March 2024
Download a full pdf of this issue below or find links to every feature, news, column, review, and Our Shared Ministry article included in this edition. Not the date you wanted? Find issues back to January 2016 here or use the search function at the top to find articles going back to 2005. To find something even older, The Banner archives are maintained at Calvin College's Hekman Library.
Features
What’s in a Name?
Complementarianism, Egalitarianism, and the CRC’s Stance on Women’s Ecclesiastical RolesREAD MORESynod wrestled again and again and again with differing positions on what the Bible says about women. In the end, the CRC’s position cannot be described as either
News
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More than 60 Christian Reformed ministry leaders, local church leaders, and members met virtually Jan. 27 to hear and discuss stories and strategies of church planting in Canada.
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Gateway Community Church in Abbotsford, B.C., partners with BC Housing to run an emergency shelter. It isn’t all success stories, but volunteers say they still experience hope.
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Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Cornwall, Ont., began sponsoring refugee families in 2015 and has grown organically through those connections.
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The Reformed Church of America’s Commission on Christian Unity meeting with a delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA in October included CRC pastor Anthony Elenbaas.
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The 2023 Christian Reformed congregational survey asked participants to describe the area in which they live. From nine choices, here’s the percentage of respondents for each type of setting.
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Journeymen is a men’s speaker series at Elmhurst (Ill.) Christian Reformed Church where guys see how “God is at work in the mundane things in our lives.”
In Memoriam: Rev. H. David Schuringa
1952-2023READ MOREA pastor, seminary professor, and leader of prison ministry, David Schuringa, had a commitment to the Christian Reformed confessions and an impact beyond the denomination. He died Sept. 14, 2023, at age 70.
In Memoriam: Rev. Jerry L. Alferink
1945-2023READ MOREDescribed as compassionate, affectionate, and generous, Jerry Alferink was a pastor and chaplain who loved preaching. He died Dec. 29 at age 78.
In Memoriam: Rev. Lugene (Archie) Bazuin
1926-2024READ MOREA pastor to fellow pastors, who was passionate about preaching, Archie Bazuin lived to 97 years. He died Jan. 12.
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After a three-year hiatus, an ecumenical choir festival in the Eastern Ontario village of Frankford is “back for good.”
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Columns
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Sospecho que no se puede amar a Dios adecuadamente sin amar al prójimo, ni amar al prójimo adecuadamente sin amar a Dios.
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How can a study of the Greek goddess Artemis help us interpret one of the most baffling passages in Scripture?
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Bavinck discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches to preaching, then insists that they belong together in a balanced, biblical approach.
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A distinction between homosexuality as an orientation and homosexualism as explicit and overt homosexual practice is central to this position.
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I suspect you cannot properly love God without loving your neighbor nor properly love your neighbor without loving God.
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My elderly mother has little interest in discussing details that might help us plan a meaningful funeral service. Any suggestions?
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I have faithfully supported a missionary all my adult life. With retirement around the corner, I’m not sure I can continue. Is there something I should do before my donations end?
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I’m in my mid-50s, and it feels like my faith and my interest in faith matters have stalled. What’s my problem?
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See some of our top picks for reading and watching for March 2024.
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His gaunt, cancer-ridden, AIDS-diseased body testified to the truth: he was dying. There was no doubt about it.
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See how readers responded to recent Banner issues, articles, and columns.
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The Apostles’ Creed says Jesus “descended to hell.”
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Nature enthusiasts and scientists have been studying snow for a long time. You can too!
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Is this defeat? A church razed after it was raised in joy and promise decades ago?
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I was so happy as a child that I thought, “There are two kinds of people in the world: Indians, and those who want to be Indians.” (“Indian” was the common term for Indigenous people at the time.)
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I used to get this question (or some variation of it) all the time during my seven years as a youth pastor.
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진정으로 하나님을 사랑한다면 이웃도 사랑해야 하고, 이웃을 사랑한다면 그 마음은 하나님 사랑으로 이어집니다.
Our Shared Ministry
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ReFrame Ministries’ Kids Corner hosts are kids themselves.
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Como denominación, nos hemos comprometido a "escuchar las voces de cada generación, moldeándonos juntos para el ministerio".
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Learn about one woman’s experiences working with Cohort Central America, a program that brings together young adults from Latin America and North America to live in community, serve in a grassroots ministry, and engage in deep spiritual formation.
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As a denomination, we have committed to “listen to the voices of every generation, shaping us for ministry together.”
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World-changers from every generation live and work among us. Here are a few young people we’ve seen do interesting and inspiring things for God’s kingdom.
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우리 교단은 “함께 사역하는 우리가 되기 위해 모든 세대의 목소리에 귀를 기울이겠다”고 약속했습니다.