Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 08:02:52 -0500 (EST) From: Darrell128@aol.com Subject: NR 97128: NAPARC Votes to Suspend CRC from Membership NR #1997-128: North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council Votes to Suspend Christian Reformed Church from Membership "Sad but inevitable." That's how Rev. Gordon Keddie, newly-elected chairman of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, described NAPARC's November 19 vote by a 6-1 margin to begin the process of suspending the Christian Reformed Church from the fellowship of conservative denominations in the United States and Canada. Only the CRC voted against the motion. NAPARC also adopted a motion to examine the grounds of member denominations with regard to the CRC to produce a list of reasons for the NAPARC decision. The motion will now be presented to the national synods or general assemblies of the seven member denominations. If ratified by two-thirds.of the denominations within three years, the CRC will lose its voting rights in the organization it helped start 23 years ago. NR 1997-128: For Immediate Release North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council Votes to Suspend Christian Reformed Church from Membership * Conservative Interdenominational Fellowship Opposes Women's Ordination by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service ATLANTA (November 19, 1997) URNS -- "Sad but inevitable." That's how Rev. Gordon Keddie, newly-elected chairman of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, described NAPARC's 6-1 vote to begin the process of suspending the Christian Reformed Church from the fellowship of conservative denominations in the United States and Canada. Only the CRC voted against the motion. After passage by NAPARC's November 19 annual meeting in Atlanta, the motion will now be presented to the national synods or general assemblies of the seven member denominations. If ratified by two-thirds.of the denominations within three years, the CRC will lose its voting rights in the organization it helped start 23 years ago. The Rev. Ric Perrin, interchurch relations committee chairman for the Presbyterian Church in America, said the 1995 CRC vote to ordain women forced his denomination to propose suspension. "In our opinion they are saying that Scripture no longer governs the CRC on that issue," said Perrin. "We think that is a fundamental shift away from the historic position." Perrin -- who was originally ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and previously urged admission of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to NAPARC despite its decision to allow the ordination of women -- emphasized that women's ordination wasn't the only problem in the Christian Reformed Church. "We have been greatly disturbed by the actions which the CRC has taken and which are a matter of public record," said Perrin. "We feel this has set a precedent that they can suspend their own constitution on any issue in the future in response to social pressure." "We are not suggesting that the Christian Reformed Church has suddenly ceased to be an evangelical body, nor are we saying its people are second-rate Christians," continued Perrin, who noted that denominations which were moving toward aberrant views do so slowly and with subtle rather than dramatic changes. "Those of you who deal with the insidious nature of a creeping away from the Reformed faith will know exactly what I'm talking about ." That didn't sit well with the Rev. Leonard Hofman, interchurch relations administrative secretary of the CRC and former CRC General Secretary. "This is not a court. What are you hoping to achieve in a vote to suspend us?" asked Hofman. "Are you trying to discipline us? Do you have that right? We do not want to be accused or even described as giving in to a subtle cancer of an insidious nature that is pulling us away from the Word of God." Hofman noted that he had attended NAPARC's fifteen previous consecutive meetings and was personally grieved by the proposal to suspend the CRC. "Do we differ?" asked Hofman. "Of course we do. I go back to the days when we had some real questions about the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and its view on the lodge. Tables have been shifted in these days." Newly-elected NAPARC vice-president Rev. Ron Potter told the CRC that NAPARC had no choice because NAPARC membership is limited to denominations affirming the Westminster Standards of Presbyterianism or the Three Forms of Unity of the Dutch Reformed tradition, and the CRC had changed its position on a matter addressed in the confessions. Potter read Article 30 of the Belgic Confession and noted that the confession specified that "men" are to be elected to office in the church. That brought an extended debate on the meaning of the