Senior Pastor @Calvary_Grace.| Happy Rodeo Dad| @albertareformer
Alberta
Joined October 2010
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Looking forward to returning to the Netherlands and defending my dissertation. Very grateful to God for the guidance of Dr. Selderhuis and the TUA community. Piety and Research go together.
Op 9 november 2026 hoopt C. (Clint) Humfrey om 14.00 uur te promoveren aan de TUA. De titel van zijn proefschrift is 'Robert Haldane (1764-1842): Scripture, Polemics, and Lived Tension'.
Promotor is prof. dr. H.J. Selderhuis.
Kijk voor meer info op tua.nl/nl/agenda/promotie-c-…
Very encouraging work happening. Consider supporting them and especially the work of @ABRefStudents
“We are contemptible to the nation, in our pressing after reformation, while we are divided among ourselves, conformable to the world, while we proclaim our unmortified lusts, pride, covetousness, ambition, revenge, self-seeking” John Owen
Christians and the Referendum
1. Referring back to the Referendum, it was interesting to note @JeffreyRWRath arguing that the other Independence leaders didn't add to the APP constituency that had already been built. I would argue that the work of @tim__stephens and Michael Wagner added a new constituency from among Evangelicals that were not necessarily a part of the original APP petition work. Some overlap existed, but at the events I spoke at with Michael and Tim, there were many people in attendance who had not made up their minds about the Referendum and were looking for guidance.
2. The integrity of Christians in the Referendum discussion was overall respectful, thoughtful and challenging. Those that held different views on the Referendum questions often made real arguments, for and against all of the motions, including the 10th question regarding independence. This willingness to make arguments was something lacking at times in the general discourse of others. I'm grateful that Christians can still speak the truth in love (Eph 4.15).
3. Of all of the developments in the Referendum campaigns, the call to prayer and repentance by Pastor Jeff Gooderham, (that was falsely maligned as echoing KKK slogans), was nevertheless one of the most positive things to happen in the province. Regularly governments would issue thanksgivings to Almighty God for harvests and deliverances from calamity. The distinctly Protestant call to prayer revived a practice which has lain dormant for too long.
4. A movement of prayer could be the positive outcome of the Referendum since little structural change has been offered from the status quo side, and the side wanting the change toward independence lost.
5. It is hard for our secular age to imagine, but there was a time in the past when governments would issue, as was done in 1838, a prayer proclamation such as this: "appointed by proclamation for a day of public fasting and humiliation before Almighty God, and to supplicate his mercy, that he would be graciously pleased to put an end to the troubles which agitate the province and restore to it the blessings of peace and tranquillity."
From @OfficialNHSRA Knox Humfrey at National HS Finals Rodeo @CinchJeans talent show.
So this post had over 17000 views. Thank you to the people who interacted with it, including those who think I'm an idiot. 2 Cor 5.13.
Thoughts on Referendum Day 2026
1. I will see this Day as a hinge of history, not because I think any vote will be decisive. Rather, it will mark the last regional protest against the coming post-national order.
2. I think historians will look back and see the decadence of the aging retiree class, the incumbent political class, and the internationalist business class as forsaking their children in favor of their class being vindicated, secured and heeded.
3. I think that the collapse of the Conservative movement in Canada has been the most surprising thing to see in this campaign. Harper's endorsement of Carney, the federal Conservatives active campaigning for Liberal Prime Minister, and the "separatist" Premier Smith giving up all of her provincial leverage in order to get some paper promises, desperate for crumbs from the federal table. Smith's actions, and those of the federal Conservatives are viewed as a major betrayal of their western base.
4. The "uneven weights and measures" of the campaign have been vivid for anyone to notice. The Lukaszuk campaign against the independence choice, was permitted to continue without following any of the campaign rules for third party advertisers (TPA's). Meanwhile the small band of merry warriors on the Independence side were headshy with concern for audits and accounting for their TPA's. "Rules for thee, etc"
5. Never in my lifetime have I seen the full court press of media, all politicians, the courts, and conglomerate businesses to oppose the self-determination of a people in Canada. The co-ordination has been epic, with at times, shades of Mao. Meanwhile, Louis Riel is a hero, and Indigenous bands are "first nations".
