Early this morning, official news came from the RCA and those “in the know” that 32 of the RCA’s 46 Classes have affirmatively voted to confirm the General Synod’s 2009 decision to make the Belhar Confession the RCA’s 4th theological standard.
Never, in the history of the Reformed Church, has the denomination added a theological standard (the other three predated the establishment of the RCA). It is a journey we have been walking since 1985 – three short years after the confession was written in South Africa (as, among other things, a theological condemnation of apartheid).
Those who know me know this is a decision I have hoped and prayed for since my days in seminary, however many of my friends and colleagues come from non-confessional traditions and don’t “get” why I would be so excited about the addition of a new “standard.”
Today, I write to you.
Let me admit a little secret that most confessional Christians either don’t know are don’t admit: When push comes to shove, we do not hold entirely to the reformation concept of sola scriptura. To be honest no one does. Everyone uses their own culture, education, experience, and established beliefs to help them understand the scriptures (sometimes faithfully, sometimes not).
The difference between confessional churches and non-confessional ones is that we admit our theological biases, and we have taken the time and energy to create (and/or adopt) denominational standards that help us define what aspects of our culture, education, etc. are appropriate for use in biblical interpretation and what their limits are.
In other words, everyone reads the scriptures through a specific set of lenses (sometimes this is done intentionally, other times accidentally). As a minister in the RCA, the most powerful of those lenses are the standards I affirmed as “faithful” upon my ordination (and will re-affirm every time I transfer to a new Classis).
The addition of the Belhar Confession to our list of standards in the RCA adds a new set of lenses to help us more faithfully embrace the fullness of the scriptures.
I can already hear the question: Why not just read the Bible?
That, unfortunately, is a question with a simple answer: the Bible is all-too often misused and abused.
Confessional standards set up theological fences (tested by time and careful discernment) to help ensure orthodoxy. Standards help clarify that some interpretations are misinterpretations – they help prevent the scriptures being misused (usually by the powerful and wealthy) to abuse (usually the weak and poor).
The Belhar, with it’s deep commitment to unity, justice and reconciliation, sets forth a lens that reflects Jesus’ ministry and teaching more clearly than our other three standards. It draws us out of an over-emphasis on Paul’s writings by calling us to recognize the Kingdom of God (that Jesus so frequently preached) and embrace it’s priorities.
None of this suggests that the other three standards are somehow “lacking” in what they intend to teach us. They simply arose out of different contexts and speak to different issues. As powerful and Spirit-informed as they are, they could not say what the Belhar says because they were not written when the Belhar was written by the people who wrote the Belhar.
By recognizing the Belhar as a confessional standard, the RCA is saying that after an extensive amount of time, thought, discernment and prayer, we believe that the the Belhar’s message speaks to the larger church, not merely to the post-apartheid church in South Africa. These are universal lenses that reflect the priorities Jesus expressed throughout his earthly ministry – and thus, they are lenses that we can – and should – use to faithfully interpret the scriptures.
I don’t expect that I’ll “convert” any of my non-confessional friends and colleagues into confessional Christians, but I hope this helps you understand a bit more why I’m so excited about this historic decision. Maybe you can even celebrate along with me (us)!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
The Reformed Church in America traces its history in North America back 1628. We are the oldest continuous denomination on the continent, and yet in that time we have never adopted a new confession.
It is no small thing, then, that for the first time ever, we are going through the process of potentially adopting a new confession – the Belhar Confession. You see, the RCA is a confessional denomination. We currently have three standards of unity (the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort). We also confess three creeds (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed).
That sad reality is that, despite our confessional identity, there seems to be very little understanding of what it means to be such a body. Many believe the RCA is, like most pentecostal or baptist churches, a “no creed but Christ” denomination or a merely sola scriptura entity. We are not. Every minister in the RCA, alongside affirming the “Word of God as the only rule for faith and life,” also confirms that they hold our confessional documents to be “historic and faithful witnesses to the Word of God” (Declaration for Ministers of Word and Sacrament).
