In a time when public discourse continues to reveal deep wounds around race and dignity, the Church must not be silent. We are witnessing what

Yes, I knew I had broken the rules, and I admitted I’d made bad choices. But that was not the end of it. I was

What I’ve learned from Minnesotans is that we take neighborism seriously. There is no illusion of safety here – we have realized we can’t buy

The Bertsch house stands shoulder to shoulder with many others, all well-maintained and landscaped. Passersby would hardly pay it much attention. But should they pause

In conversing with resistant conservative Christians, it probably won’t work to start with details about polar icecaps, the fate of some endangered salamander, or a

When sovereignty is used in church, it is typically code for a God who is distant, enigmatic, and unaccountable.

To bear God’s image is not a description of capacity. It is a description of relationship. Human beings are made to reflect God’s character, to

I spent a full semester during my doctoral program in a supervised study of the book of Matthew, and I can confirm from my experience

That conversation transformed my muddle into stark clarity. Belief was the key, and I was a believer. The next day, I sought out Dov Wartofsky

If industrial fracking sends pressurized liquid underground to loosen and harvest fossil fuels, “attentional fracking” does the same thing to our minds. Every algorithm trying

Total dependence on others for my daily care stripped away ego and any sense of agency. I was immobile, unable to have a shower or

The God of Grampa’s living room was dour—though, to be fair, the light that poured in through the picture window—that illuminated the whole scene—had a

I suppose many attitudes surround people’s work. I can truly say that I enjoyed almost all the jobs I had. Even “humping” freight on the

Not long ago, I was part of a group from our church that accompanied Javier to the local office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

I was raised with a freedom to ask questions about my faith. I didn’t have the sort of fundamentalist baggage that I now discover many

While I grieved for the broken relationship between church and pastor, I was also excited about this opportunity for myself. After the initial three weeks

I remember vividly the day my death-denying illusions were shattered—it happened when I was a senior in high school. A friend had driven home from

“O Taste and See” was written two decades before Levertov would explicitly identify as a Christian, yet she already intuited that focusing on this world

Still, when I compare Old and New Testament lamenting, I can’t shake the sense that the coming of Jesus changed the role of lament for

There was a time in my career when the father of one of my students (in a different decade and a different state) requested a

All of us spend much of our lives constructing the protection we think we need to survive and thrive. These layers of defense work well

But Jeff wasn’t asking for a dissertation-level, academic deep dive on any of these claims. He was just curious about the general consensus out there

For much of my pastoral life, I’ve conversed in living rooms, at park benches, and in bars and cafés with people wondering about Christian faith,

Calvin probably wouldn’t agree with my assessment of the evil tumor. For Calvin, the providence of God both sent the tumor and provided the surgeon,

Earlier this summer, I wrote my last letter to a boyhood friend. He was executed 11 days after I mailed it. In his letter to

Walter was one who lived at his own crossroads of shame and grace, light and dark, brokenness and redemption. In Jungian terms, he befriended his

I had never met either of the two Senators from Illinois, or the mayor of Chicago, or even the mayor of my hometown, Cicero, and

Perhaps the rest of the world should not be overly concerned about a few dozen white South Africans who pretend to be fleeing a nonexistent

The demonization of pro-Palestinian voices in the United States has risen dramatically. Zionists have attacked critics of Israel’s policies and practices by conflating anti-Zionism with

The kids were silent. Eerily silent. Quite possibly more silent than four kids aged five through ten confined to car seats have ever been in

The 21st century has transformed busyness into a deeply subjective experience. You can feel busy even when you aren’t physically overburdened. This new busyness is

Despite its name, the Rule of St. Benedict is not actually a collection of rules. It is the constitutional document for Benedictine monasteries. It

The Reformed belief in the complementarity of the books of revelation offers a third way. It invites believers to open their hearts and search for

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

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

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

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 invites us to get clear about what our values are in relation to time, so that when we feel the tug between fast

