At the close of the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod 2024, synodical rulings on confessionally defined unchastity (the implications of which rule out same-sex sexual relationships within the church), discipline, and the use of Church Order’s confessional difficulty gravamen (a formal expression of difficulty with a doctrine of the church by an officebearer) put a portion of the denominational fold on what synod hoped would be “a path of repentance and restoration” (Acts of Synod 2024 p. 886). But classes (regional assemblies) meeting this fall are processing the release of eight ministers and have received resolutions of disaffiliation from seven congregations directly tied to recent synodical decisions on human sexuality. At least one classis is processing the affiliation of one formerly Reformed Church in America congregation. And there are more movements of pastors and congregations not tied to the recent decisions of synod.
In his August letter to classes, CRCNA general secretary Zachary King acknowledged the possibility of growth and loss. “Today, many of our congregations are flourishing, and we see evidence of God sowing seeds all around us. At the same time, as a denomination we find ourselves face to face with a challenging and painful moment as some of our congregations consider disaffiliating,” King wrote. “Even in this time of potential separation, we know that our God plants seeds and makes the desert bloom into joyful witness to his faithfulness.”
A letter from Al Postma, Executive Director-Canada, to Canadian classes acknowledged similar things. "The CRC is in a tough spot. There is a sense of brokenness within our community," Postma wrote. Noting it's good to resist the temptation to cheer everyone up and to instead “sit in the sadness,” Postma recognized: "As a denomination, no matter what happens next, it will not be the same as it was before."
Resolutions of Disaffiliation
Twenty-seven classes of the CRCNA met in September, and 23 have meetings scheduled in October (Classis Grand Rapids South is meeting both months). Classes Chicago South, Northern Illinois, and Grand Rapids East, which each met in September, recorded receiving notices of intent to disaffiliate from Hessel Park CRC in Champaign, Ill.; Loop CRC in Chicago, Ill.; and Calvin, Grace, Church of the Servant, and Sherman Street CRCs in Grand Rapids, Mich. A resolution of disaffiliation from Mountain View CRC in Lynden, Wash., is on the Classis North Cascades agenda, as well as the classis’s response urging that congregation to remain affiliated. Mountain View said its resolution stems from “underlying sicknesses that we see in the denomination” including “that the hermeneutic (biblical interpretive method) that allowed for women in office has helped pave the way to other wrongful interpretations, namely the roughly 30% of Synod that promote full inclusion of practicing LGBT people” and “a compromise(d) position on sexuality” that communicates “that homosexual desire is not a sin.” Hessel Park, Loop, Calvin, Grace, Church of the Servant, and Sherman Street CRCs, on the other hand, have begun their processes of disaffiliation for opposite reasons. Loop CRC’s resolution reads, “The decisions made by Synod 2022, 2023, and 2024 in regards to human sexuality do not align with Loop’s commitment for full-inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the church. ... Since Loop Church does not repent of what we believe to be a Holy Spirit led discernment to welcome LGBTQ+ Christians into full participation in the life of the church, Synod 2024 has left us with no other option than to pursue disaffiliation.” The council of Grace Community CRC, a congregation in Classis Chicago South, did not file a resolution of disaffiliation but wrote to its classis: “We are of one mind that we cannot agree with the decisions of synod regarding the human sexuality report and/or elevating this to confessional status. We do not believe these decisions are biblical; neither do they follow the Church Order of the CRCNA. And now we feel that we as a council must make a painful decision which will affect our status in classis and likely our potential as a future member of CRCNA.”
Resolving to disaffiliate does not necessarily mean an eventual completed disaffiliation. It’s just the first step in a seven-step process laid out in the supplement to Church Order article 38-f, which includes two congregational meetings to confirm a withdrawal from the denomination.
Departing Pastors
Recently released pastors include Jeff Kroondyk, who has taken up campus ministry with the Reformed Church in America at the University of Albany, and Heidi DeJonge, also seeking ordination in the RCA (release through Church Order article 14-b); and Suzanne McDonald, a theology professor from Western Theological Seminary, and Aaron Winkle, superintendent of Grand Rapids Christian Schools, who requested release from ministry via article 14-c, “released from office to enter upon a non-ministerial vocation.”
Classis Grand Rapids South processed McDonald’s release. Minutes of the Sept. 12 meeting note, “After much prayer and soul-searching, based on recent decisions that Synod has made, she has requested to be released from CRC ministry.” McDonald also wrote about her decision to leave the CRC on the online blog of the Reformed Journal.
Winkle’s request was on the agenda for Classis Grand Rapids East. A letter to Oakdale Park council, which had issued Winkle a call for the superintendent position, was included in the meeting materials. Winkle wrote, “Grand Rapids Christian is a large, complex, and diverse Christ-centered learning community. Consequently, I recognize that part of my role is to build trust with people from across the community, and to serve as a bridge builder for those within our community who may come from different backgrounds or hold different views on controversial topics. … I have come to believe that maintaining my ordination with the Christian Reformed Church will no longer best position me to serve in this role that I have felt called to.”
Kroondyk’s request for release was processed by Classis Northern Michigan. He shared, "In light of the recent decisions of Synod, I no longer feel I can in good conscience submit to the authority of the CRC and the confessions as they have interpreted them."
Classis Quinte processed the release of De Jonge, who in 2022 wrote about disagreeing with the outcomes of Synod 2022 and questioning whether she still belonged in her spiritual home of 45 years. The classis noted as grounds “Rev. Dr. De Jonge's credentials are set to expire in September 2024. An extension is not being sought.”
Four other pastors have requested release due to these matters through Classes Holland, Kalamazoo, and Alberta North.
More Changes
Pleasant Valley Reformed Church (RCA) has affiliated with the CRC through Classis Northcentral Iowa. Pastor Rick Vollema, who serves the congregation of about 50 members, said he led the consistory through a process of discernment over the past two years seeking an appropriate denomination with which to belong and “the CRC won out because it has a history and an established book of Church Order” as well as familiarity. Other RCA churches leaving that denomination in the past several years formed both the Kingdom Network and the Alliance of Reformed Churches. Another classis approved the provisional affiliation of an RCA congregation contemplating a move but, when contacted, a pastor for that church indicated they are still discerning and it is premature to publish names.
Factors other than the recent synodical decisions on sexuality and confessional status are influencing change in the makeup of the Christian Reformed Church. The October agenda for Classis Atlantic Northeast noted that leadership of New Hope CRC in Bangor, Maine, had approached the classis interim team “expressing a desire to disaffiliate from the CRC and to affiliate with the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America).” The congregation is currently without a pastor. Its former interim pastor said New Hope was considering disaffiliating because they have not been able to find a pastor from within the pool of CRC ministers.
In Classis Minnkota, Ebenezer CRC is disaffiliating in order to unite with a former RCA church “to ensure a strong ministry for many years to come" in a “neutral” (neither CRC nor RCA) denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Steve Dozeman, who ministered for the past 10 years at Talbot Street CRC in London, Ont., was released through article 14-b in order to affiliate with the Fearless Family of Churches, a network formed in Western Michigan in 1993, where Dozeman is now a church plant resident. While he said he wouldn’t miss being absent from the human sexuality debates within the CRC, that environment had “no significant impact on the decision” to release his credentials, which is more about a strong calling to church planting that he feels will be well-supported in the Holland, Mich.,-based network.
A handful of other releases, both for ministers of the Word and commissioned pastors, are on the fall classis agendas, without specific reasons given. These will be noted in The Banner’s classis watch reports when all of the minutes from the fall meetings have been received.
About the Author
Alissa Vernon is the news editor for The Banner.
