Matthew is a pastor, writer, and theological educator in Upstate New York. The views expressed here are his own.
This is part of a series of posts about the items and topics before the General Synod 2017. *** There are several significant changes to the church order being proposed this year regarding the recently invented ministry designation of commissioned pastor. In the previous post, I addressed some foundations of office and some of the … More Reformed Church General Synod 2017: Commissioned Pastors, Part 2
For the Reformed Church, this is General Synod season. The General Synod Workbook has been released, and the church is abuzz with the variety of items and topics that will be discussed at General Synod. The first piece related specifically to the General Synod is about the ministry designation of commissioned pastor. Because it is not … More Reformed Church General Synod 2017: Commissioned Pastors, Part 1
In Part I, we laid a foundation for what representation means in the church. In Part II, we are going to look at how this exists in practice, particularly regarding the General Synod. The General Synod apportions delegates proportionally. Every classis is able to send two ministers and two elders, and larger classes are able to send … More Governance by Assembly and the Problem of Representation (Part II)
Few concepts cause more difficulty than the principle of representation and what this means in the church. This is particularly the case with those of us who are used to a representative democracy because similar terms are often used to address very different concepts. The Representative Principle. The power which Jesus Christ bestows upon his church … More Governance by Assembly and the Problem of Representation (Part I)
From time to time, more frequently as of late, there have been calls for the General Synod to make authoritative scriptural interpretations and insist that everyone act in accordance with statements of the General Synod (well, a select few statements). The reasoning is that if the General Synod is the highest assembly, the rest of … More The Reformed Church and the Problem of Hierarchy
The Reformed have always understood the importance of an educated ministry. A gift of the Reformed tradition is that it has emphasized both learning and piety, both loving God with our hearts and with our minds. In the early days of the Reformed Church in the North American colonies, ministers had to receive their theological … More The General Synod and the Certification of Candidates for Ministry
The Belgic Confession of Faith lists three marks by which one can discern the “true church.” The third of these marks is that “it practices church discipline for correcting faults” (Art. 29). It is this mark that serves as a particularly problematic point in the life of the church. The Reformed Church has always had … More Relationship, Punishment, and the Problem of Ecclesiastical Discipline
Despite the periodic talk of churches leaving the communion (denomination), such a thing is simply not possible. It is true that the Book of Church Order has a process (long and involved for good reason) for a church to be transferred to another ecclesiastical communion, but a church cannot, of its own volition, disaffiliate from or leave … More Why Leaving the Communion is Not Possible
“Every church is like a stream,” the minister’s speech began, “and each stream flows into a large body of water called the Reformed Church.” This speech was in support of a motion to radically shift the lines of accountability. Rather than the clear and generally local accountability that has been historic to the Reformed, there has … More What do we mean when we say “church”?
Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk within the Reformed Church in America (RCA) about the Constitution of the RCA and the role that it plays in the life of the church. Indeed, this culminated with a directive from the General Synod of 2015 which formed a large task force … More The Reformed Church and its Constitution
Church and Order 