[On April 14 I was asked to give a brief opening address to the West Michigan Honors Conference hosted by our own Honors Program here at Calvin College. The conference was an opportunity for students from several colleges and universities to share the fruits of undergraduate research. These are my notes for the talk which…
Our church’s youth group has a wonderful tradition: as part of a retreat for high school seniors, parents are invited to write a letter to their children that they receive at the retreat (and the kids are invited to write letters to their parents). It’s a wonderful rite of passage that encourages reflection and gratitude…
It seems like every other day I’m told another reason why young people are leaving the church: because Christians fight too much, or because Christians are too political or anti-gay or don’t care about social justice. Millennials, we’re told, are leaving the church because the church won’t bless their cohabitation or provide them with contraception…
In my little corner of Reformed Christianity, there has been a notable uptick in folks who are sympathetic to “two kingdoms” (2K) theologies of culture–a model more traditionally associated with the Lutheran tradition. There are aspects of 2K thought I appreciate, notably its robust emphasis on the church as a sacramental community as well, its…
Bob De Moor’s editorial in the most recent issue of The Banner (the denominational magazine of the Christian Reformed Church) is both symptomatic and wrongheaded. But given what’s at stake in this summer’s Synod, perhaps a word or two is in order. The backstory, for those not previously enthralled by synodical proceedings: our denomination historically requires…
The Fall of Interpretation: Philosophical Foundations for a Creational Hermeneutic was my first book, originally published in 2000. I don’t know that one would have projected from that book that I would one day write a book like Desiring the Kingdom. This clip explores how The Fall of Interpretation–including the new second edition–fits in the trajectory…