Canadian Evangelism

OK, so I've been thinking. Again. You may have heard this example of a number of blindfolded people examining an elephant – one the trunk, one an ear, one a leg, etc., and each coming up with a different answer as to what it is. This is supposed to be an argument for the idea that no one can have an exclusive lock on the truth; that everyone’s idea of truth is equally valid; that many paths lead to God, and therefore all religions are equally valid. First of all, it occurs to me that it’s a self-defeating example. It disproves itself, because it, in itself, requires that the observer, us, see the whole picture – see that there is a truth - see that it is indeed an elephant, and that a number of points of view can actually miss the truth. So this example actually illustrates that there can be an ultimate truth, but that various points of view can be wrong about it. Is Christianity the ultimate truth? Well, we’re not to that point yet. That’s where we invite, saying, “Come and...

http://www.alphayouthfilmseries.com/stories/#jassie Last night my wife and I attended a fundraising supper at Harry Ainlay High School in support of Young Life . We were served by a group of 30 or 40 terrific young people from that club in that school, and heard testimonies from people, who are now adults, of how Young Life had changed their lives. Then this morning I received an email form a woman who had coordinated an Alpha Youth Film Series  in a high school, with some amazing and encouraging Alpha Feedback stats. Among them: BEFORE ALPHA: 18% of respondents said they were Active Christians or Christians on Fire; 60% said they were Christian but not active. AFTER ALPHA: 60% of respondents said they were Active Christians or Christians on Fire; 25% said they were Christian but not active. BEFORE ALPHA: 23% of respondents said they did not believe in God or were spiritual but not religious. AFTER ALPHA: 10% of respondents said they did not believe in God, were spiritual but not ...

Church for the unchurched - what makes our guests feel welcome? My latest trip was a fast blast through Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Calgary, in that order. I had a lunch appointment with Pastor John Albiston of the Victory Church in Lethbridge , so I was up at 5:30 and out of the house by 6:30. I dialed the church address in to my Garmin and it told me I should be there by 11:39. However, because I take some liberties with the speed limit, I was able to make up about 40 minutes on the trip. Victory Lethbridge is, to my mind, a wonderful success story and an example, perhaps, from which many other churches might take at least some lessons. They are very intentional in everything they do. They examine every aspect of their church, every area of their building and every portion of their Sunday services, asking themselves, "Will this be an attraction to new people, or will it put them off?" They even went so far as to replace all the tiles in their building with carpet to make ...