NR #1996-015: Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship Calls Special Meeting to Deal with "Crisis" of Federation The Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship of the Alliance of Reformed Churches voted on January 20 to ask its churches to convene a special meeting, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 20, to address four items: "the necessity, nature, and authority of church order," "to define and identify your position on Congregational or Presbyterian church polity," "the necessity, nature, and authority of major assemblies," and "may a classis depose a consistory." The questions followed over three hours of debate on what to do with the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship now that many but not all members of the Alliance of Reformed Churches have decided to "federate" into a new denomination, tentatively named the "Federation of Uniting Reformed Churches." While nobody is certain of exact numbers, one thing is clear: most of the Alliance churches publicly opposed to federation are members of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship, and they may be a majority of the group of eighteen Alliance congregations with 3600 members, mostly clustered around the eastern, western, and southern shores of Lake Michigan. NR #1996-015: For Immediate Release Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship Calls Special Meeting to Deal with "Crisis" of Federation * April 20 special meeting to debate "nature, necessity, and authority" of church order and major assemblies, Congregational versus Presbyterian ecclesiology, whether classes may depose consistories by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service JENISON, Mich. (January 24, 1996) URNS - Meeting at the newly-purchased facilities of Bethel Independent Reformed Church in the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship of the Alliance of Reformed Churches voted on January 20 to ask its churches to convene a special meeting, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 20, to address four items: "the necessity, nature, and authority of church order," "to define and identify your position on Congregational or Presbyterian church polity," "the necessity, nature, and authority of major assemblies," and "may a classis depose a consistory." The first three questions were proposed by Rev. Paul Murphy of Dutton Independent Reformed Church and the last by Rev. Ray Lanning of Cutlerville Independent Reformed Church after over three hours of debate on what to do with the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship now that many but not all members of the Alliance of Reformed Churches have decided to "federate" into a new denomination, tentatively named the "Federation of Uniting Reformed Churches." While nobody is certain of exact numbers, one thing is clear: most of the Alliance churches publicly opposed to federation are members of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship, and they may be a majority of the group of eighteen Alliance congregations with 3600 members, mostly clustered around the eastern, western, and southern shores of Lake Michigan. Besteman Presents Case for Federation Discussion of the issue of federation began with a presentation by Rev. Art Besteman, pastor of Beverly Christian Reformed Church (Independent) in Wyoming. Besteman, pastor of one of the three churches which convened a "federation conference" following last November's Alliance meeting in the Chicago suburb of Lynwood, noted that 33 of the Alliance's nearly 60 independent churches had indicated their intention to join the provisional federation and that more were likely to do so in the future. Besteman began his presentation by quoting from Article 32 of the Belgic Confession, stating that "we admit only of that which tends to nourish and preserve concord and unity, and to keep all men in obedience to God." Besteman continued his speech with an extended series of quotations from Louis Berkhof's systematic theology. "Scripture does not contain an explicit command to the effect that the local churches of a district must form an organic union. Neither does it furnish us with an example of such a union. In fact, it represents the local churches as individual entities without any external bond of union," quoted Besteman. "At the same time, the essential nature of the Church, as described in Scripture, would seem to call for such a union." "The Bible speaks of the Church not only as a spiritual body, but also as a tangible body, as a temple of the Holy Spirit, as a priesthood, and as a holy nation," continued Besteman in his quote from Berkhof. "Every one of these terms points to a visible unity. Congregationalists or Independents and Undenominationalists lose sight of this important fact. The existing divisions in the visible Church at the present time should not cause us to lose sight of the fact that there are certain passages of Scripture which seem to indicate rather clearly that, not only the invisible Church, but also the visible Church is a unity." Turning from the confessions and from Berkhof to the current situation, Besteman noted that "we are living in a difficult time for the church, when churches that were once strong witnesses to the Reformed faith are now compromising or turning away from it altogether." Besteman presented federation as both necessary for the well-being of the church and an opportunity