As far as I know, there is no “industry standard” as to how these statements are to be interpreted. In other words, there is no universal understanding of what it means to be confessional Christians. Some of my colleagues read the Declaration with a heavy emphasis on “historic and faithful witnesses….” Others clearly confess that the standards are “historic and faithful witnesses….” I tend toward the latter… many of my friends toward the former.
So, what does it mean to be confessional Christians? What are “confessions?” What is their authority? How are they related to the scriptures?
Here’s what I think:
I believe the confessions are documents from specific historic times and places. They were originally written to specific people in specific contexts. Unlike many theological documents, however, the creeds and confessions speak outside of their original context. While their authority is not equal to that of the scriptures, as with scriptures, a solid understanding of their original context(s) enables us to appropriately embrace them into our own time and place.
The confessions, while always subservient to the Bible, provide accurate and faithful distillations of the gospel. They offer us with the essential touch points of the Christian faith. These documents help us understand what is most important and give us a solid paradigm within which to interpret the parts of the Bible that are unclear or difficult to understand.
All of this helps explain why I believe the RCA should adopt the Belhar Confession.
Unlike some of my colleagues, I do believe the Belhar’s affirmation of God’s preferential option for the poor. I do believe that a faith which proclaims unity, justice and reconciliation but fails to live them, is no faith at all. If God stands with the “least of these” and all who suffer (and I believe God does!) then God’s people must as well. Failure to do so reveals us as Christian-like, rather than truly Christian.
In many ways, our current confessions handle Paul’s writings well, but they fail to adequately express the life and ministry that Jesus lived and taught. The Belhar helps rectify that.
The next two and a half months will show whether or not the RCA is ready to embrace the aspects of the scriptures that the Belhar lifts up as essential. I couldn’t be more pleased that Zeeland Classis and the other 5 who have currently voted on the issue have followed General Synod’s example and voted to embrace the Belhar.
I hope and dream for a world where Christians confess and live into the realities of unity, reconciliation and justice. This is, I believe, a small – but very important – step in that direction!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
The new year is fast upon us and, as is usually the case when the calendar makes its remarkably over-celebrated transition from one page to the next, I find myself reflecting on the past year. Meditations like this can easily lean either toward the negative or the positive and, to be fair, this year has provided enough on both sides of the list to write several lengthy posts. It’s the positive that gives life though, so I’d like to end the year giving out a few unofficial awards noting those who have made my little corner of the world better and more hopeful in a variety of ways.
My self-imposed rules are simple:
Award #1: Emily… For all the work she’s done at church… all the ways she’s gone above and beyond… all the times she picked up the slack when others fell through.
Award #2: the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America… for an historic vote on the Belhar Confession and taking the monumental step of sending it to the Classes for approval as the RCA’s fourth standard of unity.
Award #3: Joe Chicago’s Pizza our absolutely favorite pizza joint. Sophia refers to it as the “monkey place” because of the reprinted poster on the wall of a monkey embracing a large bottle of some kind of liquor. This award should probably be shared with Skile’s Tavern, who make the best thin crust, greasy pizza in the world. Truly incredible. The two are too different to be compared, so both win!
Award #4: Joe and Todd… Joe is one of the key organizers of the Men’s Knitting Retreats and Todd, put together the midwest version which I had the pure joy of attending in November. On a related note, MenWhoKnit.com deserves mention. The people from these two (overlapping) groups have, unquestionably, made up the most supportive, most encourage and most caring group of people I’ve had the privilege of interacting with throughout the past year.
Award #5: Von Morgens früh…und bis zur Nacht… my favorite album of the year. Absolutely life-transforming collection of music related to the daily prayer cycle. The album is worth every penny for the masterful “Laudate omnes gentes” (Track 2) and one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces ever set to music: Arvo Pärt’s “Magnificat” (Track 11). That said, every single track is worth the price of the album.
