It is hard to live in this world today & not know that we are in a state of

calamity. Whether it is civil unrest, political polarities, war,

immigration, hunger, homelessness, disease, environmental disasters, or the

combination of them; our world is in crises! (Just take a look HERE at the

UN’s Refugee statistics!)

So what are we suppose to do about it? What priority do they have & how are

we to know which issues to first address? And, with polarizing words like

dominion & stewardship, what roll does religion & spirituality have?

Let me start by apologizing for the poor audio in this podcast. I spent a

great deal of time attempting to enhance it but, this was the best I could

get it. My hope is in future CIC Conversations I might be able to set the

mic up closer to the speakers table so that it picks them up much better.

A few months back, there was a small gathering of people from multiple

traditions of faith, that came together to explore & share their

understandings of salvation; particularly through the traditions of

Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, & Christianity.

I have truly been excited to publish this podcast after talking with

Derrick & Britney a few weeks ago! We met downtown in the newly constructed

building of the Seeds step up program. While the 1st & 2nd floors are for

administration & education spaces, the remaining several floors are

dedicated to small apartments and social spaces where residents can meet &

grow in community. 

Over the past 15 years I have been involved…

Rohadi Nagassar & I go back several years in our friendship & it was a

great privilege to be able to sit with him & spend some time exploring some

of his new adventures in Cypher Church as well as converse around a number

of his thoughts on racism following his blog series on Rohadi.com.

It seems as though racism & prejudice issues have become such a prevalent

conversation these days, particularly relating to the violence taking place

in the US & the political climates surrounding immigration & the Trump

Presidency. While our conversation does not hit on all these issues, it

begins to open some of the basic first steps in understanding racism in our

society today.

Sitting in the central cafe space at First Alliance Church, Tim Schultz and

I chatted about his growing up years as a missionary kid & his vision for

The Mosaic Network. Passionate about reaching out to those who find

themselves engaged in kingdom work but often outside of the norms of the

Christian traditional church, Tim shared how he hoped Mosaic might become a

meeting place for the two sides to come together & learn from one another.

With the First podcast of the year, I am sharing the conversation I had with my friends John Pritchard & Tim Volkman as we explored their House Church movement, The Edge Network.

Christmas is really one of my favourite times of year! Truth is, I've struggled over the whole commercialization of it, especially the last decade but, it remains a very magical time where I focus on the blessing of family, friends, and the spirit of sharing stories of wonder over great food and drinks.

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity for Laureen Gunther to join my wife and I in the living room of our home and share about her latest co-authored publication called Christmas With Hot Apple Cider. She is a prolific author as she writes in numerous community newsletters and a huge advocate for the incredible artistic town of Rosebud Alberta.

While not wanting to "spill all the cider" we share in the podcast, we cover a range of topics including her connection with this community called Hot Apple Cider, her story of a Christmas blessing, diverse traditions of Christmas celebrations, the meaning of Christmas and how immigration reflects the magic of the incarnation, and the richness of family during the Christmas season.

I hope you enjoy this episode of The Inception Of Wonder Podcast and please feel free to visit us on iTunes while subscribing to future publications. I would also welcome you to rate the podcast while leaving a comment on your thoughts to the show.

Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with my good friend Preston

Pouteaux. He is a husband to his wife Kelly, father to two little girls,

pastor at Lake Ridge Community Church, and an amazing artist both in

painting and his writing. And of course, he is a bee keeper and gardener of

all things beautiful.

I first met Preston about 5 or 6 years ago in a Forge Canada gathering here

in Calgary. Along with his completely entertaining...

I've know Evan for over the past three years and his story is one of

inspiration and great faith. Leading a number of others from the Bow Valley

Christian Church in NW Calgary, they made the intentional and brave move to

build and begin living in mission amidst the Mahogany community on the

outskirts of SE Calgary.

Since being there he has become deeply involved with the volunteer

community of their neighbourhood and given great time to developing some

amazing relationships with his neighbours and other community leaders in

the city. Without hesitation, I can say that Evan Spencer is a vital leader

in his neighbourhood...

"Music takes you to a space where it can pull back the veil between reality

and the eternal while only giving you a glimpse for the briefest of

moments.”

A few weeks ago I got to sit in my den with my good friend and musical

artist, Verne Luchinski. We shared some great laughs as he spoke of growing

up in Saskatchewan Canada and the many influences he's had over the years.

It was my first...