Author: Norman Sennema

Imagine having the perfect mentor, someone who knew you inside out and was able to direct you exactly in the way you needed to go. In his book, The Divine Mentor, Wayne Cordeiro writes to remind us that we do. Reading this book I was struck by the simplicity of what he says, and yet…

I met recently with “Jessica” (not her real name), a new and growing Jesus-follower who has so much to learn, and so much stuff from her past to overcome. But boy, is her ‘infant’ faith inspiring. I wish I saw this kind of drive and determination in long-time ‘christians’… Alright, I wish I had this…

For some time now I have sensed that the word ‘christian’ has lost its original punch. Many people seem to use the label ‘christian’, without having a sense of what it means to follow Jesus. Many others seem to react negatively to anything associated with the word ‘christian’, but not for reasons related to what…

I attended a teaching session with David Fowler, church planter in Durham Region who has done extensive studies of the Canadian culture and its implication for the shape and ministry of the church. Some of the key points that I got out of this session were…

I am working through the book of Acts (the 44th book in the Bible) for a seminar I am leading with Leadership Development Network. Its fascinating to approach the book as a whole, as opposed to looking at a small section of it for a sermon, to see the forest as well as the trees.

I just found an article by Andrew Hamilton, a soon-to-be church planter in Australia, who is reflecting on how little he knew his neighbours while serving his present church for 7 years. He concludes: “Many of us have been good at running churches or organizing ministries but not so good at loving our neighbours. Yet…

The Bible is the most important means by which the Lord speaks to us. If we simply read it as a book, we may miss His voice. But if we read it with our heart, paying attention to the deep impressions within, we can sense His gentle, convicting and equipping voice, showing us the way,…

When I was in high school, somewhere, somehow (God!) I got it into my head that I wanted to be a minister. I remember being nervous about telling my non-Christian classmates, so when asked, I told them I want to be a missionary! I figured that this was more acceptable. (At the time, the idea…