Battle for the Soul of Canada

Pastor Ali Feizi on the emerging generation of leaders

2011-11-17T06:24:00.000-08:00

Pastor Ali Feizi shares about his excitement about the book Battle for the Soul of Canada, which focuses on raising up the emerging generation of leaders. Ali is a pastor at the Church of God of Prophecy in Vancouver BC, and attends the Vancouver Pastors Prayer Fellowship. His testimony of coming to faith from a Iranian muslim background can be read by clicking on the Light Magazine link.

Excerpt: "Something strange was happening to him. Although he didn’t know what it was, Ali Feizi knew it was real. He felt completely bewildered by the so-called “praise and worship” time and even more confused by the content of the central message: Jesus is the “Son of God.” To be in a Christian church was forbidden to him as a devout Muslim. “What am I doing?” he thought anxiously. “I have to get out of here.”"

I am a Timothy

2011-05-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Jason Chifan
Hello Ed. I am a 3rd year Bible College student at Christ for the Nations (CFN) Bible School in Langley, BC, and one of my professors is Dr. Ken Deeks (he is very involved in St. Matthews, Abbotsford).

I serve at my church, Westwood Community Church, in Coquitlam, in the kids ministry, and the Kids Ministry Pastor, Sandra Crawford, referred your book over for me to read! I'm still on the first half, but really appreciate what you have written.

I know that God has spoken over my life that I am a Timothy and he has commissioned me to raise up Timothys as well.

Every Page is stirring me...

2011-04-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

From: Michael Kerry [mailto:nut.shell@shaw.ca]

Dear Ed,I thank you for inspiring me for many years.I have fond memories of Christian Ashrams with you and David and Vera Cline. I remember you at St. Matt’s and on occasions we’ve met along the years.It’s good to be on your mailing list and receive your frequent messages.

Above all, though, I thank you for the electronic copy of Battle for the Soul of Canada. I’m reading it as a devotion and its every page is stirring me.

You will recognize me (go to www.churchinabbotsford.com and click on “About” - “ACLN”).Tomorrow my wife and I are joining the march that takes us from Abbotsford Community Services to St. Matt’s. It will give us the liturgical stimulus that we occasionally enjoy and it will also renew our fellowship with believers who are paying the price.

Bless you Ed,

Michael Kerry

Lonni Collins Pratt finds Battle for the Soul applicable

2011-01-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

I have read and enjoyed your book Ed, I think much of it is applicable to the western world in general.

I am the author of Radical Hospitality, as well as numerous other books, the second edition of Radical Hospitality will be released late in the spring. I'm hard at work on another book.

I've spent most of my life as a writer/journalist and have numerous secular and religious press awards. My husband is a United Methodist pastor, we live in very rural Michigan.

Lonni Collins Pratt

http://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Hospitality-Benedicts-Way-Love/dp/1557254419

Endorsement from Singapore

2011-01-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks Rev Ed, we met last August at St. Simon's Church NV while we were visiting. I am in Sunday school ministry since 2009 in Singapore, and received our Lord in 2006.

I enjoyed your Battle for the Soul of Canada book which was sent to us when you first published it. I also enjoy your blogs and frequent updates. I feel the passion of our Lord Jesus in your ministry and will be praying for your church too. Blessed New year!

Bill Taylor shares his thoughts

2010-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

Hi Ed

I just finished the Battle for the Soul of Canada book the other day – I was out at Cedar Springs again on a personal retreat. I enjoyed it very much – thanks for giving it to me! I trust you are encouraged in your service to our Lord!

Blessings,

Bill

Bill Taylor
Executive Director
Evangelical Free Church of Canada
877-305-EFCC(3322)
Unity. Charity. Jesus Christ.

Archie Southern shares about The Battle...

2010-12-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Hello Ed: Just finished your book-'Battle for the Soul of Canada"

I loved it---!!!

I am keeping it close by as a 'text book' as I endeavour to engage in the canadian battle for her soul--a battle indeed.

A business man embarked from an airplane at the Vancouver airport and got into a taxi cab.At which point he asked the cab driver "I understand that this is national apathy week in Canada, to which the driver promptly responded,"I don't know and I really don't care"!

Perhaps the Canadian church{not just Anglicans} is plagued with the affliction of the taxi driver. Your book will surely help in neutralizing this Canadian plight.

Thanks for the gift and your insight.

Although I hardly know you, I must say that our beloved nation is richer because of this scholarly,spiritual and insightly deposit.

May God continue to bless all your efforts in the renewal of the Anglican Way, and your battle for the Canadian soul.

Sincerely in Christ.

Archie N. Southern
Evangelist
MissionCANADA
The Great Canadian Awakening

Complimentary Battle for the Soul study guide available

2010-11-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Bible Study Available
Free Download is Now Available

The study Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada is now available from this website for free.

Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada is a six session Bible Study based on the book, Battle for the Soul of Canada by Ed Hird. It is a Companion Bible Study. Each session contains an excerpt from Ed’s book along with questions to spark conversation and debate. Along with that you are given, Points to Ponder, Thoughts to Consider, Delve Deeper into the Bible and Brainstorming.

Ed says:
“I fully endorse this very creative Bible study by Jan Cox on Battle for the Soul of Canada. Jan’s insightful clarity shone through her study. May many Canadians make use of this most helpful guide.”

Please download the file.
I would appreciate an email when you do the download and if you could follow up with your comments, that would be appreciated.

Download the PDF: Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
Email: Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the Leader's Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide

Donna Dawson says this:
After having had the opportunity to review Reverend Ed Hird’s book Battle for the Soul of Canada, I found myself looking forward to the companion Bible study written by author Janis Cox. Entitled Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-filled Canada this study is chock full of mind teasing questions and nuggets of truths gleaned from the scriptures through Reverend Hird’s book.

Ms. Cox presents a thorough and well-ordered study that doesn’t leave the participant feeling overwhelmed or bogged down—something that can happen easily in a Bible study. Nor does she rely solely on Reverend Hird’s opinions but challenges the reader to discover what they think about the issues raised.

Each lesson begins with a scripture reading followed by a suggested reading from Battle for the Soul of Canada. It is then followed by a series of questions, quotes and points to ponder all related to the Reverend’s book and ultimately his Biblical view of Canada.

Ms. Cox doesn’t stop there. She offers a teachers’ guide which helps the study leader search for life examples of the points Reverend Hird is trying to make. And yet, she doesn’t just fill in the blanks making it a cut and paste kind of session. This is a very interactive study and study guide to a very serious and important book—all of which leads straight back to the reviving of Canada’s faith. An excellent study for adult groups eager to become involved in the life of Canada from a Christian viewpoint

Jeanette Townsend shares about the Battle for the Soul

2010-10-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

"My name is Jeanette Townsend. I am from Valemont, British Columbia. I just retired a little over a year ago after serving as Mayor for eighteen years.

During the times of my six terms as Mayor, many times it was brought to my attention that not enough time and thought is given to helping the young people in our nation. Many of them are distressed. They feel somewhat aimless because they don't trust the direction that the nation is heading, and they have concerns. I attended the Anglican Church in Williams Lake, as well in Valemont. Being involved with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and getting quarterly reports, the plight of young people was really starting to touch my heart and my concern about the future welfare of this country. This book Battle for the Soul of Canada by Rev Ed Hird was advertised in one of our Anglican publications. I ordered four of them and kept one. I gave one to my MLA Shirley Bond who I know is a Christian and would be very interested in the welfare of the young people.

It's an excellent book. I am distributing the two that I have left, because I have read it and I want to really commend the Rev. Ed Hird for writing and publishing it. I think that 'The Battle for the Soul of Canada' is a very timely title for a book, because it is a battle for the soul of our nation, and the battle for the soul of the children who will be our future leaders in this country."

To view Jeanette Townsend's short video, click on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bjaEN52lP4

Feedback from Aare Ilves in New Hampshire, USA

2010-10-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed reading your book "Battle for the Soul of Canada" and was impressed with how you tied in the messages of St Paul to Timothy with the religious history of Canada.

I have a great deal of interest in Canada, since my father-in-law was Canadian. My wife and son have dual citizenship, and our son lived for a while near Ottawa.

I am one of the founding members of Grace Anglican Church in New Hampshire, under Bishop Bill Murdoch of the Anglican Diocese in New England. We started in 2005 as a small group in Vermont, out of which three churches have been born (the others being in Burlington and Rutland).

We appreciate the ministry of Bishop Donald Harvey when he visits All Saints Anglican Church in Rutland.

Aare Ilves (New Hampshire)

Rev Wayne Lo's comments

2010-08-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

Rev Ed Hird's book Battle for the Soul of Canada is excellent for those who are brought up without much knowledge on stories of Canadian Christians with respect to the history of Canada.

i have used it quite a few times for my sermon illustrations so far.

My hope is that many more young Christians find it useful for their journey of faith, especially on witnessing in the public square.

Rev Wayne Lo
Executive Director
Christian Social Concern Fellowship
Vancouver BC

Faith-filled awareness

2010-05-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Ed Hird's devotional book raises a faith-filled awareness that Canadians have much to be thankful for in our lives in Christ. I have found my devotional time in the morning has been enriched as I read about great Canadians and their faith. This book is for all - especially as we all ponder the younger generation's place in our country,churches, hearts, and prayers. Thanks Ed!

Jack Duckworth
Winnipeg City Director
International Student Ministry Canada

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Connecting with both the pain and the promise

2010-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank you for your book, "Battle for the Soul of Canada." I hadn't had a chance to read it until this past week-- the final weeks of my M.Div program were fairly time-consuming-- but I've started reading it and am really enjoying it. 1 and 2 Timothy are two of my favorite books in the New Testament. When I first went out to the mission-field, they became an anchor. It was as if Paul was speaking to me in person. I'm thrilled by the way in which you have focused on raising up "Timothies," and I have learned a great deal that I did not know about Canada's spiritual history. I have also appreciated the way in which you have put yourself in the book, connecting your readers with both the pain and the promise that come with faithfulness in the face of compromise.

The Lord Bless you and all the saints at St Simon's in North Vancouver. I look forward to getting to know you better over the coming years.

In His Service,

David McElrea (from St John's Richmond)

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Bishop Josep from Brazil speaks out

2010-04-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

"As I read the book of my friend and fellow servant of the Lord, Rev. Ed, I have been inspired to the importation of getting ready this generation of young leaders to be equipped and prepared for the battle ahead of us. It is an inspiring book that help us to be aware of the challenge ahead of us as Christian and God's Church. This 'Battle for the Soul of Canada' book explains the problems and the solutions, and it challenges us to be a faithful and consecrated generation. I recommend this book to anyone who has a heart for this emerging generation of leaders"

Bishop Josep Miquel Rossello Ferrer
Igreja Anglicana Reformada, Brazil
http://www.igrejaanglicana.com.br

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Refreshing Stories

2010-03-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's refreshing to read the stories of the pioneering church faithful written with honest, unabashed pride and enthusiasm. You have captured the essence of the Canadian contribution to Christianity through these inspiring stories interwoven with Biblical truths. There is no substitute for the the author's humanizing touch that builds on past generations for the future.

God bless. Drs Stephen & Marcia Graham
http://cas.uindy.edu/iswd/faculty/graham.php

Political Science Professor; Pre-Law Advisor
Ph. D., 1971, Duke University

Areas of Specialty:

•Political Theory
•Constitutional Law
Upper Division Courses:

•Political Theory
•Constitutional Law: Powers of the Government
•Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties
Professional Activities:
Dr. Graham's most recent publication is Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Mission: The Life and Work of E. Stanley Jones (Abingdon, 2005). The book received the 2007 Pollock Award for Christian Biography.Dr. Graham also published The Totalitarian Kingdom of God: The Political Philosophy of E. Stanley Jones (University Press of America, 1998). He and Marcia Graham published First the Kingdom(University Press of America) in 1994. Dr. Graham has published articles in numerous journals, including American Political Science Review, State Government, and Journal of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies.

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Greetings from Rwanda

2010-02-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Rwanda

Rev. Jean Pierre Rukundo
The Anglican Church of Rwanda
Shyogwe Diocese
Po Box 142 Muhanga/ Rwanda.

Dear Pastor Ed Hird,

Greetings in Jesus` name.

I have met you in North Carolina in Winter conference 2010. Thank you very much for your book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'. I am reading that book, and I still remember your voice. I love you and I am committed to pray for your ministry amidst the challenges you have. You have decided to surrender earthly things for the Truth of the Gospel. The Lord you serve is not poor or ignorant. He will provide whatever you need for His work. I will share your story with my family and friends, and build a network to pray for you.

God bless you and keep you safe as you serve Him and prepare the future leaders to rescue your country.

With love and respect.
Rev. Jean Pierre.

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

1 comments:
Peter Black said...
What a lovely letter, Ed.
I'm sure it provided you with a timely encouragement, when you first opened and read it.
Thank you for sharing these gracious sentiments with us from this dear brother in Christ.

Feedback from Dr Owen Moss

2010-02-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Ed

After the Friday night Service of Healing at the 2010 winter conference of AMiA, we talked and prayed together by the RHINO Technologies table. Thank you for your gracious understanding towards two newcomers to AMiA. Donna and I initially thought you were Bishop Thad Barnum -- and jumped in to thank him for “Never Silent”. Yet you were the exact person God wanted us to meet.

Our God is in control (and even sometimes shows us His sense of humor). I am convinced that God wanted our youth pastor, Thomas Kortus, to have a copy of your book (“Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders”), for me to read your book, and for me to become a partner in praying you through the completion of your next book on Titus "Restoring Health in the 21st Century.

I am thankful for getting to talk and pray with you. In the next few days we will get your book to Thomas. However, Thomas will now get a used copy since I read your book Friday night. Your writing style and the format of the book lends itself to fairly rapid reading. What a great set of studies. From now on, as I read Timothy, there also will be thoughts of how much God loves the Canadian people.

What struck me is that you have pointed the way to move forward to reach the soul of Canada; you show, through your examples, that there is a gap between Canadians of the 19th century and Canadians of the 21st century. For the one, our God -- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, -- was real and intimate, and for the other, the supernatural in many ways is excluded. This is exactly what J. G. Machen (“Christianity and Liberalism”) described in 1923. And now the baton is passed to us. I will be praying for you to complete your next book. However I should warn you that often I wake up in the middle of the night to pray and when praying for someone, I ask the Lord to also wake that person up and surround him with His presence.

Thank you again for being so gracious to two confused newcomers to the wonderful fellowship of Anglican Mission in the Americas.

Yours in Christ,

Owen

Owen R. Moss, Ph.D.

Email: mossowen@gmail.com

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Gina Sikkema: a book of inspiration and truth

2009-11-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Gina Sikkema on Twitter: "I finished reading "Battle for the Soul of Canada" It is a book of inspiration and truth--a worthy read"

Gina's book review on her website: "The author draws from a wealth of pioneering Christian Canadian leaders. He ties together the need for religious stability within our country to the same needs of the world following the death of Jesus. He brings to the forefront the words of encouragement offered by Paul to Timothy, making them relevant to the needs of the present day. He shares with Paul a love for the truth of Scripture, refusing to bow to the demands of a modern society to tell the people what they want to hear. This book is truly an inspiration to churches of all denominations who struggle to retain Scriptural truth as they deal with the overwhelming pressures of modern society."

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Feedback from Elsie MacDonald

2009-11-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

I was very pleased to receive your book from a mutual friend. I thought that your book was a godsend. It gave me hope that there are people out there on the side of truth which is so desperately needed. I told my friend that 'the book is so true'.

A few years ago I kept hearing in my head what you said in your book on page 127: "Awake, awake O Zion, clothe yourselves with strength. Put on your garment of splendor...Shake off your dust, rise up...Free yourselves from the chains on your neck, O Captive Daughter of Zion. (Isaiah 52:1-2)" My spirit resonated with that statement in your book.

I thank God for people like you who stand on the side of truth, and may your book be a blessing to all who read it.

God bless you!

Elsie MacDonald

-former Chief of the Ojibway First Nation of Webique, North Western Ontario

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Canada's God-given destiny -SALLY START

2009-11-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

Ed Hird writes out of first hand experience on the Battle for the Soul of Canada. His passion for God's Truth, and for this nation to come fully into her God-given destiny, shines through every page.

I was encouraged by the stories of those who have gone before us and personally challenged afresh to do my part to raise up this generation's Timothys and Timotheas.

-Sally Start, National Ambassador, Alpha Canada

Provocative and appealing: Trevor Lautens

2009-11-06T07:38:00.001-08:00

-Trevor Lautens, Columnist, North Shore News.

The value of transparency about our hidden fears

2009-11-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

I really appreciate this book's transparency about the fears we too often keep hidden, and the author's practical tips for change.

The book reassures women that we're not alone in our fears. Others have been there and have found a way to overcome by relying on the promises of the God of the Bible.

I found this to be a contemplative book, good to read slowly and ponder. There are some gems of wisdom, and the simpler but strong faith of the Celtic Christians certainly has much to offer us today. I liked the practical applications at the end of each chapter that showed readers how to form their own prayers after the patterns of the Celts.

-jacksen

Wow! I am really enjoying the book -Art Pederson

2009-10-29T01:23:00.000-07:00

"Wow! I am really enjoying the book.

The first 12 pages of recommendations was a real blessing. I believe the reason is because I believe we are in some ways kindred spirits, particularly in the area of the whole Body of Christ. Everyone who has known me over the years knows of my commitment to fellowship with all believers...

My wife remarked this evening about how much I have already highlighted the first 60 pages. I expect that practice to continue for the remainder of my adventure in reading your book.