Award #6: Matt & Ragbrai…. This year I eagerly rode my third Ragbrai; Matt has ridden with me through all three of them. Both the ride and the co-rider have been more valuable than any amount of professional counseling could have ever been in providing perspective, relaxation, and rejuvenating (yes, believe it or not 500 miles on a bike can be both relaxing and rejuvenating.)
Award #7: Seminarians… Ok, this may seem like an odd award. Those of you who know me well know that I did not consider seminary a particularly enjoyable experience. This year, however, I’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with current seminarians than I have since my graduation a decade ago. I can’t speak to all of those preparing for ministry in the RCA, but I can say this: the RCA is on the cusp of receiving some it the most thoughtful and intelligent seminary graduates we’ve seen in decades. I hope and pray that rather than dumping them into local congregations hoping they don’t hurt themselves or others, we welcome them into ministry, encourage them along the way, support them, and help them sail faithfully into ministries (both old and new) that the church needs.
There could be more, but I’ll stop there.
Whatever the past year has brought to you and yours, I hope the new one finds you increasingly healthy and wise and that it’s filled with unbelievable amounts of both joy and hope.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
As I began thinking about what I would do if given the opportunity to vote on the Belhar, I spent a lot of time thinking about what a “confession” is. Of course, there are a lot of ways to define a confession, and I wasn’t a delegate at Synod, so however I would have voted is entirely irrelevant. However, the question I kept coming back to was the question of context.
It sounds awful, but bear with me. One of the beautiful things about the scriptures is that they can be used outside of their original context. That doesn’t mean that all out of context interpretations are appropriate, but it does suggest that some out of context interpretations are. I don’t think that’s even remotely controversial. Obviously we live in a completely different context than those the scriptures were written in. If we are to believe that they still speak to us and make God’s will known to us, we have to believe that it’s possible to apply them, in some way, outside of their original context.
The standards are obviously not scripture; they do not hold the authority of scripture; they are not inspired in the same way as the scriptures. That said, one of the beauties of the standards is that they too, in some ways, can be interpreted and applied outside of their original context. Ministers in the RCA affirm that they are “historic” and “faithful” expressions of God’s will. “Historic” means that they have an original context different from our own; “faithful” suggests that they, to some degree can be interpreted outside of that original context.
As I’ve thought about the Belhar, then, I’ve found myself wondering which of two, very different, categories it fits in: (1) is it a powerful document bound to it’s original time and context (and thus not suitable as a confession), or (2) is it a powerful document able to speak in some way outside it’s original time and context (and thus appropriate for adoption as a confession).
In the end, I believe it’s the latter. Which means, of course, that I believe the Synod made a wise and discerning decision in approving it, and celebrate that the years of study have led us to this place.
Certainly some applications outside of South African apartheid are appropriate, certainly others aren’t. The flurry of activity on the Church Herald Blogs, over the past week, has seen a myriad of posts referencing the Belhar (in my opinion) under both categories. The question, then, becomes how it can appropriately be applied outside of its original context.
One of the problems we have, in answering this question, is that as important as it is, we haven’t done a very good job at answering it with our other three standards. Nor, even, have we done an acceptable job answering it in the case of the scriptures. Again, it’s worth noting that the scriptures and the standards are unquestionably on different levels – yet the question is similarly important.
I can’t provide a full hermeneutic on the standards, but let me at least suggest the following:
(1) In order to understand how the standards (and therefore, the Belhar) can be applied outside of their original context, we need to know as much about their original context as possible and what the differences are between their original context and a contemporary one.
(2) The first step in interpreting the standards, is to figure out what they meant to their original audience in their original context.
(3) The second step in interpreting the standards, is to ensure that the “contemporary” (i.e. out of context) interpretation is consistent with the scriptures. (As a standard, I already believe the original interpretation is consistent with the scriptures).
(4) The third step in interpreting the standards, is to ensure that the contemporary interpretation is consistent with original interpretation (i.e. it’s inappropriate to try to get the standards to say something inconsistent with what they were intended to say, even though it is appropriate to carefully apply them to different contexts than originally intended.)
