November 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
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Language is an imperfect means of human communication, and societies are constantly assessing or adding words to convey complex ideas.
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The evening sky was rapidly darkening as my family frantically huddled outside our broken-down van on the rocky shoulder of a busy mountain highway.
News
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With weekly visits to a nearby juvenile detention center and annual trips to support inmates and programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, the prison ministry team of Elmhurst (Ill.) CRC has a wide reach.
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Congregations facing hard choices about what to do with underutilized, high-maintenance sacred structures heard from real estate experts at a recent conference on the future of church buildings.
In Memoriam: Rev. Anthony (Tony) Begay
1938-2024READ MOREPastor, chaplain, and Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Anthony Begay was known for his deep faith and kind and generous spirit. He died Sept. 5 at age 86.
In Memoriam: Rev. Vernon F. Geurkink
1936-2024READ MOREVern Geurkink was an academic who sought to be a person of integrity. He had a lifelong commitment to justice and mercy. Vern, 88, died Aug. 2.
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The number of ministers of the Word serving outside of congregational ministry in 2023 is more than nine times greater than in 1950.
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Eight ministers are releasing their calls, seven congregations have begun disaffiliation, and one church is affiliating with the Christian Reformed Church in North America, in moves directly tied to recent synodical decisions on human sexuality.
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Mission Church in Tuscon, Ariz., seized the opportunity to help a community member re-establish stable housing when an adjacent building was ripe for transformation.
Columns
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This year, one of the most impactful moments was not part of the official conference at all.
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We are constantly told that voting is our civic duty. Is this true? And if voting is a civic duty, is it also a moral duty?
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I suspect that you want to see God at work—even long to—but the possibility often seems quite elusive.
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Fall into reading, from a creative memoir by Charlie Peacock and his wife to a mesmerizing novel about Burma in World War II.
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“Look at me. Here I am burdening you with my troubles and spoiling your morning joy.”
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It is no surprise that the Bible describes our Creator God as an artist and craftsman
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Imagine it's December and much of the Midwest is under a cold snap.
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See how readers responded to recent Banner issues, articles, and columns.
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Should we connect with a former daughter-in-law for the sake of our grandkids when our son would feel betrayed by our having any connection?
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When she was quite young, our oldest daughter heard a mention of abortion during a newscast and asked me what the word meant.
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Suddenly a black shape leaning against a gnarly trunk snagged my curiosity.
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For author and pastor Tim Keller, both the younger brother and the elder brother in Jesus’ parable are lost, but in different ways.
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Para el autor y pastor Tim Keller, tanto el hermano menor como el mayor en la parábola de Jesús están perdidos, pero de distinta manera.
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Occasionally I cannot honestly sing all the words of a song. With “Amazing Grace,” for example, I would be lying if I sang “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” I did not have a Damascus Road experience. What should I do when I cannot honestly sing some lines in church?
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목사이자 작가인 팀 켈러에 따르면, 예수님의 비유 속 둘째 아들과 첫째 아들 모두 각기 다른 방식으로 아버지로부터 멀어진 ‘잃어버린’ 자들입니다.
Our Shared Ministry
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The Table is a unique urban farm and faith community working in neighborhoods across South Denver.
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A group of 14 volunteers from Almond Valley CRC in Ripon, Calif., caravanned 900 miles to a Navajo reservation in New Mexico to help a fellow CRC in need.
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World Renew works to end hunger globally by offering opportunities to farmers and families to grow healthy food.
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As you think about retiring, you would be wise to take time regularly to sit back and reflect on your ministry career, your identity, and your hopes for the future.
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I’m both captivated and confused by Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed.
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Me cautiva y me confunde a la vez la parábola de Jesús sobre la semilla de mostaza.
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Timothy Leadership Training gives pastors and leaders the tools they need to overcome challenges and meet needs.
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예수님의 겨자씨 비유는 저에게 매력적이면서도 동시에 혼란스럽게 다가옵니다.