Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/94

Contributor - Jonathan Gerstner

Title - The Revolution of 1994

Topic - Reformed Church In Canada

As I come to the end of 1994, it is truly amazing to see the changes wrought by God in the past year. I still feel that this new calling has hit me like a whirlwind, indeed I doubt it could have been more dramatic if God had directly lifted me up from Ontario and landed me in Florida than the less dramatic means of calling me which He used. I am sitting at my desk, looking out my window at palm trees. My family and I rejoice to have received the blessing of becoming Canadian citizens on the eve of our departure, a constant reminder of our loyalty to the cause of His kingdom in our land, and an open door to future ministry. Yet we also note the irony of using our new found citizenship initially to join many compatriots in sunny Florida. Many similarities with my former ministry remain, I am now serving on the Classis of Florida CP&D committee working to help predominately ethnic congregations catch a vision of for cross cultural ministry in their own congregations and in new church developments. In some ways it feels as if the biggest change has been in the focus of ministry in teaching, a gift many encouraged me to use more directly, while many aspects of the former ministry happily remain, along with my deep love of the Synod of Canada. Indeed new seminary development, new synod development and new church development have a lot in common. It is always a joy to be able to start without a set rule book, and ask what the Lord would like a new ministry to look like, as the first and primary question.

I feel a sense as seminary professor that I am investing myself in preparing students to enter the front lines of ministry with an excitement and commitment to changing the world. The responsibility of mentoring those preparing for the ministry has been a source of personal spiritual renewal in my own life. I have seen my own prayer life deepen, and teaching at Knox Theological Seminary, a school immersed in a founding vision of evangelism and church growth, has helped me in my personal evangelizing. As I look back on the joy and privilege of ministry for the RCC, I wish now that I had spent more time in prayer with many of you in addition to the quality discussions we have had. I covet your prayers for the future of this new ministry and that I can stay spiritually sharp for the challenges.

Sitting in such a different environment, it is interesting to have a chance to re-evaluate the past year in the RCC. The significance of last year in no way pales from the perspective of an evangelical seminary professor in the U.S. Last year was truly remarkable. We birthed a synod. Not just any synod - a national synod. Not a doctrinally pluralistic synod - an evangelical synod. 1994 revealed the crisis with regard to basic Christian beliefs at the highest echelons of Canadian ecumenical leadership. What an act of God's grace to be able to have a synod in place to contend for these truths. 1994 again revealed the inability of the RCA as a denomination to unambiguously defend basic truths of Scripture. What an opportunity for an evangelical synod to provide leadership. 1994 was a year in which the Church Herald continued to reflect the doctrinal decline of the denomination. What a joy to see part of our assessment dollars (in Florida as well as in Alberta) at least partially support the Pioneer as it presents prophetic evangelical leadership for the future. The Synod of Canada remains uniquely situated to make a difference for the Lord in our land and in our denomination.

What happened in 1994 was remarkable. We founders of the synod dared to look at the question of what a church assembly actually ought to do. Normally forming new synods and classes is little more than starting new franchises of a central office. If that is all the new synod or classes are, we who laboured on it have indeed wasted a lot of time and resources merely to put a pretty Canadian face on a declining denomination. But instead, those involved asked what a broader assembly of the church ought to do to bring glory to the Lord and to strengthen the ministry of the gospel in local congregations. Revolutionarily, building God's kingdom was put first, denominational structure, important though as it was, a clear second. Assemblies were planned to be bathed in prayer. Synodical projects were meant to be judged by the criteria of the glory of God, and not maintenance of the structure. The launching of the "Draw Near to God" meetings as the first major emphasis of the new synod, is an extraordinarily exciting way to launch an assembly of the church.

So I would like to describe the birth of the synod using a very uncanadian term, "revolution". I do not mean this term primarily in the sense of breaking away from central governance, for this revolution hoped to revitalize the whole structure of the denomination. What I mean is a Copernican revolution, seeing that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around. The birth of the synod showed that we had a vision of church assemblies which were times of prayer and praise, not events to be endured. Further yet these assemblies did not revolve around the whims of the denomination, or even around themselves, they revolved around the Glory of the Living God with the desire to meet the needs of the local congregations and the call to minister the good news throughout the land. This makes the events of 1994 in the RCC truly unique, and a wonderful opportunity to reform and renew the RCA. I am ever humbled by the opportunity in God's grace to have been part of them.

Change of leadership is always a challenge. I must admit how hard it is to let go and no longer be at the heart of the picture of the Synod of Canada even while seeing God's hand in the call to minister at His new seminary. As a professor at Knox, I will work to revolutionalize theological education to keep the glory of God at the centre by keeping the spiritual needs of students and the needs of the local church at the heart of our curriculum. I hope to have a chance to train future synod leaders. I am confident that the synod will continue to search for discerning and prophetic leaders to continue in the paths that we have begun together. I for one will gladly encourage evangelicals in the RCA with the potential for evangelical renewal on which the revolution on which our synod is built represents, and encourage them to start working on a changing of the denomination from the bottom up.

1994 left many indelible marks on the Reformed Church in Canada. Neither the churches of the Reformed Church in Canada nor the Reformed Church in America will ever be quite the same. May our Lord empower us all to look forward with anticipation to the plans He has for us. May the revolution continue with personal spiritual revolution. May 1995 be a great year of drawing near to God.

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