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The long anticipated report on Pastoral Care Guidance to Same-sex couples is now public. There isn’t a lot of time between now and Synod in June so we should make haste in figuring out how to talk about this as a community.

Form: A Work of Art in a Difficult Space

As I read the report again and again I was amazed at the wisdom and skill of this report. Again and again I thought “this puts our best foot forward in terms of exhibiting the spirit and capacity of the CRC to speak carefully, theologically and winsomely on the most divisive issue of our day.” There are some huge caveats to this that I will get into later but again and again I was struck by what an impressive achievement this report is given its mandate, its time and its context.

While I know the report is a committee effort whoever was the primary pen for this report exhibited incredible skill. It is pastorally, theologically, politically, and socially careful and yet clear. I cannot say enough at how impressed I was. I’ve read a lot of traditional and affirming material on the subject but I don’t know if I’ve read anything so beautifully and lovingly crafted. Again, this is an astounding achievement.

Finding All the Flex Possible

The mandate of this committee was strict. Stay within the confines of the 1973 and 2002 reports. The majority report found all the flex they could within the legal and practical climate of CRC practice today. If you are going to stay within the current church order and positional parameters of the CRC today I can’t imagine a more beautiful, pastoral, flexible word towards those who wish the CRC would become inclusive. Again, as we’ll see this incredible achievement finds its liability in its great strength.

The minority report seems to essentially say that some of this flex while staying within the letter of the CRC law violates some of its spirit. When I first saw there was a minority report I feared that the minority report would advocate for changing the CRC position which would lead to a very different (church) political debate at Synod. I was surprised when I found that the minority report comes from a traditionalist voice. It doesn’t reject most of the majority report but as I said worries that some of the flex found by the majority report violates the spirit of the CRC position and wants to pull back from advocating we push those boundaries. Continue reading →