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

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

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

This summer, the summer of 1962, was different. This was the summer of the n-word. It was spoken often, not only on Green Street, but

Beneath all he modeled and accomplished, Francis was trying to change the culture of the Vatican, and of the complex structures, institutions, and patterns of

When the debate over human sexuality in the CRC picked up and Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer 108 provided a mechanism to single out and

Hermeneutics, the science and art of biblical interpretation, is just that, a science and art. It requires deep thought, and there is a lot of

I couldn’t make sense of the signage. The further I walked up the trail, the further I was from the end. Then I realized that

The table signifies many things, including a rhythm, a routine, and the promise that this is the bread of life and the cup of salvation.

If I had wanted to become a fluent German speaker, I should have started before I was ten years old, which seems to be the

Before I go any further, I should clarify that I’m not channeling Critical Race Theory or parroting something I picked up in a DEI training.

It may have been The Secular City by Harvey Cox that stirred the pot. Five years after the book’s debut in 1965, a yellow school

I have no idea how to be a decent soon-to-be-former-mother-in-law. My local library has no self-help books on the topic. I find no such books

Because synod has left no space for other opinions, the end result is going to be disaffiliation. The fact that our congregation was even in

I wonder if I kept that cup of July 2023 yogurt because I was savoring a memory or because I was fearing loss. But there

Let’s look back at 1925 to see the portents of the year but also its other possibilities, to compare what looked big at the time

A raucous mob of religious stalwarts gathered on a day centuries ago outside a palace. Like many of those gathered in the Capitol on January

The God of the scriptures does not have a heart of steel; God has a heart of flesh, a bleeding heart, and God has eyes

While many art classes were designed to enhance creativity, this drawing class mostly helped us learn to draw realistically and accurately. I enjoyed this extended

Sabbath rest offers a glimpse of eternity. Hebrews 4:9-10 reminds us, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters

It was Carter’s election as President which made “evangelical” and “born again” public terms rather than the private vocabulary of a minority religious community. Ken

We live in the tension of God’s sovereignty and terrible things happening. We live in the mystery of God’s unfolding plan for creation’s salvation and

Though I’ve had my share of compliments on my preaching, there was nary a mention at my retirement dinner of any particular sermon. “Being there”

Baku is a city of 2.5 million people, halfway around the world from my home in Michigan. What would my knowledge of tree names in

Most days I walk the loop through the cemetery of the First Reformed Church in Pompton Plains, N.J., where my wife Stacey is the Co-Pastor.

On a Damascus Road of sorts, seeing beyond the proof text, I’m able to say to myself and anyone who’ll listen, “Yes, really!” Come cancer,

Aging and retirement are distinct concepts, of course, but they frequently intersect. For clarity’s sake, let’s agree that aging is a natural biological process that

Job hopes that God will long for him and come calling. In short, he hopes that God will remember him. In the life and ministry

He opened our eyes to what we all knew but had forgotten: that prior to the Reformation, the Catholic Church had devalued the sermon in

Words are absorbent. Used often enough in partisan slogans or ad campaigns, or by certain religious groups or by “influencers” (itself a word with a

My journey to Palestine and Israel began 20 years ago. A Palestinian Christian, Claudette Habesch, then the Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem, spoke at a

What now? That’s been the question on my mind since the 2024 Synod of the Christian Reformed Church, and it’s the question on the mind

I am teaching a first-year seminar this semester and my chosen course title is “Think.” We also weave a “big question” into our course. My

“You know that phrase, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?’ What if… what doesn’t kill you… just doesn’t kill you. Maybe it has nothing

Editor’s Note: We were interested in getting an excerpt from Chuck DeGroat’s forthcoming book Healing What’s Within: Coming Home to Yourself and to God When

Author’s Note: Jack Ridl is a frequent commenter on the Reformed Journal. I thought our readers would enjoy knowing more about him. When he was

My body rhythms don’t allow for late night talk television, though some time ago after staying up watching an NCAA playoff game, I flipped channels

