General Synod Considers a Change in Relationship with Western Theological Seminary

Western Theological Seminary will maintain its existing relationship with the Reformed Church in America for now, after General Synod voted to refer a proposal to change the seminary’s bylaws.

The recommendation to change the relationship between the seminary and the denomination came from the seminary’s board of trustees. The proposed change would have shifted the seminary from being owned by the RCA to being affiliated with the RCA. 

“There was a time that all the faculty were ordained RCA ministers of Word and sacrament,” said seminary president Felix Theonugraha in an interview. “I’m told it’s not that long ago, 95 percent of our students were RCA. The landscape of theological education has changed, and the perception of what it means to be a denominational seminary has also shifted. We’re trying to continue to expand the number of churches and students that we can recruit to come to Western. That perception is a factor in our conversation.”

About 30 percent of current Western students and 50 percent of Western faculty are members of the RCA. 

An “affiliated” relationship is already in place between the RCA and its three colleges, Central, Hope, and Northwestern; the RCA has a closer relationship with Western and with New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey.

Theonugraha and board president Gail Ebersole both stressed an intention to continue a close partnership with the RCA and a desire to continue training RCA leaders for ministry. “We’re not leaving the RCA. You’re not going to lose us,” Ebersole said. “This decision gives us the opportunity to reach our tentacles out further, and it brings great glory to the kingdom of God. You are a part of that. You are a part of sending us off, and I pray that you understand the sense of commissioning Western Seminary.”

Delegates raised questions about the impact on the denomination and on the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency and New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and considered whether this would impact the status of Western faculty who currently serve as General Synod professors of theology, one of the RCA’s four offices of the church.

In the end, those questions led the synod to refer the bylaws changes to the General Synod Council (GSC), in consultation with the Commission on Church Order, for further consideration. A previous motion to refer the changes to the Commissions on Theology and History failed. The GSC and Commission on Church Order were tasked with exploring outstanding questions about the relationship between the RCA and Western if the changes are approved, as well as the impact of the proposed changes on the denomination and its agencies.