The Christian Reformed Synod will be faced with a variety of views and opinions on the issue of women in ecclesiastical office in the Christian Reformed Church. One of these is an overture submitted by Classis Hackensack of the CRC. It asks the Synod to permit each congregation to decide this matter for itself. Those congregations that wish to ordain women to the office of deacon may do so. Those that feel that it is unscriptural may decline to ordain them. It is in short a move toward congregationalism.
A LACK OF LEADERSHIP
The first thing that ought to be said about this overture is that it would, if enacted, be no decision at all. It would permit Synod to abrogate its responsibility as a Synod, namely to lead the denomination according to the Word of God as interpreted in the Reformed confessions. This overture removes Synod from that position of leadership.
As such, the overture is a bad one. Synod is supposed to guide the churches. It has a task of leading, and the denomination has the right to look to the Synod for such guidance. If then the Synod says that every congregation can do what it wants in this matter of women in ecclesiastical office, it is failing in its responsibility.
Unfortunately this is the direction that many people would like the Synod to go. A recent article in The Banner suggests that the Christian Reformed Church is large enough to accommodate both positions regarding this issue. This overture is attractive because it permits the delegates to Synod to remain on the fence. A non–decision does not force people to take a stand. But again this proposal ignores the duty of the delegates to Synod. Their calling is to lead the denomination according to the Word of God. And they should do that by making a strong stand on this issue.
An Important Precedent
There is an important implication of this overture, if it is enacted. At present there are congregations that are tending toward congregationalism in practice. Of course, our form of church polity is Presbyterian whereby the elders rule the church, and this authority is delegated to the broader assemblies of classis and Synod. All the congregations are bound by the decisions of Synod and classis unless they are found to be incompatible with the Word of God.
Even so, there has been in recent days a move toward congregationalism on an unofficial basis. A congregation here or there makes a decision to remove a quota from the church budget. That is congregationalism. The denomination in general and Synod in particular has never sanctioned that kind of action. Indeed Synods have always maintained the importance of every congregation living up to Synod‘s requirements and decisions.
Until now. If Synod approves the overture from Classis Hackensack, it will be officially stating that the Christian Reformed Church at least on this issue is congregational. It will place its approval on congregations that make up their own mind on this important matter.
If this should happen, then the Synod should also take the same position regarding the matter of quotas. Many of the quotas have in recent years become a very controversial item in congregational meetings. If the Synod would permit every church to make up its own mind on women in ecclesiastical office, then Synod should also make the matter of quotas a decision to be made by every individual congregation.
But we are Presbyterian in this very crucial area of church polity. Let us not play fast and loose with this important biblical principle of church polity. Let us remain Presbyterian. Let Synod act decisively to say that women in ecclesiastical office is not scriptural. And let Synod lead our denomination in a return to the Reformed faith so that every church can enthusiastically urge its members to follow the guidance of their leaders. For if Synod does not take a decisive position on this matter of women in church office, it will be taking a very substantial step toward congregationalism that will have repercussions on many other issues before the congregations throughout the Christian Reformed Church.
Editor’s Note: We may add the observation that quotas are in principle, as the Synod of 1938 said, (Acts 1999, p. 72) only the “amount per family recommended by the Synod to the congregations” (See also Outlook, Sept., 1980, p. 2) and deals with matters on which the Bible gives no specific directions. God‘s Word, however, speaks very plainly on the issue of who are and who are not eligible to hold office in the church (1 Tim. 2:12; 1 Cor. 14:33–38). To bind where the Bible does not and to ignore what the Bible commands is to assume what we all confess are the marks of a false church (Belgic Confession, Articles XXIX, XXXII).
Henry Vanden Heuvel is the pastor of the Bethel Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland, Michigan.