Thank you for the book.A humble servant in Christ,
--
Art Pederson
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada"

Beverly Smith rereads Battle for the Soul of Canada

2009-10-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Beverly Smith *

For those mentoring youth, you can read more about this in Ed's book "Battle For the Soul of Canada" I re-read it this weekend and the book, insights and historical information always encourages me to keep praying for Canada.

*Intercessory leader at Harvest City Church, Vancouver, BC

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Joy Smith, Manitoba MP

2009-09-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

Regarding the book Battle for the Soul of Canada: "It was a delight to read."

Joy Smith, M.P.
Kildonan – St. Paul
Chair of the Standing Committee on Health

http://www.joysmith.ca/

Note from Ed+: Joy is a courageous pioneer in motivating politicians to take a stand to protect young people and children from human trafficking and sexual slavery.

Gareth Morgan's desire to read it again

2009-08-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Ed,

A few years ago you handed me your book Battle for the Soul of Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

However, after attending the Cry this weekend, I felt the desire to read it again. This time I couldn't put it down.

I was greatly encouraged as I read of the courage of our nation's leaders. The book really brought Pauls' letter to life for me, stirring my heart to long for greater things

Gareth Morgan

(posted by permission)

Faytene Kyrskow Speaks Out

2009-08-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

Rev. Ed Hird is one of my modern day Canadian heros. A man of conviction, passion for truth, God and His ways, passion for his nation and a man who not willing to push against the grain to take a stand for what he knows is truth.

In this amazing literary call, Rev. Hird articulates all these elements like a good soldier fighting for generations to come.

"Battle for the Soul of Canada" is more than a book; it is a call and more than a call; it is a trumpet blown at a critical moment in our nation's history.

I encourage you to soak this text in with faith and determination of heart. Faith and determination to leave this nation better than you found it, for the sake of generations to come.

History will look back on these days and judge.

May we be found strong, true and morally sound on all fronts, as Rev.
Hird exhorts.

Faytene Kryskow
Authory & Director, 4 MY Canada

The Cry Canada

Archbishop Yong Ping Chung, Primate of South East Asia (ret)

2009-08-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Yong Ping Chung: I want to recommend this book to all who care about the vital and essential matters of life-the reality of the SOUL in every individual, society and nation.

Ed speaks from his own inner spiritual journey and the reality of peace, joy and life in Jesus Christ. He has sounded the trumpet call to all Christian leaders to face the reality of our time and to join in the urgent God given task of saving the Soul of Canada.

The Battle for the Soul of Canada is the deep cry of a convicted Canadian christian to the spiritual reality of the beloved country he lives and minister as an Anglican Priest. It is a very moving story.

Raising up the Emerging Generations of Leaders is the only effective weapon God has given the church to defeat the destruction of the enemy. Out of his own deep study of the word of God, Ed makes this the life calling of his ministry and work. All of us need to learn this lesson well.

The are numerous personal experiences that illustrate the deep spiritual principles that makes this book a wonderful reading.

May God bless this book at a time like this.

Yong Ping Chung
Retired Archbishop of South East Asia.

Book reviews by Kimberley Payne and Johanna Mallory of The Word Guild

2009-08-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.shelfari.com/books/4187208/Battle-for-the-Soul-of-Canada-Raising-Up-the-Emerging-Generation/reviews

“An amazing amount of research and background information was provided in an easy-to-read and encouraging tone. I particularly liked the chapters "Working out at God's Gym" and "Seven Deadly Sins at the Weight Room" (gee I wonder why :))”Kimberley Payne , author of

Fit for Faith' wrote this review http://www.kimberleypayne.com/

Rated 3 stars

“In Battle for the Soul of Canada Rev. Ed Hird pairs readings from 1 & 2 Timothy with historical and cultural vignettes in a series of messages challenging us with the importance of raising up the emerging generation of Christian leaders in Canada.Ed writes, “the key to renewing the soul of Canada — and the heart of this book — is to be found in raising up Timothys”. And that’s exactly what Battle for the Soul of Canada sets out to equip us to do.Each chapter is short and informative. There’s also a companion study guide available, Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada, at spiritfilledcanada.blogspot.com.”Joanna Mallory wrote this review

Book Review by Laura Davis

2009-03-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

Battle For the Soul of Canada
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Dr. J.I. Packer, “a bible-believer, a converted Christian, an Anglican clergyman, a charismatic, a sufferer, a soldier of Christ, a man of God, a shepherd of souls and a nurturer of vocations, a visionary, a pioneer, a Canadian patriot, a journalist and lively author.”

Indeed, Rev. Ed Hird is all these things and more.

Battle for the Soul of Canada, in my humble opinion, should be read by every Canadian from coast to coast. This book should be part of our Public Education System’s required reading for history. I learnt so much about the history of Canada, that I was shocked I had never heard these things in school. Of course, Battle for the Soul of Canada is not just a history lesson; it’s also a book about the faith of men and women who, through the Lord’s leadership founded this great country of ours.

Based on 1 & 2 Timothy, Rev. Hird proclaims throughout the book how important it is for us as Canadian Christians to raise up Timothy’s. Who are Timothy’s? In the Reverend's words – “A genuine Timothy is someone who seeks first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness in this profoundly self-centered culture. A genuine Timothy is someone sold out for God, passionate, committed, and visionary.” Rev. Hird goes on to say, “Our vision, through the Anglican Coalition in Canada, is to raise up and send Timothy’s all across our nation, and ultimately as missionaries around the world for the healing of the nations.”

This book is a call to every Christian, no matter their church affiliation, to speak out and stand up for righteousness in the face of adversity, persecution and yes apostasy within the church. It is a wonderful commentary to have handy when studying 1 & 2 Timothy and can be a valuable tool, not just for Canadians, but for anyone who cares about their country.Tomorrow Rev. Hird will be stopping by for an interview. I hope you can join us!

Posted by Laura Davis at 8:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Anglican Church, Anglican Coalition, Battle for the Soul of Canada, Rev. Ed Hird
http://interviewsandreviews.blogspot.com/2009/03/battle-for-soul-of-canada.html

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Book Review by Joanna Mallory

2008-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Rated 4 stars out of 5

Each chapter is short and informative. There’s also a companion study guide available, Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada, at spiritfilledcanada.blogspot.com ”

Joanna Mallory

http://www.shelfari.com/books/4187208/Battle-for-the-Soul-of-Canada-Raising-Up-the-Emerging-Generation/bookthread?reviewid=757575

Book Review by author Donna Dawson

2008-10-18T20:48:00.001-07:00

Reverend Ed Hird’s book The Battle for the Soul of Canada (ISBN 0978202201) is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. It doesn’t really have a category so I won’t confine it by trying to assign one. Written in an easy-to-read style, Reverend Hird’s book satisfies me on several spiritual levels.

There is the intellectual side of it—the history lessons. Too often we forget about the history of Christianity in Canada to our own demise. Reverend Hird has brought the history of faith in our country to the forefront of this book but he’s done so much more. He has woven solution to our present day ills into each page by reminding us of those who have blazed the spiritual trail before us.

Sometimes, as I read, I couldn’t help but wonder where he was leading. After all, what does a shuffleboard court in a Vancouver park have to do with Canadian hockey and—well—faith in Christ? Reverend Hird can tell you quite capably in this fascinating book. He continues to throw out tidbits of our nation’s past and its relevance to Christianity. I am amazed at how often we take for granted places, events and blessings that are ours only because of a past Canadian’s walk with God and I am bluntly reminded of my carelessness in The Battle for the Soul of Canada.

This book would be an interesting read if Reverend Hird stopped at simply reminding us of our faith heritage but he goes one step further and shows us examples of how we can make a difference in our nation’s spiritual health. Bravo, Reverend Hird, for opening our eyes to our own identity as a country and as believers of Christ.

Donna Dawson

http://www.authordonnadawson.com/bookreviews.htm

Four Canadianchristianity.com articles from Battle for the Soul of Canada

2008-08-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/

(four articles from the award-winning book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada')

http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.org/

a) B.C.’s first war – and its Common Prayer warrior (August 2008)
digital BC Christian News

In the fourth installment of our series marking B.C.’s 150th anniversary, author and pastor Ed Hird profiles a man of war – and worship.

HOW MANY of us have ever heard how Colonel Richard Clement Moody ‘fought the good fight’ in B.C.’s first war?

In 1858, Colonel Moody’s troops steamed north along the Fraser River to Yale, on the Enterprise.

To read more, click on http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/0808/12prayer.html

b) Mapmaker Thompson a godly man

DAVID THOMPSON, of all the Canadian explorers, was one of the most godly and counter-cultural.

He was so countercultural that, unlike many early explorers, he actually stayed married – even after he became financially successful!

The early 19th century western Canada map was essentially blank until Thompson filled it in. Thompson was one of the master-builders of Canada and possibly the greatest geographer the world has ever known.

To read more, click on:
http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/0508/17mapmaker.html

c) ‘Father of B.C.’ Douglas was strengthened by scripture

HOW OFTEN do we give thanks for Governor James Douglas, Father of B.C.?

The province still bears the mark of his vision; but he had little to work with in terms of men, money and materials. But he had determination, and the strength he derived from being steeped in scripture.

Douglas prophetically said: “It is the bold, resolute, strong, self-reliant man who fights his own way through every obstacle, and wins the confidence and respect of his fellows. As with men, so it is with nations.”

To read more, click on:

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/0608/13douglas.html

d) Frederick Seymour: the forgotten governor of B.C.

TO have Mount Seymour Provincial Park right in my backyard is such a blessing. My wife and I, along with our three boys, have whiled away many pleasant hours hiking along the mountain’s trails. I often wondered just who it was named after.

After being given a fascinating book entitled British Columbia Place Names, I discovered Mount Seymour is named after the first governor of the united British Columbia colony, Frederick Seymour.

Even though Seymour has been described as the forgotten governor, his name is found scattered throughout the Lower Mainland.

To read more, click on:

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/0708/12frederick.html

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Study visit to Crete

2008-03-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Dear friends in Christ,

Please keep my wife and myself in your prayers, as we travel to Crete after Easter (April 1st to 12th) where I will be working on my third book' Restoring Health in the 21st Century'. It is a sequel to 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'.

As Battle for the Soul of Canada is a devotional commentary on 1st and 2nd Timothy, 'Restoring Health in the 21st Century' will be a devotional commentary on Titus, which is all about the island of Crete. Crete was a pirate island for 800 years, so my book will have a lot to do with recovery from a unhealthy pirate lifestyle. "As one of your own prophets said, 'All Cretans are liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true" Titus 1:12

I have just finished a two-and-a-half month Titus sermon series where 50 commentaries, 10 Crete books, and 20 pirate books were read.

Blessings, Ed Hird+
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/

p.s. If you haven't yet purchased Jan Cox's Bible Study Guide on 'The Battle for the Soul of Canada', I strongly commend it to you.

"A companion Bible study for Ed Hird’s book, Battle for the Soul of Canada, is now available, called Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada, by Janis Cox. There are six sessions in the study, each with an excerpt from Ed’s book.
Discuss what God has in store for your life, review the Christian statement of faith as told to Timothy by the Apostle Paul, learn to pray with sincerity and rely on God’s wisdom and come away from this study with new thoughts, ideas and enthusiasm to be the Spirit-filled leaders Canada needs.
The cost of the study is $5.00 for the first PDF copy and $3.00 for each additional printing. Leader’s Notes are free with your first copy. To request a free sample session or to order, email Janis at SpiritFilledCanada@sympatico.ca For more information please see http://spiritfilledcanada.blogspot.com/. "

Bible Study Guide Now Available for 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'

2008-01-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
"if it is leadership, let him govern diligently" Romans 12:8
Sunday, January 20, 2008

Now Published
Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada is a six session Bible Study based on the book, Battle for the Soul of Canada by Ed Hird.The study is now available. Please contact J anis

Ed says:
I fully endorse this very creative Bible study by Jan Cox on 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'. Jan's insightful clarity shone through her study. May many Canadians make use of this most helpful guide.

Each session contains an excerpt from Ed's book along with questions to spark conversation and debate.

Along with that you are given, Points to Ponder, Thoughts to Consider, Delve Deeper into the Bible and Brainstorming.

The Bible Study will be available in a PDF format for downloading. Cost is $5.00 for the first download and $3.00 for each successive download for that Bible study group. Leader's Notes will be available for free with order. A free sample chapter can be requested.

Joanna Mallory says:
What a lot of Spirit-guided work to produce these questions and insights! I've never seen a study like this, quickening our national as well as spiritual consciences. This looks simple enough to not intimidate people, yet deep enough to provoke change.

Kimberley Payne says:
I have had the privilege of facilitating many Bible studies, and I believe 'Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada' is a great complement to Rev. Hird's book, 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'. It is an excellent start for further discussion wrought with wonderful, thought-provoking questions.

May we raise up a country of Timothys to lead us in the coming years.

http://spiritfilledcanada.blogspot.com/

Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada is a Bible study based on Ed Hird's book Battle for the Soul of Canada. There are six sessions, each with an excerpt from Ed's book.The study can be downloaded by email for $5.00 for the first printing and $3.00 for each successive printing for your group. Leader's Notes are also available for free with your order.You may also request a free sample chapter.When you order I can answer any other questions you might have.

About Me
Janis Cox
Haliburton, Ontario, Canada View my complete profile

Links to Sites
Maranatha News - Canadian Authors
Battle for the Soul of Canada
The Word Guild

Dec 2007 Maranatha News (Canada): A Voice for God

2007-12-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

http://acicanada.ca/node/255

http://www.maranathanewspaper.com/home.php
Maranatha News, “Uniting Christians Across Canada”
Author Profile: A Voice For God
By Belinda Burston, December 2007 Issue

“Courage” and “conviction” are words that come to mind when thinking of the Rev. Ed Hird. He is a strong voice for God in Canada.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Green, former Advisor for Evangelism to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, said of Ed Hird’s ministry and award-winning book, Battle for the Soul of Canada, “Churches rot away when good men keep silent.” Keeping silent is not a fault Ed Hird can be accused of.

Battle for the Soul of Canada is a gift for this generation of Canadians. It tells the story of nine Canadian pioneers. The birth of the book was a long process, and was assisted by a fleet of godly men who spoke prophetically into Ed’s life, releasing him to write. Ron Dart, an instructor at the University College of the Fraser Valley, and Dr. Gil Stieglitz, international consultant, and founder of ‘Principles to Live By”, helped him move forward. As well, the prayers of Emile Abadir, the Egyptian prophet, proved helpful, confirming for Ed that he would be writing a book –when it was still a dream.

Writing flows in Ed Hird’s veins. His father was the editor for many years of the Telecom Advisor, and his maternal great-grandmother, Mary McFadden-McLean, a newspaper reporter, interviewed the controversial Canadian Métis leader Louis Riel in November 1885. In the book, among other fascinating stories, is the intriguing account of how Mary disguised herself as a priest to get the interview.

Ed’s call to write began when he tragically lost his voice in 1980 through a condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia, caused by a rare viral throat infection. He took speech therapy and read over 60 books on public speaking and writing. During that period, he was interviewed by the Vancouver Sun about his faith. From that time on, he had a passion to write and speak concisely and clearly.

Ed identifies closely with Timothy, the young leader mentored by the rabbi Saul/Paul of Tarsus. The task of planting new churches across Canada with the Anglican Coalition in Canada has felt daunting, similar to the challenging task Timothy was given in Ephesus. Of some of the battles he has fought, Ed said, “Sometimes the task has been very hard, much harder than I expected. But I would never go back to ‘Egypt’”.

The cost of holding true to convictions has a price. Ed and the congregation of St. Simon’s North Vancouver, BC, were forced to leave their church building when they took a stand for the traditional definition of marriage. For the past three years they have worshipped in a school.

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver then became part of the global Anglican Church, as distinct from the Anglican Church of Canada. “The African Church in particular is standing for the gospel”, said Ed during an interview on 100 Huntley Street.

Paul’s disciple Timothy was a type of Canada -- shy and insecure – but Rev. Ed Hird believes that the Timothys are going to capture the nation!

Battle for the Soul of Canada can be ordered at http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/

-Belinda Burston rediscovered a passion to write as a result of attending a writers’ conference in the year 2000. Belinda lives in Bond Head, Ontario and is married with two grown children and six grandchildren.

Canadian Mindset

2007-11-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.maranathanewspaper.com/home.php
Canadian Mindset
By Johanne Robertson

We're doing ourselves a disservice. We're passing over our own homegrown, God-given talent and prophetic voices, and looking to another country's citizens to educate and entertain our minds, feed our spirits and tell us how to think and feel.

Need proof? Look no further than your local Christian bookstore. There are hundreds of Canadian Christian bookstores in Canada, but the vast majority of the books lining their shelves are not by Canadian Christian authors.

Walk into any Christian bookstore north of the 49th parallel, and you'll see aisle after aisle of books by American writers. Want a book by a well-known, award-winning, Canadian Christian author? Chances are you'll have to order it directly from a supplier, because you probably won't find it stocked in your local Christian bookstore.

It's a deeply-rooted problem. Perhaps those roots begin in the soil of a Canadian identity that's based on a sense of Canadian inferiority; perhaps deep down we still believe all things American are somehow better than all things Canadian. Or maybe it's that David-sized Canadian publishers just don't have the marketing budgets and resources to compete with their Goliath-sized U.S. counterparts. Perhaps we should blame the media, who find it easier to promote the latest, big-name American author or artist with their polished media kits and substantial advertising and public relations budgets, than to support the next potential Canadian bestseller.
But of one thing I am certain: this problem is definitely not the fault of Canadian Christian writers.

