Back to Ryerson

I had the privilege of walking with David Burke through the hurdles of becoming a new Mission Canada missionary to Ryerson University.

 

By way of introduction, David is young, recently married and a recent graduate of Masters College and Seminary, where he served one year as its student president.

Top shelf, thoughtful and passionate, he is also the son of Paul and Vicki Burke, founding pastors of Church In The City (CITC), in downtown Toronto.  He has planting in his blood.

Before we look at Ryerson, and the formation of LIFELINE I want to comment a minute on the process of David coming aboard. In so many ways,it has been done right.

It is a wonderful example of cooperation at all levels. 

Not too long ago, I was at a lunch where most of the major stakeholders in the Ryerson project were represented.

Paul Burke, representing CITC, and putting on his pastor’s ( rather than dad’s) hat, explained that David will be working with them part time at the church but he will be released half-time to initiate Lifeline at Ryerson.

Craig Burton, the Eastern Ontario District Superintendent,  affirmed that they see this as their project and that David is their guy on campus. And they are weighing in with tangible support.

And of course, considering that David is now a Mission Canada missionary ( nationally appointed )and part of our team, we see him as our guy, too.

And that is as it should be.  Local, District and National. There was a wonderful spirit of generosity and blessing in the air.

Back to Ryerson....

So, you can see a bit of my travels at Ryerson in a previous blog, along with my reflections. You might find it interesting. It is one block from what David describes as the Times Square of Toronto ( Yonge and Dundas ).  It is right in the core of urban Toronto.

Yonge and Dundas. Ryerson is half a block away.

David and I did a walk through the other day on the first week of school. It was instructive and helpful.

para-curriculum a la student union



Deja vu all over again.. ( updated :) )

 

Although the majority of students are there to get an education and to get a job after graduation, there is a very strong current of what could be described as a progressive (radical) social agenda being pushed by various student groups. The imagery and feel of their presentations felt like a time warp back to the late sixties and early seventies. They have updated the language and tweaked a few issues.

well,  you get the idea...

 

 

What David will be doing , amongst many other things, is offering alternatives to the strident para-curriculum. ..better.... And of course it goes much deeper than that.

Urban University

 

We are looking at various options for a weekly gathering and he has a specific model in mind for multiplying disciples. It is the kind of “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” ( BHAG) that is way beyond what he could do in the natural. It is a God sized dream that would change the culture of the downtown, not to mention the university.

As we talked, we agreed that we want to think Kingdom. We do not want to displace anyone or any group doing God's work on campus. It is just that it is a Huge challenge and we want to play our part.Part of this is recognizing that the job is not getting done and needs more laborers.  Part of it is realizing that we really do have something fresh to bring to the table. Something that will complement and ultimately strengthen what God is already doing on campus.

But at this point, it is a seed being planted into the ground. As it has been well said in the proverb “ It easy to count the seeds in an apple. It is impossible to count the number of apples in a seed”. Such it is, here.

you can contact him at dburke@paoc.org