Several firsts are to be noted in regard to the Agenda for 1967 Synod. The first is the voluminous size of this year’s Agenda. It consists of 550 pages, the largest ever produced by the Christian Reformed Church. A second notable distinction is the format of the cover of the Agenda. It consists of the proposed […]

The Dekker Case . . . The most talked-about item on the agenda for the 1966 synod of the Christian Reformed Church (held in Pella, Iowa, June 8–16) was the “Dekker Case.” Some two and one-half years ago Prof. Harold Dekker, teacher of missions at Calvin Theological Seminary, had asserted that an obvious deficiency in […]

Paul’s first epistle to Timothy is a a masterpiece of inspired counsel for the busy young bishop and pastor in metropolitan Ephesus. By nature somewhat reticent and faced with overwhelming problems, Timothy needed encouragement and advice. The veteran missionary does not hesitate to give both, even to insisting, “Give heed to reading, …” (I Tim. 4:13b).         […]

One day Benjamin Harrison, then president of the United States, was engaged in earnest conversation with Philadelphia’s merchant prince, John Wanamaker. Said the former, “I have received many honors which I held dear and to which I tried to be true. But none of these do I esteem higher than my calling as ruling elder […]

In the last issue, I challenged the eldership to prayer: specific, diligent and faithfully practiced prayer. In this one, I direct that same challenge to the deacons in the church. A couple of introductory comments are in order. With the elders. a warning needed to be sounded about the danger of forgetting that their work is […]

Last month I wrote describing my recent (Feb. 93) trip to Beius, Romania. There I worked with a medical mission team for two weeks caring for bodies and preaching to hearts of people who had been denied the gospel during the 45 years of the Ceausescu regime. I observed with delight the wisdom of God […]

Periodically, it is important to revisit the basics of our work in the Lord’s church. Marriage partners should re-read Ephesians 5:21ff; preachers should not neglect to preach on John 3:16 or Ephesians 2:1–10 on a regular basis so as to remind God’s people of the fundamentals; and elders and deacons should review the basic Scriptural […]

In the last issue I challenged the eldership to prayer: specific, diligent and faithfully practiced prayer. In this one, I direct that same challenge to the deacons in the church. A couple of introductory comments are in order. With the elders, a warning needed to be sounded about the danger to forget that their work […]

Last month, I wrote this column a piece explaining why I think the unbridled criticism of Promise Keepers I hear from so many quarters of the Reformed world is unwarranted. In short, I argued that we ought to take a balanced and careful approach, testing the produce and the fruit of the movement before opposing […]

When Ebenezer Scrooge meets a group of Londoners collecting for the poor in Charles Dickens, classic “A Christmas Carol,” he dismisses personal responsibility for his fellow men by asking if there are not enough poorhouses and debtors prisons in the country. Flash forward to 1996 and the state of Maryland where recently a group of […]