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In It for the Long Haul

By November 25, 2017 No Comments

By Debra Rienstra

Reformed people are in it for the long haul. That’s one of the things I’ve admired about the Reformed people and communities I’ve known all my life.

Maybe it’s something to do with covenant theology—a deep sense of God’s faithfulness across the generations and the centuries to this beloved creation and to God’s beloved people. As one tribe among a vast communion of saints, Reformed people tend to imagine our task as reflecting back God’s faithfulness. Hence so many examples of people who serve their communities and churches, love their families, and cultivate their life’s work over decades, all to the glory of God. Reformed people are also pretty good at creating institutions to leverage that faithfulness from one generation to the next.

That’s why Perspectives and The Twelve blog are in it for the long haul, too. The magazine has been plugging away in our current form since 1990, and the The Twelve blog just completed six full years of daily posts. That’s almost 2200 essays on the blog alone, by dozens of writers. Every day, we ponder and muse and challenge and joke and lament and consider, inviting our readers to join us in daily work of faithful discipleship.

We need Reformed voices. In this weird and disturbing and confusing world, we need people who speak out of faithful Christian practice and principled thought, who speak with humor and wisdom, prophetic fervor and regular good sense. We need voices who speak with a profound trust that God is redeeming the world—through us and despite us.

I’m so proud to be a regular blogger for The Twelve, as each of us endeavors to bring a distinctive voice to this ongoing conversation with you, our readers.

Thank you for supporting the blog through your faithful readership. We’d be grateful if you could help us with your financial support so that we can keep this good thing going. Be in it with us for the long haul, won’t you? Thanks.

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Debra Rienstra

I am a writer and literature professor, teaching literature and creative writing at Calvin University, where I have been on the faculty since 1996. Born and bred in the Reformed tradition, I’ve been unable to resist writing four books about theological topics: beware the writer doing theology without a license. My most recent book is Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth (Fortress, 2022). Besides the books, I’ve written well over two hundred essays for the RJ blog as well as numerous articles, poems, and reviews in popular and scholarly contexts. I have a B.A. from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers. I am married to Rev. Dr. Ron Rienstra, and together we have three grown children. Besides reading and writing, I love classical music, science fiction, fussing in the yard, hiking, and teaching myself useful skills like plant identification and—maybe someday—drywall repair.

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