As I look back on my time as executive director of the CRCNA, it seems improbable that so much has happened in the life of our church and denomination in such a short time (February 2020 to June 2022).
The View from Here
By any measure, Jesus’ final prayer carries great weight.
Lately, the war in Ukraine is exposing the vulnerability of the earth to this simple truth.
The church, like so much else in our society, has changed as a result of COVID.
I was recently reflecting on how easy it can be to lose hope in a time like this, and yet, our hope is Christ.
우리는 기독교인으로서 만물을 하나님의 영광을 위해 사용하도록 부르심 받았습니다. 여기에는 우리가 과학기술을 어떻게 사용하느냐도 포함됩니다.
야망은 현재를 보는 시각을 흐리게 하고 하나님께서 매일 베푸시는 축복을 간과하게 합니다.
As Christians we are called to use all things for God’s glory. That includes our technology.
Ambition can cause us to lose sight of the present and overlook the blessings God gives us each day.
The Christian Reformed Church is a microcosm of the universal church, and in it we see glimpses of God’s work manifesting in this current reality.
Can we be bound together by the power of the Holy Spirit as one body even though our physical bodies are forced to be separate?
In the Bible and today, God invites us as “called-out ones” to live in the midst of this fallen creation.
하나님이 무엇을 하고 계시는지, 무엇을 하실 수 있는지 봅시다.
God requires that we all—regardless of our background, education, or status in life—repent of our missteps, seek forgiveness and restoration, and begin again.
As seasons change, not only do we see evidence of that change in our surroundings; we often see changes in the attitudes and behavior of individuals as well.
As in many hospitals around the world, Momoru says the hospital where he works near Tokyo, Japan, has felt “more like a battlefield than a place of care.”
Even with all of these success stories going on, I know there is a lot more we could do. Every part of our denomination needs a growth strategy.
Today, diverse congregations are becoming more and more commonplace in the Christian Reformed Church.
We need to seek out people and, by a process of mutual engagement, release the spark placed in them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s commit to building some discipline into our prayer and spiritual lives this year.
Imagine what the church would look like if we were able to put aside our political and theological differences and instead develop a common language based on our shared identity in Christ.
Stories about the spread of Christian ministry in tough places in a pre-Christian world should give us hope that God will continue to work through us to reach others and change lives.
Obviously, church is much more than a building.
모두 알다시피 교회는 건물 그 이상입니다.