6. I am dumbfounded by the lack of resistance, or even critical analysis of the Prime Minister's aim to have Canada join the European Union. It is by definition, a post-national decision, while the Prime Minister campaigns against Alberta self-determination on a platform of nationalism. Nationalism leading to Post-nationalism does not sound like fidelity to the citizens of the nation.
7. The exhaustion of civilization in the West is illustrated by the gasping (but unintelligible) grip on the nostalgia of stability, rather than the exertion needed to honestly grapple with doing something new. Arrogance in wanting control, but not wanting to lift a finger to help, echoes the indictment directed at the Pharisees by Jesus, 'They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.'Mt 23.4.
8. A positive feature of this moment has been the willingness of many people to be stigmatized for desiring a better future on better terms. To fly the blue bore a public cost. To fly the nation-state flag cost nothing. Many made their choice on either side with thoughtful deliberation and they are to be respected. Others chose safety merely because the tall poppy will be cut down. This latter motive is not a good sign for society.
9. I have been deeply grieved to see professing "Christians" demoralize, stigmatize and shame simple Christians who want change for the better, believe in prayer, and want to offer a better life for their families. The fact that these simple Christians were shamed by the political class Conservatives (!) illustrates what Jesus said, "a person's enemies will be those of his own household."Mt 10:36.
10. I am just as confident in the vigor and victory of the kingdom of Christ today than I was yesterday, and I will have the same confidence tomorrow d.v."Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run" (Watts)
"If sacred or metaphysical order is necessary for cultures to remain stable and coherent, then we currently face an indefinite future of flux, instability, and incoherence." - Carl Trueman.
Thoughts on Referendum Day 2026
1. I will see this Day as a hinge of history, not because I think any vote will be decisive. Rather, it will mark the last regional protest against the coming post-national order.
2. I think historians will look back and see the decadence of the aging retiree class, the incumbent political class, and the internationalist business class as forsaking their children in favor of their class being vindicated, secured and heeded.
3. I think that the collapse of the Conservative movement in Canada has been the most surprising thing to see in this campaign. Harper's endorsement of Carney, the federal Conservatives active campaigning for Liberal Prime Minister, and the "separatist" Premier Smith giving up all of her provincial leverage in order to get some paper promises, desperate for crumbs from the federal table. Smith's actions, and those of the federal Conservatives are viewed as a major betrayal of their western base.
4. The "uneven weights and measures" of the campaign have been vivid for anyone to notice. The Lukaszuk campaign against the independence choice, was permitted to continue without following any of the campaign rules for third party advertisers (TPA's). Meanwhile the small band of merry warriors on the Independence side were headshy with concern for audits and accounting for their TPA's. "Rules for thee, etc"
5. Never in my lifetime have I seen the full court press of media, all politicians, the courts, and conglomerate businesses to oppose the self-determination of a people in Canada. The co-ordination has been epic, with at times, shades of Mao. Meanwhile, Louis Riel is a hero, and Indigenous bands are "first nations".
6. I am dumbfounded by the lack of resistance, or even critical analysis of the Prime Minister's aim to have Canada join the European Union. It is by definition, a post-national decision, while the Prime Minister campaigns against Alberta self-determination on a platform of nationalism. Nationalism leading to Post-nationalism does not sound like fidelity to the citizens of the nation.
7. The exhaustion of civilization in the West is illustrated by the gasping (but unintelligible) grip on the nostalgia of stability, rather than the exertion needed to honestly grapple with doing something new. Arrogance in wanting control, but not wanting to lift a finger to help, echoes the indictment directed at the Pharisees by Jesus, 'They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.'Mt 23.4.
8. A positive feature of this moment has been the willingness of many people to be stigmatized for desiring a better future on better terms. To fly the blue bore a public cost. To fly the nation-state flag cost nothing. Many made their choice on either side with thoughtful deliberation and they are to be respected. Others chose safety merely because the tall poppy will be cut down. This latter motive is not a good sign for society.
9. I have been deeply grieved to see professing "Christians" demoralize, stigmatize and shame simple Christians who want change for the better, believe in prayer, and want to offer a better life for their families. The fact that these simple Christians were shamed by the political class Conservatives (!) illustrates what Jesus said, "a person's enemies will be those of his own household."Mt 10:36.
