One of the joys in life is to read or listen to a personal testimony. Often, it includes a witness to God’s pursuit of our souls.
Briefly, here’s my story. From my teens until my late 30s, I was hounded by amateur evangelists with a clear mission: get Andy saved. It was like I had a target on my back, visible only to those anointed and called to street ministry. It happened at school, work, in the neighbourhood and public places from acquaintances but mostly strangers. Often there would be no escape: the parking lot attendant who wouldn’t lift to the gate until he’d said his piece, the work partner on the night shift, the dude who ignored men’s bathroom etiquette and stood right next to me. The day I finally believed (a story in itself) marked the end of this parade of characters. What was a weekly thing for two decades suddenly vanished. Not a single Bible-thumping, tract-waving witness has approached me for the past 24 years.
I was reminded of my experience when reading A Sinner’s Story by Austin Penner. When someone is in God’s holy sights, nothing will get in the way. It may take years or decades for the message to sink in and be accepted. All the while, God is working and protecting, doing His thing. Divine hands intervene from potential consequences of poor decisions. He saves us from ourselves.
Austin’s story is powerful evidence that God is also not done with The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Stay tuned for the emerging witness of Generation Z-led PCC Renewal.
Living in Truth is an ecumenical publication in the sense that we are striving to create community for those who adhere to historic Biblical truth while embracing a rapidly changing world. LIT is a family which includes Living Stones pioneers and PCC stalwarts. We are quite open to collaboration and sharing with anyone in Reformed orthodoxy in this great nation of ours.
Joel Coppieters provides a useful backgrounder on the unique challenges faced by churches in Quebec, particularly Montreal, where it seems like a different universe. Kevin Livingston shares the audacious optimism he witnessed from speakers and participants at a conference on how the spirituality of the Reformation can teach us about revival.
The September 2025 edition contains Robert K. MacKenzie’s latest installments on the work of Herman Bavinck and Cathi Cameron’s continued insights on church planting. We are honoured to launch the first of four essays on The Art of Healthy Dusting Shaking by Doug Cameron. A retrospective on faithful church life from Muriel Barrington points to the timeless importance of attention to people and solid teaching and preaching. Advent will be here before we know it – see my Advent readings from 2024. Next, a reminder of the fact that even Biblical TV shows have the potential to lure us from the truth if we don’t keep our eyes wide open. Last, but hardly least, is Matthew Ruttan’s column on fasting. Might this be the gentle reminder some of us need to explore this potentially powerful spiritual exercise?
For anyone who is not tech savvy, we have compiled a selection of this edition’s material in a PDF document, ready for downloading and printing.
As always, each edition of Living in Truth is followed by our discussion Café via Zoom. The invitation for this gathering is to simply bring your own story. How did you come to faith? Or if that’s not in your cards to share, perhaps a God moment from your life so far. Join us for the next LIT Café, Wednesday, October 1, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9695044914?omn=89263746573
