Shiao Chong

Mississauga

Editor in Chief at The Banner Magazine

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Articles

A Pastor’s Faith in Action

1 month 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.
A Sustained and Healthy Connection to the Broader Church

1 month 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.
Empathy and Justice

1 month 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.
Is the ‘Sin of Empathy’ a Biblical Teaching?

2 months 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.
How to Stay Connected With Family in a Health Crisis

Mar 19, 2025 | 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.
Anti-echo Chamber

Nov 25, 2024 | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong

Christ brings his peace, not through coercion or silencing other voices, (but) with words and deeds full of grace and truth. In our divided world and divided church, we need media that break down divisions, not reinforce them. This is my vision for The Banner: to be an anti-echo chamber for the Christian Reformed Church. In news media and social media, an echo chamber is an environment where someone encounters only information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own.
The Elder Brother

Nov 5, 2024 | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong

Though both ways are equally wrong, the elder brother’s lostness is more dangerous because most elder brothers are blind to their condition. My favorite book by the late Timothy Keller is The Prodigal God (2008). In it, Keller dives into the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), or as Keller calls it, the parable of the two lost sons. For Keller, both the younger brother and the elder brother in Jesus’ parable are lost, but in different ways.
The Banner Team

Oct 7, 2024 | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong

Wonder who makes up the team putting together the news, features, media reviews, and ads that make up The Banner in print and online each month? CHONG: Shiao Chong (who goes by “Chong”) has been The Banner’s editor in chief since 2016, after 15 years in campus ministry. Born and raised in Malaysia, Chong studied in Canada and immigrated there after graduation. He lives in Mississauga with his brilliant scientist wife, Martha, and three daughters.
Elephants in the Room

Sep 30, 2024 | thebanner.org | Shiao Chong

I have been thinking a lot recently about Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (2012). Although I don’t agree with everything in his book, I do think there is a lot of truth in the moral psychologist’s central metaphor about the human mind: “the mind is divided, like a rider on an elephant, and the rider’s job is to serve the elephant” (p. 12).
Reaching Ukraine’s Military Spouses

Jul 24, 2024 | thebanner.org | Brian Clark |Victoria Veenstra |Shiao Chong |Susie Vander Vaart

Angelina was beginning to dread the calls. What used to be a highlight in her otherwise horrible days had become a regular reminder of just how much the war in Ukraine had already changed her beloved husband. “His psychological condition isn’t good,” Angelina said.