A Birthright Church or a Confessional Church?

Written by Curtis Meliefste

At Synod 2024, a pivotal moment unfolded when Patrick Anthony, stepping up to the microphone, boldly declared himself to be “more CRC than Alvin Plantinga.” This profound statement, often referenced since, encapsulated the entire conversation of the past 50 years into a singular moment.

It is debatable how long the Christian Reformed Church (CRCNA or CRC) has been deliberating over matters of human sexuality. Some say since 2016, or 2022, or even 1973. Regardless of the date, it is clear that the CRC has been dealing with this issue for some time. At some point, the conversation has to be resolved, and that means that some will be happy and some will be sad. The conversation on human sexuality in the CRC is not unique. Read Aaron Vriesman’s series It Doesn’t Work to see that many other denominations have been having this conversation. However, two aspects of the conversation make it unique in the CRC. First, the CRC reversed the unbiblical progression and returned to her biblical and confessional roots, and second, the battle in the CRC has been waged between to particularly unique groups. In this article, I want to expand on the second aspect.

I was not born in the Christian Reformed Church but have a Dutch Calvinist heritage. I can play ‘Dutch Bingo’ with the best of them, and having been in the CRC for over 15 years, I can pass as a multi-generational CRC-er. In some sense, I could pick the group I want to be a part of: the birthright CRC or the confessional CRC. It is my observation that these are the two groups that have been struggling with one another to define what it means to be Christian Reformed and put forth a positive vision for the denomination. 

By birthright CRC, I refer to those who define their “Christian Reformed-ness” by their generational heritage, attendance in SWIM, AOYC, Calvin University, Redeemer, etc. You might have made or likely have heard these claims. In a positive sense, these are amazing testimonies of the legacy of a denomination. I typically enjoy hearing them and rejoice in how God has worked through generations and institutions to minister to His people. However, our membership in the CRC (and the Kingdom of God) is not a birthright. Just because your grandparents planted a church and you graduated from Calvin University does not automatically make you Christian Reformed.

The alternative (confessional CRC) are those who are Christian Reformed because of what the CRC believes and how she functions--our ‘Reformed accent’ if you will. It is not enough to just be Reformed; if one is Reformed, there is a cornucopia of church options that fit that bill. To be Christian Reformed has some specifics: our doctrine, accent, standards, church government, will and ability to engage the world, etc. Those who are willing to make their membership vows and/or sign the Covenant of Officebearers (CfO) without reservations or exceptions are those who make up the ‘confessional CRC.’ They understand what the CRC is, what she believes, and they want to participate and be bound by the same doctrinal standards.

Now, these are not exclusive groups; many can claim membership in both groups. Anytime we take a large group and reduce them to a binary, we are bound to make some generalizations. However, in the context of the human sexuality conversation in the CRC, I think distinguishing between these emphases is pertinent. Patrick Anthony’s moment at the mic summed it up perfectly, and the cheers and jeers that followed simply proved the point.

To many, Alvin Plantinga is a CRC legend with a generational legacy in the denomination – he is a child, a product, and a leader of the CRCNA. However, it is reported that to serve as an elder he expressed exceptions to CRC doctrines because he could not, in good conscience, sign the CfO without reservation. Patrick Anthony, on the other hand, is not a child of the CRC, but he is able to sign the CfO with a clear conscience without exceptions (which are not and have not been allowed in CRC polity). Therefore, Patrick Anthony is more Christian Reformed than Alvin Plantinga. Patrick Anthony agrees with all the doctrines and teachings of the CRC. This contrast illustrates the difference between a denomination formed and guided by lineage and legacy (birthright) versus one formed and guided by common doctrine and practice (confessional).

The future of a birthright Christian Reformed Church is a bleak one, one that will eventually die out. In multicultural societies it seems inevitable that we will continue to move further and further from our immigration roots, and our connections to our lineage will become increasingly thin. We see this illustrated continually in the addition of greater and greater cultural diversity in the CRC. The only future for the CRC that has any hope is a confessional CRC, one that holds to her biblical convictions, and grounds its unity in those shared convictions. I have seen this clearly in my studies at Calvin Seminary. A glance at the student body, faculty, and staff would show that we are becoming less and less a ‘Dutch’ church and more a confessional/Reformed church. My classmates come from a variety of backgrounds, both ethnically and theologically. However, we find ourselves studying together at CTS and called to ministry in the CRC because of her Reformed (doctrinal) distinctives, not because our grandfathers attended the same church or attended Dordt together two generations ago. The CRC cannot sustain herself on family legacy, it must make the critical shift into a church that defines herself by what she believes and not by family connections.

Being Christian Reformed is about something other than where we have come from. The stories of generational membership are worthwhile, but they do not make someone more or less CRC; they are simply stories. Christian Reformed means engaging in a covenantal relationship according to our membership vows. Being Christian Reformed is not a birthright. Anyone can be Christian Reformed; you do not need a parent in the denomination, a degree from Calvin, or a cousin in Southern Ontario; you need to fully agree with the Three Forms of Unity and participate in the life of the church.

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Curtis Meliefste is an MDiv Student at Calvin Theological Seminary, a campus chaplain at Okanagan College, and a member at Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church in Salmon Arm, BC.