Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/94

Contributor - Jonathan N. Gerstner

Title - Finally Beloved: All in The Family

Topic - Reformed Church In Canada

Imagine you found that someone had been living in your attic for years. They had lived under the same roof, they had shared the same space. Would that make them a part of your family? Would that mean that they have a right to stay there?

This probably sounds like a pretty silly illustration. Who could imagine someone hiding out in your house, and then having the audacity to insist that they had the right to stay there, and indeed that they were part of the family. But remarkably that happens frequently in the church.

I reflect on one of the first experiences I had as a denominational minister. I had come from the spiritual high of welcoming our first transfer congregations from the UCC. I innocently shared my joy about this celebration at a denominational staff meeting, only to be challenged by a colleague on staff. I was told that this move would endanger our ecumenical relations. Had I told the transfer congregations that it was indeed by no means clear where the RCA was going with regard to that issue, and they needed to know that there were those in the RCA who felt very comfortable with the view of the UCC?

Before I could say a word, two brother regional staff had jumped in to defend our welcome of the transfer congregations and the matter dropped. It was one of my first denominational staff gatherings and I greatly appreciated the support. However, I realized very quickly that the RCA was not one big happy family.

You see my colleague had made a very eloquent view of the silly argument which we presented at the beginning of this article. People in the RCA have defended and advocated for this position (that homosexual practice is morally acceptable), therefore they legitimately were part of the RCA family and newcomers to the RCA needed to know they were there. I hope we can all see how absurd that argument is. The RCA claims the authority of Scripture. The RCA has consistently affirmed that homosexual practice is sin. Some people have broken into the attic. Unfortunately the true homeowners have not had the wisdom or the courage to evict them, but it does not change the fact that they have no right to be there. The Church is our Father's house, there is no place in it for those who reject His authority. Believers in the RCA need to realize that the fact that we have sadly allowed unbelievers in leadership does not change the fact that they are not really part of the family. We need to pray for the conversion of those in our leadership who have drifted from the clear teachings of Scripture, but always see that only followers of Christ are part of His family.

That interesting incident also was the first time I found a defense of core Christianity to be attacked as anti-ecumenical. The Reformed Church in Canada has often been presented by our opponents as ecumenical troublemakers, when we try to take a clear defense of basic Christianity. In fact the Synod of Canada has empowered its staff to devote much of its time and effort to true ecumenicity. I love working with true believing family members of different traditions. How I wish there was the same spiritual unity that I find at an Evangelical Fellowship of Canada prayer summit at an RCA staff gatherings-. I have been blessed in broader ecumenical gatherings to exercise a prophetic gift to call people back to core Christianity within spiritually declining main line churches. But calling the stranger in the attic to join the family, is very different from assuming that he already is a member. Evangelicals have a crucial ecumenical role in working for evangelism of non-Christian leaders of main line churches, not in pretending that we are all part of the Christian family. I pray that our new General Secretary as a professing evangelical shares that vision for prophetic ecumenism. He will need it inside the RCA as well as outside in the broader ecumenical community.

It hurts to say that we are not all one big happy family in the RCA. I pray the day will come when the Lord will grant a revival in our midst. In the meantime, we need to realize that God is calling us to stay in our beloved church. The RCA is still officially a biblical church. Those of us who are faithful are honestly in the RCA, those who advocate for drift from the Word are the intruders in the attic. They may be ministers or professors or denominational staff, but spiritually they are not part of the family. Only faith in Christ as Saviour and its fruit of bowing before Him and His teachings as Lord can bring us into the family.

Interestingly enough, the latest denominational staff meeting I attended came upon a similar theme as my first one. A concern was raised that several major congregations were refusing to pay their assessments. I too disapprove of this practice, but I came to hear much of the discussion implying that one must be loyal to the institution at all costs. A brief discussion occurred about faithfulness, in which the classic reformed understanding of faithfulness as Faithfully calling the institution back to what it officially is supposed to be, a fellowship of churches reformed by the Word of God was presented. But it seemed the dominant theme was to make sure that the gas and hydro stayed on to keep the house warm, not the issue of dealing with intruders in the attic. Would that we could see that intruders are more of a problem than family members who aren't paying their fair share of the utility bill!

How does the state of the RCA "family" affect our families? Simply as the synod of Canada keeps working to call us back to our biblical roots, don't take every opinion current in the RCA as coming from the family of God. The Pioneer has taken the view that only godly evangelical opinions will be presented, family values from members of the family of God. Under its current leadership, our sister magazine, the Church Herald, apparently feels it must provide equal time for those in the attic. Reading godly and ungodly opinion side by side in a church magazine can confuse your family about what God's Word and God's family believes. Make sure your family doesn't get confused by the opinions of the intruders in the attic of our church family home. All in God's family are happy to affirm God's teachings for the family.

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