The Kingdom Approach: Humility, Service and Curiosity

Humility : What separates the newer breed of Kingdom people on the campus from the old  is humility.( I need to be careful, here. I am more interested in categorizing an approach to being Kingdom people than I am categorizing people. We all have elements of the old and the new within us.) Rather than the triumphalism which comes from the stance that we are right and others are wrong, we are grateful and amazed that God would seek us out and reveal Himself to us. We recognize that it is not according to our merit and we hold  truth with an open hand rather than with a clenched fist.



Service: In speaking about Himself and the nature of His ministry on earth, Jesus declared: The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. How about that for a ministry manifesto. We are weary of all of the military posturing that Christians have done when they have sought to advance the Kingdom. When students, faculty and administration begin to clue in that we are genuinely out to serve the U, and not simply use it as a means of fulfilling our agenda, hearts soften and doors open. Not every time, but enough times that it underscores the biblical principle.


Curiosity is an antidote to another of the old paradigm attitudes. The old paradigm simply wanted to know what people believed so that they could be proven wrong. In fact, it really didn’t matter what they believed or why they believed it. They were rarely asked. Christians were often given a package to deliver and were not taught to listen. I remember as a zealous new Christian being gently chastised by an unbelieving dorm mate whom I tried to bury under my ‘brilliant’ rhetoric. He said to me “ Robb, maybe this is the Holy Spirit’s way of telling you that you need to listen."


Try the Socratic method. Learn to ask questions of the people you meet. Lots of questions.  Actually, Jesus did it best.. usually answering a question with a question. Ask  because you care. I cannot number the times now that I have talked with someone who was contentious only to find out that they had gone through a real disappointment that they had projected onto God. What was presenting itself as a head issue was in fact an issue of the heart. It was as much a pastoral thing as it was evangelistic.

Rather than arrogance, triumphalism and truth downloading - what Christians are often criticized for... try the biblical alternative.

Ottawa At Carleton 3 Thots on Prayer

Thoughts that struck me when I was at Carleton… Thoughts on Prayer


Before the Allies hit the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, there was a lot of preparatory work to be done. There was the reinforcement of the underground resistance who undermined the Axis defensive capability. The other thing is that the Allies secured the skies above the invasion fleet. That meant that the flotillas could invade without having to fear being bombed or strafed from the air.

So it is with prayer. It secures the skies. It is important to enter, pray, listen and then act. Prayer and action belong together. However, I do not mean the perfunctory “God bless what I am planning to do” kind of prayers. I mean the kind of prayers that come from people who know they are dependent on His power and Wisdom. That is the genius of Pentecostal spirituality. People gathered, waited and received. Then they acted. There is no way that we are either smart enough or flashy enough to do the job on our own. The nature of the task - considering what it is God wants us to do - renders that impossible. The sooner we learn that, the sooner we can begin to advance the Kingdom on the University.

 • Spend time do a prayer walk. Gather with core group to worship and pray in the U Centre. Focus on building unity. Remember Acts 2 where the disciples lingered to receive both direction and power to fulfill the great commission. Do not run ahead or behind what God is doing.

Ottawa at Carleton 2

I spent some time just hanging out…. Here are some suggestions for anyone else who would go onto a campus for the first time. Find the student centre… I mean the real student centre – where do the students cluster when they are not in class or the library.



1. Sit and wait.. listen watch what does God show you.


• Who are these people? I mean open your eyes. Does He highlight anyone to pray for?


• What are the issues? I don’t just mean external, but what are the students dealing with.. loneliness, depression, stress, fear… what is really going on,,

 2. Pray for creativity. How would Jesus meet the needs. What would He do. What would He have us do…?

3. Inventory.   What else is going on for the Kingdom?


Some initial ideas… seeds


• Think.. doing a survey.


• Noon hour series…. Does God make sense? Stuff that meets the real inner needs of the students .


• Common ground issues – humanitarian issues of common concern.





• Approach with Humility Service Curiosity.

Capital City Carleton U 1

I did a recon trip to Ottawa with two humble goals. The first was to make contact with two key paoc churches in Ottawa that are in a position to impact our nation’s capital’s two major universities, namely: Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. The second was to spend some time on the campuses in order to familiarize myself with them and to hear what God might say to me about them.


