Online Registration Opens

Check out the online registration for the 2010 Calvary Grace Conference here.

Speakers for 2010 Calvary Grace Conference

I am pleased to announce the speakers for the 2010 Calvary Grace Conference. Vishal Mangalwadi and Art Azurdia have both accepted invitations to speak at our 2nd annual conference (January 29-30, 2010). I have been interested in Vishal's ministry ever since I read his outstanding little book, The Legacy of William Carey. By showing the dramatic transformation which the Word of God wrought in India, Vishal offered a powerful reminder of the gospel's efficacy for societies and cultures. Vishal has spoken at the 2005 Desiring God Conference for Pastors and was recently featured on the Christian Research Institute's broadcast (Oct 8 & 9), talking about his latest book, Truth and Transformation. Art Azurdia returns to our conference this year having ministered to us last year. Art's ministry was greatly appreciated and we are very thankful to have him with us again. Art's ministry came to my attention initially through his book, Spirit Empowered Preaching, deemed by many to be the best book on preaching since Lloyd-Jones' Preaching and Preachers. It was fitting then, that Art would be asked to speak at the 25th Anniversary of the Welsh preacher's death. Art teaches at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon after serving in pastoral minstry for over two decades. He also helps pastors by leading the Spurgeon Fellowship with fraternal events and a journal. Art has become a dear friend to many in the Calvary Grace Church family and we look forward to welcoming him back to Calgary. *** We have started up our conference blog once again, so check it out at http://www.calvarygraceconference.tumblr.com/ Also look for updates here and at our church website, http://www.calvarygrace.ca/

Upcoming Conference Announcement

At Calvary Grace Church we are busily putting things in place so that we can make a formal announcement regarding our 2nd annual church conference. The 2010 Calvary Grace Conference will be January 29-30 in Calgary, Alberta. We are confirming a somewhat expanded lineup of speakers and are excited about the prospects of what the Lord may do among us in those days. Stay tuned.

Foretaste of Heaven

I am glad to see the return of my wife, Christel, to the blogging sphere. She is a great writer with deft insights and thoughtful observations. Check out her new blog, Foretaste of Heaven. ...My sentiments exactly.

Trendy Church Stuff

Kevin DeYoung is a great writer with tons of insight. His books and blog should be standard reading for anyone interested in the so-called "Emergent Church". Here is a great summary analysis from DeYoung: ... I don’t think there is a single insight from the emergent church that cannot be gleaned from the best of the evangelical, and specifically the Reformed, tradition.

Thinking About Your Diet

I don't diet really. Although my wife has helped me cut back on sugar and carbs. But what diet does my congregation have? Thinking back over the pulpit history of Calvary Grace, I would like to think there has been a healthy diet of Old and New Testament, Epistles and Wisdom Lit, Prophets and Gospels. Here is a list, a sort of diet of expositions: Isaiah Servant Songs 1 Timothy (book study) Selected Psalms Parables of Jesus Deuteronomy (book study) John (book study) 1&2 Samuel (book study) Galatians (book study) Marriage (Ephesians 5) Jeremiah (2 sermon overview) Matthew 5 (series) Ecclesiastes (book study) Revelation (book study). With the conclusion of my Revelation series yesterday, I am thinking about what to preach next. I have a few series already in the works, but which to serve right now and which to serve later is the question. So, what to choose next? And how does it fit into a healthy diet?

Hockey in Arizona

Much of the hockey news lately has been dominated by business and legal talk surrounding the bankruptcy proceedings of the Phoenix Coyotes. It is sad to see a franchise die, but when other teams in Phoenix are struggling to make money, hockey in the desert is going to be the first thing to go. With all of this Arizona hockey talk I was reminded of how I got a broken nose. As a student at The Master's College (when pastor Paul Martin was a sem student and some sort of "co-ordinator of campus fun" at the college) I got involved with the hockey program at California State University at Northridge (CSUN). I couldn't play for them because I wasn't registered there as a student, but I was an assistant coach for a season. We played an exhibition game on the road in Tucson, Arizona against another university team. Because it was exhibition I was able to suit up in my only game for CSUN. We arrived at the downtown arena of 7000 empty seats and went onto the ice for warmup. Standing in the corner waiting my turn in a standard pass-and-shoot drill, a puck rang off the post, into the corner, and into my nose! I spent the rest of warmup trying to get my cracked beak to stop bleeding. And when I finally got into the game I wished I had stayed home. The Arizona team was full of ex-pro players and they crushed our team of midget-calibre Californians. I played defence, but what could be done with no goalie and no one to pass to? I think we lost by ten goals. After that experience, I can honestly say I have no fondness for hockey in Arizona.