Canadian Christian writers are a talented, dedicated and determined bunch. (It's not easy to dissuade people who feel called by God to speak to their nation.) And so, while Canadian readers continue to shell out their money for American books, writers like Keith Clemons, Denyse O'Leary, Margaret Davidson, Marcia Laycock, Angelina Fast Vlaar, Ed Hird, Phil Callaway, Carolyn Arends, NJ Lindquist, Deborah Gyapong, Eric E. Wright, Sheila Wray Gregoire, Paul Boge, Sue Augustine, Paul Beckingham, Donna Carter and Keturah Leonforde continue to pound away at their computer keyboards - expressing with great passion and skill - all they believe God has given them to express. Meanwhile organizations like The Word Guild and InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship continue to cultivate up-and-coming writers, even as they strive to encourage and promote more experienced writers across the country.

It's time Canadian Christian bookstores and the Canadian media upheld their responsibility to ensure Canadian Christian voices are heard across our nation. Readers of books, periodicals and newspapers alike enjoy and benefit from Canadian content - so I urge Canada's Christian booksellers to make it available to them on-shelf, and promote it through in-store and online promotions. Keep comprehensive lists of Canadian authors at hand; church librarians will thank you for them. (Lists and downloadable Readers' Guides are available at http://www.thewordguild.com/ or http://www.inscribe.org/.)

There are signs of hope on the horizon. Mitchell's bookstore plans to host their first ever "Canadian Authors Day" at all eight Mitchell's locations simultaneously on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and an evening book-signing at their Willowdale location, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (For more information visit http://www.maranathanewspaper.com/ Several national ministries are also doing their part to ensure the voices of Canadian authors and artists are heard. I applaud Margaret Gibb, President of Women Alive, for taking such a stand, and purposefully choosing an all-Canadian group of speakers for their Toronto Conference and Expo. Ron Hannah, President of Promise Keepers Canada has also been using Canadian talent to speak to the needs of Canadian men. And Reynold and Kathy Mainse co-hosts of 100 Huntley Street, showcased an all-Canadian roster of musical recording artists at Heaven's Rehearsal in September. Jude Hodgson, Executive Director of MissionFest Toronto has always opened the door of opportunity for Canadian speakers.

God has fired the imaginations and stirred the souls of countless authors, journalists, speakers, recording artists, film and television producers in this country. He's inspired and equipped them with messages for us. They are vibrant, educated, well spoken and committed. They need only the opportunity to be read and heard.

Let's stop doing ourselves a disservice. We have what we need right here in Canada. It's time we were better stewards of the resources God has given us, in our home and native land.

Johanne Robertson is the editor and co-founder of Maranatha News. She can be reached at editor@maranathanewspaper.com

Canadian Christianity Newspaper on Canadian Writers & Bookstores

2007-10-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/071026writers
Canada's Christian writers, booksellers face tough times
By Frank Stirk

TORONTO-AREA book publisher Larry Willard sees a possible way out for struggling Christian bookstores that have been hurt by lost sales of popular American titles -- such as the Left Behind series, The Prayer of Jabez and The Purpose-Driven Life -- to retail giants like Costco, Wal-Mart and Indigo.

"I think the focus needs to get off American product," he says. "They should be looking at Canadian product. They have an unique product and that's what they should be trying to put out the door."

Markham, Ontario, novelist N. J. Lindquist (Glitter of Diamonds) goes further. The founder in 2002 of The Word Guild, a support network for about 300 Christian writers, she believes something needs to be done to "get bookstores across Canada that are Christian to actually care that Canadian authors are promoted."

"I find it really, really difficult to get my books into the [Christian] stores," she says. "Frankly, I'm selling more in the U.S. than in Canada, and I find it much easier to get into the mainstream than I do into the Christian stores."

But Kevin Lee, proprietor of Sign of the Fish, a small Christian bookstore in North Vancouver, BC, counters that while he will do what he can to promote local authors, the fact remains his profit-margin depends on him offering the products his customers want.

"I don't feel guilty or overly mercenary in doing that," he says. "It has to be operated as a business . . . as a prudent piece of stewardship. You can 'minister' yourself into the ground operating a bookstore, I think, and that's not going to do anybody any good."

"We do in fact actually sell a really good selection of . . . lesser known authors simply to provide an unique kind of selection," says Margo Smith, co-owner of Hull's, a family-run Christian retailer in Winnipeg. "There's a lot of pressure that's been put on us with the taking away of the cream of the crop."

They may differ on how to resolve the problem, but no one who writes, publishes or retails Christian books in Canada denies that their industry faces some serious challenges.

Of the upwards of 700 Christian bookstores across Canada, over half operate as small or very small businesses. But regardless of size, says Smith, "Sales right now are a challenge for all bookstores. . . . There's just so much competition."

Not only are the high-volume stores siphoning off the most high-profile Christian titles and selling them at discounted prices, more and more people are also buying products online. But Lee, who spent most of his career in marketing before buying Sign of the Fish last year, believes these "seismic shifts" are not unique to the Christian marketplace.

"This industry is undergoing the same changes that the book industry at large is undergoing. . . . Good grief! Indigo alone controls more than 50 per cent of the book trade overall in Canada -- and that's a monster astride the country," he says.

Smaller publishers are also being overshadowed by their more powerful American rivals. "Our sales are down this year a good 30 per cent. It's been terrible," says Willard, who owns Castle Quay Books and Bay Ridge Books, which between them publish about a dozen titles a year.

Some Canadian authors, such as Alberta humorist Phil Callaway (Golfing With the Master) and Vancouver Island pastor Mark Buchanan (The Rest of God), have succeeded in getting U.S. companies to publish them. But most writers are far less fortunate.

"It looks to many people that unless you have an American publisher, you can't get a Canadian distributor, and if you can't get a Canadian distributor, you can't get in the bookstores," says North Vancouver Anglican priest and author Ed Hird (Battle for the Soul of Canada). "So basically you're shut out of the market."

For Hird and others, including Lindquist, their only recourse has been to handle their own publishing and distribution. Since last year, Hird has sold (2,100)copies and has managed to get the book into (over 100) bookstores across Canada. It also won him The Word Guild's award this year for best independently published non-fiction book.

"There's a lot of negativity and timidity in Canadian culture around the area of books, and so . . . a lot of people basically tell you why things won't work," he says. "What I've discovered is that it's not easy, but it can work."

"Ed's an example of an author who maybe is doing what you need to do these days, which is getting out there and marketing your book . . . talking to every last retailer in the country," says Lee. "Locally, he was selling them out of his car."

But it is not an experience Hird would like to repeat. "For my next book, I'd rather have an established publisher who was able to run with a lot of it," he says.

Some opt for so-called vanity publishers, who turn manuscripts into finished books. But Lindquist, who has written nine books, does not recommend it. "You don't have quality control and a lot of things can happen," she says.

Even authors who have landed an American publishing deal caution this does not necessarily guarantee fame and fortune. Montreal writer Marg Buchanan's two books (Famous Jerks of the Bible and Parenting with Purpose) were both published in the U.S. -- breakthroughs that she credits ultimately to the sovereignty of God.

"Your manuscript has to land on the right day with the right person in the right mood. . . . It kind of has to be a slow period for the big names and they're looking for something to talk about," she says.

But despite twice getting accepted, Buchanan adds, "I got lost among the giants. The sales reps are not going to necessarily promote my book if the same house has put out a Max Lucado book that month."

In 2004, Buchanan put her book-writing projects on hold, so she could focus on raising her three children. She now works full-time for a Christian charity.

"If anybody thinks you're going to make money writing books, you need to take a long, quiet nap," says Lindquist. "It's not going to happen. Most people are subsidizing their writing either by working or, in my case, my husband has a good job."

Indicative of the challenges facing this community was the disbanding this spring after 39 years of the Christian Booksellers Association Canada. Faced with a declining membership, its board decided it had neither "the time, energy, finances or will to turn this ship around," chair Lando Klassen wrote in a statement to members.

In its place, Lindquist hopes to see a new national group emerge that embraces everyone involved in creating and selling Christian books.

"We all need to be working together," she says, "because really we're on the same team and we're all trying to do, I hope, the same thing, which is to get the books that need to be read into the hands of the people that need to read them."

Smith sees more than a little irony in their current circumstances. "We got into this believing our products were worthwhile and of value in terms of spiritual development," she says. "And now that they're quite widely available, we're in a tough spot."

But for all the challenges and frustrations they face, neither can they overlook what they have going for them. As Buchanan realized, there can be a downside to signing with a big American publisher.

"You really are a small fish in a big sea, whereas in a smaller publishing house, you can be the big fish even if you're just a beginner, because maybe they only print four or five books a year and they can invest a little bit more time in your title," she says.

For Buchanan, the writing can be its own greatest reward. "I learn a lot by putting pen to paper," she says. "The book that I needed to read to change my own life [was the book] that I wrote. It impacted my life going through that process. And so that was a success."

Hird is thankful for The Word Guild. "They have been so helpful. These guys have been through the ropes," he says. "I have learned so much."

As for the booksellers, Smith believes they need to capitalize on what their secular competitors can never offer-a meeting place for people of kindred spirit.

"We really value service in a much deeper sense than others might," she says. "We are one of the few environments in which people of different backgrounds, different denominations, different churches, actually interact."

Lee too has a soft spot for people who come in with their new self-published book. "Even if it's kind of hokey looking and the cover's kind of sideways and I don't like the font, I'll take some and put them on the shelf-because I've been through this," he says. "I understand the gumption that requires."

BC Christian News on the CASJAVA Achievement Award

2007-10-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/070927ottawa.html
OttawaWatch: K-John's passion
By Lloyd Mackey
IF THERE is a source of influence for faith-based social conservatives, it could well be found in a law office on West Broadway in Vancouver.

That is where K-John Cheung practices law half of his working day. The other half is spent leading the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association (CASJAFVA).
Cheung is slight, energetic, friendly and clearly in charge. At CASJAFVA's annual fundraiser banquet this past Sunday night (September 23), he told the restive crowd that if they did not stop talking and listen, there would be no food. He was smiling as he spoke, but the slight edge to his voice showed that if the noise continued, he might just lose his patience. And no one who had plunked down $38 for a ticket to this evening was about to risk giving up on this 12-course dinner.

Edna and I had occasion to attend the gala event, which draws around 1,000 each year to Floata, arguably Canada's largest Chinese restaurant. As it happens, the member of parliament for whom she works as administrative assistant, Maurice Vellacott, was this year's guest speaker. (Previous speakers at this event have included veteran Conservative MPs Art Hanger and Jason Kenney, as well as Stephen Harper, when he was opposition leader.)
Vellacott needed some organizational help in Vancouver, thus Edna's reason to be there. And, in turn, she -- out of her own pocket -- found me a reasonably-priced airline ticket, so I could tag along.

As a result, OttawaWatch readers will get a glimpse, this week, at one example of the social virility of many of the Christian-based Chinese communities in Canada.
* * *
CASJAFVA reflects the activist socially-conservative part of the Chinese community in BC.

The group carefully selects a range of issues on which they can become involved. Their annual fundraiser contributes to the costs of research and advocacy, as they take an issue forward.
The Floata event was, as it was supposed to be, fun. After all, not only the Lord, but the leaders of advocacy groups, love cheerful givers. The more cheer, the better the dollars roll in.

But there were three points in the evening when a serious message was being communicated.
The first was what the theme speaker communicated. Vellacott delivered an inspirational, non-controversial homily -- a personal witness, if you like -- about his upbringing, preparation for service and the influences that these factors had on the way in which he functions as a member of parliament. He drew on his parents' influence, his own faith journey, his education (he has an earned doctorate in ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), the growth and development of his own family and his experience both as a pastor and a community health board member in Saskatoon(...)

At the same time, however, he was prepared to recognize the achievements of other groups and encourage them to keep working away at their goals.

The recipients of the CASJAFVA 2007 achievement award were Dr. Vellacott, Tristan Emmanuel (a Christian polemicist who leads Equipping Christians for the Public Square) and Edward Hird, an award-winning author and Anglican priest who has been active in the struggle against the use of same-sex blessings in that communion.
* * *
Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006). He can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.
September 27/2007

Achievement Award for The Battle for the Soul of Canada

2007-10-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Colleagues,

On Sept 23rd Sunday night I received an 'Achievement Award 2007' for my book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada' http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/ and for our ACiC/St. Simon's NV biblical stand from 'The Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association' http://www.canadianalliance.org/pdf/71.pdf .

In receiving the plaque, I was given an opportunity to address the 1,000-strong crowd at the annual CASJFVA Chinese Food dinner in historic Vancouver China town. CASJFVA http://www.canadianalliance.org/ is led by the well-known Christian lawyer, K-John Cheung.

The large percentage of the 80 tables present were Chinese people. The entire evening was bilingual, in both Cantonese and English. Chinese people generally have a very strong commitment to family values and the traditional definition of marriage.

It was a great opportunity to share about the values of the Anglican Coalition in Canada http://www.acicanada.ca/ with our Chinese Canadian community.

Sincerely, Ed Hird+

Abbotsford News: Hird's words garner non-fiction award

2007-07-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.abbynews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=38&cat=46&id=1024446&more=0

Hird’s words garner non-fiction award

JOHN MORROW / The Abbotsford News
Rev. Ed Hird won the Word Guild Award for non-fiction in mid-June for his book Battle for the Soul of Canada. The priest began writing in the 1980s, through a spiritual column for The Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News.

By KRISTINE THIESSEN

Abbotsford News
Jul 12 2007

Rev. Ed Hird’s book has a lot to say about Canada’s younger generations: They have developed an anti-marriage culture where they wed later and have difficulty staying married. They lack a vision for the future of Canada. They must not be ashamed of our Christian heritage.

Hird combined his concern with Canadian youth culture, the conviction of his faith, personal stories, and his passion for Canadian history in Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders.

In mid-June, the book won the Word Guild Award for non-fiction.

Hird says he sees a lot of Canadians struggling from discouragement and insecurity, and hopes his book helps people “grab their future.”

“Particularly, my hope is to encourage the emerging generation of leaders,” he says. “A lot of younger people have felt kind of stuck, and I want to help them move forward.”

In Battle for the Soul of Canada, Hird points to famous historical figures who shaped Canada, such as Captain George Vancouver and Louis Riel, to highlight character traits he hopes will be embodied by Canadian youth.

“May we, too, as Canadian pioneers, discover the passion of Louis Riel for our Savior Jesus Christ,” Hird writes.

He does not shy from serious, controversial issues such as sexual and physical abuse, and strengthening traditional marriages.

Five years ago, the issue of homosexual relationships led the priest to instigate a break-away faction of the Anglican Church, called the Anglican Coalition in Canada.

The ACIC split – or, “moved sideways,” says Hird – from the Anglican diocese of New Westminster when the church sanctioned the blessing of same-sex relationships.

Today, Hird and the ACiC serve under the Archbishop of Rwanda, Emmanuel Kolini.

But for all the passion and conviction involved in directing a break-away faction and writing a novel to inspire youth, Hird is soft-spoken and composed.

The 52-year-old has been a priest for 27 years now, and amid all the personal developments, he has spent the last 16 years preaching and writing on the North Shore.

However, it was in Abbotsford that the beginning of his writing career began, when from 1982 to 1987 he was an assistant priest at St. Matthew’s Church.

At the time, a few pastors and priests took turns writing a spiritual column for The Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News, as The Abbotsford News was then titled.

He recalls one column in which he discussed teen suicide. A teenage girl read his column shortly after a suicide attempt, and reached out to him to talk.

“I had so much response to [the columns],” says Hird.

He continued to write for the Deep Cover Crier and North Shore News, but four years ago he began to seriously toy with the idea of writing a book.

“I went up to Mount Sumas, hung out there, and prayed,” says Hird. “I sought the Lord for direction.”

The book found its niche among others written from a Christian framework, and was recognized on June 13 at the Word Guild, a group of Christian Canadian writers and editors.

“I try to do this instinctively and reflectively,” says Hird. “I’ve been told I have several more books inside of me.”

Christian Writers Honoured

2007-07-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.nsnews.com/

http://acicanada.ca/node/169

-an article for the North Shore News ‘Spiritually Speaking’ column

Friday July 13th 2007, p. 50

The Word Guild Writing Awards

Christian Writers Honoured

-BC Entries to contest more than doubled

By the Rev. Ed Hird+

I was recently privileged to attend a black-tie affair at The Word Guild Writing Awards Gala at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. The Awards Gala was hosted by Christine Williams, the producer and host of On The Line on CTS TV; and by Rick Gamble, formerly a reporter at CTV's Kitchener affiliate CKCO, now a communications instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University. Rudy Wiebe, one of Canada's most famous authors, was awarded the Leslie K. Tarr Award for outstanding career contribution to Christian writing and editing in Canada. Wiebe, 72, of Russian Mennonite heritage, is a twice-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for his novels “The Temptations of Big Bear” and “A Discovery of Strangers”. Wiebe’s latest book Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest (Knopf Canada) recently won the $25,000 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.

Wiebe admitted that he was surprised to be chosen for the Tarr award because he is better known in the secular market than in Christian circles. "I write realistic stories about people in tough situations who have problems and conflicts that are not easily resolved—not romances where everything ends nicely, " he explained in an interview. "But I think the Christian faith is pretty useless if it can't face the realistic things that happen to us in the world." Wiebe feels called to be a radical Jesus-follower in all that he does and writes. As he read to us in the plenary sessions from his eight novels, his Christ-centered passion for peace and reconciliation came strongly through.

There are now 270 writers with The Word Guild, a national organization of writers and editors who are Christians. I was privileged to join this year in the professional writer category, since the publishing of my new book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’. The Word Guild Awards honoured the most outstanding work published during 2006 in 31 categories of nonfiction books, novels, articles, columns, poems and song lyrics. A total of 53 awards were presented, to both winners (who received cash prizes) and to award of merit recipients, whose marks were close to those of the first-prize winners and who received certificates.

