This book is about a farm boy who was born in the 1940s in the community of Neerlandia, Alberta, which was settled by Dutch Reformed immigrants in the 1910s. Winson Elgersma wrote it for his children and grandchildren, who encouraged him to publish it.
The book describes his life growing up on a farm without running water, and later going to Dordt College in Iowa, where he graduated with a B.A. degree and met and married Joyce, a farm girl from Montana.
Then it was on to Grand Rapids and Calvin Seminary. This led him to take a charge in a Christian Reformed Church in Iowa, where he found himself at odds with an obligation to sign "The Form of Subscription" (revised and renamed by Synod 2012 as "Covenant for Officebearers in the Christian Reformed Church"). The covenant requires those who sign it to teach and defend the doctrinal standards of the denomination. Calvin Seminary had not advised Winson of the "Form," and he found himself unable to carry out his ministry under the obligation required of him.
He resigned three years later.
Three Times Up encompasses Elgersma's experiences in the three vocations he pursued: the ministry, real estate sales, and the legal profession. He became a trial lawyer in central Alberta. The book is peppered with very humorous incidents told by a natural storyteller.
But it is his wrestling with "The Form of Subscription" that haunts him still. And it is within the context of his life story that the chapter “Why I Left the Ministry” is so relevant.
It is clear that Elgersma wishes people to enter into dialogue rather than debate with others on this subject, without getting defensive. It is in dialogue that our thoughts are clarified. In debate there is a winner and a loser. In dialogue, one prayerfully draws one's own informed conclusions. (Friesen Press)
About the Author
Jake Masselink is a longtime member of the Victoria (B.C.) Christian Reformed Church. He was employed for 32 years by the provincial government of British Columbia.