General secretary Eddy Alemán delivers his report to synod
RCA general secretary Eddy Alemán delivered his report to the General Synod on Friday morning. Throughout his report, he encouraged the RCA to focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ and listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading through prayer.
Acknowledging the significant challenges before us
Alemán began by reflecting on the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is the time when the church needs to stand up and be the very presence of Jesus in the midst of the devastating conditions we are all facing in North America and around the world,” Alemán said.
Alemán also spoke candidly to the tensions and challenges within the RCA, calling for change. “We are far away from God’s desire for his disciples to live in unity,” he said. “We cannot continue in this situation, friends. We’re brothers and sisters in Christ, but sometimes we forget that. We must change the reality that we’re living as a denomination this day.”
He reminded delegates that their role at synod is to represent the will of Jesus Christ, saying, “my prayer is that every decision will be guided by the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit will reach beyond human emotions and personal agendas. … I ask you to have honest, graceful, and respectful conversations with one another, full of the love of Jesus.”
“We are at a Red Sea moment, and I believe God will make a way for the Reformed Church in America. When [God’s] people don’t know where to go and cannot find a way, that’s where he shines! Our God is a specialist for complicated situations.”
–General secretary Eddy Alemán
Celebrating how God is at work
Despite the challenges before the RCA, Alemán also elevated plenty to celebrate about what God has been doing. He highlighted the RCA’s progress toward fulfilling Transformed & Transforming, its 15-year vision for ministry.
Alemán offered the She Is Called Women of the Bible study and Everybody Belongs, Serving Together as examples of Transformed & Transforming resources that are having a powerful impact. The Women of the Bible study has been accessed more than 140,000 times. And Everybody Belongs, Serving Together has provided practical guidance on inclusive ministry to more than 2,000 people in just a few months.
Alemán also spoke to the individual transformation the Holy Spirit is bringing about in the lives of people like Savannah Clapper. Clapper served as a Cultivate volunteer several years ago, and now she is continuing to follow her heart for mission as a church planter.
Alemán went on to share his gratitude for the Spirit’s work in Global Mission and Church Multiplication. He noted that more than 85 percent of new RCA church plants since 2019 have been led by planters of color. More than 85 percent of new church planters are bivocational or covocational.
Embracing diversity and staying rooted in the gospel
The diversity of the new church plants is just one example of how the RCA is becoming more diverse, a trend Alemán celebrated in his report.
Alemán pointed to the incredible growth of Classis de las Naciones, which has strong ties to the church in Latin America and Europe, as another example of the increasingly global and culturally diverse future of the RCA. A denomination of churches from the Dominican Republic recently joined the classis, which formed in early 2020.
Alemán expressed hope that the RCA would come to reflect the vision of Revelation 7:9-10. And he encouraged the RCA to embrace this change to become a more multi-ethnic church: “The greatest shift that we are beginning to see and experience is a huge increase in racial/ethnic diversity in the Reformed Church in America. The future of the Reformed Church in America is multi-ethnic … we are no longer a ‘white Dutch denomination,’ and, I have to say, that is a beautiful thing. Our historic roots have given us a strong foundation, and I give thanks to those leaders who came from the Netherlands.”
To conclude his report, Alemán offered the RCA a pastoral invitation to be rooted in the gospel.
“Reformed Church in America, let our focus be on the gospel. … The gospel is the story of Jesus. We must embrace that story with faithfulness,” Alemán said. “Friends, let us focus on believing and proclaiming the gospel with passion and boldness.”
Following a standing ovation, delegate Matthew van Maastricht made a motion to commend the report of the general secretary to the RCA and each of the consistories, classes, and regional synods. The motion received support and an affirming vote by show of hands.
WTS proposed relationship change gets cautious reception
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 seminary’s board called for the change, which would have shifted the seminary from being owned by the RCA to being affiliated with the RCA. Ultimately, delegates had too many unanswered questions about the impact of the changes. They voted to refer the changes to the General Synod Council, in consultation with the Commission on Church Order, to work out further details.
General Synod president EJ de Waard gives report
On Friday afternoon, EJ de Waard delivered his president’s report to the General Synod. He shared stories of leaders in the RCA who have influenced him, and holding up a battered copy of Our Reformed Church that was presented to him when he made profession of faith.
Regarding the discernment process related to the Vision 2020 Team report, de Waard said, “The process, if bathed in the Word, will bring glory and honor to God.”
Like general secretary Eddy Aleman, who delivered his report earlier in the day, de Waard called the RCA to focus on sharing the gospel. “Are we ready?” he asked. “Are we ready for new believers, new converts? Are we ready to disciple and mentor, to walk and be walked beside?”
De Waard also praised unity in Christ, but stressed that unity is only appropriate within the bounds of doctrine. He closed by calling for a reaffirmation of the RCA’s historical position on human sexuality.
Vision 2020 discernment continues
In a 90-minute morning session and another 90-minute afternoon session, delegates continued the work of discerning the Vision 2020 Team’s recommendations. This morning, they processed the second recommendation to create a new mission agency. In the afternoon, the small groups processed the team’s third recommendation, which considers mutually gracious separation for departing churches and the denomination.
Vision 2020 recommendations will be brought before the synod for discussion and voting on Saturday afternoon.
Notables from New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Micah McCreary, who has served as president of New Brunswick Theological Seminary since 2017, was declared and installed as a General Synod professor of theology on Friday evening. The role is one of the four offices of the church within the RCA (in addition to minister of Word and sacrament, elder, and deacon). He joins the professorate in their collective ministry of teaching, as well as preparing and certifying candidates for the ministry of Word and sacrament, according to the Book of Church Order.
The NBTS report also highlighted a number of grants, including three emergency CARES grants, a Luce Foundation grant for the immediate launch of the SHELTER project, a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science to begin integrating science into NBTS’s core curricula, and a nearly $1 million dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., to create and carry out the WELL Program, which aims to “create a collaborative and supportive community for African American pastors leading urban congregations and Latinx pastors launching new churches,” according to the seminary’s report.
General Synod professors honored with emeritus status
Two standing General Synod professors, Timothy Brown and Cornelis Kors, were both named as General Synod professor emeriti, following their retirements in 2020. Brown notably served Western Theological Seminary (WTS) as its 11th president and has served as a General Synod professor since 2002. Kors retired after 29 years of service to the denomination, primarily through the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency (MFCA) and its preceding forms, and has served as General Synod professor since 2013. Brown’s resolution was approved in absentia, but Kors, who was present as a delegate from the General Synod professorate, received a standing ovation.
Affirming decisions made during the pandemic
On Friday, the General Synod ratified decisions made by the General Synod Council (GSC) when synod was postponed during the pandemic. Because authority to make those decisions lies with the General Synod rather than with GSC, GSC set the assessment amount for 2021 and approved ad interim candidates for boards of trustees for RCA colleges and asked for ratification at General Synod.
Other business
The synod heard a report from the Commission on Christian Unity, celebrating the RCA’s ecumenical partnerships and the 10-year anniversary of the adoption of the Belhar Confession, which became the RCA’s fourth Standard of Unity in 2010.
Synod heard reports from the Pastoral Formation Oversight Board (PFOB) and the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency (MFCA).
In its written report, the PFOB included an informal proposal that would task the MFCA with granting the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry in the RCA. However, moderator Chad Pierce indicated that numerous factors were newly in flux, and PFOB did not present the proposal for feedback as originally planned. A final proposal will likely still come to synod 2022.
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