In his speech to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina declared to broad approval, “The devil came to Pennsylvania

In my first job after college, I taught first grade at a public elementary school. Curiously, given the small size of the rural, Louisiana town

In the Rev. Dr. Jean Stairs’s book, Listening for the Soul: Pastoral Care and Spiritual Direction, the author argues for a collective movement by clergy

Some time has passed since June’s Christian Reformed Church Synod 2024. The Reformed Journal reached out to several people from across the CRC asking them

At 5a.m. Monday, I am on my second watch, trying not to shiver. The sun rose moments ago, a laser point anticipated by hours of

In our swimming pool, the beetles in our backyard hang on for dear life. Each the size of a mini-chocolate chip, I find little congregations

Author’s note: I had the privilege recently of offering a remembrance of Mary Heideman at her funeral. With her family’s permission, I present a modified

The past two years I have adopted a new title: “Pastor’s Wife.” Now, this declaration is a bit odd, because technically I’ve been a pastor’s

Most kids my age wouldn’t have found a lengthy biography of a medical missionary gripping summer reading. I wasn’t a particularly pious child, though my

Compassion Fatigue In his landmark book The Prophets, Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the character of God: God loves the people of the world fiercely and

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church, by Abram Van Engen. Abram’s book releases on

Compared to ten years ago, the Reformed Church in America is missing many churches that used to be part of its organizational structure. Many churches—and

The Toad Our home, like so many Midwestern houses, has a basement. It’s where Stacey and I have an office. My desk faces an exterior

Alice Walker’s short story “The Welcome Table” introduces an old, poor Black woman in the South, who, one Sunday, decides to worship at the church

Scriptural Foundation When the Prophet Elijah flees from Jezebel after a bit of a triumph in his ministry, he winds up in a cave at

As part of Black History Month, my wife and I attended a church-sponsored theatre showing of Origin, a movie based on the story of Isabel

The biblical portrayal of darkness, explored in Part One of this essay, is multivalent. While some passages portray darkness as a negative force trying to

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on applying a biblical understanding of darkness to one’s life. Part Two will run next

The Lodi bus was the oldest bus in the Eastern Christian School Association fleet. We knew our lowly status just from riding that bus. The

It’s hard to write about your spiritual journey when you’re feeling a little bit lost. I don’t quite know where I am so how can

During basketball season, I attended a Rutgers University men’s basketball game. Perhaps now that Rutgers is a member of the Big 10 conference, bombastic openings

Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility (also known as MTU) might seem like a normal prison from the outside, but on the inside, the culture is

No doubt you’ve seen the news recently that Donald Trump is hawking the “God Bless America” Bible. How did we get to the point where

My 96-year-old mother entered hospice care a few months ago. For a while, it seemed as though she would go on forever, even though we

In County Antrim, on the north shores of Northern Ireland, lies a pathway into the sea. Thousands of interlocking columns rise from the water, forming

She seemed ancient, but she was only as old as I am now (mid-40s). She wore her hair in gray ringlets, was fond of muumuus,

“What!? You finished a novel?” “I did. And what’d you do during Covid?” “Well, I did read more.” No surprise there. Stuck at home, Americans

My wife and I live in Maryville, Tennessee, where she retired from Maryville College, a venerable Presbyterian institution (founded 1819). When people ask where Maryville

As the flame caught a red edge of the cloth, I thought about my heroic uncle and his military service. I remembered, too, my childhood

Editor’s Note: This is another in our occasional series of spiritual autobiographies exploring the question: How do we come to be the ones we are?

The 19th century hymn “My Life Flows on in Endless Song” ends its refrain by asking the question, “How can I keep from singing?” Certainly

On Tuesday, January 30, we publish Telling Stories in the Dark by Jeff Munroe. It will be our first Reformed Journal Book. We’re hoping it’s

I’m a college professor, which means I have a front row seat to the experiences of young adults. I love the job because I get

Jill and I spent the second half of the summer preparing for our own version of “semester at sea.” We purchased a used 27-foot Ranger

At the beginning of every Christmas season, I descend the stairs to the basement and search the backroom for a large brown box marked “Christmas.”

