New City Catechism Considered by Synod
The teachings of the New City Catechism are helpful and useful for Christian Reformed congregations, but shouldn’t be elevated to the status of Contemporary Testimony Synod 2019 decided.
The New City Catechism was produced by the Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City founded by the well-known pastor, Tim Keller.
The catechism has 52 questions and answers, written in simple language, following the theological sequence: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
Williamsburg Christian Reformed Church asked Synod 2019 to consider this catechism and make it officially known as a Contemporary Testimony within the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
Two other documents are already in that category. Our World Belongs to God, a statement of faith was adopted in 1986 and revised in 2008. The Belhar Confession, a statement that arose out of the struggles against apartheid in South Africa, was deemed a Contemporary Testimony by Synod 2017.
“The New City Catechism is in accord with the definition and purpose of the new contemporary testimony category,” the council of Williamsburg CRC said in their overture. “It speaks to essential matters in our society and will be useful for study, faith formation, teaching and worship.”
As delegates considered this request, they found much to like in the catechism but decided not to adopt it at this time.
Margaret Jenista Kuykendall, the reporter for the synod committee that considered the proposal, said the church should not rush into adopting a new statement of faith. She reminded the synod that “Our World Belongs to God and the Belhar Confession had a [longer] life in the community before being approved.”
With that in mind, synod recommended the New City Catechism to Faith Formation Ministries for review and potential use in the churches.
For continuous coverage of Synod 2019 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.
