All Articles For Various Authors

Compiled by Jan Westra, edited by Brittany Gritters The history of the Hull Protestant Reformed Church goes back to the beginning of the Protestant Reformed denomination. On March 16, 1925, just a few weeks after a temporary organization called the Protesting Christian Reformed Churches had been organized in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Protesting Christian Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa, was organized under the leadership of Rev. H. Hoeksema with a membership of 32 families. After only five months, a new parsonage was ready and occupied by Rev. B.J. Danhof. And after only three more months, the congregation met for the...

Submitted by Ruth Nobel and Judy VanTil Unity. What a beautiful name! At the organizational worship service on October 30, 2019, Pastor A. Lanning (Byron Center PRC) gave three reasons why this name is wonderful: when we say unity, it is a confession of an attribute of the church—its oneness, as described in the Apostle’s Creed, an holy catholic church; when we say unity, we point to the church’s head, Christ, since He is the foundation of uni­ty; when we say unity, we are reminding each other of a well-known text and its calling to keep the unity of the...

Appreciation for the RFPA and the Standard Bearer Greetings. I was so thankful to read that dear Annemie Godbehere’s work on the Reformed Baptismal Form has been published. She was working on it during the two years or so when I corresponded with her prior to her going to glory. Also, may I express my thanks for Rev. Michael De Vries’ meditation on “Sowing and Reaping” [Oct. 1, 2017]. Like the rest of your pastoral articles, it is both sobering and timely. It was good, too, to see Martyn McGeown’s report of the vindication of the Bristol street preachers. I...

Just to let you know how pleased I am to get your magazine, the Standard Bearer. I am greatly blessed by reading articles in them. This month’s article [January 1, 2017] by Rev. Rodney Kleyn in “Believing and Confessing: The Normal Christian Life,” I have read over and over again. A real blessing to me in my Christian walk. Thank you all. Sam Fluke, Northern Ireland

Bethel PRC—Roselle, IL PRC Evangelism Committee Reports The Bethel PRC Evangelism Committee seeks to equip its members to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Pet. 3:15) by the following activities: 1. The committee maintains a church webpage which includes information about our beliefs and practices, as well as recent sermons and lectures (bethelprc.org). 2. The committee provides denominational pamphlets for our members and visitors. 3. The committee has written two pamphlets that are directed to the person who has little or no exposure...

Marriage and Singleness While I did not expect that the special edition of the SB (April 15, 2016) on “Reformed Marriage” would address singleness, I was somewhat perplexed by Rev. Slopsema’s meditation “Two Become One.” Rev. Slop­sema makes two statements that, despite my reading of his article multiple times, I still find confusing. I hope that the SB will give him the opportunity to explain what he means. He writes, “Husband and wife complement each other in a most wonderful way so that together they can serve the Lord in a way that neither could achieve alone” (p. 315) and...

Retirement of Ministers I am writing in response to the editorial of Professor Dykstra in the June issue of the Standard Bearer. In this editorial, Professor Dykstra states that, given a goodly number of graduates from the seminary in a couple of years, Lord willing, and very few openings in the churches, “one option is to push ministers in their low to mid-sixties into early retirement? (Vol. 91, No. 17, 390). …The church order makes no provision for early retirement of ministers. They may seek emeritation when they reach a point in their lives when they can no longer do...

Dear editor, Regarding Mark Hoeksema’s review in SB 87:14 of the book by David VanDrunen, Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms: A Study in the Development of Reformed Social Thought,, which I have recently read myself, I would like to make some comments. First, the brother writes that he views “the kingdom as a broader and more inclusive concept than that of the church, in keeping with VanDrunen’s historical analysis.” Though I am not sure what the brother means by this idea, VanDrunen is at pains throughout the entire book to demonstrate that, beginning with Augustine and all the way through...

Christian College…or Secular  I’m writing to you in regard to your recent short series in the SB issuing a warning to students attending a Christian college. Before I comment on that, I should tell you that I graduated from Calvin College and then spent three years at the University of Michigan earning a master’s degree. So I have personal experience both with a small, Christian college and with a large, public university. It is my opinion that we PR folks are woefully deficient in education. Our modern society requires that we compete for jobs and that we be educated well enough for...

Christian colleges I’ve been meaning to write you a note of appreciation for your articles that give a much needed warning to students who are attending or planning to attend a Christian college. I can identify with many, many of the examples and instances you brought out in your articles. The “kingdom” language and “engaging” or “transforming” culture were philosophies that figured prominently in the instruction and life at the Christian college from which I graduated recently. Looking back, I know that I, for a time, was drawn in by that language. I can see it in some of the...