From sermons to cartoons
| |

From sermons to cartoons

Jesus doesn’t sit still very often in David Hayward’s cartoons. He’s on the move: rescuing gay sheep, spray-painting church signs, and – on the cover of Hayward’s new book, Flip it Like This – showing a woman how to upend money-laden tables. Remember those plastic bracelets from the 90s asking “WWJD?” The question always had,…

Cathedral Grove
|

Cathedral Grove

“Mount Doug is a good short hike. If it’s a clear day you should be able to see the Olympic mountains in Washington,” Meghan texted me. “You’ll find lots of arbutus trees – a rare species only on Vancouver Island and parts of Vancouver. They have funky multicolour bark and look almost biblical.” I’m writing…

The porn connection
|

The porn connection

During the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod, I was surprised when an overture asking that clergy “curtail pornography use” didn’t pass – especially because “curtail” already sounds toothless in this context. Surely “halt all pornography use immediately” would be better? So I called the Director of Safe Church Ministry, Amanda Benckhuysen, for an explanation. The overture…

Coren’s conversion
| |

Coren’s conversion

“My core beliefs haven’t changed,” Michael Coren says. But “I can’t imagine who I was spiritually eight years ago.” The landscape of personal faith can change over time. Scandal, abuse, disillusionment and burnout are just a few of the deconstruction triggers prompting Christians to re-examine what we believe and why. It’s a process that usually…

Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin
|

Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin

“There are two deeply divergent interpretations of Scripture in this denomination,” Paul VanderKlay said on June 14, addressing 188 delegates of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). To most CRC members, the degree of that difference is painfully clear, and it was only accentuated at this year’s annual meeting. Synod 2022 made three key decisions concerning…