The CRC had a good run of 167 years. With multiple grandparents and great grandparents and numerous uncles who served decades as faithful CRC ministers and likely more family members who graduated from Calvin College than likely any other family in its history, it's sad to be witnessing the end of a once strong denomination--a church full of strong intellectuals seeking a better understanding of their faith and with a strong love of theology--boiled down to a simple orthodoxy test. It's sad to see some (the video's moderators Reverends Wagenmaker and Parsels) smirking throughout their description of the proceedings; from their facial expressions, they are obviously more happy about the results than they are mourning it.
To hear one of the commenters Cedric, smugly say "I didn't even know what the CRC was until I went to Calvin..." while yet casting judgement on who he believes should be in the CRC church and who he believes--many who are members with longer standing histories in the CRC and more decades of faithful devotion to the CRC than he'll ever have or understand--should be cast out is disheartening to say the least. From the video, they are clearly over-joyed with the results of Synod 2024, and the appear to be Lording it over those who they believe should be cast out.
Looks like you got what you wanted. Good luck keeping what's left of the denomination (and the affiliated organizations like Calvin University) together.
They are smirking because it's not just the results of Synod they're smug about, but rather, it's now apparent they're smug about their long-term underhanded strategy or process they undertook to take over the denomination -- first by changing the confessions in 2022, and now this. They smugly talk about "asterisk" and yet, gravamen have been in use in the CRC for decades without much consternation (until someone who "didn't know what the CRC was until he went to Calvin) came along to change the use of it. Well, you've now got your denomination if you can keep it. Good luck.
So much family and CRC history, but where is the concern for the church as the Bride of Christ, that honors her master's commands? Some appear to have thought that was optional with the correct pedigree.....
Synod 2024 has been an answer to Prayer! Praise God! It is still concerning though, to understand that there will be church's leaving the CRC. Praying for correction and repentance for those choosing to go their separate ways.
May we be a bit objective and courteous please. The video was designed, however effective or ineffective it might be, to summarize what took place at Synod. Tyler and Cedric were not delegates and thus were not responsible for the decisions of Synod. As the old proverb goes, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
It should also be noted that what Synod did, in part, was to confirm what the church has held to be true for some 1900 years when speaking of unchastity. So it is hardly correct to suggest that those who affirmed the HSR were being divisive. Further, it worked to clarify what a gravamen was and was intended to accomplish. This. also, was nothing new nor radical. It should be clear to anyone who has read our Church Order.
What is sad is that no matter what decision Synod ,ay have made, there would be individuals and congregations that would consider departing. One only has to look at the RCA to see what the opposite decision resulted in. Humanly speaking it was a lose/lose situation.
On a theological level, one might well ask, “Was god’s will done?” Hopefully we have all prayed for that, all sought His Kingdom and the values of the same. The answer to the question comes not so easily, however. There are goo individuals, godly individuals, committed individuals on both sides of the issue. Each believes, and hopefully with sincerity, that their stance is the correct one, the righteous one. This is as it should be. Yet they appear to our human minds to be inconsistent with one another, contradictory. My hope, my prayer is that whether we perceive that we have “won” or “lost” that we accept the decision with humility, neither gloating nor pointing accusatory fingers. My prayer is that we might see the discussions, the debates both past and yet to come as לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם “disagreeing for the sake of heaven” as the Jewish people would say.
When does my membership get revoked? Does Abide send these guys to happily come tear my old profession of faith certificate up? Am I still allowed to play on the church softball team? Volunteer to make coffee Sunday Morning? Is the friendship register now going to contain the statement “by signing my name and sitting in this pew, I hereby declare once again that I love the things that some people on a committee recently added as their interpretation of longstanding confessions, and agree that what they decided is now confessional too!”?
How about replacing the Heidelberg Catechism with the Abide Catechism? I’m sure there a lot of other stuff these guys could clarify with even greater detail so they could weed out people who see meanings on those topics differently. What’s the next topic someone will pick to build the walls higher? Where will it end?
I am very grateful for your generous and gentle response to the correspondences that signaled protests against the 3 Forms of Unity, as interpreted by synod.
