Unintended Consequences of the Jesus Movement: The Big Decision

Last updated on: July 11, 2016 at 9:11 am By Michelle Van Loon

Earlier this year, I launched in this space an occasional series looking back on the unintended consequences of the Jesus Movement. I’ve explored topics including our hand-clappin’ praise songs, the Rapture, our voting habits, and our worship services. Today, I’m picking up where I left off by talking about something that’s not a news flash to most reading these words: the Evangelical focus on decisions for Christ, often at the expense of discipleship. This impulse wasn’t new to Evangelicalism. Charles... Read more

A Time To Be Silent; A Time To Speak

Last updated on: July 8, 2016 at 2:56 pm By Michelle Van Loon

The week began with headlines remembering the courageous life and work of Elie Wiesel. But those headlines were replaced almost instantly with shaky cell phone images that have rightly scorched the emotions of most everyone I know. Those images, along with the others in recent years that have grabbed our collective attention (for a while, anyway), give all of us eyes to see what has been happening for years when there were no cell phone cameras and 24-hour news channels.... Read more

Review: Ruined

Last updated on: July 6, 2016 at 11:20 am By Michelle Van Loon

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 18% of women will be raped at some point during their lifetime. Most victims are acquainted with the perpetrator. The Centers for Disease Control says stranger rapes account for 12.9% that number. Ruth Everhart and four housemates were held hostage and assaulted by two armed strangers. Her memoir, Ruined (Tyndale, 2016) describes her journey from victim to survivor. She was a college student at Calvin College at the time of the rape, and offers... Read more

S’mores And Much More

Last updated on: July 3, 2016 at 1:33 pm By Michelle Van Loon

Last year, when some incredibly generous friends offered my husband and I the gift of a trip to join them for family camp at InterVarsity’s Cedar Campus, we had no idea what to expect. Would we be making lanyards and practicing our archery skills? I last attended summer camp in 1975. These friends had attended family camp at Cedar Campus for more than two decades, and spoke warmly of the gracious maturity of the people and the unspoiled beauty of... Read more

When Fading Away Becomes “Done”

Last updated on: July 2, 2016 at 1:11 pm By Michelle Van Loon

“Who will officiate at my funeral?” My friend Liz asked this question during a pause in our conversation earlier this week. “I don’t have a church these days.” Other important questions were bundled within her question: What have I gained by pouring myself into church for years? Where is my community now that I’m aging, divorced, and in poor health? Who will walk beside me during this stage of my life? I first met Liz when our kids were toddlers... Read more

In Search Of A Little Help From My Friends

Last updated on: June 30, 2016 at 2:25 pm By Michelle Van Loon

I’m reaching out to you because I’m looking for a bit of help. My book Moments & Days: How Our Holy Celebrations Shape Our Faith releases September 1. I’m excited about helping other believers better know their spiritual heritage and faithfully enjoy our eternal God as we live in finite time. I’m writing today to see if you’d be willing to be a part of my launch team. You may be wondering what a launch team is and why you... Read more

What Are The Odds? Today, I’d Say They Were 100%

Last updated on: June 24, 2016 at 11:34 am By Michelle Van Loon

On a day filled with #Brexit confusion and financial markets falling like boulders flung from a pinnacle, I am praying you sense God’s steady, unshifting shalom and sustaining, eternal love for you, no matter what the headlines tell you. Just for a bit of fun, I’m sharing a story full of irony. The fact that this particular weird thing has now repeated twice in my life has me pondering what lessons I can learn. Maybe you have some insight for me.... Read more

Reclaiming God’s Intent For The Sabbath

Last updated on: June 22, 2016 at 2:29 pm By Michelle Van Loon

The Fourth Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”, tends to invite legalism, rabid antinomian sentiment, or spiritual innovation from Christians. In each of those cases, the conversation about Sabbath-keeping focuses on the individual. Talking about the Sabbath in those terms cuts out the fact that it wasn’t given to individuals. It was given to a community, and is meant to be celebrated in community. What Sabbath Is Not For many, Sabbath-keeping is a rule-laden throwback to the... Read more

An Ode to the Saint James Devotional Guide

Last updated on: June 20, 2016 at 12:12 pm By Michelle Van Loon

When my husband and I went to our first home school convention in 1992, we expected to discover curriculum and how-to’s. My husband picked up a sample of a devotional booklet from an exhibitor on our way out the door at the end of the day. In a sea of vendors hawking brightly-colored curriculum promising academic success and spiritual bulletproofing to prospective home school families, we nearly overlooked the modest table from a group calling itself The Fellowship of Saint... Read more

From “Tradition” to “Sunrise, Sunset”: Fiddler `N Me

Last updated on: June 16, 2016 at 7:25 am By Michelle Van Loon

Selling the idea of a musical about the pogroms in Russia at the turn of the last century must not have been easy. Imagine the first time the creators of sat down across the table from a potential investor and tried to sell the idea. “So there’s this Jewish milkman, poor as dirt, and he has these five daughters. The three of marrying age make choices that move each away in progressively greater ways from the milkman’s faith and traditions.... Read more