At present, we do not have works on either of these campuses, although Doug Stringer – represented the paoc at the U of O for the previous several years. I was hoping to touch base with him, but he indicated by email that he had moved on and that he wished me well. I am still hoping to debrief his experience with him.

Beginning with the campuses, here are some observations: Again, notes in a pad. It ain’t prosaic, but it captures my perceptions. It’s a bit of a download, somewhat scattered but still helpful.



Carleton.

• Spacious modern, nicely spread out. It is a similar size/age/feel as the University of Calgary.

• The University Centre… a nerve centre. Small Tim Horton outlets. The large atrium features Starbucks.

• Efficient typical maze of hallways leading into and out of the University Centre.

• Somewhat forced sense of community - not natural hangout or a place to relax

• Designed to gather and move crowds. The individual could easily become lost

• Concrete / glass / steel a soft brutalist design.

The reader might notice that I usually comment on the architecture. The fact is, it has a significant role in the overall student experience and their perceived needs - along with ministry programming. More on that another time.

• Bulletin boards reveal the soft curricula or the para-curricula. What is telling is that nowhere was there anything that reflects any notion that God has anything to do with reality. Not only related to academia, but student life. If one were to remove two random posters on Kabbala and Yoga, nothing else could be considered even covertly spiritual.

U of A 3 Epic Gathering.

Epic meets in Dewey’s Café, which is a nice setup in the old powerplant building. It has sandblasted brick walls, twenty foot high, natural wood ceilings, six foot windows twelve feet off the ground, earth tone ceramic tiles, complete with black tables and chairs. The old place had been redone back when I went to the Uof A, and it provides a comfortable, accessible place to meet.

It was one of those days, where the guest speaker and a number of students were sick, but it all worked out just fine. Aaron Au, a UofA alumnus who is involved with Epic, did double duty by both being interviewed by Matt ( in place of the aforementioned guest speaker ) and then later sharing what God has been doing in his life in the recent past. Aaron was a former 1st violinist for the ESO as well as a visiting assistant professor at the U of A.  Along with his MDiv studies at Taylor Seminary, he keeps himself involved in music by producing quality events. see http://www.music.ualberta.ca/aau.cfm .

With the sickness/ absence of their worship leader, they plugged in the trusty ipod for ambience. They began and ended the service with the EPIC creed, and had a opportunity for the breaking of bread together at the tables, where people could talk and share prayer concerns with each other. Although it had structure and intentionality, the service seemed relaxed and casual. One student summed up what a number of them had told me.. “ This is a place where you feel that you can invite pretty well anybody… "   To quote a commercial of a local beer company, here in Ontario.. “ Those who like it.. Like it a lot!”

The sermonette, as it was called touched on the desperate times surrounding the well known scripture in Jeremiah 29 where God assures his people that he has good plans for them ( see v.11). However, it was going to get worse before it got better. Matt opened it up for questions and comments, and there was some good give and take around the issues he raised from the scriptures. There were a number of levels to the message, but I walked away with trusting the goodness of God when things are anything but good.

Take a look at the Epic website. http://www.epicstudentchurch.com/ There are some cool ideas imbedded on the site. For example, the Epic Conversationals. I don't  have the time and space to unpack them, here, so dial up the site and have a look.

U of A 2 Visiting Matty G

Anyway, I was onsite to visit with chaplain, church planter and campus group leader Matt Glombick .

I found him in his office on the sixth floor of the Student Union Building.



He has a nice setup with a killer view looking west as far as the eye can see.


He  has charisma to burn. One of our new breed of leaders, he is bright, thoughtful, engaging and creative. It is for good reason that he serves on the Mission Canada Campus Ministry guiding group. He is using his opportunities as a chaplain, pastor and ministry leader to full effect, as he charts out relatively uncharted pathways in engaging the university community.

 

As number of our campus ministers, Matt wears several different hats. As a chaplain, he has formal and administrational recognition. He is the pastor of Epic Church which meets on campus as a church and which is also a recognized student group on campus. To see more of what they are up to, check them out at
http://www.epicstudentchurch.com/

Matt has worked hard at building bridges within and amongst the U of A community. He is a key leader in mobilizing Christians to give leadership to initiatives of Making Poverty History. They have a close relationship with the MPH campus student group.