10. I am just as confident in the vigor and victory of the kingdom of Christ today than I was yesterday, and I will have the same confidence tomorrow d.v."Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run" (Watts)
The association of a prayer meeting by the most tenuous of links to something sinister like the KKK breaks the 9th commandment.
Another pejorative comment about Christians from the former Premier. Forgetting the partisan politics, this would be Islamophobic or antisemitic if spoken about a different religious gathering. Praying for you sir.
October 16th is an important day to remember the question posed by JC Ryle, "Why Were Our Reformers Burned?"
Latimer and Ridley were martyred in Oxford on this date in 1555.
The reason, Ryle deduced, was their defense of the sufficiency of Christ's atonement versus Ritualism, the Church of Rome, and by application, 19th century Anglo-Catholicism.
Among many folks who are rejecting bleak modernity, I would urge them to be wary of falling into another ditch of the Ritualism that Ryle and the Reformers forsook.
reformedperspectives.org/art…
This was a very callous and derogatory comment coming from the former Premier caricaturing Southern Baptists, and disregarding the arrests of pastors exercising basic conscience rights. His comments reflect the kind of rage-baiting that he accuses his opponents of. cf. Eph 4.29.
Jason Kenney says @EzraLevant got "Southern Baptist grandmas in Alabama" to give "10 bucks off their Mastercard" for billboards in Alberta calling him "dictator Kenney" over pastor arrests during COVID.
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52.1
Some thoughts from last nights event with @tim__stephens and Michael Wagner:
1. Lots of concern about mail in ballots. People worried about election integrity. A Chinese woman was very worried about this.
2. Confusion about "No to the 9". It seemed like elderly people were targeted by the algo, as they all cited "social media" as the source. Independence supporters were unclear about the 'strategy' whereas the speakers essentially supported yes to the 9 and option 2 for the 10th.
3. One gentleman offered an anecdote to me of visiting Plymouth, Mass. and being inspired by the hope of a godly community that built something from nothing. Very encouraging perspective.
4. A woman stated that her 'Christian female friends' say that due to Alberta's riches we ought to give to foreigners and immigrants from poor countries. I replied that their is a lot of charity in the churches, families, and neighborhoods of those women. Young couples do not feel 'rich' at all. I also stated that for most folks, it is far easier to give a quick gift to someone you don't have to personally deal with (foreigner) than to deal with people in close proximity. That is why many people support mass immigration, so long as it doesn't affect their own neighborhood. It keeps their housing values up, and soothes their conscience. She said her friends support MAID. I said I don't think that they are Christians.
5. Wagner made the point that Harper as Prime Minister advocated personally and vigorously to restructure Canada by seeking senate reform. He was thwarted by the courts. Wagner's point was that if Harper couldn't do it as Prime Minister, then Premier Smith certainly can't. The history of Alberta has us sending our best to Ottawa with no structural change. Very good overview of the history from Michael.
6. Stephens argued for an Augustinian ordo amoris (which I did as well) to show the legitimacy of an Alberta first approach. Excellent argument from Tim.
The crowd was diverse in ethnicity, age and background. It was encouraging to see old and young meeting together to discuss things of real importance for Alberta.
jeremiah29.org/event/for-the…
Looking forward to talking about these important questions with Tim and Michael. Join us!
Are "Alberta first" policies selfish and unchristian?
Are open borders the best way to love our neighbors?
Is independence something Christians should support?
Join us next Tuesday as we consider the upcoming referendum through a Christian lens!
jeremiah29.org/event/for-the…
Agree. This is why I advocate for Christian immigration, since Christian immigrants are best at assimilating to the Canadian context with its Christian foundations. And the orthodox churches bind together all in the unity of which you speak so well of. Thank you Nathan.
The state must never underestimate the role of orthodox, Biblical, godly churches as a unifying force in the midst of the nation, when she is free to do her task in obedience to Christ and protected from attacks. Especially as we consider the devastating consequences of multiculturalism in Canada, the church is a guide to show the way back to unity under the Lordship of Christ. The state of course, must implement law & order, but they must also seek the wisdom of the church in truth, beauty, goodness.