I am terribly sad to lose him, as his impact on the FMCiC has been significant, and he has been a very good friend to me. Having said that, I am excited for him to discover how God will direct him in this next season. God has given our brother such meaningful gifts, skills, passion and Godly character. I do pray that retirement includes rich family time, meaningful ministry and tennis!
We hope to have a hiring plan in place shortly, and would love to hire early in the new year so that Mark and the new person would have overlap time.
I have been hearing these words a lot lately: retire, find another job, “it’s time”, “wondering what God may have for me next”… and the like. Sometimes the context is tiredness, where the speaker is tired and ready to move. Sometimes the context is Godly-restlessness, where the speaker is feeling a Godly nudge to move. How do you know the difference? How do you know that an impulse is from God and not a flight response, or simply a tired impulse? How do we know we are hearing from God?
God is not a puzzle to figure out, or a problem to be solved. If the current situation is confusing to you then stop, selah, wait, pause, breathe, retreat, fast, listen… Confusion is not from God, so when there is confusion it is very important that you stop and bring this to God;
Find time to rejuvenate somehow: open Scripture (to be fed), play, create, be in art (meaningful music, go to an art exhibit), laugh hard with friends, and family, exercise, take long walks, WORSHIP… because you need to clear your mind to be able to be a good listener to GOD first, yourself (including what your body is saying to you*), and trusted friends;
*my accountability partner, who happens to be a therapist, often asks me, “what is your body saying?” He is asking about people or situations that are causing my stomach to feel tight or worse. He is asking about my sleeping patterns. He is asking about headaches or pressure that I feel in my head or heart that may be causing stress. He is asking about tiredness. Our bodies can be a dashboard warning light that God has given us in order to pay attention to something under our hood!
Set time weekly to fast and pray; write down verses, words or thoughts that you believe might be from God;
Find a small group of trusted friends to prayerfully consider what you have been sensing from God; Also ask these trusted friends to pray with you (pastors, for instance, have accountability partners, networks, a national leadership team, etc). Certainly, a pastor, sometimes a spiritual director or Christian therapist may be helpful if the impulse to go continues to be confusing, and is causing you stress or anxiety;
Ask your praying friends brave questions: is God giving you a word for me? Are there Bible verses that He has brought to mind for me? Do you think that this impulse to leave is from God? I wonder if you have a question (or 2) that you want to ask me that will help me to process all this? Am I right to be thinking of leaving now? What good will my leaving do for the Church family, the Kingdom? What damage could I do by leaving or staying?
Don’t get lost in you and your agenda – make sure that as you process the impulse to leave (whatever you may be thinking about leaving), that you are God-centered, and loving others before yourself. Here’s another helpful and important related question: “Have I been dwelling on this too long, is it time for me to stop thinking about it and make a final decision?” Dwelling on this too long will cause others, usually loved ones, to be caught up into the busy-confusing-intense vortex that you seem to be living in? The longer you vacillate the less present you are in your current ministry, and I assure you that people feel it;
Some decisions simply need to be made finally. When they are made with a PURE heart, and with the help of praying friends, then God is patient and kind and good and will continue to be faithful. Your motivation is often God’s most important concern for you!
Not an exhaustive list of considerations, but certainly the one I most use in my processing decisions, impulses, and ideas.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
2nd Tuesday of each month: What’s Got You Thinking? New Episode Available
4th Thursday of each month: Church Health Thursday
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None this week
ORDINATION SERVICES
October 16 at 11:45 AM – Nathaniel Prakash – Surrey FMC, Surrey, BC
FOUNDATIONAL COURSES https://fmcic.ca/
Register online through the link above (Tuition payment is not required when registering for a course. Payment is due 10 days before the course begins.)
Lay Ministers tracking for credentialed ministry and those transferring ordination credentials into the FMCIC need to take the following two courses for full credit – and if possible, the Heart course first and then Wesleyan Theology.
