InsightForLivingCanada

I Walked Where He Stood

It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to guess the country of the following towns, though the names may be strange sounding: Offenbach, Wurzburg, Darmstadt, Bad Kissingen, Mannheim, Aschaffenburg, Heidelberg, Schweinfurt, Worms, Bischofsheim, Ludwigshafen, and Coburg.

When Luther Let the Cat Out of the Bag

The fire of the Protestant Reformation had been smouldering for some time, but it officially broke out on October 31, 1517 when a monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses protesting church corruption to the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany.

Tolerance Re-formed

Committing to a career path in my early 20s seemed like a drastic step, so I moved to Amsterdam instead. I managed to find an appealing youth mission base, offering lessons in urban ministry, so I applied, was accepted, and went.

The Netherlands kept me on my toes from my arrival to my eventual departure. Utterly fascinated with all things Dutch, I practiced new words, spoken from the back of my throat, learned that bicycles always had right-of-way (no matter what), and embraced the need to bring flowers whenever I entered a home for a meal.

Standing with Conviction... and Grace

“Hey Brent, I heard you used to be a youth pastor. Is that true?”

This is the beginning of one of the most difficult, and rewarding, conversations of my life. I had just started working for a company in Vancouver and word got around that I wasn't the typical staff person there. The co-worker who asked the question, I was to discover, had a rather long history with the Church and little love for Christians.

“I hate Christians,” he said. Pretty blunt.

What About Barb?

One of the finest perks of being an author is the chance to meet children who look up at you with wide eyes and ask you to sign the book Green Eggs and Ham. And when they ask you to sign one of your own books, this is even nicer.

On Being a World-Changer

What does it take to change the world? Most of us won't likely be presented with the opportunity to be a catalyst of change to the degree that Martin Luther was. Nevertheless, all of us as God's children are given the privilege to be agents of change in the world around us.