The Epic student group was actively and visibly involved in a high profile campus MPH event. Matt identified a point where the social concerns of Christians meshed in a strategic way with the concerns of many of the larger campus community. I believe he learned to trust his own heart and the direction God was leading him. Matt provides a good example of finding ‘common ground’ initiatives to further the Kingdom.


Check out  http://www.churchesmakingpovertyhistory.com/


We had a brief visit before his student team gathered to brainstorm and plan the upcoming services over pizza. As the team assembled, Matt began the session by asking them “what has inspired you this week”. Not only is it a good crowdbreaker, but it connects  his team as people - not merely co-functionaries. It also enabled them to share some of the things God has been doing and showing them. It’s good process. Vanessa, Calvin, Trent and Chad are a good team.


I appreciated the way Matt led the process. He had an outline, a skeleton of ingredients that he wanted in ‘the story’ as he planned the service. The students were familiar with the drill and felt free to make suggestions and flesh out the bones. Since the idea of Story is so strong at EPIC, it only makes sense that there are testimonies and interviews. In previous weeks, Matt interviewed the executive of the U of A Ski Club, the largest student group on campus. Last week he interviewed an old friend of his who had left the faith and become an atheist. They had plans to interview people from the M.S.A., the Muslim Student Association, on campus. This irenic stance reflects Matt’s confidence that all truth is God’s truth and all true truth points to the living God. It just needs to be set within the right Story.


Once the pizza was done, it was time for the team to set up for the Tuesday evening service…..

Vanguard and U of A Part 1

I still have to comment on a really productive trip to the nations capital where I was meeting with key leaders and getting introduced to Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. That will have to wait a bit. I am afraid that it will really mess things up chronologically, but I will have start with a report on my visit to Edmonton for a couple of days, at the beginning of this week,  in and around Vanguard College and on the U of A campus.

While our time at Vanguard College was not long, it was rewarding. Under the leadership of Stephen Hertzog and his faculty and staff, we were struck with how well this school is run. I had the opportunity to teach a couple of classes, where I used the opportunity to talk about the why and how of campus ministry.

It was off to my alma mater, the University of Alberta ( U of Eh?)
It was disorienting for me to return to my old stomping grounds. It was like being in a dream sequence where things were both familiar yet unfamiliar. I forgot just how well it was laid out….. combinations of old and new jumbled together in a po-mo montage, with many of the early buildings having been lovingly maintained and restored.

There has been a lot of thought and effort into the creation of “human” rather than merely institutional space. This was in stark contrast to the campus I was on this morning ( U of T Mississauga ) where its impressive, prize winning “centre-piece” lecture hall building gave off a profoundly functional, people unfriendly vibe ( more on that in another piece ).

While Edmonton is not particularly envied for its climate, it has, for as long as I have known it, had lots of interesting culture. The campus is no different. More to come...

Compartmentalizing...?

When I was a new Christian, having encountered the Holy Spirit during the summer between my third and fourth year at the University of Alberta, I made a number of discoveries. One is that the denomination of which I would become a part of appeared to have no ( I mean no ) interest in the university at that point. 

 Another is that it seemed that I would have to choose between intellectual christianity and Holy Spirit christianity. They did not seem to be connected.

Fortunately I  do not believe either of those things any more. Nor have I for  quite some time. First, the paoc is taking very seriously its mission to the universities and campuses of our nation. That generation of leaders (who were perhaps anti-academic) has given way to another generation of leaders who are very aware of the role of the  university in our culture and who have it on their missional radar scope.

Next, the very premise my involvement in campus ministry from the beginning is that we would engage the mind full-on and walk in the supernatural. Apologetics and prayer ministry can work together.

There is no need to compartmentalize. God showed me long ago, in a series of events that I may share later, that He is a lot bigger than our boxes. He is, literally, bigger than we think.

Some Resources..

Here is the Resource page from the website of  Chi Alpha ministries, the campus arm of the Assemblies of God,

http://chialpha.com/resources  

They have been at this longer than we have, and have some helpful things to share with us this side of the border.

While we may be forging our own path, we have a ton to learn from them.  If you are involved in campus ministry, you will find this page and the pages attached to it to be beneficial.

Day 5 Vancouver Bound..

This one is close to my heart. UBC has been transformed in the past decade. Not only are there new buildings, it is like looking at a plant that had suddenly foliated and bloomed. It was hard to recognize.

