Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/93

Contributor - Mr. Bart Strong

Title - 1993 All- Canadian Leadership Conference

Topic - Reformed Church In Canada

The 1993 Canadian Leadership conference was held June 3 to June 5 on the campus of the University of British Columbia just prior to the 1993 General Synod meeting at the same facility.

What is a leadership conference and why did I have to travel all the way to the West Coast to attend one?

Well, this leadership conference brought together pastoral and lay leaders from all four comers of the Reformed Church in Canada; geographical corners, cultural comers, historical comers and philosophical comers. We came together in a spirit of unity and belonging, to affirm our identity as a Reformed presence in Canada, to build each other up, share experiences and to seek a common direction that Ail] further "bind us together" in the Lord. I certainly felt that these goals, although not stated as such, were met by the group as a whole during our two and a half days together.

Rev. Jim Moertnan and Rev. Ron Opmeer led us in musical worship at the beginning of each session throughout the conference. What a way to start a discussion! Our inspiration and instruction was provided by two of the most able preachers and teachers of our time and we were very privileged to be able to share with them.

Rev. Harold Korver from Emmanuel Reformed Church in Los Angeles (a church built from 200 to 1200 members) spoke about "Moving Through Tradition to Mission" in his first session, "Worship as a Key to Revitalization and Empowerment" in his second session and "Christian Fathering and Building Church Leadership" in his third session.

We discussed how to celebrate and use the strengths that God has given us and our churches. We talked about using our traditions and strengths as springboards and moving through them to the real mission of the church. We learned that programs, money and buildings do not mean a thing unless you are empowered by God to serve; and worship is basic to receiving power from God. Every meeting and event in the church should begin with worship. We talked about the seven enemies that surround the church and how to break them. They are:

1. Principalities and Powers

2. The Weariness of the Flesh

3. Chaotic Change

4. Grief

5. The Enemy of Choice

6. Practical Atheism

7. Pious Talk

Think about this for a moment. "Every change leads to a loss, every loss leads to anxiety, anxiety brings on grief and grief produces hostility." Is there hostility and grief in your congregation? (H. Korver)

Rev. Korver attributes much of the growth in his churches to the work he does with men. He actively encourages men in his congregation to be leaders in their homes and in the church, to live Godly, biblical lives, set values for their families and lead their families to church. You must be a parent and give encouragement to your children until the day you die, not only to your children but to all children. The youth of today are generally a lost generation without real parents and need to be nurtured and fathered into maturity.

Dr. J. 1. Packer, a professor at Regent College, well-known theologian, worldwide and prolific writer, spoke to us about "The Holy Spirit and the Christian Worker" and "Keeping On in the Faith". His two lectures and our small group discussions focused on the Holy Spirit and leadership. The Holy Spirit was sent to give a vision of the glory of Christ and an experience of fellowship with Christ. The Holy Spirit provides knowledge, enables change and transformation, and empowers us for service, ministry and fellowship through spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit blesses prayerful endeavours but not inner passivity or spiritual laziness. One of Satan's triumphs has been to persuade people generally that he to doesn't exist. We need to discipline our selves like Nehemiah because the Spirit manifests his grace and p ower in our perseverance. Like Nehemiah, we need to be people of prayer and discernment, distressed by sin, zelous of God's glory. humble, seeking to be faithful in the covenant bold, willing to walk alone and faithful leaders. Dr. Beth Marcus, President of General Synod, spoke briefly to us about catching the Caleb spirit. She called us to be a praying church, to be disciples, to serve God with our gifts and to simplify the language of our faith so that newcomers would not be intimidated.

The small groups that were put together for discussion purposes were formed so that all regions of Canada were represented in each group. These were particularly useful when it came time to set goals for the new Synod of Canada. Although this may have see a bit premature (the Canadian Synod would not be approved for several days yet at the General Synod meeting), it was a valuable exercise in providing information for the CRCC to act upon and in generating east/west dialogue and dream-sharing.

Although there were a few minor glitches in the overall program, these in no way detracted from the quality and success of the conference. Jonathan Gerstner and Ann-Marie Devries can both be congratulated for their hard work in putting this conference together and guiding it through to a successful completion. I was impressed!

The conference concluded with worship and Holy Communion. As we had shared our concerns and our dreams together, now we shared in communion with Jesus Christ, reaffirming his role in our lives and in the church.

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