Manual Of Christian Reformed Church Government Forms

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REFORMED CHURCHES. The Reformed branch of the Protestant Reformation yielded two main streams in North America. Presbyterians, the English-speaking expression of Reformed Christianity, have always had a larger presence in American history thanks in part to language and culture. The second stream came to the United States by way of northern Europe, where the term 'Reformed' signifies essentially the same thing as 'Presbyterian' in Britain. Both Reformed and Presbyterians follow the reforms launched most notably by John Calvin in the sixteenth century. Theologically, they stress human depravity and dependence on divine mercy for salvation. Liturgically, they practice a simple form of worship that stresses the centrality of Scripture. Governmentally, these churches follow a presbyterian order that grants authority to elders through a series of graded ecclesiastical assemblies. For Reformed churches these are the consistory at the congregational level, the classis at the regional, and the synod for national purposes.

This course was written originally in Spanish for the preparation of leadership candidates in the Quito, Ecuador Presbytery of the Presbyterian Reformed Churches of Ecuador. The idea is a self-reproducing system in which the teacher uses a manual he reproduces as he teaches and gives to his students. Church Covenant, a beautiful summary of Christian duty. Covenant-breaking, a general name for various public offences. Neglect of duties arising from Church relation. Offence with the Church and non-submission to majority. Leaving place at the Table of the Lord because some member has injured us. Reckless failures to meet contracts.

The first Dutch Reformed congregation was established in 1628 in New York City. The surrounding areas were centers of Dutch Calvinist strength throughout the colonial period. These churches remained generally uniform in their Dutch identity and piety, even after the English gained control of New York, until a new and more enthusiastic form of devotion began to divide ministers and laity alike. The revivals of the First Great Awakening fueled these tensions to the point that two identifiable parties emerged—the conferentie, who championed the order of inherited Dutch ways, and the coetus party, who favored zeal and autonomy from the Old World. By 1772, church leaders had effected a compromise that allowed the American churches greater autonomy from Dutch oversight while retaining the Dutch language for worship. Eventually, this led to the founding in 1792 of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) the oldest and largest of the Dutch Reformed bodies.

A new wave of Dutch immigration in the mid-nineteenth century, however, created strains on the established church, especially notable when American practices did not line up with those in the Netherlands. The recent immigrants became frustrated with the perceived laxness of the RCA and in 1857 founded the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), the second-largest Dutch Reformed denomination. In the 1920s, a debate in the CRC over worldliness and ecumenical relations precipitated the 1924 split that produced the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. In 1996, a number of congregations left the CRC over the issue of women's ordination to found the United Reformed Churches in North America. Subsequent twentieth-century migrations from the Netherlands have yielded several other Dutch Reformed denominations—the Free Reformed Churches, the Canadian and American Reformed Churches, the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, and the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations.

German and Hungarian Reformed denominations have also been part of the ecclesiastical mosaic of the United States. The former traces its roots back to the formation of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS), a synod that first convened in 1793. The RCUS blossomed during the mid-nineteenth century under the theological leadership of John Williamson Nevin (1803– 1886) and Philip Schaff (1819–1893), both of whom taught at the denomination's seminary in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. From the beginning of the twentieth century, the RCUS participated actively in Protestant ecumenical conversations, and in 1934 joined the Evangelical Synod of North America to become the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the denomination in which brothers Reinhold (1892–1971) and H. Richard Niebuhr (1894– 1962) ministered. In 1957, this body merged with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ. The German Reformed tradition continues in another denomination with the name Reformed Church in the United States, a body that refused to join the merger of 1934. First called the RCUS, Eureka Classis, the regional association of churches in the Dakotas and northern Iowa, these congregations eventually dropped the geographical descriptor to be simply the RCUS.

