Shalom vs. Empire (Kevin Rogers)

It’s usually me interviewing someone else or bringing the content of others here to inspire and inform. On this episode, it’s my turn to speak. This was my session recorded at Our City Windsor 2025.

Empire is the human tradition of conquerors and ideologues wanting to build a world in their image. It’s the ninety-foot selfie of Nebuchadnezzar and the pinch of incense in worship of Caesar.

The nation of Israel was not satisfied to be led by a priesthood and wanted to have a king like the other nations surrounding them. Empire is about power and defense. It is the belief that what’s best for us should be enforced on the other nations.

Even churches can fall prey to empire building and miss out on the true intentions of God.

Shalom on the other hand, is the governmental structure of the Kingdom of God. It is the world as God intends it and is established with the love and power of God bringing about peace on earth. Shalom is dependent on the King of Kings and will not be fully realized until he returns. Somehow, we are to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven while giving the Caesar what he is due.

Links:

Mission Canada Bio:

 https://paoc.org/canada/about/staff/lists/mc-staff/urban-coordinator

Our City Windsor

https://ourcitywindsor.ca/

Tools For Recovery In Street Ministry (LCHC team)

The team at Leamington Community Help Centre run an active mission for street-affiliated people. Part of this work includes addiction recovery services. At the Our City Windsor 2025 conference a group of recovered addicts shared their insights of ministry to this vulnerable population.

Robert Sandwith is the Manager of Recovery Care. Greg Poloz is the men’s recovery care coordinator. Mary Fehr is the women’s recovery care coordinator. Jason Kacsur is a recent success story of a person supported.

Leamington Community Support Centre

https://www.leamingtonhopecentre.ca/

Disability And Faith 101 (Keith Do

Keith Dow, PhD, is a Canadian theologian, researcher, and writer exploring the beauty and complexity of human limits, care, and community. He works with Karis Disability Services (formerly Christian Horizons) and serves as a fellow with the Psychology Cross-Training for Theologians program through the University of Birmingham and Martin Luther University College. His research explores theology, disability, and the ethics of care, emphasizing the beauty and limits of human life in community. Keith is the author of Formed Together: Mystery, Narrative, and Virtue in Christian Caregiving (Baylor, 2021) and leads the Images of God research project supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

This session was recorded at Our City Windsor 2025.

Links:

Keith’s website

https://keithdow.com/

Karis Disability Services

https://karis.org/

Brandon Blake - Tear Off The Roof (The Chosen Version)

https://youtu.be/WQA6fbSoq-g?si=x2-fOQJ1h_n0H4Ai

God's Mosaic Vision (Charles Hermelink)

Charles Hermelink brought this message at the Our City Windsor 2025 conference. In it he looks at how God is at work with the movement of people around the world and especially the relevance for us in Canada.

Charles serves as the New Worker On-boarding and Development Specialist, and Coordinator for Mission Canada’s Cultural Language Groups. His focus is to mobilize new workers and strategically see them positioned to reach newcomers to Canada, refugees, and those with various cultural backgrounds and worldviews.

Links:

Neighbours and Newcomers Network National

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/nnnetworknational

Mission Canada Cultural Ministries

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/priorityculturalministries

Maury Blair At Our City Windsor 2025

At 87 years of age, Maury continues to be filled with light and hope. From recounting the horrible child abuse he suffered to the overflowing joy of his journey with Jesus, we leaned forward to soak up the wisdom.

Maury continues to have daily conversations with people in his community to tell them about his hope.

Links:

Breakthrough Ministries

https://overcomingabuse.ca/

Revisiting Child of Woe

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/revisiting-child-of-woe-maury-blair-interview

More of the Maury Story

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/more-of-the-maury-story-maury-blair-interview

Going Big (Richard Magnussen interview)

Today I am having a conversation with Richard Magnussen who last year released his memoir ‘Going Big: Lessons On Success In Business, Life And Faith.’

From the early years growing up in an immigrant family and building a productive life in Kitchener to becoming one of Canada’s big business success stories, Richard was able to remain focused on what was most important. His stories are worth hearing.

Former Member of Parliament Harold Albrecht from Kitchener-Conestoga wrote on the flyleaf, “Richard’s story is one of hard work, incredible perseverance, and deep faith in Jesus. Powerful evidence of the difference that Jesus makes in the life of a family. Great leadership principles based on the wisdom of God’s Word!’

