Fall 2011

The Free Methodist Church in Canada | Fall 2011 | Volume 8, Issue 4

Reflecting the diversity of ministry expression within the Free Methodist family

CONTENT ON WITH THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US COVER On with the race that is set before us

by Bishop Keith Elford PAGE 2 Editor’s Desk Repair, Replacement, Sustenance – Growth Building Blocks

by Jared Siebert PAGE 3 Looking Ahead

by Kim Henderson PAGES 4 & 5 Wesley’s Means of Grace

by Mary Lee DeWitt PAGE 6 Passages Upcoming events Hope you have a debt-free Christmas!

by Sandy Crozier PAGE 8 Encounter Sri Lanka - Three Perspectives

by Allan Meredith, Joe Murthi and Paula Moriarity VISIT OUR WEBSITE ::: fmcic.ca Have you viewed the video celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Free Methodist ministry? You may find it a useful resource as an intro to our history or to use in membership classes. [home page - last menu item on the left]

DID YOU KNOW? The MOSAIC is produced using environmentally responsible processes. The paper is acid-free, contains 10% post-consumer waste material, and is treated with a non-chlorine whitening process.

Vegetable-based inks were used throughout the publication and it is 100% recyclable.

BISHOP KEITH ELFORD

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ecently someone asked me this question: “Out of the four seasons that we experience in Canada, what is your favorite?” There are aspects of every season of the year that I enjoy but autumn is my favorite. I love the beauty of the colorful leaves of fall and the cool air first thing in the morning actually wakes me up and fills me with energy. I don’t mind that there’s frost on the ground as that tells me that the weeds with their allergens will soon be history.

Another reason that I think that I feel this burst of energy in the fall is that when I was younger it was cross-country running season.

I loved to run and I felt special energy when the air was cool and clean. The training for the tournaments was grueling, but there’s nothing like the joy of running the race well.

During the 2011 autumn season, the National Leadership Team (NLT) is asking the Lord for fresh creative energy to focus in on the major assignments mandated by the May 2011 General Conference. As I think about the assignments before us, I feel the throb of our theme, “We’d better get on with it – strip down, start running, never quit - eyes fixed on Jesus,” based on Hebrews 12:1-2 (The Message).

The writer to the Hebrews paints this running metaphor of Christian maturity and envisions Jesus-followers who live out their lives with enduring, persevering, joyful obedience. Of course, the example is set by the Lord Jesus: “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:26 NIV). Implicit in the General Conference theme was the commitment to see maturity in discipleship among our people. It is what is on my heart these days as I think about the challenges that are before our movement as we desire to faithfully follow the Lord Jesus into this next season of ministry.

This was also on the Apostle Paul’s heart as he finished his second letter to the believers at Corinth. Just recently I read these words in my morning devotions and thought to myself, “There’s a wonderful description of what we have in mind for the FMCIC.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful.

Grow to maturity. Encourage each other.

Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”

(2 Corinthians 13:11 NLT).

MOSAIC

is a publication of The Free Methodist Church in Canada

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What are the challenges we are facing?

Our General Conference has placed an emphasis on church-planting. We now recognize that more attention needs to be given to the issue of local church health. In recent years, I have observed an increased trend in conflict in local churches. Some of these churches are cyclical in conflict—that is, they return to conflict on a regular, almost predictable pattern. In a study prepared for our General Conference, we discovered that, among our established churches, only 21% of our churches saw themselves as being in

very good health, 37% in reasonable health, and 19% are questioning whether they have a viable future. This concerns us deeply.

From a leadership perspective, I see three major challenges that are confronting our local churches. The first is that it seems that our people are not being discipled well. Many are more influenced by a secular mindset than by maturity in Christ. This immaturity among us causes some members to easily give in to conflict over big and even small matters. As a consequence, instead doing the work of Christ honoring resolution, there is disruption and distraction in the congregation

A third aspect of this perception among our people of resistance to the gospel among Canadians is rooted in the reality that Canada is being rapidly transformed by the people immigrating from many parts of the world into rural towns and villages as well as into suburban and urban neighbourhoods. When these new Canadians are Christians and they come to church, they naturally come with the approaches to church life in which they were formed, and life within the church can become complex. Outside in the community, there is a rapid population rise in our cities of other major world religions, particularly

We believe that our people must also be discipled more intentionally to engage in the “works of mercy,” … to involve themselves with the real needs of people in our neighbourhoods ... We must set aside the secular and materialistic distractions and get focused on being involved in this part of the Mission of God. and the advance of Kingdom work falters or even stops and slides backward. Often, this immaturity shows itself in a preoccupation with personal preference and a self-oriented focus.

The second major challenge is a general perception that there is a low receptivity to the gospel among Canadians. The resistance comes in three forms. First, Canadians live in a society that is very secular (like Europe) in its mindset. Secondly, Canadians (like Americans) are quite materialistic in their value systems. Materialism’s inherent mindset of consumerism has infected the Canadian psyche and dresses up and comes to church.

Hence the preoccupation with personal preference and “me-orientation”. Secularism and materialism are powerful false gods in our nation.

of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Some of our people are indifferent to their new neighbors. Others are threatened and do not know how to approach cross cultural ministry. The mindset for generations has been that missionaries go to other parts of the world to share the Good News of Jesus with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. The reality is that the world is immigrating to Canada. So our discipleship at home must now include a missionary orientation. This is a challenge.

The third major challenge is the global economy. This has had an impact on our local churches and on our General Conference and its financial investments. The burden of our ministers pension plan is substantial because of the

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 - “THE RACE”

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EDITOR’S DESK Spiritual maturity is not a gift

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love spending time with my nieces and nephew - and with one of my sister’s living only five minutes away I am often in the habit of popping in and hanging out. In fact, I recently went over to find that the entire household was having a nap, except for my eight year old niece Madeleine, who has never believed in naps! When my sister Deborah woke up sometime later she found us in the family room playing with Maddie’s many Barbies.