The history of the Hungarian Reformed churches is bound up with the German Reformed. The small number of Hungarian Reformed made the construction of a formal association of churches difficult. Consequently, from 1890 they received oversight from the RCUS. In 1904, the Hungarian Reformed churches withdrew from the RCUS and came under the supervision of the Reformed Church in Hungary. After World War I (1914–1918), maintaining relations with the church in the motherland became difficult. Some of the Hungarian Reformed churches reaffiliated with the RCUS and eventually became an ethnic synod within first the Evangelical and Reformed Church and then within the United Church of Christ. Other congregations in 1924 formed the Free Magyar Reformed Church in America. In 1958 this body adopted the name Hungarian Reformed Church in America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Balmer, Randall H. A Perfect Babel of Confusion: Dutch Religion and English Culture in the Middle Colonies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Bratt, James D. Dutch Calvinism in Modern America: A History of a Conservative Subculture.Grand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1984.

Fabend, Firth Haring. Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2000.

Gunnemann, Louis H. The Shaping of the United Church of Christ: An Essay in the History of American Christianity. New York: United Church Press, 1977.

Parsons, William T. The German Reformed Experience in Colonial America. Philadelphia: United Church Press, 1976.

Piepkorn, Arthur Carl. Profiles in Belief: The Religious Bodies of the United States and Canada. New York: Harper and Row, 1977.

D. G.Hart

See alsoCalvinism; United Church of Christ.

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Christian Reformed Church Elmhurst

Biblically, the church is described in numerous ways. On one hand, we observe that the local church is a living organism—an expression of the body of Christ. On the other, we know that the church is an organization set up by Christ and regulated by the guidelines commanded throughout the Scriptures. As a divinely commissioned organization, God has ordained leadership to spur on growth, purity, outreach, and holiness. Throughout history, three primary systems of church government have dominated the ideological spectrum of Christian leadership.

Episcopal Government

Manual Of Christian Reformed Church Government Forms 2017

As early as the Apostolic Father Ignatius (the bishop of Antioch until the beginning of the 2nd century AD), solitary leadership structures flourished, and bishop-oriented churches spread throughout the Christian world. The church has frequently mimicked the political constructs of the presiding culture, with its strengths and flaws. Evidenced by the numerous writings of the church fathers, solitary church leadership (also known as episcopal church government*) strongly correlated with the Roman Empire’s leadership. As the emperor was supreme over the physical, the bishop/elder/pastor was supreme concerning the spiritual, presiding over all others (deacons and members). Episcopal-style churches still abound today, primarily throughout the Roman Catholic Church. While this form of government does prove efficient, corruption is always a danger, and the heirarchical and territorial aspects of the polity can be troublesome.

Congregational Government

Christian Reformed Church Visalia

With a renewed emphasis on the priesthood of every believer, congregational church government has dominated the Protestant church. This form of church government, most often found in Baptist churches, usually maintains the presence and title of elders/pastors and deacons/trustees, but the power resides with the members of the congregation, who vote concerning yearly budgets, church programs, and leadership appointments. Divisiveness can be a negative result of this format, but the added accountability can stave off blatant corruption.

Christian reformed church communion

Presbyterian Government

One other popular system is the presbyterian church government.** As indicated below, this simply means that the church is lead by the eldership (who are supported by the deacons). The church body may have limited say into the major decisions of the church, but those who meet the biblical qualifications for leadership share the weight of power. Though this system can foster a “them and us” attitude between the congregation and the elders, it produces a balanced level of efficiency and accountability.

Reformed Church In America

At The Moody Church, we maintain a system somewhat similar to a Presbyterian-style of church leadership because we believe that this structure is biblically preferable. Using the terms elder and bishop interchangeably, the church government described and commissioned in the early church was marked by a plurality of elders (Titus 1:5-7; Acts 11:30; 14:23; 20:17-18; Philippians 1:1). However, we must not insist that all other churches be like ours, but rather acknowledge the rich history and continuing value of churches which adhere to other systems of leadership.

Christian Reformed Church North America

* The word “episcopal” is a derivative of the Greek word that translates into English as “bishop.” The use of this term should not be confused with the Episcopal denomination, a particular branch of Protestant Christianity that employs an episcopal church government.

** “Presbyterian” is a derivative of the Greek word for “elder.” Many churches, other than the Presbyterian denominations, employ a Presbyterian church government.

Christian Reformed Church San Diego

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