ADVOCATE
The power of the word
By: “Who are the seven deacons of the early church?” Beep! “Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas.” “Correct, you get the point.” When I was in fourth grade, my friend and I were chosen to represent our...
Rethinking our relationships with young people
By: I was sitting across from her at her kitchen table when she said it. Staring at me with eyes full of passion and a smile that expressed her excitement, she said, “We want you to do relational ministry with these kids; we want you to be incarnational because...
Healthier churches make a healthier denomination
By: In 2005, the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC), its leading body, approved “creating and sustaining healthy congregations” as a denominational priority for the following 10 years. The decision’s rationale, in part, was that achieving...
APCE’s Educator of the Year
By: Go to the people, live among them, learn from them, love them; start with what they know, build on what they have; but of the best leaders, when their task is done, the people will remark “We have done it ourselves.” —Chinese Proverb George...
How firm is our foundation?
By: Youth. Where are youth going and how does it impact the foundation? What are youth telling the church? Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, by Kenda Creasy Dean. Oxford University Press, 2010.Based on the National Study...
A sense of. . .Self
By: In Matthew 22 we read these familiar words when Jesus tells us, You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole being, and with your whole mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your...
Experiencing God’s surprising wonders at our Annual Event
By: The scripture verse chosen for the APCE Annual Event 2012 is Daniel 4:3: “God’s miracles are staggering, God’s wonders are surprising.” Come and be surprised when we gather in Grand Rapids! At each committee planning meeting, someone always...
Grand Rapids in February?
By: The APCE Annual Event is coming to Grand Rapids, MI, in February 2012 and you should make plans to attend. Really. I’m not kidding. Now Grand Rapids in February might not be your idea of a tropical paradise but there are a number of outstanding reasons for...
Retelling the Bible: Exploring scripture with midrash
By: What would it mean to read the Bible as if its words were actually speaking to us? Following the destruction of the Temple (70 CE), the ancient rabbinic sages believed that Scripture could speak to every generation anew. They taught new ways of coming close to...
“God?”
By: For almost 15 years, I have been an “inspired artist.” By this I mean I work from Scripture to create paintings. People always ask, “How do you do that?” I try to do it myself, like a child who refuses help tying her shoes. As every parent...