file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr94-060a.txt ------------------------------------------------- [NOTE: Due to restrictions of the America Online software, this news release must be broken into two sections. Part two follows this item.] For Immediate Release November 30, 1994 Release #1994-60 For Further Information Contact: Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer Reformed Believers Press Service Voice: (616) 674-8446 FAX: (616) 674-8454 E-Mail: Darrell128@AOL.com PO Box 691, Lawrence, MI 49064-0691 John Van Dyk, Managing Editor Christian Renewal Voice: (905) 562-5719 FAX: (905) 562-7828 E-Mail: JVanDyk@AOL.com US: PO Box 770, Lewiston, NY 14092 CANADA: PO Box 777, Jordan Station ON L0R 1S0 Al Siebring, Contributing Editor Christian Renewal Office: (712) 722-6322 Home: (712) 722-3152 E-Mail: Siebring@dordt.edu 4034 Indian Ave., Orange City, IA 51041 Alliance of Reformed Churches Adopts Westminster Standards; Seceding Christian Reformed Congregations Move to Convene New Federation * Church Order Committee Avoids Explosion Over Federation Question * Sharply Divided Committee Reaches Unanimous Compromise on Inclusion of Westminster Standards in Alliance Purpose Statement * Independent Churches Decide to Federate Apart from Alliance * Unauthorized Letter to 600 PCA Churches and Leaders Prompts Protests in Presbyterian Church in America and Alliance of Reformed Churches * Alliance Declines Offer of Dordt College Board Position * Confessional Conference on Ecclesiology Scrapped for 1995 * Other Matters: Yearbook Problems, Reading Sermons Proposal Rejected, Proposals on Ministerial Training, Revenue Canada, Contact Committee with CRC, Equalizing Travel Costs Voted Down, Alliance Stays in Chicago for 1995 Meeting, Julien Re-Elected Stated Clerk, P.Y. DeJong Addresses Alliance All Articles c 1994 Christian Renewal Distributed by Reformed Believers Press Service Editor's Note: The text following is copyrighted by Christian Renewal but available for reprint in whole or in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given. Analysis: Evolving Alliance Slowly Redefining its Shape by John Van Dyk c 1994 Christian Renewal Distributed by Reformed Believers Press Service Lynwood, Ill. (November 30, 1994) RBPS - It was a long way to travel for a cup of coffee and a few days of good fellowship. For some, this was the extent of this year's gathering of the Alliance of Reformed Churches which met from November 15-17 in Lynwood, Illinois. That assessment is hardly fair, however, but it does underscore the frustration felt by many delegates who find the wheels of "progress" turn far too slowly for their liking. The problem for the Alliance and the 138 delegates representing some 62 churches (46 independent, 11 CRC, 4 Presbyterian, 1 Canadian Reformed) was finding a common agenda and a common purpose. As has been noted in the past and which also came to expression at this year's meeting, different agendas are competing for a hearing, and none have spoken out too clearly or articulately as of yet. The identified agendas include those independent churches that wish to federate for the future security of their congregations and those wishing to participate in the development of a broadly-based ecumenical body for the purpose of greater unity among Reformed and Presbyterian churches. Yet despite the frustration of many, both of the above agendas did make some progress toward their eventual realization. Baby steps, maybe, but steps nevertheless. On the side of those seeking the formation of a broader ecumenical body, the inclusion of the Westminster Standards in the Statement of Purpose and in the Basic Confessional Statements of the Alliance gives those churches wishing to join the opportunity to do so by subscribing to either the three forms of unity or the Westminster Standards, or to both. This allows for and encourages greater participation in the Alliance by Presbyterian churches which have expressed an interest in joining. For those churches seeking help with the task of building a federation, the Alliance study committee appointed to formulate a church order will continue its work with the input and suggestions of the churches. The committee was also asked to formulate some basic biblical principles to undergird the church order, allowing churches who agree with the principles to proceed with federation. Church Order Committee Reports on Federation: No Longer a Question of "If" But "When and How" by John Van Dyk c 1994 Christian Renewal Distributed by Reformed Believers Press Service Lynwood, Ill. (November 30, 1994) RBPS - In what could have developed into an intense debate over the future direction of the Alliance of Reformed Churches, two overtures - one asking for the formulation of general principles around which the independent churches can federate, and one asking the ARC to hold off on any federation until the Confessional Conference could study the subject of ecclesiology - went to committee for discussion and advice. Add to the discussion an arguably controversial church order, and there appeared to be the ingredients for an explosive mix which had the potential to fracture what some regard as a fragile alliance. The big bang never occurred. It was diffused early during committee discussion. Rev. Joghinda Gangar, pastor of Wellandport Orthodox Reformed Church in southern Ontario who served on the church order committee, reminded the advisory committee that the church order was in draft form and was not subject to approval at this year's meeting. Therefore discussion on it was premature. He also reminded delegates of the decision of the ARC last year which set the course toward federation by "acknowledging the need of the independent churches to federate" and by appointing a church order study committee for the purpose of future federation. With the focus shifted away from debating the merits of the church order and toward whether to apply the brakes to federation, the committee turned to the overture suggesting