Episode 192: Beyond the Local Church - Embracing Broader Accountability - Israel Ledee (Part 1)
“I always felt uneasy…regarding believers baptism is: Who's making the promise? Is this promise from me to God or is it from God to me? And then once you get into the weeds of that, you see that this isn't a fundamentally a declaration of: I've decided to follow Jesus. It's a declaration that God proclaims over us. I will be your God. You will be my people. So you're marked off. And the way you'll be my people is by being united to Jesus…t's a sign and seal given to us because of the weakness of our faith.” - Israel Ledee
Summary of This Episode
Welcome back to The Messy Reformation podcast where Jason and Willy are joined this week by Rev. Israel Ledee, pastor at Immanuel CRC in Burbank, IL, a southwest suburb of Chicago. The bulk of this episode is a conversation about Israel’s background–not growing up in or close to the CRC–and the journey that brought him here.
Israel was born in Puerto Rico but moved with his family to near Cleveland, OH very early in life. His religious upbringing was in the Pentecostal tradition, but over time he noticed dysfunction in that. John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul were his entrance into Calvinist theology, and while attending Moody Bible Institute, he shares that he had Reformed Baptist beliefs while also being connected with a friend who was Presbyterian. He attended Mid-America Reformed Seminary, during which he became convinced of infant baptism. He also shares how his mother was the primary influence in his life in regards to piety.
His journey to be a member and pastor in the Christian Reformed Church is linked to his sense of call. From a young age, he was invited to help lead in the youth ministry of his church. Feeling a spark for ministry, he sought out some informal education and training. He was allowed to preach and received affirmation from others, eventually becoming an associate pastor in his Pentecostal church. While in college, he helped Baptist churches that were vacant, including with preaching. Seminary, though, enabled him to think deeply about doctrine and ecclesiology. Especially leading him to the CRC was his understanding of baptism. He recognized God as the primary promise maker, the One who gives us the sign and seal “because of the weakness of our faith…It’s not a sign to express the strength of [our] faith.” He was providing pulpit supply for Immanuel during seminary, and was invited to be part of their search for a pastor as they looked for a Hispanic pastor due to their local context. It’s been a great fit since.
The three dive explore other ways that the CRC is distinct and beneficial. For Israel, a lot of what he’s seen and is grateful for regards organizational structure. He’s continuing to grow in his understanding of our churches being council-led, and how it provides solid accountability and oversight that curbs some of the problems that are found in other churches that do not have it. It’s helpful, too, he notes that it’s biblical. Jason summarizes it well, “It is helpful [for us] to recognize the benefits of why God has designed it this way…and told us to function this way.” Israel also finds our traditional form of worship, or liturgy, to be rich. He wasn’t used to things like God’s greeting in a service elsewhere, but it provides us with a beautiful, dialogic understanding between God and the congregation in worship.
This episode wraps up as they begin talking about Israel’s experience at Synod 2024. Israel was a delegate from Classis Chicago South, and he served on Advisory Committee 7 dealing with financial and administrative matters. He was somewhat surprised to be delegated as Immanuel is known for being one of the handful of conservative churches in his classis, but he was excited and knew there would be hard discussions. He found his advisory committee to be enjoyable and helpful in “forcing the denomination to give a little bit more clarity with regard to how the pensions work, explain that to pastors, [and to] look for alternatives that might be helpful for ministers.” More on the rest of his experience next time!