The same would be true for UCM.

So, while  met with my former associate and long time friend, Greg Laing of Point Grey Community Church and then Tim Horman of UTown, earlier in the day for far reaching and stimulating discussions,  I will need to focus my thoughts on UCM@ UBC  (check out www.ubc.ucmonline.ca  )

Let me introduce the staff to you.

In the middle is the Director and PAOC chaplain, Arthur Howard. On the right is intern Kristen Hession and associate staff worker James Perreaux.  On the left is intern Tyson Beesley and associate staff Amber Barker.

Under Arthur Howard’s leadership, UCM has grown into a thing of beauty. Along with his Malaysian wife, Janice, Arthur had previously served as a missionary in Malaysia and had taken over the leadership of UCM nine years ago. We go back to when they were both students at Regent College and part of our community at Point Grey Community Church. Arthur and I spent an hour and a half before the service catching up on the past decade.

Like an iceberg, it what you can’t see that defines UCM@UBC. . There is so much more to it than meets the eye.

To be brief and incomplete, without an attempt at grammar, let me provide you a short list derived from observations I scratched on my steno pad…..

Strong student leadership. Discipleship. A Ten hour discipleship course. Mentoring. Interdenominational and interracial student involvement. UCM represents the diversity of the UBC student community. Core group training for both men and women. Executive group training. Staff internship, Wise, creative staff direction, gifted student outreach, prayer and hospitality and worship leadership director.

There is a very successful International student Alpha group that meets in a nearby home. There is also the Gerard House, named after Bernice Gerard, the first PAOC chaplain to UBC, that was bought by Point Grey Community Church in response to its vision and passion for the campus. The “G House” is right across the street from both Regent College and the UBC campus.

Arthur and Janice are developing a document for how to connect with international students.

UCM at UBC is a textbook example of our motto… Student run : Staff led.

A couple of further notes. They just finished a student retreat with Brad Jerzak, who taught them about listening prayer and led them in responding to the God who speaks. Arthur reported that it was a particularly powerful time. Also, they are running Core Groups that are focusing on the Book of Genesis for the fall. The staff prepare the studies themselves. In the second term the students get to choose their own curriculum.

Let me describe the TNT ( Thursday Night Thing) I had the opportunity to attend. After visiting with Arthur – who by the way is finishing his D.Min. and gearing his studies towards the creating a first class, accredited campus ministry internship program – we partook of the preservice soup dinner served just outside of the lecture theatre that is home to the TNT service. I had the opportunity to meet a number of the student leadership. Again, truly international.

Below is a TNT  preservice meal at the beginning of the year.

The room which seated perhaps 225 students was a typical amphitheatre with a lecture space in the front and large split screens high overhead. The worship team had setup, prayed and practiced, and were breaking for some soup. We joined with others for prayer in an adjoining room where we prayed that James would have freedom to say what God had placed on his heart and that He would impact the students for His glory.

As predicted, the service began and it was clearly student run. After a brief crowdbreaker that loosened up the 130 students attending, I shared a few words of perspective and encouragement. The announcements included an encouragement to invite friends to the next TNT which would feature Dr. Rick Watts from Regent College. It was geared as an outreach talk, something which Dr Watts does very well.

Then the worship team led us in several songs of praise. They did a great job and did much more than play music. They were clearly worshiping themselves so it was easy to follow their lead. By the last song there was a real sense of ‘breakthrough’ which was refreshing and liberating.

Then it was time for James Perreaux to speak. He spoke about discipleship. Actually, UCM likes to use other words that are perhaps less confusing to the contemporary student – words like Apprentice or Student. Using examples from the scriptures, he challenged the students to embrace the pathway of discipleship and to do what Jesus encouraged his followers to do : “Come and See”. His benediction was a reworking of the prayer of St. Patrick which spoke blessing to the students as they concluded. By way of conclusion, student prayer ministers made themselves available for anyone who might like prayer after the service.

So, there it is. Brief and amazing. It has to be seen to be appreciated.

Day 4 Summit Pacific College

Wednesday was a day committed to the Summit Pacific College. I taught a two hour course in the morning on ‘evangelism in a Canadian campus context”.

