. The Sunday after Pastor James was arrested, we sang it loudly and with great joy and conviction; the first Sunday that he was returned to us, we sang it again; we sang it in our underground church one week; we are looking forward to singing it again in our building. It speaks clearly about our hope and why we can keep praising God in the midst of this storm. Jailing our pastor and jailing our church couldn't stop us from worship because our hope isn't in them; it is in Christ alone.

Here it is, Christ Our Hope in Life and Death:

The Government War on Worship

The Government War on Worship

Cult of Covid v. GraceLife Church

 

Good News...But Keep Praying

The government plans to give us back our building on July 1 (when the province opens again). You can read all about it here or here (which is how we first found out; no one thought to tell the church leadership).

At the same time, Pastor Tim Stephens is still in jail for holding an outdoor church service; you can (and should) read about it here.

In Ontario, where they have surpassed their initial reopening goals, they're keeping the restrictions and still punishing those churches who dare to meet; you can read about that here.

We need to keep praying, for Pastor Stephens, for the churches in Ontario (and other places in Canada), for the believers, and for the freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed in the Charter. The government has tried to take our freedoms once and so many churches acquiesced; history shows us that it is more likely than not that they will try again.

Pastor Tim Stephens arrested illegally again

Pastor Tim Stephens arrested illegally again

I should have posted this last week when he was arrested. He committed the terrible crime of holding an outdoor church service, which is completely against the rules. Please pray for him and his family (he has a wife and small children).

So What About the Children?

 It's a common saying: "Think about the children!" It's generally used to manipulate people into actin in some way, and right now it's used to get people to obey rules about masks and lockdowns and isolating ourselves.

To be clear, I agree that we're supposed to care about children: that's right and good. Children aren't able to take care of themselves very well just yet and as adults, it's our job to do for them what they cannot yet: make sure they have food, clothing, and shelter; teach them what they need to know; protect them from harm when we can. 

And yet...

When I was working, I had students afraid to come into the centre because they might get COVID and maybe die. Some of them didn't want to leave their homes because that was the only place they felt safe.

There were children I didn't recognize without a mask and who didn't recognize me without a mask because we had never seen each other's faces. Teaching was a challenge because they couldn't see my mouth when I was showing them how to make sounds.

On Sunday, we had church in a clearing, somewhere off a back road, surrounded by trees, because they locked up our building and made outdoor gatherings (at least for churches) illegal. A plane flew overhead and my friend had to assure her small son that the plane was too high to see us because he was afraid of being found.

Another friend's son heard sirens one day when they were out and tensed up because he was afraid that they were police coming and all he knows of police is that they arrested his pastor and locked up his church (it was a firetruck and he switched from tense to excited).

Neighbours had a break-in so the police came, and their daughter had to check with mom that the police were there to help them, not arrest them.

One small friend had a neighbour child tell her a big secret: They were having their grandparents over to visit. That's a secret now because you can get in trouble for visiting with grandma and grandpa.

I was telling my friend's young boys about the Berlin airdrop and how the Communists were determined to blockade West Berlin until they gave up, but instead everyone helped them until the Communists finally gave up. The boys were thrilled. We talked about how sometimes, if you wait long enough, the bad guys give up, and one boy sighed, "That would be nice." 

The children are learning to be afraid: of sickness, of death, of not wearing masks, of being in groups, of being arrested, of being found holding church services, of police, of having people over....

We really do need to think about the children. I don't know how to help them or how much help they will need when this is over to start living life like normal people again. I just know that we are hurting them by forcing them to avoid people and keeping them from normal socialization and making grandparents and hugs scary things that can make them sick.

THE INVISIBLE WAR | Reformed Powerful Motivation 2021

Getting a Bit of Perspective

The past two Sundays have been different from any other Sunday. They actually started on Saturdays, with an email from the church office letting us know that they had found a place to meet and asking if we plan to attend. For those of us who indicate that we plan to attend, there is a second email with the location of the service and reminders to keep it a secret: don't tell anyone for any reason; if anyone wants to attend but didn't get the email, send them to the office; no photos and no video.

On Sunday morning we set out to have church in an undisclosed location, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

It's different. I'm enough of a traditionalist to prefer things the way we've always done them. Besides that, I miss the building and my Sunday School class and knowing what's going on all the time. I liked things the way they were. You know how there are churches that advertise how they "aren't your parent's church" and they are "for people tired of church" and such? Yeah, that's not for me. I miss the way things were and long to have them back, and I don't really like having to have secret church.

