Episode 266: If We Are Faithful Now, We Can Trust the Word — Harry Frielink (Part 2)

“You’ll never rise to a higher level in your public prayer life than what you’re doing in your private prayer life…You’ll never rise to a higher level in your preaching than in your own personal reading of God’s word…If we are in the word, we can bring the word. If we are in prayer, we can lead in prayer. If we’re walking beside people that the Holy Spirit is bringing to life—those are the things we’re called to.” — Harry Frielink

Summary of This Episode

Back on The Messy Reformation podcast this week, we have Willy and Rev. Harry Frielink, pastor at Covenant CRC in Barrie, ON. Throughout this episode, we get to hear about some of Harry’s theological influences or inspirations. Early on, working in camp ministry, he credits the training of Matthew Kingswood, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor, to be in the Word. He also has also appreciated Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s encouragement to do life together. Along the way, he’s found books on being a disciplined Christian and the personal nature of God has helpful.

Another voice has been Paul David Tripp, whose book “Dangerous Calling” he references when Willy asks about struggles. One of the biggest struggles that he’s faced and many pastors face is being in and nurturing friendships with the body of believers rather than feeling outside or above. Harry stresses the importance of having friends and modeling good Christian friendship. He also notes balancing being a pastor while also honoring the calling of husband and father.

Harry prompts conversation around two of the major divisive topics in the CRCNA over the last 30 or so years—human sexuality and the women in ecclesiastical office decisions. When it comes to women as elders and pastors, he points out that can be a difficult thing to navigate in some congregations, while others don’t wrestle much with that. In terms of the Human Sexuality Report (HSR), he saw it not as wanting to just have a culture war over homosexuality, but rather an opportunity to speak to the whole spectrum of human sexuality, recognizing where there is sin and brokenness, and seeing how the gospel addresses it. He sees how the CRC dealt with these two things as being different. Willy adds, though, there is an important piece of how one’s view of the authority of Scripture factors in and having that inform our opinions rather than experience. We need to be charitable, but know what our foundation is.

Harry’s been to Synod twice, back in the early 2010s, as a Classis Huron delegate, but has followed Synods closely in recent years. He’s thankful, while somewhat surprised at what’s gone on. He mentions Paul Vander Klay’s commentary capturing how the establishment of the CRC and The Banner may have viewed conservatives as present but quiet in the aftermath of the women in office decisions of the 1990s, but that’s changed in last decade. He’s thankful to see young pastors taking a stand as well as laypeople. He and Willy agree the third mark of the church likely will continue to come up, but it is much larger conversation around discipleship and discipline. We need to be walking with people to know how to handle that well. As he looks at Classis Toronto as well, he names the steep decline in membership over the last 20 years, but he sees the present being a time where those who are left recognize it’s time to get to work on the discipleship and evangelism fronts.

His final words are an encouragement to “blow on the live embers.” He describes that, especially for pastors, as needing to make sure we give priority to where and who the Spirit may be working on. Harry would have us listen and walk with people, remain in God’s Word if we are to bring God’s Word, and remain praying if we are to lead people in prayer.