Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/93

Contributor - Peter Humby

Title - Excerpts from Classis of Ontario Spring 1993 Session: State Of Religion Report

Topic - Reformed Church In Canada

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

This year has flown by and I have enjoyed my term as president. I would like to thank you all for the help and support I received, first from the members of the Executive and also from others that have guided me and encouraged me during this term.

My first concern is with the title of this report, State of Religion. Is that what we are? A religion? The concept of a religion had negative connotations in the Bible and I believe also has today. Perhaps that is our problem we see ourselves as a religion rather than a vibrant part of the Body of Christ. Yes, we abide by all the rules laid out by our Lord, we do the things we are supposed to and do not do those that are unpleasing in His sight Yes, we read our Bibles and do our daily devotions and pray for people that we know of that need our prayers. Yes, we go to church every Sunday (well, nearly every Sunday) and we give our tithes and offerings for the Lord's work. But that is exactly what the Pharisees used to do and that wasn't very pleasing to Christ. Have we become like the Pharisees? I believe we have, and I include myself in that "we".

Any organization is only as strong as its leadership. This applies particularly to the individual church; for in our denomination it is the church where the spring of life starts. Unless there is that willingness to show love for others outside of our neat little ring of members the Lord's kingdom cannot possibly grow, nor will our churches. This attitude of love to others must start with our pastors and the other leaders in the church. We will surely die if we try to generate enthusiasm for God and Christ simply within our own families. One of the major concerns in the few reports we did receive is the lack of participation by our young people, both from the teenage level and younger children. That is where our future lies and yet I have heard of churches saying "As soon as we get enough young children we will have a Sunday school program". A parent outside of a church who is interested in their children receiving some knowledge of God is going to look for a church that already has a good Sunday school program. The program must come before the growth. It doesn't matter that some time has been spent preparing and only one or two children attend. It must not be looked upon as a waste of time in preparing - consider it an opportunity to learn yourself and just remember that it only takes a little seed to develop into beautiful fruit. This logic also applies to all your programs at the church level. Get the programs going even if the response is poor. If that work is God's work He will bless it in due time. We, as humans, expect everything to happen immediately. We must be prepared not to see the fruits of our labours until we reach that heavenly home.

We have a great opportunity in the future to change our attitude and our approach to God's commands. In a few weeks from now the General Synod will be meeting to address a motion to form a Synod of Canada. The formation of such a body can be a blessing to all of our churches IF we accept it in the right spirit. Here is an opportunity to become more united as a body that has strong beliefs in Christ within a country that is rapidly turning against Christ. I believe that many people believe in God but not in Christ. As Christians we will be isolated more and more from the life in this country - we may even see some form of persecution from our governments. It is a time when we must stand closer and support one another right across this great country of ours - a time when we must stand up and be counted. We can do this better if we are a Canadian organization and not simply appendages of our denomination in the United States. We must use the strength and knowledge of our brothers and sisters south of the border but must develop our own strengths from a Canadian perspective. Leadership is going to be the key again and that leadership must come from the individual churches. Do you have strong individuals that would be a blessing to the Lord if they were to be part of our leadership? Are you encouraging those people that you feel have that leadership quality to become involved? Do you search out the means of educating those potential leaders and do you take advantage of those opportunities that already exist? In my travels, I have met young people who would be potential leaders but they need encouragement and training. That is our responsibility as the older generation. Let us be prepared to hand over the reigns to some younger members, to listen to what they have to say, to support them in their endeavours to live the life of Christ and to live out His command to "go into the world and make disciples of all men". We must be prepared to accept new ways of doing things which doesn't mean we have to compromise what we believe. The Word is and must always be the guide to our life in Christ but we have to recognize that there are other and newer ways in which we can reach the unchurched. I appeal to the older element in our denomination to relinquish some of the religious ideas that we have and let the up and coming younger members have their say and let us listen intently to their ideas and give them advise and encouragement.

I believe that we are currently at the crossroads - are we going to take the right direction for the future? It is now that we must seek that new direction from God - tomorrow may be too late.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.