The time has come for Synod ‘94 of the Christian Reformed Church to settle the matter of women in church office Biblically, confessionally and finally. Although we do not endorse the idea of postponement, we do support the analysis of the church which this article presents and we thank the author for his comments. The […]
When we chose the wording for the theme of this issue of The Outlook, we were tempted to put a question mark behind it to read WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY? This would not be strange because CR synods have been flip-flopping the past four years—seriously jeopardizing their credibility. And although this year’s synodical decision re: women […]
One morning, about a week after the CRC Synod ‘94 adjourned, my telephone rang and the conversation with a male caller went something like this: Caller: Hello, is this Laurie Vanden Heuvel? Responder: Yes it is. Caller: I am a deacon in one of the local CRC’s and […]
The title of this article is borrowed with permission from a sermon my husband preached some time ago. As I observed the synod of the CRC in session and the protest by the women and their supporters the day following the vote by synod not to ratify the 1993 decision to allow women in the […]
Dear Editors and readers of The Outlook: Imagine my surprise when I discovered an eight-page article on The Fourth Day in the March issue of The Outlook. The number eight and the month of March were especially significant to me in this context because it was eight years ago, in March of 1986, that I […]
Classis Grand Rapids East Votes “In Principle” to Permit Churches to Disobey CRC Synod’s Ban on Women Elders GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (July 21, 1994) RBPS – Synod 1994 of the Christian Reformed denomination voted to declare that “the clear teaching of Scripture prohibits women holding the office of minister, elder, and evangelist,” but some advocates […]
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are deeply grateful to God for leading our Synod 1994 to take a strong Biblical stand on women in office. This puts many of you in a very difficult position. Many of you are members of churches which have previously defied the synodical stand and […]
Second Woman Pastor to Serve Christian Reformed Church • Mary-Lee Bouma to “teach, expound the Word of God, and provide pastoral care” as unordained solo pastor of Trinity CRC, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan (September 2, 1994) RBPS – On Sunday, August 28, 1994, Mary-Lee Bouma became the second female pastor in the 300,320-member Christian Reformed denomination, […]
No doubt many readers of The Outlook are aware that Classis Grand Rapids East of the Christian Reformed Church has formally decided not to “force its congregations to comply with the decision of Synod 1994” regarding women in ecclesiastical office. By this decision Classis Grand Rapids East has determined upon a course of ecclesiastical disobedience, […]
This summer we took a family vacation to the West Coast. Like all good tourists, we took in a day at the beach. And like all good tourists, I demonstrated my ignorance of proper beach precautions. Everyone knows that if you are coming from Iowa to go to the beach, you had better be well […]