Ryan Jantzi, Pastor
37818 Zurich - Hensall Rd. Zurich N0M2T0 Bayfield, ON, Canada

We will be hosting two webinars with 5Q on January 27th and February 24th discussing APEST and how it is one of the keys to unlocking and unleashing the latent potential held in the Body of Christ. Click here for more details: https://innovatebethechange.ca//9134-2021-01-14-5q-webinars

Join us for the first of three Family on Mission webinars. Click here for more info: https://innovatebethechange.ca/event/9121

One of my heroes died back in May. He died again last week. I never met Ravi Zacharias, but he has been a giant to me since my earliest years of ministry. I use...d to do the dishes with him back when podcasts were just becoming a thing. I’ve heard many preachers at the top of their game, but never one who could make the truth so beautiful. His sermons, while vivid and forceful, were shot through with the poetry of grace. Everything about him, from his rich accent to his perfect diction, to his surgical use of quotes, made me want to be a better preacher. In fact, sometimes when I write, I still hear his voice narrating my prose. This past week, then, has been a bit of a gut-punch. An independent investigation confirmed that the man in the podcast was not the man I believed him to be. I'll link to the ongoing story in the comments, but suffice it to say that Ravi, like so many before him, abused his position by abusing vulnerable women who trusted him as the rest of us did. There is nothing new here, of course, and that’s part of the tragedy. Recent flameouts by Christian leaders have jump-started new discussions on sexual abuse, local accountability, the responsibility of institutions, and the rancid nature of Christian celebrity. They are hard discussions to have, especially for those of us who are still feeling sick to our stomachs, but they are essential. Men need integrity. Ministries need transparency. Victims need advocacy. And preachers of the gospel need their feet held to the ground. It is only this last point that I feel qualified to speak to. I’m only an associate pastor of a mid-sized church in small-town OregonI’m not even the lead guybut I’ve felt the pull of the pedestal, too. We all have. I put a book out a couple of years ago, and I had two concerns that kept me up at night. First, I was worried about what might happen if the book bombed. I didn’t want it to crush me. After all, my identity was supposed to be rooted in Christ, not in book sales or Amazon reviews. I didn’t want that to change. I was also worried about the opposite scenario: what would happen if my book became a huge success? What if it became a bestseller, and people treated me like a rockstar? More to the point, what if I started to agree with their accolades? I knew that was a less likely scenario (there are only so many bestsellers, after all) but it was the more perilous one, too. After all, the greatest stories of human implosion never begin with shady massage parlors or cheap hotel rooms, but with feeble men who believe their own press. That progression is as clichéd as corruption itself. We’ve seen it happen a hundred million times, and yet it still surprises us when the bloated giants collapse beneath the weight of their own heads. I didn’t want to fall victim to that same lunacy. So, in the months before my book release, I decided to bring my fear to the light. I sought out the wisdom of a spiritual director. I found solace with him, and I found comfort in the prayers of our church elders. But you know where I found safety? In the cackling of my closest friends, who mocked me incessantly with the precious love of Jesus. I’m serious. What, you think we would ever let you believe you’re something special? They laughed. Uhhh, no. Remember, we actually know who you really are. And I almost wept with relief, because it was true. I knew as long as I kept them in the center of my life, I would be safe. (It turns out I need not have worried. The book didn’t sell particularly well.) My boss and senior pastor, Joshua Rivas, was one of those people. He likes to say, You’re never as bad as your worst critics, and you’re never as good as your biggest fans. He’s right, too. True validation doesn’t come from crowds. It comes from those who lift you up when you’re low, and who take you to task when you get too big for your britches. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. This leads me back to Ravi Zacharias. I don’t think he had anyone in his life who did this. And that’s a shame because if the reports are as bleak as they seem, Ravi didn’t just have old skeletons in his closet, he carried them in his suitcase. He wasn’t a man who went off the rails one time years ago; he was actively living a different story than he preached, leaving a trail of damaged lives in his wake. All this despite having countless colleagues, a board of directors, and a ministry network like few people in all Christendom. By all indications, none of these people was permitted to wound him. Or maybe they tried, but it was too late. Maybe he was already out of reach on his pedestal. Maybe the adulation of his fanspeople like mehad already worked it’s terrible magic. God help me, but maybe I was part of the problem. Can I ask a favor of you, dear reader, on behalf of other preachers and writers who have no desire to wreck their lives or the lives of the innocents? Who desires to be faithful in every way to the call of Christ? While we’re figuring out things like organizational accountability and transparency, there is a small thing you can do as we move forward: you can help us by refusing to build us pedestals. I know, sometimes we all think we want to balance atop such stages, but they are too high, and we know it. We have been tasked with teaching worship, not receiving it. Please understand, I’m not asking you to hold us to a lower standard. God Himself demands a lot of us. If we’re going to teach a truth, we’d better at least be doing our best to live it. And if we fall, the guilt is ours and ours alone. Still, the pull of celebrity is a poisonous thing, and not at all suited to ministers of the gospel. We are most settledmost grounded and secure and, well, safewhen we are sharing life not with followers and fans who don’t question us, but with brothers and sisters who do; with friends who know all our secrets and love us enough to wound us when they must. In the meantime, what do I do with all the things I learned from Ravi? He introduced me to the maxims of Chesterton, and the pummeling prose of Muggeridge. He taught me the power of story, the magic of metaphor, and how to hold a long S at the end of my money quotes. But more than all that, he showed me how to embrace mystery and wonder in the good news of Jesus Christ. What am I to do with all that? And what am I to do with his narrative voice, which still plays in my mind when my fingers are hammering out something good? I don’t know the answer. But I know the power of redemption is great. While the man I revered will doubtless receive a hefty judgment for his crimes, his words themselves might still produce fruit in hungry souls. So maybe it’s okay if I still hear him. For now, all I can do is learn from the tragedy of my distant mentor; to write and speak with urgency, but without ambition, and to keep my feet planted in the sacred soil of glorious community.

