NR #1995-025: For Immediate Release
Lake Erie: Allow Women in Office and Women Expounding

by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer
Reformed Believers Press Service

TOLEDO, Ohio (March 8, 1995) RBPS - Few if any members of the Christian
Reformed denomination will be surprised that Classis Lake Erie voted to send
an overture to Synod 1995 asking the denomination to ratify women in office.
The two overtures sent have the effect of protesting the 1994 decision that
Scripture clearly prohibits women in office and calling for immediate
implementation of women in office without a one year delay.

 A less expected overture is a request to reject the recommendations of a
committee appointed by Synod 1994 to clarify the meaning of the term
"expound." Synod 1992, while prohibiting women from being ordained to the
offices of minister, elder, or evangelist, voted to "encourage the churches
to use the gifts of women members to the fullest extent possible in their
local churches, including allowing women to teach, expound the Word of God,
and provide pastoral care, under the supervision of the elders." What the
term "expound" means has never been clear, largely because synod
intentionally avoided using terms which were defined in the church order and
unintentionally chose a term which is used to describe the work of professors
of theology in the denominational seminary.

 The committee appointed to clarify the meaning of the term "expound,"
despite markedly different opinions on the issue of women in office, produced
a unanimous report stating that "exactly what Synod 1992 meant by the
expression 'expounding the Word' would not be appropriate for our committee
to say, since this was not specified in writing by the synod." The committee
then studied various church order articles pertaining to who may fill pulpits
and declared that expounding does not mean that women can fill pulpits
because a church order change would be necessary to allow them to do so. As a
result, Classis Lake Erie overtured synod to reject the recommendations of
the committee on the grounds that "the committee has not fulfilled its
mandate."

 "The committee makes no attempt to understand how Synod 1992 did/did not
handle the church order," according to classis. "Instead, the committee
explains various church order articles and then applies those articles to the
1992 decision to alter, not to understand or clarify it."

 "The meaning of an expression is not determined only by a written
explanation of it. There are other ways to understand what the expression
'expounding the Word' means," the classis stated. "The best way is to listen
to the discussion in which the expression was proposed and adopted. That is
very easy to do since all the sessions of synod are taped."

 Classis Lake Erie then listed six examples of statements by delegates at
synod indicating that expounding allowed people to fill pulpits under the
authority of their local consistories rather than those who have been
ordained to preach or licensed by a classis to exhort. Classis Lake Erie also
noted, without using the names of the individuals or periodicals, that part
of the synodical discussion on expounding was related by 1992 synodical
delegate Rev. Norman Shepherd in a public session reporting to the churches
of Classis Illiana which was then "distributed by a news service and
published in one of the church papers read by people in our denomination." As
a result of this publicity by persons and periodicals opposed to women in
office, "very shortly after synod many people knew from synodical delegates
themselves that consistories were permitted to invite women to bring the Word
of God in an official worship service."

 When the overture came to the floor of classis, only a few delegates rose to
discuss it.

 "I think if Synod adopts the recommendation of the committee it will act in
bad faith with its history," said Dr. Clayton Libolt of River Terrace CRC in
East Lansing, Michigan, who noted that he attended Synod 1992 as an observer.
"Everyone in that room knew exactly what 1992 meant, and now for this
committee to come back and say they meant nothing of the kind, that's
nonsense."

 In the final vote, the overture passed handily with only a few negative
votes.


Cross-References to Related RBPS Articles:
#1994-037: Of Garages, Houses, and Women: Synod Keeps "Expounders" and
Appoints Committee to Decide What "Expounding" Means; Synod Cites Legal
Concerns in Modifying Abuse Committee Report; "Reaffirmation" of Past
Decisions on Inerrancy, Creation, Homosexuality Declared Unnecessary by Synod

#1994-062: Synodical Study Committee: "Expounding" Does Not Mean Women May
Fill Christian Reformed Pulpits


Contact List:

Dr. Clayton Libolt, Pastor, River Terrace Christian Reformed Church
 2210 Moores River Drive, Lansing, MI  48911 * H: (517) 371-4018 * O: (517)
351-9059

Rev. Norman Shepherd, Pastor, Cottage Grove Christian Reformed Church
 700 E. 166th St., South Holland, IL  60473 * O: (708) 331-0391 * H: (708)
596-3367  



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