By Ann-Margret Hovsepian | June 14, 2015

Whether you’re looking for a job, hoping to get married one day, trying to have a baby, anticipating a necessary surgery or praying for a loved one’s salvation, you probably know what it’s like to wait for something important to you. Sometimes we don’t have a choice and we just sit tight while we wait to see how God’s timing and plan will unfold. Other times, we try to take matters into our own hands and do whatever we think it takes to get the job done. The problem is, both those reactions can lead us into sin and disobedience.

You may wonder how waiting on God can be sinful, particularly if you’re not trying to manipulate the situation to get the results you want. Remember that sin isn’t only a physical or outward behaviour—it can be committed in your heart, too. You may pride yourself over waiting on God’s timing without meddling, but if you’re not content in that waiting, if you’re not truly trusting His plan but are simply resigning yourself to it, or if you’re feeling resentful because you’re not seeing the results you’d hoped for…that’s sin.

So, how do you wait on God in a way that honours Him? The Bible is full of examples of and verses about waiting so a topical study on patience would be a good place to start. It may also be helpful to reconsider your understanding of the word “wait.”

Have you ever wondered why the people who serve you in restaurants are called waiters and waitresses? They are waiting on their clients. That’s not referring to the long minutes they stand by your table while you’re trying to decide between the Fettuccine Alfredo and Thai Chicken Mango Salad. It refers to the service they are giving you—their availability (in good restaurants, at least) to respond to your requests and meet your needs.

This is a good definition to apply when we talk about waiting on God. We’re not meant to sit around and mope and do nothing while we wait for God to do His thing. Instead, we should be ready and willing to serve Him in any way that He calls us to, putting aside our own agendas, wants and aspirations. Like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, and Jesus Himself, our response to God should be: “Here I am!”

It’s also important to beware the delayed gratification trap. You no doubt have learned by now that instant gratification can sometimes result in dissatisfaction in the long run. Delaying gratification creates a waiting period that may help you see that what you’re waiting for isn’t what you truly want after all. The temptation that seems irresistible at first may not interest you five minutes later or five days later, so it’s worth disciplining yourself to hang on for a bit.

However, waiting on God and delaying gratification are not the same thing. Gratification of any kind shouldn’t be the main goal. The whole idea of gratification is going after what you desire. But what if what you want most—what if the gratification you’re willing to wait a long time for—isn’t in God’s plan for you? Just because you’re being patient, it doesn’t mean you’re doing the right thing. Satan doesn’t care if you sin now or later; he just wants you to fail.

In my experience, when you let go of your plans and just start living in daily obedience, that is when you are truly gratified. Instead of anxiously waiting for your dreams to be realized, ask God to lead you where He wants you to go, to align your heart’s desires with His and to give you patience while you wait for Him to reveal His will to you.

Ann-Margret is a full-time writer living in Montreal, Quebec. Her fourth devotional book for tween girls, Truth, Dare, Double Dare, hit stores in October 2014. Visit www.annhovsepian.wordpress.com or www.facebook.com/ann.hovsepian.author.

About the author

Ann-Margret Hovsepian

Ann-Margret Hovsepian lives in Montreal and writes full time (as a journalist, author and blogger) and is also active in women’s ministry, evangelism and missions. Her third devotional book for tween girls, Truth, Dare, Double Dare, hit stores October 2014. You can visit her blog at www.annhovsepian.wordpress.com or connect with her on her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ann.hovsepian.author).

By Janelle Vandergrift Special to ChristianWeek | June 14, 2015

Every month in Canada, more than 800,000 people line up at food banks across Canada in order to feed their families. Statistics cannot convey the individual experiences of these people, both adults and children: the impact on health, the stress and feelings of shame, and the barriers to being active in community life.

As Christians, we all have the responsibility to do something about the injustice of poverty. This includes delivering charity, as people who are hungry or homeless must be given food and shelter now. But our response must also include justice—a transformation of the structures, policies and behaviours that make and keep people poor.

This is at the heart of public justice that we can define as the political dimension of loving our neighbour. Isaiah 10:1-2 says, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people.”

Faith communities are typically quite familiar with the call to care for the poor. There is no need for debate on why we should care; the 2,000-plus verses on poverty in the Bible do that pretty well already. The question is “how” we are going to care.

Are we going to preach sermons about the topic? Are we going to open more food banks or serve healthier and more abundant food? Are we going to deepen our resolve to end poverty? Are we going to join a network committed to social justice? Are we going to donate our money to anti-poverty work?