confession. CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard said the RCUS delegate was quoting a bad translation of the Belgic Confession and that the underlying word in the original language didn't refer to "men" but rather "people." Orthodox Presbyterian delegate Elder Mark Bube noted that another confessional reference with a different underlying word in the original languages also referred to male officebearers, quoted CRC synodical decisions on the matter, and asked the current status of Christian Reformed confessional language. That brought a new proposal from CRC delegate Rev. Ed Van Baak. "I don't know if we're prepared in this forum, at this date, to discuss these details, but these details are essential to coming to an understanding of the issues," said Van Baak. In response, Van Baak moved that NAPARC "establish an ad hoc committee of member churches of NAPARC to examine the PCA statements concerning the CRC for its position on the ordination of women in the offices of minister, elder, and evangelist, and develop a position regarding the consistency of varying positions with NAPARC's criteria for membership, to report to NAPARC 1999." After discussion, NAPARC delegates rejected the Christian Reformed proposal on a voice vote. "I have no difficulty at all with the idea of studying the PCA position, but coming at this time it seems that the purpose of this motion is delay and I would therefore vote against it," said Perrin. NAPARC then returned to the question of whether the motion from the PCA should have a formal set of grounds for suspending the CRC from NAPARC. "In reporting to our own constituency it's certainly not going to be complimentary that NAPARC took this decision without any grounds," said Van Baak. "The question is whether the Christian Reformed Church has been in violation of any of the provisions for membership in the council. The presentation of such a motion to any of the constituent bodies is faced with a similar problem." While noting his own serious concerns about the CRC, OPC interchurch relations committee chairman Rev. Jack Peterson agreed that NAPARC needed formal grounds for the motion. "From our position the Christian Reformed Church is allowing in office those who do not meet the qualifications established by Scripture," said Peterson, who emphasized that he spoke "with a breaking heart." "I get CRC-Voices," said Peterson, referring to an E-Mail listserv for discussion of CRC issues. "What do you do when you go to a church and the one who is serving the Lord's Supper is not qualified to be administering the sacraments or the Word?" Hofman reminded Peterson and other delegates that the pain of a "breaking heart" was felt not only by the OPC but also by the CRC, noting a difficult situation on the mission field of the Reformed Church in Japan as an example. "The OPC, with the CRC, gave birth to the Reformed Church in Japan, and now the parents are getting divorced, and it's difficult for the children to know what to do," said Hofman. By a roll call vote, the organization then voted by a 6-1 margin to propose suspending the CRC and appointed a committee to produce a detailed list of grounds. OPC delegate Elder Frank Barker proposed that the NAPARC chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary be appointed as a committee to study the relevant decisions of the NAPARC member denominations with regard to the CRC and produce a list of grounds that led to the NAPARC decision. "I do think there is some merit in trying to offer reasons, and since we cannot offer reasons from our own actions, I think we are pretty much 'shut up' to citing reasons from the actions of the major assemblies of our member denominations." Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church delegate Rev. William Evans, a former member of the CRC's Nashville congregation, strongly supported the OPC motion to provide grounds. "I think it not only appropriate but even necessary, given the nature of our action," said Evans. "We owe the Christian Reformed Church nothing less." CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard told the meeting he regretted NAPARC's decision to suspend his denomination but questioned how much work the committee could do, noting that only the Orthodox Presbyterian Church had provided detailed grounds for its decision to sever ties with the Christian Reformed Church. Hofman closed the debate with a personal word, noting that his own adult daughter had recently told her parents that she had decided to prepare for the Christian Reformed ministry. "I'm just wondering what will happen when your daughter comes to you and says something like that to you," said Hofman. At the adjournment of NAPARC, Engelhard left his own parting word with the delegates regarding the organization's future. "I think we should express our sadness that things have come to this point, and wish you