While I focused on the campus, it had a much wider application. I talked about ministry to postmoderns that is evidenced by humility, service and curiosity rather than arrogance, headhunting and a ‘know it all’ attitude. I know it sounds like I am caricaturing, but much of the evangelism of a previous generation was seen as "a crusade". The language and images that surrounded that approach to evangelism have not done well with the sensitivities of this emerging generation.

In fact, UCM has wisely taken the attitude, from the very beginning, that we would be defined by what we are for, rather than what we are against.

Further, effective witness is not as much about technique and information as it is about knowing the One we are talking about. He calls us to form redemptive communities that bear witness to His reality - where we have the opportunity to model service and compassion in a way that makes His claims comprenensible. For me it is sort of like hearing Mozart played well by a good orchestra. Suddenly, his music makes sense to me. I don't need to know a lot about music in order to be moved by it.

Immediately following class, it was time for chapel where I gave the morning address. Based on the account of Peter stepping out of the boat, I poured out my own story, how it connected with the biblical account and where it applies to the lives of the students. There was a very strong response towards the altars where students spent time doing business with God.

 

In the evening, George spoke from Isaiah 6 about our response to God’s call. Although he, Jaz and I prepared our messages independently, our messages overlapped in a way where it was easy to see how God had His hand in it. Again, there was a strong response at the altar where young people offered their lives to God’s service, wherever that might lead.

Day Three... Summit and S.F.U.

The following morning , I taught a course at Summit called “ Starting Campus Ministries”. I began by showing a powerpoint slide with a montage of various campus ministry pioneers from across Canada. As I pointed out each person, I told a bit of their story. It involved how they started their ministry and the model they used. I believe it is so much more helpful to connect models and methods with real people and situations.

Next, I went through an article I wrote years ago where I summarized various methods we had used in BC to kickstart university ministry. It allowed me the opportunity to provide commentary as we moved along and field questions as they arose.



After the class, I trundled over to the chapel. Our mission Canada team was facilitating a week of special missions emphasis at the college and our own Jaz would be the lead off speaker. I must say, the worship throughout the week was awesome. Summit is ridiculously blessed with musical firepower and top notch worship leaders. Our time of praise was a profound experience. It was a revelation to listen to Jaz, who had been raised as a Sikh and who had to pay an awful price to follow Christ at fifteen years of age.


Then it was off to SFU to meet with Seth Greenham and Kirsten Anonby. Both Seth and Kirsten had been involved with Campus Christian Fellowship at Western Washington University and were educated at Regent College. Both of them are rock solid and committed to building a prevailing ministry at SFU.

When I arrived at SFU, I made several observations. First, settled high up on Burnaby Mountain, it provides the most spectacular views of any campus in North America. Secondly, its architecture can be charitably described as “harsh modern” or less charitably as “brutalist” – in your face concrete, steel and glass. Inside the buildings it is even worse. The manner in which SFU is built militates against community. It is an unending maze of square cubicles that masquerade as classrooms and common space. Think of a fusion between office and prison. If it were not for the exquisite views from the windows, it would be barely tolerable. ( the pictures are coming soon..... )

So, it is in this context that Seth and Kristen are committed to building community. Like salmon swimming upstream ( an apt BC metaphor ), they are working against the very structure of the institution. Neither the institutional programming ( too many students and classes for the limited space) nor the physical structure facilitate a sense of community. Further, as I was going onto campus in the late afternoon, it looked as if a neutron bomb had gone off. The open areas were devoid of people. The campus empties as soon as classes are over.

Up until this year, UCM@SFU has not run a general meeting for a long time. However, they have provided flexible, cell based programming. They have six single gender core groups in operation that meet at different times and places. They have leadership training and development. This fall they are focusing on ‘The Hope of the Resurrection’ and working through the biblical foundation of true biblical hope. They are developing the series themselves and enabling students to go much deeper than pop or fill in the blanks Christianity. It is the dimension of discipleship and leadership development that distinguishes them from other campus groups. The picture to the right is on their website and their HOPE invitational postcards. Check them out at http://www.ucmonline.ca/  

So, I was sitting in on their third general meeting. Starting at 4:30 pm, in response to the aforementioned mass exodus, it was in a classroom where the tables had to be moved in order to facilitate chairs being placed in a circle. The worship was unplugged. We all had a song sheet and it was led by a single leader with a guitar. As you know, sometimes simple is good. This was really good. It was straight forward and sincere – with the songs all developing the theme of resurrection and hope.


