_________________________________________________________________ United Reformed News Service Article Summaries: 1995 _________________________________________________________________ NR #1995-1: Reformed Believers Press Service Adopts New Format The first major format change in RBPS' three-year history will result in the inclusion of more smaller articles without sacrificing the news service's dedication to in-depth investigative reporting. NR #1995-2: Christian Reformed Study Committee Recommends Delegation of Deacons to Classis and Synod, Scrapping of Canadian Council If adopted by Synod 1995, the study committee proposal would eliminate the representative body for Canadian Christian Reformed churches and integrate Canadian ministries into the CRC synodical structure while requiring delegation of deacons to all classes and synods on both sides of the border - and possibly allowing delegation of women deacons to classis and synod. NR #1995-3: Calvin College Reverses Five Year Enrollment Decline The 1994-95 academic year marked the first significant enrollment increase in five years at the official Christian Reformed denominational college in Grand Rapids, which has lost almost 20% of its students since 1988. Calvin attributes the increase to a larger population of high-school age students and aggressive recruiting among mainline denominations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Reformed Church in America. NR #1995-4: Synod Issue of Outlook Mailed to Over 80,000 CRC Homes The oldest conservative periodical in the Christian Reformed denomination obtained special permission to use the Reformed Witness mailing list to send the 1994 synodical issue to over 80,000 homes in the CRC. NR #1995-5 Alliance Church Dedicates Building in Holland, Michigan Messiah's Independent Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan, is the first of the 19 independent Reformed churches in the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship to erect its own building for worship. NR #1995-006: Classis Bans Leading Professor at Mid-America Reformed Seminary from Preaching in Christian Reformed Pulpits A surprise decision has banned Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, the leading professor at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, from preaching in Christian Reformed churches. The decision - which conflicts with over 90 years of Christian Reformed precedent - was mailed to all classes in the Christian Reformed denomination but Kloosterman first learned about the pulpit ban from the news media. NR #1995-007: Three Conservative Ministers Declared "Dismissed" or "Deposed" for Leaving Christian Reformed Denomination In a special meeting of Classis of the Heartland called to examine a candidate for the ministry, classis voted to dismiss Dr. Richard Venema and Dr. Nelson Kloosterman from the CRC and to declare the status of Rev. Ralph Pontier to be that of one deposed from office. Venema, a retired minister in Sheldon, Iowa, had tried to leave peaceably to affiliate with the local presbytery of the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination; Kloosterman and Pontier were founding members of a new church seceding from the oldest and largest church in the classis, the 124-year-old First CRC of Orange City. NR #1995-008: Calvin College Announces Texan Finalist in Presidential Search Calvin College has announced that Dr. Gaylen Byker, vice-president of a Texas natural gas company and former banker, is the finalist in the search process to replace retiring president Dr. Anthony Diekema. NR #1995-009: Seceding from the Seceders: Toronto Orthodox Christian Reformed Church Leaves the OCRC Federation The flagship church of the small 1200-member Orthodox Christian Reformed denomination has split in two, the majority seceding from the denomination after two years of internal problems and discontent. Toronto Orthodox Christian Reformed Church is considering affiliation with the largest group of churches seceding from the CRC, the Alliance of Reformed Churches. NR #1995-010: Lester De Koster Blasts Alliance of Reformed Churches for Synodocratic Tendencies The former editor of the Christian Reformed denominational weekly, now a theological conservative, launched a blistering assault on the move toward federation in the Alliance of Reformed Churches. NR #1995-011: Concerned Presbyterians Announce Meeting to Further Reformation of Presbyterian Church in America The leading conservative group in America's second-larges Presbyterian denomination will meet on March 3. Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary professor Dr. George W. Knight III will give the keynote speech on "The Danger of Quasi-Confessional Documents." NR #1995-012: Classis Illiana Overtures CRC Synod to Disenfranchise Classis Grand Rapids East for Ecclesiastical Disobedience If Synod 1995 adopts an overture from Classis Illiana, the delegates of Classis Grand Rapids East will not be seated at the broadest assembly of the Christian Reformed denomination due to its support for at least six congregations which have ordained women to the office of elder. The surprise overture from Classis Illiana follows the precedent of the 1994 General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, which refused to seat delegates from two classes for refusing to force two churches to pay their denominational quotas. NR #1995-013: Tie Vote Kills Overture Comparing those Leaving CRC Over Women in Office to Circumcision Party, Galatian Judaizers; Second Overture Passes Urging Immediate Ratification of Women in Office Classis Chicago South has adopted an overture asking Synod 1995 to immediately ratify women in office without waiting for a two-year ratification process. However, most of the classis debate focussed on another overture, defeated by a tie vote, which compared those leaving the CRC over women in office to Galatian Judaizers and the circumcision party in the early church. The overture attracted the opposition of one of the best-known men in the denomination: Rev. David Feddes, minister of English broadcasting for the Back to God Hour. However, the defeat of the overture in classis may not signal the end of the issue: Rev. Marvin Hoogland, spokesman for the defeated overture, said his church is still considering sending its overture on to synod. NR #1995-014: Classis Chicago South Still Lists Woman Expounder as Available to Fill Christian Reformed Pulpits Classis Chicago South has declined an effort by its stated clerk to remove the name of a woman seminarian, Betty Vander Laan, from the list of persons authorized to "expound" in the churches of classis. NR #1995-015: Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship Holds Fifth Meeting; Discusses State of Alliance of Reformed Churches The Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship of the Alliance of Reformed Churches voted to establish a publication board to produce a bimonthly periodical and to create a fund to receive freewill offerings to cover travel expenses of delegates. The fellowship also held an extended discussion on the events at the 1994 Alliance of Reformed Churches, particularly the drive toward federation of the independent churches. NR #1995-016: Continuing Christian Reformed Hemorrhage Costs CRC 22,000 Members in Three Years; Unprecedented Loss Tops Seven Percent of Pre-1993 Membership; Knocks Denomination Back Fifteen Years to 1980 Membership Levels The Christian Reformed denomination has lost members for an unprecedented third year in a row, a loss now totalling over 22,000 or seven percent of its membership before the beginning of the current secession movement in 1992. The CRC previously recorded only two years of decline in its 138-year history, the largest being a 1.2% decline in 1925 coinciding with the last major secession from the denomination which led to the formation of the Protestant Reformed Churches. At least three quarters of the decline is due to churches and individuals joining one of three secession groups. NR #1995-017: Alliance of Reformed Churches Continues Dramatic Growth Membership of independent churches in the Alliance of Reformed Churches topped ten thousand for the first time this year, currently totaling 10,805. A 377% growth rate over the last three years has made the independent churches the fourth largest Dutch Reformed ecclesiastical body in North America. NR #1995-018: Grand Rapids East Tries New Approach to Women in Office; Classis Asks Synod to Allow Women Elders, Ministers in Local Churches but Permit Classes to Ban Women Delegates In a 23 page overture, Classis Grand Rapids East asks synod to allow women in office while allowing synod and regional classes to ban the delegation of women to their own meetings. If adopted by synod, many conservatives who strongly oppose women in office would not be forced to decide whether to implement longstanding policies declaring that they would walk out of classis meetings whenever women are seated as voting delegates. NR #1995-019: Classis Grand Rapids East Rejects Overture Banning "Nondeliberative" Delegates from Advisory Committees The president of Westminster Theological Seminary in California had some unusual defenders at the winter meeting of Classis Grand Rapids East. Despite Dr. W. Robert Godfrey's role as reporter for the 1994 synodical advisory committee opposing women elders, classis delegates from two churches with women elders spoke against an overture which would have barred "publicly outspoken proponents and opponents on a controversial matter" from synodical advisory committees studying such matters. NR #1995-020: Minnesota South Asks Synod to Disenfranchise Churches with Women Elders and Terminate Members from CRC Committees By unanimous and near-unanimous votes, Classis Minnesota South submitted a three-part overture at its March 2 meeting that would ban churches with women elders from sending delegates to synod, ban members of those churches who agree with their church decision from serving on denominational boards and committees, and ban Classis Grand Rapids East from sending any delegates to synod until it rescinds its support for churches which have women elders. NR #1995-021: Classis Hudson: Remove Churches with Women Elders from Christian Reformed Denomination, Effective Immediately Classis Hudson, at its January 19 meeting, submitted the strongest overture yet against churches with women elders. If adopted by synod, the Classis Hudson overture would "adopt a policy, effective immediately, that all members of such congregations not be allowed to function as synodical delegates, synodical deputies, members of denominational boards of committees, or classical delegates" and "declare that all churches which refuse to submit to the urging of Synod 1994 be declared outside the CRC and removed from the official registry of the Christian Reformed Church of North America effective immediately." NR #1995-022: Classis Lake Erie Sends Forty Pages of Overtures to Synod (Summary of Contents: NR #1995-023/024/025/026) For many years, Classis Lake Erie of the Christian Reformed denomination has distinguished itself by detailed and lengthy overtures, generally addressing issues of concern to the "progressive" wing of the CRC. Not uncommonly, the extensively researched Classis Lake Erie overtures have become the foundation for positions later adopted by synod. This year, Classis Lake Erie appointed committees of pre-advice, added additional hours to its March 3 agenda, and finally sent over forty pages of overtures to synod. What positions will Synod 1995 adopt? If Classis Lake Erie has its way, those positions will include such items as the following: * Rejecting the committee appointed to study feminine language for God because all ministers and theologians on the committee oppose that practice. * Establishing a policy to ensure that committees have members "who reflect the gender, ethnic and racial diversity of our denomination and, where applicable, the range of opinion that exists in our denomination on a particular matter to be studied." * Ending the CRC practice of having church order changes ratified by a subsequent synod. * Revising the 1994 decision against women in office to allow women to serve immediately as ministers, elders, and evangelists. * Rejecting the recommendations of a study committee report which says that women expounders may not fill pulpits in the CRC. In addition, Classis Lake Erie held an intensive debate on officially delegating deacons to its own classis, finally postponing action to its next meeting in October 1995 amidst concerns that the proposal would violate the church order. NR #1995-027: Western Independent Churches Organize Regional Fellowship Following up on a recommendation made by the Alliance of Reformed Churches at its November 1994 meeting, the independent Reformed Churches of western Canada met in Calgary, Alberta, on February 3 and 4 to lay the groundwork for a regional fellowship. In addition to organizational work, the regional fellowship held an extended discussion on the proposed Alliance church order and advised the church order study committee "to take a less prescriptive approach" to matters of church polity. NR #1995-028: Classis Wisconsin Overtures Board of Trustees to Unseat Classis Grand Rapids East for Ecclesiastical Disobedience Classis Wisconsin became the CRC's fourth classis to call for disciplinary action against churches with women elders when it passed a motion on March 14 asking the Christian Reformed Board of Trustees to "rule that delegates from Classis Grand Rapids East be given the privilege of the floor, but be denied the privilege of voting on all matters before synod until such time as Classis Grand Rapids East complies with the decisions of synod on this matter. The Classis Wisconsin overture closely parallels an action by the 1994 General Synod of the Reformed Church in America approving a recommendation by the RCA's General Synod Council not to seat delegates from two classes which failed to discipline member congregations which refused to pay denominational assessments. NR #1995-029: Lynwood Cancels Federation Conference of Independent Congregations in Alliance of Reformed Churches Citing lack of interest and active opposition by some Alliance churches, the consistory of Lynwood Christian Reformed Church (Independent) has voted to cancel an earlier call for a federation conference of congregations in the Alliance of Reformed Churches. In the cancellation letter, Lynwood noted that of the 54 churches which were invited to attend the meeting, only 18 responded and only 3 of the 18 responses were positive. NR #1995-030: Christ for Russia Places Two Christian Reformed Pastors as Guest Lecturers in Ukranian Seminaries Christ for Russia, an interdenominational Reformed mission agency based in Denver, Colorado, has announced the appointment of two retired Christian Reformed ministers, Rev. William Ribbens and Rev. Jim Bultman, to serve as guest lecturers at an affiliate seminary in the Ukranian city of Donetsk. Ribbens and Bultman will fly out of Detroit on March 29 to begin a six week teaching tour at the Donetsk Ukranian Baptist Bible School, a theological institution serving over 300 churches in the Ukraine. With a population of 1.25 million, Donetsk is the largest city in the immediate area and has been receiving broadcasts from the CRC's Back to God Hour radio ministry for over a decade. NR #1995-031: Vander Kam Cites Health in Resignation from Alliance Church Order Study Committee Health difficulties have led to the resignation of the Alliance of Reformed Churches' leading exponent of classical Christian Reformed polity from its church order study committee. Rev. Henry Vander Kam, a past president of the Christian Reformed synod and former chairman of a number of the most prominent boards and committees in the Christian Reformed denomination, submitted his resignation from the church order study committee during the first week of April. NR #1995-032: Reformed Church in America Expels