well," said Engelhard. "For the three years we have been here, NAPARC has focused on keeping the EPC out and putting the CRC out. That is not a good focus. It is our hope that NAPARC can now focus on other matters." In an interview following the meeting, Perrin said the PCA, despite bringing the motion to suspend the CRC from NAPARC, planned no similar motion to remove the CRC from the National Association of Evangelicals despite Perrin's statements of concern about CRC fidelity to Scripture. "I think the structure of NAPARC is completely different," said Perrin. "This is a council of Reformed churches where we have communally agreed in matters of doctrine, government, and practice," said Perrin. "NAE is a fellowship and therefore there is plenty of room to talk and not feel we need to disagree with others who are different." The new NAPARC chairman said he hoped, with Engelhard, that the organization could now focus on issues other than how to go about dealing with the Christian Reformed Church. "NAPARC can't do anything until it settles the question in its own mind of its basic unity," said Rev. Gordon Keddie, a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America. "Thus, it has to decide what it should be, and in my opinion it should be a meeting place of all bona-fide Reformed Churches." Keddie pointed to an article in Outlook magazine by Westminster Theological Seminary in California president Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, proposing an interdenominational synod which would allow the member synods to retain their own particular distinctives, as an interim step to church unity for which NAPARC could be useful. "A functioning NAPARC would be similar to that," said Keddie. "I personally prefer to focus on organic union as the goal." "The question to wrestle with is for each denomination to examine its distinctives with regard to evaluating its sufficiency for a separate existence," said Keddie. "The proliferation of tiny denominations, and I regard the RPCNA as a tiny denomination, is not a happy thing. It's not something that should be accepted as a final statement." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1994-017: Immigrant Korean Leader Criticizes Christian Reformed, Presbyterian Church in America Influence at NAPARC #1994-058: NAPARC Admits New Denomination; Thanks God for Christian Reformed Decision Against Ordaining Women; Rev. Myung Doh Kim Becomes First Korean Chairman of North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council; Reformed Church in the United States Admitted Amidst Strong Criticism of Alliance of Reformed Churches #1995-070: Christian Reformed Classes Permitted to Declare Church Order Ban on Women's Ordination "Inoperative"; Synod Decision Given Immediate Effect without Two-Year Ratification Process #1995-080: Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly Unanimously Warns CRC to "Repent and Rescind" Women in Office Decision #1996-065: Women in Office Leads Orthodox Presbyterians to Suspend Ties with CRC, Will Terminate in 1997 Unless CRC Changes #1996-076: CRC Synod Rejects 25 Overtures and Communications Calling for End to Classical Option on Ordination of Women #1996-121B: Conservative Interchurch Council Will Study Discipline of Christian Reformed Church for Women's Ordination #1997-126: Christian Reformed Church Faces Possible Expulsion from North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council Contact List: Rev. Donald Duff, Secretary, North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council 614 Roberts Ave., Glenside PA 19038-3711 O: (215) 956-0123 * H: (215) 887-4901 * FAX: (215) 957-6286 Dr. David Engelhard, General Secretary, Christian Reformed Church in North America 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0744 * H: (616) 243-2418 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 * E-Mail: engelhad@crcnet.mhs.CompuServe.com Rev. Leonard Hofman, General Secretary Emeritus, Christian Reformed Church 2237 Radcliffe Circle Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 H: (616) 942-0205 Rev. K. Eric (Ric) Perrin, Chairman, PCA Interchurch Relations Committee 703 Woodcreek Ct., Columbia, SC 29212 O: (803) 772-1000 * H: (803) 781-7520 * FAX: (803) 772-1003 Rev. Jack Peterson, Pastor, Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church 1315 White Rock Drive, San Antonio, TX 78245 O: (210) 690-6360 * H: (210) 675-9097 Rev. Edward Van Baak, Chairman, CRC Interchurch Relations Committee 1518 Cambridge SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506-3946 H: (616) 243-0796 Rev. Jack Whytock, 1997 Chairman, North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council 155 Charles Lutes Rd., Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1C 8Z4 CANADA O: (506) 853-7898 * H: (506) 855-7722 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-128.txt .