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November 18, 2007

Bentheim

Built on a Rock

            This evening, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to take you on a journey.  I’d like to take you on a journey of three weeks of this past summer.  The distance covered was great: more than 2500 miles by plain alone.  But it also covered immeasurable distances spiritually.  During the trip, I experienced some of my highest spiritual moments in recent history, as well as some of my lowest.  It was a fun trip, but also a difficult trip.  I’ve entitled my message, “Built on a Rock” because I believe it ties my entire trip together.  But I’ll get to that more in a little bit.  So come with me, won’t you, as I share some of my experiences.

            My trip started on Thursday, May 24, as I was greeted almost immediately by the privilege and responsibility of marrying my cousin, Ryan, to his now wife, Ashleigh.  I say it was a privilege and a responsibility because indeed it was a privilege to be able to officiate at my cousin’s wedding.  It’s a treat that not many people get to experience.  But it was also a responsibility.  It was a responsibility because, essentially, I had to work on my vacation.  It was a responsibility because of the increased difficulty that was inherent in planning a service when I lived in New York and they live in Michigan.  I personally spent a good deal of time in prayer before the wedding that God would work in and through Ryan and Ashleigh, that they might form a godly family.  In my message to the couple I stressed how important it is to put the other person before yourself, a message which I imagine all those present at the wedding, and all of us here in the worship service, could be reminded of again and again.

Following the wedding I was able to spend time with my parents, my grandfather, my grandmother, and other assorted relatives and friends.  They got to see and hold Sophie.  We shared stories.  I worshiped here, at Bentheim.  I even got to meet my parent’s toy rat terrier, Molly.  I did a few wood working chores around my parent’s house and helped them set up a new computer. 

Then, as God just so happened to have it, on Saturday June 2, Heather and I were able to witness the ordination of a good friend, Steve.  Steve and his wife, Laura, were our next-door neighbors when we were in seminary.  Steve also worked alongside me at the same teaching church, Beaverdam, which was also where the ordination was.  While at the ordination service I saw several old friends I didn’t expect to see.  But while the ordination service was a great blessing, it also contained one of the lowest points of my trip.  The postlude was played following the service.  It was “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  I was singing along to it as we processed to the rear of the church up until I got to the line “Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.”  You see, “tomorrow” was when I would be leaving my family again.  I broke down and cried right there in the middle of the sanctuary.  Leaving my family was terribly difficult.

But after our time in Michigan we were on our way to Blue Springs, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City to spend some time with Heather’s family.  While I didn’t spend a large amount of time in Blue Springs, I did keep busy.  I did everything from making a hammock chair stand and a mailbox post to attending a Christian Business Men’s Association breakfast and having some heart to heart conversations with my father-in-law.  At the Christian Business Men’s Association breakfast I had the opportunity to hear the stories of several men, and the joys and frustrations that they had.  But perhaps most significantly, for me at least, I had the privilege of knowing that every Tuesday morning this group of men prays for me and my family.  That in and of itself moved me deeply.

But, moving right along, it was soon time for me to attend General Synod.  Heather and her mother along with Sophie drove me up to Pella, Iowa, where, while it was difficult to leave Heather and Sophie for five days, I had one of my best experiences in recent memory.

Before I get ahead of myself in sharing with you my experiences at General Synod, I should probably briefly describe what General Synod is.  Well, to start at the beginning, Bentheim Reformed Church, along with 930 other churches in the US and Canada, is a member of the RCA, or the Reformed Church in America.  As a denomination we are quite small, found mostly in areas where the Dutch settled in New York, Michigan, Iowa, Washington State, and California, but broadly we fit under the umbrella of “Reformed” which includes the Christian Reformed Church, the Protestant Reformed Church, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Church in the United States, the United Reformed Church, and important to our discussion at this Synod the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa and the Uniting Reformed Church of South Africa, as well as all Presbyterian churches and many, many more, some of which you can find on World Alliance of Reformed Churches’ website.  So while our denomination may be small, our theology is held in common with a great number of Christians.

What makes Reformed theology reformed, you may wonder?  That’s a good question, and one which can not be done justice in a few short minutes, but broadly Reformed theology finds it’s beginning in the theology of John Calvin, a generation after Martin Luther’s stance against the practices of the Catholic Church in 16^th century.  Reformed creeds and confessions include the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athenasian Creed.

So that’s where we find ourselves in the RCA, the oldest denomination founded in North America.  Now the RCA has a Presbyterian form of church government.  Loosely, one could say that means it’s a democratic form of church government as opposed to the Episcopal or Catholic form of government, which resembles more that of a monarchy, or an independent government, in which each church is free to do what it sees to be appropriate. 

Our Church Government is made up of four bodies: the consistory, the classis, the regional synod, and the general synod.  You are likely familiar with what a consistory is.  Bentheim Reformed Church has a consistory which consists of the deacons, elders, and the minister of word and sacrament.

