Soon the Synod of 1988 will convene. Delegates have been elected by all of the 42 Classes and these delegates will have a busy schedule and a grave responsibility when they meet in Synod. No doubt there will be many overtures as well as reports to be handled by the delegates.
A delegate to our broadest assembly must recognize the responsible task to which be bas been called but he must also realize his proper position in this assembly. I am afraid that this is not always the case.
I hear that prospective delegates have been asked by members of some Classes where they stood on a given issue corning before Synod. It seems as though there were always some members of Classes who thought such questions to be improper. The delegates should listen to the debate and so form their opinion at Synod and not come with pre-conceived notions. In the main I would agree with this. If the Classes are to tell the delegates how to vote on every issue, they might as well send robots.
However, it is quite a different matter when the delegating Classis has an overture on a specific matter coming before Synod. The delegate must remember that he represents his Classis and not himself! Is this not a truism? I think so; but it must be emphasized in the light of what has happened at some recent Synods. Webster says to delegate means “to send with a commission, depute. One sent and empowered to act for another, a deputy; a representative.” This means that the Classis may expect its delegates to vote for and defend the overture it has sent to Synod. Should there be delegates who do not wish to state where they stand on the issue which their Classis is bringing to Synod, such a Classis better elect new delegates while there is still time.
Many of the members of the church are becoming disillusioned with the process of sending overtures to Synod. They claim it does no good. There is an element of truth in that disillusioned statement. This is just another reason why the idea of delegation should be clearly understood. The ecclesiastical process should be kept in honor.
There have been two examples of the breakdown of the ecclesiastical process in recent years. The Synod of 1985 had overtures from thirteen Classes against the decision of the 1984 Synod concerning Women in Office. Besides these 13 overtures there were more than 35 from consistories which did not have the opportunity to bring this matter to their Classes. What did Synod do? It scarcely gave all these overtures a second look! That is not the way to gain the confidence of our people.
The Synod of 1987 had 20 overtures which were unfavorable to the idea of “Vision 21.” These 20 Classes’ delegates should have come with 80 votes against the proposed plan. I know that this was not a majority because there are 42 Classes in the denomination. Does anyone mean to say that there were not five votes from all the delegates of Classes who had not sent overtures regarding this matter to Synod who were not in favor of the proposal? I doubt it. Seldom has the church sent so many overtures on any one matter to Synod. Yet, in principle it passed!
If the delegates do not realize their rightful responsibility to the Classis which sent them, the Synod will become more and more hierarchical.
Henry Vander Kam is a retired CRC pastor at Orange City, Iowa.
