Episode 185: Synod 2024 - Prayer and Keeping in Step with the Spirit - Andy Sytsma (Part 1)
“I'm encouraged that God was leading the CRC…with grace, truth and love…Synod [spoke] very clearly…Synod is confirming our identity [in theology and the confessions]…I’m grateful for the intentionality that I see…with prayer, intentionality with upholding the truth of God's word, and the intentionality with mission and…leaning into this…global vision that we're working with.” -Andy Sytsma
Summary of this Episode
This week on the Messy Reformation, Jason and Willy are joined by Rev. Andy Sytsma, a repeat guest from episodes 77 and 78 but now the pastor of Life in Christ CRC in Salt Lake City, UT. Andy was a delegate from Classis Yellowstone to Synod 2024, where he served as the chair of Advisory Committee 9 tasked with gravamen. This was his third Synod, and he’s noticed a pattern. In 2002, he was on an advisory committee dealing with a confessional-revision gravamen related to Jesus’ descent into hell. In 2022, he chaired the advisory committee which looked at whether the denial of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) was heresy. While every synod meeting is different, he’s been involved in some of the heaviest work whenever he’s gone.
When asked his thoughts coming into Synod, he admitted he was willing to go and ready to serve on behalf of Classis Yellowstone, one of the CRC’s smallest classes. He knew the weightiness of the matters Synod would be dealing with. He expresses gratitude, though, that his advisory committee had a solid foundation to build on. That foundation includes the Synod 2023 Advisory Committee 8 reports as well as overtures that were submitted. A little bit later in the episode, Jason captures part of how advisory committees are able to get their work done is because they rely on the research and written work of the broader church in what it submits.
Willy asks a question that’s been on many peoples’ minds, how did this committee get a unified report? Andy credits God for his providence and that their committee was Spirit-led. He, Jason, and others who were involved have also noted the additional year was helpful in giving people time to wrestle and think. Andy shares that while a unified report was the ideal, it wouldn’t have troubled him if a minority report came out. He expresses that the committee worked well together, input was gotten from all members, and deep chemistry and camaraderie developed along with prayer.
After talking a bit more about what benefited the process of this synod, Jason asks what was most encouraging from this Synod. Andy focuses a bit on friendships and nurturing relationships that had started in other places, online, and even back in seminary. He also was encouraged by the officers and synodical staff as well as the Synod Prayer Team. He offers a great summary, “I'm encouraged that God was leading the CRC…with grace, truth and love.” He observed grace in the reality that these issues involve people, a desire for the gospel to be clear, and the desire to disciple and do pastoral care well. He saw truth in the fidelity with God’s Word, Church Order, and Synod decisions. He saw love in how Synod happened. “The goal…with discipline…is to restore.”
He also appreciated, “Unity with decisions…Synod [spoke] very clearly…Synod is confirming our identity [in theology and the confessions]…I’m grateful for the intentionality that I see…with prayer, intentionality with upholding the truth of God's word, and the intentionality with mission and…leaning into this…global vision that we're working with.” All of this is maturing in our denomination. We’ll pick up Andy’s description of the global vision and mission next time.