Links:

Book - Going Big: Lessons On Success in Business, Life and Faith

https://www.siretona.com/goingbig

Magnussen Home Furnishings

https://www.magnussen.com/

Creekside Church

https://www.creeksidechurch.ca/

The Hope-Filled Streets of Barrie (Kevin Mast interview) (Copy)

Kevin Mast has served as pastor of Hope City Church in Barrie, Ontario for all of its 12 years. It has grown to a family of ministries making a difference for the street-affiliated and marginalized of their city.

Kevin and I reminisce about my visit a few years ago and how urban ministry always involves shifts and upheavals.

Hope Barrie

https://www.hopebarrie.com/

The Election Episode (Tim Schindel interview)

As we approach Canada’s federal election with political fever running high, I interviewed Tim Schindel to talk about the spiritual realities we hold onto, regardless of how the country votes.

Tim Schindel is a visionary leader and strategic influencer dedicated to equipping and supporting leaders in Canada’s political and business communities. As the Founder and National Director of Leading Influence, he has built a nationwide network providing chaplaincy, mentorship, and faith-based leadership support to elected officials across Canada. Since launching the organization in 2006, Tim has expanded its reach, fostering a culture of integrity, encouragement, and service among political leaders. With nearly 40 years of experience in ministry, leadership development, and executive coaching, Tim is known for his ability to cast vision, build high-impact teams, and drive meaningful change.

 Links:

Leading Influence

https://leadinginfluence.com/

Previous interview:

Season 2, Episode 18

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/tim-schindel-providing-spiritual-care-for-politicians

DEI and Glocal Church (Harold Gutierrez interview)

Diversity, equity and inclusion are all Christian virtues, but they can be disguised as PCIE - Pressured Conformity, Inequity and Exclusion. That can happen easily inside or outside of the Church, but the Church cannot afford to conflate virtue with political pragmatism. The prophetic Church does the quiet work of diversity, equity and inclusion without press releases.

On today’s episode I have a conversation with Harold Gutierrez, who is from Langley BC where he works as the Intercultural and Indigenous Ministries director for the British Columbia and Yukon District of the PAOC. He has pastored in Florida, North Carolina and BC and currently working on a PhD. Today we want to talk about cross cultural communication, discipleship, pluralism and the ways that we can grow in working together across the cultural divides.

Link:

British Columbia and Yukon District of PAOC

https://www.bcyd.ca/intercultural-indigenous

Road Home For Prisoners (Peter Ochs interview)

Today I am having a conversation with Peter Ochs and Steve Fox. We are going to have a conversation about Peter’s creative response to helping prisoners get established in a new life.

Peter Ochs is a lifelong faith-driven entrepreneur. His 30-year journey has been dedicated to building prosperous businesses God’s way. Pete’s life mission is to inspire and equip business leaders worldwide to live with a purpose greater than themselves, leveraging their businesses to make a Christ-centered impact on the world. He is author of High Impact LIFE and High Impact Business.

Peter is a friend of a friend. Steve Fox is my friend and a 30-year veteran of the church I pastor in Windsor. Steve was initially invited to join me as a core member for this new church plant that became New Song Church. His six-month trial turned into thirty years where he served in many capacities.

Links:

Enterprise Stewardship

https://www.enterprisestewardship.com/pete-ochs

Peter Ochs Books:

https://www.enterprisestewardship.com/events-and-resources

Kingdom Advisors

https://kingdomadvisors.com/

The Attention Economy (Rick Hiemstra and Andy Gabruch)

In Elizabeth Oldfield’s book ‘Fully Alive’, she wrote, “For most of the week, my value is in what I produce and what I consume. If I’m not careful my main goal in a day becomes impressive and competent, subtly signalling my status with the things I buy, say and post. Sabbath is the opposite. It is a line in the sand. Today I am just a person, and a person is beyond price. Sabbath is about valuing, fighting for and fiercely guarding rest.” [1]

What are the things that demand our attention and distract us from being fully alive in Christ? My guests on this episode are Rick Hiemstra and Andy Gabruch.

Rick is the director of The Centre For Research On Church And Faith at The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Andy is the author of Infobesity: How To Be Followers Of Jesus in an Information Overload World.

[1] Elizabeth Oldfield, ‘Fully Alive’ p. 110.

