Stories of Hope

  Christian Reformed Churches usually wait until a pastor leaves before they start looking for another pastor. Our leadership, with Pastor Peter’s encouragement, began thinking about the process of finding a new pastor several years before his actual retirement.

  Have you noticed what our electronic sign says? “We support Shoal Lake 40 Freedom Road”. What on earth is that?

  The word “tradition” comes from Latin “trader” or “traderer” literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping. Often tradition is seen as boring or irrelevant - we love the new and exciting, the fresh and the novel ideas and sometimes we shudder when we hear the word

  In June, I had the privilege of joining almost 200 pastors and elders from across North America at Dordt College for the annual gathering of our denomination. Location? Smack dab in the center of hectares of Iowa farmland!

  I wanted to share an experience I had after Pastor Peter reminded us that all of us are missionaries who can lead people to Christ by relating, testifying and inviting ( June 28 message ).

  Having the summers off since I began teaching in 1998 has left me feeling restless and incomplete. I felt like I really needed to be doing more with the time I was given.

  In the summer, people live under the illusion that nothing much happens in the church. Nothing could be further from the truth.

  Every three months, there’s a breakfast meeting of the “Three Chairs and the Pastor.”