James Dekker

Mark--Thanks for your response (and your compliment). If you're a grandson of two ministers, you probably shouldn't be naive anymore, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Naivete is probably OK most of the time; it's closely akin to idealism--which should not be confused with or miscontrued as utopianism. Maybe I'll think of another blog for first-timers. But in a way I already tried to cover that base by asking my friend and young colleague Chris de Winter to post a blog, He did and maybe you've read it too.

Anyway--where was I? Oh yes, you asked a question that you said went to CRC Pastors FB page. I did see that several weks ago. But Rose and I were in The Gambia doing a spiritual retreat. Though I could infrequently get on-line and check emails and postings, it was impossible with the intermittent service to respond. Hence I forgot about you question till now.

I'll try to respond, without remembering in detail our program committee discussion about the separation of the two overtures. There are a couple of things I recall about that brief discussion. You're right: Overtures 3 & 6 are related. But if I recall correctly, we considered that they should go to different committees because they asked different things. Overture 3 requests a broader course of action--a study committee on a large, significant issue of ecclesiastical definition and polity.  If granted, that overture could require the normal three year period for study committee work. Overture 6, on the other hand requests specific and presumably, immediate synodical action to BOT and agencies. Thus, while the topics are related, their scope and range are different. 

Additionally, the Program Committee tries to consider balance of work load, resulting in dividing up what some might consider united. That does not, however, preclude changing workloads as the deliberations of committees proceed. Officers are always in touch with committee chairs and reporters about how their work is going and asking if there are materials that might readily be passed on to a committee whose work is nearing completion. Still more: it is not unheard of for committee chairs and reporters to kibitz among themselves and request re-alignment of assignments and documents. We won't exactly call that horse-trading or lobbying, now, will we? Seriously: there is some flexibility and the Program Committee's work prior to synod is able to be changed by synod itself. I hope that's sufficient (and accurate--from my memory).

Friends--though it's getting hard to tell. I haven't flagged anything yet, but we are getting close to the bounds of "Flagistan" according to the guidelines to which Network guides have to sign their names in blood to hew to. Please start watching the tone. I hear voices rising. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I also like to see significant effort not merely at winning arguments, but also at practicing some spiritual virtues of respect, kindness and self-control. Thanks.  jcd

After reading all the comments over the last few days, I'll take the opportunity to make a multi-faceted one of my own.

Thanks to all who are engaging in this issue of Belhar. Things got a little heated a few days ago, but I am grateful for the renewed tone and efforts at listening and working through this thing together, if not always in agreement.

In response to Jim Panozzo: I'm a veteran of lots of synods and my "prediction" is based on experience of the process. What I described is pretty much was I've seen happen with almost every significant issue over several days of committee meetings and plenary. I firmly believe that such an odd process is actually how people of faith make decisions. What's more, I believe that the Holy Spirit is mysteriously working in almost all of those decisions and processes, regardless of whether I personally agree with the outcomes or not. I have seen some remarkable--miraculous?--things happen at synods even when the process looked mightily flawed, whether that had to do with accepting Bible translations or discussion of language and doctrines in confessions (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism)  restructuring, women in office (that over many years) and more. Mr. Panozzo--I applaud your faith and am delighted in your trust. The Lord will work mightily. And, by the way, thank you for your overture. I wish your own congregation and classis had endorsed it.

Doug Vande Griend, Harry W., John Zylstra, Allen K-D and others: I to am almost constantly wondering how people who share and love the same tradition and clearly hold to many of the same values and interpretation can still disagree pretty strongly. I have the following idea about it: We all respond not always rationally to the environments in which we live and develop over many years. I was raised in Chicago during the time of racial discrimination and fear that soaked deeply into our communities. Figuring I knew everything about everything in the late 1960s, I was almost on my way out of the faith and surely the CRC when two pastors knocked on my door as I was starting graduate study. They were and are faithful servants of God who agreed heartily that we were hypocrites to our confession of Jesus' work for the world and its people, regardless of colour or class or brains. They also heartily agreed with each other that I, of all self-righteous people, also had a pretty wide streak of hypocrisy and were not afraid to point that out. They helped point me into experiencing and believing more deeply than ever the power of forgiveness that I needed as much as or more than the people I was raised with and trying to run from. 

