"But Jesus isn't relevant to my generation!"

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Dear Friends,

As you may or may not know, I wear two hats, a therapist hat and a Navigator hat (a non-profit Christian organization you can learn more about here http://www.navigators.ca/ )

I’ve enjoyed doing both. They are so complimentary. For instance, let me introduce you to “Peter,” a young professional. He said this about our meetings:

Honestly, my expectations for meeting with you were,
in retrospect, rather low – all I wanted was help to deal with
my anxiety and insomnia. What followed was much, much more –
an enormous transformation. You helped me
realize that my anxiety stemmed not from recent
events in my life, but from my broken relationship with God.
That I was now worshiping the gods of people’s opinions of me –
and was miserable. For the first time ever I realized that spiritual and
emotional health are inextricably linked. These God encounters
have released a new-found compassion and freedom to
connect with others. For instance, I was running late
for a meeting and so called for a ride. My driver asked
my occupation, and I asked his. His response:
“I was in university but I had to take a year off, as I’ve been really struggling with anxiety and insomnia.”
Boy did we have a good conversation....

This is only one of many conversations Peter has had with co-workers, friends and total strangers. When I first met him, Peter said he was uncomfortable sharing his faith with others. Not only did he feel ill-equipped, he wasn’t convinced of the gospel’s relevance for his friends’ generation.

Peter and I initially met in my office. Now he and I and another man (who had also initially came to me for therapy) meet regularly outside the office to journey deeper together in discipleship. This is just one example of how the therapist hat and the Navigator-discipleship hat fit together and compliment one another. (You can read more of Peter’s story here: http://www.navigators.ca/update_detail.php?id=309 )

While I love both, over the past few years I’ve found myself increasingly called upon by the Navigators to train others to do some of what I do. To help staff and volunteers better connect the gospel to their internal worlds first and then do the same with others. People like “Sylvia”:

At one point on my journey of healing, I knew I had to get away.
Ron and Kathy invited me to come to Montreal
for four days of intensive (but restful) counselling.

They shared meals with me and welcomed me into their family life.
The counselling, as well as the time of sharing normal activities, was so healing –
to get to hear how they have processed struggles in their own
lives and to simply be offered genuine friendship.
My time with them has transformed my journey with God
which is rippling out on my marriage, my kids and ministry.

As exciting as these opportunities are, stepping into them requires two things:

1) That I wear my therapist hat less and my Navigator hat more. (yet the bank thinks we should still continue our mortgage payments – go figure!)

2) Increasing Kathy’s availability. The work I already do would not be possible without her: hospitality, travel, visionary planning, admin and editing. (My kids call it keeping Dad sane – although they aren’t convinced she’s succeeding

). She has accepted the invitation to officially come back on staff with the Navigators. We believe this will make us more effective as we continue to partner in this work.

This means raising $30,000 to free us both up to respond to these exciting opportunities to seeing more lives – individuals, marriages, families – changed by the gospel of Jesus. Lives like Peter and Sylvia.

Are you in a position to join our team of donors? If so, clicking on the buttons below will show you how.

Warmly,

To partner with Ron and Kathy if you live in Canada

To partner with Ron and Kathy if you live in the U.S.

No good picture of us of share, so here's a silly one...
A very relaxing afternoon with friends on their boat.
Maybe a little too relaxing?