Substance and Drama
The CRC Synod 2015 is over. Synod did a number of large things with very little drama.
- Synod added deacons to Classis and Synod.
- Synod “unified” Home Missions and World Missions.
- Synod blew up the agency board system that had governed the agencies for as long as we’ve had them for not much more than a concept and a promise to keep Synod informed throughout the change process.
It did all of this without much drama at all. I think all three moves could have been adopted with easy majorities without any discussion at all. Some on the floor were calling this the “rubber stamp Synod” but I think that is unfair. I’ll talk about the other changes in subsequent posts. The hot topic to watch was the Overture to have Classis Grand Rapids East silence the “All One Body” effort.
The Train to No Where Made the Most Noise
It wasn’t hard to know what would happen to that overture. The overture was going nowhere on procedural grounds alone as the advisory committee noted. If it had stopped there there would have been no drama, but that would not be, that COULD not be. What energizes “All One Body” energized Classis Minnkota to write the overture and energized first the advisory committee and then Synod to talk about it. “Something must be said. Something must be done.” And so we try.
A Wolf in Binary Clothing
The conflict looks simple. Traditionalists assert that in sex anything but monogamous heterosexual behavior is sinful. Progressives say that this view is outdated and ill informed. Right now CRC progressives are proposing that the church ought to include, affirm and celebrate monogamous same sex marriages on a par with the celebration of heterosexual marriages. Nothing new to see here really.
The CRC Culture Pond
Going to Synod, however, is like visiting a strange, sometimes wonderful, sometimes awkward cultural pond. The CRC has a thick culture and you can taste it at Synod especially if you come from a place where the culture isn’t quite so thick. That’s not a bad thing. Culture is culture. It is, however, a complicated thing. Many who feel the power and influence of the culture and if you come from a place outside of that culture it makes you realize that in some ways you don’t fit. “Outsiders” of many stripes have been making this comment for years. It is part of the blessing and the struggle of being CRC. Continue reading
