Blog | Mark Buchanan

Author, Speaker, Pastor, Professor

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Sep 26, 2016
3 min

The Church as a City of Refuge

This June, my wife and I visited the village of Le Chambon sur Lignon, in the mountains of France near the borders of Switzerland and Italy. It is small hamlet in a remote place, surrounded by deep valleys and dense forests, with a shallow reedy river bending through it. It is far from any major centre. Which was what made Le Chambon perfect for its one claim to historical significance: it was the only community in Europe that sheltered Jews during WWII. There were individual

Jan 17, 2012
2 min

Principalities & Powers

I was describing recently our church’s outreach ministries to a pastor friend of mine. He asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks: “What percentage of your congregation understands the ‘principalities and powers’ nature of this ministry and pray accordingly?” I’ll tell you my answer below. But first, what’s he talking about, “principalities and powers”? It’s a reference to Ephesians 6:10-20. There, Paul calls every Christian to put on the “full armor of God.” And he

Aug 19, 2011
1 min

Why I Volunteer

The church is the greatest volunteer organization on earth. So vital are volunteers to the mission and ministry – indeed, the very existence – of the church that any church that loses them soon stalls, folds, and dies. Ministry simply can't get done without you. Volunteerism is so much the heart of our church, New Life, that we make it a condition of hiring: we unapologetically ask every staff member to work beyond their paid hours. On average, each staff volunteers at the ch

May 7, 2011
2 min

And the Walls Came Tumblin Down

I've spoken in the past 5 months to 5 different Christian 'tribes': the Salvation Army officers of BC, the Alliance pastors of BC, the Vineyard pastors of Canada, the Mennonite Brethren pastors of BC, and the Pentecostal Assembly pastors of BC & the Yukon. By year's end, I'm scheduled to speak to the Baptist pastors of the Atlantic provinces, the Baptist pastors of the Western provinces, and the Presbyterian churches of Northern Ireland, and early next January to the Fellowsh