On another occasion I arrived at my sister’s home to discover that Madeleine had a friend over for a play-date. They had played together as toddlers and then she had moved with her parents to a neighbouring town. When her mother arrived an hour later to pick her up she had a complete meltdown - a tantrum of gargantuan proportions because she was not ready to leave. I was not so interested in this young girl’s fit as I was in Madeleine’s look of shock.

As we made our way to the other room so that her mom could deal with the situation privately, I heard Maddie say to my sister, “But she’s eight years old, just like me!” It was obvious my young niece was having a hard time reconciling her friend’s age and her actions because Madeleine has moved beyond having tantrums.

REPAIR, REPLACEMENT, SUSTENANCE – GROWTH BUILDING BLOCKS

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t our last General Conference it was clear that we wanted to grow as a movement. Growth is more than a mere intention; it requires an intentional reorganizing of priorities, direct action and changes in how we use our energy. Growth requires change. As the old adage goes, “if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results.” Churches operate within certain constraints: on our energy, our attention, our finances, and other capacities. If we want to change what have always been getting we are going to need to take a look at how we steward the energies of our church.

To think this through we can take our cues from the world of biology. Biological systems also operate under constraints.

When growth is required, biological systems must allocate energy and resources in specific ways to ensure that growth proceeds safely. During growth periods, biological systems “spend” their energy on two basic internal projects: [1] Maintenance [2] Growth.

I found myself applying a more spiritual application to the event: maturity, or rather, spiritual maturity is not a gift, it is a discipline that requires practice. Spiritual maturity is the growth process of becoming more like Jesus and it is an ongoing discipline of surrender and obedience.

Without disciplining ourselves to move into greater maturity we become less effective.

Paul in the book of Hebrews confronts his readers with their lack of maturity, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish [Hebrews 5:11-14] good from evil. “ “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in [Hebrews 6:1] God.” Unfortunately, there is no “I have arrived” pin that we can wear when it comes to spiritual maturity - it is an never-ending lesson. I might not throw myself down on the ground, scream and kick my feet, but I must constantly be on guard against subtler ways in which I might take an “easier path.”

The first use of energy, maintenance, is vital to the ongoing survival of any organism. Maintenance ensures that vital systems continue uninterrupted so that new growth can be supported. Maintenance energies are “spent” in three ways: [1] Repair [2] Replacement [3] Sustenance. The work of repair is the body’s ability to heal itself from common injuries sustained in the normal course of existence. It’s clear to see how this relates directly to the church. Churches too can become injured in the normal course of their existence. Misunderstandings can occur. Conflicts can arise. Time, energy, and attention must be spent on repair.

The second use of energy, replacement, is also an ongoing bodily project. Every cell in your body must be replaced with copies of itself. This happens so completely that, regardless of your current age, there are very few parts of your body that are much older than three years old! It is commonly understood that deterioration due to the aging process is the result of errors entering into the replacements cells. New cells are simply copies of previous cells which are copies of previous cells. The process is analogous to making a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. After a few copies errors begin to enter in. This also relates to life in the church. Most of us would look at the church described in the New Testament as church at its best.

Over time if a church merely copies the church that has gone before it and does not recover a fresh connection to the “original” that church will find errors cropping up in its DNA. That is why successful movements see themselves as a return to the original church. This return to the original intent of the church rejuvenates all aspects of church life. Replacement

Here are a few of the questions I have been asking myself; • Am I spending enough time with God in prayer and the word to feed my soul?

• Am I accountable to someone for my walk with Christ?

• Am I searching for opportunities to learn and grow spiritually?

The common thread that runs through this issue of the MOSAIC is maturity. I have been challenged by these articles. I trust you will be also.

Lisa Howden, Managing Editor

Over time if a church merely copies the church that has gone before it and does not recover a fresh connection to the “original” that church will find errors cropping up in its DNA. energy is not merely the work of replacing in the present the things that have worked in the past. Replacement energy is a careful consideration of the needs of the present and their relationship to the intentions of the original design.

The third kind of maintenance energy is the work of sustenance.

Sustenance is simply concerned with the proper functioning of the now. Sustenance is the nurturing of cells and systems that are currently at their peak. Sustenance requires that churches not focus too much on the past or on the future but on the needs of the present.

Without maintenance energy, growth would be impossible.

Growth, which is the development of entirely new cells and systems, requires a solid foundation of maintenance. Growth requires a solid foundation because it is a risky endeavour that places strain on existing systems. Growth is energy intensive.

It requires a system to leave room in its energy budget for something new. In the natural world as well as the church world finding room can feel threatening and dangerous.

One growth proposal we looked at as a movement was the addition of a Director of Church Health to the National Leadership Team. Creating this position comes with a monetary cost. Each church agreed that they would go back to their respective budgets to make room for such a position.

Making room means makings sacrifices. Things we would normally spend money on will have to wait or suffer while we spend the money on growth. The Bishop, a few months ago, sent each church a letter asking what concrete plans they had for making this position a reality. Many churches have responded positively and have increased their giving. We know full well that these redeployed dollars come at a price for each of these churches. Such is the nature of growth. Periods of growth can have personnel costs as well. Growth periods require new leaders to be used in new and high risk places.

Churches that would normally use newly developed leaders in their own ministries will need to release them for work outside their church. Growth costs.

So why if growth is so difficult did we decide to enter into a period of growth? The simple answer is that growth, for all of its costs, is vital to the ongoing vitality of a movement. Growth for all of the demands it places on us is required if we are to make progress toward our collective goal of seeing a healthy church within the reach of all Canadians.

Rev. Jared Siebert is the Director of Church Development for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

Join the 100 Church Challenge!

Contact the Growth Ministries department davika.dotson@fmcic.ca or by calling 905.848.2600 ext 205 to donate.

