Skip to main content
All Posts By

Dana VanderLugt

Featured

The Ministry of (Shutting Up and) Listening

If we listen closely, we may find that God does not view people as problems to be solved, and that right answers are often an illusion. We may find that the gift of salvation was never something to be earned by our hands — or rationalized by our words. We may find that for the Spirit to speak, we may need to shut our mouths.
April 3, 2023
ChurchFeatured

Standing on their Shoulders: An interview with Marchiene Rienstra

As the decades go by, pioneers are forgotten. It’s important to acknowledge we stand on the shoulders of those who came before. And, it’s very encouraging, if you’re one of those pioneers, to see the progress. We’re not doing this work for ourselves, but for everyone coming after us. I remember a conversation I had with another church leader about moving ahead, even when there isn’t consensus. He said to me, “We can’t always wait until we have a convoy.”…
October 4, 2021
FeaturedMemoir

When Dawn Breaks Us

Anyone who has waited and prayed for dawn knows . . . the moments in which we wait and pray for light are hard fought, painful, anxiety-inducing. It is difficult to push forward, to hold on, to hold out hope.
May 24, 2021
Book Reviews

Subtracting from the Noise

In my classroom, a groggy eighth-grade student confesses that he was up until 2 a.m. watching YouTube videos. My seventh-grade son declares his parents “the meanest ever” when we disconnect his gaming device during the school week. My 6-year-old asks when he will finally get a cell phone. I am quick to be indignant, annoyed and head-shakingly judgmental at the misled youth around me, but, admittedly, I am not much better. My phone beeps, and I drop the dinner I…
January 1, 2019