About six months ago I was at a coffee shop waiting for my friend, Helen Mo, who was studying at The University of Toronto taking a PhD. in religious studies. Her focus was on the topic of the identity of the second generation Chinese Christians in Toronto. My friend’s study stems from her own journey as someone
Read MoreI remember sitting in the car with my friend, a friend who identified strongly with the LGBTQ community, had since high school, and yet still faithfully attended the pentecostal church where we first met. I remember my friend wishing they could invite all their gay and queer friends to come to church and experience it as a loving community, but also expressing fear for the judgement these friends might experience in coming there.
Read MoreBook Review: Greg Boyd is someone who understands and has lived the journey towards wholeness in Jesus. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God is the fruit of his decade long journey towards reconciling violence in Scripture with the non-violent self-giving love of Jesus. His journey toward this book is an important part
Read MoreBook Review: The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. For many it is a sacred text, providing spiritual inspiration and insight, while for some it is viewed primarily as an historical and religious artifact. Still others consider it to be a dangerous piece of written propaganda filled with irrelevant fables and fairy tales from an ancient tribal culture.
Read MoreIn theory, all denominations want to engage in forming new kinds of churches. Many will state publicly that their future depends on it. But saying something is different than doing something. The future we all face
Read MoreHere at New Leaf, we find stories essential. We want to connect you to stories that you will find encouraging, and we want to know your story. Have you ever been in a conversation, telling a story and your conversation partner interrupts your story with a story of their own?
Read MoreSome of my favourite moments in the Bible are when God calls someone to something big. I find a strange sort of comfort in how these stories play out. Jeremiah 1:4-10 shares an intimate moment between the prophet Jeremiah and God Himself, when God calls Jeremiah to do his difficult work of preaching bad news
Read MorePlanters and starters are people who are fueled by what is their hearts: a gnawing sense of holy unrest, a vision of a new way of being the body of Christ, a courageous decision to try something new, and the willingness
Read MoreI finally broke down and attended my first women's retreat when I was about 27. I had been married for 2 years and figured, this is what older, married women do right? (Back then I used to think 27 was old). I was a woman, I really loved camping & being at the lake
Read MoreClarity is a valuable commodity in any start-up project. Clarity can be hard to come by especially when things are going full steam. Planters and starters can find themselves so busy mopping up the floor that they don’t have time to turn off the tap.
Read MoreI think everyone has their awkward years growing up — that particular phase of angst, searching for personal identity, not feeling you like fit in or belong, making questionable fashion choices
Read MorePeople are often surprised that I was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. In Saskatoon they imagine that a black girl, with Jamaican parents, who is originally from Ontario is obviously from Toronto… but we are not. Growing up we were
Read MorePlanning for your future becomes more important the closer you are to retirement. If you’re 20 and come into a windfall of cash, it’s unlikely all of that money is going into the TFSA. We tend to struggle with picturing ourselves in the distant future. Churches tend to lack vision that extends beyond 3-5 years. Lead pastors are kind of like politicians, they have direction enough for their term, and little beyond. What we rarely see is vision casting that extends into generations. We struggle as a whole to plan for the future.
Read MoreYou ask me how I can still be a Christian when all over the news in this country and that other one to the south, we hear stories, we see pictures, we drown in evidence that to be Christian is a blank cheque to power, infidelity, abuse and deceit.
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