NR #1995-102: Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Sever Ties with Christian Reformed Church in North America By a margin of 42 to 10, the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland voted on October 19 to sever ties with the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The move represents the culmination of longstanding dissatisfaction in the CGKN with CRC views on the authority of Scripture, women in office, and refusal to sever relations with the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (synodical) despite its toleration of practicing homosexual ministers. NR #1995-102: For Immediate Release Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Sever Ties with Christian Reformed Church in North America * View of Scripture, Toleration of Women in Office, Continued Ties with Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Synodical) Cited in Split by the Church Editor, Nederlands Dagblad c 1995 Nederlands Dagblad Distributed by United Reformed News Service [Translation from the Dutch courtesy of Dr. Nelson Kloosterman; Grand Rapids reports by Darrell Todd Maurina] ZIERIKZEE, The Netherlands (October 19, 1995) - "Our discussions and expressions of deep concern made no difference!" Ecumenical deputy Rev. Paul den Butter had no doubts whatsoever: the relationship of ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRC) should be severed. The overwhelming majority of those delegated to the Dutch Christian Reformed (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland - CGKN) synod agreed (42 in favor, 10 opposed). The lengthy discussion about breaking this fifteen-year old relationship arose when synodical deputies pleaded for continuing relations with the CRC for a period of three years. "After all, breaking relations means our voice is silenced," argued Elder D. Koole. Rev. H. van den Heuvel and elder G. van Westrienen agreed with this sentiment. Criticism of the CRC was directed against, among other things, the CRC's view of the authority of the Bible, the permission of women ministers, and its relationship with the synodical Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland-synodical). In a thirty-minute emotional speech, the CRC delegate, Rev. Jacob Kuntz, attempted to show that recent deviations from Reformed orthodoxy were not that serious. He characterized the report of the Dutch ecumenical deputies Rev. Paul den Butter and Rev. J. Westerink as one-sidedly negative. "You are comparing the CRC synod to a runaway train that cannot be stopped anymore, with all the catastrophic consequences that may result." He added quickly, "I am not saying that your report contains falsehoods." The Dutch-speaking American minister also requested compassion for the many thousands of dedicated, faithful church members [still in the CRC]. Regarding the CRC's relationship with the GKN-synodical, Kuntz stressed that he too had serious difficulty with that denomination's stand on homosexuality. He pointed out, further, that members and ministers of the Dutch church are not "automatically" allowed to participate in the Lord's Supper or occupy a pulpit in the CRC. In defense of women ministers, Kuntz pointed to the practice of women voting in congregational meetings (exercised by, among others, some of the Liberated Reformed Churches in the Netherlands), which, Kuntz claimed, is the first step en route to women ministers. Den Butter, who has attended three CRC annual synods, reminded the CRC delegates, Rev. Gerard Ringnalda and Kuntz, that their information was merely second-hand (since they were not synodical delegates). "I want the facts on the table," den Butter insisted, "and you will find them in our report." Regarding the CRC's education of its membership, den Butter said, "This year one issue of The Banner - the official publication of the CRC - contained the full text of the controversial speech made by the GKN-synodical president, Rev. Richard Vissinga. But not a word about our visit!" Only after it became known in America that the Dutch Christian Reformed Churches wanted to break relations with the CRC was there any consternation among CRC members. Until that time, they showed little concern. Replying to the allegation that the Dutch church was breaking the ties, den Butter argued that by departing from Reformed orthodoxy, the CRC itself caused the break. He saw no hope in a kind of "interim phase" designed to sever relations quietly. The synod will communicate the decision about severing ties to the Interchurch Relations Committee of the CRC, along with the summons "to turn back from the path she has chosen." Directing his remarks to the CRC delegates, synod president Rev. M.C. Tanis explained clearly that "all of us are feeling some pain now." "But brothers," he continued, "be sure of this: we could not decide otherwise." Christian Reformed General Secretary Responds Not surprisingly, the top official in the Christian Reformed denomination did not agree that the Christelijke Gereformeerde "could not decide otherwise." Reached at his office in Grand Rapids, CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard expressed concern that the CGKN had acted with undue haste. "Certainly we will express our regret to them and express that they should reconsider and tell them of our deep disappointment," said Engelhard. Engelhard noted that for many years the CGKN had maintained ecclesiastical relations with the Reformed Church in America - from which the CRC seceded in 1857 - and did not break those ties until three decades after the organization of the CRC. "When we first approached them, they had relations with the Reformed Church in America, and they took a long time to break that," said Engelhard. "They took a long time to research it, work on it, think about it, before they made any decisions. To do ours so precipitously without serious