Featured Articles
Nursery Rhyme Racism: From “Roosevelt Park Rising”
Church is many different things, but at its core deep inside me, it still is a place where people dignify each other by respecting their somebody-ness. I believe that today, and I believed it on my first day at the Roosevelt Park church in 1994. And so there I stood, before my new congregation, trying to remain dignified. I wasn’t wearing a tuxedo. Nor did I look as colorless as the portraits in the council room. I was wearing clothing that met the moment as their pastor: a colorful shirt, nice slacks, matching suspenders, and a nice tie. I was dignified. I was somebody. But those eenie-meenie-miney-moe words struck at my dignity and my somebody-ness. I wanted to scream at the congregation about what had just happened to me.
Featured Articles
Meeting People Where They Are: What Eugene Callender’s Harlem Ministry Can Teach the Church Today
Callender was the first Black student to attend Westminster Theological Seminary and, in 1951, the first African American ordained by the Christian Reformed Church. From the very beginning, his ministry was shaped by a calling to extend the church’s witness among African Americans. Westminster Theological Seminary had longstanding ties to the Christian Reformed Church, whose Home Missions program was actively seeking to establish a Reformed witness in Harlem.In August 1952, after “serious consideration and prayer,” Callender wrote to the CRC’s Home Missions Committee expressing his eagerness to accept the call in Harlem.
The Fire of God (Part Two): The Sanctification of Jeremiah
Jeremiah’s examination of the depths of his heart invites us to respond with a similar self-examination. When I accept the invitation, when I slow down
The Fire of God: A World Dazzling and Bedazzling (Part One)
God was not immutable and self-contained: like fire, God, burned, flared forth, illuminated, and energized everything in the world. In the words of an ancient
Confessions of a Former Pro-Lifer: I Missed the Mark
Here is the prophetic truth that must be spoken: A cause that abandons compassion for punishment and control while demonizing others will lose its soul.
Honest Patriots: Loving Countries Full of Contradictions, 2
We asked a few Canadian and US citizens to briefly share a patriotic memory, time or, experience when they felt proud of and pleased with
Honest Patriots: Loving Countries Full of Contradictions, 1
We asked a few Canadian and US citizens to briefly share a patriotic memory, time or, experience when they felt proud of and pleased with
Communion is not the Same as Agreement
We remain at the table not because we have resolved every difference, but because we trust that God is not finished with any of us.
Latest from the Blog
Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.
When Explanation Becomes Excuse: A Response to George Marsden
It isn’t as simple as White evangelical loyalty to the Republican Party merely carrying over to Trump. If anything, it is the reverse.
Asking “Why” Instead of “What” in American History
What can I say other than I just can’t settle? I’m not content with “what,” I want to know “why.” Among the many reasons I
Making It Complex: A Variety of Confessions from Refugee Theologians
Reformed theology was often birthed in the pain of exile, among religious refugees.
It’s Good to Be Back at the Potluck
Grey concrete or green crops, God is faithful. And this gives me so much comfort in the rolling hills of life.
Summer Book(s) Report
Back-to-School Report My son is furiously attempting to finish Lord of the Flies. His high school requires students to read a book over summer break,
Cedar House
My little cabin is being consumed by the understory minions. Moss grows on the old shingles. Part of me would stand aside and welcome them.
“What only you can give”
I still remember the moment in one of my college classes when someone observed that Jane Austen didn’t really “do” description. It struck me because
Living at the Speed of Baseball
I set myself a challenge: make it through an entire baseball game without picking up my phone.
Reviews
Room for Gay Bellwethers in God’s Flock
He begins to pray, apologizing to his Maker for how he has been made.
Loosening the Grip on Power
Perhaps Nolan is suggesting that the way forward looks more like loosening our grip on power, acknowledging our mistakes, and seeking to be faithful to
A Clear Vision
He was willing to dare to dream of things that never were and say “why not.”
One Small Question That Will Change the Way You Read—and Write.
It also reads like a classroom, and I mean that in the best sense.
The Hidden Abundance of Creation: A review of Microlands: The Future of Life on Earth (and Why It’s Smaller Than You Think)
Most people have heard of Charles Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle. Some may know of Alfred Russel Wallace’s travels through the Malay Archipelago or
The Case for Human Decency
Patchett again uncovers the universal layers of insecurity, certainty, deception, anger, and affection that comprise most of our lifelong relationships with those we love–or try
Why Can’t I Love My Neighbor?
A few weeks ago, my Wisconsin suburban family spent a lot of time sheltering in our basement. Repeated tornado warnings and touchdowns drove us underground
Humanity Demands its Parentheses
The author stakes her claim, over and over again, through her defiant choice in favor of joy when joy happens to be there for the
Poetry
Absolution
Church bells rung candles ligted welcome offered we stand to sing …
Lord of Light and Dark
who maketh stars to leap in the gaped black mouth of heaven …
Choosing Stones
The last thing the Gittite saw was a laughable pebble flung by a gnat of a boy …
Psalm, roughly the size of a lung
The hate mail appeared in the church Suggestion Box …
Compulsion
After our home burned down in the Tea Fire, I started picking up trash on the streets …
Upon Our Seeing the Grand Tetons for the First Time
Deplaning the gondola after the steep ascent into the cloud-turbaned peaks, I am stepping high …
Podcasts
“Absolution” by Jillian Burden
In this week’s episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma interviews Jillian Burden about her poem “Absolution.” Jillian is a Canadian-American poet based in
“Lord of Light and Dark” by Haley Hodges
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Haley Hodges about her poem “Lord of Light and Dark.” Haley
“Choosing Stones” by Cody Adams
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Cody Adams about his poem “Choosing Stones.” Cody is an English Teacher
“Compulsion” by Paul J. Willis
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Paul Willis about his poem “Compulsion.” Paul has published eight
“Upon Our Seeing the Grand Tetons for the First Time” by Jo Taylor
In this episode of the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Jo Taylor about her poem, “Upon Our Seeing the Grand Tetons for the First Time.” Jo
“Aeronaut” by Brian Phipps
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Brian G. Phipps about his poem “Aeronaut.” Brian is the author