As a movement we are putting out a call to 100 churches to support church planting across our country by giving $3700/year – that`s $308/month; or $10.15 a day to the Church Development Giving Stream.

Church Planting is vital to the ongoing health and sustainability of our movement.

Can we count you in?

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LOOKING AHEAD As I write this, I know the calendar tells me that General Conference was in May and yet I have moments when it seems like it was yesterday and other days when it seems like it was last year. Regardless of my interpretation of time, the memory and inspiration of the event remains real as the implementation of the recommendations and initiatives from General Conference begins.

The Systems Analysis Task Team (SATT) identified four strategic activities and two of them impact Personnel and the National MEGaP (Ministerial, Education, Guidance and Placement) Committee. The first of the two is: Building on the Ethos of Generosity, all FM Pastors must complete the Personal and Church Stewardship Foundational course in the next 36 months.

For a course to be completed, we have to register, attend, participate and do the work. Before that can happen, the course has to be made available. By the end of the year, the Personal and Church Stewardship course will have been offered at least six times (in 2011) across the country, with the majority of those offerings happening this fall. A large number of pastors will have taken the course by year end. For more information on this foundational course, check out http://www.fmc-canada. org/en/leadership-development/foundation-courses/ stewardship-course.

If we go back a number of years, prior to 2000, foundational courses in the FMCiC were offered twice a year, in a full week Monday to Friday format. One offering was in January (called J-term), and the second was in May (M-term). This format worked for some pastors but not for all; one size does not fit all. Those who were bivocational and tracking for credentialed ministry often could not juggle everything in life to take those required classes. As a result, the delivery of the foundational courses was changed to a more intensive three-day format happening on a weekend or midweek.

As we continue to look ahead, we need to continually expand the delivery system options for some of our foundational courses. NMEGaP has already started

THE RACE - continued from cover ongoing financial crisis caused by what has been happening in the stock markets.

So, we are up against three substantial challenges, but they are not greater than the Lord we serve. In fact, salvation history tells us that it is in periods of adversity and scarcity, the church actually flourishes and is often at its creative best.

Our vision continues to be that we will see “a healthy congregation within the reach of all people in Canada and beyond”. We want our people to be mature … and maturing Christians. As we have said, we have a challenge in this area. We have not discipled well. What is the solution?

We recognize that the dream of maturity among our people will not be realized with surface adaptations. We must dig down to the foundations of our discipleship practices. With the Lord helping us, we are going to meet this challenge and we are looking to John Wesley for help.

At our last General Conference we decided together that we need to rediscover the principles that Wesley used to develop mature Christ-followers by teaching them to observe all the means of grace. Our people know about the works of piety – Bible study, prayer, worship, the Holy Communion, fasting, etc. But James reminds us, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 We believe that our people must also be discipled more intentionally to engage in the “works of mercy,” … to involve themselves with the real needs of people in our neighbourhoods like those listed in Matthew 25. If this involvement is rooted in godly passion, it will cause us to grow in grace and maturity. We must set aside the secular and materialistic distractions and get focused on being

this conversation and one additional option is online education. The first course we’re working to actually offer online is the Personal and Church Stewardship Course and it is anticipated that it will be available online some time next year. This doesn’t mean that we will stop offering it in a face to face learning environment. It does mean that we’re working through the challenges of full busy lives, geography, cost, etc. so that by General Conference 2014 we can all say that we did our part.

God’s church is people. If we are not healthy and mature then neither is the church. It starts with leadership.

The second of the two SATT strategic activities that impact Personnel and MEGaP is: We intend to create and implement a comprehensive leadership formation strategy for local church leaders (lay and pastoral).

It is the vision of The Free Methodist Church in Canada to see healthy churches within the reach of all people in Canada and beyond. God’s church is people. If we are not healthy and mature then neither is the church. It starts with leadership.

Through listening and input, the SATT brought this activity as a response to a need and desire for more and more purposeful leadership formation of our pastors and lay leaders. Next steps involve identifying the further knowledge and skills that our leaders need and assessing our current delivery systems for this leadership development so that courses/seminars/workshops are offered in formats that are relevant and available to pastors and lay leadership. Doing this will help us learn the kinds of training that we can do well and the areas where we need to refer people to other sources and resources.

involved in this part of the Mission of God. If we do, then our hearts will be touched with the things that concern God. Then, when we study our Bibles or pray or seek God in the other works of piety, it will be with deeper passion because our hearts and minds need to be strengthened to be able to continue to serve others.

We are asking the Lord to help us find our way back to these disciplines that the Holy Spirit uses to develop vital maturity.

The second dream that we have is to see a new thrust in developing healthy local churches. Our vision is to see healthy congregations. We are praying we will soon overcome the present financial challenges and be able to add another person to our national team. We want the Holy Spirit to use him or her to help our established churches regain their health and their passion for the whole gospel!

So, we’re getting going on the assignment given by General Conference: “that the Network Leaders and National Leadership Team be asked to implement a process that will encourage the practice of the historic means of grace, in community, and use the same to develop disciples and disciple-makers in their congregations.” In October, all of the Network Leaders and Network Leader Mentors from across Canada are gathering for their semi-annual training time at Wesley Acres Camp. We are not going to just talk about the Wesleyan means of grace, but while we are together, we are going to live inside them and remind ourselves together of how these disciplines enrich the experience of a Christian when they are practiced in healthy, non-compulsive, Spirit-led ways.

In preparation for the fall Board of Administration meetings, the National Leadership Team has the General Conference’s mandate to work toward the addition of a “Director of Church Health” to the National Leadership

An example of this is the Conflict Resolution 101 workshops that are happening in a few locations across the country this fall. The need for conflict resolution training was identified by a number of sources. National MEGaP has been working to develop a working list of a variety of resources, including conflict resolution facilitators.

We have revisited and reworked the interview guides for candidates tracking for commissioned or ordained ministry, ensuring that questions that determine the skill level for conflict resolution are asked at every interview.