Best-selling Vancouver Island author and pastor Mark Buchanan won the Christian living category for the fourth time with his fourth book, for The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Thomas Nelson). The Rev Dr. J. I. Packer of Regent College, Vancouver, received an award of merit for co-authoring Praying: Finding our Way Through Duty to Delight (InterVarsity Press). In the same hotly contested category, medical specialist Dr. Brad Burke of Windsor, Ont., received awards of merit for three books in his series An MD Examines, titled Is God Obsolete?, Does God Still Do Miracles?, and Why Does God Allow Suffering? (Cook).

BC authors have never done better than at the past Award Gala. The number of entries more than doubled in the past three years in The Word Guild contest, which is open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who affirms The Apostles' Creed. A total of 231 entries were received. I myself was privileged to win top prize for independently published nonfiction book for Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders. I am so grateful to the North Shore News for all the encouragement they have given me in getting the word out about this North Shore-based book. I am also most grateful to Kevin Lee of Sign of the Fish bookstore and Indigo North Vancouver for supporting me through their book-signing event. So far I have sold over 1,400 books in around 55 bookstores across Canada.

The Reverend Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver, BC
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons

Battle Wins National Book Award

2007-07-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.nsnews.com/

by Joanna Habdank, jhabdank@nsnews.com
North Shore News

On June 13th, Rev. Ed Hird from North Vancouver was recognized in Ontario by his peers for his recent book "Battle for the Soul of Canada".

That day he won The Word Guild award for an independently published non-fiction book. The guild is an association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. According to Hird, there were 231 applicants for a number of key awards, so naturally he is pleased with this feat.

"I really feel privileged and honoured to have been chosen and I'm very thankful to the national organization The Word Guild," says Hird.

"I'm also thankful for the people on the North Shore," he adds, explaining that some of those articles and chapters were previously written on the North Shore. Hird has been a regular contributor to the North Shore News' "Spiritually Speaking" section and for a smaller publication (The Deep Cove Crier) distributed in Deep Cove.

Currently Hird is Rector at St. Simon's Church North Vancouver, part of the Anglican Coalition in Canada. Ordained in 1980, he's been on the North Shore since 1987, and has at one point served as the National Chairman for the Anglican Renewal Ministries of Canada.

Hird says he wrote the book because it was simply inside of him and because he was encouraged by friends to put his thoughts in this volume. "The first 5,000 words were quite painful," he recalls. "Then it really started to flow. At one point, about a year and a half ago, I wrote for about 24 hours without stopping."

Battle for the Soul of Canada, Raising up the Emerging Generation of Leaders works on several levels, says Hird, explaining that his primary target audience is spiritual seekers.

His secondary focus is providing a guide to 'raising up Timothys' or leaders of tomorrow, based on the devotional commentary on letters of 1st and 2nd Timothy in the New Testament. "Drawing on First and Second Timothy in the Bible, I would say they are the most practical leadership manuals ever written in history. I drew on the wisdom of the two books as the framework and model for our generations," says Hird.

The passages are intended to guide Generation X and Y on how they can come into their own destiny, potential and purpose, he explains.

A third feature is born out of Hird's passion for Canadian history. One of the common themes is looking at people in the Canadian past and looking at them as metaphors for the future, says Hird. He includes the stories of (thirteen) Canadians, such as Louis Riel, Simon Fraser, and Sir Alexander Mackenzie.

So far, more than 1,400 copies of the book have been sold, says Hird, and it's now gone into its second printing. He's also been on five national TV programs, and BC Christian News has asked him to write an article about the award-winning writer Rudy Wiebe.

He stresses tha the message is directed towards both Anglicans and people of different faith.

"Whether people are Christian, Jewish or Muslim, they all believe in what we call Judeo-Christian values, like the Ten Commandments...and I believe that Canada's legal system...and its education and political system were profoundly shaped by interaction with Judeo-Christian values."

Therefore, in the book, he looks at people who would symbolize our heritage, and how society can reclaim it in terms of shaping the future, and in giving hope for the future, says Hird.

For more information, visit http://www3.telus.net/st_simons or http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/

Battle for the Soul of Canada is available at Indigo Books and at Sign of the Fish bookshop in North Vancouver.

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Battle 'Hard to Classify': Hird (Peace Arch News, White Rock)

2007-07-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.peacearchnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=44&cat=47&id=1022101&more=0

Battle "hard to classify" : Hird

Daniel Pi photo
Rev. Ed Hird is a self-confessed history buff. His book, Battle for the Soul of Canada, combines his two passions: history and the Bible. He describes it as "a bold experiment... that worked."
By Alex BrowneArts Reporter
Jul 08 2007

Memoir an analysis of the need for faith
Battle "hard to classify": Hird
It's a book rooted in biblical teaching - but also in Canadian history. It's a personal memoir that also happens to be a challenging analysis of the need for faith.

Rev. Ed Hird, Rector of St. Simon's Church, North Vancouver, acknowledges his book is hard to classify.

"It's a bold experiment," he said.
The miracle is that it worked: “ it kind of clustered together."

The key to the book is in its subtitle: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders. For Hird, a member of the Anglican Coalition in Canada, believes both the nation and the church is ready for spiritual leadership after decades of travelling well-intentioned detours.

But his model of a leader is not an expected one. Drawing on quotations from Timothy 1 and 2, Hird links St. Paul's protege and right-hand man, a shy yet unwavering Christian, with distinctly Canadian qualities.

"In many ways Timothy has the personality profile of Canada," he writes.
"Gentle, somewhat insecure, and easily rejected. Yet Paul saw that this unlikely individual had the potential to be a great leader, even to be the successor after Paul's assassination."

In his book Hird, also past-president and national chaplain of Alpha Canada, stresses the need to find the present day Timothys amongst us "not necessarily people of obvious and dominant leadership qualities, but those with a quiet potential to lead."
"Without a vision, as the Bible says, people perish," he said.

A self-confessed history buff, he also peppers his analysis with stories of both well and lesser-known Canadians of the past.

The book is available locally at Angel Christian Supplies, but the author also has strong Peninsula connections.

"I spend my weekends and holidays here - about 95 per cent of my family lives here now," he said. "My parents live here, my in-laws live here, my younger sister and her husband and their five children live here."

In addition, he and his wife Janice also lead the annual B.C. Christian Ashram Retreat, formerly at Camp Kwomais, which has now moved venue to Camp Alexandra.

Hird acknowledges the seeds "and the literal starting point" of the book were in the schism in the Anglican Church over the last half decade, manifest in the homosexual marriage debate.
The effect was pronounced in the case of his own congregation. Because it hewed to traditional definitions of marriage, St. Simon's found itself evicted by its diocese from the church building and property, and ended up finding a new home.

"Basically the Anglican Church has gone through some identity challenges," he said. "The homosexual issue was not central, it was symptomatic."

But Hird's intention in the book, he said, was not to surrender to 'unforgiveness' and bitterness, but to find a way forward out of catastrophe, by using the example of Timothy.
"Anglicans are looking for hope, and Canadians are, in general,"he said.

â€œStatistics show that Canadians are as spiritual today as they were 40 years ago. But it's gone into the realm of privacy. Most Canadians won't talk about spirituality in front of strangers, but they will if they're comfortable.

"Spirituality has a way of surviving through all things."

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

It's Never Too Late to Write Your Own Book

2007-07-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/blog/?p=409
Infoproduct Marketing Insiders by Jeff Smith
July 7, 2007
Author Profile - It's Never Too Late To Write Your Own Book

For most people, writing your own book is not an immediate priority - first get through school, then get a "Real" job, get married, raise a family, settle down a little - it's only after catching your breath and middle age begin to rear it's ugly head do most aspiring writers think about actually experiencing the dream of writing their own book.

That's the case with Ed Hird outlined in a profile of his new book "Battle For the Soul of Canada: Raising Up The Emerging Generation of Leaders"
where he finally put pen to paper at the ripe old age of 50.

Based on his life experiences as a pastor helping youth in many difficult situations, and a self-ackknowledged history buff, Hird felt he had a message that needed to be heard about what made past leaders great and how those principles could be applied to today's Generation X population.

Here are some lessons those of you who are considering writing your own book can take from Ed's newest book venture:

1. Don't give up on your dreams. At 50 who would have thought you could become a successful first-time author?

2. Use the formula Hird used to dream up ideas for writing your own book. For example, understand how your experiences can be combined with some research to write on a topic that is outside of your comfort zone. In this case, Hird saw evidence of a "lost" generation, but didn't necessarily know what the answer was. So - he researched some of the greatest leaders in history and came up with his recommended solution.

3. Make the solution you offer your readers yours. Even though Hird researched what made past leaders successful - his summary of these principles and application to today's audience makes his solution his own, something he can now turn into a franchise by developing further information products, speaking, recording videos, running seminars, offering consulting and so on(...)

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

How to Raise Up a Generation of Leaders (Richmond News)

2007-07-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.richmond-news.com/issues07/071207/islandlife.html

Ed Hird, a pastor who assists with the English service at Richmond Emmanuel Church, is the author of Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders. Technically, the book took Hird two and a half years to write, but in reality it is the culmination of 25 years of working with youth through the church and other institutions, such as Burnaby's New Haven Correctional Centre. In the book, Hird tells the stories of remarkable Canadian pioneers with the hope of inspiring today's youth take up the leadership torch.

Brett Beadle/Richmond News
How to raise a generation of leaders
By Michelle Hopkins

Ed Hird believes he knows the key to raising leaders.

He has written a book titled Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders, in which he proposes that the answers lie in our past.

"If you look at our history and the great leaders that helped shape this nation of ours, they all had a couple of things in common; they all shared similar values, not necessarily religious values, and perseverance," says Hird.

Drawing on nearly three decades of religious work in such places as Burnaby's New Haven Correctional Centre (where he was a social worker dealing with troubled youth), Woodlands School (a residential school for mentally and physically disabled people) and the Downtown Eastside, Hird outlines a spiritual path we can embark on to raise the thinkers and the movers of tomorrow.

Although the book is written with a religious undertone - every chapter starts out with a biblical passage by Timothy (In the bible the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, to encourage him in his church work) - Hird says one doesn't have to be religious to get the gist of what he is trying to convey.

"I don't preach in the book. You don't have to attend church to read my book, it's written for those who are hungry for a purpose in life," explains Hird. "I tell the story of nine key Canadian pioneers who have impacted and shaped our country. Their stories, I believe, can inspire and drive our young people to build better futures."

Hird unlocks snippets of wisdom from Canada's heroes such as Frederick Seymour - the forgotten first governor of the United British Columbia colony. The scenic Mount Seymour in the North Shore is named after him. He is credited with establishing the B.C. public school system, improving the courts, drawing up public health regulations, setting standards for mining and reducing the provincial debt. (Governor from 1864-1869).

Hird also devotes a chapter on explorer and trader Alexander Mackenzie, who crossed North America by land in 1793.
"He had bull-dog persistence, inexhaustible energy and insatiable curiosity," adds Hird.
By telling their inspirational stories, Hird strongly believes our young people will be moved to act and live according to their talents.

The author believes one of the impediments to this happening is that the generation Xers suffer from an identity crisis caused by living in the shadow of the affluent baby boomers.

"We need to invest in our youth and promote them," explains Hird. "We need to walk hand-in-hand with the generation X and the millennial generation (born between 1977 and 1994).... We need to root for them, cheer for them and money won't do it, we need to invest time.
"We need to tell our young people that pioneers had it tough and they need to know it's not easy in life, but that they can make it."

The 52-year-old father of three grown sons took nearly three years to research and write the book.
"In the strictest sense of the word it took me about two-and-a-half years, but in the broader sense it's been in the making for 25 years."

Hird is no stranger to writing - he has penned more than 250 articles for a number of different publications, including theNews' sister paper the North Shore News.

His talent for writing is in his genes, says Hird.
"My great-grandmother, Mary Mclean, was the first Canadian female reporter with the Regina Leader."
In his chapter on The Passion of Louis Riel - a Metis leader who was hanged for treason for his resistance against the Canadian government - he tells of how his great-grandmother disguised herself as a Catholic priest in order to interview Riel in jail.

"I have her passion for writing and her determination to tell a good story," Hird says. He adds that turning 50 was a defining moment for him because hitting that milestone propelled him to put pen to paper.

"It's part of us baby boomers' transition, our destiny to try new things,' explains Hird, who won The Word Guild Canadian Writing Awards 2007.

Another reason for the book is to make sure Canada's greatest leaders are not forgotten. Hird, who was ordained as a pastor in 1980, feels strongly that we Canadians "live in the shadow of the United States and our story needs to be told."

"Canada has a great history, our great leaders and explorers can inspire us and they are a symbol of our great nation," says Hird.

Hird is a walking encyclopedia of Canadiana facts. He is fascinated by our rich past.

"Did you know our first newspaper and hospital in B.C. were francophone?" questions the self-professed history buff.

Interspersed with interesting vignettes and his own spiritual thoughts, Hird takes his readers on a literary journey through our history.

Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders is available at Richmond's Seraphim Christian Bookstore.
published on 07/06/2007

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Rudy Wiebe at Write! Canada

2007-06-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Dear friends in Christ,

I commend to you an article in CanadianChristianity.com about Rudy Wiebe, the award-winning, best-selling author and keynote speaker at Write! Canada:

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/
Comment: Wiebe inspires at Write! Canada
By Ed Hird
RUDY WIEBE is a man of peace and a man of memory. This was evident from his presentation as keynote speaker at the Write! Canada conference. It was also evident from personal encounters with the man.

Speaking at the event, held June 14 - 16 at the Guelph Bible Conference Centre in Ontario, Wiebe commented that his writing career was radically altered when his professor, F.M. Salter, challenged him to write from his own experience(...)

Blessings, Ed Hird+

Greetings from Ontario

2007-06-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons
an article published in the July 2007 Deep Cove Crier
Greetings from Ontario
By the Rev Ed Hird+

I have always loved books. Most pictures taken of me as a child showed me reading books. I even read books at hockey games, at least during the intermission.

Recently I attended “Write! Canada”, a four-day national writer’s conference in Guelph, Ontario. Rubbing shoulders with 225 other authors, editors, and publishers reminded me that I truly am a bibliophile (book-lover) from a long line of bibliophiles. My father read so many books as a young person that his public library put a restriction on how many books that he could take out per day. All columnists and reporters have a love for words, including my great-grandmother Mary McFadden McLean who disguised herself as a Roman Catholic priest in order to interview Louis Riel. Her Regina Leader-Post Editor told her: “An interview must be had with Riel if you have to outwit the whole police force of the North-west.” Riel said to my great-grandmother on Nov 19th 1885: “When I first saw you at the trial, I loved you.”

Rudy Wiebe, the plenary speaker at The “Write! Canada” conference, reminded me that it is important to share one’s story and one’s experience. It is also important to do this in a way that builds others up. As the proverb says, it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

Because of my new book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ and my writing for the Deep Cove Crier and the North Shore News for many years, I accumulated enough ‘points’ this year to be accepted as a professional writer in the national writers’ organization, The Word Guild http://www.thewordguild.com/ . The 280-strong Word Guild, which sponsors the annual “Write! Canada” conference, has a mandate of connecting, developing and promoting Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. Writers from beginner to professional level were able to sharpen their skills through top-notch instructors. The conference also offered networking and marketing opportunities, appointments with literary agents and editors, manuscript critique services, open-mike reading sessions and a gymnasium-sized bookstore well stocked with reference materials

The long-term vision of The Word Guild is to connect with Canadian culture through writing from a Christian worldview. Its immediate goals are to help writers and editors at all stages interact with each other, develop new skills and discover new publishing opportunities. Many writers and editors struggle with isolation—many often work alone, sometimes from their homes, and do not have the opportunity to interact with their peers very often. The Word Guild also offers prayer support through a dedicated group of people praying for The Word Guild, and the writing-related needs and requests of its members. I was very impressed to discover that The Word Guild offers critique groups, a mentoring program and national and regional conferences, designed to encourage excellence in our craft.

The high point of The Word Guild year is the black-tie Award Gala held this year at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, right before the ‘Write! Canada’ conference. It was hosted by Christine Williams, the producer and host of On the Line on CTS TV; and by Rick Gamble, formerly a reporter at CTV's Kitchener affiliate CKCO, now a communications instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

At the event honouring work published by Canadian writers who are Christian, winners ranged from well-known, venerable theologians Dr. J. I. Packer and James M. Houston, to 14-year-old Richard Weening, the youngest-ever winner. Entries were judged according to excellence of writing; impact (the inspirational or informational value making it worthwhile); fulfillment of stated purpose; suitability to target audience; originality and freshness of style. The number of entries more than doubled in the past three years in The Word Guild contest, which is open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who affirms The Apostles' Creed. A total of 231 entries were received.

Rudy Wiebe, one of Canada's most acclaimed authors with eight novels to his credit, was given the Leslie K. Tarr Award for outstanding career contribution to Christian writing and editing in Canada. Wiebe, 72, of Russian Mennonite background, is widely published internationally and has twice won Governor General's Literary Awards for his novels.

The Tarr Award capped numerous honours for Wiebe in 2007. His memoir, Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest (Knopf Canada), won the $25,000 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.

Wiebe admitted that he was surprised to be chosen for the Tarr award because he writes for large secular publishers and is better known within literary fiction circles than in Christian circles.

"I write realistic stories about people in tough situations who have problems and conflicts that are not easily resolved—not romances where everything ends nicely,” he explained in an interview.

The Vancouver Island author Mark Buchanan won the Christian living category for the fourth time with his fourth book, for The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Thomas Nelson). I was short listed as a finalist in three categories, and was pleased to receive top prize in the category of best independently published nonfiction book. So far ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ has sold over 1,300 copies, with another 5,100 just out in a second printing.

