Synod Wrap-Up: A Look at Important Decisions

Synod Approves Proposal for New Hymnal

Synod 2007 approved plans for a new hymnal—which will be designed for use by both Reformed Church of America and Christian Reformed churches—scheduled to hit the pews in 2013. The new hymnal will contain creeds and liturgies that RCA and CRC have in common, as well as all 150 psalms to continue the CRC’s tradition. The Heidelberg Catechism will not be included because the two denominations use different versions.

Candidates for Ministry Approved

Synod approved and warmly embraced 30 new candidates for ministry of the Word in the CRC, three of which are female, equaling last year’s number. This year also marked the first time that alumni from the seminary’s “Facing Your Future” program were among the candidates for ministry.

Synod turned down an overture from Christ Community CRC in Oregon, asking that CRC churches be allowed to call candidates from the seminaries of the Reformed Church in America.

Abuse Prevention Emphasized

Synod made it very clear that churches need to take steps to prevent and deal effectively with cases of abuse. Synod reaffirmed that every church needs child safety and abuse prevention policies and every classis should establish a Safe Church Team.

Synod Encourages Dialogue on Belhar Confession

Synod encouraged Christian Reformed churches to become familiar with the Belhar Confession, a declaration focusing on justice, unity and reconciliation. Originally written in Afrikaans and adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa, the Belhar Confession is named after a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, where a general synod of the DRMC met in 1982.

In keeping with the theme of diversity, synod also for the first time encouraged congregations to celebrate “World Communion Sunday” on the first Sunday of October (Oct. 7, 2007) as part of All Nations Heritage Week.

Church to Study Issues of Worker Migration

Synod created a committee to “study the issue of the migration of workers as it relates to the church’s ministries of inclusion, compassion, and hospitality, and to propose ways for the church to advocate on behalf of those who are marginalized.” The committee will report to Synod 2010.

Synod Removes ‘Male’ as Requirement for Office and Allows Women as Delegates

Synod 2007 made a historic decision, voting to remove the word “male” as a requirement for holding ecclesiastical office in the Christian Reformed Church. Synod also decided that women will be allowed as delegates to Synod 2008.

The removal of “male” opens the way for any CRC congregation to ordain women as ministers, elders, deacons or ministry associates. Since 1995, congregations and classes had been allowed to ordain women as office bearers under a system of local option.

Other recommendations included a provision allowing delegates to classis or synod who believe that including women delegates is in violation of the Word of God may record their protest on the appropriate credentials.

Church Plants to Vote at Classis

In another decision, synod opened the way for office bearers from churches that are just getting started to have a vote at classis meetings. Pastors and elders of church plants (churches that have not officially organized) have been allowed to speak at classis meetings but have not been voting delegates.

Church Order Update Planned

Synod asked the denomination’s Board of Trustees to undertake an “orderly updating” of the Church Order and its Supplements.

Synod Sends Third Wave Report Back for More Study

Synod 2007 decided not to act on reports from the Committee to Study Third Wave Pentecostalism. Instead, synod decided to send the majority report back for more work.

The committee, set up by Synod 2004, produced both a majority and a minority report, but delegates decided that neither provided “sufficient biblical study and theological reflection on key aspects of the third wave movement.”

New Bible Translation Approved For Worship

Synod 2007 approved the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible for use in CRC worship services. The ESV follows the translation of the American Standard Version and Revised Standard Version, both of which have been approved by previous synods for use in CRC worship.

Delegates Applaud Appointment of Hulst to Seminary

Synod 2007 delegates gave a standing ovation to Rev. Mary Hulst after interviewing and confirming her as assistant professor of preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. Hulst served at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church for eight years before pursuing her doctoral degree. She has been teaching part-time at the seminary for a year.

Synod Repents the Sin of Racism

Synod decided that the Christian Reformed Church will publicly repent for a 1920 decision that synod said “was motivated in part by racist values.” In 1920, the CRC chose to send missionaries to China instead of the Sudan for reasons that Synod 2007 said were prejudiced and racist.

Denominational leaders gathered on Friday morning with synod delegates to confess and repent of the sins of personal and corporate racism. Delegates formed a large circle around the Calvin College Fine Arts Center Auditorium, sang, prayed, and listened to passages from the Belhar Confession and from Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony.

Classis Pacific Hanmi to Continue

The CRC’s only Korean-speaking classis, Pacific Hanmi, will continue to exist past its original mandate, synod has decided. The classis, created as a unique environment in which Korean-speaking congregations could flourish, was originally intended to exist for only 15 years.

The Study of Ministry Shares

Synod also expanded the mandate of a committee that is to study how ministry shares, the denomination’s way of funding its ministries, are collected from the churches. In order to maintain a system that is widely admired by other churches and charitable organizations, synod decided that it needed to seek improvements.

Synod Appoints Committee to Study Child Communion

Synod 2007 decided not to adopt the proposal of Synod 2006 that would have opened the way for all baptized children to take part in communion, whether or not they had made a public profession of faith.

But synod did not reject the proposal either. It appointed a Faith Formation Committee with the mandate “to deepen the integration of biblical teaching; confessional norms; church polity; and liturgical, educational, and pastoral practices in the CRC” with respect to participation in the Lord’s Supper and public profession of faith.

CRC Affirms Commitment to Infant Baptism

Synod voted today to “discourage the practice of infant dedication,” but asked an existing committee to guide churches that wrestle with the issue. Synod also voted to “affirm the church’s commitment to the practice of baptizing infants.”

The Faith Formation Committee, formed last year to respond to questions about children at the Lord’s Supper, will now address the infant dedication question as well.

Churches Encouraged to Set Aside an Hour for Prayer

Synod took the occasion of the CRC’s 150th anniversary to urge the congregations and especially the leadership of local churches to begin and/or to participate in a weekly hour of prayer in their communities.

Ministry Associate Office Expanded

While those with special gifts but no theological education will still find the road to ordination difficult in the CRC, synod expanded the office of “ministry associate.”

Synod debated both the expense and the importance of academic training for its ministers. It finally decided that seminary training is still preferred, that giftedness is still a very difficult qualification for ordination and, especially, that the office of ministry associate should be emphasized and valued.

Ministry associates may remain as solo pastors in congregations where the partnering minister of the Word has left. They may even be called as solo pastors to congregations under certain circumstances.

Synod Concludes with Meditation on Unity

Synod ended on Friday afternoon. In his closing remarks, President Joel Boot said: “I hope we’ve had a realization of what a privilege it is to serve here . . . to be a part of that transition from past to future.”

Boot led delegates in a brief meditation on Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, the same passage with which Rev. Joel Nederhood had opened synod’s Monday morning session.

Boot focused on the word “one”—Jesus’ request of his Father that his followers might be one as he and the Father are one. “We have had the marvelous privilege not only of hearing those words but experiencing them, of actually being one,” Boot remarked. “Despite divergence of opinion . . . we were one in [Jesus’] love.

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