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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…
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ENDING UGLY
ENDING UGLY For the second year in a row, synod—the 2023 synod of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC)—ended ugly. This may be an omen for the life of the denomination. The synod clock ticked towards 3:00 in the afternoon, 3:00 PM being the deadline for adjourning synod. There were flights to catch, schedules to keep.…
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TOWARD A HERMENEUTIC OF THE CONFESSIONS II
The Harry Boer Gravamen In a previous post (Toward a Hermeneutic of the Confessions I), I made two broad points about the Reformed confessions. The first addressed the status of the confessions as they now stand in the church to which I belong, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). What I said was that the confessions…
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HOLD THOSE GRAVAMINA: WHY FILING A GRAVAMEN MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT MOVE FOR THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH SYNOD 2022
If Synod 2022 of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has done anything at all, it has popularized an obscure Latin-based word, “gravamen.” The word is used in the law to mean the weighty part of a complaint, from gravis, “heavy.” But that’s not how it is used in the CRC church order. In the CRC universe,…