I would like to personally thank our Deep Cove Crier publisher Bruce Coney for believing in me over the past two decades. His encouragement has helped me keep writing and growing through the challenges of life. I would also like to thank the thousands of Deep Cove Crier readers who have faithfully read my column, and often said kind words to me when I meet them at Parkgate Shopping Centre, or down in the Cove. Perhaps one-third of my book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ was previously published in my Deep Cove Crier articles. Your support and prayers for me have been a big part in the birthing of this award-winning book. Please continue to pray for me, as I have been told that there are other books inside of me waiting to be birthed.

The Reverend Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver, BC
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

As Sick as Our Secrets

2007-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

As Sick as Our Secrets
-a Chapter from 'The Battle for the Soul of Canada', pre-published in the North Shore News
http://nsnews.com/
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/nsnews028.html

http://twgauthors.blogspot.com/2007/06/as-sick-as-our-secrets.html
As Sick as Our Secrets (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

There's an oft-heard saying in the recovery community: “We're as sick as our secrets.”Over the years, I have met many people in abusive situations who have paid a great price to eventually extricate themselves from the vicious cycle of manipulation and recrimination. Only the truth, however painful, can really set us free.

Secrecy keeps us chained to our abusers.At the heart of the ‘twelve steps’,[ii] in Step Four and Five, is the willingness to break the power of secrecy by admitting to God, yourself, and another person the exact nature of how you have wronged other people.

I have done many ‘Fifth Steps’ for others over the past twenty-four years. It is always such a privilege. I feel like I grow so much through this opportunity. I notice, however, that ‘Fifth Steps’ are very difficult in our secretive, victim-based culture. Many people want to come to me and admit the exact nature of how they have been wronged, but not how they have wronged other people.

Until we can open up and get such things off our chest, we are still stuck with guilt, recrimination, and self-doubt. We really are as sick as our secrets.The Bible tells us:Cast our cares upon the Lord, for He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

I have found that sharing deeply my heart with another caring, listening person can be profoundly liberating. That is why we are encouraged by James, Jesus’ brother:confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:16)

I have a number of friends who have recently had the courage to go see Bonnie Chatwin, a North Shore Pastoral & Clinical Counselor.[iii] It was not at all easy for them to do this, but I was amazed by the breakthroughs that they have achieved. How much do we want to be well? Often the price of being well is giving up our obsessive need for independence and secrecy, and beginning to trust another person with our life story.

We as Canadians live in a culture that has become more secretive and private. The vast majority of Canadians still believe in God, prayer, and Jesus’ resurrection, but such faith concerns have largely gone into the closet. There is a widespread perception that faith is so personal and private that it cannot be mentioned publicly.

The recent Da Vinci Code fad fits totally into that way of thinking. It implicitly teaches that true spirituality is about dark hidden secrets that only the elite may know about: secrets allegedly hidden in Da Vinci’s paintings, secrets covered by an alleged secret society named the Priory of Sion, secrets about Mary Magdalene and Mother Eve in the Garden of Eden. Over one hundred million North Americans have either read the Da Vinci Code book or seen the movie.

There is something in us that is drawn to secret knowledge and secret passageways. But is secrecy really the way to health and life? Is secrecy really the key to genuine spirituality?Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

The false elders that Timothy was replacing in Ephesus had been drawn back into the secret, occult ways of the Temple of Diana/Artemis (1 Timothy 1:3-4). People are sometimes shocked by the word ‘occult’, but all it means, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary[iv], is ‘concealed, kept secret’. ‘Occult’ comes from the Latin root ‘celare’ (to hide).

The most famous person in the world once said:I have spoken openly to the world...I said nothing in secret. (John 18:20)Jesus also said: Whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed or secret is meant to be brought out into the open. (Matthew 4:22)

Rabbi Saul/Paul, who was Jesus’ most famous disciple, commented:We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, we set forth the truth plainly...(2 Corinthians 4:2)Contrary to the claims of the Da Vinci Code, Christianity has no secret codes, no secret initiation rites, no secret vows. Jesus said nothing in secret. Jesus brought everything out in the open.

We really are as sick as our secrets. As we battle for the soul of our nation, may God bring us out of the hidden darkness and into his visible light.

The Rev. Ed Hird

Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Coalition in Canada

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons

http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com

[ii] “Twelve-Step Program”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program

[iii] Bonnie Chatwin Counselling and Consultation, http://www.bc-cc.ca

[iv] http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/concise11/?view=uk

... Goes Before A Fall

2007-05-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

...Goes Before A Fall
-a pre-published chapter from the book "Battle for the Soul of Canada"
http://twgauthors.blogspot.com/2007/05/goes-before-fall_24.html
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr0607.html
The Deep Cove Crier Newspaper
...Goes Before a Fall (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

What goes before a fall? The Good Book says ‘Pride’.Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)What is pride, anyway? The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines pride as: ‘overweening opinion of one’s own qualities, merits’ and ‘proud’ as ‘haughty, arrogant’.

Roget’s Thesaurus speaks of the double-edged nature of pride. Many people use the term to refer to satisfaction in their children’s accomplishments, or to self-respect. But Roget’s Thesaurus reminds that pride is also connected to:arrogance, haughtiness, insolence, loftiness, lordliness, overbearingness, presumption, superiority, narcissism, vanity, egotism.

Hence we see the origin of the 1960’s slang phrase “ego trip”.

Paul warned Timothy three times to watch out for the proud and arrogant false teachers in his midst. In 1 Timothy 6:3, Paul commented:If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited/proud and understands nothing.The Greek word for pride (tuphoo) has the root concept of ‘smoke’, almost like our modern concept of the ‘smoke and mirrors’ used by spin-doctors.

Again in 2 Timothy 3:1-2, Paul said:But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive...The danger of pride is why Paul cautions against ordaining new believers, lest they come under the devil’s condemnation through unteachability. (1 Timothy 3:6)

Why is pride spoken of as the first of the seven deadly sins? Perhaps because pride causes us to forget our Maker:Your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 8:14)Pride is basically non-productive and unteachable:Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (Proverbs 13:10)

Pride is self-destructive:When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:10)Pride is the spirit of the mocker:The proud and arrogant man-"Mocker" is his name; he behaves with overweening pride. (Proverbs 21:24).

In High School, many ‘Big Men on Campus’ become proud and mocking while they are ‘the big fish in a small pond’. But things change when they go into the real world. Pride goes before a fall.

he most difficult thing about pride is that it is like bad breath: easy to detect in others, and hard to detect in ourselves. Pride has to do with a sense of entitlement, that we deserve everything that we have, that the world owes us a living.

The most famous human being once said in Mark 7:22 that pride comes from within our hearts and actually makes us unclean (non-kosher). Pride separates from others, by seducing us into thinking that we are better than others. Pride is the root cause of every caste system, every class system, and every system of racial hatred.[i] That is why the Bible says:Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:16)

Pride goes before a fall.

Pride makes it very difficult to admit our need for anyone else, even God himself. Dr. Albert Runge comments that “Pride is the greatest hindrance to prayer.”[ii] Pride feeds the illusion that we are completely independent and self-sufficient. That is why Jesus said:It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 19:24)Yet real breakthrough happens when we admit our need, our helplessness and powerlessness over life’s struggles.

CS Lewis’ wife, Joy Davidman, resisted her need for God for many years. She writes:God had been stalking me for a very long time, waiting for his moment; he crept nearer so silently that I never knew he was there. Then, all at once, he sprang. For the first time in my life I felt helpless; for the first time my pride was forced to admit that I was not, after all, 'the master of my fate'.[iii]

Pride and humility are total opposites. That is why both James and Peter quote Proverbs 3:10: “God opposes and resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Let me ask you a question: Do we really want the Maker of the Universe to be opposing and resisting us? Yet that is what is guaranteed if we don’t deal with the pride issue. God will resist us at work, at home, in society.

Pride may not be a big deal to us, but it certainly is to God. Why is God so opposed to pride? Because it cripples our ability to really love others around us. As the famous poem in 1 Corinthians 13 puts it, love is not proud. Why are so many people successful in business and failures at home?

Pride goes before a fall.

Pride, like alcohol addiction, is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It is almost impossible to destroy head-on. Dr. Albert Runge comments that “our pride may lead to false guilt and self-condemnation, which refuses to accept God’s gracious forgiveness.”[iv] That is why Jeremiah 17:9 says: “Our heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

The secret to taming one’s pride is gratitude and thanksgiving. As John Fischer puts it,a thankful heart cancels out pride and arrogance. No need to judge other people when you are thankful for who you are. No need to measure yourself by and compare yourself to others when you are thankful for what God has done in your life.[v]Gratitude is a deep sense that life is a generous gift from a gracious giver. Gratitude is best expressed by the ancient words: “All things come from You, O Lord, and of your own have we given You.”

My prayer for those reading this book is that each of us as Canadians will gratefully lay our pride and self-sufficiency down at the foot of our Maker. It is our hidden pride that is holding back the waves of God’s revival to our thirsty nation

The Reverend Ed Hird+Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons
http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/

[i] AA Allen, The Price of God’s Miracle-Working Power, 1950s, http://www.agapao.de/download/books/allan.pdf p. 89 “Pride generally takes one of five forms: 1)Pride of FACE –How much better I look than those around me. 2) Pride of PLACE – Don’t ask that of one in my position! 3)Pride of RACE – I come from an excellent family and must uphold the family honour at any cost! 4) Pride of PACE – Everyone should be able to see that we are the most capable and efficient person available. No one else could keep up with me! 5) The last and worst one of all: Pride of GRACE: Look at my spiritual accomplishments, how humble I am, the length of my fasts, my visions, dreams and revelations, the gifts I possess – I must be a special favorite with God![ii] Albert Runge, A Brooklyn Jew Meets Jesus, Christian Publ., Camp Hill Pennyslvania, 2001, p. 197[iii] “Extraordinary Joy”, http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001188.cfm [iv] Runge, p. 178[v] High Praise Media Group Page http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=281535&ck=

"Battle for the Soul of Canada" Shortlisted for TWG Award

2007-05-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Word Guild have recognised great Canadian writers who are Christian for many years. Dr. J.I. Packer and Mark Buchanan to name a couple. This year "Battle for the Soul of Canada" has been added to the list of finalists.

http://www.thewordguild.com/newsreleases/index.html
SHORTLIST OF FINALISTS - THE WORD GUILD 2007 WRITING AWARDS

Book - Culture
Craig A. Carter of Toronto for Rethinking Christ and Culture: A Post-Christendom Perspective (Brazos Press/Baker Publishing)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders (independently published)
James K. A. Smith of Grand Rapids Mich. for Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? (Baker Academic)

Book - Independently-Published Nonfiction
Barbara Caiger of Markham Ont. for Walking Alongside: The Essence of Parish Nursing (Trafford Publishing)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders (independently published)
Keturah Leonforde of Guelph Ont. for Reflections from the Waiting Room: Insights for thriving when life puts you on hold (Essence Publishing)
Helen F. Miller of North York Ont. for The Hardest Place (Essence Publishing)
Kimberley J. Payne of Millbrook Ont. for Voice of a New Christian: Volume II (Within Reach)

Article, Short Story, Poetry & Song Lyric Categories
Article - General Readership (articles that explain or encourage faith for mainstream readers)
Paul M. Beckingham of Vancouver B.C. for "A Question of Faith" (Tidings)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "A Ten Dollar Heart" (The Brantford Expositor)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "A Veggie Tale" (The Brantford Expositor)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "Leave an Impression" (The Brantford Expositor)
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "In the beginning was the Word" (Ottawa Citizen)
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "The Vanishing Choirboys" (Ottawa Citizen)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for "Handel's Messiah At Christmas" (North Shore News)

The Word Guild
Media Release
The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards 2007 Media Release #2 Parts 1 & 2
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fqnnt4bab.0.omofv6bab.bclffybab.411&ts=S0242&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewordguild.com%2F; office voice mail 905.294.6482
This release is available as a downloadable Word document at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fqnnt4bab.0.oa8aj5bab.bclffybab.411&ts=S0242&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewordguild.com%2Fnewsreleases%2Findex.html

May 08, 2007
For immediate release

TOP CANADIAN CHRISTIAN WRITERS COMPETE FOR AWARDS

Number of entries doubles in three years for contest that recognizes the best work published by Canadian writers who are Christian

Waterloo, Ont. - The best Canadian writers who are Christian are competing for top honours in The Word Guild Canadian Writing Awards. This contest recognizes the most outstanding work published during 2006 in 31 categories.

Winners from across Canada will be announced on June 13 at The Word Guild Writing Awards Gala in Waterloo, Ont., the premier black tie event honouring Canadian writers who are Christian.

The evening will be hosted by award-winning journalist Rick Gamble, formerly of CTV's Kitchener affiliate CKCO, where he did local and national news reporting for 23 years before becoming a communications instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University. The Gala, to which the public is invited, also will feature a band, book signings and a reception.

"The contest has more than doubled in size in the last three years," commented Wendy Elaine Nelles, founding director of The Word Guild, the association that sponsors the contest. "We received a record number of 231 entries. These awards are gaining in national recognition and reputation."

The awards honour the best nonfiction books, novels, articles, columns, poems, stories, scripts and song lyrics published in the previous year. The contest is open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who affirms The Apostles' Creed.

Some of Canada's best-known Christian writers are among this year's contestants, including Mark Buchanan, J. I. Packer and James Houston.

"Prizes get attention, whether they're for sports, movies or books. The whole purpose of our writing contests and Awards Gala is to showcase examples of excellence, and to increase awareness of the variety and the quality of writing by Canadians who are Christian," she explained. "And whether entrants win or lose, the judges' critiques provide helpful feedback that enables them to become better writers."

Twenty-seven expert judges were recruited to evaluate the entries. This year's most hotly contested categories were profiles/human interest articles, long feature articles and columns/editorials/first person essays-each received 15 to 20 entries.

In another positive sign for the Canadian Christian publishing community, 91 book entries were submitted in 17 fiction and nonfiction categories.

Entries were sent from nine provinces and territories. While Ontario writers submitted 144 entries, British Columbia was strongly represented with 44 entries. There were 16 entries from Alberta, 13 from Manitoba, four each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, three from Saskatchewan and one each from Quebec, Nunavut and the U.S.A.

Winners of The Word Guild Writing Awards will be presented with a cash prize, a certificate and a specially designed lapel pin to mark their achievements.

Other writing awards will be presented at the Gala, including the Leslie K. Tarr Award for outstanding career achievement; the Best New Canadian Christian Author prize for an unpublished book-length manuscript; and the Partnership Award which recognizes individuals or organizations who have offered exceptional support and encouragement to Canadian writers and editors who are Christian.

The Gala will be held on Wednesday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue W., Waterloo, Ont. The public is warmly invited to celebrate with the finalists, their families and friends. Tickets may be ordered through TicketWindow.ca or by phone at 1-877-700-3130. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at the door.

Award sponsorships are still available. Any business, organization or individual who would like to provide concrete support and encouragement to Canadian writers who are Christian is welcome to inquire about sponsorship benefits. Charitable tax receipts are available. Contact fundraising [at] thewordguild [dot] com to obtain details.

The Word Guild also sponsors Canada's largest Christian writers' conference, Write! Canada. From June 14 to 16, writers, editors, agents and publishers will meet in Guelph, Ont. for professional development, networking and marketing opportunities.

Keynote speaker Rudy Wiebe, one of Canada's most acclaimed authors, has twice won the Governor General's Award for fiction and earlier this year won the $25,000 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Full details about the classes, faculty and manuscript critique service are available at www.thewordguild.com/writecanada.
The complete shortlist of finalists for The Word Guild 2007 Writing Awards is posted at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fqnnt4bab.0.omofv6bab.bclffybab.411&ts=S0242&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewordguild.com%2F.

ATTACHED:
Backgrounder - The Word Guild Writing Awards
Shortlist - The Word Guild Writing Awards 2007
BACKGROUNDER - THE WORD GUILD WRITING AWARDS

The awards are sponsored by The Word Guild, a national association with the mandate of connecting, developing and promoting Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. Formerly known as The God Uses Ink Awards, these writing prizes have been awarded annually since 1988. The Word Guild assumed responsibility for the awards in 2002, revamping and expanding the program.

The Word Guild contests are open to all eligible writers who have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status, and are not restricted to members of The Word Guild. All entrants are asked to affirm The Apostles' Creed as a condition of acceptance in the contest. However, the opinions and viewpoints expressed in the shortlisted and winning works represent the authors' personal beliefs and are not necessarily endorsed by The Word Guild.

Although contest rules do not require an explicit statement of Christian belief, judges looked for an underlying expression of the writer's Christian worldview informing and influencing the writing. Entries were judged according to excellence of writing; impact (the inspirational or informational value making it worthwhile); fulfillment of stated purpose; suitability to target audience; originality and freshness of style.

Entry guidelines and forms for the 2008 contests will be posted at www.thewordguild.com in late 2007. Entries for work published in 2007 will be accepted until January 18, 2008.

The Word Guild, an association of more than 270 Canadian writers and editors who are Christian, was founded in 2002. Members are committed to encouraging one another and fostering standards of excellence in the art, craft, practice and ministry of writing.
The long-term vision is to impact the Canadian culture through writing from a Christian worldview. Immediate goals are to help writers and editors at all stages connect with each other, develop new skills and discover new publishing opportunities. See http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fqnnt4bab.0.omofv6bab.bclffybab.411&ts=S0242&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewordguild.com%2F for further information.