OK, it isn’t a fully functional hermeneutic… but maybe it’s a start.
Thoughts?
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Every year, as Synod approaches, I talk to the congregation I pastor about what’s on the docket and what kinds of things the delegates are going to be talking about, celebrating, learning, etc. Some congregations roll their eyes at the idea of General Synod, but over the past nine years, I think Dunningville has come to understand that Synod plays an important role in the local church as well as the denomination.
Yesterday, shortly before our morning service when I gathered with our Elders to pray, we were talking about Synod and how it can be both extremely fun and extremely frustrating. It’s true. If you’ve never been to a Synod, there are few gatherings of the church that are more fun. Hundreds of people from across the US (and a handful of overseas missionaries flown in to spice things up) are gathered in a single place to pray, worship, deliberate, etc. Good conversations happen over coffee times, meal-times, and – in some cases – late into the night. Good discernment and work is done during advisory committee meetings, plenary sessions and other formal gatherings. All of this can be exceedingly fun.. yes… fun.
Synod, however, can also be frustrating – intensely frustrating! Sometimes it boggles my mind to watch people talk past each other and to see people stand up to speak on things that really have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Sometimes people are so busy crafting their arguments that they don’t even notice that the conversation has moved on, or even more humorously, that someone has already made their point (sometimes even more effectively than they did). The other frustrating thing about Synod is that although you are almost always guaranteed to go home after it’s all done and be very happy with some of the decisions, you are also – regardless of your theological, doctrinal or social positions – often equally as unhappy with others.
That’s where the conversation before church yesterday really caught my attention. Just before we bowed our heads, one of our elders turned to me and said something to the effect of: Synod is good because it reminds people that they don’t always get their way.
Bingo!
Of all the wonderful things that happen at Synod, perhaps the most important is that people are given a bigger view of the church – that their invited (forced?) to recognize that their preferences, their way of doing things, their experience of the faith, and their likes and dislikes aren’t what it’s all about. Synod reminds people that we’re about something bigger than merely remaking the Church (denominational and even universal) in our own image.
Just one more reason that, in the nine years I’ve been at Dunningville, I can honestly say every Consistory I’ve worked with has been a blessing. I hope others of you are as fortunate!
Grace and peace,
`tim
General Synod is just around the corner (it starts next week). General Synod is the Reformed Church in America’s huge denominational meeting – it’s the body that makes the decisions on behalf of the entire denomination. This year, there are the potential for some biggies – most importantly (in my opinion) the potential adoption of a new “theological standard” (the Belhar Confession), something the RCA has never done before.
I’ll be blogging again, for those of you who are interested. Some days it may be indepth, other days not. It’s a busy week and I can’t guarantee what I’ll have the time for. A direct link to the Synod stuff is: http://synod.tenclay.org.
If you’re interested in getting a head start on what’s going on, you can download a copy of the workbook at: http://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=5527
If you’re close, you’re welcome to attend! You can’t speak or vote, but you certainly can learn a lot by observing. There’s a schedule at: http://images.rca.org/docs/synod/SynodSchedule.pdf
Stop by the Seminarian Seminar tables… I’ll be spending most of my time back there!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
I think it’s possible that we may have enough knitters, crocheters, etc. at General Synod this year for a meetup! Fun, huh?!
Anyhow, I’ve talked with my favorite local yarn shop (Lizzie Ann’s Wool Company in Holland, MI) and the owner has offered to open her shop up specially for us! The other great thing is that it’s only a couple of blocks away from Hope college so anyone who wants to go can walk – no carpooling necessary.
Tentatively it’s being planned for Sunday from 12 (noon) until 2:00 – which is currently planned as a break in the schedule.
Nothing fancy, just a time to get together, chat and stitch a bit.
If you’re interested, you can see the draft handout here (.pdf).
Drop me an e-mail (teejtc [at] gmail [dot] com) or leave a comment if you’d like me to contact you when details get solidified.
Grace and Peace,
`tim