Reformed Journal Funding Incentive 2023 Page

Reformed JournalGenerous Reformed Christians Supporting Generous Reformed Thought Friends— We cannot produce the Reformed Journal without your help. This year we’re offering not one, not two, but three books for those who give a gift of at least $300 between now and the end of 2023. You’ll receive the books in early 2024. You will receive: Enemies in the Orchard A World War 2 Novel in Verse Enemies in the Orchard by Dana VanderLugt. Dana is a frequent contributor to...

Telling Stories in the Dark Page

Telling Stories in the DarkFinding Healing and Hope in Sharing Our Sadness, Grief, Trauma, and Pain Jeffrey Munroe Order on Bookshop.orgOrder on Amazon MenuDescriptionAuthorDiscussion GuideBook TrailerEndorsements About the Book Paperback: 208 pages Publisher: Reformed Journal Books & Front Edge Publishing Publish Date: January 30, 2024 Language: English ISBN-10: 1641801786 ISBN-13: 978-1641801782 Jeff Munroe is a masterful storyteller, brilliantly weaving together the compelling real-life stories of individuals who've been wounded by tragedy with experts' commentary on how to find insight, hope...

Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock and Mrs. Eugene Heideman Blog Post

There are many women of earlier generations – and still today – whose brilliance, talents and professional skills contribute significantly to the success of their male partner. And, in spite of their spouse’s acknowledgments, they often remain underestimated or largely overlooked.

From Preservation to Passion Blog Post

Why do the priest and the Levite pass by the man on the side of the road, and why does the Samaritan stop? What is going on inside their heads? What is going on inside their hearts? What is motivating them? Why did the first two keep going and the other one stop? While these may be simple questions to ask, they are elusive to answer, because the parable doesn’t tell us why these men do what they do. It…

Dr. Ida Blog Post

God unmistakably did call Dr. Ida. Though she was determined not to follow her father and his seven siblings into RCA mission work, determined not to spend her life in “dirty, dusty” India, she found she could do nothing else after being present one night at the successive deaths of three women in childbirth because their husbands refused for cultural and religious reasons to allow male doctors to attend them. As she heard the funeral drums the morning after all three died, she prayed, “God, if You want me to, I will spend the rest of my life in India trying to help these women.”

How the RCA and CRC Differ Blog Post

It is remarkable to me that the differences between the RCA and the CRC are epitomized by the names of their respective LGBTQA advocacy organizations. All One Body sounds idealistic, biblical, Pauline, seeking union, cohesion, and alignment, and suggesting “all for one and one for all.” By contrast, Room for All sounds looser, more practical, more eschatological, Lukan rather than Pauline, assuming multiplicity, variety, and space, and requiring the practice of embracing otherness. “All one body” trades on shared identity, while “room for all” trades on active hospitality. It’s wonderful how these groups are typically CRC and typically RCA.

A Word to Gatekeepers Blog Post

I’m no theologian, but I am a Bible-reading Christ follower, and after rereading the gospels recently, I can’t cite an instance where Jesus meets needy people honestly seeking him and keeps them away: Samaritans, prostitutes, lepers, adulterers, demon-possessed, tax collectors, prodigal sons. Regardless of their sins or ailments or reputations, he opens the gate to every one of them. It’s the Pharisees and, sometimes, the over-zealous disciples he reprimands for trying to close it.

Going to Graceland (Again) Blog Post

The takeaway is that the elder Paul Simon, the great music man of his time (move over, Bob), though now gray, half deaf, and of raspy voice, professes the mystery and allure of beauty amid the perplexing mystery of the human capacity to relish, exult, know, and express. Throughout Seven Psalms, in multiple forms ranging from chant to song story, Simon meditates on the strangeness of the reign (or rain) of the marvel of being alive in this resplendent cosmos.