Theology

I grew up in a Christian home, with parents who were deeply involved in our local church, and who encouraged my siblings and I to be active members from a young age. I cherish the lasting influence church involvement has had on my life, and view it as a direct result of the faithfulness of my parents. From Sunday church services to weekly family Bible studies, faith was woven into all our family traditions, and has remained a central anchor in all our experiences. Racial justice – or a lack thereof —has also been a central characteristic of my personal and family experience.

Recently my pastor based his sermon on John 4, focusing on the verses where Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman that God’s followers must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Since then I have been musing about how that applies when we think about our work as worship. Or consider how it applies to our volunteer hours, time spent promoting social justice issues, advocacy, and every aspect of our lives as we strive to live as socially aware individuals!

This is the first post in our Justice and the Reformed Confessions series. Subscribe here to make sure you don't miss a post. 

The great letter writer Paul, writing to his friends in Philippi, said: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (1:21 NIV)

That verse stumps me. Because sure, I believe in an afterlife with God, and I know it’s going to be good. I get that in my head, most days. But I don’t want to die. Dying doesn’t feel much like gain.

I attended the ordination service of a classmate of mine from seminary and college recently. The steeple of the church stood tall against the crisp blue of the morning sky and all around was quiet that early morning. A couple of hours later, the church filled with people from the church, young and old, who would receive their newly ordained pastor and her visiting friends and family.

Two resources, Let’s Talk About Privilege and Homegrown Faith and Justice, offer studies to help young people grow in their journey of faith formation. Both resources provide strong Biblical teaching, in-depth questions, and activities for practical application. In our desperately hurt and broken world, recognizing privilege and responding with faith and justice marks us as followers of Christ. These resources help families and faith leaders guide children and young people on that path.

In making a decision about taking a trip to Israel/Palestine, in addition to the natural questions about costs and dates, there are several questions that should be answered before making a decision regarding which trip to choose. The more clarity travelers have about the answers, the greater the possibility that they will have an experience that will grow their faith and their faithful discipleship of Jesus Christ.

I have a confession to make.

I've been leading a group of white Christians for the past 6 months in unlearning our white supremacy. We've met once a month to do the hard work of looking our own racism in the face and calling it out, together. And I haven't really talked about it.

The past few weeks I have been taking a new bus route to work from my friend’s house. The route passes through Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood that is seen by many as a place of homelessness, poverty, and addiction. While there are many homeless people on the street who seem lonely and isolated, there is also a deeper sense of relationships and a tight-knit community where people care for and look out for one another, and share their hopes and pains with each other – like a family.

One of the dismaying trends within evangelical Protestantism in America is the growing divide between those evangelicals who emphasize the church’s responsibility to proclaim a gospel of individual conversion and those who emphasize the church’s responsibility to advocate for social justice. It is a trend that featured prominently at this summer’s synod of the Christian Reformed Church.