I find it very interesting how you noted that the Denomination/Synod had been moving to address these items, but that the culture of the local church not being involved/ignoring Grand Rapids, was such a hurdle. One issue our denomination has been suffering from is faithful ministers (or congregations) that act like they are Baptist, and do the minimal work at Classis/Synodical level. Certainly, local ministry needs to remain the priority, but we are not congregationalist, but in covenant with one another!
I think at times the congregation that I currently serve was a bit hands off (how ever, they did have a history of engaging in denominational debates 30-40 years ago too). But, with some intentional leading and care, they have re-engaged on some denomination matters (not that any one congregation can address everything, we all have to prioritize and make measured changes).
In this case, it was very weird. On the one hand, they seemed to love being a CRC church and were horrified at the idea of defunding or in some way disciplining some of these erring denominational entities, seeming to think that doing that would be breaking their covenant with the denomination, but at the same time they didn't seem to be particularly plugged into the denomination or knowledgeable about synodical decisions, church order, or the CRC's confessions. It didn't really make much sense.
I find it very interesting how you noted that the Denomination/Synod had been moving to address these items, but that the culture of the local church not being involved/ignoring Grand Rapids, was such a hurdle. One issue our denomination has been suffering from is faithful ministers (or congregations) that act like they are Baptist, and do the minimal work at Classis/Synodical level. Certainly, local ministry needs to remain the priority, but we are not congregationalist, but in covenant with one another!
I think at times the congregation that I currently serve was a bit hands off (how ever, they did have a history of engaging in denominational debates 30-40 years ago too). But, with some intentional leading and care, they have re-engaged on some denomination matters (not that any one congregation can address everything, we all have to prioritize and make measured changes).
In this case, it was very weird. On the one hand, they seemed to love being a CRC church and were horrified at the idea of defunding or in some way disciplining some of these erring denominational entities, seeming to think that doing that would be breaking their covenant with the denomination, but at the same time they didn't seem to be particularly plugged into the denomination or knowledgeable about synodical decisions, church order, or the CRC's confessions. It didn't really make much sense.