When I was a kid, my Dad, who was born in 1919, would tell us tales of life going to school in a one-room schoolhouse and walking there 5 miles in a driving snowstorm, uphill both ways, and having to make a fire in the boiler to heat the classroom! Amazing stuff! Dad had great stories!Continue reading “Being Christian in the Age of Social Distancing”
Category Archives: Adventures with God
What is God up to?
Yes, as much as I don’t want to admit it, I am almost a senior citizen! “Almost”, I emphasize! In all of those years of life I am starting to figure some things out. Things like, if I wait long enough and don’t get up off my chair, the chances of someone bringing me a drink diminishes by the second! I don’t get impatient, I don’t get upset, I just accept it as a fact of life. I am also learning, on a more serious note, that God often teaches us the lessons of life slowly. He is not in a hurry, like I often am.
He shapes and molds our character on a day by day basis over the long-haul of life. He has a goal in mind for every person who claims that they are his by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We sometimes wonder what God is up to. Be honest with me, now, has that question ever popped into your mind? What is he trying to teach us?
I have been studying recently in the Old Testament book of Daniel. What an amazing young man was Daniel, along with his three friends! They were uprooted from their homeland, conscripted into the King’s service, prosoltyzed to be made like the rest of the servants and challenged to give up their faith in the Lord God of Israel.
We know that the southern kingdom of Judah was being disciplined by the Lord for their disobediece to him. As a result the finest young men of the nation were conscripted by Babylon to be examples to the rest of the world of the superiority of that nation and its king. But, God had a plan, as he always does. That plan involved the three young men that we meet in Daniel 1.
We often grow suspicious in our faith because things don’t turn out like we thought they should. Oftentimes it because God has something greater in mind. What we often forget is that God sees the whole picture, we only see a small sliver of the whole thing. He is doing a million things at once, while we are fretting about this one thing. Yes, it is important to us but also we need to remember that God always has our best interests at heart. He is after something far greater than our circumstances in one particular moment. He wants us to trust him.
At 60 years of age, I can look back and see that God has been very faithful to me. He was working in situations and circumstances that I was not even away of until years later. I think back to our missionary adventure when some things did not go as planned but God used those events to make me the people he wanted me to be. I learned to trust him even when I didn’t know what would happen next.
More importantly, he was making me a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. He was making sure that our priorities were in the right spot. Hebrews 11, the writer describes what faith is when he writes,
“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
CSB
By faith, we trust God that he knows better than we do. We know him through the pages of Scripture that he does have our best interests at heart. As we live each day to glorify him, he will enable us to walk by faith and not by sight as we obey his Word.
Yes, at times we will be hurt, and we will cry. But God will use those tears to make us more like his Son if our hearts are right before him. Keep drenching your heart with his Word, continue to trust him every day, allow him to shape your character to reflect his and love him deeply as Christ loves you!
Hang in there, my friend! God is not done with you yet, he has so much more for you to know and to accomplish as you strive to live for Him.
For His Glory,
Pastor Bill Finch,
finch1959@gmail.com
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The Path to Growth
Growing to be all that God desires you be is the result of many strands, or decisions that you make on a daily basis. To grow spiritually does not happen by chance or as the result of good genes. To grow into maturity is not the end of the process but rather it is part of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in you. The goal is to experience a “transformed” life that has so radically changed that the result is a new set of values and purposes. We live to the glory of God through difficult circumstances and heart-wrenching suffering.
Continue reading “The Path to Growth”
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Throwing in the Keys
Tests. No, not the academic type that you can study and prepare for but the “James chapter 1 verse 3” type: “…for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” The thing about the life of faith is that you don’t get to choose what type of test God will give you. I want to share with you how God has tested our fellowship of believers the past year.
Continue reading “Throwing in the Keys”
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Patience: I want it now!
The old saying goes something like this “I’m willing to learn patience but will it take long?” Patience is one of the character qualities that is never actually learned by reading about it. Before you write that correction note to me, hang on. I know the Bible teaches about patience. It illustrates it through the lives of many people, like Job for example. It tells us that one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit controlling our lives is patience. But we don’t actually have a handle on it until we are tested.
Continue reading “Patience: I want it now!”
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Looking for Open Doors
Greetings, My Friend
It is my privilege to connect with you. God has me on a journey to encourage His people to grow, be more like Him and to share His message of love to the world.
I’ve been a Pastor and Missionary all of my adult life. My wife and I have lived, worshipped and led in 3 countries. It has been an awesome career. God has blessed, guided and encouraged every step.
It is a privilege to share my resume with you. I would love to talk with you about your Ministry and see if God is leading us together. Drop me an email and share it with those you know who are looking for a ministry partner.
For His Glory,
Pastor Bill Finch
Resume of Pastor Bill Finch
739 64th Ave NW
Calgary, AB T2K 0M3
403-612-1960
My Vision:
People experiencing the full significance of being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
My Mission:
To serve the Lord and people, with integrity, excellence, and passion in order to live out God’s will every day.
My Values:
Integrity: I can only be useful to God and for others if I honestly and sincerely live what I teach. I must be ruthlessly honest with myself and allow no hint of hypocrisy to grow in me.
Sense of Call: I serve in my area of giftedness for the glory of God and the good of the people of God because I believe God called me to serve him in ministry for such a time as this.
Genuine Care: It is my goal to work as part of a team that with a foundation of camaraderie and friendship that is born out in how I serve my team members.