But: I've been talking with friends back in Ontario this week. They are sad and hurting because they don't have a church family to gather with. Things are locking back down even more and the churches will be pretty much closed for at least four weeks (and no one really believes it will be only 4 weeks), and even before then, when things were at 15%, not all the churches bothered to open. One friend said that no one at her church will even discuss being open more; the other said that while she doesn't wish what we've gone through on her pastor or his family, she does wish that the leadership at her church would stand up the way our has.

I wept for them as I prayed fervently for them and for their shepherds, and that God would give them shepherds who would care for them. 

It helped remind me that I have been so blessed with the elders in my church, so blessed to have faithful shepherds who are taking care of me. It's been hard, but I will rejoice that we will continue to find a place to meet together each week to worship and fellowship and be a church family together.

They Put My Church Building in Jail

 AHS and the RCMP have erected a fence around the GraceLife Church building, and then they put a black -something- inside the fence so you can't look into it (Sheila Gunn Reid from Rebel News referred to it as a mask (since they couldn't mask the congregation, they masked the building), and that's only one reason I love her), and then another fence, and eventually a third one to block the whole property. And then they added armed security, and blocked off some range roads close to the building, and then put up no parking signs, all to keep people away.

As someone said: 

"They put the Pastor in jail and now he's free. What was their next step?

Premier Kenney and Dr. Hinshaw: "Let's put the BUILDING in jail!""

It's....I really don't know how to describe it. Yes, I know that the church is not a building, it's the people, and we're still free, and we can still worship together somehow. But this is the building we built so that we had a place to worship together; to grow together; to laugh and cry and love together; to be a family together. This is where I have for four years taught the Sunday School and homeschool bambinos; organized the growing library and watched people discover new books; listened to more than 200 sermons; met new people (who became family); encouraged and was encouraged; attended weddings and funerals and conferences and baptisms; lived life. This is my happiest place where I am loved and cared for and belong.

So yes, you can argue that what they fenced in is only a building, but it's my building, and even on my worst days, it was where I wanted to be: in my church building with my church family. And it hurts like anything that they've decided to lock it away, and I pray that one day soon they'll take down the fence and let us go home.

Good Friday

They Let My Pastor Out of Jail

Today is a good day. Pastor James is free, with no conditions to keep him from pastoring.

According to the judge, James has the right to make decisions for himself, but not for his congregation or for the community at large. I would just like to point out that I've been making my own decision to attend church every week. As an official adult (for many years), I'm able to look at the issues, look at what Scripture says, and make up my own mind. I think the judge just doesn't like that we're not letting the government make decisions for us.

An article with more details can be found here. The tall red-headed guy in the photo is my pastor, not in jail.

Pastor James Coates to be released from jail as Crown withdraws charges

Pastor James Coates to be released from jail as Crown withdraws charges

I think I'm crying as much now as I did when he was arrested, only now it's pure thankfulness and joy!

About Encouragement

 There have been times in the past when I've been hesitant to send a note or leave a message of encouragement for someone. I wasn't sure exactly what to say, or I was worried it would be weird (especially if it was someone I didn't know), or I thought that so many other people had probably already said it better. I sometimes reached out, but too often kept silent.

Two things happened that have changed things for me. First, last spring/summer I received some little notes from people at the church. I don't know if they knew just how hard that time was for me (being apart from the church family hurt so much, and made the other challenges of that time even worse), but their notes made me feel less alone. They helped a lot.

Then, more recently, I've been answering emails for the church. There have been a lot (I've answered emails from more than 900 people), and many of them are the same: we've heard about what's happening, we support you, we're praying for you. Some are long and rambling, and some are very short, only a sentence or two. There are people who have put a lot of thought into what they want to say and write beautiful emails, and others who just want us to know that they're thinking of us and say it quickly (and sometimes with a lack of punctuation). We have pretty much every type of writing possible: essays, simple sentences, paragraphs, business letter-esque, poetry, rants, writing that would normally make the inner English major cringe (but the inner English major is calm when reading encouraging notes).

The point is: I appreciate every single one. It doesn't matter that I've read the same words a hundred times before, or that someone wasn't sure how to express things, or that we're hearing from people who have never been to our church or met us. What matters is that these people took the time to reach out and offer some encouragement when they thought it would help.