Leading Conservative Church for Nonpayment of Denominational Assessments In an unprecedented decision, the Reformed Church in America's Classis of North Grand Rapids held a special closed-door session on March 7 and voted by a 45-17 margin to expel its second-largest congregation, the 1038-member Seventh Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, because the church refused to pay $7484 in assessments for the denominational periodical and seminaries. The classical vote follows a decision by the 1994 RCA General Synod not to seat the delegates from the Classis of North Grand Rapids and the Classis of Muskegon on the grounds that they had not paid their denominational assessments in full. While the formal motion before classis permitted Seventh Reformed's pastor, Dr. J.R. de Witt, and pastor emertus, Rev. Charles Krahe, to remain members of the RCA, both indicated that they would be leaving the denomination as well due to the classical action. NR #1995-033: Christian Reformed Interchurch Relations Committee Recommends Addition of German Reformed to North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council In an unexpected reversal, the Christian Reformed Interchurch Relations Committee is recommending the admission of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) to membership in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). If the recommendation is adopted by synod, it will practically guarantee the admission of the RCUS to NAPARC membership. NR #1995-034: Retired Presbyterian Church in America Stated Clerk Overtures General Assembly to Appoint Committee to Study Denominational Unrest Dr. Morton Smith, a founder of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and first stated clerk of the 242,000-member Presbyterian Church in America, has overtured his denomination's General Assembly to appoint a committee to study the causes of unrest and division in the denomination he was instrumental in founding. The overture enjoyed strong support in Western Carolina Presbytery and was adopted by a wide margin at its March 18 meeting. NR #1995-035: Christian Reformed Denomination Moves to Trademark "Christian Reformed" and Related Abbreviations Responding to a number of congregations with names such as "Lynwood Christian Reformed Church (Independent)" and "Aylmer Independent Christian Reformed Church," the board of trustees of the Christian Reformed denomination is moving to trademark the terms "Christian Reformed Church," "Christian Reformed Church in North America," "CRC," and "CRCNA." NR #1995-042: Dr. John E. Kim Appointed President of World's Largest Reformed Seminary in Seoul, Korea Dr. John E. Kim, senior pastor of the 2800-member Los Angeles Christian Presbyterian Church, has accepted the presidency of the 1900-student Chongshin Theological Seminary in the South Korean capital city of Seoul. Chongshin is the largest Reformed or Presbyterian seminary in the world, the largest theological institution in Korea, and one of the largest seminaries of any theological orientation in the world. Kim will continue to serve as co-president of the International Reformed Fellowship, a conservative alternative to the World Council of Churches, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and Reformed Ecumenical Council. Until he led a secession of over forty percent of the CRC's Korean members three years ago, Kim pastored the second-largest congregation in the Christian Reformed denomination. "I would like to make our university an interrelated part of the IRF movement," said Kim, with a goal to "make Reformed churches more biblical and evangelical." NR #1995-043: Committee Divides on Whether Gay Ministries Must Declare that Homosexual Activity is Sin; Classis Grand Rapids East Refers Both Reports to Churches for Study Confronted with minority and majority reports on the hotly disputed issue of whether ministries with persons who are homosexual must explicitly state that homosexual activity is sin, Classis Grand Rapids East voted at its May 18 meeting to refer both reports to the churches for study. The whole matter will come up again at the next meeting of classis in September. NR #1995-044: Reformed Church in America Overtured to Consider Merger with Christian Reformed Church by Year 2000 This year's General Synod of the Reformed Church in America will consider whether to begin steps toward merger with the Christian Reformed denomination by the year 2000. If the overture is adopted by the RCA, it will take the first steps toward ending a split between the two largest Dutch Reformed denominations in North America that dates back to 1857. NR #1995-045: Top PCA Denominational Leaders Meet, Consider Strategy Against Concerned Presbyterians and Other "TR's" The "Vision 2000" Caucus of America's second-largest Presbyterian denomination met on April 21 to hear reports on the state of the church and plan strategy for the upcoming General Assembly. A major part of the meeting was devoted to discussions of how to counter the activities of organizations and individuals associated with the "TR" movement in the Presbyterian Church in America. "TR's," an abbreviation for "Truly Reformed," are those in Presbyterian circles identified with more strict views of worship, polity, doctrine, and confessional subscription. NR #1995-046: Presbyterian Church in America Asked