Even as the dark rumblings from down south continue and some Alberta separatists meet with Trump officials (an act that – while not strictly treasonous – could be seen as treasonish), Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has resisted calls from other leaders (most notably B.C. Premier David Eby and Ontario Premier Doug Ford) to take a…
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in…
“What gives us permission to disregard Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17:20-23, and to split and start yet another denomination?” Recently, I have been asked this question and variants of it. Christian Reformed (CRC) churches and folks are wrestling with questions of disaffiliation and forming a new denomination or network of churches. Given the…
After the 1517 Reformation, the relationship between mainstream Protestant Reformers and Anabaptists was characterized by bitter hostility and systematic persecution. What began as theological disagreement escalated into violence that would define centuries of Christian division. At the conflict’s center lay a seemingly simple question: when should Christians be baptized? While reformers like Luther and Calvin…
Several years ago, my father gave me a copy of our family tree going back seven generations. It was quite grounding to see where I came from and how I fit in. Interestingly, our family genealogist (a distant relative in the Netherlands) chose to include two important pieces of information alongside many of the names…
It was about a year into Covid, mid-lockdown, and unlike any time before, when I felt fear pressing in all around us. Too much social media, not enough genuine connection. Too much entertainment and too little prayer. Distraction, distraction. There was yet another crisis demanding our collective attention. I don’t remember if it was a…
You may not know me or remember this, but, to my knowledge, I am the only former Banner editor who got in front of an entire Christian Reformed Church (CRC) Synod to publicly apologize. I said I was sorry for allowing two articles in quick succession that many readers judged to have gone over the…
“Many Canadian churches are battlegrounds today between camps with opposing views.” So begins a Christian Courier editorial by Robert Vander Vennen published on January 11, 1991. Vander Vennen’s words could accurately describe this present moment in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) too, as the denomination fractures over differing definitions of sexuality, chastity and sin. In…
Leap of Faith is a feature-length documentary directed by Nicholas Ma and Morgan Neville, the duo behind the acclaimed 2018 documentary about Mister Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Upon its release in October 2024, churches in the U.S. hosted screenings of the film, using it as a jumping-off point for new conversations about what…
All people will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. (John 13:35) For many years, I taught a course at The King’s University called Introduction to Teaching. A major topic covered in the course textbook was “classroom discipline.” To introduce this topic, I asked my students to call out what they…
“He has shown strength with his arm;/ he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts./ He has brought down the powerful from their thrones/ and lifted up the lowly./ He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1: 51-53 I’m writing this column the day…
For decades, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has described itself to itself as a denomination made up of three strands. Sometimes we use slightly different terms for each of these strands, and for at least half a century the CRC has described itself as a three-legged stool with a creed-emphasizing leg, a worldview (Kuyperian)-emphasizing leg,…
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