After Noah, everyone’s family were “settlers” at some point. The term is politically and racially charged...and that’s why it’s used. Much of what we see from denominational offices and ministry initiatives is liberal “white guilt” management with little application of the gospel.
Like many responsible white pastors, I ‘did the work’ in 2020. I read the books. I had the conversations. I examined my ‘whiteness.’ If the Church can’t realize in 2023 that this kind of racial and ethnic segregation is evil, we are losing when it comes to being “shrewd as serpents.”
I am a longtime member of the CRC and very interested in reading your thoughts. Thank you for sharing. Are you communicating directly with a representative/the editor of The Banner? And/or from the CRCNA itself? I think a dialogue would be interesting and of great value.
This actually started as a discussion I was having with the leadership of my local church. I gathered this information and brought it to them with the purpose of asking them if our church and they as elders found these things biblically supportable and was it something that our church believed. I wanted to have that understanding as I decided whether or not I was going to become a member of the church.
Those discussions kind of broke down when our pastor accepted a call at another church. So, when that happened, I decided I might as well throw this out to a wide audience and hopefully hear from other CRC churches and members as to whether the things I am seeing on the denomination website and in the Banner are normative for the denomination and something that is considered accepted teaching.
I agree that a dialogue with the editor of the Banner could be interesting and beneficial, and perhaps I will pursue that in the new year when I'm less busy at my work. But, at the same time, I wonder if that discussion would be more beneficial if it were conducted by an actual CRC member which, at this point, I'm not. Part of my question is "How much does the Banner speak for the denomination?" and I don't know that talking to Mr. Chong would actually answer that question.
After Noah, everyone’s family were “settlers” at some point. The term is politically and racially charged...and that’s why it’s used. Much of what we see from denominational offices and ministry initiatives is liberal “white guilt” management with little application of the gospel.
Like many responsible white pastors, I ‘did the work’ in 2020. I read the books. I had the conversations. I examined my ‘whiteness.’ If the Church can’t realize in 2023 that this kind of racial and ethnic segregation is evil, we are losing when it comes to being “shrewd as serpents.”
I am a longtime member of the CRC and very interested in reading your thoughts. Thank you for sharing. Are you communicating directly with a representative/the editor of The Banner? And/or from the CRCNA itself? I think a dialogue would be interesting and of great value.
This actually started as a discussion I was having with the leadership of my local church. I gathered this information and brought it to them with the purpose of asking them if our church and they as elders found these things biblically supportable and was it something that our church believed. I wanted to have that understanding as I decided whether or not I was going to become a member of the church.
Those discussions kind of broke down when our pastor accepted a call at another church. So, when that happened, I decided I might as well throw this out to a wide audience and hopefully hear from other CRC churches and members as to whether the things I am seeing on the denomination website and in the Banner are normative for the denomination and something that is considered accepted teaching.
I agree that a dialogue with the editor of the Banner could be interesting and beneficial, and perhaps I will pursue that in the new year when I'm less busy at my work. But, at the same time, I wonder if that discussion would be more beneficial if it were conducted by an actual CRC member which, at this point, I'm not. Part of my question is "How much does the Banner speak for the denomination?" and I don't know that talking to Mr. Chong would actually answer that question.
Thank you for your reply and thoughtful consideration. I’m glad you are open to a dialogue and I hope there’s a way for that to happen in the future.