Why does the abuse of power by leaders in our churches and parachurch organizations seem to be more common than it used to be, and how can we best address this problem?
Big Questions
Our panel of contributors replies to questions from readers on topics like these: ethics, relationships, missional living, faith formation, vocation/calling, digital life, church/Bible/doctrine, and stewardship. Got a question you’d like answered?
My daughter and her husband attend a church that offers only Sunday school and not children’s worship. Our congregation has had both for years. What are my grandchildren missing?
How do I handle those awkward checkout requests?
Until we learn and agree on the rules, I’d suggest we err on the side of revealing less about ourselves online—to a smaller and more trustworthy group—and behave online like we do in person.
Self-denial is at the heart of Christian calling. How different this is from popular conceptions of calling!
Are commissioned pastors allowed to perform the same tasks as ministers, such as administering the sacraments and performing weddings and funerals?
Our churches are called to explore various ways to reach their communities through both evangelism and social justice.
Our church leadership is talking about faith milestones. What are they, and why should we be interested?
#MeToo movement has highlighted women who have experienced sexual harassment or assault. Aren’t Christians supposed to forgive rather than demand justice?
Many activities that were once forbidden by the church (card playing, dancing, and movie attendance) are now considered fine. But the Bible does not change. Are these changes biblical?
Christians should be aware of the effects of our lifestyles.
Online commenting is the latest and most efficient way we allow ourselves to be set up against each other.
At pivotal points in our paid work we must sometimes decide whether to remain where we are or move on to a new location.
I made profession of faith many years ago as a young teenager, but it was group pressure that made me do it.
It is a mistake to assume that just because a lesson is for young children it can be theologically neutral.
According to one polyamory website, a polyamorous relationship is “a romantic relationship where the people in the relationship agree that it’s okay for everyone to be open to or have other romantic partners.”
Here are six films, from the very old to the recent, that are worth watching.
On the one hand, some connections are established more easily and quickly now that the smartphone replaced the telephone...
Three or four years ago, I started to notice people beginning their spoken sentences with “so...”
How do I discern between God’s calling and my own—or even other people’s—sinful ambitions?
In terms of orthodoxy in faith and practice, it seems to me that the Christian Reformed Church has more in common with A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians than with the Reformed Church in America.
What does it mean to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s”?
We need to discern between right and wrong, good and evil. That is not optional. Neither is holding people accountable for their actions.
It is tempting for a long-married couple to think of sexual (romantic) intimacy in isolation from the rest of the relationship.