From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:13:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: Media Alert: 2nd and 3rd Largest RCA Classes Vote Tomorrow on Salvation Apart fr Media Alert: Tomorrow to be Decision Day for Two More RCA Classes: Should All Ministers and Churches Annually Reaffirm that Salvation is Through Christ Alone? Tomorrow will be decision day on salvation apart from Christ for the second- and third-largest classes in the Reformed Church in America. In separate meetings on the evening of March 18, the RCA's Classis of Zeeland and Classis of South Grand Rapids will vote on a pending amendment to the denomination's book of church order which would require all ministers and churches to annually reaffirm that salvation is through Christ alone. The Zeeland Classis executive committee is recommending passage of the amendment; the South Grand Rapids Classis nominations and judicial business committee has no recommendation in favor of or opposition to the amendment. MEDIA ALERT: For Immediate Release Tomorrow to be Decision Day for Two More RCA Classes: Should All Ministers and Churches Annually Reaffirm that Salvation is Through Christ Alone? by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (March 17, 1997) URNS -- Tomorrow will be decision day on salvation apart from Christ for the second- and third-largest classes in the Reformed Church in America. In separate meetings on the evening of March 18, the RCA's Classis of Zeeland and Classis of South Grand Rapids will vote on a pending amendment to the denomination's book of church order which would require all ministers and churches to annually reaffirm that salvation is through Christ alone. The Zeeland Classis executive committee is recommending passage of the amendment; the South Grand Rapids Classis nominations and judicial business committee has no recommendation in favor of or opposition to the amendment. At 17,038 members, the South Grand Rapids Classis is the second-largest in the 312,803-member denomination and the largest of the eight classes in the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes. The Zeeland Classis with 15,682 members, is the third-largest in the denomination and second-largest in the regional synod. The only larger classis in the Reformed Church in America is the 21,995-member Classis of California -- almost half of whose members belong to the 9400-member Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, pastored by Rev. Robert Schuller. The proposal to explicitly require ministers and churches to answer whether they preach that salvation is only through Christ was adopted by a 148-112 majority at the 1996 General Synod. If passed by two-thirds of the denomination's 46 classes and ratified at this summer's General Synod, the Reformed Church in America will require each of its ministers and churches to inform classis on whether "the doctrines of the gospel [are] preached in your church in their purity in conformity with... the truth that divine redemption from sin is only by grace through faith in the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone, the only mediator between God and humankind." If ratified, the new question would follow up on two "constitutional inquiries" that each RCA classis is already required to ask each year to all ministers and elder delegates to classis. Currently, each church must inform classis on whether the doctrines of the gospel are preached in conformity with "the Word of God" and "the Standards of the Reformed Church in America," namely, the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dort. The church order amendment originated with an overture from the Classis of Northern Michigan, which explicitly cited articles in the Grand Rapids Press on Rev. Richard Rhem of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, as grounds for its overture. "Those in the RCA teaching heterodoxy (that there are other ways to salvation besides Jesus Christ and that salvation is possible in Christ without saving faith) are disrupting the unity of the RCA by bringing in destructive heresies which cannot be tolerated if Christians are to be loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ," stated the Northern Michigan overture. "It is the duty of modern-day church elders to protect the church from false teaching." While the additional constitutional question could result in questioning the credentials of many additional RCA ministers, at least two RCA ministers are already in the disciplinary process. The case of Rhem, the minister whose teachings touched off the controversy, will next be dealt with at the May meeting of the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes which will determine how to proceed on an unrelated charge of "gross sexual misconduct" that so far has not been substantiated by the classis or the regional synod. The appeal of retired Kalamazoo minister Rev. Don Van Hoeven, who was formally rebuked by the Classis of Southwest Michigan for a Kalamazoo Gazette article expressing agreement with Rhem's theological position, has already been advanced to the Regional Synod Assembly with a recommendation that his appeal be dismissed. The Zeeland Classis will meet at 7 pm at Harlem Reformed Church, north of Holland at 6854 - 144th Ave. The South