Weekly on “Banner day,” my grandma Byker sat by the window watching for the mail. Besides the Lyon County Reporter, The Banner was about her only outside news.
Today, I get The Banner instantly, along with many competing publications. The only windows involved are the Microsoft kind.
Yet Grandma and I—and eight generations of Banner readers —share two things: a call to be a peculiar people and a banner that lifts our eyes. (For 160 years!)
A Peculiar People
Christian Reformed poet Stanley Wiersma wrote of peculiarity in his 1982 poem “Obedience.” He tells how his dad let an Iowa storm destroy the oats, rather than harvest on a Sunday. Decades later, when Stan’s dad wondered why Stan hadn’t joined the infamous “white flight,” Stan reminded him of that Sabbath. His dad instantly understood. It’s about faithfulness. An obedient, costly peculiarity—lived out, as Wiersma put it, by “muddlers like us.”
It’s true: we are muddlers, all. But we are also, as I memorized it, “a peculiar people that we may declare” the praises of Jesus (1 Pet. 2:9, KJV). Throughout CRCNA congregations, I see Jesus-praising peculiarity. Here are just a few examples:
Grace Community Chapel CRC (N.J.) began in 2005 with a dozen people. Now it has 1,000 worshipers, and they’re planting churches in New York, Australia, Japan, and Thailand.
Classis Southeast U.S. passed its decade goal by raising 46 church leaders; now they’re aiming to classically examine more than 200 new leaders by 2035.
Jesus is doing gospel multiplication.
Churches such as New Westminster CRC (B.C.) or CrossPointe CRC (Ont.) bring together distinct cultures in shared leadership. Latino Christian Reformed churches in Texas are partnering[1] [2] with churches in Iowa for church planting.
Jesus is braiding multi-ethnic gospel collaboration.
Sunlight CRC’s (Florida) congregants are hearing Scripture and memorizing the Psalms by setting them to modern music. North Blendon (Mich.) CRC is marinating in 150 sermons on 150 Psalms. Meanwhile, intentional prayer for gospel renewal abounds, as our prayer shepherd Jon Hoekema confirms. One binational prayer group finds CRC-ers from Langley to Toronto, Edmonton to Houston, interceding weekly.
My heart is ignited over these gospel signs and the future Jesus is preparing.
Lifted Eyes
That’s not to say any of this is easy. The more we make God’s will our own, through obedience, the more difficult peculiarity becomes.
The gospel we hold forth is unnatural—it proclaims a Savior over self, forgiveness over resentment, obscurity over fame, faithfulness over success, courage over comfort, holiness over hurriedness, and meekness over might. All of that feels costly. Peculiarity is a hard place to be. And so, peculiar people are regularly in bowshot of discouragement’s arrows.
Psalm 60:4 says, “But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.”
What is a banner, if not a rallying point?
What is a banner, if not a lifting of the eyes?
What is a banner, if not a word of courage in a place of discouragement?
Jesus is always the ultimate banner. He’s the rallying point, the eye-lifter, the Word that gives courage. And in the time of trial, like at the banqueting table, his banner over his bride is love.
From 1866 to 2026, from moveable type to mobile apps, let’s keep our eyes on him.
Dear readers, may you find that our denominational Banner continues to point to the ultimate banner of Jesus Christ, helping “muddlers like us” live as his peculiar people.
That is worth waiting by the window for—in Grandma’s day and in our day, too.
About the Author
Lora A. Copley is interim editor for The Banner. She also serves as director of Areopagus, a Christian Reformed ministry at Iowa State University. She and her husband, Joel, have four children and worship at Trinity CRC in Ames, Iowa.