Kirsten taught on 1 Corinthians 15. I was impressed by the depth, biblical fidelity and accessibility. She taught in a manner that was engaging and understandable. It was a rewarding time.

It was really nice to have supper afterwards with Seth, Kirsten and her husband David Anonby. It was good to hear their take on what is going on in the BC context and how they have overcome the challenges of ministry in the SFU context. They have tons to contribute about creating ministry to a commuter institution that does not easily facilitate community.

Also, they are an integral part of the interfaith chaplaincy at SFU. The Interfaith centre is an interesting place where world faiths intersect and where Islam, with its need for dedicated prayer and oblation rooms, leaves a large footprint. Seth has established a great rapport with the larger religious community on campus. He has paid his dues and has a great deal of institutional cred. It was a privilege to see him at work on his home turf.

Going West... Day 2

On Monday morning I drove to the scenic village of Harrison Hot Springs to meet with Matt Duffy, the chaplain and UCM Director at UBCO, the University of British Columbia of the Okanagan. HHS is partway along the road to Kelowna, and he was kind enough to come much more than half way to meet me.

Matt is a wonderful blend of maturity, passion and wisdom along with a creative drive tempered by profound patience. He and I roomed in Dallas about four years ago for a campus ministry conference, and I quickly grew to respect and appreciate him. As we met at the Hot Springs Hotel, three hours blew by before we knew it and we had to call it quits.
Matt is someone who is able to build bridges between churches and who has had a real impact on the actual institution of UBCO. He does more than relate to students. He connects with faculty and administration, many of whom actively seek him out because of his servant heart and wisdom. He has established a great deal of trust with the senior administration. In short, he uses the Chaplaincy model to great effect.

He has a solid UCM student group which he mentors and disciples. They have a strong small group thrust and he works extensively with the leadership to give them the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to provide leadership to their peers. He also has a Sunday night service where he loves to steer from the rear. This is very much a service by students for students, right on the campus.

Presence on the campus is a very important part of Matt’s philosophy of ministry. It could be called a ministry of “presence” or another word for it would be.. “incarnational”. Whatever it is called, it involves addressing the university in a wholistic fashion rather than as a fishing hole.


Then it was back to Abbotsford. Later that afternoon, I met with John Engels, the Director of BC Campus Ministries.  

We both met with  pastor Jeremy Postal, an associate pastor of Christian Life Community Church in Abbotsford, right at the base of the mountain upon which Summit Pacific College is situated. Jeremy has dedicated one day per week to the University of the Fraser Valley ( UFV). This is a great example of both Church based ministry and Club Ministry. Jeremy has reported that there are several dynamic students who are picking up the mantel of student leadership and taking UCM forward in a positive direction. The group is thriving.

The previous BCCM  UFV campus worker, Jayme, served the vision well by obtaining club status for UCM. As it turns out, there are and will apparently never be any other Christian groups allowed on campus. As the UFV reasons, there is no need for redundancy. UCM will be the representative for Christianity on campus.

That is not something we take lightly. We have taken an approach of servanthood, providing the people who live on campus with a pancake breakfast on Thursdays. It has proven extremely popular and has earned the good will of groups on campus who are usually hostile to classical Christianity. UCM is enjoying a rare atmosphere of grace and goodwill. We are determined not to squander it.

As it turns out, there is another group who has targeted the campus as the location of a church. We are not sure how that is going to turn out, but they are meeting with UCM to see how they can work together.

Following our meeting, John took me to tour UFV, which is a going concern. There are about ten thousand students attending the Abbotsford campus, which has a cluster of buildings and a large residence right near the Highway. It is great that we no longer have to meet with students 'below the radar' in the cafeteria, but that we are able to book proper facilities and properly serve the university community.

John phoned home and cleared my coming home with him for dinner with his wife Nancy and family. It was a real treat. John is a solid, wise leader who has steered BCCM into a very bright future. Make no mistake, he is not without real challenges. Leadership succession and credentialing weighs heavily on him, but he has been able to see the various campus ministries grow and mature under his leadership. I am reallllly glad that he is at the helm. I believe he has a vast amount to share with the rest of the country. I also believe that BCCM can provide a working prototype for other districts, as well.

