The Banner

While the person you meet in the grocery store may not recognize the denominational name “Christian Reformed Church in North America,” you can find common ground by simply saying your church is part of the Christian church.

Patti Rokus has produced another remarkable picture book combining her visionary rock sculptures, engaging narrative, and Scripture texts to tell the story of Jesus.

In this gorgeous album, singer-songwriter and mandolinist Andrew Marlin travels through variations of longing and loss.

Roger Van Harn, an ordained pastor of the Christian Reformed Church for 42 years, died on Feb. 9. He was 86.

If you mention genealogy in a group, it’s likely someone has had some experience with it—or knows someone who has. You’re also likely to pick up on some friendly competitiveness about how far back their roots could be traced.

Eating the “clean fifteen,” seeking out grass-fed beef—has been tiring. And so far it has not fixed the world.

We know the gospel writers are only rubbing our noses in human limitations because they are setting us up to watch God blow those limitations out of the water. 

This spring The Banner is saying goodbye to two longtime staff members. Kristy Quist is leaving the Mixed Media editor role March 22. Judy Hardy, associate editor, will retire May 31.

Jerry Frens, who was still active as a part-time chaplain, died unexpectedly and tragically on Feb. 15, after being struck by a vehicle near his home. He was 75.

First inspired by a summer music festival in South Dakota, Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Le Mars, Iowa, has been holding its winter Praise Band Fest for the past 15 years.

Captain Marvel moderates the use of her gifts by conviction, not convention.

Over the course of 150 years, three strong women from the same Michigan family are drawn into racially charged relationships and confront different kinds of racism in this potent debut novel.

Should we celebrate that parks are cleaner, that creativity is blossoming, that local business is thriving? Or should we mourn that the most vulnerable members of our city are quietly being forced out of their homes as rents shoot up and homes become less and less affordable? Can we do both?

While we may no longer sing from the same hymnal or even in the same language, there is much more in our worship that unites than divides. 

The album combines high energy music and reflective pieces, all centered on experiencing God’s mighty presence. 

In his early 20s, Morgan Bolt was diagnosed with a rare, incurable pediatric cancer. A couple of years into the experience, he decided to write about it.

A recommendation I suggest is that synod commit to scheduling overtures and appeals on Mondays so that geographically distant synod attendees can attend without missing seven days of work (“Task Force Recommends Refinements for Annual Synods,” Feb 2019). 

You’ve probably played hide-and-seek outside with your friends. But did you know that some animals are great at hiding too? A walking stick insect can blend in with its surroundings by pretending to be a stick. But some animals can hide by changing colors! Here are a few hide-and-seek champions.

God calls us in remarkably diverse and unpredictable ways. Because this is so, there is no simple or generalizable formula for discerning what task, career, or domestic positions God is calling us to occupy. 

Resonate Global Mission, the mission agency of the Christian Reformed Church, will be consolidating the Canadian national director and U.S. national director positions into one position.

Rev. Joe Kamphuis, pastor of Chelwood Christian Reformed Church in Albuquerque, N.M., and chaplain to the New Mexico Air National Guard, will be deployed for six months to Kuwait this July.

With characteristic wisdom and logic, author Timothy Keller describes how the book of Jonah is “an ingenious and artfully crafted work of literature.” 

These sad, sad stories lead to a deeper understanding of what happens to a child who is caught up in the spell of a predator.