Dietrich BonhoefferThe life – and sacrifice – of pastor/author/teacher/theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is highlighted in the latest Master Arts Theatre production, "The Beams Are Creaking."

The biographical drama, featuring local actor Tim VanBruggen in the lead role, opens April 14.

"The messages and themes that emote from this play are still relevant today," noted director Bob Karel.

Randy Hekman’s heart beats for revival and unity among believers in Jesus Christ.Randy Hekman’s big picture goal extends beyond people praying together for one hour during the local National Day of Prayer at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.

“I really want to see revival,” said Hekman, executive director of The Grand Awakening, a nonprofit he founded that desires to see a spiritual awakening sweep across a unified Body of Christ in West Michigan.

And because Hekman dreams big, he wants to see it impact the nation as well.

Singer Adam Crabb of the Gaither Vocal Band was part of group founder Bill Gaither's 80th birthday celebration last week. "It was a surprise party, and it went really well," said Crabb, 36, from near his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Crabb is a relative newcomer to the celebrated group, which Gaither began in the early 1980s – a successor of sorts to his original Bill Gaither Trio. Crabb and fellow singer Todd Suttles joined the group just two years ago.

"When that first Gaither (Homecoming) video came out, that's what hooked our family into music," Crabb recalled of he and his four siblings who for many years sang as The Crabb Family. "We loved the music and the sound and the message. It's pretty wild how eventually God brings things full circle and now I'm singing with the group that really inspired me."

Harry Lantinga has enjoyed attending the churchmen’s luncheon for about 35 years.Harry Lantinga has been a faithful attendee of Westminster Presbyterian Church's Churchmen's Luncheon for more than 30 years.

"It's always a different speaker and that's half the enjoyment," said Lantinga, a retired real estate broker. "The other half of the reason is my friends are here."

It was the day between Good Friday and Easter that singer-songwriter and Bible teacher Michael Card carried a Hudsonville audience through the Holy Week story at Grace Community Church.

Backed by the church's 40-voice choir and a small string section, Card's 80-minute, 16 song-set included many of his past ballads and anthems on Christ's passion, and several newer songs that fit the theme.

West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for April:

(l to r) Mel Trotter Ministries community relations director Abbey Sladick and Adrienne Goodstal, vice president of programs, stand in the Youth Emergency Shelter’s common living area.Abusive homes, aging out of the foster care system and feeling intimated by older homeless men are key reasons why Mel Trotter Ministries launched its Youth Emergency Shelter (YES) for men ages 18-24 at its gospel rescue mission in downtown Grand Rapids, located at 225 Commerce Ave. SW.

Besides providing an overnight refuge for a maximum of six young men for a 21-day stay, YES's separate space provides immediate basic needs including meals, access to a bathroom and shower, clean clothing, a designated sleeping room and a living room style community area.

If there is one emotion or attitude that can destroy someone's life it is bitterness. Bitterness is a monster that has destroyed marriages, families, churches and even nations. When a bitter spirit is loose somewhere there is no telling the damage and havoc it can bring about. The heart of bitterness is rooted in an unforgiving spirit toward someone or about something that happened to us in life. Bitterness is often easier to see in others, but very hard to see in ourselves.

If you went to a doctor for checkup, the doctor might check our blood, take our blood pressure, and measure our height and weight against standard targets. A number of tests and measurements could be taken. But is there a test for bitterness, hidden anger and resentment? While there may not be a specific test, there are some signs. Here are a few: Do we experience a loss of energy on a regular basis? Have we dropped out of things we used to enjoy doing? Do we spend less time with people? Do small things really bother us? Do we resent hearing sermons on grace, forgiveness and the Cross?  Do we share our faith with others?

If there's one thing I've learned in thirty years of parenting, it's this: there's no pill you can take or give to your kids to make everything work out perfectly. Trust me—I've checked. These things just don't come in a bottle.

In parenting, then, it's important to establish some parameters for ourselves as we deal with our children. Over the years, I've built some guidelines for myself, and three in particular have been so beneficial that I'd like to pass them on.

I call them the Three W's .

Starfysh founder/president Steve Edmondson prays with a mother and her gravely ill daughter.Dr. Steve Edmondson acknowledges he felt over his head when he launched Starfysh, a nonprofit grass roots movement that started with a simple idea that has since mushroomed to some ambitious initiatives intended to alleviate the abject poverty of the 100,000 people who live on the island of La Gonave, Haiti.

"Mine is a story of what God can do even when someone is ill equipped," said Edmondson, an affable man who's a family practice physician in Saranac and the founder and president of Starfysh. "It's since become obvious to me God had something bigger than I had in mind. Since then, I've tried to keep up with what God is doing with us."

People sometimes think they can make it alone. But it's not so. Aristotle thought men and women were social animals. He got the first part correct. Human beings are indeed first, last, and always social.

But we're not animals. We're something different, a creation "a little lower than the angels" made "in the image of God." People who forget this sometimes end up feeling alone, or they end up going alone.

In the extreme, people who think they can go it alone end up kind of freaky weird. Think Howard Hughes, Bobby Fischer, maybe the Unabomber.