Now that Christmas is in sight and the Advent calendar is near the kitchen table, there are several families in particular who aren’t dreaming of

“Only one man and one woman can be joined in a biblical marriage.” That is a familiar refrain in the debate over same-sex marriage, an

Her Mixed Marriage, Hell, Olsen’s Sign of the Cross, and a Statue When I pray with Janet, and with Olsen, too, I worry about betraying

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 18:3 In words that still

Today marks one decade since I came out publicly for the first time. It has been a long journey with many emotional moments—from crying in

My feet pound over the soft red velvet lining the floor. The pew creaks as I jump up, my knees on the soft seat cushion

Part 1: Someone Took My Spot Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Part two will run next Monday, September 25. I

Editor’s note: We at the Reformed Journal are very excited about the release this week of Dana VanderLugt’s book Enemies in the Orchard, and invited

Yesterday my husband, Steve, returned home from a long weekend out of town, so we resumed our regular practice of watching an old-school sitcom in

Editor’s Note: On May 27, the Reformed Journal published “We Have to Talk About Economics” by Debra Rienstra. Stephen Smith and Todd Steen, professors of

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series of responses to the Christian Reformed Church Synod of 2023. Leonard Vander Zee As a

Editor’s Note: We invited several members of the Christian Reformed Church to respond to this summer’s Synod. The first response, by Nicholas Wolterstorff, is on

Editor’s Note: In July of 2012, Jennifer Holberg posted a blog on this site called “Nourishing Narratives.” Eleven years later, she’s developed those thoughts into

Hilghe Stede I didn’t have the heart to part with it: a silver-plated cream and sugar set with matching tray, now tarnished by age. Judy

Editor’s Note: This was first delivered as the commencement address at Western Theological Seminary on April 29, 2023. Words of Paul to the Philippians: ‘Be

Image I: Power as Spiritual Danger On break from college, after a hot day in construction, I came home to my parents’ house, exchanged my

Editor’s Note: On this Memorial Day, we remember Michael Scott Fetterman, who passed away at age 31 after a 20-month long battle with colon cancer.

I was meant to walk these rails from the very first day. It gives me a sense of leaving without ever going away. –Brooks Williams,“

Most Christians have heard of Taizé, a Christian community in France, dedicated to peace and reconciliation. We may have been moved by the music of

Early in February, the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire recorded overnight wind gusts of over 100 miles per hour and a temperature of

One of the common responses to the decline of Christianity in America is to note that it is not our fault. The decline is evidence

Spring was doing its annual tease, with signs of hopeful daffodils peeking through unforgiving snow. April still looked like the worst of March, and not

There’s a scene in Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, where Stephen Kumalo and his guide Msimangu, both Black pastors in search of Kumalo’s lost

“Faith is not a question of the existence or non-existence of God. It is believing that love without reward is valuable.” Emmanuel Levinas “We must

At a leadership training event I attended in January, we were invited to: “talk to someone you love tonight. Ask them: ‘what is one thing

The bird song is different in Northern California. A year ago, I was sitting on the couch in my Holland, Michigan, living room straining to

Grubs  Every year it seems, a southwest wind blows the seed of a new plant into my yard, a small plot, about 1,500 square feet,

Here is Job 29 from the NRSV: Job again took up his discourse and said: A“O that I were as in the months of old,as

“The Reformation achieved great popular success because it satisfied, or promised to satisfy, the needs of many people who earnestly desired the consolations of the

We have about 30 beautiful blue spruce surrounding our yard. When we moved in, the previous owners told us a local tree company helped provide

I lie in bed on a summery morning as a deluge of early morning light slants through the window and floats across the bedroom like

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the epilogue of the forthcoming book, Following Jesus in a Warming World by Kyle Meyaard-Schaap (Feb. 2023, InterVarsity Press).