the need for some "basic biblical principles" to undergird the church order and around which the independent churches could federate. Those who spoke supported the need for federation sooner than later. Dr. Bao Xuan Nguyen of the Saigon Reformed Presbyterian Church in Garden Grove, California, raised the matter of practical necessity. "If the churches are in need, who do you go to?" asked Bao. He also expressed the fear of many that to wait much longer will result in fragmentation among the churches. Retired pastor Rev. Ed Heerema, a delegate from Trinity Reformed Church of Cape Coral, Florida, challenged the view that independentism is a viable option. Heerema, a student leader at Westminster Theological Seminary during the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination in the 1930's and an OPC minister until he joined the CRC in 1953, cited his prior role in the formation of the OPC. "Not to federate was not a viable option for the OPC," said Heerema, after the withdrawal from the liberal northern Presbyterian denomination. Listing the leaders of that era, J. Gresham Machen, N.B. Stonehouse, Cornelius Van Til, and John Murray, Heerema said that "none of them considered the option of independence." Rev. Henry Vander Kam of the Free Christian Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan, said that the churches are one confessionally, but that they need to be one in church polity as well. Rev. Bill Pols, pastor of the Orthodox Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta, also recognized the "possibility of fragmentation if we wait for the church order to be completed," and encouraged the formulation of some basic principles as requested by an overture from Trinity Reformed Church in Lethbridge, Alberta. Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, professor at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and a first-time delegate from Alliance Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa, agreed with the need of biblical principles to undergird the church order, noting that "underneath the church order are the confessions, and underneath the confessions are the Scriptures." "We need to be comprehensive, and classically Reformed, and we don't need any independentism in the language," said Kloosterman, "but we do need to clarify the principles." Pols noted the importance of delineating the basic principles and discussing them on the floor of the Alliance for the purpose of "discovering the differences within the Alliance on these matters." Acknowledging that the committee would not be able to write the basic principles in the time available, its recommendation was that the work of formulation be done by the church order study committee for presentation to the 1995 meeting of the Alliance. The committee also recommended that the proposed church order be referred to the churches "for consideration and response," and that the next draft of the church order be sent out to the churches by August 1, 1995. During discussion of the recommendations on the floor of the ARC, there was little debate. Rev. Jelle Tuininga, whose Lethbridge council formulated the overture urging federation, voiced mild disappointment that the recommendation of the committee was only a small step and not a definite step toward federation. Tuininga said that it could be another five years before federation was realized and that his concern was for the smaller churches such as Trinity Reformed Church of Cape Coral, Florida, and Evergreen Covenant Reformed Church in Agassiz, British Columbia, which stand alone in their geographical areas. Rev. Ed Knott, retired pastor of Beverly Christian Reformed Church (Independent) in Wyoming, Michigan, pointed to the "wisdom of small steps now" and the formulation of biblical principles. "If we take time to work out the biblical principles, it's better to take a little step now than a big step and stumble later on," said Knott. Delegates agreed, voted in favor of the recommendations, and added a new member to the church order study committee: Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, who teaches a course in church polity at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Churches now have the opportunity to submit changes to the draft church order by March 1, 1995 as well as their suggestions for basic biblical principles to the committee. In response to an overture requesting a common name for the independent churches, it was also decided to submit suggestions to the committee by March 1, 1995. Sharply Divided Committee Ends with Unanimous Compromise; Allows Subscription to Either the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms of Unity by Darrell Todd Maurina c 1994 Christian Renewal Distributed by Reformed Believers Press Service Lynwood, Ill. (November 30, 1994) RBPS - How can a sharply divided committee begin with a tie vote but end by unanimously sending a report to the full session and having its report adopted by a 78% margin? By deleting the grounds from one overture and substituting the grounds from a contrary overture. That method probably wouldn't work with most issues, but it seems to have effectively solved an issue which has been before the Alliance for the last four years: whether and how to admit churches which subscribe to the historic Presbyterian doctrinal standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The 1992 Alliance had approved adding the Westminster Standards to the Three Forms of Unity as part of the Alliance's purpose statement, a decision which would have required all Alliance churches to "give effective testimony to the truth of the Word of God as it is set forth in the historic Reformed creeds of the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dordt, and the Westminster Standards." While all Alliance churches would have had to support the general purpose of both sets of standards, churches would only have had to formally subscribe to "all the articles and points of doctrine set forth" in one or the other set of