Paul VanderKlay
For me the CRC has always been a place of diversity. I grew up in an urban church plant while attending Eastern Christian in New Jersey. I got my BA in History at Calvin College and an M.Div from Calvin Seminary. After Calvin I worked with Christian Reformed World Missions in the Dominican Republic.
After the DR I took a call to the Living Stones CRC in Sacramento CA and have been busy with my buddy Kevin Adams and others helping to plant churches, do a Leadership Development Network and wreak as much havoc as I can in Classis Central CA. I've was a member of the Board of Home Missions for almost ten years.
Posted in: Classis: The Right Tool for Three Important Needs
Thanks Phil. A word from you is always a welcome thing!
In Sacramento I'm happy we're part of our larger classis, but we do look forward to one day being Classis Sacramento. We too meet monthly in what we call our "cluster" and it has been a source of tremendous blessing. pvk
Posted in: Classis: The Right Tool for Three Important Needs
Thanks Bev for your input. I guess I've got a couple of follow up comments:
1. Prayer. It is our chief work. I believe the #1 reason for fruitless ministry is insufficient prayer. We too often pray as a last resort or in a perfunctory way but that reveals our practical biases. We believe that #1, the work is about our capacity to move the world, #2. it's about our egos #3 it grossly overestimates our power. If we believe that in fact life is too complex, people are too resistant, the kingdom of darkness is too energetic, we will be driven to prayer and in the wake of our prayer our work must follow.
This doesn't mean that we need to always be talking about prayer or making a big show of prayer. i see that often when groups in Classis and other places want to emphasize prayer, we expand the show. I think Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is pretty clear that prayer ought not to be for show but should be quiet, often behind the scenes, not a big commotion made of it, but it should be happening in an unseen way throughout the life of our church and ministry.
2. infiltrating resistant church structures. The key here is perservenence. People are sometimes put off because (in our tradition often) large, loud and imposing pastors see to be running the show ( I am probably one of them! :) ). Don't let this guys scare you. If you want to have influence in a congregation or classis the keys are involvement, patience and persistence. I tell people if they want to be considered a member of my church, don't worry about official membership too quickly, just start coming regularly, every week if possible. Once you've been here a month everyone will think you belong and start treating you like it. Get on a classical committee, show up at every meeting. Drink coffee with people. Ask questions. Show interest. Be inquisitive. A classis is not a difficult thing to break into if you are willing to put in the time and be persistant.
It is actually not much different from prayer in a Luke 18 sort of way.
Posted in: Virginia State Legislator Says that Disabled Children are Punishment from God
You could title this "What would Karma Do". Thanks for bringing this to our attention
Posted in: Nice Sentiment, but Not Quite True
I very much agree that we indeed learn racism and that it is lamentably often intentionally taught and modeled. It is important to address it at that level.
My main pushback on the quote is that it isn't merely taught. I believe it is developmentally ingrained in us even before birth by the mere fact of human formation. In other words via our confessions we are sinful from birth. Even in utero we are a petri dish for sin. It is also as many note spiritually created by the demonic. If this is the case then education, or activism, or anti-racism programs themselves will never be sufficient to banish it from each of our hearts. We are natural born racists. This points to a deeper redemption necessary for the anticipated purity of our communal presence before the throne.
Posted in: Nice Sentiment, but Not Quite True
I will say more. I am planning a video on this. I think it's important. In the mean time Pastor T I think sheds light on what I want to say in this important conversation with Coates. https://youtu.be/Gton4je7T_Y
Posted in: Peer Group Spurs Classis Renewal
In California we've had LEAD teams which are essentially peer learning groups of sorts. Some have done well, some have fallen away. On the whole, however, it's a very positive thing.
I too think the key is actually meeting together regularly and deciding to work with one another. In Sacramento we had a group that predated the LEAD teams that we call "the cluster" and we've used it as an incubator for church planting and a whole variety of other things. You have to believe that together is better than alone and then work on it by making the getting together and staying in touch a priority.
pvk
Posted in: Does Your Classis Collaborate or Compete?
Thanks for the encouragement. I consider myself enormously fortunate and blessed by the ministry partners both in my cluster and in my classis. I know in many ways what I enjoy is uncommon and that is unfortunate.
Having this kind of network also makes it hard to leave and easy to stay, which builds identity, history, community and capacity. Strength leads to strength. I know there are other places where this is happening. I hope it increases. pvk
Posted in: Leading in Learning
I fear that the development of Biblically competent church members is another casualty of consumeristic culture. We tend to make such a priority of attracting and retaining attention in our core programming in the church that this aspect of basic discipleship suffers. After a year of attending the adult education offering and/or the public worship service will the needle be moved on the "bible knowledge" gauge? I think about this often.
Thanks for your excellent work on the Network. pvk