Note: Book jacket stickers labeled "Finalist" are available as a promotional tool for all shortlisted books. These eye-catching, removable stickers may be obtained at cost from The Word Guild by contacting info [at] thewordguild [dot] com.

SHORTLIST OF FINALISTS - THE WORD GUILD 2007 WRITING AWARDS

Books

Book - Apologetics/Evangelism
Dr. Brad Burke of Windsor Ont. for An MD Examines: Why Does God Allow Suffering? (Cook Communications)
Dr. Brad Burke Windsor of Ont. for An MD Examines: Why Doesn't God Stop Evil? (Cook Communications)
Donna Carter of Calgary for 10 Smart Things Women Can Do to Build a Better Life (Straight Talk Ministries)
Stanley E. Porter of Hamilton Ont. and Stephen J. Bedard of Meaford Ont. for Unmasking the Pagan Christ: An Evangelical Response to the Cosmic Christ Idea (Clements Publishing)
Alan Reynolds of Richmond B.C. for A Troubled Faith: Do We Really Need God? (Word Alive Press)

Book - Children
M. D. Meyer of Winnipeg for Get Lost! (independently published)
Helen Toews of Winnipeg for Emma's Corner (The Cottage at Creek Bend)

Book - Christian Living
Mark Buchanan of Duncan B.C. for The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Thomas Nelson)
Dr. Brad Burke of Windsor Ont. for An MD Examines: Why Does God Allow Suffering? (Cook Communications)
Dr. Brad Burke Windsor Ont. for An MD Examines: Is God Obsolete? (Cook Communications)
Dr. Brad Burke Windsor Ont. for An MD Examines: Does God Still Do Miracles? (Cook Communications)
J. I. Packer of Vancouver and Carolyn Nystrom for Praying: Finding our Way Through Duty to Delight (InterVarsity Press)
Alan Reynolds of Richmond B.C. for A Troubled Faith: Do We Really Need God? (Word Alive Press)

Book - Culture
Craig A. Carter of Toronto for Rethinking Christ and Culture: A Post-Christendom Perspective (Brazos Press/Baker Publishing)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders (independently published)
James K. A. Smith of Grand Rapids Mich. for Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? (Baker Academic)

Book - Independently-Published Nonfiction
Barbara Caiger of Markham Ont. for Walking Alongside: The Essence of Parish Nursing (Trafford Publishing)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders (independently published)
Keturah Leonforde of Guelph Ont. for Reflections from the Waiting Room: Insights for thriving when life puts you on hold (Essence Publishing)
Helen F. Miller of North York Ont. for The Hardest Place (Essence Publishing)
Kimberley J. Payne of Millbrook Ont. for Voice of a New Christian: Volume II (Within Reach)

Book - Instructional
Barbara Caiger of Markham Ont. for Walking Alongside: The Essence of Parish Nursing (Trafford Publishing)
Sue Careless of Toronto for Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach; Volume II: Our Life in the Church (The Prayer Book Society of Canada & ABC Publishing)
Dr. Rod J. K. Wilson of Vancouver for How Do I Help a Hurting Friend? (Baker Publishing)

Book - Leadership/Theoretical
James M. Houston of Vancouver for Joyful Exiles: Life in Christ on the Dangerous Edge of Things (InterVarsity Press)
Tim Perry of Otterburne Man. for Mary for Evangelicals: Toward an Understanding of the Mother of Our Lord (InterVarsity Press)
Alan Reynolds of Richmond B.C. for A Troubled Faith: Do We Really Need God? (Word Alive Press)

Book - Life Stories
Sheila Wray Gregoire of Belleville Ont. for How Big Is Your Umbrella? Weathering the Storms of Life (Kregel Publications)
Lloyd Mackey of Ottawa for Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press)
Marilyn Meyers of Waterdown Ont. for Through Fire & Sea (Rocksalt Publishing)
Sandy Rosen of Fort Langley B.C. for Off the Map (Destiny Image Europe)

Book - Relationships:
Steve Bydeley of Kitchener Ont. for Fathered by God: Resolving Life's Hardships (Lapstone Publications)
Barbara Caiger of Markham Ont. for Walking Alongside: The Essence of Parish Nursing (Trafford Publishing)
Dr. Rod J. K. Wilson of Vancouver for How Do I Help a Hurting Friend? (Baker Publishing)

Book - Special
Kirsten Femson of Pickering Ont. who compiled The Way They Should Go: Timeless Advice for the Teen Journey (Castle Quay Books)
George Whipple of Burnaby B.C. for The Peaceable Kingdom (Penumbra Press)

Novel - Contemporary
Keith Clemons of Caledon Ont. for These Little Ones (George Colton Publishing)
Deborah Gyapong of Ottawa for The Defilers (Castle Quay Books)

Novel - Mystery/Suspense
Deborah Gyapong of Ottawa for The Defilers (Castle Quay Books)
Linda Hall of Fredericton, N. B. for Dark Water (Waterbrook Press/Random House)

Article, Short Story, Poetry & Song Lyric Categories

Article - General Readership (articles that explain or encourage faith for mainstream readers)
Paul M. Beckingham of Vancouver B.C. for "A Question of Faith" (Tidings)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "A Ten Dollar Heart" (The Brantford Expositor)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "A Veggie Tale" (The Brantford Expositor)
Rick Gamble of Brantford Ont. for "Leave an Impression" (The Brantford Expositor)
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "In the beginning was the Word" (Ottawa Citizen)
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "The Vanishing Choirboys" (Ottawa Citizen)
Ed Hird of North Vancouver for "Handel's Messiah At Christmas" (North Shore News)

Article - Inspirational/Devotional
Donald N. Bastian of Brampton Ont. for "The Joy of Aging" (Christianity Today)
Paul M. Beckingham of Vancouver for "Comfort!" (Regent College Publishing)

Article - Long Feature
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "The Fear of God" (Ottawa Citizen)
Terry LeBlanc of Evansburg Alta. for "Native Suicide: A Challenge to the Church" (Faith Today)
Ross Muir of Kitchener Ont. for "Recovering Silence" (Canadian Mennonite)
Patricia Paddey of Mississauga Ont. for "Why Are Evangelicals So Passionate About Israel and Palestine?" (Faith Today)
Karen Stiller of Port Perry Ont. for "The Beauty and the Beasts of Christian Farming" (Faith Today)

Article - News
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "Conservative Anglicans livid over lesbian priest in Ottawa/Torn Asunder" (Ottawa Citizen)
Ross Muir and Tim Miller Dyck of Waterloo Ont. for "Mennonite Groups Oppose Land Speculator" (Canadian Mennonite)

Article - Personal Experience
Paul M. Beckingham of Vancouver for "Folk Religion or Folk Folly?" (Tidings)
Donna Mann of Holstein Ont. for "Weeding And Revising" (Mosaic: Arts, Entertainment & Lifestyle)
Violet Nesdoly of Surrey B.C. for "A Mother's Meddling Fingers" (Christian Women Online Magazine)
Adele Simmons of Whitby Ont. for "The Cabin" (Writers' Circle of Durham Region)
Stephanie Tombari of Burlington Ont. for "Heal Me" (GEEZ Magazine)

Article - Profile/Human Interest
Milton Friesen of Airdrie Alta. for "Faith and Politics in Action"(Decision Magazine-Cdn. Edition)
Milton Friesen of Airdrie Alta. for "The Universe to Explore: Faith and a World of Ideas" (Decision Magazine-Cdn. Edition)
Jennifer Green of Ottawa for "The Education of David Jeffrey" (Ottawa Citizen)
Gail MacMillan of Bathurst N.B. for "The 50 Cent Angel" (St. Anthony Messenger)
Josie Newman of Claremont Ont. for "Going to Extremes" (Charisma)

Article - Short Feature
Paul M. Beckingham of Vancouver for "Purpose-Driven Starbucks" (Tidings)
Linda Wegner of Powell River B.C. for "Llama kills blamed on dog packs, lack of enforcement" (Country Life in B.C.)

Column/Editorial/First Person Essay (single)
Kurt Armstrong of Vancouver for "Why Love Will Always Be A Poor Investment" (Radix)
Sheila Wray Gregoire of Belleville Ont. for "Seeking a Wise Man" (The Shield)
Thomas Froese of Uganda and Ancaster Ont. for "Christmas: the luxury to pick and choose" (ChristianWeek)
Ann-Margret Hovsepian of Montreal for "Is Marriage Still Sacred?" (Beyond Ordinary Living)
Denyse O'Leary of Toronto for "Can you choose to help? Or are you simply spreading your genes?" (Maranatha News)

Column/Editorial/First Person Essay (series)
Grace Fox of Heriot Bay B.C. for "Parents-Stay Awake!" and "And What Happened to My Kid at Summer Camp" (B.C. Christian News)
Thomas Froese of Uganda and Ancaster Ont. for "Where is African spirituality heading?" and "Doomsday Diversions" (ChristianWeek)
Violet Nesdoly of Surrey B.C. for "Research-The Dietary Supplement Your Poems Can't Do Without" and "Poems Growing-Cultivate with Care" (Inscribe Christian Writers: FellowScript)
Dave Toycen of Mississauga Ont. for "A Seat at the World's Food Table" and "The Most Powerful Weapon" (World Vision Canada: Childview/Enfants du monde)
Heidi VanderSlikke of Harriston Ont. for "The God of Wonders" and "What's in a name?" (Christian Courier)
Ray Wiseman of Fergus Ont. for "Life-wise with Ray Wiseman: Christmas gifts that endure" and "A new year brings new hope" (Wellington Advertiser)

Poetry
Caroline H. Davidson of Ladysmith B.C. for "September Lace" (Circle 49 Publishing)
Judith Millar of Kitchener Ont. for "After the Fall" (Southern Ontario Library Service: The Changing Image)
Violet Nesdoly of Surrey B.C. for "Some Words" (Infuze Magazine)
Richard Weening of Newmarket Ont. for "1 Corinthians 13" (SCA International: Word & Deed)

Song Lyrics
Ali Matthews of Stratford Ont. for "Poised for a Fall" (Shake A Paw Music)
Ali Matthews of Stratford Ont. for "Santorini" (Shake A Paw Music)

Additional Categories:
Awards will be presented on June 13 to the winners of eight categories for which there are no shortlists of finalists: Book-Biblical Studies; Book-General Readership; Book-Young Adult; Novel-Independently Published Fiction; Novel-Romance; Article-Children/Young Adult; Article-Review; and Short Story. No awards will be presented this year in the following categories: Script/Screenplay; Novel-Historical.

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.

Christian Week: Timothy's Training Provides Good Model

2007-04-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.christianweek.org/

Christian Week Magazine, April 1st 2007

Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders

by Ed A Hird, 2006

CDN $14.99, 176 pages, Softcover

ISBN 0-9782022-01

Ed Hird is an Anglican minister with a tenacious desire to communicate biblical truth. His North Vancouver congregation has been deeply involved in the struggle against 'the deadening effects of liberalism' within the broader Anglican community.

"Our land of Canada is in a severe leadership crisis, especially in the churches. As goes the churches, goes the soul of the nation.", he says.

But that burden for souls and for the realpolitik of the church life have combined to convince Hird that "Christian values lie at the heart of our nation and that the key to renewing the soul of Canada -the heart of this book - is to be found in raising up Timothys, raising up the emerging generation of leaders."

What follows is a collection of observations, testimonials, comments, anecdotes, historic vignettes, exhortations and ideas structured around the teachings of Paul in the two letters he wrote to his young understudy, Timothy.

"Paul and Timothy have so much to teach us if we are willing to listen. I believe that the task of raising up Timothys is the key to restoring our beloved nation of Canada," says Hird.

"Canada's moral and spiritual crisis is strongly paralleled in the crisis of the Ephesian church two millennium ago. The spiritual and moral apostasy had gone so far that Paul had to send in Timothy to rebuild the Ephesian church from scratch."

"So too we in Canada are being challenged to raise up a whole new generation of leaders, like Timothy, who are willing to stand up for truth and love our nation back to health."

Photo by Sue Careless

Battle for the Soul Excerpt: The Gift of the Alpha Course

2007-03-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/nsnews029.html

The Gift of Gentleness
-an article for the North Shore News ‘Spiritually Speaking’ column
One of the great gifts of the world-renowned Alpha Course is its gentleness. Canadians do not like to be pressurized or have the gospel shoved down their throat. Some have a great fear that somehow religious people will brainwash them and force them to do something that they do not want to do. The Alpha Course goes back to Paul’s teaching to his protege Timothy that sharing our faith needs to be gentle, kind and gracious (2 Timothy 2:25). As the past Chair/President for Alpha Canada, and the current National Alpha Chaplain, I know from first-hand experience what a gift the Alpha Course has been to so many.

Having just visited Newfoundland & the Maritimes to attend the largest Christian Ashram retreat in the world with over 800 participants, I was privileged to hear hundreds of stories from Eastern Canadians whose lives have been deeply impacted by the Alpha Course. Over the past two years, I have spoken at Christian Ashrams in Alberta and Saskatchewan , and once again I heard remarkable stories of Canadians whose lives have been decisively changed by taking an Alpha Course.

Nicky Gumbel has been strongly linked in many Canadian minds with Alpha. Nicky Gumbel was a successful lawyer in London who was convinced that the Christian faith had nothing to offer him. His impression of Christianity was that it was dreary and uninspiring. His impression of many clergy was that they reminded him of undertakers. Nicky thought that Christianity was also totally irrelevant. He couldn’t see how something that happened two thousand years ago and so many thousands of miles away could have any relevance to him in modern life.

Nicky was also convinced that the Christian faith was intellectually indefensible. At age 14, he wrote an essay in which he tried to destroy the whole of Christianity and disprove the existence of God. Nicky went through a phase when he enjoyed arguing with Christians, just for the pleasure of exposing their falsity.

Life is full of strange and unexpected turn-of-events. One of those turn-of-events was that Nicky Gumbel became so convinced of the relevance and truth of Christianity that he even became an Anglican priest. A few years before, the idea of becoming a pastor would have been the farthest thing from his mind, almost laughable. And yet it happened. A number of years later, millions of people all around the world are finding that Nicky Gumbel’s Alpha Course presentation is helping them live a more meaningful life.

All around the world, on every continent, people are taking the Alpha Course. Many are saying that this course has answered a lot of their deepest questions about life. The symbol of the Alpha Course is a person carrying a very large and heavy question mark. So often the questions of life can really weigh us down.

Josh Wilton our Newcomer Pastor recently led our 26th Alpha Course at a Deep Cove home. Seekers and unchurched people really love this safe opportunity to explore the meaning of life. Part of what makes Alpha tick is the wonderful fellowship over eleven weeks as people eat delicious meals together every Thursday night. No question is taboo at Alpha. No one is put down or criticized. Nicky Gumbel’s video presentations every week are thought-provoking and challenging. The discussion that follows after is free-wheeling and very engaging. The Holy Spirit weekend in the middle of the course is the lynchpin that holds it all together. I so much value the gentle freedom in the Spirit modeled by the Alpha Course. Conservatively, I would estimate that over 370 people so far have attended our St. Simon’s North Vancouver Alpha courses. Many other congregations on the North Shore will also be hosting an Alpha Course this coming fall. I commend Alpha http://www.alphacanada.org/ to you as a gentle gift to the people of the North Shore. For more info, you are invited to phone 778-772-5464, or e-mail stsimonsministry@gmail.com

The Rev. Ed Hird
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/

Endorsements by Canadian and Global Leaders

2007-03-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Endorsements:

For an unbaptized, non-practising non-Christian, but with strong sympathy for and even envy of devout Christians, Rev. Hird's book strikes me as original, provocative and appealing, with interesting details about his own path to faith.

-Trevor Lautens, Columnist, North Shore News.

Ed Hird writes out of first hand experience on the Battle for the Soul of Canada. His passion for God's Truth, and for this nation to come fully into her God-given destiny, shines through every page. I was encouraged by the stories of those who have gone before us and personally challenged afresh to do my part to raise up this generation's Timothys and Timotheas.

-Sally Start, National Director, Alpha Canada

Battle for the Soul of Canada is both contemporary church history and uplifting Scriptural commentary. The Revd Ed Hird tells the personal story that forms one great chapter of the renewal of orthodox Anglican witness in Canada at the beginning of the 21st century.

-The Right Reverend Bob Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network and Chair of the Common Cause Partnership

Ed Hird brings wonderful narrative skills to bear on the crisis in the culture and the Anglican Church in Canada with faithfulness and keen analysis. Cultural leaders, as well as those who care about Gospel work, would do well to read this work and learn from it.

-Dr. Bill Atwood, General Secretary, Ekklesia

I appreciate Ed's tender heart, and his prayerful and thoughtful processing of the impact that the liberal agenda in the church is having in North America. Not only does he clearly lay out what has happened; he offers principles that can help restore Gospel faithfulness. That is what postmodern culture needs at its heart.

-Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone

Battle for the Soul of Canada is born out of great pain, deep grief, and real love for the Lord and His Church. It is a timely book that is unlocking precious jewels of wisdom from 1 & 2 Timothy for this generation and beyond. It is insightful, inspiring, instructive, invaluable, and indispensable for all who are building the future generations. We warmly endorse it for reading and study by all faithful people of God.

-The Most Reverend Moses (& Cynthia) Tay, Archbishop of the Province of South East Asia (Rtd.)