Grand Rapids Classis will meet at 6:30 pm at Grace Reformed Church of Wyoming, 3330 Burlingame Ave. SW. So far all but one of the five of the RCA classes in the regional synod which have voted on the amendment have passed it: North Grand Rapids voted to pass it on October 15; Southwest Michigan on February 25; Muskegon on March 4, and Northern Michigan on March 11. Rhem's membership is held in Muskegon and Van Hoeven's by Southwest Michigan; both classes passed the amendment by sizeable margins. The Classis of Lake Erie voted on October 26 to disapprove the amendment. The last of the eight RCA classes in the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes will meet on March 25 at Third Reformed Church of Holland, 111 W. 13th St. Fourth-largest in the denomination, the Holland Classis membership includes numerous denominational leaders due to the location of the RCA's Hope College and Western Theological Seminary in downtown Holland. The classis has a recommendation from its classis executive committee not to approve the amendment. Hope Reformed Church of Holland -- one of the most prominent progressive churches in the denomination -- sponsored a March 3 "Kindred Spirits Gathering" of four dozen invited RCA progressive leaders concerned about the response to Rhem, Van Hoeven, and others in the RCA advocating similar views. Regional synod minister Rev. Sherwin Weener has previously cautioned that not everyone opposed to the church order amendment opposes the underlying theology. Some in the RCA argue that the amendment is redundant because the RCA's doctrinal standards, drafted in the late 1500's and early 1600's, already include statements affirming salvation through Christ alone. Nationwide, the Reformed Church in America has 312,802 members in 949 local churches. The Regional Synod of the Great Lakes, composed of churches in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and a few scattered churches at a greater distance, is by far the largest of the denomination's eight regional synods, with 83569 members in 150 churches. The Holland Classis has 13,629 members in 14 churches; Zeeland has 15,682 members in 28 churches; South Grand Rapids has 17,038 members in 28 churches. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-013: Special Meeting of RCA's Muskegon Classis Discusses Homosexuality, Scripture, Salvation Apart from Christ #1996-023: Muskegon RCA Classis: No Room for Pastor Questioning Salvation Apart from Christ, Authority of Scripture #1996-086: Muskegon Classis Rebukes Rhem for "Heretical" Views, Restarts Negotiations "to Reach a Mutually Acceptable Separation Agreement" with Christ Community Church #1996-091: Rhem Conflict Leads to Homosexuality Debate in Muskegon #1996-092: Back to the Drawing Board: Muskegon Classis Tables Proposed Settlement with Pastor of RCA's Fourth-Largest Church #1996-093: Dr. Jonathan Gerstner on Rhem: "Tragedy is the Only Word" #1996-094: Second RCA Minister Faces Discipline for Theological Views #1996-103: Classis Muskegon Averts Heresy Trial, Completes Separation Agreement with Richard Rhem, Christ Community Church #1996-110: Appeal Stalls Settlement Agreement on Rev. Richard Rhem; Protests Greet Upcoming Rhem Keynote Speech for RCA Regional Synod of the Mid-Atlantics on "The Church in Conflict... Can Non-Believers be Saved?" #1996-118: Rhem to Reformed Church in America: "The Bible is a Wax Nose" #1997-001: Muskegon Classis Suspends Separation Agreement Until Regional Synod Adjudicates Appeal on "Gross Sexual Misconduct" Allegations Against Richard Rhem #1997-002: Rhem's Attorney Responds: "Classis... Has Engaged in Conspiratorial Actions Which Were Maliciously Calculated to Damage Rev. Richard Rhem and Christ Community Church" #1997-007: Appeal of Charges Against Rhem Sent Back to Committee by RCA's Regional Synod Executive Committee; Van Hoeven Appeal to Proceed with Recommendation of Dismissal #1997-019: Reformed Church in America Classes Poised to Vote on Church Order Change: Should All RCA Ministers and Churches Annually Reaffirm that Salvation is Through Christ Alone? #1997-026: SW Michigan Becomes First RCA Michigan Classis to Ratify Church Order Amendment on Salvation Through Christ Alone #1997-027: "Kindred Spirits Gathering" of RCA Progressives Meet in Holland to Discuss Direction of Reformed Church in America #1997-028: Rhem Case on Hold; Muskegon Classis Affirms Salvation Through Christ Alone Contact List: Rev. E. Wayne Antworth, Director, RCA Stewardship & Communication Services 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115 O: (212) 870-2954 * FAX: (212) 870-2499 Rev. Richard Baukema, Stated Clerk, Classis of Zeeland (RCA) 5166 Ottogan St., Holland, MI 49423 O: (616) 396-7071 * H: (616) 396-0216 Ms. Pamela DeWeendt, Stated Clerk, Classis of South Grand Rapids (RCA) 2030 Denwood SW, Wyoming, MI 49509 H: (616) 452-3768 Rev. Richard Rhem, Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church 225 East Exchange St., Spring Lake, MI 49456 O: (616) 842-1985 * H: (616) 846-7777 * F: (616) 842-3476 Rev. Dennis Tebeest, Pastor, Hope Reformed Church 77 W. 11th St., Holland, MI 49423 O: (616) 392-7947 * H: (616) 392-5552 Rev. Donald Van Hoeven 1024 Westfall, Kalamazoo, MI 49006 H: (616) 381-8586 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nrma97-3.txt .