Perhaps we will consider all of these things.

But churches and people of faith must think beyond these considerations. Faith communities must see themselves as leaders in Canadian society. This means calling for upstream action, particularly from the government of our country. We must not be afraid to see ourselves as influential actors in a democracy with a critical voice that should be heard.

Taking leadership does not mean that we ignore other voices. We are not the only leaders. Rather, it means that we have heard what is necessary to speak out on behalf of the voiceless and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. It means we speak out to “defend the rights of the needy and the poor” as Proverbs 31:8-9 calls us to do.

We must call for our government to increase investment in affordable housing and the number of good-quality jobs. We must call for improvements to our insufficient income security programs for those who can’t find a job or are simply unable to work. The inequities in Indigenous communities, amongst newcomers and other marginalized groups must be recognized, acknowledged and rectified.

In 2011, the Canadian Council of Churches, the Canadian Interfaith Delegation of the World Religions Summit, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Dignity for All campaign developed a joint declaration on faith and poverty, calling for a national anti-poverty plan. As faith communities, we need to use this declaration, to push it further, to make it clear that people of faith in Canada want more from our government.

People who use food banks must be given the opportunity to live in dignity, with policies and programs in place to ensure that they are able to do so. A society is not judged by how they treat those who are most well-off—but those who are the most vulnerable. As people of faith, we must be willing and active in holding our government to that same standard.

This piece was adapted from a reflection given to the Justice Tour and Canadian Council of Churches delegates on May 13, 2015 in Ottawa. The Justice Tour was a series of faithful gatherings of concerned Christians in cities across Canada, coordinated by the Canadian Council of Churches and Citizens for Public Justice.

About the author

Janelle Vandergrift
Special to ChristianWeek

Janelle Vandergrift is a Socio-Economic Policy Analyst at Citizens for Public Justice.

Creator’s Arts Centre encourages students to dance outside the box

“We make no apologies for the fact that Creator’s was founded on Christian principles and I make no apologies myself for being a Christian woman”

By Allison Barron ChristianWeek Correspondent | June 9, 2015

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KELOWNA, BC—For Laura Elliott, the artistic director of Creator’s Arts Centre (CAC), running a Christ-based organization means managing a dance studio with Christian principles at its base.

“We encourage people,” says Elliott. “We encourage them to take risks, to be bold, to laugh, to cry, to dream, to push hard, to explore, to lift each other up and to be the best artist they can be.”

The dance studio has more than 200 students, and the faculty creates class recommendations for each person based on what will benefit him or her as an individual.

“They are not just ‘dancers,’” says Elliott. “They are individual people who need encouragement because they are people, not because they’re creatives.”

“We believe that all people who come through our door—regardless of age, gender, ability or religious affiliation—deserve to be treated with love and respect. We strive to find a place for them at our studio where they can be challenged and grow physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

With its choreography, costuming and music choices, CAC strives to honour God with performances that are age appropriate and meaningful, even though a large percentage of their student base doesn’t identify with a particular faith background. Students come to CAC because they value things like love, encouragement, excellence, and age-appropriate content, says Elliott.

“I’m very honest with everyone who comes in this door that we are not a church and we do not profess to be everyone’s version of Christianity,” says Elliott.

She says the studio has received some flak in the past for allowing a variety of music to be used, as long as it doesn’t contain swear words, drinking, drug or sexual references, and isn’t appropriately aggressive or mature for the age of the students who are dancing to it. Some families believe only praise and worship music is acceptable.

“To that type of person, we are a huge disappointment as an organization because we don’t fit into their box of Christianity,” Elliott says.

She says although those working at the studio believe both that music is powerful and that they need to be careful in the messages they expose students to, they don’t choose to draw a line at secular music.

“It’s a tricky line to walk as an organization. On the one hand we have families who feel we are not ‘Christian enough’ and on the other families who would never come back because we prayed before the start of a performance and they were offended.”

“We make no apologies for the fact that Creator’s was founded on Christian principles and I make no apologies myself for being a Christian woman—I just walk out my faith the best I can in this place and in the rest of my life.”

About the author

Allison Barron
ChristianWeek Correspondent

Allison is a writer, editor, and graphic designer with a BA in English from Canadian Mennonite University and a Certificate in Publishing from Ryerson University. She currently manages Area of Effect magazine and is a missionary with Geekdom House in Winnipeg, MB.

Lessons from Mike Duffy

Does “always did it this way” make it right?

