The Hesed Project CRC recognizes that people are in different places on this journey. We became aware of this endeavour put forth by Better Together and thought it might be helpful for those of you who want to take action, but are not sure what to do.
A Communication to Synod 2024
Background
In the wake of Synods 2022 and 2023, Better Together recognizes that many CRC congregations are struggling with the serious impasse that now exists between their congregation and the denomination, resulting from the declarations about same-sex relationships that have been given “confessional status.” For some churches, the heart of the difficulty is differing understandings of marriage and human sexuality that arise from different interpretations of Scripture. These differences have been highlighted by Synod 2022’s declaration that all same-sex sexual activity is sinful, including same-sex sexual activity within a faithful, lifelong, and legal marriage.
For other churches, the heart of the impasse is Synod 2022’s decision to give “confessional status” to this declaration, thereby putting it on the same level as all doctrines contained in the creeds and confessions of the Christian Reformed Church. Conferring confessional status requires all CRC members to agree with this teaching and all officebearers to explicitly bind themselves to this teaching when they sign the Covenant for Officebearers.
For other churches, the greatest challenge is not just the confessional status of the declaration, but the push to search out any violations of confessional orthodoxy and purge the denomination of any dissenting voices. Instead of allowing space for honest differences of biblical interpretation, Synod has instructed classes to find, and “guide into compliance,” churches and officebearers with convictions that differ from the synodical declaration. This general approach raises concerns about the direction and spirit of the denomination as a whole.
The full communication is available to read or download by clicking the button below.