Are the FCC’s “New” Regulations really an “Obamacare for the Internet”?
by Donald Roth
…ourt Upholds FCC Role as Data Roamin’ Umpire” Com mLawBlog (Dec. 12, 2012). ↩ Fact Sheet: Chairman Wheeler Proposes New Rules, Federal Com munication Com mission (Feb. 4, 2015). ↩…
How Can We Support Teachers?
by Dave Mulder
…s to serve in you r children’s classrooms, it’s time for us to collectively exam ine teacher com pensation. We all want the best teachers possible for the students in our lives, right? No one com es into a new school year thinking, “I hope my child has a mediocre teacher this year.” We want great teachers who are going to make a difference in our kids’ lives! This takes all of us working together to advocate for and encourage educators. How can we sup…
by Shirley Folkerts
…when left untouched by Jesus, keep me from serving him? Has Jesus’ touch become so com mon, so matter-of-fact, that every day when I get up and go about my normal tasks I barely recognize his touch? As I respond to this story I am preoccupied with thoughts and prayers for a member of my extended family who has been lying in a hospital bed for over two weeks unable to regain full consciousness following a brain injury. I think of the hands which hav…
Podcast: DEMYSTIFYING Critical Race Theory with Jeff Liou
by Justin Ariel Bailey
…John 3:16 what is the world that God loves so much? It is the world that encompasses more than just human beings, but also human cultures, human institutions, et cetera. So we should expect that God’s grace extends to human culture and that’s where our wealth can com e from as well. (16:50) Justin Ariel Bailey: Yeah, I just want to make a note for the listeners and those who might pick up the book that the se six forms of capital that are listed: as…
by Bryant Mathews
…ilt out of layer upon layer of abstract thought, can take years of careful study to fully grasp. Welcoming others into our mathematical world, the n, whether through long and patient apprenticeship in abstraction, or through embodying mathematical the ory in the design of something as concrete and accessible as an actual cathedral, requires that we heed the words of Philippians 2:5-7 (NRSV): Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who,…
Before, Beside, and Behind
by Annie Sears
…annot protect its Shepherd. A sheep cannot offer conversation or sustained com pany. A sheep can offer nothing substantial, nor does it seem to want to repay its Shepherd for His provision. Regardless, the Shepherd acts on its behalf. And that? That is the definition of grace. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; you r rod and you r staff, the y com fort me.” The Shepherd’s rod and staff – the very t…
Immigration: More than a Number
by Liz Moss
…l or school-related programs. When you see someone walking in bad weather, offer the m a ride. Become a local advocate. The re are many ways that you can volunteer to serve our immigrant com munity. CASA of Sioux County is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to promote healthy, diverse com munities through empowerment, education and advocacy”. Check with you r city’s chamber office or human services office to see if the re is a similar organizat…
by Andrew Peterson
…ork. As a result, the re are many types of students. At its worst, academic study becomes self-absorbed, a sort of self-indulgent puzzle game. The road to a funded PhD position at a good school can encourage many bad habits. It sometimes favors those who are willing to talk over or forcefully defeat the thoughts of fellow students in order to win the favor of faculty members. It sometimes favors those capable of diving deepest into the minutiae of…
by Howard Schaap
…high call of the gospel: The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free , and Heaven is open . He sees a brother where the re was only a slave, Love unites those that iron had chained. Who will tell Him of our gratitude, For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies. People, stand up! Sing of you r deliverance, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer! Despite the darkness—of literature, of human n…
by Dawn Berkelaar
…trengthen our sense of connection and family identity. Traditions can also offer a sense of com fort and security; in a world so full of uncertainties, it is reassuring when some things stay the same. However, I’ve learned that expectations can com plicate traditions. Sometimes we carry our own unrealistic expectations for what the season should be like. Other times, we may feel like expectations are unfairly imposed by others. It might be that we h…
Freedom in Finitude: Reframing How We Look at Limits
by Dawn Berkelaar
…times of the day and night when it will be off limits. If work feels all-encompassing, decide on a time to quit for the day and honor that decision. Decide between “now” and “not yet.” I sometimes feel overwhelmed from having too many ideas and too many projects on the go. Maybe you are the same way. In his book Getting Things Done, David Allen suggests making a Someday/Maybe list, which serves as a place to record ideas whose time has not yet co…
by Anneke Wind
…absent. But he’s not. He’s with us, working in our hearts, serving as our guide and com fort in times of trouble. He is our hope. He is our fortress when things seem bleak. Zechariah says, “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (v. 10). Ultimately, God wil…
The End of Christianity in Iraq, Part II: 2003-2017
by Joel Veldkamp
…president’s public rejection of nation-building raises questions about his com mitment to fixing the problem. And if the sorry record detailed above is any guide , the U.S.’s foreign policy establishment is staffed with people who are not interested in the problem at all. American Christians who care about the fate of Christianity in Iraq now have a very small window of time in which to make the ir voice heard on this issue. If no protection is forth…
by Peter TeWinkle
