Time Out

            In the strangest places and in the twinkling of an eye, God does show to us his truths and encourages us with his insights. I had one of those “Aha” moments just last week. It happened on the basketball court. There was a timeout called by one of the coaches. I held the ball on the out-of-bounds line under the basket. When the time out would conclude in 30 seconds, the game would resume from that point. As I stood there, several of the home town cheerleaders gathered to perform a stunt—they would toss one girl way up in the air and catch her. It was successful as she “flew” high and landed without any glitch.

            Several of the cheerleaders who were not involved in that stunt were seated together in the stands, about a dozen of them. The girl closest to the floor and the returning cheerleaders stood to her feet, raised her hand in triumph, and screamed her approval of what had just occurred. Then I saw it—a one second look into human nature. As the girl sat down she quickly sneaked a look at all of the other cheerleaders seated behind her. It was only a quick glance, but in her eyes it was so obvious that she was seeing if those around her approved of her actions. There was a moment in her mind and heart where she doubted if her raucous scream was appropriate and wanted desperately to know that those around her supported her. It only took a moment and having received the nods of acceptance, she sat again with assurance that she was still included.

            I witnessed a microcosm of human behavior. This girl, in looking back, showed something that is part of all of us. We all want and need acceptance. It is our basic human makeup which drives us to seek the approval of others. And God quickly showed me that truth while no one else even noticed. I felt alone with God during that little time out.

            Truth is, however, that we don’t always get the approval that we need so badly. People discount and disregard us and it hurts.

            Thankfully, that never occurs with God. We need not worry, God is faithful and true. He loves us and never turns his back on us. He stands ready and willing to receive us in every situation.  There is an old saying, “If you feel distance between you and God, it isn’t God who has moved.” Oh so true. Whenever we look to God, he is right there. Take a quick time out and check. You’ll see; he will never leave you or forsake you!

After the fact observation

I have reflected on synod now for a couple of days and want to offer an observation regarding the outcome of the "homosexual" debate. There were two rather inflexible polarities, which I will name "pro-purity" and "pro-grace". I reflected earlier that I thought they both used the Bible to club one another in what I believe were unhealthy and unhelpful methods. However, what I think I have come to realize is that the "pro-purity" party did their homework ahead of time and came more prepared. It seemed to me that they had a preplanned response to whatever happened. They thought through what might come to the floor and had a response ready immediately. As various things were presented they acted decisively and quickly. I think the vote was swayed by how organized they were and their use of Roberts Rules to block anything the "pro-grace" side offered. Discussion was funneled by their preparation into a neatly orchestrated box canyon out of which there was no escape for the opposition.

This may be all my imagination, but it has a feel of truth to it, at least to me, so I will share it.

Winding up

Last few details are being taken care of. Actually, the budget still needs to be addressed and passed, so its more than just a few details. You can tell that delegates are ready to go home.

The election for VP has been narrowed down to two: Renee House and Carl Boersma. I and two others have been eliminated. That means that while honored to be nominated, I can now return my energy 100% back to my local church. Oh, even as I write, the final tally is now in and Carl has been elected to serve as Vice President of General Synod for the coming year. My prayers are totally with him.

Now we are doing budget. That will bring us to a close and final worship. The synod has been difficult and God has blessed our deliberations. Personally, I've agreed with most things, had deep disagreement with one issue, and been somewhat uninvolved emotionally with the "nuts and bolts" kind of things that come up at synod. Yet this is our process and God works in it. I am committed to all the decisions that have been made. Time will continue to form, mold, and shape who we are. Year by year we will come to the table (both in session and in communion) and remind ourselves that we are family. God, our Father, Jesus, our brother, and the Holy Spirit, our comforter will never leave us. Take heart as this synod ends, RCA. May God bless us always!

Honored

My heart is just now starting to settle down. As one of the five nominees for the position of Vice President of the General Synod, I was invited to the dais to share briefly who I am and where my heart is regarding the RCA. It was such an honor, and also such a humbling experience to stand before the entire synod body. I stand before people every week in church and many weeks at Rotary Club meetings, yet here I felt like a little boy, in awe of where I was and whom I was in front of. My heart was racing.

Yet, I was able to share my love of our wonderful denomination, to express how I believe we are moving in the right direction in so many ways, and tell of my passion to reach our own children and grandchildren who seem to be leaving the church by the dozens and hundreds. I love my children and would do anything to draw them back. (I do lean on our belief in the perseverence of the saints--my sons did express their faith in Jesus Christ as teens.) Yet, I long for them to be in the fellowship of a body of believers and followers of Jesus right where they live. What can we do to reach their generation? That must be a focus of who we are in the RCA. It is time to stop the loss of numbers, quit kidding ourselves that while our numbers drop--our faith is deepening, and finally to bandage the wounds and begin doing the things that cause the church of Jesus Christ to grow. (Even if we have to change.) How many Dutchmen does it take to change a lightbulb? WHAT...CHANGE?????

God is good and we have a bright future. We will walk together into it! Praise God!

The thrill of Victory, the agony of Defeat

After hours of discussion, rules of order positioning, and confusing calls to points of order, and after a substitute to the substitute was defeated, the substitute to the recommendation of the advisory committee as regards to the overtures from four classes concerning the topic of homosexuality was passed. The agreed upon substitute motion largely revisited the original overtures and will have us proceed in a direction that, in spirit, supports the overtures as stated. The recommendation of the advisory committee was to continue dialogue. Rather, it passed that we will now draw a line in the sand. The way this will play out in the future is still open to imagine, however, the majority has chosen to exclude homosexuals from church leadership and outlaw homosexual marriage, making it a disciplinary activity.

Now I must admit I stand with a foot in both camps. I do believe that homosexuality is a sin. Yet, I hate the idea that we have elevated one sin above all the others. That is my take on scripture. However, both camps used scripture as a club to emphasize and proof-text their points of view. That, for me, was verification that we needed to keep the dialogue coming and the preparation of a theological paper would be in order. I must say that I did not see much openness in this discussion. It seemed people were not listening, but rather were simply anxious to get their view passed. Accordingly, I hope we did not rush to judgment and fail to listen long enough. Ancient bodies waited even centuries to make decisions. It seemed to me that waiting would not have been hurtful, nor would it be unfaithful to who we are. But, General Synod has spoken and now we will have to deal with it.