By Henry Friesen | June 7, 2015

Canadian senator Mike Duffy couldn’t have imagined the recent twists and turns his life has taken. His political metamorphosis from butterfly to caterpillar could hardly have been more dramatic!

What happened? And why? Until Duffy’s autobiography provides his version of the facts, the clues are coming from the news wires. How he endeared himself to his political cronies while bending the rules. How he kept meticulous notes of his deeds and misdeeds. And how he knows more, but is waiting for the right moment to spill the beans.

As the story of the senator’s financial transgressions slowly winds its way through the courts, some bigger questions have arisen. It appears the rules governing senator expenses are not really rules. Suggestions maybe, but definitely not rules as you and I understand the word.

Perhaps Canada’s first senators really were stellar where ethics and money were concerned, but we’ll never know. It seems senator accountability has never been obligatory. And the little that may have been required of them was kept safe within the hallowed senate halls. Until now!

The recent audit of many senator expense accounts reveals that Duffy has a lot of company. That’s not surprising when the shades of grey embedded in the rules practically invited diverse, sometimes creative, interpretations.

Some might argue that the dollars misspent by senators are just a drop in the money bucket, and not worth the cost of audits and courts. Others counter that the principles at stake far outweigh the price tag of the investigation.

On a corruption scale, Canada compares favourably with the rest of the world. A “world corruption map” produced annually by Transparency International rates Canada as 10^th out of 175 countries.

On the face of it, that sounds great! Canada’s yellow colour contrasts sharply with the bright reds in most of the world. But should that provide any comfort? Realistically, how can Canadians withstand a world saturated with corruption? New financial rules in the senate would definitely help, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

If there were more transparency on Parliament Hill, would it have been necessary to drag Duffy’s case through the courts? Likely not, but if this is what it takes to motivate positive change, all Canadians should be grateful.

Should Senator Duffy be given a hero’s crown or the boot? Think about it! He has become a lightning rod, giving senators a unique opportunity to improve their financial act and regain trust. Let’s hope they don’t squander it. And let’s make sure the political leaders we elect understand that substantive change is needed.

There are also lessons much closer to home. The next time you complete your income tax return, make sure you are not part of the problem. Not reporting income or exaggerating expenses affects the same government coffers Duffy took advantage of. Keeping Canada from sinking to Third World status begins with you. Hero or not, consider hanging a picture of the senator prominently in your office as a reminder!

Henry Friesen is a chartered accountant near Winnipeg who deals with many “Duffy type” questions.

About the author

Henry Friesen

Henry Friesen is a chartered accountant who lives in a small town near Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Ontario physicians stand up for conscience rights

Doctors protest ruling requiring participation in controversial procedures

By Craig Macartney Senior Correspondent | June 7, 2015

ORILLIA, ON—The Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS) has taken the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) to court in defence of conscience rights for Ontario medical professionals.

CMDS members believe their Charter rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are being violated by a new policy the College issued in mid-March, which requires all Ontario physicians to refer patients for controversial procedures such as euthanasia and abortion.

“Our feeling is that we have a Charter right not to have our consciences infringed and that the College has to demonstrate exactly why they feel there is a requirement to infringe the conscience rights of Christian physicians,” explains Larry Worthen, executive director of CMDS.

Worthen says they object to the policy on several grounds in addition to its requiring doctors to make controversial referrals. He explains the policy vaguely refers to “emergency situations” where physicians would be required to actually perform procedures that go against their conscience or religious beliefs.

“They talk about an ‘emergency situation,’ but they don’t define what an emergency is,” he states. “That leads us to ask what kind of emergency. How are our conscience rights protected if all someone has to do is invoke this ‘emergency clause’ and that would require us to do something that goes against our consciences?”

Worthen’s concern has a historical precedent. Abortion was first legalized in Canada in 1969, but then only in cases where there was risk to the woman’s health. However, numerous pro-life organizations say that by 1988, when the Supreme Court of Canada struck down all Canada’s remaining laws restricting abortions, the “woman’s health clause” was being loosely used to include her financial or even social health.

Worthen says both the College and various abortion and euthanasia advocate groups are aggressively targeting Christian physicians.

“The attitude of the College is that if people are not prepared to do these things they should leave medicine. We would like the courts to clearly send a message to the CPSO that they can’t trample on the conscience rights of physicians. We have a right to practise. We have a right to our profession. We want to continue to serve our patients and not be forced out of the medical profession.”

Diane Haak, an Ontario anaesthetist and also the president of CMDS, says her obligation to her patients has never been in conflict with her faith until the College issued their recent policy. She says her colleagues have always respected her decision not to be involved in providing anaesthetics for abortions, however, under the new policy, she won’t have that right.