Using tech for the glory of God! Do you have tech skills, but not always sure how to use them to extend God’s goodness in the world? Check out FaithTech.

Laurie is attracted to women. And Matt is also attracted to women. Both Laurie and Matt love Jesus. They’re in what’s called a mixed orientation marriage and they talk about how that works in this fascinating episode of Theology in the Raw. Their marriage is incredible. Not perfect. No marriage is. But their marriage truly does exemplify the honesty, difficulty, beauty, and meaningfulness that every marriage is supposed to embody. - Preston Sprinkle

My friend, Dianne Loerchner, has a real gift for writing poetry that reflects what God is leading us through together among K-ZMC.

Great episode! A helpful catalyst to get me back, thinking and living into this way of life again.

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is a real, relevant, and complicated reality for many people in Canada, and opportunities for theological and pastoral reflection are few. To that end, MB Seminary is providing a live and interactive (and free!) equipping event on November 24 via Zoom.

Last week's sermon is now Live! You can check it out on Spotify, iTunes or your favourite podcasting app. Just search "KZMC Sermons" An entire replay of Sunday'...s Service is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/icLM_OepksU #wearekzmc

Hebrews 12:11 #MondayMotivation

A good word here.

Shining God's Light on Your Life We all have life patterns that cause destruction and chaos in our lives. But, we prefer to keep them in the dark because we fee...l guilt and shame. It feels easier that way... but they keep on destroying us. God is inviting us to shine His light, exposing this sin before Him and others close to us. It can be painful, but this begins the healing process of restoring our lives. Check out this snippet from Week #3 of our Teaching Series 'Becoming Whole'.

Last Sunday's Sermon is now up! You can check it out as a Podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Google and Soundcloud. Just search for "K-ZMC Sermons" on your favourite p...latform. Or if you'd prefer, you can watch the entire replay of our Sunday Morning on YouTube: https://youtu.be/450gA5mLIt8 #wearekzmc

Join the Parenting Pivot Challenge! This is a 14 day event running from October 8th - 24th, and it's completely online. During this time you'll have access to live interviews of parenting experts! For more details, check out the website: https://www.parentingpivotchallenge.com/join

Wise words from my friend, Carole.

Miss last week's sermon? Don't worry, you can still catch it! K-ZMC's sermons are now available on Spotify and Soundcloud, and coming soon to iTunes and Google... Podcasts. https://open.spotify.com/show/5ec2lZUrJz8PhkiceX6ahA Full replays of our Sunday Mornings are also available on our YouTube Channel! #wearekzmc

WHEN MY 15YR OLD CONFESSES HE'S HAVING DOUBTS When my 15 yr old confesses he's having doubts about the existence of God, I don't try to prove God's existence, I... tell him about my own doubts and how they led me to know and experience God, When my 15 yr old confesses he's having doubts about the existence of God, I don't try to prove God's existence, I ask him to read a gospel (one of the 4), I suggest he read it in The Message, and give me a one paragraph response, so we can discuss what he's learning, When my 15 yr old confesses he's having doubts about the existence of God, I don't try to prove God's existence, I remind him God is ok with his doubts, and He will reveal himself when you're ready to open space for His presence. The last thing I want to do is instill in my 15yr old that God's existence can be proven based on something more foundational than knowing God himself through Jesus.

Yes. I also see this taking place among some. Sad. Now more than ever, we need to be listening to minority Jesus Followers and the global church, many for whom there is not the same divorce between personal salvation and working for justice in the world that there is for many NA Christians.