Statement of the Committee for Foreign Churches of the Gereformeerde Gemeenten in Nederland

De Bilt, December 21, 1993

After the Committee for Foreign Churches of the Dutch congregations had had discussions in the Netherlands with both Dr. J. R. Beeke and some members of the congregation of Crescent Street in Grand Rapids, and some members of the moderamen of the latest Synod of the North American congregations, both parties agreed to continuing the discussions on the deposition of Dr. J. R. Beeke and the sad split in the North American congregations connected with it, provided that this discussion could take place in the United States.

With a view to the seriousness of the situation the Committee had thought it advisable to comply with this request. The Committee felt called upon to pay this visit to America in order to get a clearer insight into the decision-making concerning the deposition of Dr. J. R. Beeke, so that in accordance with its mandate from the General Synod it would be able to counsel the North American congregations. Besides the Committee deemed a further orientation necessary in order to be able to submit a report to the next General Synod in the Netherlands.

Therefore the Committee had discussions at Grand Rapids with the moderamen of the latest Synod on December 14 and 15. At the express request of the moderamen the investigatory committee which had submitted a report to the Synod of December 1992 concerning the difficulties arisen in the congregations took part in the discussions. After that the Committee had a meeting with Dr. J. R. Beeke and his consistory. To the satisfaction of the Committee, it was possible to have a meeting with both parties later on, which, according to the Committee, could be important to get a clearer picture of the situation.

During this meeting with both parties the thought occurred to the Committee that it might be possible to penetrate to the heart of the matter and get clarity on the questions whether there would be reasons which could make a rapprochement possible. Therefore it would be necessary that the consistory of Crescent Street should state that according to the rules of the Scriptures and the Church Order one ought to comply with the decisions of the Synod with the right of appeal. For during the discussions it had appeared clearly that the Synod had the impression that during the synodical meetings Dr. J. R. Beeke had not wanted to comply with synodical decisions, whereas everyone knows that there is a right of appeal. On the other hand it appeared during the discussions that Dr. J. R. Beeke and his consistory had had the impression that the Synod had preplanned his deposition as a minister, which was denied by the members present of the moderamen of that Synod.

Therefore the following question was put before the consistory of the Crescent Street congregation, “We ask for an unconditional “Yes” to the following question: Will you respect the decisions of the Synod, whatever they may be, with the right of appeal if it is not according to Scripture and Church Order?” For the consistory had declared not to have received the opportunity to deliberate among themselves on a similar question during the Synod. But now the consistory received ample time to discuss the question among themselves. From the consistory came the question whether in this way the conscience was bound. The answer was that the conscience could not be bound, but that as long as possible one had to go the ecclesiastical way. Besides there is a difference between things that are ecclesiastically binding and conscience-binding.

After having a meeting among themselves, the consistory answered not to be able to say “Yes,” but that it would state the following, “We will abide by all the decisions of the Synod wholeheartedly providing they do not bind the consciences by contradicting Scripture and Church Order.” From the discussion it did not become clear why the consistory could not say “Yes” to this question and brought up conscience. The answer of the consistory was deemed insufficient, because the meeting was of opinion that a condition was made, whereas it can be clear to everybody that there is a right of appeal with ecclesiastical decisions (Church Order of Dort, Article 31b).

The Committee was very disappointed by this course of action, because it had some expectation that after a wholehearted “Yes” of the consistory, the members present of the moderamen of the latest Synod would have been prepared to consider the question whether the Synod had not acted too hastily when making the decision to depose Dr. J. R. Beeke and his consistory.

Regrettably the Committee had to conclude that after this answer of the consistory, the discussion had come into an impasse. From both sides the remark came that the mutual trust is lacking. The Committee had wished wholeheartedly that the consistory would have declared itself willing to answer the above-mentioned question with “Yes,” and the others had been prepared to realize that they might have acted too rashly. Not that this would immediately have led to a reconciliation, but the possibility might have been opened to investigate underlying causes thoroughly in a responsible way in accordance with Church Order.

Only the General Synod in the Netherlands is authorized to determine with whom and how ecclesiastical correspondence can be maintained. Therefore it stands to reason that the present bond of correspondence remains. Whether a bond of correspondence should be entered into with the groups aligned with the Crescent Street consistory will be a matter of consideration for the General Synod in the Netherlands.

May the Lord have mercy on the North American congregations which are so sadly divided. He may grant the division will not spread and more congregations fall victims to these affairs. How terrible when families and congregations are torn apart. He may grant that we all may bow down at His feet as guilty people. Then all that is man’s falls away, and there will be room for the administration of the merits of Christ, who washed the feet of the disciples, and said, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

On behalf of the Committee for Foreign Churches in the Netherlands,
— Rev. A. B. van der Heiden
Secretary

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen