Classis Michigan Classis Michigan
8th Meeting Agenda Classis Michigan Classis Michigan
8th Meeting AgendaOfficers of the Day
| Chairman | Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen |
| Vice-Chairman | Rev. Phil Vos |
| Clerk | Rev. W. H. Oord |
| Treasurer | Mr. Clarence Kamstra |
| Church | Minister |
| Allendale | Rev. Mark Zylstra |
| Alto – Grace | Rev. Peter Adams |
| Byron Center – Covenant | Rev. Steve McGee |
| Caledonia – Trinity | Rev. Brian Vos |
| Dutton | Rev. Paul Murphy |
| Eastmanville | Rev. Steve De Boer |
| Grand Rapids – Beverly | Rev. Casey Freswick |
| Grand Rapids – Walker | Rev. Joel Vander Kooi |
| Hudsonville – Cornerstone | Rev. Tim Perkins |
| Jenison – Bethel | Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen |
| Kalamazoo – Covenant | Rev. Phil Vos |
| Olive Center – Faith | Rev. W. H. Oord |
9:00 - finish with fifteen minute coffee breaks at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm; meal breaks at 12 noon to 1:00 pm and 5:00 to 6:00 pm.
a. Clerk's Report
b. Treasurer's Report
c. Church Visitors' Report
The Council of the Bethany United Reformed Church of Wyoming, MI overtures Classis to overture Synod with the following:
The Clerk of the Federation shall give a quarterly report to each church with the news of the Federation. This quarterly report would include news about new churches that join the federation, pastors accepting calls, new building projects, changes of address of churches, retirement of pastors, pastors joining the URC from other denominations, men granted licensure, the results of candidacy and ordination exams, new missionaries called, federation financial update, special local congregational needs, etc. This information should be given to the clerk of each church.
Grounds:
1. This information would help accomplish one of the original intentions of the United Reformed Church of North America to encourage fellowship with other like-minded churches.
2. The growth of the Federation and the acceptance of Reformed pastors to serve in the Federation would be an encouragement to the families who, in some cases, left family and friends to join the Federation.
3. This knowledge would possibly encourage other churches who are having apprehensions about joining the Federation.
4. The Bible encourages us to pray for churches who are struggling in various ways and to rejoice with those who are honored. I Cor. 12:26.
Done in Consistory on November 6, 2000
/s/ Gerald Rozema, Clerk
The Consistory of the Allendale United Reformed Church respectfully overtures Classis Michigan to overture Synod to adopt the following statements regarding the interpretation of Scripture and more specifically, interpreting the creation account of Genesis:
1. Synod affirms and subscribes to the Bible as the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. [Confession of Faith, Arts. 3,4,5] We therefore believe that the Scriptures, and more specifically, Genesis, gives an authentic, although not exhaustive, history of creation. We believe that the sovereign God created all things out of nothing by the Word of His Power, in the space of six days, and all very good. [Ps. 33:6, John 1:1-3, Hebrews 11:3, 2 Peter 3:5]
2. Synod affirms that the whole creation was accomplished in six ordinary days [Gen. 1:3-2:2, Ex. 20:11]. The creation days are clearly defined in Scripture as each being composed of a period of darkness and a period of light, and as each having evening and morning. [Gen. 1:5b, 8b,13, 19, 23, 31b]
3. Synod affirms that all plants and animals and all living things were created "after their own kind" [Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25] The body of man, the crown of creation, was formed immediately by God from the dust of the earth [Gen. 2:7, Eccl. 12:7], and the woman of the rib of man, "after the image and the likeness of God." [Gen. 1:26, 27; Belgic Confession Art. 14]
4. Synod affirms that the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis is a straightforward, accurate and historical narrative showing the origin of all things including the human race, whereas the more specific focus of the account of creation in Chapter 2 of Genesis is the history of the first man and woman.
5. Synod rejects any method of Biblical interpretation that posits a contradiction between the account of creation in Genesis Chapter 1 and the account in Genesis Chapter 2.
6. Synod rejects any method of Biblical interpretation that views the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 as a literary figure of speech or a poetic device providing a pedagogical framework for affirming that God created all things.
7. Synod reject any method of Biblical interpretation that espouses either a non-chronological or a non-historical view of the days mentioned in Genesis 1.
8. Synod reject any readings of the creation account that reinterprets the meaning of words from the "ordinary, natural sense" without weighty exegetical warrant.
Grounds:
1. Different methods of interpreting the creation account of Genesis challenge the view historically held by the churches. These differences among us imperil the peace and unity of the churches in the federation and therefore the matter must be addressed by the churches.
