When I mentioned to a friend that I think everyone should find a job they love, he responded that some people just need to make a living. Is this a cop-out?
Big Questions
Our panel of contributors replies to questions from readers on topics like these: ethics, relationships, missional living, faith formation, vocation/calling, digital life, church/Bible/doctrine, and stewardship. Got a question you’d like answered?
What does “going to church” have to do with being missional?
Should Christians support Israel no matter what it does to the Palestinians?
Is it OK to charge my adult children rent as a means of teaching responsibility?
How should we read and find meaning in highly technical parts of the Bible, such as the laws presented in Leviticus or the censuses and lists of Numbers or 1 Chronicles?
Who goes to synod as voting delegates? What change did Synod 2023 adopt?
Someone I care about is unemployed and looking for work. How can I best help them?
I’m a boomer who has started to use emojis. Is that a bad thing?
If God loves the world (John 3:16), why are we told not to love the world (1 John 2:15)?
What is cultural appropriation? Why is it wrong? How do we avoid it?
My teen is always coming up with foolish ideas, and we end up arguing endlessly. Any thoughts on how to break the cycle?
Many young families have enrolled their children in various sports programs, which are healthy but often conflict with Sunday church services. Consequently, we don’t see these families in church often. What can be done? How should the church handle this?
What is the primary role of the church in God’s mission?
Does God want us to create computers with artificial intelligence even though he gave us perfectly good brains to do the work ourselves?
Our Christian Reformed church called a minister from the Reformed Church in America, and the RCA church in town called a CRC minister. Is that allowed?
My college-aged children seem to focus mostly on hobbies. I want them to find joy and fulfillment, but I’m concerned about their ability to pay their bills in the future. How do I bring up my concerns with them?
James 2:26 (“Faith without deeds is dead”) seems to contradict Galatians 2:16 (we are “justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law”).
In my 95 years of attending Christian Reformed churches, I have almost never heard a CRC pastor include an invitation to commit to Jesus or offer any follow-up for those who might be seeking. Why?
I have been to places (concerts, fireworks, city streets) where a person is yelling out the gospel to the sinners walking by.
Relationships can withstand tremendous amounts of hard truths, but they collapse quickly under the weight of deception.
Why do some Christians who are generally opposed to abortion allow for abortion in the case of pregnancy due to rape? Isn’t that a double standard?
We need to know that our prayers make a difference, but prayer is not magic or manipulation.
Here are three of my current favorite apps and a bit about why I like them. Search for them online by name if you want to check them out.
Are officebearers in the Christian Reformed Church required to teach only penal substitutionary atonement theory, or may they explain other atonement theories?