World Renew, the Christian Reformed Church’s relief and development agency, announced a change in leadership in the second-to-last week of January. A letter from World Renew’s Canadian board president to ministry partners Jan. 24 and a subsequent public announcement indicated that Mike White, previo
In Lisa See’s novel The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, an early and defining moment of the story occurs when the main character assists her birth attendant mother with labor and delivery for a woman in their rural mountain village. But when healthy twins are born, there is no rejoicing. Instead, the
Brandon Heath balances hard reality and goodness in his ninth studio album, The Ache. “Every record I release is a snapshot of the season I’m in, and I thought this was going to be a record about mourning,” Heath said in a release after watching his mom live out her final days. “But I’ve learned tha
In British Columbia, if we see someone poaching or polluting we are encouraged to call the ORR hotline: Observe, Record, Report. But what about when we see something breathtaking? King Solomon “spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke abo
I graduated from Calvin University steeped in the language of vocation, which Frederick Buechner defines as “where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet” (Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABCs). A year later, I’m in the job market for the third time and still trying to figure out a vocatio
Do you know what a merism is? Merism is a rhetorical device in which a combination of two contrasting parts of the whole refer to the whole. For example, if we search high and low for something, it means we searched everywhere. Merisms are common in the Bible. For instance, when Isaiah 57:19 says, “
In April 2008, Katherine Wolf suffered a massive brain-stem stroke that forced her to spend 40 days in the ICU. The stroke left her with life-altering disabilities at the age of 26. As a young wife and new mom, Wolf would spend months in a neurological rehabilitation hospital learning how to walk, t
In the fall of 1913, 13-year-old Hoi Wing Woo’s father sends his son from their home in a village in China to work in a Chinese laundry in St. Catharines, Ont.Friendless and bullied throughout his childhood, Hoi Wing had borne the taunts of the villagers deriding his father—whom they sarcastically c
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.My 5-year-old
As a pastor and chaplain, Tom Dykstra consistently demonstrated his faithfulness, dedication, and compassion for others. Recognized as an encourager throughout his years of ministry, Tom reflected the traits of his favorite Bible character, Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus known for mentoring, support,
A pastor and chaplain who nurtured many interests, Peter Kranenburg's life was defined by the power and grace of Jesus Christ. “His love for Jesus permeated his life,” eulogized one of his daughters. “He listened closely to us and wouldn’t judge,” said a grandson. Peter, 95, died Jan. 7, after 15 ye
“He gave his heart to loving Christ’s people, to loving the church, and to reaching the lost,” said the pastor presiding at Bob Ritsema’s celebration of life service. “Bob wanted people to know about the grace and love of Jesus Christ.” A powerful and transformational preacher, Bob had an imposing p
A video series recently released by Dordt University highlights a switch in the global composition of Christians and how to think differently about funding and doing missions today.Coproduced by Aaron Baart and Mark Volkers, and hosted by Baart, Missions Upside Down revisits stories of heroic missio
Chuck DeGroat has written a masterwork of Christian inner healing books. The author of When Narcissism Comes to Church gently and compassionately guides the reader in peeling back the layers of shame and hurt to reveal their heart’s true home within. “Disconnection,” he writes, “is the tale as old a
Oscar season approaches. Several reviews of Conclave have puffed it as worthy of Best Picture, plus Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes as candidates for best actor nods. No such predictions here. Still I rate this as the best film of my year; until Conclave, I’d never watched the same movie two consecu
Synod’s mandate to Thrive, the Christian Reformed Church’s congregational support agency, calls the agency to equip and encourage CRC congregations “to practice lifelong faith formation and missional discipleship from a Reformed perspective, across all ages and stages of life, with particular attent
David Zandstra, a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church who was ordained in 1965, was acquitted in a jury trial of all charges he faced stemming from his arrest in July 2023. Prosecutors alleged he confessed in a 2023 interview to murdering Gretchen Harrington, an 8-year-old girl who wen
When 84-year-old Ringo Starr expressed an interest in making a country EP (a short album) to T-Bone Burnett, the Grammy-winning producer of the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou, Burnett jumped at the chance. Starr asked him to write him one song, but Burnett continued writing until he had enou
As a biracial Filipina-American “othered” her whole life, Jenai Auman discovered a new and disturbing level of “othering” in the place she should have felt the safest: her church.“Never in my life have I felt so alone as when I was singing hymns of thankfulness and grace alongside church leaders who
Our church is doing more intergenerational ministry events. Don’t people learn best with their own age groups?Historically, congregations did everything together. First-century house churches certainly had no specialized ministry for kids or teens or retired people. Some church historians say the tr