I want to recommend this book to all who care about the vital and essential matters of life-the reality of the SOUL in every individual, society and nation. Ed speaks from his own inner spiritual journey and the reality of peace, joy and life in Jesus Christ. He has sounds the triumphed call to all Christian leaders to face the reality of our time and to join in the urgent God given task of saving the Soul of Canada. Battle for the Soul of Canada is the deep cry of a convicted Canadian Christian to the spiritual reality of the beloved country he lives and minister as an Anglican Priest. It is a very moving story.Raising up the Emerging Generations of Leaders is the only effective weapon God has given the church to defeat the destruction of the enemy. Out of his own deep study of the Word of God, Ed makes this the life calling of his ministry and work. All of us need to learn this lesson well. May God bless this book at a time like this.-The Most Reverend Yong Ping Chung, Retired Archbishop of South East Asia.

Churches rot away when good men keep silent. Thank goodness for Ed Hird's courage and clarity in contending for historic Anglicanism amidst a Canadian Anglican Church which has lost its way.

-The Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Green,[i] former Advisor for Evangelism to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

I expected Battle for the Soul of Canada to be a political book -- a book about the battles of plucky little St. Simon's Church in North Vancouver to adhere to a Biblically-inspired faith in the face of an increasing secular (and hostile) church hierarchy. Instead, I discovered a wonderful primer on keeping faith in an increasing secular (and hostile) world, filled with inspiring, joyful and practical examples from the lives of spiritual people.

-Lorne Gunter, Columnist, National Post

Rev. Ed Hird is one of the most unique individuals I have ever met.

He is more Baptist than the Baptists…more Pentecostal than the Pentecostals and more Mennonite than the Mennonites. He is a true Christian statesman. God has raised him up to be a voice for truth in this generation. I wholeheartedly recommend this man and this book to you. Ed Hird writes with the mind of a historian and the heart of a pastor.

-Pastor Owen Scott, Lynn Valley Full Gospel Church, North Vancouver, B.C.

Ed Hird's outstanding analysis of the present day situation which he conveys so sensitively in Battle for the Soul of Canada gives us a glimpse that we have been (and continue to be) in the throes of a major decline in faith and morals in the Christian witness in our land, and in particular in the Anglican Church of Canada, However, unlike many of the Jeremiads we hear so often today, Ed fulfills the role of the true prophet, calling our land back from apostasy and reminding us of the way forward, especially as expressed in St. Paul's Letters to Timothy. It truly is a call for a new REFORMATION in our day.

This is a book meant to stir us from the complacency of our constantly encroaching materialistic secularism and should be on the reading list of every concerned seeker of truth. Certainly, it should be required reading in our seminaries, where much of the confusion Ed describes has been spawned in the last thirty years, and from where sound leadership to correct this malaise ultimately has to come.

-The Right Reverend Donald F Harvey
3rd Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador (Rtd.)
Moderator - Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)

Ed Hird is a faithful Christian, who loves the Anglican tradition, but make no mistake about it, he is centered on Scriptures rather than structures. My favourite image of him is watching him entering a conference hall with his arms filled with a large Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament, together with several Bible Commentaries.

He is also a Canadian with a love for this nation. He believes that our country has a destiny in the healing of the nations. This provocative book Battle For The Soul of Canada describes the leadership crisis in Canada, especially in the churches. The author uses St. Paul’s protege, Timothy, as the model for a new generation of leaders. He contends this type of leadership is needed to save the soul of the nation and to preserve its destined role to be an influence for good on the international scene. If you are concerned for the future role of the Christian Church in Canada, and for the future significance of the Canadian nation, this is a book you should not miss.

-The Right Reverend Eddie Marsh, Bishop of Central Newfoundland (Rtd.)

Ed Hird and his faithful flock know first hand the soul searching price of standing in solidarity and being rooted in orthodoxy as third-millennium followers of Jesus. I have been privileged to know Ed as a brother in Christ for many years. He is a servant of deep spiritual conviction, firmly rooted in the Anglican Orthodox Tradition. His challenging book Battle for the Soul of Canada will, I am sure, be an irritant for some, but a real ray of hope for so many others. I heartily commend this work written by one who indeed knows the ever deeper spirituality embodied in those challenging words of that old renewal song--"I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back". May those inspiring words and all that Ed has written serve as a real challenge to the raising up of more and more "Timothy's" in God's church.

-The Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding, Bishop of Brandon (Rtd.)
Ambassador, Anglican Renewal Ministries, Canada

Ed Hird's book is a commendable example of a sensitive blending of solid biblical exposition and an analysis of the contemporary situation. He speaks out of love for Christ, His church, Canada, and the Anglican Church. He is one of the most interesting Christian writers in Canada today. Ed is well known and highly respected for his ministry in and around Vancouver, British Columbia; and those who have read his regular contributions in the local press and his insightful contributions in the electronic media will welcome the appearance of his thoughts in a more permanent and traditional form. I trust that this is but the first of a long series of books from his pen (or, shall we say, computer?)

-Dr. W. Ward Gasque
Co-founder, Regent College, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Ed Hird, like others he describes in this book, is a warrior in Christ's fight for the salvation of Canadians. As with all true veterans, he has the scars to prove it. Like his Lord, it is through sharing his personal journey of pain and sacrifice, joy and peace, that he communicates best his love for others. This book will encourage, prepare and challenge all those soldiers who may be fearful and overwhelmed at the prospect of serving in God's army in its daunting mission. It is not so much about how bad things are spiritually in Canada, as it is about how God has proven His faithfulness and will, through prayerful, committed men and women, continue His quest to spread grace to this land.

-Robert G. Kuhn, Founding Partner of the law firm Kuhn & Co.

It is my pleasure and privilege to commend Ed Hird's ground-breaking volume Battle for the Soul of Canada. Canada is a nation with a vast influence across the world. All the more reason why it should not come adrift from its moral and spiritual moorings in the Judaeo-Christian ethic. The nation needs a godly ethical consensus if it is not to lose its way in the world or forfeit the right to give moral leadership. Ed Hird's deeply researched volume with its penetrating thinking will contribute to Canada's inner strength and moral vitality

-Michael Cassidy, Founder and Team Leader, African Enterprise[ii]

I am very encouraged that you have ploughed through the hard work of writing a book about the battle that you all have had up in Canada for the Orthodox faith. I am encouraged that the true record of God’s servants will be chronicled. I believe that the story of how God has used you all to stand firm for the Lord in the midst of the attempt to snuff out the light of the gospel in Canada is crucial and must get out. I believe that one day this book which details the struggle to preserve a people alive in the word of God in Canada will be celebrated as hundreds of churches worship our great God and continue in the embrace of the faith once delivered for the saints.

-Dr. Gil Stieglitz, Western District Superintendent, Evangelical Free Church, http://www.ptlb.com/

In reading any piece of literature, trust in the author is paramount. You can trust Ed Hird. He tells it like it is and you can implicitly believe in what he writes !!! In Battle For The Soul Of Canada, he speaks to Canadians, and for that matter, to all of us who read these pages, about basic life principles which are potent, powerful, and life changing. You will never be the same after reading this compelling and forceful book.

-Lee Buck, Anglican Evangelist

The Rev'd Ed Hird has fought the good fight for truth in the Anglican Church of Canada and in the Communion worldwide. He has done so armed with humility, a sharp intelligence, a gracious sense of humor and the Spirit of the Living God. He is a man I want at my side when I go to battle for God's Word in this fallen world.

-The Right Reverend Sandy Greene, Denver, Colorado, Rwandan Bishop, AMiA

So very often our Latin American Anglican church has been helped and enlightened by Ed Hird’s tireless work. We rejoice that now through this book, Ed will be able to strengthen many other fellow Anglicans who, like himself and us, wish only to see our churches walking only in the fullness of the Word and the Spirit. God will uphold his truth.

-The Venerable Canon Alfred Cooper (Santiago, Chile)

In the midst of the Battle for the Soul of Brazil, we can understand better and feel close to those like the Revd. Ed Hird who is committed in a Battle for the Soul of Canada, keeping the faith and the hope in spite of the turbulences of liberalism and post-modernity. This is an important and relevant book for all Christians - Anglicans in particular - who wants to fight the good fight.

-The Rt. Revd Robinson Cavalcanti
Diocese of Recife – Brazil

Ed Hird is a pioneer, a modern-day Timothy, who believes that he can make a difference even when adversity is looking him in the face. His book is a rollicking, fast-paced read through Canadian church and secular history, narratively written, with one eye on how it impacts 'the faith once delivered to the saints' and how it should translate into contemporary Canada. Canada’s moral and spiritual crisis is strongly paralleled in the crisis of the Ephesian Church two millennium ago, he writes. If Hird's book can stem that tide, then it will have been a major contribution to its much needed renewal.

-David W. Virtue DD, Virtue Online http://www.virtueonline.org/

Ed Hird's book responds to the crisis and injustice in the Canadian Anglican Church, part of the global fever gripping the whole Anglican Communion, with this robust summons to renewal based on the New Testament figure of Timothy. Hird continues in Christian trust and hope, pointing to many fascinating figures in Canadian history as illustrations of extraordinary victory over dark circumstances. One of those who has not bowed the knee to Baal, Hird calls for a Christian resourcefulness from his fellow Canadians and Anglicans in the face of the worst of 'cultural christianity'.

-The Revd. Dr. Tim Bradshaw, Regent Park’s College, Oxford, UK

A remarkable man has written a remarkable book. Ed Hird takes the reader through the major themes of Paul's letters to Timothy, illustrating them with vignettes from Canadian and Christian history. His patriotism and love for Canada is a refreshing and invigorating. Many of the names and episodes cited by Fr. Hird will be unknown to an American audience, but the infectious pride and exuberance with which he writes, brings these people and places to life. For those whose knowledge of Canada, its culture--people--history is shrouded in a Trudeauean fog of ignorance and pc drivel, this book is a breath of fresh air. It lightly, but forcefully, fleshes out the Christian soul of America's neighbor to the North.

But it is as a work of Christian apologetics that this book excels. I came away from this book with the sense of Fr. Ed Hird's joy---a joy founded upon the love of God.

"God surprises us with joy!", he writes at the beginning of his book, and this theme is captured again and again in the 64 short essays that make up the book.

In many ways this is an old fashioned book. A throw back to the muscular confident Christianity of a now bygone age. To this I say, 'thank goodness'---and may we have more of it.

-The Rev. Canon George Conger of the Diocese of Central Florida, journalist, The Living Church; Church of England Newspaper

Battle for the Soul of Canada is a beautiful tapestry of stories of past Canadian spiritual heroes interwoven with the personal experiences of the writer who is dynamically living the faith of which he writes. The reader will also be blessed by Ed’s carefully uncovering of the deep spiritual foundations of our past without which future generations are left aimless. While it is somewhat focused on the Anglican situation, its appeal and value is to the entire Body of Christ.

-Albert Zehr, Pastor, and Partner with Watchmen for the Nations

Anyone doubting that the Bible accurately describes the reality of life needs to read this book. The author, the Reverend Ed Hird, has opened his mind and heart and invited us into the account and the cost of standing firm in "the Faith once delivered to the Saints", despite the price and despite the foolishness of ecclesiastical dignitaries. The author concludes on a note of hope and well he might. He has every right to do so because the power, purpose and presence of the Lord is evident in his story and this set of reflections all through. "If God be for us, who can be against us!" I commend this book to the reader most highly.

-The Right Reverend John H. Rodgers Jr. ThD
Anglican Mission in America

Thank you also for producing a book about a 'people of memory' (Judges 2:10); for reminding Canadians that this country was once made great through God-motivated people who were convicted in the Truth and who were willing to pay a price for their convictions. I was thoroughly impressed with the way you have riveted us to contemporary truths found in Timothy, and which are present in the lives of our Canadian pioneers.

-The Rev. Charles Alexander, Former Chair, Anglican Renewal Ministries of Canada; Director, Timothy Institute of Ministry; Author of Power to Serve (ABC Book Centre)

The passion of the great Apostle Paul for the next generation is the passion of our dear brother Ed Hird for the next generation of Canadians. The days of ear-tickling have already come when people demand preaching that satisfies our lusts and causes us to turn from the truth. We need to hear the message of 1 and 2 Timothy come alive again, now. This is our time. We need to tell our
generation and the next the truth of the Bible, found in the Lord Jesus Christ, before the day of His coming. This is a great read to help us do just that.

-The Right Reverend Thad Barnum, Rwandan Anglican Bishop (AMiA)

Rev. Ed Hird's book represents a remarkable personal amalgam of spiritual autobiography, memoirs, sermons, reflections, history, and wise Christian counsel. It is written with clarity and charity by a seasoned Anglican priest who speaks with sure Christian discernment to the issues which trouble the Anglican Church of Canada and, more broadly, a Canadian culture which has lost the compass of its Christian heritage. Rev. Hird's book combines the personal and the political in ways that only powerful spiritual autobiography and memoir can accomplish. The book is particularly moving when he recalls the struggle of his ministry within the drifting structure of the Anglican Church of Canada, and the renewed ministry he and his congregation found within the Anglican Coalition in Canada under godly international Bishops and leaders. His message and stories will appeal to Anglicans, and other Christian believers, and many Canadians who love their country. It merits a wide readership.

-Dr. George Egerton, Associate Professor, UBC History Department; Editor, Anglican Essentials

I applaud your effort to offer a practical manual for a crucial issue in the Church. It is much needed.

-The Rev. Dr. John Roddam, Rector, St. Luke’s Seattle

Ed Hird is a biblical, evangelical, charismatic, reformed, orthodox, ecumenical Anglican pastor, priest, prophet and scholar. He is an inspiring man to be with - and this book is an inspiring read. It gives us an inside look at the battle for the soul of Anglicanism in Canada.

-The Rev. Dr. Don Faris, Author of The Trojan Horse[iii]

It became apparent to us that you are very much like the Timothy that St. Paul encouraged and guided. Step by step you have overcome personal obstacles (your voice), false teaching and apostasy from leaders of the church you loved, ridicule because of your stand for God, and courage in leading your flock into new pastures to maintain integrity of God’s word and continual proclamation of the gospel. In all of this, you have done it with grace and love and have never wavered from your deep love of Jesus. I believe that you truly deserve God’s words, “Well done my good and faithful servant”.

From pioneers, explorers, judges and politicians, you have brought out our rich Canadian Christian heritage in an easy-to-read and enjoyable way...it was like a banquet with a wide assortment of rich food for the soul.

-Dr. George & Elaine Puritch, Wholeness Through Christ Canada leaders

A devotional commentary on 1 & 2 Timothy that’s as Canadian as it is devotional. I enjoyed reading through much of it, and learned a lot about my Canadian heritage.

-Pastor Brian Buhler, North Shore Alliance Church, BC

Practical, readable, knowledgeable, self disclosing, Canada-glad and user-friendly devotional commentary on Biblical mentoring from a Christian leader who has been tested by fire. A worthy read for equippers and influencers.

-Dr. Paddy Ducklow, Pastor & Psychologist, Cap Church, North Shore

Ed Hird is a man of deep passion and commitment. I am grateful to him for raising up Timothy’s through the ministry of St Simon’s North Vancouver. He is a valued member of our ACiC team of clergy and we stand shoulder to shoulder with him in the fight. My hope is that this book will inspire many more Canadians to reflect on our heritage and the sacrifices made by Christians of former generations, but not leave it there. This is a battle that must not be lost in our country.

-The Rev. Paul Carter, ACiC Network Leader

Battle for the Soul of Canada is a book of great value and inspiration: value in that it contains a gold mine of documented spiritual history regarding the nation of Canada. In addition, it is a well of pertinent truth filled with information that leads to transformation. Finally, you will be inspired to do exactly what the main mission of the book is about, namely to raise up a generation of Timothys who will bring this nation back to its founding values.

-Rev. Dr. George D. Johnson
Harvest City Church / City Embassy
Vancouver, B.C.

Ed Hird has written a delightful blend of positive personal testimony, redeemed Canadian history and practical pastoral exhortation structured around the apostle Paul's letters to Timothy. If you need encouragement concerning the future of the church in Canada, this would be a good book to read. But be prepared to be challenged to be part of the battle for the soul of Canada.

-Rainer Mittelstaedt, Pastor, Bethel International Church, Vancouver BC

As a man of faith, Ed Hird reminds us all of the godly heritage of this great land of Canada. His call for an army of Timothys is a call for men and women to once again stand tall for the truth handed down to us through the ages. May his witness stir in the hearts of others the faithfulness and courage we have seen in his heart. Ed, I stand with many of your brothers across your border as we say: "O Canada, we stand on guard for thee"

-The Rev. David A. Rich, AMiA, Jackson, Mississippi,
Past Executive Director, Christ Our Healer Ministry, Buffalo, NY

In order for the Timothy's new generation in Canada to become secure and reach their destiny, they need fathers and mothers that will cover them and will walk with them.

-Pastor Jean Claude & Valerie Joyal, Bridgebuilders, Quebec

I’m delighted to recommend this book, not only to Anglicans, but also to all who pray and look for the day when Canada, like all other kingdoms of this world, shall ‘become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.’ Drawing on many years of immersion in Scripture as well as a deep knowledge of Canadian history, Ed Hird outlines a fascinating and compelling agenda for turning this nation back to the Saviour and restoring its own true nature.

-The Rev Canon Dr Robert B Smith, Diocese of Fredericton (Ret). Former Chair
of SOMA Canada, Rose & Thorn Ministries

How refreshing and proper the time is to have a true spiritual book that will appease the thirst in so pure waters of the sacred Scripture and Christian tradition!

Canada now stands at a critical crossroad and forces are constantly at work to undermine the moral fabric of this nation. We – the faithful servants and the gatekeepers – must guard our beliefs and values always.

Reverend Ed Hird is one of those few who consistently seek the moral high ground and I am honoured to work alongside this fellow minister. This book will certainly be an important aid in bolstering and maintaining faith.

-Rev. Msgr. Pedro-Lopez Gallo, St Pius Catholic Church, North Vancouver

Ed Hird has a vision for a renewed Canada through the raising up of a generation of leaders dedicated to the Christian principles of many of its founders. Indeed a great strength of the book is its colourful and inspiring cast of Canadian characters often overlooked by our generation.

