The CRCNA: Reformed ... and Ever Reforming?

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Many languages rang out at this year’s synod. One familiar Latin phrase caught my attention: ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, secundum verbum Dei. It means “a reformed church, ever subject to reform, according to the word of God.” I grew up with Latin, a Catholic altar boy. While studying Latin at a Catholic university, I was led into the Reformed faith. That Latin expression of Reformed identity is dear to this now-Reformed pastor’s heart.

My position as this year’s synodical Parliamentarian afforded me a close view of the deliberations. Those familiar Latin words stayed with me as synod addressed the important matters on its agenda.

This synod resolved that the CRCNA would dedicate itself to the work of planting new churches, a forward-looking, prayer-grounded plan that generated excitement and energy.

Less forward-looking, to my mind, was synod’s decision not to form a committee to study the nature of the church. That felt like a lost opportunity. Synod’s own agenda attested to many unresolved questions about the character and calling of the church. Our church faces serious new challenges, both internal and external, in this current moment. A well-composed committee engaging in deep and careful biblical reflection might have provided resources that we need.

Another decision that felt short-sighted to me was removing Our World Belongs to God from the Covenant for Officebearers. The historic confessions rightly define our theological center, but Our World Belongs to God contains and promotes our more recent theological and ethical discernment. It reflects the more positive, world-engaging posture advanced by Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. It bears witness to such things as our collective commitment to the sanctity of all human life, our repudiation of racism, our engagement in creation care, and our ongoing pursuit of justice and truth. I wondered: is our covenantal subscription to those things now optional?

I’ll take it one step further: do we still functionally believe that our church and our tradition are to be “always reforming”? This is the self-reflective, self-critical genius of our tradition, and I deeply cherish that theological humility. We always stand willing to examine ourselves—and to re-examine even our most foundational theological statements—in the light of God’s Word. We have always believed that God’s Word is infallible, but that our tradition is not. I find myself wondering if that’s changing.

Catholics elevate their tradition to the same level as Scripture (witness the most recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas). I appreciate that document’s exploration of AI and its implications for humanity, but recoil at the elevation of human wisdom to the same level as Scripture. At this past synod, I heard far more appeals to the authority of the creeds and confessions than to the authority of Scripture. That made this former Catholic cringe. Our Reformed confessions accord an utterly unique sufficiency and authority to the Word of God.

As the “confessionalists” become the dominant voice in our church today, I can’t help but wonder if the semper reformanda (ever subject to reform) quality of our tradition is at-risk. But I have an even deeper unease about our trajectory: if the confessions, and not the Word of God, are the ultimate thing we appeal to, then the very essence of our Reformed character (Reformed according to the Word of God) is also at risk.

My hope and prayer for the CRCNA is not that we set our sights on recovering some historic purity, but that we press on to become the church God is calling us to be. Uncertainty generates nostalgia; God’s word generates hope. May our church remain ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, secundum verbum Dei.