Episode 150: Raising a New Generation of Pastors & Discipline in the CRC - Stewart de Jong (Part 1)
“We are in the messy process of figuring out what [discipline] looks like on the ecclesiastical level—in a local church, on the classical level…and on the synodical level.” -Willy Krahnke
“Nobody can be relying on [finding] some other church who’s going to raise up a pastor for us in the future. We really have to start saying: who in our church are we going to start raising up to be a shepherd of the flock and possibly a shepherd of our church?” -Jason Ruis
Summary of This Episode
This week on the Messy Reformation podcast, Jason and Willy are joined by Rev. Stewart DeJong. Stewart just completed his first year in ordained ministry as the pastor of Austinville CRC in northern Iowa. He grew up in a dairy farming family in the Central Valley of California, and had plans to go into some form of agri-business before discerning a call to pursue seminary and ministry in the last five years. He grew up having people affirm his involvement in worship activities, and was active as a Cadet counselor and leading a small group Bible study from his home. However, it wasn’t until after he was married that he gave more thought to the encouragement of a few trusted pastors and discerned with his wife that he might be called to this.
Stewart shares an observation from when he started sharing with people that he was exploring and pursuing ministry—they weren’t surprised, they expected it. He proposes one of the things CRC congregations and the broader Western church could grow in is people like that being willing to speak up earlier, to come alongside of, mentor, and develop someone who they see these gifts in. He shares about an article from Branson Parler which asks where churches are looking to get their next pastor from and encourages learning how to “farm” and “promote pastors from within rather than buy them from outside.” Jason agrees and points out that connects with some of the discipleship conversations that have been happening on the podcast lately. We need people to walk alongside and shepherd prospective pastors well. This is especially important when the CRC has a significant shortage of pastors currently, which is likely to evolve into a massive crisis given the percentage of expected retiring versus incoming pastors. “Nobody can be relying on [finding] some other church who’s going to raise up a pastor for us in the future. We really have to start saying: who in our church are we going to start raising up to be a shepherd of the flock and possibly a shepherd of our church?”
With that, the conversation turns to pointing out benefits and drawbacks to raising up a pastor in their home church. Stewart brings up Jesus’ statement in Mark 6:4, “…‘A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.’” Many pastors today tend to stay away from their “home” congregation with that in mind. He mentions we tend to share the same idols and blind spots of these people, so perhaps a short distance removed from home is beneficial. That said, transplanting to a different town/city, even a distant state, comes with its own difficulties of losing family and friend connections and having to start those over. Jason believes before the increase in mobility over the last 75 years, it was more common for pastors to serve closer to their area of origin. He sees there being benefits to knowing the people well, you being known (and so not likely expected to be a “rockstar”), and you may have easier ability to have difficult conversations because trust already exists. Willy chimes in with a reminder Jesus’ statement was not a “proverb” but a “judgment.” It was a statement against his community.
From there, the trio moves on to discipline in the CRC. There’s a recognition that discipline is happening slowly and we don’t have a great track record. Willy and Jason both see a correction of course in the right direction. Willy points out that Synod ’22 put Neland Avenue CRC under discipline, telling them to remove their deacon in question. When they appealed that to Synod ’23, Synod rejected that appeal. Those are types of discipline. “We are in the messy process of figuring out what this looks like on the ecclesiastical level—in a local church, on the classical level…and on the synodical level.” Jason acknowledges that there is some frustration among some on the “conservative” side because discipline is not as quick or decisive as they hoped. However, he also points out Synod ’23 instructed classes to guide officebearers into compliance regarding recent decisions—which some classes have been pursuing, and Thrive is working on materials to train regional pastors and church visitors in what they’ve been called to do. Stewart points out a lesson from parenting: discipline takes time to do and to do well when we’re not used to following through on things. There may be somewhat of a shock in disciplining, but we’ll continue learn.
This week’s episode ends as Stewart and Jason begin to talk about evangelism, and finding ways to share the greatest gift that we have. They share a common interest in seeing the need for building relationships while out in public and showing hospitality. More on that next time.
Encouraged Resources
- Podcast: Grace in Common (James Eglinton, Cory Brock, Marinus de Jong, Gray Sutanto)
- One Question Churches Must Ask, Branson Parler (https://www.thefoundrygr.org/blog/one-question-churches-must-ask/?utm_source=pocket_saves)