Featured Articles
Wandering in a Cosmic Wilderness Part 1: On My Own, Slip Slidin’ Away
I look up and see heavens so vast and mysterious that I feel lost, wandering in a cosmic wilderness. The infinite immensity of space threatens to swallow me, and its powerful forces threaten to digest me.
Featured Articles
I Don’t Want to Be a Jerk
I preached on LGBTQ issues four times in forty years, once in each church I served. I tried to model how to talk about these matters in a non-jerk way. I preached about same-sex relationships because they were widely talked about and I thought the congregation needed to hear from the appropriate biblical texts. I only preached on it once in each congregation because I didn’t think the church should make same-sex issues a primary concern. In those sermons, only half of the content was about my understanding of God’s will for living out our sexuality; the other half was about treating the LGBTQ community with love and respect, instead of hatred and judgment.
The Cost of Christian Cultural Warfare
Christian nationalist and culture-war ideologies offer what may sound like an appealing pathway forward. The call to “take back our country” and win the culture
How Ignoring Our Bodies is Harming Our Souls
My body is me. Any attempt to ignore and suppress this body-soul oneness is to cause harm, for it is to live in opposition to
The Sabbath Way: Time is Love
The Sabbath invites us to get clear about what our values are in relation to time, so that when we feel the tug between fast
Name(s), Faith, and Prayer
One night, as my grandfather lay there, body-quaking, he suddenly felt a warm sensation throughout his body. He felt drawn to the light, the same
A Star to Guide Us
What I remember most about Emese, though, was her insistence that our book club read the “greatest book” she’d ever read, The Little Prince. After
Cheating
Heartland Manor, as we like to say, is a grab bag. That’s not very elegant, but it’s what the crew who work there like to
Latest from the Blog
Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.
No Mercy: The Heart of the One Big Beautiful Bill
A heart became available, and a 10-hour transplant surgery began on Memorial Day evening. A month in the hospital following a heart transplant is standard,
O Canada! — An Immigrant Family’s Tale
We had immigrated to Canada when I took a call to a Reformed Church in America congregation in Ontario.
Hey, Look!!! This is not about Trump as an Antichrist
Much of the data on our readers can be filed under “Everything you think you know is wrong.” I tend to think the same faithful
What Do We Do with the Mad We Feel?
We should say that the biblical witness regarding anger is complicated. My working theory is that getting good and mad might be exactly what God
Harvest of Greed and Power
Fredrick reflects on the changes he witnessed from the Iowa of his childhood to Iowa now with its massive industrial farms, gutted small towns, and
Hope from the Pope
From this saga we can glean hope’s core ingredient. There are the predictable humility and gratitude but also the less predictable humor, play, and joy.
A Letter from a Queer Youth Raised in the Reformed Tradition
My Dear Siblings in Christ in the Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church in America, Please do your best to keep an open mind and
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Bacteriophages
One goal is to find phages that will clear antibiotic resistant tuberculosis infections and infections that plague people who get a lung transplant.
Reviews
Sinners: Vampires, Blood & the Conquest of Death
We may now be enjoying a golden age of Black American writers and directors using the horror movie to put all that heritage to use
The Wise Leader
In this book, Uli Chi gives us a glimpse of what makes a person a wise leader and draws from his own experiences as a
Small Things Like These
This is not a happy story, per se, but a good one. A story that reminds me that those quiet murmurings of our hearts, what
The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection, and Delight
Travis West has written the book on Sabbath that we need right now. And by “we” I mean all of us–the busy, the tired, the
Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling
Anyone looking at Neri Alvarado Borges’ tattoo knows there must be deep meaning behind it. Shaped like a loop of ribbon, it features a rainbow
The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy
This is an important book, combining careful research, insightful analysis, and brisk, clear writing. The story that Taylor uncovers is one that should be deeply
Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned
This book is a much-needed addition for addressing the current crisis in Christian consciousness.
The Traveler’s Path: Finding Spiritual Growth and Inspiration Through Travel
The Traveler’s Path: Finding Spiritual Growth and Inspiration Through Travel by Doug Brouwer is a book for sojourners, and, if I’m not mistaken, that label
Poetry
Annunciation
After Fred broke up with me,I returned to graduate schooland immersed myself in six classes,an overload, trying to heal. One sunny autumn day,I sat alone
The jar the woman left beside the well
the large jar lays beside the well of the city’s forefather …
Malchus
There are at least two Machuses in heaven. Malchus according to LUke has at least two ears but no name …
Michigan Spring
First leaves of trout lily among the roots of a bare beech tree …
Manual Labor
Against the turnings of solstice hope sprouts eternal …
Wrapped and Laid
Wrapped and laid beginning and end bloth and cloth birth and death …
Podcasts
“Annunication” by Janet Heller
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the Poetry Edition, Rose Postma talks with Janet Ruth Heller about her poem “Annunication.” Heller is the
“The Jar Left at the Well” by Sarah Watkins
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Sarah Watkins about her poem “The Jar the Woman Left
“Malchus” by Joshua Patch
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Joshua Patch about his poem “Malchus.” Patch is a teacher
“Michigan Spring” by Paul J. Willis
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma interviews Paul J. Willis about his poem “Michigan Spring.” Paul is
“Manual Labor” by Caroline Liberatore
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Caroline Liberatore about her poem “Manual Labor.” Liberatore is a
“Wrapped and Laid” by Bill Howden
In this week’s episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews William D. Howden on his poem “Wrapped and Laid.” Howden