standards. When the 1992 decision came up for ratification in 1993, the Alliance received an extended overture from the Christian Reformation Church of Grand Rapids noting that the Westminster Confession established certain principles of Presbyterian polity and arguing that those principles violated previous decisions of the Alliance. The overture led to a divided advisory committee report, pointed statements on the floor that the Alliance had "tried to strain out any gnat of hierarchy but swallowed the camel of the Westminster Confession," and finally ended in the tabling of the entire matter until this year. Going into this year's Alliance, the same debate appeared to be looming. Three of the fourteen overtures before the Alliance dealt with the Westminster question and an entire advisory committee was appointed to deal with the matter. Committee debate heated up as it became clear that neither the supporters nor the opponents of the Westminster Standards had changed their positions. "I'm a little troubled by your explanation to us because it does not correspond to your grounds," advisory committee reporter Rev. Dennis Royall said to Christian Reformation Church pastor Rev. Mark Scholten. "This is not hateful, this is not spiteful, but this is being said by many, is this not an effort to stop a movement toward federation for all sorts of reasons?" While debate last year focussed on questions of church polity, debate this year focussed on the nature of the Alliance. "If the Alliance of Reformed Churches is going to be an ecumenical body, than you can have churches which adhere to one or the other set of standards, but if you're going to have a federative unity, you're going to have to choose one, not both," said Rev. Mark Zylstra of Evergreen Covenant Reformed Church in Agassiz, British Columbia. By the end of the first day of committee debate, it became clear that the strongest opponents and strongest supporters of the Westminster Standards could agree to accept them if the Alliance was an ecumenical body rather than a federation, but that many who wanted to see the independent churches rapidly federate viewed the Westminster Standards as a roadblock to federation. During the second day of debate, Royall introduced a proposal to reject all three overtures on the Westminster Standards, citing as grounds that "the overtures appear to set the ARC on a course to remain and become more definitely a broader ecumenical group than a federative body, as many hope" and that "were the course of ARC to be set toward federation - a move would be unnecessarily hindered by consideration of a double-tiered confessional standard." In an apparent first for the Alliance, Royall's motion resulted in a tie; committee chairman Elder Peter Yonker then broke the tie by voting against Royall's motion. Royall then called for a recess and held a caucus of committee members who wished to move toward creation of a new federation. In caucus, those who wanted to move toward federation decided that they were willing to allow the Alliance to remain a broadly ecumenical body with churches subscribing to either the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms of Unity, so long as they were allowed to federate apart from the Alliance. Committee debate then turned on whether to accept the Westminster Standards on an equal footing with the Three Forms of Unity or as a "useful supplement for doctrinal understanding," as one committee member put it. Zylstra spoke for many delegates in noting his concern about the Westminster Standards. "I subscribe to the Three Forms of Unity. I'm not sure I'd be able to subscribe to the Westminster Confession in the same way because the Westminster Confession goes far beyond the Three Forms of Unity," said Zylstra. At that point, some Presbyterian observers voiced their concerns. "I am mildly offended by treating them as lower standards," said Rev. G.I. Williamson, a leading member of the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination and author of several books on the Westminster Standards. "I plead with you as a Presbyterian to say nothing about the Westminster Standards if you are not prepared to subscribe to them on the same level as the Three Forms of Unity." "If the Alliance wants to just be another denomination, I've lost interest," continued Williamson. "There has to be an ecumenical gathering of Reformed Christians in North America. I'm not wiling to talk further if I am already second class." The committee members finally compromised by combining two overtures, one from the Christian Reformation Church and one from Messiah's Congregation in Brooklyn, with the result that the Alliance churches would have to agree with only one set of standards and would be free to object to items in the other set of standards. The committee also recommended the appointment of a study committee to "study the differences between these legitimate and Reformed confessions" on the grounds that "such a study is necessary to demonstrate to the churches the unity between the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards and to identify any differences which may exist between them." The advisory committee recommended that the study committee consist of Orthodox Presbyterian ministers Williamson and Rev. Richard Venema; former Presbyterian pastors Royall, Rev. Jerry Dodds of Reformed Heritage Community Church in Holland, Michigan, and Rev. Ray Lanning of the Independent Reformed Church of Cutlerville, Michigan; Mid-America Reformed Seminary professor Dr. Nelson Kloosterman; and Elders Peter Yonker and Dave Kloosterman from Reformed Heritage Community Church and Immanuel Fellowship Church in Kalamazoo. Yonker closed the committee meeting with a word of praise for the members. "We've adjourned without a minority report and with a unanimous decision. That's very unusual," he said. Unanimous agreement in committee did not necessarily spell passage on the floor, however, since changes in the Alliance constitution require a two-thirds vote. As