NR #1996-005: Committee of Concerned Members of the Christian Reformed Church Discontinues Operations after Twelve Years After twelve years of work attempting to return the Christian Reformed denomination to its roots, the Committee of Concerned Members has voted to discontinue its operations and donate over ten thousand dollars in remaining assets to Mid-America Reformed Seminary in suburban Chicago. At its height, the Concerned Members had over five thousand dues-paying members, employed a full-time executive director, co-published a free-distribution periodical with a circulation of 80,000 that reached nearly every Christian Reformed household, and sponsored conferences attracting audiences up to several thousand. Ironically, the very success of the Concerned Members and the fact that the organization drew most of its board members from the Christian Reformed heartland of West Michigan resulted in most of the board resigning when their churches seceded following Synod 1992's decision to allow women to "expound" in the churches without ordination. "We came to the point where almost all the Concerned Members were members of independent churches," said Henry Van Til, the last president of the organization, explaining the reason for its closure. NR #1996-005: For Immediate Release Committee of Concerned Members of the Christian Reformed Church Discontinue Operations after Twelve Years * Organization Donates Remaining Assets to Mid-America Reformed Seminary by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (February 13, 1996) - After twelve years of work attempting to return the Christian Reformed denomination to its roots, the Committee of Concerned Members has voted to discontinue its operations. The last meeting of the organization was held at Coopersville CRC in suburban Grand Rapids, attended by the four remaining board members: Henry Van Til, Rev. Jim Bultman, Myron Rau, and Rev. William Renkema. In less than an hour, the organization completed the only item of business on its agenda: voting to donate $10,534 in assets, along with office equipment and remaining publications, to Mid-America Reformed Seminary. At its height, the Concerned Members had over five thousand dues-paying members, employed a full-time executive director, co-published a free-distribution periodical with a circulation of 80,000 that reached nearly every Christian Reformed household, and sponsored conferences attracting audiences up to several thousand. The Committee of Concerned Members traced its roots to a group of ministers which met in February, 1984, at North Street CRC in Zeeland to discuss common concerns. "We met because of a letter that had been sent out and circulated by one of the pastors expressing his concern about the things that were happening, especially because of the opening of the office of deacon to women," said retired pastor Rev. Ed Knott, a former president of the organization and now a member of Beverly CRC (Independent) in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming. The Zeeland meeting led to a conference at the oldest CRC congregation in Chicago, Berwyn CRC, with Dr. George Knight III speaking on women in office. Following the Berwyn conference, the leaders drew up a set of articles of incorporation stating that the purpose of the Concerned Members was "1) to maintain the historic Reformed character of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2) to propagate that Reformed faith, 3) to defend it in opposition to all errors and heresies, 4) to unite the Christian Reformed Church in maintaining and developing a full-orbed obedience to the Scriptures, and 5) to encourage and promote respect for her Reformed tradition." Later on, the organization sponsored its first official conference in 1987 in South Holland, Illinois, and still later hired Mark Zylstra to do full-time work for the organization. "He went around wherever there was a group of Concerned Members or people that were unsettled because of what was going on in the church," said Knott. "I think that really was the beginning of the independent movement." Ironically, the very success of the Concerned Members and the fact that the organization drew most of its board members from the Christian Reformed heartland of West Michigan resulted in most of the board resigning when their churches seceded following Synod 1992's decision to allow women to "expound" in the churches without ordination. "We came to the point where almost all the Concerned Members were members of independent churches," said Henry Van Til, the last president of the organization. Van Til cautioned that the decision to discontinue operations should be viewed positively rather than as an admission of defeat. "I don't care for the word disband, that's kind of a harsh word; these are all movements that certainly have made a difference," said Van Til. "If you look at the broad picture the Concerned Members accomplished what they set out to do." Van Til drew a parallel between the Concerned Members and earlier and later organizations with similar goals. "I think of this as being in three waves: the Association of Christian Reformed Laymen back in the 1960's and 1970's; the Concerned Members, and now the Interclassical Conference held in Chicago," said Van Til. "This is the end of the second wave, and the meeting that was held in Chicago is beginning the third wave. Certainly that's going to make an impact in the denomination also." According to Van Til, a major part of the reason why the organization donated its assets and materials to Mid-America was the seminary's stand against evolution. "When we took the materials down there we took a booklet down there from Mid-America stating that exegetically we believe the says of creation were 24 hour days," said Van Til. "There are a number of causes that would have been interested, but evolution was the big issue." Dr. Cornel Venema, one of two Christian Reformed professors at the seminary, expressed appreciation for the gift. "It reflects our common commitments, even some of our common commitments in seeking reformation in the CRC and a return to our more Reformed heritage," said Venema. "I think their disbanding reflects their judgment that Reformation is not likely in the CRC, but the fact that they gave their gift means that their work will go on through their gift." Venema said that the financial part of the gift would be earmarked for the upgrading of computer hardware at the seminary. "We had wanted to upgrade our computers but we didn't have the money at the time," said Venema. "This is certainly an example of God's providence." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1994-020: Concerned Members Reply to "Negative Networking" Charge by Christian Reformed Board of Trustees #1994-021: Sixth Issue of The Reformed Witness Sends Conservative News to Over 80,000 Christian Reformed Households Contact List: Rev. James A. Bultman, Treasurer, Committee of Concerned Members 325 - 1/2 W. Washington, Zeeland, MI 49464 * H: (616) 772-9382 Rev. Edward J. Knott, Former President, Committee of Concerned Members 2759 Porter St. SW, Wyoming, MI 49509 * (616) 534-4683 Mr. Myron Rau, Secretary, Committee of Concerned Members 304 - 116th Ave., Martin, MI 49070 * H: (616) 672-7123 Rev. William Renkema, Vice-President, Committee of Concerned Members 207 Henry St., Coopersville, MI 49404 * H/O: (616) 837-9858 Mr. Henry Van Til, President, Committee of Concerned Members 5110 Waterside Dr., Hudsonville, MI 49426 * (616) 669-6830 Dr. Cornelis Venema, Professor, Mid-America Reformed Seminary 229 Seminary Dr., Dyer, IN 46311 * O: (219) 864-2400 * FAX: (219) 864-2410 Rev. Mark Zylstra, Pastor, Evergreen Covenant Reformed Church PO Box 529, Agassiz BC V0M 1A0 * H/O/F: (604) 796-0228 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-005.txt .