A recent online advertisement from a supposedly Christian marriage and family therapist in my area offered a four-week course on how to use artificial intelligence to enter into conversation with one’s “genuine self.” The goal of this program is to be set free from the shackles of shame and guilt in
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Bob Smietana, was published Aug. 29, 2025 on religionnews.com. It has been edited for Banner style.Marcos Hernandez says he has spent most of his life running.Mostly trying to get away from God.“I’ve been r
Arek O’Connell, outreach and young adult pastor at Hillside Community Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., sees the monthly Worship Circle gatherings in Classis Grand Rapids South as a move of the Spirit that has slowly matured into the central piece of ministry of the classis for emerging generations.“Op
The Multiplication Network, started in 2000 by Christian Reformed missionary John Wagenveld, recently moved to a bigger Zeeland, Mich., office to accommodate expansion.The Multiplication Network has helped plant churches in 72 countries, including Spain, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Cambodia. Its vision i
Author Isaac Samuel Villegas is an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church USA and a community activist for immigrant justice in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., and elsewhere. He was born in California to a Costa Rican mother and a Colombian father.Villegas experienced what it meant to live in a ra
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is hardly the first time Marvel’s foremost family has been on the big screen. However, this movie marks their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. And yet it’s set in a Jetsons-like parallel dimension with no Tony Stark, Spider-Man, or other Avengers they can call for hel
Jennifer A. Nielsen, acclaimed author of numerous middle school novels set in Europe during World War II—A Night Divided, Lines of Courage, Words on Fire, and more—explores a different setting in the same time period in this fictional story.On Aug. 21, 1939, British nationals 12-year-old Atlas Wade
For many people, vision can be the primary way of interacting with the world and others. But sight vision is different from revelatory vision. God sometimes opens our experiential vision to see things in a profoundly new way. As a leader serving at-risk youth, the author of Worth Seeing considers it
Sanctity of LifeIn “Canadian Justice: Happy to Talk More,” you noted concerns and ignorance about our resources, with specific mention of sanctity of life and the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. I’d like to remind Banner readers that our Canadian justice ministries and Thrive do provide and promote resourc
Hope Christian Reformed Church of Stony Plain, Alta., ceased to exist at the end of 2024. It served as a Reformed congregation in Parkland County of Alberta for about 120 years. It began as a German Reformed Church and ended its life as a Christian Reformed Church. During all those years the congreg
The Christian Reformed Church’s Council of Delegates received a final report from its task force to reduce governance costs, fund synod, and use time wisely at an early fall virtual meeting. Scheduled to meet the deadline of having recommendations before churches with enough time to consider and off
Edwin de Jong was in Beijing, China, in 1989 when he came upon a large group of students protesting against that country’s Communist government in Tiananmen Square.De Jong, who was a photojournalist for what was then Christian Reformed World Missions (now Resonate Global Mission), was traveling with
Rev. Chung Choo Cho was a devoted servant of the Lord's church. His life served as an example of dedication and integrity, inspiring countless individuals through his passion for the gospel. Though soft-spoken, his resolute character left an indelible mark on all who knew him.In his almost 45 years
When Goat eavesdrops on a barnyard conversation between two chickens who are admiring a bull who has won a prize, he hears them say, “He’s the G.O.A.T. The Greatest Of All Time.” Goat is thrilled, thinking they are talking about him.Instantly, Goat imagines himself as the greatest animal in a parade
What happens when an aging sea captain ought not stay alone anymore? What can an adult daughter do? Grace (Catherine Walker) faces this predicament and hires Annie (Bríd Brennan), a gentle soul to care for mammoth Howard (James Cosmo).Howard speaks not one word to her until Annie has set a fine meal
Tamara Rosier, an ADHD coach living in Grand Rapids, Mich., has written an essential guide for living in a family with neurological differences, a challenge facing countless families of all shapes and sizes.It’s because ADD and ADHD do not just influence the person whose brain is wired differently,
I've been looking for a job in my field for awhile. I pick up short-term contracts but never anything permanent. Is this a sign that I should pursue something else?It's difficult when things aren't going the way we hope. Yet this can be an opportunity to ask whether God is inviting you to something
Since its founding almost 170 years ago, the Christian Reformed Church in North America has valued doing kingdom work together by creating and funding shared ministries in which all members and churches could take part. These ministries include those that plant churches or share the gospel via missi
No Other Land is a documentary that was created through the unusual and tenuous friendship between a Palestinian and an Israeli. It received the 2025 Oscar Academy Award for Best Documentary.Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist, lives in Masafer Yatta, a community in the occupied West Bank. Yuval Abra