The General Secretary, in the RCA, is hired by the General Synod Council (which serves as our executive board), serves the General Synod, and oversees the staff. Wes Granberg-Michaelson has been as our General Secretary for the past 17 years and announced his intent to wrap up his time last year. After a year-long process, his replacement was voted on this morning.

To make a long story short, our new General Secretary will be Tom DeVries.

There was remarkably little discussion (mostly, in my opinion, because the mood reflected an overarching belief that it was a foregone conclusion), vote was overwhelmingly affirmative, and the single attempt to amend the recommendation was unsuccessful.

You can read more about it here.

Grace and peace,
`tim

For those of you who don’t know my religious world, the RCA is the Christian denomination I was ordained in and to which my congregation belongs. General Synod is our annual denominational meeting. It is a week-long time of worship, deliberation, fellowship, decision-making, and catching-up. Those who love it (like me) consider it one of the best weeks of the year..

Time permitting, I will be blogging on the events of this year’s Synod. Those of you who regularly follow this blog will get the posts in your normal fashion. Anyone interested in simply reading the Synod blogs, can go directly to the following link:

Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or clarifications. I cannot guarantee how many posts I’ll have the time and energy to put up, but I will certainly do my best to respond to comments and questions.

Grace and peace,
`tim

Pneumatology

In a few weeks, I’ll be packing up my Bible, a few copies of the RCA’s Book of Church Order and Robert’s Rules, a bag of clothing, several bags of candy, and a half-a-dozen pounds of freshly roasted coffee in preparation for my trip to Grand Rapids, MI to facilitate the Seminarian Seminar during our annual General Synod.

The Seminarian Seminar (affectionately known as “GS3”) is a unique group. It is, as far as I know, the only annual gathering of students from all three of our denominational ministry-preparation oversight agencies (the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Western Theological Seminary). Over the course of our time together, these students will develop cross-agency relationships, learn about the generic work and ministry of the denomination and, of course, study the specific business taken up by this year’s Synod. Every year, my goal is to ensure that they are better prepared and better informed than many of the delegates will be.

As important as it is for them to understand the denomination’s work and polity, there is one lesson I believe is even more important: I hope they go home with a refocused pneumatology.

Pneumatology is the study (talk) of the Holy Spirit (pneuma= “spirit,” logos= “the study of”).

Many people are surprised to learn that the Reformed understanding of the Holy Spirit is slightly different than that taught by most Pentecostals (and assumed by most American Christians). I am not suggesting that either one is necessarily “right” or “wrong,” rather that our traditions emphasize different aspects of the Spirit’s work. Pentecostals tend to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in the personal life of the individual. Reformed theology, on the other hand, tends to emphasize the work of God’s Spirit in the body of believers. Whereas a Pentecostal Christian would say “I have received a word from God,” a Reformed Christian is more likely to say “we have discerned God’s will together.”

I believe that this communal understanding of the Holy Spirit is one of the most beautiful aspects of our tradition. Even more importantly, I believe that the contemporary, American church needs to recapture it if we ever hope to mitigate against the disturbing overemphasis of the individual and underemphasis of the body.

There is no question that the Holy Spirit pours out gifts upon each of us; nor is there question that the Holy Spirit can and does work in (and through) each of us. As a body, however, we are able to see past personal blind spots and discern God’s voice even when – as individuals – we are unable (or unwilling) to hear it.

General Synod isn’t merely a gathering of “those people,” it is a gathering of “us.” As the Synod worships, prays, works, discerns, and votes, it is doing them on our behalf. Please keep the delegates and staff in your prayers as they prepare, travel, gather, and work.

Rochester Classis’ Delegates:

If you want to know more about the business before General Synod this year, there will be an overview-class during the Sunday School hour on June 12th. Also:

• Synod information is available at: www.rca.org/synod
• The Synod Workbook can be downloaded at: www.rca.org/workbook
• You will also be able to watch many of the plenary sessions on live webcast at: www.rca.org/synod

Grace and Peace,
`tim