Cornelius Pool, in his capacity as president of Synod 2017, the general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church, gave a final address to synod, urging delegates to keep pressing on.
Pool noted that in Philippians 3:12-14, the apostle Paul says that two things should matter most to Christians and to the church: knowing Christ and winning the prize. Pool said that Christians “must never be satisfied” but “keep moving forward.”
He highlighted several ways that Synod 2017 had, in his opinion, moved the church forward: the change in the governance structure and setting up the new Council of Delegates, the discussion of the future of the Reformed Church in America-CRC partnership, the joining together of Home Missions and World Missions as the new Resonate Global Mission agency, and even in the tough discussions that had occurred.
Speaking of these tough discussions, Pool said again, “Keep moving forward with humble hearts. Listen more. Speak less. Build oneness and unity.”
And last, “Make God famous in all you do.”
Synod 2017 is meeting at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill., from June 9-15. For continuous coverage while synod is in session, download the Banner app on your mobile device or follow The Banner Magazine on Facebook or @crcbanner on Twitter. You can find more tweeting by following hashtag #crcsynod. News stories will be posted at thebanner.org several times daily. For CRC Communications releases and the webcast, please visit crcna.org. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are by Karen Huttenga.
About the Author
Clayton Libolt was the long time pastor of River Terrace Church in East Lansing, Mich. Since his retirement, he has served in a variety of interim positions. He is presently serving as the interim senior pastor of Sonlight Community CRC in Lynden, Wash.