Blog Archives

From Us to Them to Family

By John Dyck, MA, and Ken Pudlas, EdD Introduction Earlier articles published in NIMER have dealt with the broad topic of diversity and inclusion. For the most part they discussed the church’s responsibility to be inclusive of all persons including … Continue reading

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Atonement in 1 Peter – Reflections on Isaiah 53

By Larry J. Perkins, PhD The epistle of 1 Peter offers a specific perspective on the understanding of Jesus’ death and its significance. The writer’s integration of material from the Fourth Servant Song of Isaiah (52:13- 53:12) provides one of … Continue reading

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Reflections on the Theological Validity of Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs)

By Mark Naylor, DTh Introduction During my years as an evangelist and church planter among an unreached people group (1985-99), I struggled because of misconceptions I had about my role as church planter, my vision of church, the meaning of … Continue reading

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Toward Structurally Inviting and Inclusive Churches

Kenneth A. Pudlas, EdD Seminarians and others preparing for vocational ministry, whose calling is to minister to the Body of Christ on earth in some capacity, must bring into confluence their head, hand, and heart if they are to be … Continue reading

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Preparing a Proposal

Elsie Froment, PhD Introduction This article provides basic guidance on preparing a proposal for a new way of doing things in ministry settings. Perhaps the leadership team desires to bring a facility renovation forward. Perhaps a ministry leader would like … Continue reading

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Evangelism and “Nones and Dones” in Canada

Joel Thiessen, PhD  Introduction The fastest growing “religious” group in Canada include those who say they have no religion, or what sociologists of religion call “religious nones.” Approximately one-quarter of Canadian adults and one-third of Canadian teens do not identify … Continue reading

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Discerning “The Spirit” in Mark 2:8; 8:12 and 14:38

This paper makes the argument that the writer of Mark’s Gospel always references the Holy Spirit or “unclean spirit/s” when he uses the term πνεῦμα. Continue reading

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The Intentionally Intercultural Church: A Place for All Peoples

The purpose of this paper is to examine Jesus’ mission for the church and argue that an intentionally intercultural ideology will make churches within diverse communities safe places for people of any racial or ethnic background. Continue reading

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“Drinking It New in the Kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25) – An Assertion of Ownership?

The reference to drinking “the produce of the vine” in Mark 14:25 usually is seen as a reference to the eschatological banquet motif. In this article the argument is made that the Markan narrative does not refer to the eschatological banquet motif… Continue reading

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Adaptive Versus Strategic Planning: Planning for Results

The process of ministry planning has become a key part of most leadership boards or staffs. It is either implicitly or explicitly expected that most high-level leaders will be able to point to a well thought through strategic plan in order to explain the actions they are taking or the outcomes they are pursuing. This article suggests that it is time for a change… Continue reading

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Shrinking the Margins: The Church and Diversity

This article continues an ongoing exploration of inclusion and widens the biblical worldview lens to consider marginalization based on diversity in ethnicity, race, culture, and values. Continue reading

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Pornography and the Local Church

Arthur Birch, MA Two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul, warned believers in Jesus about sexual immorality. Writing to the church in Ephesus, in a letter that would be shared worldwide in coming years, the … Continue reading

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Mark 13:14 – A Cryptic Prophecy of the Messiah’s Death?

Larry J. Perkins, PhD Generally, current explanations of Mark 13:14 identify the “desolating sacrilege” or “the abomination of desolation” with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. While certainly the agent of this desolation, the Roman action is not … Continue reading

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Competency-Based Theological Education: Origins of the Immerse MDiv at Northwest Baptist Seminary

Ruth McGillivray, MA As seminary enrolment in North America declined through the early 2000s, a small Canadian school, Northwest Baptist Seminary, struggled to survive. Accepting that its conventional model of education was not producing the type of leaders needed by … Continue reading

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Moving Beyond Inclusion: The Story of One Family

Stace-Smith, H. & Pudlas, K.A. (2020) In a previous article Pudlas (2019) provided an introduction and overview of the current pedagogic paradigm known as full inclusion and argued that the church, which is the body of Christ here on earth, … Continue reading

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