From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 08:33:15 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-103 Classis Muskegon Averts Heresy Trial, Completes Separation Agreement with Richard Rhem, Christ Community Church Christ Community Church of Spring Lake and its controversial pastor, Rev. Richard Rhem, are now free of the Reformed Church in America. The October 1 vote by the RCA's Muskegon Classis almost but not quite puts an end to the yearlong conflict over the theological views of Rhem, who has pastored the 2800-member church since 1971. If, as expected, the church ratifies the separation agreement approved by classis, both pastor and church will be free to leave the denomination without further penalties. Passed by a margin of 27 to 23, the classis vote does not affect pending negotiations between the church and the denomination over financial payments which could total a half-million dollars, but it does mean the church can leave the RCA even if a financial settlement cannot be reached. Sparked by a controversy over the church allowing the Muskegon Metropolitan Community Church, a congregation primarily composed of practicing homosexuals, to meet on church premises, the classis began an investigation which led to further concerns over the senior pastor's views on the authority of Scripture and belief that profession of faith in Jesus Christ is not necessary for salvation. NR #1996-103: For Immediate Release Classis Muskegon Averts Heresy Trial, Completes Separation Agreement with Richard Rhem, Christ Community Church by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service MUSKEGON, Mich. (October 1, 1996) URNS - Christ Community Church of Spring Lake and its controversial pastor, Rev. Richard Rhem, are now free of the Reformed Church in America. The October 1 vote by the RCA's Muskegon Classis almost but not quite puts an end to the yearlong conflict over the theological views of Rhem, who has pastored the 2800-member church since 1971. If, as expected, the church ratifies the separation agreement approved by classis, both pastor and church will be free to leave the denomination without further penalties. That settlement almost didn't happen. When classis convened at Hope RCA of Muskegon, former Christ Community pastor Rev. Henry Kik read into the minutes a statement objecting to a sermon he said Rhem preached stating that "Jesus is not God, Jesus is not God." Later in the meeting after classis moved into closed session to deal with the Rhem case, Kik moved that "we have a trial in the future as a classis to establish the position that Richard Rhem takes with regard to the doctrinal standards of the Reformed Church and the Word of God." Kik's motion was ruled out of order and classis subsequently approved a settlement agreement by a 27 to 23 vote margin. Contacted for comment after the classis meeting, Christ Community associate pastor Rev. Peter Theune said he could not confirm the statement by Kik. "I have been a pastor there for twelve years and have never heard that sermon," said Theune. The separation agreement also means that the other ordained staff at the church will not suffer the same fate as Rhem merely because of their staff positions at Christ Community and association with Rhem. According to the separation agreement, "for one year following the date of this agreement no action shall be taken against the ministers named above as a result of their association" with Rhem or the church. However, "the classis reserves the right to exercise all functions permitted under the Book of Church Order (RCA) if it subsequently becomes aware of information which requires, in the normal course, investigation and action." Still to be worked out are the details of a financial settlement between the church and the RCA General Synod and the RCA's Regional Synod of the Great Lakes, the national and regional governing bodies of the 316,000-member denomination. Under RCA polity, the denomination has the right to claim the assets of local churches that secede without the approval of their classis - a claim that would have carried a steep price for the Muskegon Classis due to Christ Community's outstanding $1.3 million mortgage on its church building. According to the terms of a settlement agreement presented to the previous classis meeting on August 13 but not yet adopted by the general synod or the regional synod, Christ Community would continue to pay at least $45,000 per year for five years to the mission and ministry of the general and regional synods, as well as $60,000 per year to local, regional, national, and worldwide ministries, not necessarily those of the RCA. However, the October 1 vote by the Muskegon Classis means the church is free to leave the denomination with its church building and assets even if it cannot come to an amicable financial settlement with the regional and general synods. Also left undecided was the future of