Some 700 nearly filled the large First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa, on Tuesday evening, August 28, to hear Professor Nelson D. Kloosterman, newly elected professor of New Testament and Ethics, speak on “Hope for Survival in an Age of Pastoral Brutality.” The occasion was a public meeting held in connection with the Fourth Annual Festival of Mid-America Reformed Seminary.
The speaker called attention to the ongoing stuggle for the Gospel which has characterized all of history. Always, so he affirmed, the sharpest and most decisive battles are fought not with the world outside but in the church itself. Here ecclesiastical politicizing together with its parliamentary maneuverings threaten the integrity of the church’s message and therefore its very life. That struggle was clearly evident throughout the Old Testament period, evident in the treatment accorded Elijah, Amos, Jeremiah and many other messengers of the Lord. It came into even sharper focus in the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the persecution of His apostles. Today it is intensifying as the time of antichrist approaches as Satan with his helpers seeks to destroy the Lord’s cause and people. In that inescapable warfare our anchor of hope is the living Word for survival lies in the survival of the Word of the Lord. All who cling to it in simple faith are assured of victory.
All were stirred by the address as well as by the enthusiastic singing and by three numbers rendered by the Dordt College Band under the direction of Professor Gerard Bouma, a member of the Board of Trustees. An offering of more than $ 1,000 was received. The meeting was followed by an hour of fellowship in the church parlors.
On Monday and Tuesday the Board of Trustees, its members coming from as far away as Washington and Florida, Michigan and Alberta, met to review the activities and shape policies for the seminary. Open House was held on Tuesday afternoon, followed by a meeting of Association member. Thorough reports were presented by the secretary of the Board , the Administrative Dean, the Director of Promotions, and the treasurer. Opportunity was provided at that time for questions and discussion. Supper was then served to 265 at Unity Christian High School from 5 to 7 p.m.
Mid–America’s school year was opened at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, August 29 , with the Dr. Timothy M. Monsma, Administrative Dean for the school year 1984–85, in charge.
Professor Mark Vander Hart, assigned to the department of Old Testament studies, gave the convocation address entitled “Creation as God’s Temple.” Clearly and thoroughly he traced the relationships, as outlined in Scripture, on the revelation of God’s glory in the first creation as God’s great temple; thereafter in consequence of sin and His purposes of salvation in Israel’s tabernacle and temple, where He dwelled in the most holy place accessible only once each year by the high-priest. Far greater was the revelation of His glory in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that now through Gospel preaching that glory is manifested in all places where He gathers His people for worship and then sends them into the work-a-day world to show forth that glory of His name. This now points ahead to the time when his glory will finally fill the whole world in a perfect combination of worship and work. Therefore, because of the coming of the realities in Jesus Christ, the Jerusalem Temple (a microcosm of the Creation Temple) must disappear to make possible spiritual worship-work everywhere in Creation.
Both addresses will soon be made available to a wider audience.
Peter Y. De Jong, retired Christian Reformed Pastor at Sioux Center, Iowa has served as Administrative Dean of the Mid–America Seminary.