God's will was done. Don Poest will make a fine vice-president!

It's time to go home.

With praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Belhar,

Joy and Peace,

Scott

And now a new possibility has been placed before me by the Holy Spirit. I am one of four candidates nominated for the office of General Synod Vice-President.  It could create a new opportunity for me to serve the greater church, but above all, to learn from it as we now set out to truly live out the Belhar.

Again, God's will be done...

If we pass the Belhar, it will be part of our RCA identity, as well as an identity to strive for. It will be a beacon before us to live in unity and seek reconciliation with all people.

And then, that evening we were blessed with the gift of Dr. Skinner. I really cannot put into words the power of her words. She embodies the power of the Holy Spirit alive and at work in all of us in the pursuit of reconciliation, justice, and unity. I really hope that her spirit permeates our spirits on Monday!

And now, we are in session on Sunday hearing reports. I had the chance to worship at Hope Church, and was blessed by it. I hope we can find rest in this all!

I have become aware of some concerns about these words of the Belhar: "therefore we reject any doctrine...which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the church."

My colleagues who are presenting the Belhar to us this week reminded me to remember the original context of this statement in regards to this statement. Because of apartheid, people because of the social factor of being black could not be a member of a white church. That is the key element to remember in this statement of rejection of this practice. But the real thing to remember in this area is the positive statement in section 2 above this: "We believe...that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this church." Enough said.

 As we approach the advisory committee discussion on the Belhar today, it is my hope and prayer that all that we say and do be to honor God and that we embody the unity that the Belhar offers.

"Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness, no harshness hast thou and no bitterness; O grant to us the grace we find in thee, that we may dwell in perfect unity."

Written in 1545, those words in particular struck a chord for me in regard to the strong emphasis of the Belhar on this wondrous reality of all coming together "as a community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another" (from Belhar).

What an amazing connection over the centuries of one of the founding parents of the Reformed Church to an emerging voice of who we are and what we believe!

Now I hope that General Synod doesn't become like a crazed car chase through the streets of Chicago as in the Blues Brothers movie, but I do hope that we take on that attitude of seeing Synod as part of our mission of fulfilling our calling as servants of Christ in this world. May all that we say and do and think work towards building up the kingdom!

This will be my fifth General Synod as a delegate. (Albany, Milwaukee, Sioux Falls, Pella, Holland). It was truly a gift for me to be a delegate that voted for the Formula of Agreement, and now I have the hoped for privilege of ushering in the Belhar. I also look forward to times of open discussion on issues around congregational revitalization and looking for ways to build strong, collegial covenantal communities that work at the congregational and classical levels in order to further the Kingdom.

And yes, I also look forward to playing some golf, seeing some old friends, and sitting on my cousin's porch watching the world go by and attempting to solve all problems! Joy and Peace, Scott