Peripatetic Pastor

Category: Theses on Denominational Life

  • WHAT WILL BE

    A Post Synod and Post Debate Reflection It’s been a tough week for many of us. Make that a tough month. Beginning with what in too many places is happening to the church. Those of us who are Christian Reformed sadly watched last month as the synod systemically took steps to push out long loyal…

  • WHAT’S NEXT: WISPS OF A DREAM

    Dwell not on former things; Ponder not the past. Look, I’m doing a new thing. It’s already sprouting up; do you not see it? (Isaiah 43:18-19a) I confess I do not yet see it, the new thing sprouting up. Perhaps it is still too early. Perhaps the past is too much with us, with me.…

  • RIP CRC

    “Jesus called [his disciples] over and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their big people rule over them, but not so among you. If anyone among you wants to be great, let them be your servant, and if anyone wants to be first, let them be your…

  • WHAT JEFFREY WEIMA GETS WRONG ABOUT THE FILM 1946: THE MISTRANSLATION THAT SHIFTED CULTURE

    It’s not often that Calvin Seminary professors review movies, but recently Dr. Jeffrey Weima, Professor of New Testament at Calvin Theology Seminary, did just that. The movie is a 2022 documentary, 1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted Culture, directed by Sharon Roggio.  The film alleges that by mistranslating a brace of Greek words in 1 Corinthians 6:9, the…

  • NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR SYNOD 2024: GRAVAMEN

    Synod 2024 of the Christian Reformed Church begins meeting in person on June 14. Until then and while synod is in session, I hope to offer a few notes and observations about the synodical process. This synod could mark the beginning of the end for the CRC or, perhaps, the beginning of something new. I…

  • WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED? COVENANT AS ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY

    A note for my readers: With this post, I draw to a conclusion a brief series of blog posts on what it means to be Reformed. These posts collectively are an attempt to retrieve some of what remains valuable in the Reformed tradition. There is much more to be done. Traditions must periodically be retrieved,…

  • WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED: THE REFORMED VIEW OF SCRIPTURE

    Traditions must sometimes be saved from those who claim them. In this series of posts, I’ve been asking the question, “What does it mean to be Reformed?” There are those who give ready answers to that question. Their answers might include the early 20th century acronym TULIP. Or penal substitutionary atonement. Or declaring that same…

  • WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED: THE GRAMMAR OF GOD’S GLORY

    When I began this post, the third in a series on what it means to be Reformed, I had in mind writing about a way of interpreting the scriptures sometimes called “the Reformed hermeneutic.” It is frequently said that Reformed people read the Bible differently from other Christians groups. I wanted to explore whether that’s…

  • WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED? THE REFORMED ACCENT

    A few weeks ago (it’s been a busy season for me), I started a short series of posts posing the question: what does it mean to be Reformed? This question is much mooted these days. I noted, for example, that the Calvin Theological Seminary promotional magazine, forum (yes, that’s how they write it), gave over its…

  • WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED?

    What does it mean to be Reformed? For several reasons—reasons I will lay out in a subsequent post—it’s an odd question. But if you hang around in the ecclesiastical circles which I frequent, you will hear it asked. Often. I recently received a promotional magazine from Calvin Seminary, a school I once attended.  featuring that question:…