Then there are the classes.  Bentheim Reformed Church is a member of the Zeeland Classis, which is one of forty some RCA classes.  Zeeland Classis loosely includes all of the RCA churches in Zeeland, Hamilton, North of Holland, and part of Hudsonville.  Above that Zeeland Classis is a member of the Synod of the Great Lakes, which loosely includes all of the RCA churches in Western Michigan.  There are 8 Regional Synods in the USA and Canada.  Which finally brings us to the General Synod, which includes every RCA church in the US and Canada.  The General Synod meets annually with an equal number of elder and minister delegates representing each of the regional synods and classes.  And that’s how I found myself on the campus of Central College in Pell, Iowa on June 7 through 12.

Broadly, our meeting could be broken down into 3 categories: praise and worship, reports from different ministries of the RCA, and the actual business of decision-making.  I found my time there to be encouraging and uplifting. 

So, where does “Built on a Rock” fit into all of this?  you might ask.  Well, let me read Matthew 7:24-27, and then I’ll explain.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.  ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

Let me start off by saying that I love the RCA.  I love its history, and I love what I believe will be its future.  The RCA is in the middle of a 10-year program called “Our Call” which includes intentional efforts toward church multiplication, revitalization, discipleship, leadership, and mission.  Exciting strides are being made in each of these areas, perhaps most notable is the RCA’s effort to plant 100 new churches by 2013, a goal which they’re ahead of schedule on.

But having said that, let me say that if you’re building your house on the RCA, or any other denomination for that matter, you’re building your house on sand.  While the RCA is striving for unity, it has to admit that there are deep divisions on issues that many find to be foundational to their faith.  Many are for this, or against that… and the level of distrust amidst our denomination at this time is great.  Our denomination is a denomination that has to learn to truly love.  While I love and pray for the RCA, and while I encourage you to love and pray for the RCA, don’t build your house on the RCA.  It’s shifting sand.

While I don’t know as much about the Synod of the Great Lakes, I can tell you I love the Synod of the Great Lakes.  And likewise I love the Zeeland Classis, but I also have to say, don’t build your house on the Zeeland Classis.  I know first hand how dysfunctional and hurtful classes can be.  As I read my e-mail from Pella, Iowa, I could tell that there was a great deal of pain and hurt in the Columbia-Greene Classis, the classis where my membership is currently held.  Some have been hurt by what was said.  Others have been hurt by what was not said.  The Columbia-Greene classis is a group of Christian churches, but they’re churches in need of a great deal of healing.  So while I love and pray for the Zeeland Classis, and while I encourage you to love and pray for the Zeeland Classis, don’t build your house on the Zeeland Classis.  It’s shifting sand.

Then comes biological family, church family, and other friends.  I don’t know about you, but when I love, I love deeply.  That’s true when it comes to my family.  That’s true when it comes to Heather’s family.  That’s true when it comes to this congregation and the congregation at Beaverdam.  There are many people who hold a very special place in my heart, and when I leave them it causes me a great deal of pain.  But while I love my biological family, and I love my church family, and I love my friends, and I encourage you to do the same, don’t build your house on these people because they all can be shifting sand.

And when I reflect on Ryan and Ashleigh’s marriage I reflect on my own love for my wife whom I would do almost anything for her.  The union which God has given us is truly a gift.  I love my wife, and if you’re married, I encourage you to love your spouse, but don’t build your house on your spouse because they can be shifting sand.

But when I got back from my trip, there were 7 young men who made a confession.  They professed their faith in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And there are those who would say that they didn’t really understand what faith is all about.  And there will be times where they, and probably times for each of us, when we ask ourselves if we really know what we believe.  Maybe we’ll wonder if we were being genuine when we professed our faith, or if we were just going through the motions.  If I can give you just a couple words of advice, don’t build your confession on just one day.  If your faith is built only on one day, you can look back at it someday and say, “I was young and foolish then.  I thought I needed God back then, but now I know better.” 

Instead, build your faith on the rock.  And what is the rock?  The passage I read earlier says the rock is the word of Christ and acting on it.  I imagine you all have a rock at home.  You may have even taken it with you this evening.  Perhaps you were given a rock as a gift… or maybe you picked up a rock somewhere along the way.  I hope you treasure your rock.  God’s word, the Bible, is the Rock.  There are A LOT of things you can build your life on, and not all of them are bad.  You can build you life on family, on hobbies, on organizations you belong to, on things you do here at the church… you can build your life on just about anything.  But building on anything other than God’s Word, in time, can only disappoint.  It’s not to say that these things can’t be significant.  But things have to be in their right place.  Priorities have to be placed in the right places.  If you build on God and his Word first, it will be much easier to build the other things on top of that.

Build your faith on God’s Word.  Let it lead you.  Let it Guide you.  Let IT be your foundation, even if everything else seems to crumble away.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.