Going West... Day 1

This past week, I went with Jaz Ghag, the specialized ministries coordinator for Mission Canada and George Werner, our intrepid Mission Canada leader out to the West Coast to lead several days of Missions Emphasis at Summit Pacific College. I took full advantage of the time to also visit with as many UCM campus ministries/ministers as I could. I will use the next several blogs to chronicle my wanderings and connect the reader with some of the great things God is doing through UCM ( see www.ucmonline.ca ).

My pictures are not all in yet, but I figured it would be better to get this up first and then throw the pictures into the mix in a few days.

Day One : Sunday
After I landed on Sunday morning, I dropped in on UTown Church, which was planted by Point Grey Community Church (which I planted twenty years ago). It was sort of like finally getting to see my granddaughter. You can get the links for both churches, and for UCM@UBC, the campus ministry, at www.pgcc.org  (look at the bottom of the home page). UTown meets right on the UBC campus in the midst of the growing community on the University Endowment Lands. It is an intergenerational campus church and I really wanted to see what they are up to. ( http://www.utownchurch.com/ )


Here are a few comments. First, it was one of those weekends. There was a UCM retreat, so many of the undergrads were gone. It was also the Regent College retreat, which took away another contingent. Tim Horman, their gifted pastor who hails from Australia, informed me that it might be a bit scarce. Well, it wasn’t.

Further, check out their digs at the UBC Forestry Centre ( the pictures will be up soon). Natural wood and natural light make it a gorgeous venue. Having been saddled with difficult places for the first years of their existence, this present facility is seen as a real gift. They serve coffee and pastries on the front end of the service. They provide a soup and bun lunch afterwards for a twoonie or whatever you can afford. Food and fellowship has been a part of their DNA from the very beginning.

The worship was deep and powerful. Without being loud or particularly upbeat (although it had its moments), it gave a real sense of uplift and provided an atmosphere of expectancy and openness. The announcements were brief and friendly. The worship pastor, Tracy Moar, called the gathering to pray for pastor Tim, who had just come back from Philadelphia where he had buried his 38 year old cousin. The congregation moved easily into prayer mode and it all seemed quite natural as hands were laid on Tim and different people led out in prayer.

Tim began his message by talking about his experience in Philadelphia and about being a sounding board for the pain of his cousin’s young widow. He then transitioned into Romans 12 where he lingered on the phrase, “ love must be sincere..”. He unpacked what sincerity in loving looked like and conversely what it didn’t look like, using examples everyone could relate to. He was intelligent, controlled and passionate. He was also prophetic, praying into the reasons for people’s reluctance to love the way Jesus would want them to love. He isolated two issues, first, those people who had been burned by being vulnerable. Love makes us vulnerable. And secondly , those people who simply did not care. He was speaking to those who were concerned that they didn’t care. As the service came to an end and communion was being served, he called these people to respond. Many people remained in their seats to pray or to go forward to receive prayer from the prayer ministry team.

At the level of the seemingly intangible, there was a strong sense of the Spirit’s presence. When Tim invited the Spirit to come, there was a very real sense that He was doing just that. It was more than words. There was an atmosphere of faith and possibility. There was also a strong sense that this was a community with depth. The leadership core was still together and made up of extraordinarily gifted and solid people. It gave stability in the midst of the transience and flux of the university.

UTown is surrounded by hundreds of student housing units, many of which are recently built. UBC is becoming a city in its own right as it develops its pricey land and takes on the appearance of a community that looks more and more like Whistler.

The vision for UBC ( with UCM, PGCC and UTown ) is one that I carried for many years. It is not only close to my heart, but it is in my spirit. Seeing it grow and mature is something I find deeply moving and gratifying. When I finally said goodbye mid-afternoon, there were deep emotions running through me. I am grateful for the opportunity to see the fruit of this ministry bless the rest of the country as well as receive from it.


Afterwards I billeted with my friend and former associate pastor, James Schiach. His family was off at a special celebration in Hawaii, so he and I “batched it”. James is one of the best people I know. Having left the vocational ministry years ago, he started building furniture. He has used his business as a means of Kingdom outreach ( see http://www.shiloliving.com/  ). James is a man of prayer. Prayer defines him. And God uses him – big time. Not only does he build furniture but he rebuilds the lives of those who work for him. He gives a hand up to the afflicted and addicted – many of whom owe the salvation of their souls to his faithful compassion and spiritual tenacity.