April 2020
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
News
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First Christian Reformed Church in Denver, Colo., has up to 100 volunteers, including transportation coordinator Ed Schans, participate in hosting families experiencing homelessness.
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Parry Stelter, founder of Word of Hope Ministries and a member of Hope Christian Reformed Church in Stony Plain, Alta., is extending education in the work of reconciliation.
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Steven Timmermans, executive director of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, resigned his post, effective Feb. 20, 2020. Colin Watson, current director of denominational ministries, has been appointed by the Council of Delegates as acting executive director.
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The Council of Delegates met Feb. 18-21 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Acting on behalf of synod, the annual leadership meeting of the CRC, between the meetings of synod, it took action on several issues.
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Restructuring at the denominational governance level will see only ecclesiastical matters considered by the full Council of Delegates. Operational matters will be addressed separately on each side of the border.
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Pastor and historian Gerrit (Gary) Bieze died Dec. 15, after a brief struggle with cancer. He was 83.
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Hoping to draw people together out of the cold for a “family-friendly community event,” Georgetown CRC in Hudsonville, Mich., built an 18-hole miniature golf course through its hallways and open spaces.
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Maranatha Fellowship CRC in Farmington, N.M., broadcasts its pastor’s weekly sermons over the airwaves of a local radio station. It's a ministry that began because of one church member more than 10 years ago.
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The Christian Reformed Church’s Council of Delegates reviewed a theological paper it had requested, but returned the task for “broader cultural input.”
Columns
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An Austrian farmer faces the threat of execution for refusing to fight for the Nazis during World War II.
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An eerie experience sparks curiosity
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It will take more time and money, but kingdom building was never going to be fast or cheap.
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A journalist and humanitarian takes readers around the world to learn the crucial skill of empathy from the world’s bravest souls.
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One of the underlying principles of Reformed polity is mutual accountability—that church members and leaders are accountable to each other
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The butterfly is a perfect example of how God uses change for good.
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Change is rarely ever easy or painless. However, I am certain that there was never any ill intent on anyone’s part.
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El cambio rara vez es fácil o indoloro. Sin embargo, estoy seguro de que nunca hubo malas intenciones por parte de nadie.
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“Purity in the hands of a holy God is a powerful instrument.”
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While it’s overly simplistic to quickly quip, “You were created a human being, not a human doing,” it’s also imperative that somehow that message gets conveyed.
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When you take leftovers home, they’re almost always given in Styrofoam containers that can’t be recycled. What’s the most stewardly option?
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As a child I loved to pull my parents’ wedding album from under the bookshelf that held the fiction. I would dust it off and page through, pausing at my favorites. My parents’ wedding color was red, matching the church’s Christmas trees decorated with white lights and red bows. Candles lined the aisle and everything glowed.
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See how readers responded to recent Banner issues, articles, and columns.
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Recalling the story of Jesus’ birth in this season is fitting and good.
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A podcast produced by a diverse CRC church offers an ongoing conversation about anti-racism.
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We live in a spiritual warfare that has become intricately complicated and multi-layered. But the essence of this warfare, the main battlefield, is still about truth versus falsehood.
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A pastor and fan of TV’s Blue Bloods reflects on family bonding, loyalty, and respect.
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When it comes to technology, why do people assume older folks like me don’t get it?
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변화가 쉽거나 고통스럽지 않은 경우는 거의 없습니다. 그러나 저는 어느 쪽에도 절대로 나쁜 의도가 없었을 것이라고 확신합니다.
Our Shared Ministry
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Families are busy, and this new resource gives them the room and options for faith formation to “happen in all of the little moments of life.”
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There are a handful of scholars from around the world who are part of the Visiting Scholars Program this academic year.
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The hosts provided stories and interactive games to give attendees an idea of what life is like for the Fulani, a people group that has been particularly affected by ongoing conflict in West Africa.
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Nos exhortaría a enfrentar estos retos con el pleno conocimiento de que el Dios al que servimos sigue teniendo todo bajo control.
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I would urge us to face these challenges with the full knowledge that the God we serve continues to have everything under control.
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We are created for deep relationships with one another and with God, to be a blessed community that will bless the nations.
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When you were worshiping at church last Sunday, did you wonder if the police would come and arrest you for your faith?
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카드: 저는 여러분들께 우리가 섬기는 하나님께서 이 모든 것을 주관하심을 확실히 알고 이 도전을 마주하시기를 촉구합니다.