Heart of Canadian Free Methodism:
June 2-4, 2023 – location TBA*
Wesleyan Theology:
June 2-4, 2023 – location TBA*
Also available:
- Tyndale University – “John Wesley’s Theology: Renewing the Heart, Renewing the Church”
- https://www.tyndale.ca/seminary/course/theo-0629
- Offered Winter 2023 in hybrid format: Two Fridays of “live” class (in-person or online) on January 27 and March 17, plus online lectures and discussions.
- Available for seminary or undergraduate credit
- For more info contact James Pedlar (jpedlar@tyndale.ca)
- FMC-USA http://fmcusa.org/leadership/courses/
- as a 7-week intensive online course: Wesleyan Theology [#74W] Dr. Robert Vaughan – start date: Nov 1
- as a correspondence course (8 months to complete): Wesleyan Theology (#74C), Dr. Allen Wachter
Ministerial Candidates tracking for Commissioned or Ordained Minister are required to take the following two courses for full credit. Those who are already commissioned or ordained are required to either audit these two courses for 1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) each or take the two courses and complete the assignments for 3 CEUs each.
Culture and the Missional Church:
Date and location TBA*
Personal and Church Stewardship:
5-week online course – Start Date TBA
(* These course locations are selected based on where the majority of the participants reside – so please register early!)
2022 SCHOLARSHIPS https://fmcic.ca/scholarships/
LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP PLAN (LSP):
The Leadership Scholarship Plan (LSP) provides financial assistance to candidates who are studying to meet the educational requirements for credentialed ministry, or for members of conference pursuing continuing education.
October 15 is the deadline to apply for LSP for any courses taken during the summer and/or fall semesters of 2022. The 2022 application forms and instructions are now available to download from the link above. Please use the application forms marked “rev 2022.”
SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS:
The Special Scholarships provide financial assistance to those who are members of a Free Methodist church pursuing post-secondary education to grow in their Christian faith, to those who are pursuing credentialed ministry, and to members of conference pursuing continuing education.
October 15 is the deadline to apply for the annual Special Scholarships for courses taken during the 2022 calendar year – apply online anytime from the link above. Special Scholarships are awarded in late November/early December each year.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs) https://fmcic.ca/
Ordained and Commissioned Ministers (except retirees) are to annually report hours acquired during each year for Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Check the link above for information on CEUs, and a list of examples of many different types of life-long learning that can be applied as CEUs.
You can now send a report online anytime you have hours to submit for CEUs. Here is the link: https://fmcic.wufoo.com/forms/continuing-education-unit-ceu-report-form/
Note: For those who attend the fall Minister’s Conferences or the spring Regional Gatherings, attendance is now taken at these events so 6 hours of CEU credit for each event will automatically be recorded.
For those who took courses and/or did in-depth research and learning about how to make the changes required during the pandemic (ie how to live-stream services), add the number of those hours to your annual CEU report.
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CHURCHES IN TRANSITION
Interviewing
Hilton Beach, ON – St. Joseph Island FMC
New Westminster, BC – First FMC
Salmon Arm BC – Lakeside Community Church
Sarnia, ON – New Horizons Community Church
Thornbury, ON – Blue Mountain Community Church
Warkworth, ON – Warkworth FMC
Church Profiles available
Contact Davika Dotson in the Leadership Development Office to request a church profile – davika.dotson@fmcic.ca (deadline to apply in brackets)
None available this week
Preparing Profiles
If you are interested in seeing the profile for any of these churches, please contact Davika in the Leadership Development Office [see above] and the profile will be emailed to you as soon as it becomes available.
Bracebridge, ON – New Hope FMC
Brampton, ON – Bramalea FMC
Campbellford, ON – Campbellford FMC
Cloyne, ON – Pineview FMC
Dunnville, ON – Dunnville FMC (Rev. Neale Robb – Interim Pastor)
Frankford, ON – Frankford Community Church
Kingston, ON – Polson Park FMC
Madoc, ON – Madoc Free Methodist/Wesleyan Church
Richmond Hill, ON – Richmond Hill Chinese & English FM Churches (Rev. Louis Leung – Interim Pastor)
Sault Ste Marie, ON – Sault Ste Marie FMC
Tillsonburg, ON – Open Arms Church
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Unique Associate Pastor Opportunity – Trulls Road FMC
