HFL Speaks: Recent Episodes
Tim Pippus
This is the podcast of Hope For Life Calgary. This platform is for telling our stories, God's story, and teaching resources that will help us mature in Christ.
Most retirees travel from Calgary to places like Phoenix, but Gary and Peter raised money to purchase critical food and medical supplies for Ukrainian refugees and then repeatedly drove into the war zone to deliver them with a European pastor.
1:30 - The origin story
3:45 - Rethinking retirement
5:25 - A quick summary of the trip
10:20 - The local churches they worked with
13:20 - Describing the places they saw
18:15 - Describing life in a war zone
28:40 - Why were you in a war zone? How did being there impact you?
37:08 - The challenges of the trip
45:55 - What they learned about the Ukrainian people and how they were inspired by the Ukrainian church
57:00 - Lessons the Ukrainian Church has to teach us
107:20 - Final thoughts
1:45 - Introducing Phil Reinders
3:40 - Phil’s comments on the rising interest in Rule of Life amongst Western Christians
8:00 - Which spiritual disciplines do people dabble in where they should dive in?
14:50 - Further thoughts on dabbling versus diving in
17:35 - What are some of the most common renunciations people have to engage in to make space for new rhythms?
26:22 - What’s your favourite spiritual practice in this season and why?
28:54 - Honest discussion of Phil’s personal prayer life
38:20 - What do you do when you sense you’ve lost the heart of the practice? (I’m just ticking off my Bible reading on the app) 46:00 - How much freedom is there in the way we practice spiritual disciplines?
50:38 - How long should someone stick with a discipline before they can evaluate if it’s fruitful?
52:00 - The tension between grace (do I have to?) and truth (If I never want to, what does that mean about my spiritual life?)
56:50 - Where does God’s role end and our role begin?
58:15 - What spiritual rhythms work best in the life of a young family?
101:40 - Addressing a cycle of trying and failing alongside the discovery of our brokenness through spiritual practices.
104:48 - What would you say to someone who feels defeated and stuck?
106:25 - Final Words - a blessing for those practicing a rule of life
Four people at Hope For Life Church decided to participate in a radical lenten fast in 2024. This podcast captures some of their insights and will spur you to consider the impacts fasting would have on your life with God. You'll laugh a time or two along the way too.
1:00 - What was the lenten fast and why did you do it?
4:00 - How hard was this to do?
6:37 - What did you learn about the things that control you and more generally about yourselves through this fast?
13:30 - What did you observe about each other growing through this lenten journey?
24:48 - How did fasting affect your experience of Good Friday?
30:18 - What’s one of the most important things you learned through this fast?
46:33 - Would you do this again?
49:34 - What do you want to say to the church about this experience?
59:55 - Final comments
102:20 - "More Christians are dieting than fasting," AND "do I have to???"
104:00 - God isn’t trying to wreck your life
105:45 - Will Tim join next year’s fast?
Join us as Tim interviews Fred Waters, former COO of the Salvation Army and all around fantastic human being!
Introducing Fred (1:00)
Fred’s faith formation - let’s talk revival! (5:36)
The story of the Salvation Army and discussion of addictions (9:15)
More talk about addictions and hope (21:17)
Lessons learned working for the Salvation Army (26:50)
What role does the average Christian and church play in affordable housing, addictions, and other social ailments? (30:00)
More talk of ways forward as a society - let’s talk partnership (35:27)
Discussing vision, institutions, and fundraising (40:00)
What else would you say to the average Christian about social ministry in Canada? Talking about housing first strategy, why everyone can’t just help themselves, and the epidemic of individualism. (41:35)
Story time with Fred - stories of God showing up miraculously throughout Fred’s life (49:19)
Final thoughts - salt and light in my neighbourhood (57:41)
Geri Fitch recently spoke to a few Calgarian churches on values based parenting. The audio quality is poor, but the content is worth your time!
In this episode we cover lots of ground... and Matt's accent doesn't hurt.
0:00 - Introduction - Introducing Matt Pamphlet from Hamilton
3:45 - The Story of St. Claire Part 1
“people were longing for an authentic community that wasn’t just based on a meeting or an event… how do we do this life together?"
10:10 - Story of St. Claire Part 2 - “Are you starting a Sunday gathering or a church?”
15:00 - Experts Versus Ordinary Saints
18:15 - What is a Missional Family and the Early Years of St. Claire
26:00 - Spiritual Family and Community in the Age of Individualism and Consumerism.
30:30 - The Good News of a Highly Committed Community
35:20 - The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Community
“Missional, family isn’t a once a week thing, but it does involve one.”
42:20 - How Many in a Missional Family?
43:15 - What’s the Connection Between Community and Mission?
“one of the biggest lies we’ve been told is that people aren’t hungry for the good news."
