Episode 163: Identity as a Confessional Denomination, Critical for Congregational Health Over Generations - Nick Monsma (Part 2)
“We need to enable ourselves to think more about how we’re going to engage in fruitful congregational ministry at the local level…The more energy we have to spend over the next 5-10 years fighting denominational battles, the more at-risk our ability to focus on local congregational ministry is.” -Nick Monsma
“It’s somewhat ironic that at the same time…we’ve passed a Code of Conduct to protect people from abuse of power…we’re debating whether we really need to have in place safeguards for this kind of abuse of power in the pulpit and saying whatever happens to be on your mind.” -Nick Monsma
Summary of this Episode
Jason and Willy are back this week with Rev. Nick Monsma, chaplain and a teacher at East Palmyra Christian School (NY). The conversation returns to the work Nick sees God doing in his context. While there’s significant religious history around Palmyra, the current population has been disconnected from it. Upstate, western New York is a populated rural area, but not strong in church attendance contrary to what might be expected across Midwest rural areas tend. Jason sees his context as similar—data shows while 40% may attend church, only 30% truly consider themselves as Christians. These aren’t “Christian towns,” which means “the fields are white for the harvest…We have a great opportunity to do some good evangelistic ministry.”
Nick likes the Three Forms of Unity. In the Reformed resurgence happening in his area, he shares the reaction of a visitor upon seeing a copy of our creeds and confessions in the church pew. “This was the first church she’d ever been to where the church was upfront like this about exactly what they believed and what you were going to hear from the pulpit. She told that story, I believe, as a way of pointing to one of the things that gave her confidence that this was a great place for [her] family to grow and be discipled.” As we hear squabbling about how some officebearers claim to be struggling with feeling too restricted by the confessions, Nick points out the creeds and confessions may be thought of “primarily for the congregation, as a way of ensuring that [they are] going to get a healthy and consistent of biblical teaching…It’s somewhat ironic that at the same time…we’ve passed a Code of Conduct to protect people from abuse of power…we’re debating whether we really need to have in place safeguards for this kind of abuse of power in the pulpit and saying whatever happens to be on your mind.”
Jason highlights how the CRC has a history of being willing to discipline peoples’ sinful actions, but we have not kept up on discipline around doctrine. Willy reminds us of one of the young adult representatives at Synod 2023, who from an educated background shared that it’s very hard to believe something and not act on it accordingly. “Even if people have these ‘private reservations or private rebellions,’” claiming they won’t act or teach what’s contrary to the confessions/denominational position—“it’s not a matter of if…it’s a matter of when.” What people personally believe when it comes to the Covenant for Officebearers, gravamen, and church order will come out.
Nick’s hope is the glue holding the CRC together is being a “confessional denomination…Not just because we’re trying to protect some set of a books on a shelf…but because of what we want for the….Lord-willing, growing number of people in the pews to be taught consistent doctrine and to be discipled consistently no matter who the pastor is year after year and decade after decade.” Jason shares he’s heard the clamors to move toward more broadly evangelical or at least “broadly reformed,” but that’s not what the confessional movement is about. Connected to this, “we’ve…lost an understanding of what it means to be in covenant with one another…Does [that] mean…we’re not going to hold similar beliefs, we’re just going to pool resources…or does it mean something different where we’re accountable…supporting…encouraging?...Our identity…can’t be the denomination that exists to maintain our institutions. That’s going to require putting increasing numbers of resources in that direction, and we will just…die.” Jason puts it clearly, organizations that are dying often have a fear of doing what needs to be done—a sinful fear.
Nick’ vision going forward to Synod 2024 and beyond is that “we need to enable ourselves to think more about how we’re going to engage in fruitful congregational ministry at the local level…The more energy we have to spend over the next 5-10 years fighting denominational battles, the more at-risk our ability to focus on local congregational ministry is.” The group sees potential and hunger in young people to learn. We see younger pastors leading the charge back to the confessions. Jason highlights the late Tim Keller’s “How to Reach the West Again,” which calls the church to “counter-catechesis”—identifying what the world believes, how it’s wrong, and how Scripture and our faith “makes more sense out of the world and who God is and how to live…Part of that’s bringing back the old catechisms because those are some of the central things.”
Nick ends the episode with a shameless plug to consider investing in communities where a resurgence of faith is happening, especially areas like East Palmyra. “…Think about where God is calling [you] to invest and what things might be happening in other little corners of the CRC. Where might God be calling you to serve and maybe even move to get involved in some good work that’s happening in other places?”