Elaine (Lain) Martinez Vasquez
I am a recent graduate of Calvin University and a member of a CRC congregation. I am deeply passionate about fostering and promoting deep-level diversity and inclusion as well as biblical justice in the church and broader society.
Posted in: Peaceful Separation: Paul, Barnabas, and the CRCNA
Hey, Gary. Thank you for your comment. I just wanted to clarify that with this article I wasn't necessarily suggesting our church denomination (or any church denomination for that matter) is/will be made stronger after experiencing a split - or at least not stronger in the sense I believe you meant by "stronger". Actually, If you don't mind, could you elaborate on what you mean by "stronger"? I would appreciate having a clearer understanding of what you mean so I know if I'm following correctly or not.
Posted in: Peaceful Separation: Paul, Barnabas, and the CRCNA
Oh, I see. Thanks for the clarification. By real growth I was mostly referring to the spiritual growth and relational growth of communities within our denomination as opposed to the physical growth of the denomination as a whole. I apologize for the confusion. I understand that a good deal of people think of strength primarily in terms of numbers - and yes, there is of course is such a thing as strength in number, and this type of strength is important. But is it the only type of strength? No, it is not. And is it (always) the most important type of strength? Honestly, over the years, I have began to seriously question that. I've come to see that the size of a church and other types of organizational bodies doesn't automatically indicate how strong of an impact they can have on the community or communities that they are part of - for better or for worse - or how good they are at fostering fellowship, trust, and cohesion among people that are part of them. I do hope this helps clarify things on your end.
Posted in: Peaceful Separation: Paul, Barnabas, and the CRCNA
Hey Lloyd,
I'll be honest - it is possible I could have misunderstood some of the things I read, watched, and heard during and following Synod 2023 from some people in the CRCNA. But... I don't know. For example, recently I watched a podcast by a person - a reverend I believe - from Abide who said something along the lines of believing that people can/should be able to become members or remain members of the CRCNA if - and only if, it sounded like- they meet the following criteria (which they mentioned is outlined in a report from Acts of Synod 1963):
The problem with this approach though in this particular situation the denomination is in, is that the people in the CRCNA who are unable to fully affirm the synodical interpretation of the word unchastity in Q&A 108 of the Catechism are not simply folks who have their doubts or are uncertain about the complete accuracy of the interpretation, but include folks who fully disagree with it because they strongly hold or have come to a different view on homosexuality but are respectful about their disagreement and/or are sincerely willing to completely abide by the interpretation anyway, for the sake of the denomination.
Furthermore, those who fall into this latter group of people are often those who already have a solid or clear understanding of what the CRCNA's position on homosexuality is and the biblical grounds of which it is based on. How can these people be expected to remain "teachable" if they have already been taught all there is to know about the certain doctrine of the church they have difficulty with?
Moreover, as I mentioned, there are churches in the CRCNA that would very much like office-bearers who have a difficulty with this specific synodical interpretation that has confessional status to be able to serve. So, it is not too far of a stretch to assume they'd also like to give members who are unable to fully affirm this specific synodical interpretation for either of the reasons I previously described (and I want to stress that I mean this specific synodical interpretation alone - because again, this really seems to be the the only main area of confessional conflict churches in the CRCNA are dealing with) and members that do; an equal opportunity to become office-bearers in the future if possible. However, that's not something that can be done given how church polity works currently right?
Posted in: Peaceful Separation: Paul, Barnabas, and the CRCNA
Hey Kathy,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I would like to address the 3 assumptions you believe I made in this article I've written.