The Monarch Effect: Surviving Poison, Predators, and People
07/08/2025

Dana L. Church, author of The Beekeepers: How Humans Changed the World of Bumble Bees, offers children ages 8 to 12 another fantastic, detailed exploration of an aspect of God’s creation, specifically, monarch butterflies. Though Church doesn’t acknowledge that God is the creator of all, Christian r

Farewell
07/07/2025

Dear readers, this is, sadly, my last editorial. I have resigned in protest of Synod’s decision to change The Banner’s mandate.Although in protest, I am not bitter or angry. I am disappointed, of course, but I have gone through a discerning process. Through prayer, separate conversations first with

Reclaiming Sabbath in a Burnout Culture
07/07/2025

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. 20:8).Of all the Ten Commandments, this might be the one that contemporary Christians most consistently ignore. We’ve found creative ways to honor God, avoid murder, and respect our parents. But Sabbath? That command seems almost quaint in our perpe

The Disappearing Neighborhood: A Call to Rebuild Community
07/04/2025

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.We live in a

Long Haulers
07/04/2025

Long Haulers (available weekly on YouTube) is science fiction from a fresh perspective. Rather than a galaxy populated exclusively by Chosen One farm boys with princess sisters, explorers on state-of-the-art starships, daring smugglers, and military units, creator (and star) Michael McGruther dares

Pilgrim Prayers: Devotional Poems That Awaken Your Heart to the Goodness, Greatness, and Glory of God
07/04/2025

Several years ago, when author Tim Challies downloaded an app that promised to help him improve his memory, he found that it effectively assisted him to memorize devotional poetry. He repeated the poems to himself till they were deeply woven into his mind and heart.Challies had no way of foreseeing

What Church Do You Attend? Maybe More Than One, U.S. Survey Finds
07/04/2025

The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Adelle M. Banks, was published June 16, 2025 on religionnews.com. It has been lightly edited for Banner style.Five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of churchgoers are regular part

'Go to the Nearest CRC and They Will Help You'
07/04/2025

“Go to the nearest CRC, and they will help you.” That's the advice a Congolese pastor looking for a place to worship with his Arizona congregation got from a fellow transplanted pastor in Michigan. Three months later, Embassy Church had its first service in the fellowship hall of Phoenix (Ariz.) Chr

God's Big Picture Bible Storybook: 140 Connecting Bible Stories of God's Faithful Promises
07/01/2025

Renowned Bible scholar N. T. Wright is best known for his books for adults, including Jesus and the Powers, Into the Heart of Romans, and Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.In God's Big Picture Bible Storybook, Wright narrates for children ages 6 to

So You’ve Been Asked to Teach
06/30/2025

It’s education hour at Sonshine Community Church. In one room, preschoolers gather in a circle, singing with gusto; in another, teens work to create posters about being a good neighbor; in yet another, an elderly woman tells stories and shows artifacts from her days as a missionary in Asia.What’s go

A Pastor’s Identity
06/30/2025

Candidates for ministry know they will soon wade through a variety of expectations from their churches and communities. People might expect them to be a Bible expert, counselor, mediator of quarrels, visionary leader, community organizer, and church growth expert in addition to a range of other role

Grief in Disguise
06/27/2025

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.I sat with my

In Memoriam: Rev. Nola Opperwall Galluch
06/27/2025

Nola Galluch has been described as having a big personality. “She had this big bravery to do what others wouldn’t even think of trying, a strong perseverance despite many odds and barriers against her along the way, and a big, nonjudgmental love for people,” said one of her brothers.Nola, 76, died M

In Memoriam: Rev. Gerald (Jerry) E. DeVries
06/27/2025

Jerry DeVries, who died May 30, was a gentle and humble pastor who served Christian Reformed congregations in the U.S. from coast to coast for over four decades.Jerry grew up on a farm in Princeton, Minn. He contracted polio at age 7. When he left the hospital after six months of therapy, Jerry was

Collision
06/27/2025

The two-part PBS British crime drama, Collision, zigzags through time. One moment we’re in a literal car crash; the next, we’re in the inspector’s quiet office as DI John Tolin plots cause and effect. Quite clever, I thought.The collision is a terrible multi-vehicle accident on a British highway. As

The Most Overlooked Women of the Bible: What Their Stories Teach Us about Being Seen and Heard
06/27/2025

This is the second book of author Mary DeMuth’s The Women of the Bible series. The first is The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible: What Their Stories Teach Us About Thriving, and a third book, The Most Overwhelmed Women of the Bible: How Their Stories Help Us Find Peace, will be released later t

Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age
06/27/2025

Five hundred years ago, Richard Beck argues, the world was enchanted. He writes in the opening chapter of his book, Hunting Magic Eels, that before the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of the Enlightenment, “God existed, and the devil was real. The world teemed with angels and demons. There

Banner’s Editor-in-Chief Resigns ‘In Protest’
06/25/2025

Shiao Chong, editor-in-chief of The Banner, the magazine of the Christian Reformed Church, tendered his resignation with the publication June 23. His last day as editor will be July 11. Shirley De Vries, chief administrative officer for the CRC, is “working with the Office of General Secretary, Bann

Being Your Denominational Magazine
06/25/2025

For decades, The Banner has been the official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church. Since 2015, this magazine has worked under a mandate and publishing guidelines that called for editorial staff to show “the diverse positions held within the church” and permitted staff to “lead and encourage a

Ripple Effects in Mission
06/25/2025

Pastors and missionaries aren’t allowed on university campuses in Mexico. That’s why Resonate Global Mission missionary James Lee works with COMPA Campus Ministry to equip students to share the gospel at their schools—and that work is having ripple effects.David* first connected with Lee after seein