To Boldly Go

A call to listen, prayerfully understand and witness with courage.

The following is a mission call to The Renewal Fellowship within The Presbyterian Church in Canada. It was originally published in the RF’s 2025 annual report.

This time last year, I wrote: “We live in an extraordinary time.”

It still is, and more than likely, the strangeness will continue. We should not be surprised. After all, these are end times.

The solution, as always, is Christ. The secular world may roll its eyes and change the channel, but we hold to the truth. The author of Hebrews speaks of this with great eloquence:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. – Hebrews 10:19-23 (NLT)

There are no more reassuring and empowering words than these. The Lord promises not to keep track of our sins, and they are many. We can be right with God simply by believing in our hearts that Christ was raised from the dead and declaring Jesus as Lord. Safe at home.

If we hold tightly to the blessed assurance that God will not abandon us and is actually preparing a place in the Eternal Kingdom, then His hands will provide strength and hope. The battle belongs to the Lord. Our economic beings may sustain blows, but His armour will provide spiritual protection. In extraordinary times, this can be reassuring.

If we are honest, there is dis-ease in every quarter of our lives: workplaces, families and communities. Notwithstanding the occasional humour and glimpse of hope, social media is largely a painful, disheartening place.

And then there are the congregations and courts of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. I suspect that many of us are tempted to use the unfolding chaos and drama on the world stage (and elsewhere) as a distraction from the malaise within our church. The challenges are many and the list is long: presbyteries with few or no called ministers, presbyteries which are unable to find ruling elders to serve as commissioners to General Assembly, congregations which are dissolving and even those which are financially viable that are struggling to find a minister. And so on.

The answer, of course, is Christ. But whose Christ?

We are tempted to avert our eyes. In the midst of it, some vital congregations are departing. In some presbyteries, they are the most healthy and viable. I cast no aspersion upon them, as I have considered doing the same. I long to be free of theological division. I yearn to be surrounded by kindred souls and experience spiritual synergy. But I am called to remain, stay and pray.

I acknowledge that General Assembly in 2025 granted extraordinary power to a commission to study the way we do things and invite bold recommendations for new ways to operate. It is bold and refreshing and long overdue. It may allow more creativity to flourish. But it will not spark revival.

The answer, of course, is Christ. But whose Christ?

Can we be truly inclusive of the wide spectrum of identity without being affirming?

The calling of The Renewal Fellowship as a unified voice for theological orthodoxy has been manifold: teach, encourage, speak out and provide community. The mission has always been to hold onto authentic doctrine. When that battle was lost in 2021, some abandoned hope and threw in the towel. Some wondered aloud if RF should just pack up. I thought about that, but a nudge from the Holy Spirit caused me to wonder if the PCC’s traditional, biblical doctrine can be restored. I don’t mean a return to an age where we shunned those whose orientations and lifestyles differed from the traditional norm. (I hesitate to use the word “heteronormative” because it marginalizes anyone who identifies otherwise and comes across as imperialistic. Fact is, the human mind and spirit are naturally searching, questioning and creative.) Much damage has been done within families, among friends and within congregations in the name of what’s considered normative. So much hurt, pain, loneliness, even death.

Be known for what we are for rather than what we are against.

Can we be truly inclusive of the wide spectrum of identity without being affirming? I believe we can. Some would say it’s impossible; the two words must go together. I disagree. We can be truly loving and welcoming of the diverse creativity and manifold opinions within the human experience, without necessarily agreeing. Do any of us know exactly what is right? We can judge and assess, but we can only do so from our own narrow perspective. We certainly cannot condemn. What we can do is point to the truth that every one was created in the image of God. And equally important, that we are all sinners. I am no better than you.

Can we hold tightly without wavering to what we believe is Christ’s call for us to enter through the narrow gate (avoiding the wide avenue) and leave the conviction to The Holy Spirit? In other words, we stand for what we believe is truly biblical rather than point fingers. Be known for what we are for rather than what we are against.

All of this is easy to state and quite another thing to put into practice. Has it ever actually been done? I do know of a few believers within orthodoxy who strive to practice it. I would love to see places where brothers and sisters have figured out how to do it. I am assured that it can be done, with help and guidance coming from The Holy Spirit.

And so what are we to do in 2026? Speak the truth in love, of course. But that’s old news. Speak louder perhaps? Speak more often? We often avoid speaking the truth because we simply do not have the stomach for confrontation. Peacemaking is noble. We don’t want to be “that guy” who stirs the pot or ruins the picnic. Sadly, many of us have lost our energy. There is a collective despair.

Have we forgotten how often The Lord butted heads with the church establishment and even His own closest followers who struggled to understand and get with the program?

This is a call to love, to understand those who think and act differently, to pray and pray and pray again and regularly withdraw to quiet places to seek the wisdom of our Father, and the guiding hands and equipping of the Holy Spirit. To be strong and courageous. To be a lot more like Christ.

Amen.