The CRC had a good run of 167 years. With multiple grandparents and great grandparents and numerous uncles who served decades as faithful CRC ministers and likely more family members who graduated from Calvin College than likely any other family in its history, it's sad to be witnessing the end of a once strong denomination--a church full of strong intellectuals seeking a better understanding of their faith and with a strong love of theology--boiled down to a simple orthodoxy test. It's sad to see some (the video's moderators Reverends Wagenmaker and Parsels) smirking throughout their description of the proceedings; from their facial expressions, they are obviously more happy about the results than they are mourning it.
To hear one of the commenters Cedric, smugly say "I didn't even know what the CRC was until I went to Calvin..." while yet casting judgement on who he believes should be in the CRC church and who he believes--many who are members with longer standing histories in the CRC and more decades of faithful devotion to the CRC than he'll ever have or understand--should be cast out is disheartening to say the least. From the video, they are clearly over-joyed with the results of Synod 2024, and the appear to be Lording it over those who they believe should be cast out.
Looks like you got what you wanted. Good luck keeping what's left of the denomination (and the affiliated organizations like Calvin University) together.
They are smirking because it's not just the results of Synod they're smug about, but rather, it's now apparent they're smug about their long-term underhanded strategy or process they undertook to take over the denomination -- first by changing the confessions in 2022, and now this. They smugly talk about "asterisk" and yet, gravamen have been in use in the CRC for decades without much consternation (until someone who "didn't know what the CRC was until he went to Calvin) came along to change the use of it. Well, you've now got your denomination if you can keep it. Good luck.
So much family and CRC history, but where is the concern for the church as the Bride of Christ, that honors her master's commands? Some appear to have thought that was optional with the correct pedigree.....
Synod 2024 has been an answer to Prayer! Praise God! It is still concerning though, to understand that there will be church's leaving the CRC. Praying for correction and repentance for those choosing to go their separate ways.
Thanks for the daily reports guys!
May we be a bit objective and courteous please. The video was designed, however effective or ineffective it might be, to summarize what took place at Synod. Tyler and Cedric were not delegates and thus were not responsible for the decisions of Synod. As the old proverb goes, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
It should also be noted that what Synod did, in part, was to confirm what the church has held to be true for some 1900 years when speaking of unchastity. So it is hardly correct to suggest that those who affirmed the HSR were being divisive. Further, it worked to clarify what a gravamen was and was intended to accomplish. This. also, was nothing new nor radical. It should be clear to anyone who has read our Church Order.
What is sad is that no matter what decision Synod ,ay have made, there would be individuals and congregations that would consider departing. One only has to look at the RCA to see what the opposite decision resulted in. Humanly speaking it was a lose/lose situation.
On a theological level, one might well ask, “Was god’s will done?” Hopefully we have all prayed for that, all sought His Kingdom and the values of the same. The answer to the question comes not so easily, however. There are goo individuals, godly individuals, committed individuals on both sides of the issue. Each believes, and hopefully with sincerity, that their stance is the correct one, the righteous one. This is as it should be. Yet they appear to our human minds to be inconsistent with one another, contradictory. My hope, my prayer is that whether we perceive that we have “won” or “lost” that we accept the decision with humility, neither gloating nor pointing accusatory fingers. My prayer is that we might see the discussions, the debates both past and yet to come as לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם “disagreeing for the sake of heaven” as the Jewish people would say.
r.e. vanauken
Greg and Andrew H.
You should at least have the courage to write your comments with your full names and not anonymously.
When does my membership get revoked? Does Abide send these guys to happily come tear my old profession of faith certificate up? Am I still allowed to play on the church softball team? Volunteer to make coffee Sunday Morning? Is the friendship register now going to contain the statement “by signing my name and sitting in this pew, I hereby declare once again that I love the things that some people on a committee recently added as their interpretation of longstanding confessions, and agree that what they decided is now confessional too!”?
How about replacing the Heidelberg Catechism with the Abide Catechism? I’m sure there a lot of other stuff these guys could clarify with even greater detail so they could weed out people who see meanings on those topics differently. What’s the next topic someone will pick to build the walls higher? Where will it end?
I am very grateful for your generous and gentle response to the correspondences that signaled protests against the 3 Forms of Unity, as interpreted by synod.