#134 Synod

I didn't blog last week because I was busy serving as a delegate to synod, the Christian Reformed Church's (that's my denomination) annual meeting. Synod was quite the experience. Returning to Grand Rapids, MI, where Tess and I lived for three years while I was in seminary, gave me an opportunity to see several old friends and visit some locations that hold special meaning for me. My plan is to reflect on some of that in future posts.

This week I'd like to reflect on my experience at synod itself. Nearly 200 delegates from all over the U.S. and Canada met for six days—two days while divided into advisory committees and four days while united for plenary sessions. Synod was tough for me. Several times I struggled with knowing and believing that this meeting is important while also feeling like we were wasting our time. Synod is important because ministers, elders, deacons, and commissioned pastors gather from throughout the denomination to make decisions about how we are going to work to follow Christ Jesus together. We listen to each other and together seek to discern how the Holy Spirit is leading us as a group. The goal is not to come in with our minds already made up but to discuss and submit to God together. But sometimes it feels like our discussions are pointless, like none of the speeches change anyone's mind. That's not totally true. There were times when the discussion changed or clarified what I perceived was the best way forward for us. Others confirmed to me that the discussion helped them at times. But sometimes I felt like two sides were simply talking past each other while the atmosphere in the room grew more and more tense. Sometimes it seemed like a small minority was passionately making speeches even though their position was going to get crushed in the vote no matter what. I really think it's important that we listen to each other when we disagree. I really think it's important that we don't silence the opinions of the minority. I really think it's important that every delegate has equal opportunity to speak and to vote. But I know that there were times that it was terribly difficult for me to listen, particularly when the debate grew long or when I'd already heard that specific speaker several times. I feel guilty about that.

Sometimes, too, parts of our meeting felt like simply a formality. We received reports from all the agencies and ministries of our denomination, as well as several related organizations that we support. There's generally nothing to discuss or do with these reports. But I also know that it's important that we receive these reports. We all had material to read, and different committees got to talk with representatives from these various groups. We need that. We need to know how the money we contribute to ministry is being used if we're going to continue to wisely and faithfully support agencies and ministries. It's also a joy to hear stories of how God is at work so that we can celebrate and give thanks. But again I know that there were times that my eyes glazed over. I feel guilty about that, too.

I think one of the biggest struggles—if not the biggest struggle—at a gathering like synod is humility. We need humility to listen to others, even if we disagree or feel like we already know what they're going to say. We need humility to help us weigh whether or not the words we would speak are really important enough for everyone to hear. We need humility to remind ourselves that the church belongs to Jesus Christ, that our decisions are about following Him, not about us winning or being right. And we need humility to trust that God is at work for good through and even in spite of our messy discussions and decisions.

So synod was often tough for me. But it's part of my job, and I was happy to take my turn as a delegate. And for all the difficult times, some really great things happened. We shared wonderful times of worship as well as fellowship over meals. We took a stand against false teaching that twists what we believe. We hopefully took steps to revitalize the way our congregations join togther to fund the work of our denomination. We were encouraged by brothers and sisters who visited from other parts of the church. And most of all, we were reminded that God is at work among and around us all throughout our denomination. And even if I struggled, that makes the whole process worthwhile.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#133 Coffee

Sitting still has never been my strong suit. As a kid I would jump and jump and jump while doing normally stationary activities like playing video games. At school I would rock back and forth in my desk. Nowadays I'm a little bit better, but I still often tap my foot or shake my legs or play with my hands if I have to sit too long. So being short on energy normally isn't my problem. On top of that, I'm a morning person. I wake up ready to go. Because of these things, I never became a coffee drinker. When others ask me why not, I usualy just say I haven't grown up yet. For the most part I'll find something else to drink or just go without a beverage if I join a group of coffee drinkers. But every once in a while I find myself in a situation where I drink a cup of coffee to be polite. And well, it isn't pretty. I can't really handle it. It's not so much the taste—though I do add some cream or sugar there. It's the caffeine. I almost never have caffeine. Not only do I not drink coffee, but I also very rarely have pop. So I'll be at a coffee shop where the smallest coffee available is a 12 oz. By the end of my cup I feel like I'm twitching. I keep picking up the cup and playing with it. I feel somewhat off for a large portion of the day. It's a weird experience. So if you wonder why I'm not drinking coffee, I don't think it's because I'm crazy. It's more that I'm trying to stay sane.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#132 Ascensionism

Last Thursday was Ascension Day. I love Ascension Day. There are so many great songs to sing: "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" and "Crown Him with Many Crowns" and "Jesus Shall Reign" and "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" and "Before the Throne of God Above" immediately come to mind. We get to celebrate that Jesus has triumphed! He has completed His ministry on earth and has returned to the His rightful glory in heaven.

[Side rant: I recently saw a statistic that more congregations in my denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, commemorate Mothers' Day than Ascension Day. That seems off to me. Don't get me wrong: celebrating mothers is a wonderful thing (I love you, Mom!), but Mothers' Day is a greeting card holiday, not a church holiday. Plus, celebrating mothers in church can be tricky because so many people hurt due to recently losing their mother or having an ugly relationship with their mother or longing to be a mother but not having children of their own. Meanwhile, Ascension Day is a traditional, distinctively Christian celebration. Look, the ascension is so important that it makes it into the super brief Apostles' Creed: "He ascended into heaven." I get that Ascension Day falls on a Thursday, but can't we at least remember it the following Sunday?]

There's a large group of Christians that are called Pentecostals because of the importance of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit to their theology and practices. What if other Christian traditions were named after a specific Christian holiday? Now all Christians should really be "Easterists" because Jesus' resurrection on Easter is the center of our beliefs. (I spelled this out a few posts back. Go check out "The Most Important Day" if you haven't already.) But for the sake of the argument let's consider different traditions picking different holidays. I think my Reformed tradition could rightfully be renamed "Ascensionism."

Let me explain. Jesus' ascension is incredibly important to much of Reformed theology. Based on the ascension, we believe that Christ Jesus is King of all things NOW. We don't just look forward to His reign. We believe that He rules over all areas of life at this very moment, even as we look forward to the full coming of Christ's kingdom when He returns at the end of time. As the Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper famously said, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!' " Because we believe that Christ rules over and claims all areas of life, we believe that He calls His followers to serve Him in all areas of life. So we don't just serve God by doing church work like preaching and teaching Sunday school and doing evangelism and singing praise songs. We also serve God by living the way He wants us to live and testifying that He is in control as we work as farmers and doctors and hairdressers and teachers and well drillers and police officers and advertisers and politicians and bankers and gas station attendants and so on and so on. Jesus cares about business and legislation and ecology and art and literature and athletics and chemistry and mathematics and psychology and every area of life. Even now we can sometimes see Him working to bring reform in these areas (often through His people), and eventually He will completely renew them all. Jesus is Lord of all. He is King now. He's at work, and we get to join His work as He uses us. Our world belongs to God. So let's take time to celebrate Jesus' ascension.

Grace and peace,
BMH