Now that the Christian Reformed Church has finally hired both an executive director and a director of ministries and administration, Rev. Joel Boot can step into retirement.
What began as a two-year assignment stretched into four years: Boot served as interim executive director from 2011 to 2014 and as interim director of ministries and administration from 2014 to 2015.
Boot gave words of advice to the church in his parting address to Synod 2015, the CRC’s annual leadership gathering.
“I’ve been telling the Christian Reformed Church that the ground is shaking beneath our feet, but God is the still point in a trembling universe,” he said.
Boot shared 10 suggestions for a life of ministry, including the following: When you’re a leader, be extra sure to be an even better follower. Remember that the church is bigger than we are, and God is bigger than both. And never forget that the word pastor must be a verb before it earns the right to be a noun.
“Can I plead with the church that we also remember just to be nice?” he added. “We need not agree when we discuss, and we must never be angry.”
Synod’s president, Bruce Persenaire, addressed Boot: “I thank you that you brought your pastor’s heart [to denominational leadership]. Thank you for getting us off shaky ground and getting us on a little more solid ground.”
Synod 2015 is meeting at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, from June 12-18. For continuous Banner coverage, please 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, webcast, and live blogging, please visit crcna.org. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are by Karen Huttenga.
About the Author
Roxanne VanFarowe is a freelance writer who claims both Canadian and American citizenship and grew up in the Christian Reformed Church. She is a member of Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.