-The Rev. George Eves, Author of Two Religions, One Church, Taylor College

Rev. Ed Hird is one of my modern day Canadian heroes. A man of conviction, passion for truth, God and His ways, passion for his nation and a man willing to push against the grain to take a stand for what he knows is truth. In this amazing literary call, Rev. Hird articulates all these elements like a good soldier fighting for generations to come. Battle for the Soul of Canada is more than a book. It is a call and more than a call. It is a trumpet blown at a critical moment in our nation's history.

-Faytene Kryskow, Author of Stand on Guard & Director, 4 MY Canada

Our Canadian church culture has all but neutralized the supernatural life-giving, life-saving power of God. But take heart, a new day has dawned, and Ed Hird has served notice in this book that the Timothys of the hour have awakened and now are rising into their destiny. Canada is poised to reach the nations for Jesus Christ! Only read this book if you want to be part of this call - if you want to be encouraged, challenged, strengthened with vision and purpose for a time such as this."

-Rev. Dr. Alistair P. Petrie, Pastor, Author, and Executive Director of Partnership Ministries, Canada http://www.partnershipministries.org/

Battle for the Soul of Canada is a great reflection of author Ed Hird. From start to finish, it is filled with Canadian Spiritual lore and challenging applications. As a columnist, Ed never seems to tire of treating his readers to fresh perspectives on historical figures and local, even family heroes. As an author he tackles Timothy with that same freshness, cleverly allowing us to see some of Paul’s intention with his young protégé. In an age when our country needs young men to gain fresh insight and passion about and for our nation, this new work makes a timely entrance.

-Lawrence Rae, Senior Pastor, Point Grey Community Church, Vancouver, BC

As a Christian journalist, I have watched and reported for more than four years now as Ed Hird has consistently displayed great boldness, perseverance and joy in upholding biblical orthodoxy against all who would try to co-opt it for their own purposes. He and St. Simon’s North Vancouver have sacrificed much, but in the process have gained much more. This book testifies to that. Yes, there is sadness and sorrow for a country Ed so dearly loves that has gone seriously adrift. But his challenge to the Church to raise up Timothys to reach a nation of Timothys (a brilliant insight into the core character of Canadians!) is hardly wishful thinking; it is prophetic and therefore attainable. As a Baptist, I would encourage Christians of all denominations to read this timely book.

- Frank Stirk, B.C. correspondent for ChristianWeek and a frequent contributor to B.C. Christian News, the Baptist Horizon (CCSB) and Focus on the Family Canada.

For awhile I had to wonder if Ed had secured a Krazy Glue component to the cover of his book, as it became increasingly difficult to put down! Ed is a marvelous tour guide on this walk through Paul's letters to Timothy. The many historical references throughout serve as icing on what is already a rich gift and challenge to the Church in Canada. Timely? -without question. Risky? -there is such transparency concerning his own heart and faith. He longs for a leadership-awakening which must come in Canada.

-Captain Bruce Smith, National Director, Church Army, Canada

Ed Hird has skillfully woven together great truths from first and second Timothy, profound insights from inspired leaders drawn from Canadian and British Columbian history, and lessons learned as a leader of a church under persecution. This timely book recalls us to the God who is able to keep us from falling.

-The Rev. Robin Guinness, Associate Rector of Little Trinity Church, Toronto, BAM Chair Co-signer of the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials

There is a long tradition of lamentations and hand-wringing in Canadian literature over the future prospects of this great land. Ed Hird's book does not belong to this alarmist trend. He seeks to identify the work and the promise of God where others might only surmise crisis. Indeed, he discerns great new things God is doing even in the most militantly secular part of the country. Through the trials and tribulations of the orthodox Anglican community in Vancouver, he offers a unique perspective on the emergent generation of the faithful in the new millennium.

-The Rev. Dr. Timothy Cooke, Swiss Reformed Church; former Rector of St. Martin’s Anglican Church, North Vancouver

With his life and his writing, Rev. Ed Hird demonstrates clearly how to battle evil by living an alternative lifestyle of justice, love and humility. In his focused effort to encourage all of us to "raise upTimothy's", Rev. Hird has brought forward the lives of many who demonstrate with their lives, as well as with their words, what it means to struggle for justice and the Godly way of living for which we are created. Each of the vignettes in Rev. Ed's book call us forward to be a Timothy in our towns and cities and to live in a way that calls others to be the same. I commend this book to all who want to make a difference in their generation for justice, love, and humility before God.

-Elsie Quick, Executive Director, Partners in Hope, Vancouver, BC

[i] The Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Green, http://www.htc-r.org/clergy-staff.htm “...one of the most influential evangelists and Christian writers living today...author of over 50 books”
[ii] Michael Cassidy’s recent books include The Passing Summer, Bursting the Wineskins, A Witness Forever, Window on the Word http://www.africanenterprise.org/db/member/cassidy.html
[iii] “Church changes blasted; NorthVan minister speaks out” By Anna Marie D'Angelo, North Shore News Reporter, Nov 8th 1999, http://www.nsnews.com/issues99/w110899/11059901.html ; Abandoning the Faith: Ten Points in response to the New Statement” by Dr. Don Faris,
http://www.churchalive.ca/theology/farisresp.html

Foreword by Dr J.I. Packer

2007-03-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/Book.html

Foreword by the Rev. Dr. J.I. Packer

What my friend Ed Hird has written in the pages that follow is a forthright tract for the times. Ed is a bible-believer, a converted Christian, an Anglican clergyman, a charismatic, a sufferer, a soldier of Christ, a man of God, a shepherd of souls and a nurturer of vocations, a visionary, a pioneer, a Canadian patriot, a journalist and lively author.

These notes on leadership, as Paul’s letter to Timothy profile it, come hot out of his heart. He sees the hope of God’s church in Canada as rooted in the finding and forming of Timothys who, like their namesake, will become leaders under the authority of Jesus Christ and the apostolic Scriptures for the gathering, guiding and guarding of the faithful. He appears as just such a Timothy himself, as his battling for the gospel in a ruinously off-course segment of the Anglican Church of Canada has fully shown. His book is a real page-turner, hard to put down once you have gotten into it.

To be sure, it will not please everybody. Over and above the revisionists who maraud in the ACC like the great white shark in Jaws, there are still many who have no sense that the church is currently at risk from the deadening effect of the liberalism that for two generations has been the Canadian Anglican stock-in-trade, and who cannot see that the pan-Anglican furore that has sprung up from a dire policy decision in the New Westminster diocese has anything to do with them.

For such people, Anglicanism means being nice to everybody during the week, being regular at church on Sunday, backing the rector and the bishop in whatever they favour and direct, and nothing more. Questions of doctrine, true or false, and of biblical faithfulness, maintained or abandoned, they see as none of their business, and so they leave them to the professionals. Anglicans were like that in the England of my youth, and seem largely so still in the Canada of which I am now part. Not all who adhere to the Anglican church system, therefore, can be expected to warm to Ed Hird’s passionate pleas.

As an evangelical clergyman in the Church of England, I and many like me were constantly told by our Free Church opposite numbers that our church was too dead and corrupt for honest ministers to be part of. Our regular reply was that we valued our heritage (the 39 Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the track record of pastoral idealism and recurring revivals); we were working for reform and renewal of life at every level, raising our voices to challenge and counter doctrinal drift, and to evangelize and nurture the needy; and so we would continue till the institution either denied the gospel, legislating in a way that undercut and destroyed our credibility, or threw us out. When I became a Canadian, I no more expected either outcome in the ACC than I had done in the C of E.

However, it happened. The same diocese in which Ed and I served, New Westminster, resolved to class same-sex unions with holy matrimony and bless them accordingly. As 1 Corinthians 6 makes clear, that means negating one main strand of the apostolic doctrine of sin and the gospel requirement of repentance and the sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit, and so pulling the rug from under true pastoral care of the homosexually inclined. Ed and I were among hundreds that walked out of synod, declaring ourselves out of communion with it and the bishop by reason of this decision. And since then, Ed and his congregation have been forced out of their premises, so that now they meet in a school. Readers need to remember that this is the life-situation –the sitz im leben, as scholars would call it – out of which this book has come.

When Beethoven, after several years of compositional struggle, finally produced his Mass in D (Missa Sollenis), he had printed at the head of the score “From the heart it comes. To the heart may it go.” That is my wish, and indeed my prayer, for Ed’s spiritual wake-up-call which it is my pleasure now to commend to the alert Canadian Christian public.

Dr. J.I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College; prolific author, including Knowing God: recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.

-To purchase a copy of 'Battle for the Soul of Canada' for yourself or others, just send a cheque for $15 (plus $3.50 Shipping and Handling (Canadian S&H*) to the Rev. Ed Hird, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7

* By surface to the USA, the total cost for the book plus S&H would be $20.00 USD. Checks can only be accepted from USA, England and Canada. All others need to send bank drafts.

Book Review by Flyn Ritchie, BC Christian News Editor

2007-03-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/1206/10two

Two local Anglicans have important tales to tell
• Ed Hird: Battle for the Soul of Canada, 2006 • Julie H. Ferguson: Sing a New Song, Dundurn, 2006

BOTH of these books focus on Canada, but they are grounded in B.C. - and have international implications.

Ed Hird is a conservative Anglican pastor who has been a key player in the never-ending same-sex debate which has so preoccupied the Diocese of New Westminster.

Hird tells his personal faith journey, and the tale of how he and his congregation made the wrenching decision to leave their building and property with the diocese, and join the Anglican Coalition in Canada.

Lorne Gunter, columnist for the National Post, put it well when he said: "I expected Battle for the Soul of Canada to be a political book - a book about the battles of plucky little St. Simon's Church in North Vancouver to adhere to a biblically-inspired faith in the face of an increasingly secular (and hostile) church hierarchy. Instead, I discovered a wonderful primer on keeping faith in an increasingly secular (and hostile) world, filled with inspiring, joyful and practical examples from the lives of spiritual people."

And so it is. Yet Hird's folksy, upbeat approach incorporates a prophetic message - not strictly political perhaps, but Gunter's is just one of 42 endorsements for the book, many by conservative Anglicans worldwide. These elements are woven together with a study of the Book of Timothy, which provided "the skeleton upon which this book is built."

Hird says that "in many ways, Timothy has the personality profile of Canada: gentle, somewhat insecure and easily rejected. Yet Paul saw that this unlikely individual had the potential to be a great leader . . . We can be God's Timothy's, if we will only humble ourselves before the Lord."
Hird is at his best telling stories. He has discovered some impressive Christians buried in Canadian history.

He offers many anecdotes of faith-filled historical figures such as Colonel Moody, who prevented our province being annexed by the U.S. in B.C.'s first war, then gathered 40 miners and led worship from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Among the others are explorer David Thompson; pioneer settler and writer Catharine Parr Trail; and Frederick Seymour, first governor of the united B.C. colony.

My favourite is William Howland. As a young entrepreneur, he was led to Christ by his Anglican priest - and the change was immediately apparent. "Night after night, Howland visited the slums, going from house to house, and reaching out to the poor, the sick, the alcoholic."
His reputation for good works led to him being chosen mayor of Toronto in 1885. He promptly installed a 12-foot banner which read: "Except the Lord Build the City, the Watchman Wakes but in Vain."

Before long, Toronto was nicknamed 'Toronto the Good' - a sobriquet seldom heard these days(...)

Indigo Books -Signing (North Shore Outlook Newspaper)

2007-03-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Submitted by aciccom on March 23, 2007 - 4:16pm.
http://northshoreoutlook.com/
North Shore Outlook Newspaper
March 23rd 2007, Thursday
Battle book: Rev Ed Hird releases his new book on March 24th at Indigo Books
(Photo by Daniel Pi)-An inspirational message -Rev. Ed Hird, holding his new book, Battle for the Soul of Canada, has preached on the North Shore for 20 years
by Alyssa Noel, Staff Reporter

Battle for the Soul of Canada is a carefully woven book that incorporates Canadian history, religion and the personal memoirs of Rev. Ed Hird.

"It's the kind of book you can access in a couple of way," Hird said. "One of my passions behind the book is a love for BC and Canadian history."

He said he hopes that readers will believe there is hope for Canada's future after reading the book.

It's meant to inspire Canadians to believe in the future of our nation," he said. "There are a lot of Canadians who are cynical and depressed about our future."

But Hird believes with such a great national history and freedom-filled future, they should be optimistic.

"If you talk to Canadians, their greatest value is freedom," he said. "Democracy is rooted in this passion for religious freedom. The second greatest value of Canadians is they want relationships. Canadians want more than independence. They also want intimacy and relationship. I believe the key to relationship is at the core of our roots in the love of God and the love of our neighbour."

Hird is a long-time reverend who has spent 20 years preaching on the North Shore. As a result, the book is rooted in religious overtones and includes the history of his congregation.

While he touches on prominent biblical figures, he also includes the history of many Canadian pioneers, including nine examples of how they made Canada a better place.

"I weave that all in(...), he said. "It's a kind of experiment, but people say that it worked."

Hird will be signing books at Indigo Books in North Vancouver (1025 Marine Drive) from 1pm to 3pm on Saturday March 24th.

North Shore News: 'Battle for the Soul of Canada' Just Out

2007-03-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Submitted by aciccom on November 10, 2006 - 12:42pm.
http://www.nsnews.com
Nov 10th Friday 2006
North Shore News ‘Spiritually Speaking’ column
by the Rev Ed Hird+
My goal was to hear God’s still, small voice.

Three and a half years ago I spent a one-month sabbatical in a small cabin on top of Sumas Mountain. I was reluctant to go on this sabbatical, because I was convinced that I was too busy. The truth is that I was ‘too’ busy, and needed to get away to just be with God. I thank God for my fellow clergy who covered for me so that I could have such a mountaintop experience.

During my retreat, I met with Ron Dart, an instructor at the University of Fraser Valley College. Ron said to me that I had several books within me. He then said that it would be a sin if I didn’t write another book.

My first book was written as a social worker on ‘The Needs of Adolescents in a Pediatric Setting’. It was produced by Vancouver General Hospital and sent to over sixty hospitals around North America. Despite having written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles over the past twenty-five years, I was unable to ‘birth' my second book. Even before Ron Dart’s encouragement, I had known for years that I was to write another book.

lmost two years ago, I received another jolt that broke through my literary procrastination. Dr. Gil Stieglitz, in the midst of a helpful coaching session, spoke powerfully about my potential book in a way that deeply connected. From that point on, I stopped waiting, and started writing my book.

The first five thousand words were the hardest part of writing my 176-page book. I carved away at my initial draft of ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ until it felt like there was hardly anything left.

The Good Book encourages people to seek a rebuke. So I began approaching respected colleagues, asking them to ruthlessly critique my book. The feedback was often very painful and most helpful. Nine drafts later, the book really took shape. I became so energized about the book that I once wrote 24 hours straight and did not even feel tired the next day.

To obtain detachment from my book, I put it aside and read thirty books on writing and publishing. Pierre Berton’s book on writing was hilarious and most insightful. Most of the thirty books were so depressing and cynical that I wondered why anyone would ever want to write a book.

Dr. J.I. Packer, who wrote my foreword, was a great encouragement to me during this discouraging phase. I have to say that writing this book drove me to prayer. “Lord, it doesn’t look like there is any way forward. Please help”.

Miraculously God brought along a friend Bill Glasgow who knows the publishing industry. A few months later, Friesens in Winnipeg printed 2,000 copies of my first edition. Over 1,000 have already been sold, and the 2nd printing of 5,000 copies is coming out soon.

‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ is essentially about raising up the emerging generation of leaders in Canada. It tells the story of nine Canadian pioneers, like George Vancouver and David Thompson, who point the way to a healthy future.

Trevor Lautens, a North Shore News columnist, endorsed the book, saying “For an unbaptized, non-practising non-Christian, but with strong sympathy for and even envy of devout Christians, Rev. Hird’s book strikes me as original, provocative and appealing, with interesting details about his own path to faith.”

Other key North Shore leaders have also endorsed the book, including Pastor Brian Buhler of North Shore Alliance, Pastor Owen Scott of Valley Church, Msgr. Pedro Gallo of St. Pius Church, and Pastor Paddy Ducklow of CapChurch.

To order a copy, just send a cheque for $18.50 to Ed Hird, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7.

The Reverend Ed Hird+ Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver Anglican Coalition in Canada http:/www3.telus.net/st_simons

Dr JI Packer online Interview about the Battle for the Soul

2007-03-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

http://acicanada.ca/node/108
Dr JI Packer Interview Online
Submitted by aciccom on February 20, 2007 - 5:02pm.
Dear friends in Christ
I commend to you the following Dr JI Packer interviews online. In the interviews, Dr. Packer looks at both the battle for the Soul of Canada and for the Soul of the Anglican Communion.
http://www.acl.asn.au/ (Anglican Church League, Australia)
Saturday 17th February 2007Jim Packer endorses “Battle for the Soul of Canada”
Dr J I Packer of Regent College Vancouver recommends Ed Hird’s book, “Battle for the Soul of Canada” in this 11 minute online video (click the bottom video icon on the right of this page).
Dr Packer, who wrote the preface, speaks of his hopes for Canada. For details about the book, see this earlier post.
Both the long and short versions of this interview are at this locationhttp://www.reason-for-hope.com/acic/ YouTube has the short version of the Dr JI Packer interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAFcRAKN2SE
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Video Description
Rev. Ed Hird and Dr. J.I. Packer discuss Rev. Hird's book, Battle for the Soul of Canada
Personal Message
Here is the Ed Hird and J.I. Packer short interview
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