49:35 - Final Comments
This topic may not draw you, but I think this is one of the best conversations I've had on one of the most important topics that there is. Here is an outline of the episode with links to articles and books mentioned below:
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Intro
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Why anyone should listen to a long-form discussion on spiritual practices (Boring right!?) 2:51
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A fully human life and integrating faith with normal life 6:42
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The petty forms of sin in daily life, the beauty of a life of love with Christ in God, and the mirror of spiritual practices 9:50
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Is this conversation just for super-spiritual people? A history of spiritual practices 14:55
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Does Jesus love us more if we choose more spiritual practices? Performance versus participating in the life of Christ 17:55
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What are the spiritual practices? 21:20
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Jazz and Christian maturity 25:00
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Joy & “joy impaired people” 30:30
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Thought, desire, and being human - practices shape and reveal what we love 33:00
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Everyone already has a rule of life, but do we know what it is and where it is taking us? 40:55
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The story of Habitus and their shared rule of life 49:20
13 - The fruit of practicing a rule of life 59:15
14 -Common objections to adopting spiritual practices 66:00
15 - Submitting to a received Rule of Life and/or individualizing your spiritual practices 76:24
16 - Final words - “Where is the good way to flourishing and rest for our souls?” 80:50
**A great article from Phil: https://www.christiancourier.ca/a-rule-for-reconstructing/
https://www.habituscommunity.org/
https://www.philreinders.com/
https://www.amazon.ca/You-Are-What-Love-Spiritual/dp/158743380X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29OLVDK5XBBQG&keywords=you+are+what+you+love&qid=1670815953&sprefix=you+are+what+you+lov%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.ca/Seeking-Gods-Face-Praying-Through/dp/1592557686/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1UIQ0UNXLYDTW&keywords=seeking+gods+face&qid=1670815969&sprefix=seeking+gods+fac%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-4
In this episode Tim dives into a question that's come up several times lately - how much (time/money/service/etc.) is enough? How do I know what God requires of me?
Today we talk magazines, binging the gospel of Mark, and what it means to spur one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24) and be a community full of good deeds (Titus 2:11-15).
Here is the link to the podcast Tim references in his episode:
https://www.68culture.org/episode-4-brian-mcconaghy-ratanak-international-part-1/
You can also find it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts - look for 68culture and "Ratanak International"
If you have any comments, we'd love to hear them!
Nick Mitchell is currently the Provincial Medical Director for Addictions and Mental Health, and we're grateful he was willing to do this interview. Below is a table of contents for the interview. If you have any feedback or there are questions you wish Tim had asked, email Tim (Tim@hflchurch.ca) and let him know.
3:06 Who is Nick and why he’s well positioned to speak into the opioid crisis and about harm reduction in Alberta.
3:55 Introducing the opioid crisis and how it’s similar/dissimilar to “drug addiction” generally
6:00 A quick history of the opioid crisis… Tim talks addiction to pleasure
8:22 Profiles of Albertan Opioid addicts according to local data
14:09 Fatalities in Alberta from Opioids (and alcohol)
17:53 Introducing “Harm Reduction”
22:00 Comparing harm reduction and abstinence based approaches to addiction treatment
24:00 Introducing newer harm reduction practices like safe injection sites, needle exchanges, etc.
28:20 Myths about opioid use and treatment
33:40 Are we saying, “Keep on sinning?” Is substance use a moral issue? (This is picked up again later at 110:45)
37:40 What stats are you counting to evaluate harm reduction programs?
42:55 How do you determine if safe injection sites are effective?
46:55 What convinces you safe injection sites are a good idea?
50:00 What would it take to change your mind on harm reduction (needle exchange/safe injection sites)?
52:45 Why do we have to help if someone doesn’t want to get well?
57:40 Nature versus nurture
58:45 Substance dependency versus addiction
59:35 Tim get’s longwinded asking about four big issues - Is it a sin to use drugs, nature versus nurture part 2, victim mentality & is harm reduction enabling and actually helping people hurt themselves?
110:45 Is substance use sinful?
114:10 Actions steps (learning, donating, volunteering)
122:07 A few reflections from Tim after this interview - where I want to know more, am repenting, and the questions and struggles I still have
Nick is one of the smartest, most engaging, and most interesting people Tim's ever met. He's also a practicing psychiatrist and senior administrator in the addiction and mental health department of AHS (Alberta Health Services). Today they discuss mental health. If there is a question you wish Tim had asked, let him know! We'll have round #2 with Nick sometime soon.
Section 1 - Mental Health and Me
1) What are mental health and resilience? (2:20)
2) Let's talk personality (Enneagram, Myers Briggs, etc.) (5:10)
3) How can people assess how they are doing? (7:50)
4) What are some practical steps people can take (whether they are sick or healthy) to pursue mental well-being? (13:00)
**Aside 1 on Neurogenesis (18:50)
**Aside 2 on Parenting & Resilience (21:55)
Section 2 - Mental Health and Us
5) The news regularly reports an emerging and coming mental health crisis as we continue to wrestle with Covid 19. Can you comment on whether that is the case and what it means? (23:00)
6) As a clinician, what do you mean when you say clinical depression or anxiety? (27:15)
7) How do I walk with someone who is struggling with mental illness? (31:30)
**Aside 3 on fixing people and our insecurities (35:30)
8) Can mental illness be cured and what hope is available to those finding the road through to be long and hard? (41:20)
**Aside 4 - Final Comments (49:20)
Note the final comments about the risk factor of social isolation in the last two minutes!
Today Tim kicks off HFL Storytime with a story of his failure, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and a great quote from C.S. Lewis.
In this podcast, Tim interviews Doug about the formation of HFL. Doug presents his perspective on how the church came to be, what God may have been doing, and the vision for a different kind of church that drove HFL in the early years.