Persistence: I bring to the table a willingness to do whatever it takes to get the task accomplished. I will use my God-given gifts and talents in order to accomplish His goals.
Team: I believe we are on the same team! It is not about who gets the credit, it is about every person pulling in the same direction in order to accomplish God’s goals for our ministry.
Willingness to Learn: I humbly recognize that there are many ways to do things and I am open and willing to learn what others can teach me.
Additional Skills:
God has used me in the areas of international missions in Church Planting to Spanish-speaking nations as well as through teaching in Argentina and Rio Grande Bible Institute Texas. A natural outflow of both of these areas has been writing a blog on a semi-regular basis (billfinch.org). I am passionate about modelling Christ in my daily life as well as developing godly leadership that cares for others as we follow God’s direction together.
Experience:
Lead Pastor at Westbourne Baptist Church
January 2014 – November 2016
Through amazing prayer support, God encouraged our people to grow in their relationship with their heavenly Father and each other. As a church we learned to share our faith with those in our community who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Our church became known as a place of refuge for all who are seeking a place to call home.
Regional Director Operation Christmas Child at Samaritan’s Purse, Canada
December 2011 – December 2013
We strengthened the hand of national leadership as they served as committed volunteers through prayer, practical training, and providing the tools to accomplish the task of sharing the love of Jesus with the children of Latin America through the shoebox ministry.
Pastor at North Broadway Baptist Church, Tillsonburg, ON
April 2008 – February 2012
Through the ministry of the Word, prayer, leadership development, and outreach, we encouraged the people to resolve past issues to love one another and serve the Lord with excellence and passion.
Pastor at West Island Baptist Church, Dorval, QC
April 2005 – March 2008
Through the ministry of the 40 Days of Purpose, we developed the ministry of small groups that had as its goal mutual encouragement, prayer, and outreach through the ministry of the church.
Missionary – Argentina and Edinburg, TX with ABWE
July 1987 – April 2004
Together with my wife, Deb, we were blessed by God to raise missionary financial and prayer support to serve in Buenos Aires, Argentina and in the state of Texas. Our ministries centered on teaching as well as developing a struggling church to grow from a discouraged group of fifteen to an encouraged and excited group of seventy-five to eighty. I also was elected the chairman of our Field Council of missionaries for one term of service.
Professor at Rio Grande Bible Institute, Edinburg Texas
2000 – 2004
What a joy to teach young people from Latin America, theology, Bible, and practical Christian life issues. We formed great relationships with colleagues and students that last until today. This was a tremendous experience. Today, many of these students are living productive Christian lives serving God.
Pastoral Intern @ School of Church Ministries, Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1988 – 1989
This was a stretching year of learning the work of a local church. As a church intern I learned many skills that have carried me into the ministry I have today. Everything from teaching children, Evangelism Explosion, and Wilderness Leadership Camp taught me to love God and the ministry with a greater passion.
Languages:
Fluent in English and Spanish
Education:
Heritage College and Seminary
Master of Theological Studies, 1999 – 2000
Rio Grande Bible Institute
Language School Diploma, Spanish Language Acquisition, 1991 – 1992
Heritage College and Seminary
Bachelor’s Degree, Pastoral Ministry Minor, 1978 – 1986
References:
Dr. David Barker – Professor, Pastor, Mentor
Heritage Seminary
519-651-2869
Mr. Dave Ferguson
Director of Westbourne Place, Elder at Westbourne Baptist Church
403-650-0942
Mr. Laurie Kennedy
(Former Director of Fellowship Prairies)
Leadership Coach at the Jethro Group
lauriedkennedy@gmail.com
780-608-7149
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Confronting Life’s Challenges
There are times in life when it seems that problems seek us out like the unannounced arrival of carbone monoxide gas, silently and deadly! No matte
r where we turn, there is a problem to confront! Be it relationally, vocationally, financially, or physically, problems confront us relentlessly!Continue reading “Confronting Life’s Challenges”
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Passing The Torch
Raising children is the toughest assignment that God has given to ordinary, common human beings like you and me! Let me qualify that a little, raising children to honor God in our culture today is the toughest assignment that God has given us. Yet, this is not something new.Continue reading “Passing The Torch”
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Running to Win
No self-respecting athlete ever enters a competition just to say he was just there. I am not an Olympic athlete, not even close, but I know by the hours and years, the self-discipline of training, the restricting your diet to eat what will enable you to perform the best possible on the day of the race. One enters the race to win it.
It doesn’t matter what di
scipline you train for, be it a 100 meter sprint or the marathon, or something in between, the goal is to win the prize at the end of the day. The great tragedy is when a runner is eliminated by an error that was totally in his control to be able to change. Many Canadians will remember the year (1988) when Ben Johnson apparently won the Gold Medal in the 100 meter race. Tragically, it was discovered later that Ben was disqualified by something that was totally under his control to deny. No one forced him to take a drug stimulant to race faster, he had total freedom to take it or to say no to the temptation. The choice was his to make. Today, he lives with the consequences of his decision.
Continue reading “Running to Win”
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Spiritual Amnesia
One advantage of growing older, there are many but one that is particularly advantageous, is life history. Those who are of my generation and older are able to look back and see how we have survived and thrived in the midst of adversity and challenges. Continue reading “Spiritual Amnesia”
In Times Like These 