Thanking God For The 1998 General Synod
by John Kapteyn

It was a privilege and joy to attend the 1998 RCA General Synod in Holland, Michigan, from June 5-10, 1998. It was a Synod which involved a number of Canadians and one which made decisions that should bring thanksgiving to us in the Regional Synod of Canada.

Our Varied Representation

Our voting delegates were the following:

Regional Synod of Canada - John Kapteyn
Classis of British Columbia - Ministers: Livingston Chen, Marc Konynenberg, Elders: Albert Spaa, Dick Van Dyk

Classis of Canadian Prairies - Ministers: Albertus DeLange, Randy Opmeer, Elders: Darrell Brooker, Doreen Leicht

Classis of Ontario - Ministers: Abram Blaak, Heino Blaauw, Elders: Peter Devries,Gerry Koobs

Livingstone Chen was the moderator of the Advisory Committee On Christian Education Discipleship, and Heino Blaauw was the vice moderator of the Advisory Committee On Church Order.

Our corresponding delegates were Thelma Devries (Classis of Ontario) and Grace Vos (Classis of Canadian Prairies).

Presenting Reports were the moderator of the Hispanic Ethnic Council, Brigido Cabrera; TEA director, Cor Kors; and Church Order Commission member James Ramsey (Classis Of Ontario). Marti Van Hoeve did an excellent job managing The Pioneer booth and promoting Canada with flags, and short-term mis-sionaries Rachel Turkstra and Arjenna Strong were among mis-sionaries presented before with Synod. Russ Ooms and John and Mary Verhoog were part of a group of Associates in Ministry. Also present were Canadian students Brian Smilde and Jim Vellinga and visitor Jake Vos.

All in all, we were well represented.

Decisions Reported By The RCA

Elected the Revs. Fritz Kruithof and Vernon Hoffs as the 1998-99 president and vice president.

Established a General Synod Commission on Race and Ethnicity.

Heard plans for a major emphasis on mission in the city, including a $5 million fund drive.

Approved the constitution of the Ministerial Formation Co-ordinating Agency, replacing and expanding the work of the Theological Education Agency (TEA).

Celebrated fifty years of ministry in Sudan.

More fully integrated the four racial/ethnic councils into the life of the denomination.

Celebrated the gifts of women in ministry and celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the decision to permit the ordination of women.

Gave preliminary approval to a paper on the uniqueness of Christ, for study by the church.

Endorsed a major paper on strategies for church revital-ization.

Approved a modest (3.05 percent) increase in assessments ($28.36), the lowest in ten years.

Agreed to refrain from debate on policy concerning homosexuality and to encourage "discernment" concerning its pastoral challenges.

Left untouched the "conscience clauses" that allow non-participation in the ordination of women, but called for a study of the rationale and process for dissent.

Emphasized that the RCA is "both ecumenical and evangelical" by historic back-to-back presen-tations by representatives of both the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC).

 

Items Of Particular Interest To Canada

As I said, I believe the General Synod made some statements and decisions that should be seen with favour in our Regional Synod. Many of us have concerns with the way the church in the world is going, with good reason. However, while the RCA is not without fault (as none of us are), the General Synod showed a concern for the Word of God and its truth.

The General Synod Approved The Following Motions:

To instruct the General Secretary to write a letter to the Executive of General Council of The United Church of Canada expressing the RCA's grave concern over the unbiblical statements of the Moderator of the United Church of Canada, The Rev. William Phipps, and requesting the Executive of General Council of the United Church of Canada to disassociate itself from these statements and to instruct the General Secretary to report through the Commission on Christian Unity to the 1999 General Synod.

The Synod first approved the reports from the Commission on Theology: "The Crucified One Is Lord": Confessing the Uniqueness of Christ in a Pluralistic Society. The report states that There is no basis in these texts for the development of a theology in which the proclamation of Christ is unnecessary and it is always Jesus who is the saviour. Some of the language in this report caused concern among many, including a number of our delegates. The Synod reconsidered their approval of the motion and approved as a provisional statement, faithful to the Word and Standards… to be reviewed by the church with input to be returned by April 1.

Dr. James Brownson, the mod-erator of the Commission on Theology, agreed with this revision, which allows those with concerns to express them and for potential changes to be made to address them.

On the issue of homosexuality, it was revealed that New Brunswick Seminary’s president had hired a openly-practicing lesbian but that the Board of New Brunswick had rescinded that hiring. Our General Secretary said: In my judgement, this action was a mistake. It threatened to create a breach of trust between the denomination and New Brunswick Theological Seminary.

He reminded the Synod of previous decisions: In 1990, the General Synod approved a proposal for a denom-inational position on the issue: "To adopt as the position of the Reformed Church in America that the practicing homosexual lifestyle is contrary to Scripture, while at the same time encouraging love and sensitivity towards such persons as fellow human beings."

He proposed a recommendation, which was approved with amend-ments. It says that the RCA’s position should not be debated for the next three Synods.

To instruct this General Synod to refrain from deliberative debate and policy decisions relating specifically to homosexuality, as these matters have already been thoroughly addressed by previous synods, and to urge this same action upon the 1999 and 2000 General Synods; and further,

to request all commissions, agencies, assemblies, and institutions related to the General Synod to refrain from taking any action that would be in obvious contradiction of our stated positions, as expressed especially in 1978, 1979, 1990, and 1994; and further,

to instruct the General Synod Council, through its Congregational Services Committee, to help enable con-gregations and classes to enter a process of intentional discernment concerning the pastoral challenges raised by the existence of persons of homosexual orientation within our churches and within the communities in which we are called to minister over the next two years, utilizing the study guide and other resources, in order to fulfill the actions called for on this matter by the 1994 General Synod.

I was also quite pleased that recommendations towards the removal of the conscience clause in regard to the ordination of women were defeated. Regardless of our individual positions, we must not take away the right of those to uphold their convictions in this matter.

A recommendation from Livingston Chen was also approved. It instructed the General Secretary to write President Clinton and the RSC Executive to write Prime Minister Chretien concerning the treatment of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.

All in all, in was a good Synod!