January 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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Inspired by working alongside people in economic difficulty, a member of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Listowel, Ont., helped create a Bridges Out of Poverty workshop.
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About 150 volunteers from 17 Christian Reformed congregations participated in funding and building a Habitat for Humanity home for a western Michigan family.
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Bringing together pastors, community workers, and those working to support immigrants to the U.S., Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, hosted a panel discussion Nov. 12.
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In Jarvis, Ont., the GEMS Girls’ Club at Ebenezer Christian Reformed Church has made its own badge to explore issues of displacement and how to help support the resettlement of people fleeing persecution.
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Gordon Van Enk, who served in parish ministry for 25 years and as a hospice chaplain for 24 years, died Oct. 12.
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Paul Brink, a gentle soul who loved the church and loved God’s word, died on Sept. 17 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
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A beloved chaplain, Russ Van Antwerpen was a humble man who dedicated his life to serving God and God’s people. He died on Oct. 3.
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Congregation members of Naschitti (N.M.) Christian Reformed Church were prevented from using their building after an arson event in August. On Nov. 17, they returned to the sanctuary.
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From a long-running weekly Bible study to support with yard work, Christian Reformed congregations in Holland, Mich., are partnering with the work of Brothers & Sisters Homes, residences for men and women with intellectual disabilities.
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A growing number of congregations are investing time, energy, and resources into church renewal. The Banner shares experiences from churches in Alberta, Washington, and Michigan.
Columns
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A weekly drama, where a skeptic partners with a believer to investigate the supernatural.
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Helping refugees takes finesse, proper training, and certainly prayer. Above all, it comes with great blessing, for in this partnership we are finding friendship, kinship, and the body of Christ.
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Reasons for busyness vary from family to family, but one reason is we don’t want to miss out on anything.
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How can we trust that the Bible we have is any good if the canon was selected by the early church and preserved by church tradition?
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Is Kanye West’s much-buzzed-about new album truly his first Christian recording?
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Life, in the Bible, is relatedness. It is about belonging, body and soul, to God, and secondarily, to belong in a community.
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La vida, en la Biblia, es tener afinidad. Se trata de pertenecer, en cuerpo y alma, a Dios, y en segundo lugar, de pertenecer a una comunidad.
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A Calvin professor’s new podcast explores renewal and flourishing.
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See how readers responded to recent Banner issues, articles, and columns.
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There seem to be only three persons absolutely necessary to make a marriage a Christian marriage: the man, the woman, and God.
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You cannot resolve the conflicts within your parents’ marriage that are highlighted by these political differences.
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A case study of a Canadian megachurch—The Meeting House.
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Given time to reassess, to think about what the potential outcomes could have been, I would have made a different decision. I would not have swerved.
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One of the reasons the “attractional church model” is being questioned today is the realization that it often produces consumers more than it makes disciples.
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What is your church’s brand? What do people in your community think about when they hear your church’s name mentioned? Not too long ago, our entire denomination and every individual congregation were known as the “Dutch church.” We have made great strides in shaking that image. But to no longer be known as something hardly qualifies as a strong brand.
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If we want church to resonate with the next generation, here are a few words to consider dropping.
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성경에서 생명은 관계를 의미합니다. 그것은 몸과 영혼이 하나님께 속하는 것이고, 다음으로 공동체에 속하는 것입니다.
Our Shared Ministry
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Now, 10 years later, the site has over 60 different ministry topics that reflect the wide variety of roles and passions of God’s people.
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When Li walked through the door at the start of her holiday break, she almost couldn’t believe her eyes.
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Our younger leaders are asking us to trust them: trust them to lead, trust them to plan worship, trust them with hard conversation, trust them with the budget, trust them to love the church as much as their elders do.
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In the midst of her country’s 30-year occupation, as her mother was dying, the rest of the family abandoned them, leaving 12-year-old Talia to care for her mother by herself.
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Have we ever wondered what younger generations think about us? What do they think we view as important? What do they hear us say?
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“It was really important for me coming out of (university) to understand how my faith connects with what I do.”
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¿Alguna vez nos hemos preguntado qué piensan las generaciones más jóvenes acerca de nosotros? ¿Qué creen que consideramos importante? ¿Qué nos oyen decir?
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젊은 세대들이 우리를 어떻게 생각하는 지 생각해 보셨습니까? 그들은 우리의 가치에 대해 어떻게 생각할까요? 우리의 말을 듣기나 할까요?