to Take Stand Against "Evangelicals and Catholics Together" Document Responding to a joint document signed by a number of prominent North American evangelicals and Roman Catholics, Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America has overtured the denomination's General Assembly to adopt a statement reiterating its commitment to the doctrine of justification by faith alone. NR #1995-047: Presbytery Reconsiders Ecclesiastical Charges Against Minister Following Multi-Million Dollar Civil Lawsuit At its April 20-21 stated meeting, Southwest Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to establish a committee to review the propriety of trying Rev. John P. Clark, Jr., a second time. The Presbytery's action follows on the heels of a decision by last year's PCA General Assembly that ruled the presbytery had no jurisdication in ascertaining that a congregational meeting to vote on withdrawal from the PCA was legally conducted. A complicating factor in the case is that Clark, the son of a former top denominational official, has filed a multimillion dollar civil lawsuit against several presbyters and their wives because of ecclesiastical actions taken with regard to him. NR #1995-048: Second PCA Presbytery Rejects Paedocommunion; Ordination Permitted but Pastor May Not Teach His Beliefs At its May 12-13 stated meeting, Northeast Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to permit the ordination of a man who believes in the admission of young children to the Lord's Table but specifically instructed him not to teach his exceptions to the PCA's doctrinal standards to his church. NR #1995-049: Westminster Presbytery Rules that Freemasons May Not Serve as Elders in Presbyterian Church in America At a special meeting called to deal with a nominee for elder who holds membership in a Masonic Lodge, the Presbyterian Church in America's Westminster Presbytery overturned a decision of a local congregation to place the man in nomination and specifically directed the church that the man "is no longer able to serve as an active member of the session." NR #1995-050: Three Finalists Named for Dordt College Presidency The CRC's second-largest liberal arts college, Dordt College in northwest Iowa, has announced its three finalists for the presidency of the college. In October 1995, the board will choose between Dr. Harry Fernhout, president of the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Dr. Lee Hollaar, education coordinator for the Society of Christian Schools in British Columbia, and Dr. Carl Zylstra, pastor of Immanuel CRC in Orange City, Iowa. NR #1995-051: Reformed Bible College Names Nicholas Kroeze to Presidency The board of trustees of Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids has announced the appointment of Dr. Nicholas V. Kroeze as its next president. Kroeze will succeed Dr. Edwin Roels who has served as president for the past eight years. NR #1995-052: Reformed Bible College Gains North Central Accreditation The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has granted accreditation to Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids. RBC's new accreditation supplements rather than replaces its accreditation by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges, held since 1964. RBC stresses that the school will continue as a Bible college and require that all its students major in Bible and Theology. NR #1995-053: ANALYSIS: What's Coming to the Christian Reformed Synod? Rev. James Admiraal, a Christian Reformed pastor and longtime contributor to Outlook magazine, analyzes the major issues facing the 1995 Christian Reformed synod, scheduled to convene at Calvin College in Grand Rapids on June 13 and run through June 23. Major items will include women in office, delegation of deacons to classis meetings, admission of young children to the Lord's Table, funding of smaller churches, and possible severance of ecclesiastical relations with the CRC's mother church in the Netherlands over issues related to homosexuality, lack of Jewish evangelism, and the doctrine of Scripture. NR #1995-054: ANALYSIS: Dallas Gets Set for General Assembly of America's Second Largest Presbyterian Denomination The 1995 General Assembly of the 242,000-member Presbyterian Church in America is scheduled to meet from June 20 to June 23 in suburban Dallas. According to an analysis by Dr. Frank Smith, a board member of the conservative Concerned Presbyterian organization, the General Assembly may be headed for some "old fashioned shootouts" over a Proposed Statement of Identity, church discipline, and interchurch relations. ____________________________________________________________ To Reach RBPS Staff, Contact: Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer [For news tips or content-related inquiries] Voice: (616) 674-8446 * FAX: (616) 674-8454 * E-Mail: Darrell128@AOL.com PO Box 691, Lawrence, MI 49064-0691 Wayne Martin, Circulation Manager [For missing or back issue inquiries] Voice: (708) 895-2139 * FAX: (708) 963-6342 * E-Mail: WayneM55@AOL.com * 3539 Madison, Lansing, IL 60438 Ron Ellens, Subscription Services [For subscription inquiries or address changes] Voice: (708) 331-0847 * FAX: (708) 636-9366 * 16424 Cottage Grove, South Holland, IL 60473 ___________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/reformed: 00digest95.reformed.txt .