When a need for more skill in this area is revealed, specific growth goals are written for the candidate to work on and report on at the next interview.

The Conflict Resolution 101 workshop is another piece as we work to package this needed training and deliver it to both pastoral and lay leadership in a relevant, doable way.

These particular workshops were designed in the format of the Regional Gatherings: a 9 to 4 event on a Saturday.

Given 5-6 hours of ‘teachable time’, this workshop is more proactive in nature rather than reactive, which is why it has the ‘101’ attached to the title. Dialogue has already started on what a 201, a 301 and even a 401 offering of this would look like, and who would benefit most from those levels of training. We are hoping that the 101 workshops will help us identify a team of leaders who, with more training, would be available as facilitators within the movement when conflict situations arise.

That’s one example. The same steps and processes need to be applied to other areas of development. What does a 101 version of the Heart of Canadian Free Methodism look like? How do we deliver that effectively to pastoral and lay leaders – especially board members? What about a course in active listening and communication? There are many things to consider as we sort out what the FMCiC can offer well and within budget and what we need to outsource. Right now we’re just scratching the surface but we’ve made a good start.

Rev. Kim Henderson is the Director of Personnel for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

Team on its mind. In the New Testament, there are two words used for “time”: chronos and kairos. As a NLT, our preference would be that this develop in chronos time, that is that we would lay out a plan with predictable target times when each piece is going to happen to bring this about.

However, economic realities tell us that we are experiencing kairos time on this—that is, that though the need is clear, we need to wait on God’s timing when the conditions will be right and the resources will be available. We are in a place of absolute dependence upon the Lord to provide the means.

At the same time, we are conscious that God may have alternative approaches that He wants us to use in the meantime – perhaps in preparation for the appointment of a Director of Church Health. So we are asking the Lord to raise up gifted people and to clarify a strategy whereby we can move forward on coaching local churches toward greater health using trained volunteers. God has a way when there seems to be no way.

The fall is here, a time of energy and activity and fresh air. The Free Methodist Church in Canada is in a time of challenge. This is not the most encouraging time in our history but our leaders are committed to persevering and we are counting on the refreshing wind of the Holy Spirit to fill us with grace and optimism. Galatians 6:9-10 says: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

By the grace of God, we will do it … together!

Rev. Keith Elford is the Bishop of The Free Methodist Church in Canada

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Rev. Mary Lee DeWitt is a member of the national Board of Administration, served as a member of the Systems Analysis Task Team (SATT, 2009-2011), and pastors one of the congregations at New Horizons FMC in Sarnia, Ontario. At General Conference 2011 she spoke about one of the central issues raised in the SATT report.

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tudents of grace and of Wesleyan theology and of our Manual will be familiar with the premise that “Grace is prevenient to holy living.” Grace is not a “gift” that gets extended to us from time to time, but it is the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives at all times enabling us to be a holy people, to be Christ-like. We cannot generate the will and power to live holy lives and love like Jesus on our own, but we can live in, respond to, and reflect what God extends to us, both back to God, and to others around us. This flow of grace and the means through which grace flows from God into our lives and into our innermost being has been wonderfully likened to water flowing through a channel or conduit.

The reservoir of God’s grace – His availability to be ever-present within us, is a vast, unlimited, never-ending supply, fresh every moment of every day. It is important and necessary to keep this channel of grace open, and it is here in this action of responsible grace where the issue lies that we are seeking to address. Being created with that often troublesome blessing of free will, we have the capability (or what Wesley called “liberty”) to stifle that flow of grace from our Father. We can choose, willfully or through neglect, to allow blockages in our channels of grace.

• • • •

•

•

Daily time in the Word – reading scripture, meditating on it, allowing God to speak through it to our hearts.

Regular Prayer – good relationships require good communication and lots of it The Lord’s Supper – where we act out Christ’s passion, and are humbled, and inspired, and thankful as we remember His sacrifice for a fallen world.

Corporate Worship – where we intentionally step out of our busy lives and gather with brothers and sisters to forget about ourselves and worship our God together with joy.

Fasting – an enormously powerful act of faith and commitment, where through self-denial we express to God our desire for more of Him, and that we want Him more than anything.

Practicing congregational life – meeting with others for encouragement, teaching, and accountability.

Just like a water channel requires regular dredging to keep it free from silt and debris, the spiritual channels of experiencing the presence and power of God require regular attending to if we want to keep the silt and debris of living in a fallen world from settling in, constricting the flow.

It’s probably very easy for us to see how the regular practice of these Acts of Piety would keep our channels of grace open – but what about Acts of Mercy?

Acts of Mercy are those actions that deepen the channels of grace through loving service to others. By practicing these acts of service, we mirror what God has done for us, and we receive incredible blessing as grace flows into us and through us. Again, this list is not exhaustive, but representative, as we demonstrate our love for others by serving them and meeting their needs.

• •

• •

Just like a water channel requires regular dredging to keep it free from silt and debris, the spiritual channels of experiencing the presence and power of God require regular attending to if we want to keep the silt and debris of living in a fallen world from settling in, constricting the flow. Dredging, in the spiritual sense, is the intentional practice of and participation in those acts which would keep our grace channels open and flowing and that life-giving Living Water fresh within us.

Wesley divided these acts of Grace into two categories: Acts of Piety, and Acts of Mercy.

They reflect very well what Jesus said when asked about the greatest commandment.

His response was “Love God, and love your neighbour.”

Acts of Piety are those acts that have proven to deepen the channels of our love relationship with God, our understanding of God and our responses to His love. The list here is not exhaustive, but here are those most encouraged by Wesley:

We meet physical needs, making sure others have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to live.

We meet social and emotional needs, by practicing hospitality, and visiting those who are restricted in their movements, because of incarceration, illness, age, or other circumstances of life.

We meet educational needs, by instructing, mentoring and discipling.

And we meet spiritual needs, through sharing the good news, encouragement, prayer, discipleship, accountability - and as Wesley puts it here – to contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death.

