Dutch Reformer, Institution Founder & Michigan Entrepreneur

Albertus Christiaan Van Raalte was born in 1811 in the Netherlands, was a pillar in the Afscheiding, sat under Groen van Prinsterer, was always running from the law, wrote letters to Abraham Kuyper to not over-work (which council Kuyper failed to apply), led the emigrations to Michigan, helped start Hope College and Western Seminary, and loved him so church polity. To talk about Van Raalte we are joined by the living-legend Robert Swierenga, author of “A. C. Van Raalte: Pastor by Vocation, Entrepreneur by Necessity.”

A stagnant economy, premodern agriculture, and high population growth had led to a sense of hopelessness. Then Enlightenment rationalism and political discontent cast the Dutch Reformed Church adrift in a sea of doubt and uncertainty. This set the stage for the welcome by Dutch liberals of invading French “liberators” in 1795 and the formation of the Batavian Republic, which disestablished the public church. French dominance increased under Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who established the Kingdom of Holland under his brother Louis in 1804 and made the nation a French vassal state in 1810. The new regime introduced the French Civil Code and modernized an antiquated bureaucracy, bringing with it new taxes and intrusive regulations, such as the first national census, universal military conscription, a civil registry, and other constraints. Young Albertus received the best education the Netherlands could offer in the nineteenth century—parochial day school, Athenaeum, and university. He became an itinerant pastor who planted congregations in the largely rural province of Overijssel. When desperate poverty drove thousands of these Separatists to emigrate to America in the 1840s, Van Raalte himself decided to emigrate and lead his followers to safer pastures. Had he remained in the homeland, as did all but a few of his colleagues, his life would have been comfortable and in familiar surroundings, within his subculture and its routines. Emigrating overseas never entered his mind until midlife, but doing so lifted him to a dynamic role in a period of change in both countries, with different speeds, directions, opportunities, and threats.

The two major Dutch Reformed colonies in the 1840s were those of A. C. Van Raalte in Holland, Michigan, and Rev. Hendrik (Henry) P. Scholte in Pella, Iowa. Van Raalte and Scholte, erstwhile friends in the Netherlands, faced a role reversal in America, and they became rivals, competing for settlers and influence. Pella had the early advantage because Scholte had brought almost nine hundred followers, compared to Van Raalte’s fewer than one hundred. But Scholte’s religious independence and refusal to join the American branch of the Reformed Church, as Van Raalte did, hurt his recruitment efforts. The poverty-stricken Holland colony was isolated and twenty miles from the nearest market towns. But thanks to its harbor, wood products shipped to insatiable Chicago markets paid for provisions and supplies that were brought back on return sailings. Holland’s harbor offered easy sailing to Chicago and other Great Lake ports as far away as Buffalo and even New York City via the Erie Canal. Kalamazoo, fifty-five miles southeast, provided a direct rail connection to New York. Pella in south-central Iowa lay fifty miles from Des Moines, the capitol and nearest large city, and it had no railroad service for twenty years. As a result, it remained for generations a small, market town that serviced farms within twenty miles. Holland lay astride the two most productive agricultural counties in Michigan—Ottawa and Allegan. The Holland area today has five or six times the population of the Pella area. And Holland’s diverse industrial economy far surpasses that of Iowa’s agricultural economy. In the rivalry with Scholte, Van Raalte’s accomplishments became the embodiment of what Scholte had hoped to achieve.

The Piety of a Normal Job & the Process to Arrive There

“How can I pick the right job?” Actually, you don't need to choose a job that's "perfect for you." But you do need to be productive in ways that honor God in your work life. Here's a better question: As a believer, how can I determine what I am supposed to do, and then do it well? The doctrine of calling, or vocation, will lead you to the answer. All this, and more, as we sit down with William Boekestein and discuss his new book “Finding My Vocation: A Guide for Young People Seeking a Calling."

Most children’s book and entertainment are woefully lame (and, of course, most adult books and entertainment are lame as well [(did you guys see that there is an Amazon show for clowns that has a black, gay, handicap King of England?]). In attempts to counteract that (often with good intentions) authors who seek to position the male lead in his rightful masculine place often, perhaps unknowing to them (perhaps in their knee-jerk reaction resulting in overcorrection), will often relegate the female role to a truncated picture of optimal biblical femininity. However, in Forrest Dickison’s new children’s book “Crispin’s Rainy Day” we don’t get that sort of sloppy work. Sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are given a proper account that aligns aright with their respective roles as bearers of the image of God. Join me as I sit down with Dickison and discuss what goes into a penning a book for children, toads and pirates, and, how, being a father of daughters, Forrest accounts for the role of both boys and girls in a way that does your kids right.

Megan Basham, author of “Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda” joins The Laymen’s Lounge to discuss all the dust that’s been kicked up as a result of all the bootlickers and sellouts getting called out.

For years, when folks were taking stock of our cultural moment in regard to faith and such, it was a given that people would reference Charles Taylor. As of late, however, I've started noticing every book, article, and podcast I've digested is referencing Aaron Renn and his observations and analysis in connection with his book "Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture." With the help of this framework, join us as we discuss with Renn everything from the SBC, Doug Wilson, and Jordan Peterson to Taylor Swift, Disney, and short-term missions.

Join us as we sit down with Scott Hatch and discuss his new book "Van Til and the Foundation of Christian Ethics: A God-Centered Approach to Moral Philosophy." Unveiling the often-overlooked significance of Cornelius Van Til in the realm of Reformed ethics, this work draws light upon his unique moral philosophy. Grounded in the covenantal epistemology and metaphysics typically employed for apologetics, Van Til masterfully harmonized his insights with those of Geerhardus Vos’ biblical theology. In contrast to many ethicists who concentrate on formulating and applying principles, Van Til focused his attention on the Christian’s greatest good (summum bonum), which is God himself. His dedication to exploring the ethical implications of this divine starting point produced a standard of God-centeredness in moral philosophy that remains distinctive among Reformed thinkers, setting him apart even from his students, such as Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, and Meredith Kline, who have also contributed substantially to Reformed ethics. Amidst the rise of moral relativism in the mid-twentieth century, Van Til’s stance was steadfast. This book, which includes a new critical edition of Van Til’s Christian Theistic Ethics, reveals how, against the backdrop of this challenging era, he not only successfully defended Christian ethical foundations but also holistically integrated ethics with the rest of Christian theology, reinforcing its relevance and import.

The Image-Bearing Piety of Being a Cog in the Wheel

If you read one book this year let it be David Bahnsen’s “Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life.” Why? Well, you know there are three persons in one God, and you know that you are saved by grace alone through faith alone, you know you would do well to be a part of a local church, etc. (and you do well to know and consider these things), but is that extent of the Christian life? Is your telos in this life to just white-knuckle it until you swept away yonder by and by? Surely there must be something more to this life than mere prep for the afterlife. Work must be more than just a medium to evangelize and support missionaries… Yes, yes! Tis true! There is more! Rejoice in your telos, in the glorious blessing of work that has been given you! When we work, we reflect the image of God, we have an intuitive sense of firing on all cylinders, and all seems to be in order when we submit to the Lordship of Christ in this most fundamental of spheres (both pragmatically and spiritually). Do read the book – and listen-in as we chat with Bahnsen and catch a primer on what awaits you in these foundational and timely and God-honoring and joy-yielding pages. Pro Rege!

Today we are joined by Stephen Brett Eccher to discuss the firebrand of fidelity that is Ulrich Zwingli in connection with Eccher’s new book “Zwingli the Pastor: A Life in Conflict” from Lexham press.