“I hope I never have to deal with that situation. I have thought it through and would not leave the province to avoid this happening, nor would I go against my moral belief that I can’t be involved with abortions. If that situation arose I would have to face the College.”

Haak says she believes there is an intentional agenda against the Christian faith by a small, but increasing group of people.

“It’s puzzling that they would make this decision when it is unnecessary to do so. The procedures that are morally controversial can all be self-referred. It is a big dilemma for Christian physicians and I believe [these attacks] will start to move into other work sectors.”

However, despite the current climate, Worthen is hopeful.

“I’m quite optimistic about this [court challenge]. In the recent Carter case [on euthanasia], the Supreme Court of Canada clearly stated that no one could be forced to perform an abortion or participate in euthanasia. They also said that participation in euthanasia is a conscience issue. We feel that is a signal to people like the CPSO that they have to accommodate people who do not agree with ending the lives of patients, whether in the womb or otherwise.”

While they wait for a court date to be set, CMDS has launched a fund-raising campaign, with a goal to raise $150,000 to cover legal fees.

About the author

Craig Macartney
Senior Correspondent

Craig Macartney lives in Ottawa, Ontario, where he follows global politics and dreams of life in the mission field.

Faith group supports politicians through challenges of leadership

Leading Influence pioneers chaplaincy services for elected officials

By Allison Barron ChristianWeek Correspondent | June 6, 2015

VICTORIA, BC—“God has always been interested in leaders,” says Tim Schindel, president of Leading Influence, an organization that supports men and women serving in politics. “Throughout history, He has placed His people in their lives and circles to serve and minister to them in significant and meaningful ways.”

Founded in 2006, Leading Influence has been serving at the B.C. Legislature since 2007. Today it has chaplains in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

“We are pioneers in providing chaplaincy services to elected officials in Canada,” says Schindel. “We function as a relationally based ministry of presence with no political agenda.

For Christian politicians, Leading Influence provides regular prayer times, office visits with a pastoral focus and regular ongoing care. For politicians who are not believers, care is expressed by demonstrating sincere interest, concern and support for them as individuals, Schindel says, regardless of their political ideology.

Leading Influence focuses on relationship building to express the love of Jesus to people who may normally be unreceptive.

Schindel says most politicians face daily challenges filled with high expectations, long hours and endless criticism by the public and the media.

“Add to that list the stress that comes along with being responsible for everything from the economy, public safety, the environment and education and life becomes pretty intense,” he says.

“Part of what we do is position ourselves to be available in the midst of the storm and to be a source of comfort and strength while we point people to the source of comfort and strength.”

Schindel believes one of the best ways Christians can serve their political leaders is to pray for them.

“It’s important to understand that God has placed these people in positions of leadership and authority over us,” he says. “We don’t always understand why or agree with positions and decisions, but our first responsibility is to pray that God will guide them and direct them as they lead.”

Schindel says another way Christians can get involved is to become political leaders themselves.

“Our world needs good and godly people who understand that political service isn’t about ‘imposing’ our worldview,” he says, “but rather…serving our world through humble and gracious leadership.”

For more information, visit www.leadinginfluence.com.

About the author

Allison Barron
ChristianWeek Correspondent

Allison is a writer, editor, and graphic designer with a BA in English from Canadian Mennonite University and a Certificate in Publishing from Ryerson University. She currently manages Area of Effect magazine and is a missionary with Geekdom House in Winnipeg, MB.

Photography charity takes a step of faith

Charity unites hundreds of photographers around the world for Haiti school

By Steven Sukkau | June 4, 2015

VANCOUVER, BC—A young couple’s bold step of faith is galvanizing hundreds of photographers to make a change in Haiti. Jamie and Randy Watson are behind an ambitious fundraising project uniting more than 500 photographers from across Canada and around the world for one cause.

Participating photographers hold photo shoots in their hometowns and cities, pledging to donate their fees to build a school in Mellier, Haiti. So far, The School Sessions have helped raise more than $43,000 for the town still devastated by the 2010 earthquake. The money will go towards purchasing the land where the school will be built. Organizers hope to raise another $150,000 to build the school in a follow-up event in 2016.

For the Watsons the experience has become a testament to what faith can do if you’re willing to take the step, and having the faith to press on when you don’t reach your goal as soon as you’d hoped.

“There was so much fear of failure,” Jamie explains, at the outset of launching such a big project. “But ultimately it’s not our project.”