These Acts of Mercy are not something we do because it is the right thing to do, or out of some sense of duty, or, and I hesitate even to say this, because we would think we could EARN more grace or that we would get some kind of return for our investment in others. They are means of grace, because as we serve others unconditionally, God’s presence and power flows into us, and through us. It expands us. It shapes us into being more like Jesus. Through Acts of Mercy, we understand God’s heart and love for us and for others, and we see His face in those we serve. In the practice of acts of piety, and acts of mercy, we find ourselves, almost unaware, enabled to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves.

Now, having explained these historical Wesleyan “means of grace,” one might wonder why we need a resolution about them. At first blush, this resolution might give us cause to scratch our heads and wonder just what the Task Team was up to in all those meetings. Was this all we could come up with? Was this the best we could do? All that time, all those headaches, all the money spent to bring the team together, and

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THIS is the recommendation? Surely we already do all this, don’t we? Do we really have to vote on it? It’s like bringing forward a referendum to keep Hockey and the Maple Leaf as part of the Canadian ethos, or to remain devoted to Mom and apple pie. In many ways that would seem true, but as we as a task team dug deeper into the themes that arose from the data we collected, and into the data itself, it became disturbingly evident that Christian development and discipleship were by no means the given that we supposed them to be within our movement. The evidence suggests that we are losing them.

Acts of Mercy are those actions that deepen the channels of grace through loving service to others. knew He was helping her, but knew little about Him, and was hungry to know more. I began to mentor her and lead her though the discipleship materials we use at New Horizons, and she opened up to God like a flower opens to the sun. We prayed together, at first only myself praying, then she, in one or two sentence prayers pouring out her heart to God in such simple honesty that it touched and humbled my heart. I challenged her to begin to meet with God daily in prayer and to journal her thoughts as she worked through the basics of discipleship. I continued to fast and pray.

Acts of Piety are those acts that have proven to deepen the channels of our love relationship with God, our understanding of God and our responses to His love.

It also became increasingly impressed upon us that we must recover these integral components of intentional discipleship at the core of who we are if we desire to continue to grow and thrive as a movement, and to accomplish the mission God has on His heart for us to do in Canada and beyond. As Methodists, we can and should be methodical in championing these prescriptive disciplines in our practice, preaching, and discipleship.

Although we recognize, that we have limited ability to inspire the people of our congregations through such a resolution, we believe that asking Pastors and Leaders to embrace these practices will generate a hunger for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, and grace will indeed begin to flow in greater measure into our people, our churches and our communities with incredible results.

I would like to get a little personal here, in hope of demonstrating this. Being part of the SATT, and being steeped in the prayer, discussion and discoveries around these immerging themes, I’ve been personally challenged in my own exploration and practice of these Wesleyan Means of Grace. The challenge was there for me not because of any disagreement with the means themselves, or with the integral role they play in our development into Christ-likeness, or even because of a lack of availing myself of these means in my Christian journey, but because of the word “practice”. Practice is a term I am well acquainted with, having taken piano lessons for 10 years. I can still hear the pitch of my mother’s voice as it wafted into the peripheries of my awareness as I was reading a book, or watching TV, or doing something infinitely more interesting than sitting on a hard piano bench going over scales and arpeggios…

“Have you practiced your lesson today?” I knew there would be no rest until I had set aside what I was doing,

and practiced that lesson. Although I love music, and loved to play, and even loved the practice once I got started, it took intentionality to actually get on that bench. It was because of this understanding of the word “practice” that I was challenged to enter into a deeper, more intimate acquaintance with the intentional, disciplined practice of these means of grace, and this is what I have found.

In the months that I have been intentionally practicing these disciplines – and I have by no means practiced them perfectly – God has worked in incredible ways in me and through me. I hesitate to share this, for fear I may be implying I’ve become some kind of super spiritual Christian. Please believe me, I have not! But allow me to share a story that came out of new practice of these disciplines.

A few months ago, I was led into an extended season of fasting and prayer. The first few days were difficult, but by the end of the first week, it was almost fun!

But then my time with God began to change. We began to cover new ground. We began to go deeper into the dredging, so to speak, and it was hard, and it hurt. There were things in me that needed attention in my attitudes and awareness, and practice, but as we dug deep, as painful as it was, God’s grace continued to flow in ever increasing and healing and strengthening amounts, more than meeting my need. During this time I met a young woman from our neighbourhood. At first glance she seemed ordinary enough – a young mom with two small children. In talking with her I found out she was a recovering drug addict who had had two older children removed from her care, and that she had also lost these two younger children, but had just reclaimed them from social services. In her distress at seeing her children taken away from her, and knowing her life needed drastic transformation, she turned to Jesus. She

One day she came in bursting at the seams – she had read the chapter about being baptized, and when could that happen for her? We discussed what baptism meant, and I gave her the task of writing her testimony to share and promised to help. We set the date and I encouraged her to invite her family and friends. To make a long story short, my friend Connie was baptized in January. The presence of God in that auditorium, and the testimony she shared of a life of drugs and dealing drugs, of jail time and abuse, of meeting Jesus and how she had been rescued from what she was convinced would be certain death, and her desire to be baptized and live for Him, electrified every person in attendance that day, including her family and friends who came and sat right down front, and took it all in. Connie and I continue to meet and she continues to grow. She has a heart for her neighbours and family to see them come to Jesus. She has brought some of them to church.

Recently Connie asked me for another copy of our discipleship book because she had told her brother he needed Jesus, and he was curious about what she was learning, and said he’d listen to her if she could mentor him through the materials, and would that be all right?

Could she do that? I shared with her about fasting in prayer, and about being a conduit for God’s Grace and love, and her eyes got big, and she could hardly wait to get started. The following week she told me that God had told her to quit smoking, so she was on the patch.