I'm becoming more willing to say something, even just a little something when the time arises. I comment on Facebook posts or Twitter. I write some little notes to send to people and I send some quick texts. I still probably keep silent more often than I should, but I'm trying. Because what I've discovered is that none of what I worried about matters; it just matters that someone knows that I care.

Sunday

Today is Sunday, and that meant worshiping with the church family again. I am thankful every week that we can meet together. I know most churches are closed or limited, but we're part of GraceLife of Edmonton (that church in the news), so we're open and have been filled to overflowing. It looks like the people who came just to support us or see what was going on have started to go back to their own churches; we could fit everyone into the building today.

It was a good Sunday. I enjoyed teaching Sunday School, I loved worshiping with the church family, and I really appreciated Pastor Jake's sermon. It was good.

But oh, I miss my pastor today. Friday was the day we heard if the judge would overturn the conditions of bail so James could come home, but the judge refused. We weren't surprised (we sort of expected it), but we were disappointed. And it was hard today; this is the third Sunday with him in jail (and those are words I never expected to write).

It's not that he's never been away from church before. He's been on vacation, and he went away for school a few times, so him being away is normal. What's not normal is him being in jail and us not knowing when we will get him back. It's not the same as vacation or school; it's hard and it hurts and I want my pastor back.

I hate that he's in jail and paying the price for obedience to God's word (and that his family is paying the price, and then to a lesser extent the church), but I'm proud of him for standing for truth and not giving in.

I'm going to cheat here and finish with something that I posted on Facebook this week. A friend from Ontario had asked me to post when we had the news, so this is what I posted:

The judge upheld the conditions of bail, namely that Pastor James will not attend or conduct services unless he complies with any existing orders.

Complying with the existing orders would require him to close corporate worship to most of the congregation each week and would keep him from properly pastoring the flock under his care. To do so would violate his conscience, so he will remain in jail until his trial at the beginning of May.
I cried a little bit at the decision of the judge: I cried for Pastor James, for his family, for the church (and so for myself).
At the same time, I am so thankful to have been given a pastor who has such a love for God, for His word, and for His people; who is a man of strong convictions who will not go against conscience even when it would be easier (and I know he wants desperately to be with his family and with the church); and who walks in integrity and stands for truth. I am so thankful that God sent Pastor James to us and that I have had the privilege of being part of his flock.
Please, pray for Pastor James, for his wife and children, and for our church, because this is so hard for all of us. And pray that God's will will be done and that He will be glorified in all of this.

Open Your Churches

I have been reading and responding to so many emails sent the the church in support of Pastor James (and his family and the church). There has been so much love in these emails; there are so many people praying; and there are so many who desire to help in some way. It has been a great blessing to me to read them.

There has also been one other common theme: People are hurting because they can't gather as the body of Christ to worship together. Some churches only allow a few people in; others haven't been open in almost a year now. They have spoken to their pastors and been told that no, they can't open their churches. And now they are feeling alone, sometimes abandoned, and always so sad. 

Listen: maybe there are reasons to keep a church closed, or to only allow a handful of people. Maybe you think you're caring more for the people by trying to protect them from illness, or maybe you genuinely think that it's better to follow the guidelines when they tell you not to gather, or maybe you just haven't taken the time to think (and pray) about the best response to things. Maybe you don't want to pay the price of opening your church (after all, they put my pastor in jail). I don't know.

This is what I do know: The sheep are hurting, and as their shepherds, it's your job to care for them no matter what the government tells you. I know the sheep are hurting because they have told me over and over. I know it's your job to care for them because that's what the Bible teaches (1 Peter 5:2), and you cannot shepherd a flock if you are not with them. You can try (I know you're trying), and you can partly care for them (livestreaming can only do so much), but they need to be together, to worship together, to fellowship with one another. They need to do everything the Bible calls us to do.

I have prayed for some many hurting people over the past few days as I've read the emails. I have hurt for them and cried for them because they cannot have the fellowship they seek, because they cannot worship with God's family. This should not be.

Please, pastors, open your churches.

Sermon Notes

 I am a note-taker, especially during sermons (I'm a doodler during staff meetings). Part of the reason is that having something to do helps me focus and writing things down helps me remember. Part of the reason is that I like to review the notes again before the following week's sermon (our pastors generally preach expositional sermons through a book; right now we are in John), and sometimes I like to go back and check something.

