All Articles For DeVries, Michael

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. Church Ministers Join Union Such was a front-page headline of the London, Ontario Free Press on November 6, 2004. The article, by Reporter Patrick Maloney, went on to explain: Nearly 25 years after Rev. Del Stewart answered the Lord’s call, one of Canada’s biggest unions has answered his. In a North American first, several local United Church ministers—including Stewart of Leamington—have taken a step toward unionizing the clergy, convincing the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) to represent the reverends who claim abuse, insecurity and low wages are rampant...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   We Have Met the Enemy   The cover article of the September 22, 2004 issue of Christian Renewal is entitled “The Present State of Unions—How we got here; where we’re likely going,” by Barbara Curtis. It is an article well worth reading in its entirety. She aptly points out that we are in the present battle against the legitimizing and legalization of same-sex marriage not only because the homosexual community has been busily and successfully advancing its agenda. She correctly asserts, I believe, that much of...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. We are presently witnessing an appalling display of who or what shall be granted “rights.” On the one hand, the lack of regard for human life today is sickening. It could be considered from many perspectives—from the efforts in many places to legalize euthanasia, to the terrorist bombings that kill and maim scores of innocent bystanders. Apparently some would go so far as to question the right of most of the human race to exist. The May 2006 issue ofThe Interim, Canada’s Life and Family Newspaper, included...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   “Global Warming” and a Green Gospel  A poll released in February 2006 shows that seventy percent of American evangelical Christians see global warming as a “serious threat” to the future of the planet. According to a report by World NetDaily.com, this survey, conducted by Ellison Research, indicates a majority of evangelicals agree with eighty-six Christian leaders who signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI): Climate Change a Call to Action, which was unveiled on February 8, 2006. The ECI calls for government action to deal with so-called global...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   No Services on Christmas Sunday??  It seems churches today are willing to bend over backwards in an attempt to accommodate their members. The mega-churches typically have multiple services with various worship styles. But who would have dreamed that several of the largest congregations in the United States would actually cancel their services on Christmas Sunday in an effort to be “lifestyle friendly” and not be a hindrance to family Christmas activities? Elaine Spencer reports in The Christian Post on December 7, 2005: This year, Christmas may be cold...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   Honorary Degree for Canadian Hero??  We seem to be digging very deep, scraping the bottom of the barrel, to come up with Canadian heroes these days. At least that is the case with the senate committee of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Let’s see—who would be a worthy recipient of an honorary doctorate of laws degree? The obvious choice: notorious Canadian abortion activist and lawbreaker, Dr. Henry Morgentaler! In 1968 Morgentaler opened Canada’s first freestanding abortion clinic in Montreal. Over the next twenty...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. The Religion of Youth—and Many More?? This is scary—a book by Christian Smith and MelindaLundquist Denton, researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), entitled, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press). Cultural Editor of World Magazine, Gene Edward Veith, explains in the June 25, 2005 issue ofWorld: After interviewing over 3,000 teenagers, the social scientists summed up their beliefs: (1) “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   Miracle Mania  Perhaps no movement made more of an impact on the church world in the twentieth century than Pentecostalism. The early years of the twenty-first century have seen no diminishing of Pentecostalism’s influence. A current “revival” in Lakeland, Florida is taking the world by storm, at least as far as media coverage is concerned. It is creating considerable controversy, even among Pentecostals. Rusty Leonard and Warren Cole Smith report in World, June 28/July 5, 2008 in an article entitled, “Same Old Scam?”: Canadian Todd Bentley doesn’t...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. Yes, we live in a consumer-oriented society. Yes, each one of us is a unique individual. But do I need a Bible entitled “Heart of the Outdoors Bible”? Do you need a Bible entitled “Path to Victory,” with pictures of sporting activities on the cover? Perhaps you have a problem. “The Journey of Recovery” New Testament is just for you, since it provides “real-life help and lasting hopes to free the addicted.” Or is your home on the highway? Do you need “The Road Home New Testament”?...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. CRC Subscription Revision The Formula of Subscription serves a very vital purpose in Reformed Churches. At least it should. From the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, the Reformed churches had great concern to maintain unity and doctrinal purity. They often required ministers to sign the two existing creeds (the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession), indicating their wholehearted agreement with these creeds. The Synod of Dordtrecht (1618-19) drew up a formula of subscription and required (in the Church Order) that it be signed by...