Links:

Rick Hiemstra – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/RickHiemstra

Infobesity Book

https://www.infobesity.ca/infobesity-the-book

Andy Gabruch Website

https://andygabruch.com/

Increase in Bible sales

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/sales-of-bibles-are-booming-fueled-by-first-time-buyers-and-new-versions-d402460e

Igods: How technology shapes our spiritual and social lives 

https://www.amazon.ca/iGods-Technology-Shapes-Spiritual-Social/dp/1587433443/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S9HZCBUQI4AB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aU0UvmNAvigfu5nWqrKrFEHSnGQ3khC7TdlsGEpma7Dh2AL0SQBTynVWPDJdNxiGKBFG4NGYwFYf12HG0uaIRBtYpGkjNDVLOJHh49psynjr5KKvlDMNu7MN3SM321BEta6Qgse8spoyMRskcBQ6LA.8jP7J3hj5dwOXlJLWRq1VxLP1EByMu0-bHGFuMjti0c&dib_tag=se&keywords=igod%27s+book&qid=1738874432&sprefix=igods+book%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1

How to Break Up with Your Phone 

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Break-Up-Your-Phone-ebook/dp/B072J77B68/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GGZXH7IPGOBT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BrxH8fEW3onrWcfbpGanIrANsvt6MSIDPqgn5-pSmVTH2GUIK3bWrZs3artkG3YW1j4acqps1fo-SxngnRPaTSYwNS8OYM8R0otTX9mQUkjrebv2r4n8qq26vqiXMXSBmXvnORQva9XAHK_DTOAHBbapuY-WwCtpSfNLmAEw3DcQU0QxlmfhULzrvgWhgAcZL1R4IOIvYZgiqfTK71A1M9TbhNFuuM6FVtZSQDJODca9stta5nkG29p7pEk2t2-pdj5CzDiV7XZ51BmaNuEhP-FnevnRKzMuFaDx0Di147zdbV2QFg_hNiO66zzy_3PIt5kbfNwkdrLWMoaG4ahPUoc8ZOHZ7BBi148PniSPR1nngKF6Np7sSRU7zoJDNrLMGw-9kC_N-wxHHoG3kVxXtbfWQoqWfJ5_mw9LuY1ELKvw5tGHg4Z4WBb_FqmC5ble.D5txhFM3pS0OoIUgFcyslqJ2opGcqJ9nEifsapFD7vE&dib_tag=se&keywords=catherine+price&qid=1738874618&sprefix=catherine+price%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1

Sidewalk Skyline Podcast – Season 5, Episode 19

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/infobesity-techicism-and-tekton-andy-gabruch-interview

Entrepreneurs In Love (Mike and Lisa Difazio)

Michael Difazio and Lisa Shurrock are two young, successful entrepreneurs in Windsor Ontario. As they fell in love, they did not realize how God would appear in their lives to disrupt business as usual and surprise them with miracles.

Here’s my interview as they share the lessons they’re learning about trusting God with everything.

Links:

Michael Difazio

https://www.michaeldifazio.ca/

Elite Studios

https://www.facebook.com/Elitestudioswindsor

Hope And Light In Cobourg (Leigh-Ann & Thomas Davidson)

After a couple years working in Mission Canada with Street Level Advocacy (Peterborough), Leigh-Ann Davidson felt the call to launch new initiatives in Cobourg, Ontario. Along the way, her biggest supporter (who happened to be her husband Thomas) joined in her efforts in reaching out to the street-affiliated and homeless population in the small city of Cobourg.

Together they are ‘Hope And Light Urban Outreach’ making a difference in a place of intensifying need.

Links:

Mission Canada Profile

https://paoc.org/donate/leighanndavidson

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564632950348

Intensity In Tent City - Sidewalk Skyline Podcast - Season 3, Episode 22

https://youtu.be/BD7j0NqRwgo?si=X0K8asD0YQ5HyK3U

The Nine Lives of Joe Ritchie

Joe Ritchie grew up with a history of trauma and abuse that nearly killed him. At age fifteen he was in a car accident that left him quadriplegic and without hope. After three times of dying and being resuscitated, it would be a vision of Jesus that would change his life trajectory.

Today Joe serves as part of the pastoral team at Windsor’s New Song Church. Listen as he shares transparently about his struggles with addiction and the journey to freedom.

Weaving Hope From The Unraveled Church (Alan Roxburgh interview)

Alan Roxburgh is a pastor, teacher, writer and podcaster with more than thirty years’ experience in church leadership, consulting and seminary education. I first heard of him through my friend Karen Reed who will be co-hosting our conversation today. Karen has been a past guest on the podcast and is very much entrenched in a life of loving her neighbours, a true example of intentional community building.

 Links:

Leaving Egypt Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/leaving-egypt-podcast/id1699200527

Alan Roxburgh - Reflections On The Refounding Of God’s People

https://alanroxburgh.com/

The Missional Network

https://www.themissionalnetwork.com/

Why I Help People Take Drugs (Dr. Meera Grover)

Today, I’m talking with Doctor Meera Grover who works in Calgary, Alberta extensively in the field of addiction medicine.