Pastor James is an excellent speaker and has an amazing way with words, and I love listening to him preach. Sometimes, though, there are sentences that really stick out for me, things that I want to ponder later, and I write them down on a separate page. 

Here are some of those lines:

No one comes to Jesus through a side door.

The fear and praise of men are compelling motivations for the flesh.

God is God. He determines reality. He is truth.

Hell will be filled with procrastinators.

God's discipline is both loving and redemptive.

Unbelief gets in the way of self-evaluation and objectivity.

There are going to be no missing sheep on the last day.

The practicality of theology amplifies in difficulty.

They Put My Pastor in Jail

Of all the things I thought I should write about over the past month or so when I've thought, "I should be writing", this was never on the list, but here we are: They put my pastor in jail.

Let me be clear: my pastor is not a criminal. He is one of the kindest, gentlest, most patient and loving people I know. He loves his people, the flock that God has given him. He is a true pastor: he preaches God's word faithfully; he preaches the gospel weekly; he prays for his people; listens to us when we are happy or sad or hurting, and he rejoices or weeps with us; he counsels us with God's word; he knows his sheep and loves every one of us. He is a man of God, a man of integrity, a man who loves God and His word and His people. I thank God for him regularly because I have been so blessed through his ministry; I have learned and grown so much in the years he has been my pastor.

Why, then, would they put someone like him in jail? He opened the church and he refused to close it. He believes that Christ is the head of the church, not the government, and he refuses to tell most of his people that they can't worship together on any given Sunday. He believes that we are commanded by God to gather as a body, to worship and fellowship together, and to serve one another.

To be clear, the current restrictions mean:

1. We can only meet with 15% capacity (about 20-ish% of our congregation).
2. Households need to be at least 2 meters apart.
3. We are not allowed to sing.
4. We need to leave as soon as the service ends.
5. We need to be careful to social distance even as we leave.

Beyond that, we can't have people over, we can't meet members of other households in restaurants, and we can only have gatherings outdoors, with 10 people, masked, and 2 meters apart (and it's winter in Alberta).

How can a pastor shepherd his flock if he's not allowed to be with them? He can preach to us in a multitude of ways: he can have livestream services, he can make us take turns attending each week, or he can hold 5-6 services each Sunday to allow everyone to attend, but he cannot shepherd his flock. 

So he (and the other elders at the church, who are in complete agreement) opened the doors wide and told us that we can come to worship and fellowship together. He did it knowing that he might be fined (he was), and we came knowing that we could all be fined (we weren't), and he kept pastoring every Sunday, even when he knew that he might be arrested and jailed.

Last week, they put my pastor in jail because he opened the church. They would let him go home until his trial if he would agree to follow all the restrictions, or not preach at all, and he refused; he could not in good conscience close the church to anyone.

I am grieved that he is in jail. I pray for him, for his family, for our elders, for our church many times each day. At the same time, I am so thankful for a him and for his willingness to stand for what he believes is true, to stand for God's word no matter the cost.

Please, pray for my pastor, for his family, for my elders, for my church. And pray for the other pastors who are allowing the government to dictate how they worship. And if you are a pastor, open your church, shepherd your flock, be the pastor God has called you to be.

To understand more of why we are open, you can go to the GraceLife website and read the statement; I would also encourage you to follow the links in the second paragraph in the statement and listen to Pastor James's sermons.

Sunday Notes

 I love my church family! I love being with them, worshiping with them, fellowshipping with them, and serving with them. Sunday is my happiest day because I get to be with so many of my favourite people, and we get to worship God together, and love each other, and just be family together. 

This week: We have new books for the library (this order was rather heavy on church history, as we're trying to build that section now); I held my current favourite baby and continued my attempt to convince him that I'm his favourite person and that Miss Dorothy should be his first words; I got some advice on job hunting and some first steps to take; I saw friends that I haven't seen in weeks; I was happy. All that...and we sang together and read Scripture together and prayed together and listened to an excellent message from Daniel 3 together (and I'll have to listen to it again to get all of if).

Part of the challenge in the spring was being cut off from my church family, being told that we couldn't gather together. Livestream is not the same (to worship with the church family, you need to be with the church family).

Sunday School starts next week! It's been a month since I've had anyone to teach, and I'm going through withdrawal. I can't wait to be with my bambinoes again.

And to finish up, here is a hymn that we sang together; I found it very encouraging to sing and think about the words.