New podcast: Reformed Church in America split points to rising tensions in Calvin country

Growing up as a Texas Baptist (long ago) I was predestined to know next to nothing about what some have called the great “northern kingdom” of American evangelicalism. Yes, we can debate whether “evangelical” is an accurate description of the Calvinist world based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and other cities and towns in the Midwest.

I had to learn some of this lingo when I moved to Central Illinois and then when I broke into religion-beat work in Charlotte, N.C., a city with every imaginable form of Presbyterian and Reformed church life.

As I mentioned in this week’s “Crossroads” podcast (CLICK HERE to listen), I quickly learned that the Reformed Church in America was a rather centrist flock, while the Christian Reformed Church was much more conservative, in terms of doctrine and culture. I would not have called either of these bodies a “Mainline Protestant” denomination.

Things change. Eventually, the RCA started arguing about the familiar subjects that have divided so many religious bodies — biblical authority and sex. This leads us to a Religion News Service report: “Reformed Church in America splits as conservative churches form new denomination.” Here is the overture:

(RNS) — On New Year’s Day, 43 congregations of the Reformed Church in America split from the national denomination, one of the oldest Protestant bodies in the United States, in part over theological differences regarding same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.
The departure of the theologically conservative congregations to the new group, the Alliance of Reformed Churches, leaves some who remain in the RCA concerned for the denomination’s survival. Before the split, the nearly 400-year-old denomination had fewer than 200,000 members and 1,000 churches.
At least 125 churches from various denominations are in conversation with ARC leaders about joining.

“Various denominations?” Hold that thought.

United Methodist prelude: Small denomination faces its own split over Bible and sex

The Reformed Church in America, one of those small denominations that usually get little ink despite rich history and accomplishments, is set to celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2028. But what will the RCA consist of by then?

At an October 14-19 General Synod meeting in Tucson, Arizona, this venerable church will decide whether to split up.

Reporters can think of this as a prelude to the formal divorce that the huge United Methodist Church (UMC) is expected to approve next year. In both churches, the central problem is the dispute over proper Bible interpretation, especially on sexual morality.

The goal of this Memo is to sketch out a few basics for journalists who'll cover the RCA showdown, which was postponed from 2020 because of COVID-19. The United Methodists have faced similar legal delays, of course.

Like the UMC, the RCA (www.rca.org) has spent nearly half a century discussing its traditional teachings on marriage and sexuality, which shaped rules on same-sex marriages and ordinations. All sides have reached a consensus that the divide is unbridgeable and the status quo untenable.

In 2018 the RCA commissioned a study team to consider future options that included "grace-filled separation." In July, the team issued its final recommendations with a proposed process for splitting.

The report offers a different and unusual path that avoids formal schism by reorganizing RCA regional units ("classes," singular "classis") on the basis of "affinity" in belief rather than the usual geography, in effect creating two churches within a church. In yet another proposal. those staying within the RCA and those leaving would still cooperate in a new, non-denominational foreign mission agency.

In the schism plan, the RCA would change an existing policy and let any unhappy local congregation leave and keep ownership of its building and other assets. A request to depart would need three-fourths approval by the congregation's governing board and then three-fourths of voting members (two-thirds margins are the more common Protestant practice).

Then there are other hoops to jump through.