Once again, my heart was humbled, because there were things in my life that were not so good for me, either – and I was still trying to rationalize them, while she, in simple obedience, just got on with it. Grace was being returned to me tenfold through the one I thought I was discipling. At this point (May 2011) Connie is three months smokefree. This week we started a small group together made up of more young moms, mostly friends of Connie that she invited, who

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE 7 - “MEANS OF GRACE”

MOSAIC 6

PASSAGES Appointments Ron Bartolo – Lead Pastor, Charlemont FMC, Wallaceburg, ON, effective September 22, 2011 Stephen Bond – Lead Pastor, Kingston West FMC, Kingston, ON, effective November 1, 2011 Barry Taylor – Lead Pastor, First FMC, Moose Jaw, SK, effective September 1, 2011

Network Leader Appointments Daniel Graham – (replaces Vern Munshaw) – MB/SK Small Church Network, effective September 19, 2011

HOPE YOU HAVE A DEBT-FREE CHRISTMAS!

Vic Stonehouse – (replaces Stephen Bond) – Kawartha Network, effective October 1, 2011

C

Ministerial Candidates Approved Geoffrey Holt – attends London FMC, London, ON, September 29, 2011 Craig MacInnis – attends The FreeWay, Oshawa, ON, July 28, 2011 Kevan Sears – pastor at Wawota FMC, Wawota, SK, October 20, 2011 Pierre Zidor – attends EML Rosemont, Montréal, QC, September 29, 2011

Transfer-In as Ordained Minister approved Edwin Niyonzima – (attends EML l’Esperance, Québec City) - from Burundi Free Methodist Conference, September 29, 2011 Jane Trivers – (pastoral staff at Church of the Holy Spirit, Ft Frances, ON) – from the Anglican Church of Canada, October 20, 2011

Commissioned Ministers approved Edgar Adams – pastoral staff at Harrowsmith FMC, October 20, 2011 Maureen Adams – pastoral staff at Harrowsmith FMC, October 20, 2011

Churches in transition Avonlea FMC, Avonlea, SK Barrie FMC, Barrie, ON Campbellford FMC, Campbellford, ON Church on the Hill, Orillia, ON Cornerstone Community Church, Almonte, ON Harrowsmith FMC, Harrowsmith ON Marmora FMC, Marmora, ON Pine Grove FMC, Seeley’s Bay, ON Wesley Chapel, Toronto, ON

UPCOMING EVENTS Mark your calendar

hristmas is a time for giving. It is a time for thinking of others. A time for expressing the joy and hope we have inside because of God’s perfect gift to us.

Gift giving, holiday parties and family gatherings are all good things - but when they become the focus of the season, many people experience stress, guilt, and pressure to spend what they do not have – as well as the debt that follows. With the Canadian Debt-to-Income ratio hitting 150% early this year, many people are still paying off last Christmas (if not the one before too).

Somehow, we have bought into the cultural lie that we have to spend a lot for Christmas gifts to be socially acceptable.

There are now guidelines on who and how much to buy for everyone from your boss to your mailman.

Sadly, many feel that even if they are completely broke, they can still spend thousands of dollars on Christmas gifts— and believe it is not only their right to do so, but that they are obligated to do it. For those living on tight budgets – who have been as careful as they know how to be, and have a Budget or Spending Plan – the pressure to overspend at Christmas is still there.

And it is not just money that we overspend. There is also the mounting pressure to attend every event, party, rehearsal, and gathering. Saying yes to these will surely over-tax our time and emotions. At the very time of the year when relationships could and should be of highest priority, over-activity and overspending combine to become a toxic potion that effect our relationships with God and each other.

The Christmas story begs us to see it as far more than a peak event in December that is soon followed by the reality filled with bills we cannot pay. We should be celebrating the greatest gift of all – God with us. But it should not come with any more debt – other than the debt of love to God and each other.

Tips to having a Debt-Free Christmas

2012 Regional Gatherings Theme: Conflict Resolution March 17

Quebec – location to be determined

March 24

South/Southwest Ontario – Brantford

March 31

Eastern Ontario – Smiths Falls

April 14

Central Ontario – Wesley Chapel

April 21

Saskatchewan/Manitoba – Arlington Beach Camp

May 5

Northwestern Ontario/Winnipeg – Dryden

May 12

Northern Ontario – Sault Ste Marie

May 26

British Columbia – Merritt, Nicola Valley Evangelical Free Church

June 2

Alberta – Ellice

2012 Ministers Conference Theme: Missional Church September 25 - 27 Wesley Acres, Bloomfield, ON October 2 – 4 Entheos Retreat Centre, Calgary, AB

1. Make a commitment to NO NEW DEBT at Christmas – Overspending increases stress, not joy, to the season.

2. Set a budget for your holiday spending and stick to it! Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for and what you can afford to spend - and don’t go shopping without the list. You will be far less likely to buy on impulse.

3. Save BEFORE you Shop – Many people find it is necessary to open a completely separate account for this purpose. You can set yourself up to have an automatic transfer of funds to a savings account and come Christmas time you’ll have money ready for shopping.

4. Pay Cash / Avoid Credit – One of the best ways to stick to a budget is to pay cash for everything. Take out the total dollars you can afford to spend over the holidays. Put the money in an envelope and pay for all your gifts from that single source.

5. Shop Early – Last-minute shopping can be expensive.

Stores may be out of the items on your list. When you are tired and frustrated, it is easy to make costly impulse buys just to cross that name off your list.

6. Be Creative – There are a lot of ways to give without spending any or very little money. Handmade crafts, cookies or jars of preserves are always appreciated.

You can give your time/service (babysitting, cleaning, home repair, etc.) Use reward points gift cards (movie pass or restaurant). For those hard to shop relatives who do not need anything – consider giving a gift in their name of a goat or cow through International Child Care Ministries (ICCM), you can visit their website at www.childcareministries.net

With the Canadian Debt-toIncome ratio hitting 150% early this year, many people are still paying off last Christmas (if not the one before too)!