a group of 115 Christ Community members who want to remain members of the RCA. "We don't have a signed agreement, but we have a verbal agreement with New Church Development that they will survey the area and see if there is interest in beginning a new RCA" in Spring Lake, said Elder Howard Connell, president of classis, noting that the settlement allowed such members to transfer from Christ Community to the classis itself pending a decision on what local church they wanted to join. According to Connell, much of the closed session debate centered on the question of what to do about the other ministers at Christ Community, particularly ordained staff members Revs. Peter Theune and Robert Kleinheksel but also four retired ministers whose membership papers are in the church. Connell said the provisions of the separation agreement mean that the other pastors at Christ Community would have one year to decide between remaining members of the church or remaining members of the RCA. "All it does is give them a year of grace to decide whether they want to stay or not," said Connell. "I think it's as peaceful and as amicable as it could be," said Connell. Peace and amity have definitely not characterized previous classis meetings dealing with Rhem. Previous meetings have included charges and countercharges against both the classis and Rhem. The October 1 vote follows a July 17 classical resolution declaring that Rhem "by the testimony of his own words does not believe the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation... does not accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only rule of faith and practice... [and] does not accept the standards of unity of the RCA as faithful witnesses to the Word of God" and noting that "the 1996 General Synod has clearly reaffirmed that the RCA remains firmly committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation and the Bible as the Word of God, our only rule for faith and practice." The resolution continued to declare that Rhem "by his theological stance and public ministry is engendering disunity and impurity in the church... has not submitted himself to the counsel and admonition of the Classis of Muskegon... [and] stands in violation of his vows as a minister of word and sacrament in the RCA." Following from those declarations, the July classis meeting had voted to declare that it "formally rebukes" Rhem and "holds him in disrepute before Christ, the church and the world," noting that "the classis understands that this severe action demands recantation of the heretical views held by Richard A. Rhem." Confronted with the proposed resolutions of censure, Rhem preached a sermon on June 30 - the anniversary of his ordination by the Muskegon Classis - stating that "now, thirty-six years later, the same Classis is about to depose me from ordination in the Reformed Church." In the sermon he expected to precede his deposition, Rhem "revisited" the text of his inaugural sermon at Christ Community in 1960, then known as First Reformed Church of Spring Lake. "I would have been typed as a very conservative Christian minister," said Rhem about his inaugural sermon. "I had been richly nurtured in the Christian faith and I had applied myself to the study of Scripture and Reformed theology. But, I had little knowledge of the human person and very little human experience." In his sermon, Rhem traced his theological change from a "very conservative Christian minister" to something quite different. Criticizing classis minister Rev. Richard Veenstra by name in the sermon, Rhem said Veenstra's problem was one he once shared: a belief that "the reformation tradition is reformed according to the Word of God." "The words jumped out at me; I recognized the misunderstanding he expressed. It was the same problem with my early preaching, indeed, with my first sermon to this congregation," said Rhem. "As soon as one claims a Reformed theology, the renewal is over. The burst of spiritual vision and energy has again been mastered and managed and packaged. Now there is a new system rather than a biblical faith that is being redefined, newly translated and bringing illumination to the ongoing human story." Three days after Rhem's sermon, the Christ Community board of trustees implemented an earlier congregational vote of support for Rhem by voting to secede from the RCA. Since July 3, Christ Community Church has regarded itself as an independent congregation - a stance regarded as illegal by the Muskegon Classis prior to the completion of the separation agreement. While the vast majority of Christ Community's members supported Rhem, a vocal minority did not. One of those members was Jennifer Reyburn, a 24-year-old lifelong member and former youth director at the church who made a presentation to classis on behalf of the minority. In a subsequent interview, Reyburn said she resigned from her staff position because of the doctrinal views