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Preparing to Return, Reflecting on Small Strong Congregations
Well, I plan to return to the Grace Van office Monday August 7th and have my first Sunday back August 13th. After spending a couple of months helping the church transition into the fall season, I then plan to go back on my sabbatical for two months beginning Oct. 2nd. I structured my sabbatical in Continue reading
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INKS and a Splendid Sabbath Day!
So what does INKS stand for? Answer, Income No Kids and Students. It is basically a young adults group (and yes, I stay young to be counted as among them, haha). Our INKS group has been meeting since late last fall once every month to two months for a dinner and conversation, and at our Continue reading
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Thanksgiving, “There’s a Gift in It”
It’s hard to believe that I’ve just completed two months of my sabbatical, which began at the start of May. While I have enjoyed the time off, the days continue to be full and have plenty to fill them. Two Sundays ago I visited Westminster Bible Chapel in Burnaby and very much enjoyed my time Continue reading
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Fathers, Sons and Community
Last Sunday was Father’s Day and it was hard not for me to think of my own father who passed away June 28th, 2021. Eight days from today will mark the two-year anniversary of dad’s passing. I miss dad a lot. The above picture is one with my dad where I believe I was a Continue reading
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Restfulness, Fullness and Joy
This sabbatical has been rich and full of wonderful and redemptive activity, doing many things I would not have had the chance to do apart from having the time off from my Grace Van responsibilities. So again, thank you Grace Van for providing the opportunity. Regarding the fullness of the last few days, let me Continue reading
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One Month and Book Study
Today signifies one month of having been on sabbatical. I texted the Session this morning thanking them for this time off as I didn’t fully realize how tired I had become after having served the last fifteen years of my ministry without a sabbatical (with a move to a new country in the midst of Continue reading
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The Grind
Yesterday morning, Tanya and I went to Tenth Ave. Alliance church, one of the larger churches in Vancouver. It had been a number of years since we had been to Tenth, but we enjoyed our morning of worship. Tenth church is very clear on their mission as one of their opening statements was that they Continue reading
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The Journey for a Dedicated Kid
Calvin walking onto the court with his team “604” one last time at Nationals (credit: Tanya Hsu) Calvin was in Grade 10 and beginning to develop a great passion for volleyball. His prior passion was football (the American brand), but that all began to change where he became quite interested in pursuing a future in Continue reading
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A Tribute to Someone Who Remained a Hero
I’m in Calgary currently as my son Calvin chases his dream of a Nationals championship with his club volleyball team. Tomorrow Calvin’s team is one of eight teams out of the original thirty-two, to have a shot at the Nationals championship. It’s been an exciting, even exhilarating week, but my heart is also heavy today Continue reading
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Correction to Previous Post
As I re-engage the world of blogging, you must all enjoy how two of my last three posts have been “correction” posts, lol. But here’s my correction, University Chapel is not affiliated with a Baptist denomination from what I can tell on their website, rather is interdenominational. I made this wrong assumption since today we Continue reading
About Mike
Mike is 54-years-old and has been married to his beloved wife Tanya since 1995. Together they have three terrific children, a much-loved foster son, “foster” daughter-in-law, an adored Bernedoodle Otis and cat Leo. Mike has been the lead pastor of Grace Vancouver Church in Canada since 2013. In 2017, Mike completed his Doctor of Ministry work on faith, vocation, belonging and place.
ABOUT EUDAIMONIA
“Eudaimonia” is a word from classical Greek that is generally attributed to Aristotle and means “human flourishing.” When Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that He came that we might have “life to the full,” that is eudaimonia. When Jeremiah tells the exiles to seek the peace and prosperity of the city (and pray for it), that is eudaimonia (Jer. 29:7). When the kings of the earth bring their glory to the heavenly city illumined by the glory of the Son, that is eudaimonia (Rev. 21:24). When the peoples of this earth know justice, goodness, forgiveness, reconciliation and the blessings of God that reach as far as the curse is found, we will all know eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is mostly about restored relationships and joyful reunions. The unbridled joy of my bride seeing our son for the first time in six weeks after seeing him off to university, captures a moment of eudaimonia.
The Eudaimonia Blog 