Episode 117: Conversation with Lincoln Rus (Part 1)

"First and foremost, we cannot disagree on salvific issues. When you’re attacking foundations of the faith, we can seed no ground there." -Lincoln Rus

Summary of This Episode

Lincoln grew up in Sioux Center, Iowa in the CRC and attended Dort College. He became a middle school teacher at a small Christian school and is currently a full-time student at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Lincoln is also an intern at his local church and does admissions work for RTS. He plans to graduate in May 2024 and enter pastoral ministry.

His path into ministry came later on after he was encouraged by mentors Bob Pollema, Chad VanGinkle, and Zach Tartar. After undergoing significant spiritual growth, Lincoln knew he wanted to pursue seminary and ministry. His mentors were very supportive of his decision and God opened many doors for him including financial provision, living space in Orlando, and pastoral internships. Throughout this journey, God has continued to affirm that pastoral ministry is the right path for Lincoln.

Lincoln talks about his own experience with his youth pastor, Chad Van Ginkle, who pushed him to join the youth leadership team in high school. Jason encourages more pastors and youth pastors to look for the gifts and talents of young men in their churches and lead them into ministry roles.

Lincoln goes on to explain why he chose RTS Orlando over Calvin Seminary. He says that he already lived in Fort Myers, Florida and both of his mentors suggested RTS because they were fans of the school. He also mentions that he likes the rigorous nature of RTS and its trajectory. He shares that his experience at RTS has overall been very positive - having access to professors on a personal level, celebrating life together with them, being supported during difficult times, and being exposed to different denominations as someone who was very dogmatic before.Jason spends time reflecting on his own experience with college and seminary and how he has grown in faith since attending a Baptist, dispensationalist college. He shares that even though he disagreed with many of the beliefs at his undergraduate college, he was still able to form meaningful relationships and learn that it is possible to disagree and still be friends.

We talk about how the idea of disagreeing but being friends seems to have been lost lately, especially in the Christian Reformed Church. Many people now think if you disagree with someone you automatically hate them. Jason believes this is wrong and explains that he has had an open theist friend for a long time. Even though he would never hire him as a church leader, they are still good friends. We emphasize how important it is to be united around certain things while also maintaining friendly relationships even when there are disagreements.

We spend some time talking about the "cage stage" of Calvinism, where people overreact to any attack on their beliefs due to insecurity. Jason suggests that engaging with different people and maturing can help one become more settled in their beliefs and comfortable with some of the mystery in the Bible. Also, entering into conversations with those who disagree can help refine one's convictions about their beliefs, and also give them more confidence in what they believe.

We also discuss how to draw lines when it comes to agreeing or disagreeing on certain issues. They note that some issues, such as salvific matters, can not be disagreed upon, while others such as music preferences are not as important. We also mention the example of infant baptism and how it is important for Reformed Christians to hold their line even if they have Baptist friends who disagree. When it comes to ministry partnerships, theological clarity is essential for these partnerships/relationships to be successful.