7. Get out of the house & enjoy the season. There are lots of lights, community events, carol sings and more that you can enjoy for free with your family that focus on the season and not your wallet.

8. Model a sane schedule – Avoid overtaxing your health and relationships by limiting how many commitments you make. And when you do feel stressed and pressured to do more - stop and take a deep breath. Do what really needs to be done and then choose to take the second deep breath of God’s Spirit. Take this moment to reflect on your perspective and ask God’s Spirit to guard your heart and renew a right spirit in you. Bill Bright used to call this “Spiritual Breathing.” Remember - Christmas is not about the gifts, it is about “The Gift” to each one of us – one that costs us nothing but cost God everything.

Mrs. Sandy Crozier is the Stewardship Development Director for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

7 MOSAIC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 — THE MEANS OF GRACE want to know more about this Jesus who has transformed her life so dramatically. I continue to pray.

After Connie’s baptism, I challenged my small group in the area of spiritual disciplines.

At the end of March, I was impressed to begin another week of fasting and prayer, during which God prepared me to be a conduit for his love and grace. Immediately following that week, I had the privilege of ministering to a large, rather dysfunctional, family of about 30 immediate members, previously unknown to me, as one of their own struggled and ultimately died from cancer. I officiated at the funeral, and we provided lunch for them back at the church. Some of the family have started coming to church and they have lots of questions. My small group is beginning to build bridges there. That same week I met a woman, about my age, recently moved to Sarnia, low income, and freshly released from hospital from a nervous breakdown, who told me she had heard that “your church does good things in the community”. She came first to our small group, then to church that Sunday, and since then she’s continued to attend both, finding community and opening up to the love of Jesus as she is embraced by the group. I also met with a slightly younger woman who believes in God, but doesn’t know about this Jesus thing. I challenged her, as she prayed to God, to open dialogue with the Son, tell Him her doubts about Him, and see what happened. She’s been, as she says, hearing things in the sermons now that speak right to her, like someone has been spying on her life. She’s beginning to think there might be something to this Jesus thing after all. She started attending our small group, and has questions – lots of questions. I continue to marvel at the way God moves, and the coincidence that all these people came into our lives after we began to intentionally practice just some of these historic Wesleyan means of grace.

I want to be clear about something. None of this is of me. I only wish to give an example of how the intentional practice of these means of Grace opened up floodgates resulting in real people, lost people, connecting with God, and also share how the

intentional practice of these means of grace is bringing about a change in me. I am humbled by how much love God has given me for these folks who He is bringing across my path because I realize how pitifully small the love I thought I had really was, and I know I’ve only just begun to love compared to the Love of Jesus. If this is what can happen when we get intentional in regards to opening up our grace channels, I’m going to continue to dredge. I don’t want this to stop. I want more, and, I believe that we all, as a denomination, want more, too. If we are correct in thinking there is corelation here, then this initiative must go forward. Here are some questions to reflect on, both corporately and personally, as leadership within this denomination: • • •

Are we in agreement that Wesley is onto something here in identifying these means of grace? If so….

Are there some of these ‘means’ we are missing or neglecting in our own spiritual practices? What have been/are the ongoing results of that?

Are there ‘means’ that we are missing or neglecting in our discipling practices?

What has been/are the results of that to our churches and the people in our communities?

If we agree to this, there is still much work to be done in thinking about how committing to these practices will be encouraged, not only in the leadership, but in our congregations. It will require the development of resources, and reporting processes.

There will need to be intentionality in our resolve, and in our accountability. However, that resolve can start here, today. We need voices of accountability calling us from our busy-ness to practice these means of grace, and to intentionally engage in them, together in community.

Rev. Mary Lee DeWitt is the Associate Pastor at New Horizons Free Methodist Church in Sarnia, ON

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 — ENCOUNTER SRI LANKA and then a tour of their small humble home downstairs. Rosita’s mom, Rev. Rani (an ordained minister) usually preaches upstairs because her husband Rev. Jayamanie is the superintendant of the Free Methodist Church in Sri Lanka and is constantly traveling to churches across the country. As I spoke to Rosita, her warmth, friendliness and passion for God was evident.

Overall, we built long term relationships, brought projects home for our church to get involved in, and had fun!

Family camp was one of a kind – a place to see old friends and make new ones. The teaching, preaching, and worship were a wonderful experience. To see their enthusiasm with other brothers and sisters from across the country was great. They were very appreciative of FMCIC’s prayers, encouragement, and financial support. There is much evidence of how the church in Sri Lanka is maturing as a Mission District.

After visiting the pastors, we found that their efforts to extend the church buildings became a safety concern. I was asked to lead a session on building construction during Family Camp. Being able to help pastors and leaders with standard construction procedures and drawings was an excellent opportunity to teach and to learn. With two translators, diagrams, and reminding the pastors how important it is to have a “firm foundation” we were able to work together with the various church building projects.

Overall, we built long term relationships, brought projects home for our church to get involved in, and had fun! We want to share the work in Sri Lanka so that we all may be challenged with the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

PAULA MORIARITY Earlier this year, Sri Lanka was added as one of the countries that International Child Care Ministries of Canada (ICCM) ministers in.

We added 25 pastors’ children to the program. As the pictures and applications were handed over to me by Dan Sheffield, I was drawn to meet and to hear the stories of these children and their families firsthand. So I traveled to Sri Lanka this past summer with our team.

The first conversation I had with one of our ICCM kids was Dina. As we sat in her home, her dad spoke about the flood in their home and showed us the flood mark on the wall of this make-shift home beside the railroad tracks. In the span of 45 minutes, there were probably about 8-10 trains that traveled beside us to the point where we needed to stop our conversation until it went by. When it rains now, Dina climbs into the window and prays out loud to God that the rain would stop and their home would not flood. I am amazed at how this young girl would pray to God to save her family and the railroad community that surrounds them.