Working in Vancouver’s notorious downtown eastside to pay for her theological education at Regent College, Meera Grover was faced with questions about whether or not providing people who use drugs with sterile supplies and a place to inject contravened her faith. She knew she wanted to care for people with addiction but did not know how to do so in a way that fit with her own moral code.

She wrestled with these questions over the years and through her transition, from nursing to becoming a fully licensed physician who specializes in addiction medicine.[1]

Meera has written a book entitled “Why I Help People Take Drugs”. In this interview we delve into the often contested practice of harm reduction and the importance of the human connection in addressing addiction issues.

Link:

Dr. Meera Bai Grover

https://meeragrover.ca/

[1] Benjamin Perrin, flyleaf of ‘Why I Help People Take Drugs’

The Shift Every Decade (Bob Gal interview)

Bob Gal has been an iconic figure in my life for 40 years. From my first recollections of his speaking at youth retreats and leading street ministry outreaches, he has been a man that has followed the cloud by day and fire by night.

He and his lifelong sweetheart Karen live in Edmonton, Alberta where he serves as our oldest Mission Canada urban worker at the age of 74. Today I want to hear Bob’s reflections as we review his relationship with Jesus and the nuanced perspective shifts for each decade.

Links:

Mission Canada Profile

https://paoc.org/donate/bobgal

Lovedmonton Chapel

https://lovedmonton.com/

Complex Trauma And RE/ACT (Tim Fletcher interview)

Tim Fletcher is the Founder and President of RE/ACT (Recovery Education for Addictions and Complex Trauma). He used his skills as a pastor and counsellor to develop a program to help the people he cared for overcome addiction. He realized the need for individuals to first become equipped with tools, and then put those tools into practice in a healthy, safe and loving environment - and herein lies his unique skill.

During his early years, he learned that everyone has a loved one who struggles with addiction, and many people struggled with unrealized addictions and unhealthy coping techniques. He found that 97% of addicts also struggled from Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) - corroborating the research of Dr. Gabor Maté. After researching C-PTSD which was identified as, “A series of events that occur where a victim feels unsafe, and as such, develops mental disorders which inhibit them from coping in stressful or harmful circumstances”, he concluded that research was showing that there is a physical difference between the brains of those who grew up in loving and nurturing homes and those who didn’t – before any addiction became prevalent.[1]

Links:

Tim Fletcher Website

https://www.timfletcher.ca/

Theo Von Interview

(language warning. Theo is a comedian and a spiritual seeker)

https://youtu.be/K60u6ObDsrI?si=_Oc2yXE9OfWqS7lf

[1] https://www.timfletcher.ca/about-tim-fletcher

Healing Spiritual Cataracts (Tim Meisenheimer)

Timothy Meisenheimer has spent decades on the streets with beatitude vision, first in Ottawa and now in Windsor, Ontario. This was his session at the Our City Windsor 2024 conference. Tim takes seriously the path of Jesus in his sidewalk vision of the Kingdom of God.

Links:

Urban Cry School of Mission

https://www.facebook.com/urbancryschoolofmission

Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative

https://www.dwcc.ca/

Capital City Mission

https://capitalcitymission.com/

The Ottawa Mission

https://ottawamission.com/

Infobesity, Technicism and Tekton (Andy Gabruch interview)

This is my interview with Andy Gabruch. Besides being a husband to Annick and father of four teens, he is the pastor of Home Church, formerly known as Vancouver Chinese Pentecostal Church.

 Andy has his Doctor of Ministry in semiotic studies on Christ, culture and the Church from George Fox University and teaches the Contemporary Communication Course at Summit Pacific College.

 Dr. Andy Gabruch has a mentoring ministry called DUCO, meaning “to lead for today.” Since 2016, DUCO has intentionally mentored forty plus young leaders towards full-time ministry, coached dozens of churches on leading, reaching, and discerning younger generations, various strategic projects with non-profit organizations, and planted five next-generation ministries when he was the Next Generations Director with the PAOC British Columbia and Yukon District.

He has written dozens of resources on ministerial leadership and discipleship and is  releasing his first book, Infobesity: How to be Followers of Jesus in an Information Overload World.

Links:

Infobesity Assessment (Promo Code: DUCO)

www.andygabruch.com/redeemdigitalspaces

Infobesity the Book 

www.infobesity.ca

Redeeming Suffering: Contact Andy at duco@andygabruch.com

You’re Not Listening by Katie Murphy

https://www.journalistkatemurphy.com/#ynlbook

The Organized Mind by Daniel Levitin

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313653/the-organized-mind-by-daniel-j-levitin/

Grit by Angela Duckworth

https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-book/