Shiao Chong

3 weeks ago | thebanner.org | Cassie Marcionetti |Zachary King |Shiao Chong |Clayton Lubbers

When Nakese, Nakole Ruth, and Loiki’s mother died from AIDS, the three young girls were left to fend for themselves in their grief. They survived by rummaging through garbage for food and sleeping in abandoned houses in their Ugandan village. They found a home again when Sylvia, a pastor of a nearby church, attended a Timothy Leadership Training led by Resonate Global Mission.

3 weeks ago | thebanner.org | Zachary King |Cassie Marcionetti |Shiao Chong |Clayton Lubbers

Building connections with other believers often happens over food. That’s why I appreciate Jesus’ command to “eat what is offered to you” (Luke 10:8). Sitting at a table piled high with rice and beans, yams, mangos, okra soup, beets, chicken, goat, and plantains, I join with the saints in all places and ages in raising my hearty “Amen!” But before digging in, my host shares a reflection on Psalm 133.

3 weeks ago | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong

Empathy should motivate us to seek justice, to protect and stand by the victims. I was alerted to online debates about the “sin of empathy” after publishing the editorial “Empathy” (March 2025). That prompted me to write the Big Question answer on page 10. My focus there is to remind us that the Bible emphasizes the danger of lacking empathy and compassion, not having too much of them. This editorial is about empathy’s relationship to justice. Empathy should not prevent us from enacting justice.

1 month ago | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong |Big Questions

I see Christians debating about the “sin of empathy.” Is that a biblical teaching? I think the phrasing might be deliberately provocative, verging on clickbait. But the point, I believe, is that any virtue, even empathy, can be twisted and weaponized. Although that is true, I worry that some people use that to disparage calls for genuine empathy and compassion or to justify behaviors lacking in empathy and compassion in the name of zeal for God’s truth.

2 months ago | thebanner.org | Dean R. Heetderks |Loren Haarsma |Brian Clark |Shiao Chong

Do you have any tips for staying connected with family members through a health crisis? There’s nothing like a crisis to expose the weaknesses in any system—and that includes family communication systems. With all the technological options available to us, you’d think we would have this down pat, yet often it’s not so easy. Families are made up of different people, each with their own preferences and varying degrees of comfort with one technology or another.