Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/93

Contributor - Jonathan Gerstner

Title - Finally Beloved

Topic - Reformed Church In Canada

The future of denominations is a matter of great concern for all those who love their family of churches. The reality of the current crisis in the life of denominations is that most individuals have little concern for the church outside their local congregation. Most evangelical denominations are congregational in polity (authority stopping at the local congregation), most evangelical congregations in main line denominations have become de facto Congregationalists doing all in their power to avoid the impact of decisions made by broader assemblies. Is there a future for families of churches?

I am happy to declare my conviction that there a is great future for the dream of families of churches. First of all, it is biblical to have a family of churches. Christ did not establish a congregation, He set up a church. Congregations from the beginning were part of the family of churches and met to hold binding representative assemblies to determine God's will for the church. The Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 was the first recorded assembly of this nature, and it already reveals how surprisingly the Spirit can produce support for His truth from individuals, least likely from a human perspective, to speak for a matter. Who could possibly have expected James, leader of the great Jewish Christian congregation at Jerusalem to have thrown his weight behind the "radical" new church development pastors Paul and Barnabas to facilitate Gentiles entering the family of churches without becoming Jews? Yet he did and his leadership was used in God's providence to settle the issue, and humanly speaking without that decision few if any of us would be reading a Christian periodical today.

God has always challenged congregations to be part of a family of churches. Obviously there is a big difference between the biblical ideal of one family of congregations, and the current reality of countless families of congregations. However, the point remains that Scripture never envisioned independent churches living out of covenant with other congregations. We in the Reformed Church view our historic separation from the one family of churches in Western Europe at that time as over essential points of doctrine, and especially over the Gospel itself, that we are saved (that is, justified) by faith in Christ alone. This revolutionary, or reformational beginning, has enshrined the principle that we are morally obliged to leave a family of churches when that family of churches no longer is faithful to the Gospel. This reformational principle forbids any stagnant acquiesence to a family of churches and its decisions if they displease Christ the head of the Church and all families of true churches. Similarly we must welcome all who have left other families of churches on such weighty grounds. Since the Reformation for all our failings we have tried to dialogue with other families of churches, and tried to work for union with true evangelical churches. Significant differences over what the Bible teaches about the sacraments and God's sovereignty, for example, has made that difficult, yet we must always dream of a united evangelical and reformed family of churches.

In the meantime, dialogue with other families of churches is essential. As the Reformed Church in Canada, we have become more and more convinced of our responsibility to call drifting families of churches back to the Gospel, as well as continuing to build up relations with faithful families of churches. This hallmark of "prophetic ecumenism" is one that has been born by the Spirit in our hearts and a gift we desperately need to impart to those involved in ecumenical relations for the Reformed Church outside of Canada.

We are excited to see more and more emphasis on unity between evangelical congregations serving together in local communities. The "prayer summit" movement has been instrumental in stressing this healthy portrayal of unity. No evangelical denomination should ever fear a better unity between evangelical churches in local communities. However, even as churches begin to see themselves as a manifestation of THE church in Vancouver or Calgary or Drayton, all the more they will realize that they need to be part of a family of churches representing the broader presence of the kingdom. We need to make decisions as local congregations, but also as increasingly broad regional assemblies of groups of congregations. Our own family of churches is usually a great way to begin.

The reason for these reflections was the relative close proximity in my life of the three regional assemblies of our families of churches. In June, I was able to represent our family of churches in Canada at the General Synod of our church, see our Synod of Canada born, and serve as a ministerial member of the Classis of Ontario at one of its special sessions. Of course, I could spend a long time pointing out things that went wrong, and healthy, loving criticism will always be a hallmark of the Pioneer as we work to present our family of churches to Christ as part of His pure bride. But I would rather point out what went right. An assembly of an over 350 year old family of churches still consistently affirmed evangelical decisions, and elected two excellent Christian leaders as President and Vice President. Classis Ontario dealt with difficult and painful matters while evidencing a deep pastoral concern by and for all sides. The Synod of Canada is brand new, and has a chance from the beginning to serve its congregations with the Gospel.

I hope that each one of us will work to build our family of churches into an ever more faithful fellowship of believers. The Canadian classes, new and old, and the Synod of Canada are directly in our hands and if they do not reflect the glory and beauty of the Lord, we have nowhere to look but in the mirror. Our percentage of representation on the General Synod and its executive committee, the General Synod Council, will be at its highest level of any period of the history of our family of churches. May the Lord let us sense with excitement the role we can play in not only keeping our family of churches faithful to the Gospel, but helping us grow closer to Christ in word and deed. May we become ever more a blessing to every other family of churches, and to all in the world that need to hear the Good News.

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