The realization that they could only trust God with the dream they were given was comforting, Jamie says.

“Without faith you just look at tangible things, but by faith we’re seeing how many people have been encouraged,” she says. “So many negatives can turn into positives with faith.”

The couple hopes to raise the remaining $150,000 by holding another School Sessions event next April to complete the school building project. The couple is encouraged they will reach their goal after the tremendous support they received this year.

“When we started the initiative earlier this year, we could only hope that it would take off like it did,” says Jamie, a photographer in Vancouver. Jamie put out a call to her friends and peers, asking if they would sign up and donate 100 per cent of their profits from a portrait session to the cause.

“We are so touched to have had such an amazing response from photographers willing to support this program,” Jamie says.

The couple is excited for what the project will mean for children in E.C.C.A School in Mellier and the lasting impact it will make in their lives.

It all began when Randy travelled to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake rocked the country. As a carpenter, Randy was helping with disaster relief building projects and saw first-hand the need for a new school after visiting teachers in Mellier. An estimated 5,000 schools were destroyed, including E.C.C.A School, leaving students without an adequate facility to learn. Today, students in Mellier gather in make-shift shelter to be taught by teachers who volunteer their time.

In 2014, convinced they needed to take action, the Watsons decided to combine their two passions: Jamie’s photography and Randy’s carpentry, for a single project, and the School Sessions were born.

“If I can make my business about other people and not just about myself, that would be a game-changer,” Jamie says. “We are super excited for what this means for the children at the E.C.C.A. School.”

Learn more at theschoolsessions.com.

–

About the author

Steven Sukkau

When the Church gets messy

We need to take the time to discern before passing judgement

By Tim Perry ChristianWeek Columnist | June 3, 2015

It only takes a few seconds to share that tweet or tap out a Facebook message skewering someone for their “unforgivable” mistake. And if the message goes viral, as we’ve seen in recent days in the North American media, the perpetrators will pay with their reputations and even their jobs.

We can take a lesson from history here.

The persecution that took place under Roman emperor Diocletian (284 to 305 CE) was especially severe in North Africa. As a result, the question of how or whether to re-admit Christians to worship who had recanted their faith was very difficult, especially when they were priests or even bishops.

Some insisted that lapsed believers could not return, or if they could, it could only be after a protracted and public period of repentance. Priests and bishops could never return to their former roles. Others were more lenient. After a period of repentance, mercy and forgiveness should determine the course. Priests and bishops could also return to their ministries.

St. Augustine was convinced by his reading of the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), that the Church would never be pure until the Final Judgment. Until then she would be a mixture of sinners and saints, people resisting grace and resting in it. Communities should not be too quick to judge who’s in or not, even among the leadership.

I wonder whether some of my friends on the religious right and the red-letter left could learn from Augustine’s reluctance to rush to judgment. On just about every hot-button issue today, we find Christians divided amongst ourselves. To our collective shame, we far too easily call down the judgment of God on those who disagree with us.

We act in this way because we want a pure Church. We want to presume upon the judgment of God; we want to short-circuit the path to the Day of Judgment. We want, if I may put it more provocatively, to present God with a holy Church of our own making all the while refusing to receive the holiness that is God’s gift in Christ to His Church. We act this way because we are sinners as much as our opponents are.

When the behaviour of believers becomes a scandal to their unbelieving neighbors, the Church needs time to discern the source of the scandal. If the scandal is rooted in fidelity to the gospel (as with Stephen in Acts), then the Church celebrates a prophet, a saint, or possibly a martyr. If the scandal is rooted in persistent sinfulness (as with the immoral brother in 1 Corinthians), then the Church disciplines even to the point of exclusion from the community.

What is lost in so much debate today is precisely the wisdom and time needed to discern. We want to identify who’s right and who’s not and pass sentence right away. But that is not how the Church should work. Discipline working rightly recognizes that every situation is different, and even someone caught in serious sin (like those who lapse under persecution) may need restoration with a gentle hand rather than condemnation.

Instead of skewering someone online for their latest failure, leave room for the Church to be messy. Leave room for the Church to discern. Leave room for the judgment of God.

Tim Perry is rector at Church of the Epiphany in Sudbury, Ontario. He blogs about theology, religion, politics and sometimes the blues at texasflood.ca.

About the author

Tim Perry
ChristianWeek Columnist

Tim Perry is rector at Church of the Epiphany in Sudbury, Ontario. He blogs about theology, religion, politics and sometimes the blues at texasflood.ca.