Resigned, fearful, wistful

Two years ago, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) held that any and all same sex relations are a form of unchastity. As such, per Lord’s Day 41, God condemns those relations and we are each called to detest them. This year, we decided what we are going to do with those who disagree.

Synod 2024’s message was direct and unyielding. Affirming churches were ordered to take down their websites for significant editing or else face special discipline. Office bearers were told that they have three years to process their dissent. Three years to fall in line, or you are out.

What emotions prevailed on the floor of Synod? Resignation and fear.

The votes were never in doubt and everyone knew it. A well-organized movement called Abide had been meeting and strategizing for several years now. It was every bit as effective as the progressive lobby some decades ago which delivered the women in office vote. The odd speaker was over the top, with one pastor, working through an interpreter, using his three minutes to condemn the “abomination” of same sex relations. Another preacher, called “C.J.” by his acolytes, stood with his floppy leather Bible at the microphone and yelled about one thing or the other. But most did not go there.

Why bother if you know you have the votes anyway? So the mood of the room was resigned, with those few dissenting voices sounding almost “wistful,” in the words of one online commentator. No one actually thought their words would persuade the room. The chair indulged one female delegate who spoke with eloquence about her transgendered niece. But most in the room were not really interested; they had adopted a “no anecdotes” rule. Personal stories were deemed irrelevant. This was all about the book of Jude, after all, all about snatching from the fire of damnation those who might doubt.

I also detected fear. A ton of it.

Elders leaving

Over breakfast, the minister of a tiny Pacific coast congregation told a delegate from Central Iowa that he had only three elders of real quality and would now be losing two of them. This was an existential crisis for his church. His voice was crushed. The Iowa delegate was empathetic but unyielding.

This was a matter of paid livelihoods for many in the room. I sat within feet of several pastors for six days. Not once did they offer their positions on the issue before Synod. By quiet understanding, not once did I try to solicit those opinions. Why would someone put a target on his or her back? Unless you were at or near full pension (or perhaps bi-vocational), prudence dictated that you kept your mouth shut.

Synod 2024 got it wrong. We should have listened to a brilliant overture from a church in Holland, MI which allowed for some local flex on the issue at the level of the congregation. But no, instead we preferred bright lines, bold proclamations, a pure church rather than one containing nuance.

I predict that some churches will leave, but less than you might think. Rather, ministers will quietly and hypocritically sign the Covenant of Office-Bearers when demanded, fingers crossed. They have families to feed, after all. Prospective elders, deacons and youth leaders will do the same, reasoning that their fragile little churches need their gifts, that signing the Covenant with a nudge and a wink is a small price to pay for a viable faith community.