We met Joe’s sponsored child in Talawakale. Rosita is 16 yrs old and she is in a computer applications program which is about 45 minutes away from her home. She and her younger sister both attend school away from home during the week. Rosita is in the

Photos: [left] Rev. Rani of Talawakelle FMC; [top right] Paula Moriarity with Joe Murthi and his sponsored child Rosita; Pit-stop! fresh coconuts on the side of the road with Pastor Ben Gomez, Dan Sheffield and Allan Meredith; many shoes outside church.

worship team and plays the traditional drum, which I could not play very well!! She was very shy as she met Joe and accepted his gift of a Bible and devotional book. I was amazed at how these 2 sisters although away from home during the school year, are leaders in their church and growing into mature young women of faith.

As we traveled to Kandy where the world-renowned Buddhist festival was being held, I was introduced to the most extroverted girl I have ever met in the ICCM program.

Shalani has a huge smile for everyone and she enjoys singing bible songs in English and Tamil! Her gregarious attitude was evident as she sat beside me and started to read an English book to me. During the kid’s camp portion of Family Camp, she was the first to open up in prayer in the morning and to teach new worship/action songs to the group. She taught me how to say “what’s your name” in Tamil… let me tell you, that took about 20 minutes but she was very patient with me. I am amazed at how Shalani invites people into her midst who are not like her and by her passion for Jesus that flows freely!

I am grateful for healthy churches, anointed leaders, and the spiritual growth of our children!

Please contact Dan Sheffield if you would like to know more about how to get involved in Sri Lanka!

MOSAIC 8

ENCOUNTER SRI LANKA | THREE PERSPECTIVES

Family Camp - August 2011

THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING MOMENTS THAT WE EXPERIENCED WHILE IN SRI LANKA. I CAN’T TELL YOU ABOUT ALL OF THEM BUT HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM A COUPLE OF TEAM MEMBERS, ALLAN MEREDITH & JOE MURTHI FROM THE FIRST FMC IN NEW WESTMINSTER, BC. ALLAN MEREDITH The Sri Lanka Tourist Board says that it is “a land like no other.” They certainly do not misrepresent their small island. The size of Tasmania or Ireland it is home to 21 million or so people, predominantly Buddhist (80%) the remainder being Christian, Hindu and Muslim.

Information about a place is good, but an introduction to it is better! Along with Dan Sheffield, Paula Moriarity, Ben Gomez, Joe Murthi and myself, we spent three weeks in Sri Lanka on what many Christians would call a Missions trip. Maybe it was that, but what a revelation to me – in my U.K. parlance I was “gobsmacked” (google it). There is no Community College 101 to prepare you for this one. Straight down out of the clouds and land in Colombo at 5-15 am. The warm muggy morning noise, the enthusiastic greeting we all received from a welcoming FMC pastor and then the traffic. Oh dear, what an amazing display of driving, and me in the passenger seat! The Tourist Board says, do not drive on your first visit, they were right again.

I understood little of their language but much of their love and hunger for God’s presence in their lives. This for me was to be the hallmark of the FMC churches that we visited during our visit.

A few days spent in the FMC ministry centre in Colombo provided opportunity for visits to local pastors and their churches and to experience their wonderful hospitality and fellowship. I was immediately challenged by the very sincere devotion and commitment of these dear people.

I was also excited to attend their worship services. I understood little of their language but much of their love and hunger for God’s presence in their lives. This for me was to be the hallmark of the FMC churches that we visited during our visit.

Whether it was sitting on the floor of a cool basement in a home in Badulla, where we sang and prayed that God would work in that town. Or later in our visit to the famous Buddhist centre of Kandy where we met with Tamil Christians worshipping in churches that were built on tea plantations. Quiet places on the cool mountains that were very much alive with their love and witness to their neighbours.

We have much to learn from these Sri Lankan Christians. They are local ‘walk-in congregations’. Not scattered individuals dependent on cars. These were villagers with financial and transport constraints that enabled them to live and worship in a very local setting, being very effective and successful evangelists to their neighbours.

Pray that their effectiveness would not be hindered or threatened by those fearful of the inroads they are making. Pray that the daily persecution some of them suffer would only result in a larger, stronger witness for Jesus and his good news.

The FMC in Sri Lanka is poor in material things, e.g. buildings, finances, communication systems. But how many Canadian churches would dearly love to see the next generation of worshippers already filling their church pews? That is the reality in these churches.

Children and youth are eager participants in church activities and worship. Scores of them sit on the floor at the front of their churches, bibles in hand, serious and involved.

This has been a very wonderful and yet extremely stretching trip for me, an inhabitant of the ‘Developed World’, namely Canada. It has brought more clearly to my mind some of the concerns of future church growth and the urgency we should all feel about it.

I am very glad that I have seen something of a future church growth pattern, even if I had to go to the Developing World for it.

P.S. After my return home, my brother in England phoned and said, “Well I guess that’s another one off your bucket list; hopefully you’ve got it out of your system now.” Little does he know of my future plans and intentions. With God’s help and guidance I am purposing to pray, give of my resources and visit yet again our dear brethren in Sri Lanka. Join me.

JOE MURTHI We visited as many as 15 different locations to see the pastors, their families and their churches –how they are managing them. It was a bit of surprise to see how they made the most of the small facilities they had, and their passion and drive to spread the GOOD NEWS of Jesus.

Despite the challenges in ministry, these called pastors and families were ready to surge forward to start new churches.

PHOTOS | [left] Jebamale Joseph, Ministerial candidate in Kandy; [top right and left] Pastor Kumarasiri’s congregation in Badulla

One of the main reasons for traveling to Sri Lanka was to meet Rosita - our ICCM child in Talawakale which is located at the higher elevation in the tea plantation area of Sri Lanka. As I walked into Rosita’s home, I was given the tour of the church upstairs THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE 7 - “ENCOUNTER SRI LANKA”