We have found out that because of budget shortfalls, we will again not receive a cost of living raise.  This has been the case for many years (I’m not revealing how many years without a raise in hopes that other churches will think I am writing about THEIR church). Why are we to “trust God... Continue Reading

“Without diminishing other ministries and activities in churches, I want to share with you the two most common practices in healthy churches. I understand that ‘healthy’ can have a subjective nature to it. And I understand that correlation is not the same as causation.”   Churches are too busy. Church members are too busy. We... Continue Reading

“It’s difficult to imagine the loss of what we cannot see. Abortion silently, persistently, unrelentingly, continues to take away generations from all of us. There simply aren’t tears enough to satisfy the mourning that would take place if we had eyes to see those who are missing from our lives.”   In 1947, on a... Continue Reading

“True love waits? Ok. But more than that, true love serves (1 John 4:10-11; Luke 10:27). Sexual sin uses others. So instead of asking students to delay gratification until a far-off wedding day, which may or may not be in the cosmic cards, why don’t we help them discover how to counteract the inward, self-exalting... Continue Reading

“All of Wolterstorff’s engagement with Scripture appears to be shaped by his gambit: If same-sex sexual intimacy isn’t inherently unloving, then opposition to same-sex marriage can only be due to a misbegotten commitment to divine command theory.”   Nicholas Wolterstorff’s recent case for same-sex marriage, delivered as a lecture at Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church... Continue Reading

We pre-judge people from different parts of the world based on their appearance, while forgetting that Jesus himself and all of our early church heroes would have likely been “randomly selected” for further inspection at an airport. All of our Bible heroes were from the Middle East and Africa.   In 1995, Alanis Morissette released... Continue Reading

“I read Adira’s testimony with lightning running down my back. At my alma mater, a college I warmly remember, God is at work. Through diverse means, including the heroic efforts of Rob Gregory and the McKeen Study Center, he’s moving. I can scarcely say how encouraging this is.”   It is not uncommon for evangelicals... Continue Reading

“The ‘reform’ that Britain sought under Henry VIII was very different from where it would eventually lead. The sheer unexpectedness of the result of last June’s referendum in Britain left everyone reeling, because no-one really expected it – not even those who had campaigned so vigorously for it.”   The idea of the United Kingdom’s... Continue Reading

“Many local churches suffer because the majority of its members only give a 10-20% commitment to the local church of which they are a part and an 80-90% commitment to other organizations and activities.”   I recently heard about a family in our denomination who drove nearly an hour to church every Lord’s Day for a number... Continue Reading

“Lately I’ve found myself pondering unity in the local church and considering that cracks in the unity of a church often begin at the bottom. They often begin at the foundation and work their way up to the roof. What I mean is that disunity often begins with the membership and spreads toward the leadership... Continue Reading