Author: Michelle Van Loon
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Body Life by Org Chart
Tom and Tracy have been involved in church life throughout their long marriage, doing everything from teaching third graders in Sunday School to helping to launch their congregation’s food pantry ministry. As their nest emptied, the couple wondered if God might be calling them to full-time vocational ministry. After graduation, Tom eventually found a position…
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Donald Trump and The Jerusalem Embassy
Ever since Donald Trump announced the U.S. would relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, people have been asking me for my thoughts on the decision. I am a Messianic Jew, and serve as the U.S. Administrator for a discipleship and education ministry based in Jerusalem. I do English-language editing for a weekly round-up of stories…
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400 Years Of Silence?
I’d long heard the salvation narrative presented in the Bible framed something like this: “…and then there was 400 years of silence from God between the conclusion of the Old Testament prophet Malachi’s ministry until the birth of Jesus.” These words may be technically correct if we explain that what we mean by this is…
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Burned Out On Revivalism
I used to lead writing workshops for middle-school home schooled students. As a way to encourage them to be precise in their use of language, I would ask them to tell me about the first image that came to mind when I said the word “dog”. No two students ever imagined the same breed; they…
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I’m Not A Good Enough Conductor To Orchestrate This Story
Just over a year ago, I had the honor of speaking at the Deeply Rooted event in Chicago. I talked about pilgrimage and exile, subjects in which I’d immersed myself for months, and lived for much, much longer. After I speak, there are often a few people who wish to talk. One woman, Amanda Cleary…
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2017 Instagram Photo Journey: The #AdventWait
Advent begins on Sunday, December 3rd. For the last 3 years, one practice that has helped me lean into the wait of Advent was to post a picture each day on Instagram that reflects a word or theme related to the season. (Here are links to my past years’ efforts: 2014, 2015, 2016 via Instagram, hashtag…