Everything is Spiritual, Including Institutions and Academics: Rob Bell Doesn’t Ring True

February 27, 2021

If you’ve never heard Rob Bell speak, he is a master craftsman of the art. Charismatic, artistic, gifted with words and drama–he can hold hundreds of people spellbound for an hour without losing their attention for a moment. His message comes with an edge, often pushing against his conservative church background and the worst of … More Everything is Spiritual, Including Institutions and Academics: Rob Bell Doesn’t Ring True

Agents of Renewal: Redemptive Journalism, Sympathetic Ethnography, and Faithful Witness in World Religions

January 16, 2021

Christian students and teachers seek to be agents of renewal and faithfulness in whatever corner of the planet they study. Put differently, they do not just do intellectual labour: they seek to transform things for the common good and God’s glory. … More Agents of Renewal: Redemptive Journalism, Sympathetic Ethnography, and Faithful Witness in World Religions

The Lucky Son of a Barber-Philosopher: The Serendipity of Al Wolters’ Worldview

December 14, 2020

Albert Wolters was my Greek professor, a columnist for The Christian Courier, expert on the Copper Scroll, and preached regularly through the decades in Christian Reformed churches, but he is best known internationally as the author of Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview—what philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff called “The best statement I have come across of the ‘reformational’ Christian worldview.” …But there is much more to the story. … More The Lucky Son of a Barber-Philosopher: The Serendipity of Al Wolters’ Worldview

Go to University and Get Rich: The Temptation to Seek Education as Upward Mobility

December 12, 2020

This guest blog was written by Global Scholar Dr. Stephen Ney, now serving in Sierra Leone. He maintains that “the neoliberal university encourages students to think about their entitlement and implicitly sanctions their consumeristic goals.” One of Ney’s students in Ghana adds: “One of the key driving forces of the University is money.” … More Go to University and Get Rich: The Temptation to Seek Education as Upward Mobility

Rudy Wiebe: A Persistent Friend for the Gospel

November 12, 2020

Not much more than an hour after the last post sounded for Remembrance Day, another soldier was laid to rest, this man a stalwart servant of Jesus Christ. Rudolph H. Wiebe went home to his King and Lord November 11th at 12:30 pm with his wife Marlene and daughter Laura at his side, assuring him of their love, giving him permission to let go, and reminding him that his Lord Jesus was waiting with open arms. … More Rudy Wiebe: A Persistent Friend for the Gospel

Opening Up the World of Higher Education: The Asterisk Legacy of Dr. Justin Cooper

November 9, 2020

Dr. Justin Cooper’s life has been lived as a champion for Christian higher education, and this article offers a biography of that work, focusing on the last 40 years and his journey from an eager student to college President and then to a man whose heart has opened to God’s work around the world. … More Opening Up the World of Higher Education: The Asterisk Legacy of Dr. Justin Cooper

Scaling the Big Me and the Blessed Ambition of Moral Commitments

November 3, 2020

This is a sobering but also inspiring book about what life is really all about, and how we might re-weave the torn and fraying social fabric of modern life. Written pre-COVID, but somehow meant to address the loneliness of it: “A half century of emancipation has made individualism, which was the heaven for our grandparents, into our hell.” … More Scaling the Big Me and the Blessed Ambition of Moral Commitments

Mixing Faith and Politics in Canada: Not a New Idea

October 23, 2020

It was refreshing to see an article this week in the Hamilton Spectator entitled “Mixing Faith and Politics Could Be a Good Thing for Canada” written by a former MPP John Milloy advocating for a larger public presence for Canada’s religious communities. It describes a conversation on the topic of faith and politics between three MPs representing three rival political parties. Here is evidence that “faith” can bring people together and help cooperation happen. … More Mixing Faith and Politics in Canada: Not a New Idea