engaging in dialogue seems to be quite unusual." "We would have wished, we think, for some similar treatment in this case," said Engelhard. Although the formal relationship of "ecclesiastical fellowship" between the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland dates back only to 1980, less formal but far deeper ties date back well over a century. The Christelijke Gereformeerden trace their history back to an 1834 split known as the "Afscheiding" in the Dutch state church. Due partly to persecution and partly to economic conditions, a group of Afscheiding church members immigrated in the 1840's to what was then the unsettled territory of West Michigan under the leadership of Rev. Albertus Van Raalte. These immigrants became Classis Holland of the Reformed Church in America - a connection which led to an 1857 split in Classis Holland when four of its nine churches seceded to become what is now the Christian Reformed denomination. The Dutch synod of the Christelijke Gereformeerden looked with disfavor on the American split, in no small measure because Van Raalte declined to join the American seceders and remained in the RCA until his death. In 1857, 1860, and 1863 the CGKN refused requests from the founders of the CRC to sever ties with the RCA. Only a major split in the 1880's over the RCA's tolerance of the Masonic Order, followed by the decision of many seceding churches and ministers to join the CRC, led to decisions in 1885 and 1888 by the CGKN synod advising that churches no longer give membership certificates to immigrants who joined the RCA. This decision crucially impacted the growth of the CRC, which until recent years received nearly all of its new members through immigration from the Netherlands. By 1892, however, the situation was reversed. Acting under the leadership of Dr. Abraham Kuyper, founder of the Free University of Amsterdam and later Prime Minister of the Netherlands, a new secession from the Dutch state church known as the "Doleantie" occurred in 1886. These Doleantie churches merged with the Afscheiding churches in 1892 to become the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland - a merger promptly recognized by the CRC in North America but into which a number of Christelijke Gereformeerden declined to enter. The continuing CGKN - now numbering 75,243 members in 187 congregations - frequently sought recognition by the Christian Reformed Church in North America but until 1980 succeeded only in gaining lesser status. Until this year, the 1980 decision represented the successful culmination of 88 years of painstaking negotiations between the CGKN and CRC. "That's what makes our regret even the deeper, I suppose, because of that long relationship and connections along the way," said Engelhard. "When their interchurch relations committee met at the end of September that troubled us because we wouldn't want the ties broken, but it seemed to us that things were moving very quickly, there wasn't communication back and forth, and that's why we decided to send the two brothers to speak with them. They met with their deputies and the interchurch relations committee prior to synod, but by that time the advisory committee to synod had already accepted the interchurch relations committee report and were recommending that they sever relationships." Engelhard said that although the CRC's fraternal delegates had filed a report with his office he had not yet received official word of the action by the CGKN synod. "In December, if we have the official letter by then, I expect that our interchurch relations committee will take some response to it," said Engelhard. "Certainly by our relationship and continuing relationship with a variety of churches we have a slightly different view about what our relationship with churches should be." _______________ ** Notes to Editors: 1. The Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (CGKN) should not be confused with the much larger Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (GKN), the denomination formed by in 1892 by a merger of the Doleantie and most Afscheiding churches which is generally described as the CRC's "mother church." The GKN admits practicing homosexuals to full membership and church office; the CGKN does not. 2. Rev. den Butter's quote reported in Nederlands Dagblad regarding The Banner reprinting the entire text of Rev. Vissinga's speech is incorrect. The Banner did, however, include an extensive report on the speech and a subsequent unsuccessful effort to convince the CRC synod to sever ties with the GKN (Banner, 7/3/95, pp. 10-11). Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-067: Christian Reformed Synod Votes to Keep Fraternal Relations with Gereformeerde Kerken Despite Advocacy of Gay Rights #1995-068: Complete Text of the GKN President's Fraternal Address Contact List: Rev. Paul den Butter, Member, Interchurch Relations Committee, Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Oranjelaan 12, 3971 HG Driebergen, NETHERLANDS * O: 03438-21101 Rev. Jacob Kuntz, CRC Fraternal Delegate 46 Clarridge Ct., Brampton, ON L6X 3N5 * H/O: (905) 457-8001 Rev. Gerard Ringnalda, CRC Fraternal Delegate 294 Bay St., Orilla, ON L3V 3X3 * O: (416) 229-4610 * H: (705) 325-7056 Rev. M.C. Tanis, President, Synod of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Rivierdyk 759, 3361 BV Sliedrecht, NETHERLANDS * O: 01840-12776 Rev. H. van den Heuvel Stationsweg 37, 9101 HX Dokkum, NETHERLANDS * O: 05190-41635 Rev. Richard S. E. Vissinga, President, Synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Watermunt 11, 8265 EL Kampen, NETHERLANDS Rev. J. Westerink, Member, Interchurch Relations Committee, Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland Molenstraat 22, 3752 CG Bunschoten-Spakenburg, NETHERLANDS * O: 03499-81468 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr95-102.txt .