E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the American Road, 1944
“Can the government of this country be christianized? Not denominationalized,nor priest-ridden, or pastor-ridden, but can it function in an effective, Christian way? (…) It was good for church and state to be separate. In being so, each could possess its soul. But now the matter is clear: they have become too separate! The power of living Christian faith has not been turned into the public life of this country to purify and dedicate it to great ends. Only incidentally has religion been a purifying force as it purified individuals going into public life. Now the purification must be deliberate and intentional, not only of individuals, but of policies which those individuals hold(…)
Christian faith and government processes must come together —not formally but forcefully,not verbally but vitally. The Christian movement can prepare for this new vital alliance by two steps. First by giving up its attitude of aloofness —the attitude that says, “We cannot have anything to do with politics.” Can’t have anything do do with politics? But politics has something to do with us! It regulates our lives, tells us what to do and not to do, what to eat and not to eat! Abdicate there? Then you abdicate at the place where life is vitally determined for millions. Purify politics, or it will stain you! (…)
The call to put Christian principles into public life is just as sacred a call as to utter them from a pulpit…Those elected to public office should go with a sense of mission —a sense that they are being sent by God, and with the backing of the prayers and moral convictions of good people.
I was the Rector of St. Simon's Church North Vancouver, B.C for 31 years, from 1987 to 2018. Ordained in 1980, I have also served at St. Philip's Vancouver and St. Matthew's Abbotsford. My wife Janice and I have three sons James, Mark, and Andrew. I was Past President and Chaplain for Alpha Canada. While serving as the National Chair for Anglican Renewal Ministries of Canada, I was one of three co-signers of the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials
For the past 31 years, I have been privileged to write over 500 articles as a columnist on spiritual issues for local North Vancouver newspapers. In the last number of years, I have had the opportunity to speak at conferences and retreats in Honduras, Rwanda, Uganda, Washington State, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, and Ontario.
My book For Better, For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship, coauthored with Janice Hird, can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Better-Worse-Discovering-lasting-relationship/dp/0978202236/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1535555614&sr=8-1
My sequel Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit, with a foreword by Dr JI Packer, is online with Amazon.com in both paperback http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/097820221X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile and ebook form http://tiny.cc/tanhmx .
In Canada, Amazon.ca has it available in paperback http://tiny.cc/dknhmx and ebook http://tiny.cc/wmhmmx .
It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook ), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).
Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form. Nook gives a sample of the book to read online: http://tiny.cc/vj3bmx . Indigo also offers the Kobo ebook version: http://tiny.cc/kreonx . You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook: http://tiny.cc/1ukiox
The book 'Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit' focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus' healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how North Americans can embrace a holistically healthy life.
In order to obtain a signed copy in North America of the prequel book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', Blue Sky, or God's Firestarters, please send a $25 etransfer to ed_hird@telus.net . Cheques are also acceptable.
Edhird's Blog 