Featured Articles
On the Streets of Minneapolis
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 it, that we have to be it for one another. And what I’ve learned from people of faith here is much the same – we can’t just talk about our faith, we have to risk it on behalf of one another.
Featured Articles
The Bombing of Darmstadt, the Human Heart, and Hope Rising from the Ashes
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 and look more closely, they would see a vision. Should they listen more carefully, they would hear voices from the past. A house is not inert; its construction is not silent. From this house, the bricks cry out and tell a tale of the inner workings of the human heart, a tale of darkness and light.
How to Build Creation-Care Bridges With Conservative Christians
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
Resolute: Nadia, Protests, and Sovereignty Reconsidered
When sovereignty is used in church, it is typically code for a God who is distant, enigmatic, and unaccountable.
Play: From Usefulness to Belovedness
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
How Reading Matthew—And a Professor’s Smirk—Changed My Life
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
1948: The Christmas I Grew Into a Man
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
Our Attention Is All We Have
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
Latest from the Blog
Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.
One Body, Many Lives: Fetal Microchimerism and Our Interconnectedness
My husband commented that the umbilical cord stretched across the generations. I don’t think he knew how spot on he was.
Honey, what is Epee-fanny?
The Wonderful World of Disney became OK to watch after the evening service, though no explanation for the change was ever suggested.
Numb, Dumb, or Something Else?
On a severe January morning like this one. They wrestled him to the ground. Beat him. Pepper-sprayed him. And shot him 10 times.
Permission Not to be Outraged Today
Anger can only move us so far before it consumes us or those around us.
In the Words of Its Making
Some of those words are words we already know: I’m sorry. I love you. You are welcome here. Here’s some dinner. I’m here for you.
These Are Hands That Can Do Good
I offer you a moment to breathe. Ruach. A moment to practice. A moment not to drown out the noise, but to live within it.
The Discomfort of Facing Injustice
Inviting young adults into justice-centered work not only recognizes their voices, it shows them a church that genuinely cares about the mission of Jesus.
Allen Levi and “Theo of Golden”
I stayed in the room the next night. My family was right—he was fantastic. Besides his obvious talent, what made him fantastic was his humility.
Reviews
Howard Schaap’s Brooding Upon the Waters
At one point, Milt simply stops praying before meals. “The loss of Dad’s prayer voice,” Howard writes, “was an absence, like losing one of your
Sacrificed for Souls: A Missionary Kid Confronts the Legacy of Missions
If missions are to be faithful, they must be willing to relinquish certainty, confront patriarchy and racism, and place human flourishing—especially that of children—at the
Ministers, Not Messiahs
There is a pervasive and complex issue of pastoral workaholism – where unrealistic expectations and relentless demands erode spiritual vitality, personal well-being, and family relationships.
Genesis Without Anachronism: Walton’s Case for a Contextual Reading of Genesis
John H. Walton’s New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis: Advances in the Origins Debate, written in collaboration with his son, J. Harvey Walton,
The Spiritual Practice of Reading
As I read, I kept thinking of magical reading moments in my life.
Alone: More Than a Weight-Loss Show
Alone provides an interesting and subtle contribution to a broad critique of the American dream.
Reconciliation Ecology: Reconsidering Restoration
The problem with restoration ecology is that, although populated with dedicated researchers and practitioners, it struggles to make its case in the broader North American
Poetry
Doxology
The room ticks, a cry from the bassinet, time’s mouth speaks again …
Preliminary
My sons are on a mission, wielding sticks and nixing iridescent bubbles …
Remorse Code
I used to want you to understand all of it: the dripping roof, stalagmites rising up like dandelions …
Dwell
In the future we will live in pods of reclaimed wood and very white bed-linens …
Passing the Peace
On good weeks it happens twice. Once on Sunday morning, sunlit sanctuary …
Bearing Witness
ICE arrested someone on my block. Walking my dog, I saw the witness first …
Podcasts
“Doxology” by Ali Leon
In this week’s episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Ali Leon about her poem “Doxology.” Ali is a poet
“Preliminary” by Steven Searcy
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Steven Searcy about his poem “Preliminary.” Steven is the author of Below
“Dwell” by Hannah Notess
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Hannah Faith Notess about her poem “Dwell.” Hannah is a poet
“Be Opened” by Deb Baker
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Deb Baker about her poem “Be Opened.” Deb lives in New
“A Famine of Words” by Steven Peterson
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviewed Steven Peterson about his poem “A Famine of Words.” Steven is
“After Denise Levertov’s Essays” by Caroline J. Simon
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Caroline J. Simon, PhD, about her poem “After Denise Levertov’s Essays.”