Probably no issue has captured the imagination of Christian Reformed churches in recent years like “contemporary worship.” The topic is debated by home missions’ strategists and intellectuals at the seminaries. Some people in the pew are also enthralled with the subject. More and more people are becoming convinced that “contemporary worship” represents the surest means […]
REFORMED CHRISTIANITY IS BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY After more than thirty years of studying the Bible and church history, I am more convinced of the truth of the above statement than ever. The Biblical faithfulness of Reformed Christianity is not just an abstract truth. It is intensely practical: Christians need Reformed Christianity to be faithful to God, to […]
There is much to praise in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s blunt remarks to the U.N. women’s conference in Beijing. Her gutsy defense of human rights was a proper and welcome affirmation of the core values of the United States. To have been more diplomatic and less forceful would have appeared to China’s dictatorial government as weakness. […]
Storytelling is a fine art form, whether the storytelling consists of retelling the circumstances and actions of an actual event as in history or journalism, or whether the individual has created a plot, a set of characters and a series of events from within the recesses of his or her mind. When analyzing any story, […]
In the Spring 1994 Forum, Dr. Neal Plantinga discussed the concern that a church which approves women’s ordination is also more likely to approve gay sex. Plantinga denied any link between the two issues. He said that those who warn of such a connection are (1) likening womanhood to gay sex, and (2) implying that […]
If you want to start a lively debate, one sure way to do so is to make a statement about Outcomes-Based Education, “OBE” for short. During the last few years the clash of opinions on this issue has been heard loud and long in many of our Christian school communities. In some of those communities, […]
In the Old Testament prophecy of Jeremiah, there is a remarkable account of Jeremiah prophesying God’s judgment upon the city of Jerusalem and the “court of the Lord’s house.” What is so striking about this prophecy is that it was spoken within the sanctuary of the Lord’s house and pronounced the Lord’s curse upon the […]
Several years ago, a group of elders asked me to help them out prior to a series of visits they were planning to make to individuals and families in their responsibility district. The specific help they were looking for was not an unusual request. “Help us tie the visit together with a unifying theme so […]
Successful Premier Kyrie Convention Centers on Lordship of Christ A resounding success-that is an apt description of the Kyrie ‘95 youth convention held July 10–13 at Kettunen Center in Tustin, Ml. Over 160 people (120 young people, 33 sponsors/youth leaders and eight ministers) attended the four-day event which featured as its theme, “The Lordship of […]