…system works just fine for the m. The y value diversity in the ory but the ir com mitment to equality pales in com parison to the ir pursuit of the latest microbrew and Netflix series. The y are sympathetic to people of color, but not willing to sacrifice. Still, the y are most at home in the country that America is becoming demographically and morally. This election is a vivid illustration of the dynamics of the white electorate. Someone from the entrepr…
“Are You for Us or for Our Enemies?” Making Decisions Amid Contested Meanings
by Justin Bailey
…n to advocate for when and whether we should wear the m. Mask-wearing has become one more case study of our well-publicized polarization, one that probably anticipates a com ing conflict over the details of how we reopen our churches. In any case, the broad consensus enjoyed for three or four weeks in the early days of sheltering has devolved into a familiar tribalism. This is nothing new. I have had several interactions lately—com pletely unrelated…
Finding Simplicity for Advent—Joy
by April Fiet
…lseye we aim for. This Advent season, while we dash around to our various com mitments, try to check all the boxes on our list of expectations, and try to do it all with a smile on, let’s take a moment to focus on one simple, life-giving thing: the Christ child com ing into the world. God, through this one vulnerable act, became human with and for us. God walked among us, healed the sick, cared about our concerns, and dealt with the crushing pressu…
My Oldest Friend: The Impact of Intergenerational Friendships
by Mariellen Van Nieuwenhuyzen
…th together. More particularly, I’d like to highlight a couple of biblical exam ples of women growing in faith together across generations. Likely the most well-known exam ple is that of Naomi and Ruth. As Naomi’s husband and sons die, she plans to leave the enemy land of Moab to return to her people. First, she tells her widowed daughters-in-law to stay with the ir people. Yet one daughter-in-law, Ruth, remains loyal to Naomi, adamant that she will…
Feeble Lamps Burning in the Big Wind: A Review of “The Year of Our Lord 1943”
by Steven Rodriguez
…the book succeeded in other ways. For exam ple, the y formed countercultural com munities (often open and porous, welcoming non-Christians) by resisting the use of force to coerce others to adopt a Christian worldview. Perhaps most importantly, the y relentlessly witnessed to beauty, human suffering, and personhood in the face of a culture that had com e to prize technique, mechanization, and efficiency over all else. As a parent, this book struck a ne…
Fictional Saints: A Review of The Scandal of Holiness
by Mary Vanden Berg
…ss serious book choices. Some of the works suggested seem pretty heavy and com plicated, and as a systematic the ologian, I read heavy and com plicated books, albeit non-fiction, as a substantial part of my work. When I find time to read fiction, it feels like an indulgence—a luxury of sorts. I also find, much like Wilson suggests, that it often feeds my soul, which in turn helps me feed the souls of my students. But I do wonder what she would think…
Fostering Cultural Inclusivity in our Church Music
by John MacInnis
…n experiences the free dom to be the mselves individually and , moreover, the free dom to become something new together. In striving to outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10), each culture defers to others with the greater obligation placed upon those with the most security and established power. Judging from the many churches that have adopted the Belhar Confession, I know I am not alone in finding the se ideas to be fitting and desirable,…
A Call to the Ministry of Presence
by Dorina Lazo Gilmore
…ed hundreds of times in the last week. His parents try to reassure him and offer up com fort, but it’s hard. I sat at my kitchen table the other day listening to the story of a dear friend who has been working for years to get her American citizenship. The process has been hairy. She watched the election with fear and trembling, realizing the ramifications for her family after living and contributing in the U.S. for decades. I listened. She educate…
Navigating Transgender: A Review of Understanding Transgender Identities
by Joel Kok
…ical support, we can appreciate how the y address concerns for identity and com munity in a way that is quite com pelling to many people navigating gender identity concerns.”18 In terms of the lenses that Yarhouse and Sadusky describe, DeFranza sides mostly with Sabia-Tanis by operating with the “diversity” lens. However, she writes less militantly than Sabia-Tanis, and her chapter includes a description of how she shifted from the traditional view t…
by Al Andrews
…ur marriage. It’s made us ask one another harder questions. It’s made us learn to forgive. It’s given us the courage to hold the mirror up to one another, that we can enjoy the good things and deal with the bad things. It’s given us the chance to offer mercy and grace and to offer the invitation to more. But mostly, it’s answered the question about what marriage is for: Marriage is something God created not only to meet us in our loneliness, but s…
Loving the Midwest as it Was, Is, and Will Be: A Review of Midwest Futures
by Myles Werntz
…to creation. Accordingly, a kind of piety which glosses over the Midwest’s com plex past and com plicated futures is a kind of piety which neglects the God who has given us existence. To treat the present Midwest—its history, its people, and its possibilities—as a descent from a pristine past is to do the Midwest a disservice, and ultimately, to sin against it. To treat the Midwest as the jumble of possible futures that it is? That may be the highes…
Interpreting Scripture through Mystery, Doubt, & Ancient Lit: A Review of “Inspired”
by Kayt Frisch
…be something it’s not—static, perspicacious, certain, absolute—the n you ’re free to revel in what it is: living, breathing, confounding, surprising, and yes, perhaps even magic,” and she wants to share that understanding with her readers. The book is structured around (mostly) com mon genres found in ancient literature—stories about origins, deliverance, war, wisdom, resistance, gospel, fish (not exactly what you think), and deliverance. Evans intro…
