Article for St. Catharines Standard newspaper by Peter Youngren.

One of the great success stories in publishing in recent years is the novel, The Shack, by Canadian author, William P. Young. Originally Young wrote the manuscript as a gift for his six children. Several friends read it and encouraged Young to get his book published, but no religious or secular publisher showed any interest. Young and an associate launched Wind Blown Media to publish this one book, and the marketing plan was simple; a $300 website and high hopes for word-of-mouth recommendations. The hopes were realized beyond expectation, as The Shack achieved number one Best Seller success in less than a year, with one million copies sold. It remained the number one paperback in spiritual fiction on the New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010, with 10 million copies in print, and translations either completed or slated for 15 languages.

In this article, Pastor Peter uses a recent political hot potato to show that there is peace and rest in Jesus. This article was written for the Saturday edition of the St. Catharines Standard. - Nathan Thurber

Last week Prince Edward Island’s Transportation Minister suggested that God had struck down the Leader of the Opposition, Olive Crane, after she introduced a bill to allow year around Sunday shopping. As a pastor I’m obviously against Sunday shopping. After all, if people didn’t have the option to go to the mall there might be a higher attendance in church. The alternative, of course, is to have such a meaningful Sunday service that people prefer church to the shopping center.

The topic of original sin comes up in the strangest places. On a recent flight I sat beside a devout religious lady, who insisted that sex was the original sin. My protest that sexuality was God’s idea fell on deaf ears. So many of our religious perceptions depend on culture, and religious affiliation. Jews, Muslims, and Hindus all have their own understanding. The concept of sin differs within each religion depending on whether you are an orthodox believer or a liberal adherent. The same goes for Christians. A Catholic has to deal with some “sins” that don’t even make it on the radar screen for Baptists and Pentecostals. Then again, evangelicals have their own sin-lists that Catholics haven’t even heard of. Our convictions will differ depending on whether we were born in Russia, Argentina, Canada or Alabama.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and many congregants will hear the words stated in the headline. Some pastors use this greeting as they welcome people on the front steps of the church building, and some use it as an opener for the Sunday worship.

Christianity can trace its history to a Savior born in a stable, crucified on a hill just outside the city, and ascending to heaven from a mountain. For the first two hundred years apostles and preachers conducted their services in market places, on the streets, in caves, on ships, and in the homes of their converts. There was no building called “church”, or “the house of God”, such a thought was anathema to their understanding of the Good News they had received from Jesus.