A peculiar thing has happened of late to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He’s become a hero to white conservatives. On second thought, “hero” is

Winn Collier’s A Burning in My Bones, the authorized biography of Eugene Peterson, has been a sweet revelation, even though I knew Eugene, and his wife,

To Know What You See, Not See What You Know We need the stories of the Gospels more than ever as our churches bicker and

There was a time when going to the airport was fun, a cause for celebration and a source of good memories. Long before shoe bombs

Editor’s Note: Last week we posted Syd Hielema’s prophetic and visionary “The Church of Jesus in 2047: Life After the Decade from Hell.” Wes Granberg-Michaelson

Editor’s Note: Earlier this fall, we invited Syd Hielema to imagine what the church might look like in 25 years. Syd’s essay kicks off a

I was sitting alone in a church pew as a visitor, newly retired after 30 years of parish ministry. We were up north in Michigan

Editor’s Note: The following is the result of conversations between Katie Roelofs, an adoptee and pastor, and Emily Helder, an adoption researcher, and clinical psychologist.

The matter of disaster was on young Sam Jensen’s mind lately, and not disasters of nature, unless his younger sisters—whose missteps cast a dark shadow

On Friday, Tom and I are ferried from the Birch Lake Campground boat launch to Loonsong Cabin. The freshwater spray from the bounce of the

Jake first noticed her the day after she moved in to the home. She bore a remarkable resemblance to his first and only wife—the white

Editor’s Note: The ethics of abortion are contentious, and many of the loudest voices belong to men. We invited five women who are CRC and

It’s been a quiet week in Oak Forest, my hometown, although there’s been a lot of hoopla over at my local church, the Hopeful Reformed

A Saint’s Final Request Jim walked into my office and slowly closed the door. “I have a story for you,” he said. While studying at

The two synods are over, one for the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and one for the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC). Much

In his address to the United States Congress in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the destruction unfolding from Russia’s current invasion. Attempting to mobilize

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. But this is the bread that comes down

In the beginning was the Word. So begins the gospel of John. And so, according to John, begins everything. In the beginning, God created the

Editor’s Note: Dr. Eugene Heideman died on Sunday, May 15, 2022. A leading theological voice in the Reformed Church in America, Gene was raised in

I’ve been looking for a theory of everything that explains the madness around us. I’m a big fan of Kristin Kobes DuMez. I was in

We are coming up rapidly on the 125th anniversary of the delivery of the Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary by Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch

It’s nearly impossible to have a civil and discerning conversation about abortion in today’s polarized political environment. If you write something on the subject, you

The Human Sexuality Report (HSR) coming to the Christian Reformed Church Synod this June recommends that the church condemn “homosexual sex” (among other things) as

From the summer of 1995 until the summer of 1996, I lived in the moshav, Nes Ammim, a cooperative agricultural settlement located in the Asher

The news slammed my phone on Monday, December 6, 2021. Emails buzzing, calls ringing, texts pinging. This was followed by group chats from friends in

Stories are incredibly important. Think of your favorite stories. How do they continue to impact you? Now recall some not-so-favorite ones. Why do they hold

A number of my family members and friends who know about my involvement in Russia and Ukraine have called me to discuss what is going

“This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!” exulted the cast of the 1967 musical Hair. And what lay ahead for the world?  “Harmony

Thomas Lynch has been called “The Bard of the Midwest.” He operated the Lynch and Sons Funeral Home in Milford, Michigan, for decades, and is

Most people do not read poetry. According to a 2018 survey, only 12 percent of adults in the United States (nearly 28 million people) had

Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?  – Elisha, 2 Kings 2 I’ve been thinking lately about the link between memory and sound—the aural

On his first day in office, President Biden sat at the Resolute Desk and signed a flurry of executive orders, many of them intentionally reversing

I remember one thing from the film A Beautiful Mind: the scene where Alicia Nash is about to leave her brilliant but paranoid schizophrenic husband,