reporter for the advisory committee, Royall led the discussion by describing what had happened in his committee. "There are at least three agendas at work in the Alliance," said Royall. "There are those who wish that the ARC would become a federation now, there are those who would like to see the Alliance of Reformed Churches become a federation someday, and there are those who would like to see the Alliance never become a federation but a broad ecumenical body, and independent churches which feel a need to federate should do so on their own." "We were unanimous; I for one was amazed that we could have a unanimous vote in a gathering of this sort," continued Royall. "I think the majority view on our committee was that we should take our stand on the Three Forms of Unity and let the Presbyterians come to us. We felt we should humble ourselves and allow this broader vision to take precedence." Not everyone on the floor agreed with the committee report. Rev. Joghinda Gangar of Wellandport Orthodox Reformed Church warned that changing the Alliance's statement of purpose was a major departure. Rev. Rein Leestma, retired pastor of Lynwood CRC (Independent), warned that he could not subscribe to the Westminster Standards under the strict subscription terms used by the Form of Subscription. "Our identity is the Three Forms of Unity, and we would not to drop that identity for any reason," said Leestma. When the votes were cast, however, the unanimous committee report carried the day. By a margin of 83 to 23, the delegates voted to change the Alliance constitution to accept the Westminster Standards as alternate doctrinal standards for the Alliance. The advisory committee's recommendation to appoint a study committee passed handily with the addition that it is to report back in 1995. However, when the committee members were announced, some delegates strongly objected. "We must not think that a study committee is so innocuous; a study committee is a very powerful tool," said Leestma. "One thing you can be sure of, Newt Gingrich wouldn't put Dan Rostenkowski on a study committee." Gangar also objected to the Orthodox Presbyterian members of the study committee. "We have nothing against these men who are members of the Alliance," said Gangar. "We are not on the OPC committees, we are not on CRC committees, and we do not feel offended. I don't think we should be feeling guilty about not putting members on this committee who are not members of the Alliance." After an effort to force a separate vote on the OPC members failed, the Alliance voted to approve the study committee membership proposed by the advisory committee. Only time will tell whether committed Presbyterians and committed anti-synodicalists can also come back with a unified study committee report. Independent Churches Decide to Federate Apart from Alliance by Darrell Todd Maurina c 1994 Christian Renewal Distributed by Reformed Believers Press Service Lynwood, Ill. (November 30, 1994) RBPS - What may be the most important event of the 1994 Alliance actually took place following the adjournment of the meeting. Immediately after the final gavel and before the delegates could leave the assembly hall, former Alliance chairman Elder Pete Moen came to the front of the hall and called together a meeting of independent churches which want to federate. The meeting lasted less than fifteen minutes and no attendance was taken, but Moen estimated that about 30 of the 70 Alliance churches attended the post-Alliance meeting and supported its goals. After some initial discussion, Dr. P.Y. De Jong urged the churches to take decisive action toward beginning a new federation. "Please, if you're going to move in this direction, don't start quibbling and quarrelling, appoint two or three consistories to convene a meeting, and get with it before we drift apart," warned De Jong. Rev. Dennis Royall of Trinity Reformed Church in Cape Coral, Florida, also urged the churches to take decisive action. "I appeal to you to take care for our scattered brethren who don't feel very well served right now," said Royall. By no means did everyone agree that rapid federation was the answer to the Alliance's problems. "I don't care how much you federate, you will not move Florida closer to Michigan," said Rev. Duane Vedders of Immanuel Fellowship Church in Kalamazoo. Others warned that federation was premature. "You cannot federate unless you know around what you will federate; we need a church order," warned Rev. Ralph Pontier of Alliance Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. However, the majority of churches present agreed that rapid federation was wise. The delegates from Lynwood CRC (Independent) announced that their elders would take up the question of convening a federation conference at their next consistory meeting. In an interview following the post-Alliance meeting, Moen explained that he called the meeting at the request of many other ministers. "At least a dozen ministers said to one other that they were concerned that we weren't really moving along toward federation," said Moen. "We've got a lot of information now. We've got people, we've got a provisional church order, there isn't enough time at the Alliance to work toward federation." Elder Jim Swets, vice-president of the Lynwood consistory, said the consistory would take up the question of convening a federation conference at their next regular meeting. The relationship between the Alliance and the proposed new federation is not entirely clear. "Until the Alliance finally comes to grips with what the Alliance is going to be, we can't speculate on what will happen," said Swets. "Once we're federated I've already heard quite a few churches saying they aren't coming here anymore," said Moen. "I would hope that the Alliance would continue to meet, maybe not as frequently. Right now the independent churches dominate the Alliance because there are so many of us, so maybe once we federate the Alliance will become stronger in a different way." [continued... ]