Articles
Besides these free online resources, Fairview Baptist Church produces several print resources. For more information on our printed resources such as The Baptist Confession, The Children’s Catechism, Into the Word: A Guide to Biblical Meditation, and The Gospel according to Mark with Gospel Primer, contact us at info@fairviewbaptistchurch.ca.
Our print resources are printed locally here in Calgary by our friends at Little Rock Printing.
Baptist Associations: Learning From the Past
Baptist Associations: Learning from the Past Introduction As Baptists thinking about associations and denominations, we should desire to learn from the past. How have Baptists in the past formed groups, what has worked about those groups, and what has not? I want to put forward a brief history, general observations, and lessons from Baptist associations in England and America from the 17th to 19th century. Historical Overview England Both General (Arminian) and Particular (Calvinistic) Baptists formed associations in 17th century…
Living in the Last Days
When considering the current political climate or some contemporary event, it doesn’t take long for a vocal Christian to blurt out, “We’re in the last days!” Whether in private conversation or online comment threads, many Christians believe we’re living in the last days. It can’t be denied that we are bombarded with negative news from all sides of the spectrum, and for many, the “doom and gloom” news cycle points to the fact that our present circumstances are dire and…
The State of Theology in Canada
Ligonier Ministries recently partnered with LifeWay to conduct a survey in Canada to measure the state of theology among professing Christians. When the survey results were released, we sent the same survey questions to our congregation. What follows is a summary of the 35-question survey and how our church is similar, or is different than other Christians in Canada. As one might expect from Christians in Canada, the results aren’t surprising yet are still disappointing. At the same time, I’m…
Interpreting Revelation
I didn’t know or understand much theology when I was younger. I was interested and somewhat acquainted with what the Bible said about the future—at least I thought so. Like many, I grew up hearing about the rapture, the antichrist, the seven-year tribulation, and a host of other details that came from sermons, prophecy conferences, books, and movies on the subject. It wasn’t until much later in my life that I even became aware that there were other interpretations of…
Separation of Church and State Under Christ
This article is an adaptation of a talk I gave at the Dominion of Canada Conference. Resources from that conference are available at their website: https://3rproject.ca/ The relationship between church and state is often captured by the phrase, “the separation of church and state.” Today, this pithy phrase is largely misunderstood with most people turning its meaning on its head. The phrase was originally coined to keep the state out of the church, but now it is employed to keep…
Was It Beliefs or Behavior?
The national president of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada sent out a public communication regarding our church’s removal from the Fellowship.[1] In that letter, the president stated that complementarianism was neither a related nor aggravating issue in our church’s removal. In fact, he maintains that to suggest as much is committing the same divisive behavior which warranted our removal. In the spirit of Proverbs 18:17 which says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until…
Another Three Bite the Dust
Yesterday at the Prairies regional convention for the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada (FEB) our church, along with two others (Fellowship Baptist Church, Edmonton and Park City Gospel Church, Winnipeg), were voted out. Our 66 year membership in the Fellowship was terminated. We were told this was not because of our beliefs but because of our behavior. The conflict began over gender roles in the church. The Fellowship’s national bylaws state, “In member churches, the pastoral office is…
Why I Am (Still) a Baptist
Over several years I’ve seen a few men change their mind concerning baptism. I’ve witnessed paedobaptists change their mind and become credobaptists and vice versa.[1] In my experience, those abandoning infant baptism for believers’ baptism have done so mainly because of an understanding of the new covenant and its distinctiveness or “newness” compared with the old. In contrast, the credobaptists I’ve known who’ve become paedobaptists have done so mainly because of their views of the Christian household, or more specifically,…
Appeal to Fellowship Prairies Churches
For best results, view this article on a computer rather than a mobile device so that the embedded PDFs are visible. To my brothers and sisters in Christ, joined in a partnership of churches called Fellowship Prairies, greetings. I regret that this correspondence will take away valuable time from your ministry and kingdom work. I’m not keen on writing to you about ongoing disagreement in our region, however the Fellowship Prairies Leadership Board (FPLB) has recently given notice of a…
The Resurrection Really Happened
This article is based on the sermon Four Evidences of the Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ seems too much for any person with a half-functioning brain to believe. If someone told you today that someone was raised from the dead yesterday on the other side of town, you wouldn’t believe it. Dead people don’t come back to life. Period. Concerning Jesus’ resurrection, in the gospel narratives even the disciples had trouble believing. If they had difficulty with Jesus’ resurrection,…
AI and the Existence of God
AI is here and it is here to stay. Even for those who want to avoid the technology, it will prove increasingly difficult. Google, the most popular search engine, now gives its AI results first. Generally, these are handy and helpful summaries of search results. Of all the emerging uses for AI, using it to search the internet is likely one of the most popular ways the average user will interact with it. Like anything Christians use as a tool,…
The Fellowship’s Unity Crisis
A few days ago 8 churches were excommunicated from Fellowship Pacific—and thus, from the national Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada (FEB).[1] They were removed for maintaining that churches within the FEB reserve the roles of elder/pastor, and the office of preaching to biblically qualified men. Bethany Baptist Church of Barriere, First Baptist Church of Kamloops, New West Community Church of New Westminster, Providence Baptist Church of Kelowna, Renfrew Baptist Church of Vancouver, Salt Spring Baptist Church of Salt…