2. Any interpretation of Scripture that challenges or rejects the natural, ordinary meaning of the words of Scripture without weighty exegetical warrant minimizes our doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture.
3. Any exegetical principles applied to interpreting the creation account must do justice to the grammatical/historical hermeneutic historically held and applied among us.
4. Any interpretation of Genesis 1 must adequately address the many specific historical details clearly revealed in that part of Scripture, for example:
a] that the creation was accomplished supernaturally by a series of divine "fiats", that is "by the word," not by way of a process but immediately;
b] that each of the "six days" is clearly distinguished by "evening and morning" as well as by its numbering.;
c] that each of the six days follow in the sequence of those numbers.
5. Any interpretation of Genesis must adequately address, and not contradict, the clear statement in Exodus 20 on the fourth commandment that God created the world in six days, and instituted the Sabbath day rest on the seventh.
Respectfully Submitted by
The Consistory of the Allendale URC
/s/ Gary Fisher, President
Dale Oosterbaan, Clerk
November 7, 2000
The Council of Covenant United Reformed Church respectfully and urgently requests Classis Michigan to adopt this overture of Covenant United Reformed Church and to forward it as its own to the forthcoming Synod of the United Reformed Churches to be held in June 2001 at Escondido, CA. The overture petitions Classis Michigan to petition Synod to adopt the following declarations with regards to interpreting Scripture and more specifically, interpreting the creation account of Genesis:
1. Synod declare that: We affirm that the sovereign God created all things of nothing by the word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good [Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 9]
2. Synod declare that: We affirm that the six creation days of Genesis 1 are clearly defined in Scripture as each being composed of a period of darkness and a period of light, as each having a morning and an evening, and are presented as following chronologically one after the other. [Gen. 1:5b, 8b, 13, 19, 23, 31b; Ex. 20:19]
3. Synod declare that: We affirm that all plants and animals and all living things were created "after their own kind" [Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25]. The body of the first man, Adam, was formed immediately by God from the dust of the earth, and the body of the first woman, Eve, of the rib of man. [Belgic Confession Art. 14, Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 17]
4. Synod declare that: We affirm that the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis is a straightforward, accurate, and historical narrative showing the origin of all things including the human race; whereas the more specific focus of the account of creation in Chapter 2 of Genesis is the history of the first man and woman.
5. Synod declare that: We reject any method of Biblical interpretation that posits a contradiction between the account of creation in Genesis Chapter 1 and the account in Genesis Chapter 2.
6. Synod declare that: We reject the view that the days of the creation week in Genesis 1 are a literary figure of speech or a poetic device providing a pedagogical framework for affirming that God created all things.
7. Synod declare that: We reject all non-chronological views and all non-historical views of the six creation days mentioned in Genesis 1.
Grounds:
1. Genesis 1 is divinely inspired prose which relates actual history. It is sufficiently clear and understandable, in the context of the book of Genesis and of the whole Scripture, to make the affirmations above.
2. "The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture [which is not manifold, but one], it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly." [Westminster Conf. of Faith I.9]
3. There is no place in Scripture which speaks more clearly concerning the history of the creation of the universe than does the first chapter of Genesis. If ground [1] above is true, and if it is also true that [2] "the true and full sense" of Genesis I "is not manifold, but one," then it follows that the interpretation of Genesis 1 popularly known as the "Day/Framework" theory is false.
Respectfully submitted by
The Council of Covenant URC of Kalamazoo
/s/ Henry Visser, Vice-president
Gerrit Kalkman, Clerk
November 7, 2000
a. Concept Minutes
b. Date and Place for the next meeting [Kalamazoo URC would be next in the rotation.]
c. Thanks to host church
d. Prayer
e. Adjournment
The council of Bethel United Reformed Church overtures Classis Michigan, meeting January 9, 2001, to overture Synod 2001 to add the following statement to the mandate for the Committee for Ecumenical Relations and Church Unity:
"When the committee is asked to present the theological position of the URCNA on a topic on which the URCNA has not officially formulated a position, the committee shall report the request to the following Synod and proceed according to Synod's instruction. The committee shall not present an "unofficial" position of the URCNA."
Grounds:
1. An "unofficial" position may in fact NOT be the position of the URCNA, thereby providing a false impression of our federation to others;
2. An "unofficial" position has little meaning. It is, therefore, of little use to a denomination that might be considering ecumenical relations with the URCNA;
3. Articulating a theological position of our federation belongs to the churches federatively or an ad hoc committee appointed by them to do so. Such work does not belong to standing committees.
Done in Council September 11, 2000
Gaylord Haan
Clerk of Council
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