being taught by Rhem. "What we've experienced at Christ Community is a departure from the gospel, the core doctrines of the Christian faith," said Reyburn, pointing to Rhem's publicly expressed view that it is possible to be saved apart from Jesus Christ. "While I was working there I just noticed some real apprehensions to telling kids the gospel," said Reyburn. "How do you do ministry in a leadership team that is no longer Christian? As a Christian, that is pretty darn hard." Noting that Rhem had been her only pastor for most of her life, Reyburn affirmed the gifts of the pastoral staff but said that giftedness could not make up for doctrinal aberrations. "They are talented, they're very fun, the church is doing a lot of things, but the church is not a Christian church if they're not proclaiming Jesus Christ," said Reyburn. Reyburn's concerns were shared by a number of delegates who opposed a separation agreement viewed as being too light on Rhem, the rest of the pastoral staff, and the church itself. "I personally think we should have examined these guys to find out what they believe, and either cleared them or dealt with them," said Rev. Sherwin Brantsen, pastor of Laketon Bethel RCA in Muskegon. "I don't think there is any reason they shouldn't want to be examined. My question is why they don't want to be examined?" Brantsen, a longtime friend of Rhem, said he was sorry to be on opposite sides of a conflict with a man who had once been a mentor and model for his own ministry. "He's a great pastor, I like him, he's a better pastor than I am, but his teaching is not Reformed," said Brantsen. However, Brantsen said the separation agreement was good for the denomination despite its flaws. "The RCA has taken clear steps at General Synod to add in the ordination vows that you need to believe salvation is through Christ alone," said Brantsen. "If I am trying to be a Reformed pastor it would seem to me I should want to teach what the Reformed Church teaches. When [Rhem] stopped teaching Trinitarian theology, he had to go." While Rhem was not present at classis, the two other pastors at Christ Community were present, and both expressed satisfaction with the separation agreement. "I'm so pleased I'm just jumping," said Rev. Robert Kleinheksel, minister of care and social challenge. "I am very appreciative of the separation agreement that was decided upon today." Rev. Peter Theune, minister of spiritual formation and community life, echoed Kleinheksel's sentiments. "We wish them well and we value our ministry as well as in their respective ministries," said Theune. "We have been getting on with our business, and this allows the classis to get along with their business." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1994-041: Unprecedented Decision of Reformed Church in America Synod Removes Voting Rights from Two Regional Classes #1995-032: Reformed Church in America Expels Leading Conservative Church for Nonpayment of Denominational Assessments #1996-013: Special Meeting of RCA's Muskegon Classis Discusses Homosexuality, Scripture, Salvation Apart from Christ #1996-023: Muskegon RCA Classis: No Room for Pastor Questioning Salvation Apart from Christ, Authority of Scripture #1996-086: Muskegon Classis Rebukes Rhem for "Heretical" Views, Restarts Negotiations "to Reach a Mutually Acceptable Separation Agreement" with Christ Community Church #1996-092: Back to the Drawing Board: Muskegon Classis Tables Proposed Settlement with Pastor of RCA's Fourth-Largest Church #1996-093: Dr. Jonathan Gerstner on Rhem: "Tragedy is the Only Word" Contact List: Rev. Sherwin Brantsen, Pastor, Laketon Bethel Reformed Church 1731 Dykstra Rd., Muskegon, MI 49445 O: (616) 744-1749 * H: (616) 744-2287 Elder Howard Connell, President, Classis of Mesukegon c/o Office of the Stated Clerk, 281 North 2nd Ave., Fruitport, MI 49415 O: (616) 865-6165 Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America 49 Yawpo, Oakland, NJ 07436 O: (212) 870-2845 Rev. Henry Kik 110 West Ann, Spring Lake, MI 49456 H: (616) 846-4145 Rev. Robert Kleinheksel, Minister of Care and Social Challenge, Christ Community Church 225 East Exchange St., Spring Lake, MI 49456 O: (616) 842-1985 * H: (616) 847-6985 * F: (616) 842-3476 Rev. Richard Rhem, Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church 225 East Exchange St., Spring Lake, MI 49456 O: (616) 842-1985 * H: (616) 846-7777 * F: (616) 842-3476 Rev. James Stevens, Stated Clerk, Classis of Muskegon (RCA) 281 North 2nd Ave., Fruitport, MI 49415 O: (616) 865-6165 Rev. Peter Theune, Minister of Spiritual Formation & Community Life, Christ Community Church 225 East Exchange St., Spring Lake, MI 49456 O: (616) 842-1985 * H: (616) 847-0223 * F: (616) 842-3476 Rev. Richard Veenstra, Classis Minister, Classis of Muskegon (RCA) 17432 North Shore Estates Rd., Spring Lake, MI 49456 H: (616) 842-0454 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-103.txt .