The Faith Today Podcast

Dr. Joel Thiessen studies religion and culture in Canada. He is Professor of Sociology & Director of Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary. Joel joins us in this podcast for a conversation about what exactly makes a church flourish. And what does that mean anyway? Especially in today’s Canada when so many churches are struggling to stay alive.

Read the entire article at: https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Communications/Dispatches-from-Brian-Stiller/May-2018/Six-Takeaways-from-The-Future-of-Evangelicalism-inAt an April 2018 meeting near Chicago, fifty Evangelical leaders of various ministries, ethnicities and churches explored the theme: The Future of Evangelicalism in America. The conveners making no claim to represent a full round o...

Author and pastor Mark Buchanan walks us through his own journey with reconcilation in Canada and encourages churches and Christians to fully embrace a new way of relating between First Nation and Settler Christians.

Author and professor Paul Chamberlain discusses why people leave the faith and how we can best respond to their arguments against Christianity in this interview with Karen Stiller.

Dispatches by Brian StillerRead the entire article at: https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Communications/Dispatches-from-Brian-Stiller/November-2018-(1)/Finding-light-in-darkness-the-Myanmar-tragedyMyanmar is a country of 54 million people, divided into eight major ethnic races grouped by region, more so than language of ethnic affiliation. These regions camouflage its actual 135 distinct ethnic...

“We must continually ask ourselves as we invest time, money, resources and energy into helping those in poverty: Are we doing so strategically?” That question is at the heart of a new book called “Strategic Compassion: Reuniting the good news and good works in the fight against poverty” by Barry Slauenwhite, president of Compassion Canada. In this interview with Karen Stiller, Slauenwhite defines...

Author and pastor Darryl Dash shares with us the three core areas every Christian should be engaged with in order to grow, and the simple techniques that can help us all in our spiritual lives.

Author and pastor Max Lucado speaks to us about his latest book, Unshakable Hope: Building our Lives on the Promises of God. We go deep on his writing process and his unusual decision to speak out with concern about Donald Trump.

What does Jesus mean when he tells us to be persistent in prayer. In this podcast, writer Carolyn Arends shares her own struggles with this question, and how she is resolving it.

A rule of life is an ancient spiritual tradition that helps Christians map out a pathway to greater devotion. In this Faith Today article, writer and pastor Darryl Dash leads us through the process of creating our own. Read this and more at: http://www.faithtoday.ca/20170304

Doug Koop is a spiritual health practitioner at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. He’s also a writer. Both of those vocations came together in a Faith Today magazine article about devout Christian people who experience an unexpected amount of fear or anxiety as they near death. We spoke to him about his research and his experiences with this reality.

Renegotiating Faith: The Delay in Young Adult Identity Formation and What It Means for the Church in Canada, is a new body of research investigating the transition time when many Canadian youth leave the church. The research also provides simple strategies for how faith communities can help youth maintain a vital faith identity. In this podcast, Karen Stiller interviews head researcher Rick Hiemst...

Dispatches from the Global VillageBy: Brian Stiller. Read the blog at: https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Communications/Dispatches-from-Brian-Stiller/August-2018/So-much-for-Secular-Canada-allowing-diversityTrinity Western University, a Canadian liberal arts university, planned to open a law school as part of its vision to prepare Christians to serve in public and civic life. It wasn’t long bef...

David Martin is executive minister of the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and is an expert in dealing with issues of sexual misconduct within the Church. In this podcast, we explore the devastation wrought by this kind of transgression in the Church, the bare minimum protections required and how healing can best happen.

Trinity Western University's decision to change the requirement for students to sign a community covenant was welcomed by some and met with dismay by others. TWU President Bob Kuhn joins us on the EFC podcast to explain why TWU made this decision, whether a law school is still in the works and what message he has for people wondering why TWU engaged in its legal battle, only to eventually cha...

Steven Garber is Professor of Marketplace Theology and Leadership at Regent College. Garber is an award-winning author and teacher who has spoken widely on the nexus of faith, vocation, and culture. He is author of the popular book Visions of Vocation and spoke with Karen Stiller in Vancouver about how what we do mixes together with our faith.

The Rev'd Dr Russ Parker is an author and healing and reconciliation expert. He has ministered in some of the world’s toughest spots, leading listening and forgiveness work. He is Director of 2Restore, helping churches resolve and heal legacies of unhealed stories and move forward in a renewed ability to flourish as God intends. Russ Parker was in Ottawa recently for a conference on healing c...

Sharon Ramsay is a a registered psychotherapist / marriage and family therapist in Toronto. She works with individuals, couples and families in a variety of settings, and she focuses on how context influences our ability to survive and thrive through the expected and surprising rhythms of life. Sharon walks us through what self-care really means and how we can all do better asking for help -- and...

Interview with Jeff Greenman is President and Professor of Theology and Ethics at Regent College. He has led the college through the challenging times faced by every North American school of theological education. He met with Karen Stiller in Vancouver to talk about some of those challenges, the changing face of the church in Canada and what we can learn from the Church in the Majority World.

What is the significance of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision (June 15, 2018) on the proposed law school at Trinity Western University? How does it impact religious freedom and the future of education in Christian schools in Canada? Our expert guests opened by sharing their thoughts, and then we fielded viewer questions. Guests:- Bruce Clemenger (EFC president)- Albertos Polizogopoulos (legal...

The Canadian Missions Research Forum dug deep into how Canadian Christians do mission trips, and turned up some surprising finds, including who really benefits from short term trips. This podcast originally appeared as a Faith Today magazine article. Read it and more at: http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20170304?pg=40#pg40

Earl Phillips, director of TWU's hotly contested law school offers an early response to the June 15 Supreme Court of Canada decision. "We know who we serve. We can trust in God," says Phillips

Paul Boge is author of the newly released book "The Truth About Human Trafficking in Canada." He takes readers behind the scenes of human trafficking in Canada, dispels myths and sheds light on the realities of the Canadian sex trade.

Dispatches from Brian Stiller: Did We Find Peace in Assisi? Peace is hard to come by. Ask John Kerry and his Russian equivalent Sergei Lavrov in their intermittent successes at finding a Syrian cease-fire. In the 20th century 231 million died in wars and conflicts. Even so Stewart Pinker (Harvard) said five years ago, “we may be living in the most peaceful era in our species’ existence,” followed...

This year's March for Life in Ottawa was met with loud counter-protests, but thousands of marchers made their way through Ottawa's downtown core nonetheless. Here are several voices from that March, including Angelina Steenstra, National Coordinator of Silent No More