Thrive (CRCNA)

Alex, 

I think it's fair to ask questions about why certain issues get advanced in institutions while other significant issues are neglected.

But I'm not sure it's quite right to interpret the 90%'s relative silence as indifference or opposition to "pushing" the issue. I think the point of the article is that there are a great many godly and discerning leaders in our denomination who have been seeking the Lord's wisdom about matters of human sexuality and ethics. But they may be too shy or modest to speak up unless expressly invited to. Their voices, though perhaps less strident and self-assured, are ones I believe our assemblies will be blessed to hear. 

The horse is out of the barn, so to speak, on whether this conversation will happen. It is happening. It's on the agenda of virtually every classis meeting as well as Synod. Countless church councils have talked about it or will talk about it in the months ahead. The question now is not so much whether we should have the conversation about these issues, but how do we have this conversation in as God-honoring, Body-of-Christ-building way possible? 

-Sean

Ronald,

The truth is, I don't much enjoy conflict or debate, either. But I know that our polity is such that there will be much debate in the months ahead. My hope with this somewhat tongue-in-cheek blog is to encourage folks to have a more edifying debate. 

But please keep an eye on the network. I think you'll see many versions of the blog you're hoping for (including from me). There are many who share your vision for a more prayerful, humble approach to the challenges facing our denomination (myself included). I'm grateful for the COD's leadership in elevating this need and opportunity. https://www.crcna.org/news-and-events/news/denomination-calls-year-prayer

-sean

Mister Bee,

Excellent observations. Perhaps I too easily assumed that members (or council) would practice a Matthew 18-style of reconciliation when possible or appropriate. Church Order (Article 80) does note the importance of following Matthew 18's instructions. 

I think many councils, upon hearing of an interpersonal concern, would be wise to direct the complainant back to the person with whom they have a disagreement. 

But there are situations where the issue is less about interpersonal conflict and more about disagreement in the church's direction or leadership, which are quite appropriate for a council meeting. Disagreements like that are much more of what I had in mind when writing this blog. 

Re. "putting it in writing," I think the ideal is to both put it in writing AND have a conversation. The two together are most helpful for reducing miscommunication. 

-Sean

Lubbert,

For a somewhat fuller picture of what I think good decision-making looks like, I recommend the following:

https://network.crcna.org/crcna-and-synod/two-questions-every-council-must-ask-making-decision-part-one

https://network.crcna.org/crcna-and-synod/rush-hush-and-mush-three-keys-bad-decisions

Sean

MJill H, 

I think what you'd find if you participated in the facilitator training is that the toolkit itself is fairly adaptable. Indeed, there are a lot of challenging conversations churches might want or need to have right now. The tools in the toolkit, which you are introduced to in the training, could help a church with all kinds of hard conversations: COVID protocols, worship wars, even politics. 

It's designed around the Human Sexuality Report because that's a common conversation happening across the denomination this year. And because the Report provides a Biblical/theological lens well-suited to prompt fruitful congregational discernment.

Sometimes, people don't realize there are more effective ways of navigating our differences. A group like this in your church might serve as a model of what dealing with differences well could look like. 

-Sean

Don,

Synod's mandate to the committee was to flesh out a more comprehensive Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality. I think the intent was to make sure the committee considered more than just whether same-sex sex was permissible. The report tries to do that, I think, by including a significant section on pornography, and other, smaller sections on singleness, premarital sex, cohabitation, polyamory, divorce and desire. Wise churches will recognize the importance of Biblical counsel and support in all of these areas. 

Sean

Hi Pastor Will, thanks for reading and your interest in the Fellowship. This opportunity was first announced on November 5th via the 'For Pastors' email list and other media, including a Financial Shalom post on The Network. The application was originally scheduled to close on December 4th, but since it did admittedly take longer than expected for the word to get around (e.g., you are just now hearing about it!), we extended the deadline to the current deadline of December 11th to give more pastors a chance to hear about it and decide whether to apply. I am glad you saw this post, even though it is close to the deadline. If you decide to apply, I do not think you'll find the application too time-consuming. If you have other questions, please email me at [email protected]. Thank you! -Nathan 

Keith, 

Thanks so much for your comment. We appreciate hearing how real pastors and real churches experience the search process. I thought I’d offer a word about pastor search firms (from our perspective at Pastor Church Resources), since you brought it up: 

Professional pastor search firms certainly have the potential to help churches and pastors navigate the search process helpfully. I’ve had a good experience personally interacting with one as a pastor candidate. The search process can be complicated and it can help to have someone keeping the process moving. I suppose a classis-assigned counselor could function in this way, but very few have the capacity to be as involved as a professional search firm. 

At the same time, as I’ve entered into ministry with PCR, I’ve noticed that search firms active among CRCs are not delivering such unqualified successes, as you seem to have witnessed. We suspect this may partly owe to mismatched incentives (a search firm is motivated in the short term to seal the deal, even if the deal is less than ideal for pastor or church), unfamiliarity with CRC polity (especially being unaware of the complexity of bringing a non-CRC pastor into a CRC congregation, or the unique role of a CRC pastor’s relationship to council) and a false sense of confidence (a pastor or church thinking that if the search firm representative thinks it will be good match, I can take their word for it.) 

Our hope with this blog (and others in this series) is to empower the pastor to do their part of the discernment work as well as possible. Whether or not a search firm is involved, a better equipped, more engaged pastor will improve the search process. Sadly, working with a search firm does not guarantee a good match and at times has even led to quite a bad match.

-Sean

Henry, 

I really like your suggestion. In fact, I think I might include it in a future revision of the blog. It makes sense that meeting with ministry leaders could offer a more realistic picture of how the council's vision and direction is actually translating (or not) into on-the-ground ministry. Thank you!

Sean