for future witness. "As we federate and are able to engage in common activities, we can work more effectively in a common ministry," said Besteman. "It is only in the last 20 to 30 years that power-hungry bureaucrats have caused irreparable damage in the denomination of which we were once a part," said Besteman, noting the effectiveness of such ministries at the CRC's broadcast ministry, the Back to God Hour. "Let's face it, independent isolated churches cannot carry on that kind of ministry," said Besteman. "We need one another as we seek to unite in the work of the kingdom." Besteman also alluded to several recent pastor-church conflicts in the Alliance churches as an additional imperative for federation. "It scares me when I think of churches carrying on their work without any obligations or accountability," said Besteman. "Our own history, brief as it is, shows the need for this. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water because of some painful experiences we have had in our past." Federation Opponents Protest; Table Change to Articles of Fellowship Besteman's speech did not go down well with a number of the members of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship - including his longtime friends. "I must protest this abuse of free speech," said Rev. Ray Lanning, pastor of Cutlerville Independent Reformed Church. "It looks like an attempt to propagandize on one side of the issue, and that is most unfair." Rev. Duane Vedders of Immanuel Fellowship Church of Kalamazoo echoed Lanning's concerns. "We as a congregation did not have any idea that one side or another would have an opportunity to present," said Vedders. "If we're going to be serious about our relationships with each other, we must not do this." Rev. Paul Murphy, pastor of Dutton Independent Reformed Church, questioned the legitimacy of the entire discussion. "If member churches of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship want to form a classis of a new federation, that is not our business and it is out of order," said Murphy. Several delegates pointed out that the Articles of Fellowship which provide the basis for membership explicitly restrict its membership to churches which are independent, not those in a federation - raising the question of whether the churches voting to federate had by that action removed themselves from membership in the fellowship. "If I understand the brother correctly, the churches that have voted to federate are no longer eligible for membership," said Lanning. "This creates a crisis. We have divided the independent churches and put the entire future of our fellowship in jeopardy by the premature decision of certain churches to federate." Indicating that not even all of the churches in favor of federation were unified in that choice, Dr. Ben Zandstra, a past chairman of the Alliance and past vice-president of consistory at Cornerstone Church of Hudsonville, received permission to speak despite the fact that his church had not delegated him to the regional fellowship. "It seems that some here have forgotten what denominationalism leads to," said Zandstra. "The church of Jesus Christ is the local congregation. Christ gives his authority to the local council. Christ is the authority, and he gives his authority to local congregations, not to classis and synod." Cornerstone Church pastor Rev. Steve Arrick urged caution on the part of both advocates and opponents of federation. "We are already in a federative relationship; this is a federation and we could live like this a hundred years if we decided to," said Arrick. "Those churches that have not yet become a part of that denomination are still listening to why we should not. We are in a crisis, as a Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship, but I hope there will be more charity and goodwill toward those of us who have at least tentatively decided to federate." Other advocates of federation also urged caution in the process. "We need time to bring our congregation up to speed; we have decided where we are as a council, but our congregation is not unified yet," said Elder Ralph Balkema of the Free Christian Reformed Church of Kalamazoo. "We need time to bring our people on board, and in no way do we want to start out by having a hierarchy starting out at the top." Rev. Mark Scholten - a Presbyterian-trained pastor serving a church strongly opposed to synodicalism - proposed a specific compromise: that the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship consider the option of dual affiliation for its churches. "That concept of dual membership has worked well for Congregational churches and allowed them to be in two bodies," said Scholten. "Perhaps that would work for us." Following the lunch break, the regional fellowship dealt with a proposal to amend the Articles of Fellowship to allow non-independent churches to become members. However, the proposal raised concerns with some of the delegates - including the chairman of the Alliance interim committee who is attempting to keep the Alliance from disbanding despite the decision of many of its churches to federate. "If we admit the federated churches, I'm afraid that like at the Alliance meeting, the federated churches will have a majority and do things the way they want," said Elder Pete Elzinga. "I'm hesitant to even make this motion at this time; I realize it needs to be ratified, but I think we ought to know what we want to do first." After more discussion, Vedders moved to table the proposed change to the Articles of Fellowship which would explicitly allow churches to remain in the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship even if they federate. The motion passed handily by voice vote. The decision to table the only motion of the day addressing the major subject of concern raised new concerns for several delegates. "We are on the verge of having talked past one another for over three hours having not accomplished anything," said Murphy. "I think that's the only way we are going to accomplish anything, that we be open and honest with one another, to say, 'I'm not a Congregationalist and this is why not,' or 'I'm a Congregationalist and here's why.'" "We ought not to be separating from one another on perceived or assumed differences, but on the basis of real differences, and that after discussion," said Murphy. From another perspective, Besteman expressed concern that the decision to table the motion explicitly allowing federated churches to remain members of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship might have effectively excluded his own church and others. "The reason it was tabled is it looked like a little to much for us to bite off," said Elzinga. "Beverly is certainly welcome to participate in the process of sending a well-crafted overture to our next meeting to take care of the anomaly in our Articles of Fellowship," echoed Lanning. Following a ruling from the chair, Beverly and other like-minded churches were informed that pending resolution of the matter, they could continue to send voting delegates to the meetings of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship. Special Meeting Called Following up on Murphy's earlier speech, Rev. Ken Anema of Messiah's Independent Reformed Church of Holland proposed that the churches continue the discussion in their local councils. "If you want to continue this discussion, go to your councils," said Anema, noting that any three councils could call a special meeting of the regional fellowship. Murphy proposed that if a special meeting is called, that it address three questions: the "necessity, nature, and authority of church order," that delegates "define and identify your position on Congregational or Presbyterian church polity," and the "necessity, nature, and authority of major assemblies." Murphy also floated the possibility of a "super-denomination" which "would give visible expression to theological unity despite differences on polity." Lanning added a fourth question to Murphy's three: "may a classis depose a consistory." This item is a particularly touchy question in light of the fact that both Murphy and Besteman were declared to have the status of one deposed from office by their former classes for the offense of leaving the Christian Reformed denomination, and others were threatened with similar treatment. While the formal call for a special meeting will have to come from three interested councils, the common consensus of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship was that the special meeting will be held on Saturday, April 20. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-070: Christian Reformed Classes Permitted to Declare Church Order Ban on Women's Ordination "Inoperative"; Synod Decision Given Immediate Effect without Two-Year Ratification Process #1995-074: Synod Rejects Two Efforts to Require 1996 Ratification of Women in Office Decision #1995-075: Synod Permits Classes to Declare Second Church Order Article "Inoperative"; Women May Now "Expound" or "Exhort" #1995-087: Most Christian Reformed Classes Decline Synodical Option to End Prohibition on Women in Office #1995-088: List of Classis Decisions on Women in Office Contact List: Rev. Ken Anema, Pastor, Messiah's Independent Reformed Church of Overisel 234 N. Ottawa, Zeeland, MI 49464 * H: (616) 748-1542 Rev. Steve Arrick, Pastor, Cornerstone Church 6442 - 36th Ave., Hudsonville, MI 49426 * O: (616) 669-2190 * H: (616) 669-3457 * FAX: (616) 669-4321 Elder Ralph Balkema, Free Christian Reformed Church of Kalamazoo c/o Free CRC, 3724 Lovers Lane, Kalamazoo, MI 49001 * O: 616) 345-3355 Rev. Art Besteman, Pastor, Beverly Christian Reformed Church (Independent) 2420 Avon Ave. SW, Wyoming, MI 49509 * H/O: (616) 532-1708 Elder Pete Elzinga, Interim Committee Chairman, Alliance of Reformed Churches 3984 North 168th Ave., Holland, MI 49423 * O: (616) 399-1009 Rev. Jerome Julien, Stated Clerk, Alliance of Reformed Churches 3646 - 193rd Pl., Lansing, IL 60438 * H/O: (708) 418-5321 Rev. Ray Lanning, Pastor, Independent Reformed Church of Cutlerville 1088 Harvester Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508 * H/O: (616) 554-0001 Elder Marv Mingerink, Clerk, Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship PO Box 313, Alto, MI 49302 * H: (616) 897-6941 Rev. Paul Murphy, Pastor, Dutton Independent Reformed Church 6940 Hanna Lake Rd., Caledonia, MI 49316 * H/O: (616) 698-7467 Rev. Mark Scholten, Pastor, The Christian Reformation Church 1001 - 33rd St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49548 * H/O: (616) 246-6203 Rev. Duane Vedders, Pastor, Immanuel Fellowship Church 4430 West "F", Kalamazoo, MI 49009 * O: (616) 343-5357 * H: (616) 375-4012 Dr. Ben Zandstra, Former Elder, Cornerstone Church 3337 Van Buren, Hudsonville, MI 49426 * (616) 669-6514 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-015.txt .