Throughout the Scriptures we hear that listening is how we approach our relationship with God (1 Sam. 3:9) as well as how we cultivate healthy communities with one another (James 1:19). It’s how we pursue lives of discipleship (Mark 9:7) and grow in maturity (Prov. 19:20). In fact, the most importan
In the days after Synod 2022, as I and many others were processing what had just happened, I wrote to a few friends:“We just witnessed the broader culture war play out in the Christian Reformed Church. This is Trudeau vs. truckers. Trump vs. Biden. Vaxxers vs. anti-vaxxers. Republican vs. Democrat.
Laura Pritchard’s missionary journey started in 2005 when she was standing on a street corner in Liberia, West Africa.It was nearly 200 years after 15,000 free-born Black people, facing social and legal oppression in the U.S., were “repatriated” and relocated to the land of fufu (a favorite food of
Note: This article is adapted from Denk’s book An Invitation to Joy: The Divine Journey to Human Flourishing, published in April 2023.My journey with joy began when my oldest daughter was visiting—my Reformed charismatic daughter, my missionary midwife daughter who delivers babies for fun. She is on
Editor's note: While based on the biblical story of the two men who died on crosses beside Jesus, this is an imaginative retelling of what one of those men might have been thinking.“God our Savior … wants all people to be saved.” —1 Timothy 2:4He slowly lifted his head at the sound of a distant shou
Author and art collector Forrest Fenn carefully filled a small, ornate box with old coins, gold nuggets, jewelry, precious gemstones, and other exotic artifacts. Then he hid the box in the Rocky Mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe, N.M., and waited for someone to find it.When asked why he hid a tr
One clear outcome of the pandemic is that many have entrenched themselves firmly in their beliefs, often in opposition to the beliefs firmly held to by others. This does not bode well for our society, because people who are entrenched don’t listen well and are more likely to see others and their bel
Many of us grew up in multigenerational churches. Churches not only had children, teens, parents, and grandparents sitting in the same sanctuary, but had programming for each of them: church school for kids, youth group for teens, and Bible studies for adults. This model for church was adapted from
“Sensuality is easily the biggest obstacle to godliness among men today, and it is wreaking havoc in the church.” Written in 2006 in the book The Disciplines of a Godly Man, Kent Hughes’ words turned out to be both accurate and prophetic. He wrote them before the widespread availability of smartphon
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus articulated a radical theory: Earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around. His idea wasn’t new, but breakthroughs in mathematics allowed him to prove without a doubt that Earth was not the center of the universe. In 1924, Edwin Hubble peered into the darknes
A 16-year-old high school student was told by his cancer specialist, “Isa, we’ve run out of chemo options; there is little we can do.” At school the student approached a fellow 10th-grader. “I have cancer, and the doctor told me I am going to die,” he said. “I don’t want to die. I want to be baptize
I can be a sucker for YouTube videos that document people experiencing a new perspective for the first time: a color-blind groom whose new spouse offers them special glasses to expand his vision of the beauty of the world on their wedding day, or infants whose cochlear implants makes them able to he
As I walked through the few remaining rows of Christmas trees, I attempted to sort out my feelings. When I was growing up, there were hundreds of acres of trees. These few were all that remained. I should feel something, I told myself. While a little part of me wanted to cry, the emotion that bubble
“How could she?”The email from my friend “Miriam” splintered my peace in an instant. Seemingly out of the blue, she confronted me about a Facebook post. It’s understating things to say I was deeply upset and unnerved.Miriam and I met years ago through a mutual friend; she was one of my first friends
According to iFoster, a nonprofit in the U.S. whose mission is to “ensure that every child growing up outside of their biological home has the resources and opportunities they need to become successful, independent adults,” there are almost 440,000 children in foster care on any given day—11,000 in
The world is a better place because very smart people study medicine. I am glad I am not one of them. Doctors need to be ever so educated in the mind-numbing details of human physiology just to diagnose a rash. But what is so fascinating about theology is that it dares to explore the grandest, deepe
One area of social life during the COVID-19 pandemic that might have created as much suffering, pain, loss, and helplessness as premature death is the experience of loneliness. Some scientists even claim that loneliness kills more people than any other known health concerns. Some medical researchers
Editor’s Note: With sponsorship from Multiplication Network, The Banner’s 2022 Young Adults Writing Contest took place this summer, with 35 young adults submitting essays on the topic “What gives you hope?” This is the second-place winner. You can read the other winning essays here. In a country of
Editor’s Note: With sponsorship from Multiplication Network, The Banner’s 2022 Young Adults Writing Contest took place this summer, with 35 young adults submitting essays on the topic “What gives you hope?” This is the first-place winner. You can read the other winning essays here. A periwinkle blur
Editor’s Note: With sponsorship from Multiplication Network, The Banner’s 2022 Young Adults Writing Contest took place this summer, with 35 young adults submitting essays on the topic “What gives you hope?” This essay received an honorable mention. You can read the other winning essays here. This su