Then I lived and worked in Latin America where, as I said, documents like Belhar, even Liberation Theology, resonated deeply in that climate. I know LT's shortcomings and also its significant contribution. Belhar does not breath LT nearly as much as some assert. What I find remarkable, Doug, is that the very things you wisely propose in your post of yesterday sound a whole lot like a lot of the language of Belhar. So maybe that's why I don't understand your own articulate opposition to it. Do your proposals not have a confessional ring to them (even though there is lawyer tone to them)?

Again, Doug: I did a little bit of searching in the on-line Index: Synodical Decisions 1857-2000 (http://www.crcna.org/site_uploads/uploads/resources/Index%201857-2000.pdf  and found pioneer references to decisions on race in Acts of Synod 1959  http://www.calvin.edu/library/database/crcnasynod/1959agendaacts.pdf , pages 82 ff. and 258 ff. These things are a little tedious to look through on-line, but they are readable and interesting. The RC as Eric N wrote HAS written and done a lot of pretty good stuff on race relations.

Now, from MY perspective as an old Chicago kid and a missionary to Latin America, I see a pretty straight line from 1959's Acts to 2012's Agenda and Belhar. I know! Not all will agree with me. Let's continue this discussion and keep praying for Synod. So, on the Belhar: Confession? Testimony? Statement? Or dismissal entirely? I pray nothing of the last.

Thanks to Terry and Shari for posting this. Everything Terry writes is accurate, but I believe it's important to make a few comments about details in filing for the clergy housing allowance in Canada.

I have been taking advantage of this "Constantinian" allowance since entering parish ministry in Canada in 1986. During our stays in our first two churches we lived in parsonages and thus were granted "free living." Since buying a house in St. Catharines where we have lived and worked for the last 8 1/2 years, filing for the allowance has become a bit different. My church treasurer every year indicates what the allowance should be, as determined by the finanance committee. This is not, in my case at least, even a third of my cash compensation. Rather, it is determined in conjunction with real estate values (for "fair rental market value") and rough estimates of utility costs (heating fuel, water & sewer, hydro [aka "electricity" in the US]).

When, however, I come to filing my taxes, I do my own using a computer tax program. (I probably shouldn't advertize, but it rhymes with "quick fax" or, more recently, "burpo slax.") I follow the detailed "step-by-step" option the program offers at start-up--though I can always go to the forms themselves. So far, though, this step-by-step option has proved relatively simple and accurate, since it asks questions that direct the user to opening and filling in the proper forms for his/her situation. Thus there is always a question: "Are you clergy?" to which I answer "yes." Then the program asks for costs for all of those exempt items: fair rental value (for which I ask a local realtor friend to give me a letter with an annual range estimate) and utility costs. I calculate all those and enter them on the indicated form, which then factors that into the rest of the tax return.

As I said above, so far this amount has not amounted to either 1/3 of my paid compensation or even the somewhat lower amount determined by our finance committee. (Ironically, after we put a new furnace, windows, doors, insulated and renovated the basement family room, our heating costs dropped by about 38%. So, we ended up spending money to save money! But the house is much more efficient and comfortable after those renovations.) One year I was asked by the tax department to prove the costs, which was simple to do, because I had kept all utility bills and then sent copies to the tax people.

My main point in this is to caution clergy merely not to estimate, but to report actual costs and to keep records accordingly. I always love April, b/c we get a good whopping bit of cash back from tax contributions through the year--even though the gov't used it for all that time. But it sure beats living in other places I've worked and lived!

Geepers, Terry, you've never invited ME for lunch and I live real close, slightly east of you. 

George--Thanks for coming on to The Network for the Synod section. Amazing---FOUR blogs posted less than 30 minutes apart! It takes some of us four WEEKS to put that many out.

Blessings--and waiting for more to come.

jcd

I just received this from Yvonne Van Tuyl, Librarian at Trinity CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario, in response to some private emails. I offer this to readers to see if you might pass this around to your own librarians:

I would be interested in a forum to discuss reading material for our library. Although I am not as suave as some when it comes to Blogs and such, I would be interested in how to equip and use our library to the fullest. We have many books in our library, of which only a few are used each week. A discussion of study material etc. would be most appreciated. I would also like to know what the other Churches are buying for their libraries and if we could facilitate an exchange.  Yvonne van Tuyl – Trinity Christian Reformed Church [email protected]