summary of Synod 2025

provided by ChatGPT                                                    (always double check & verify) 

"Synod 2025 of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), held June 13–19 at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario, addressed several significant issues affecting the denomination. Here's a summary of key decisions:(thebanner.org)

---

🔗 Ecumenical Relations

• Reformed Church in America (RCA): Synod affirmed the CRCNA's relationship with the RCA as a "church in communion," contingent upon RCA officebearers' willingness to sign the CRCNA's Covenant for Officebearers when required. This decision follows a review of the RCA's stance on human sexuality, noting that while the RCA officially holds the same convictions as the CRCNA, there is latitude within the RCA for differing practices. (thebanner.org)

• Alliance of Reformed Churches: Synod agreed to pursue a church-in-communion relationship with the Alliance of Reformed Churches, recognizing it as the closest ecumenical category of relationships the CRCNA has.(thebanner.org)

---

🏛️ Governance and Structure

• Office of General Secretary: Synod decided against creating a separate legal entity for the Office of General Secretary, citing recent leadership and structural changes that have addressed previous concerns.(thebanner.org)

• Loan Fund Governance: The Council of Delegates was granted authority to make changes to the mission and governance of the Christian Reformed Church Loan Fund, Inc., U.S., streamlining decision-making processes.(crcna.org)

• Ministry Reviews: Synod approved a guideline for conducting ministry reviews, aiming to enhance accountability and effectiveness within the denomination.(thebanner.org)

---

📖 Theological and Doctrinal Matters

• Bible Translation: The Bible Translation Committee recommended against using the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) for general worship, citing concerns about its translation methodology and faithfulness to the original texts. The ERV may be suitable for specific contexts like children's worship or devotional reading. (thebanner.org)

• Assisted Suicide: A task force report on assisted suicide reaffirmed the CRCNA's position against the practice, emphasizing compassionate palliative care and pastoral support for those facing suffering and end-of-life issues. (thebanner.org)

• Virtual Church: Synod acknowledged the potential of virtual churches to embody the three marks of a true church but emphasized the need for intentional planning, particularly regarding the administration of sacraments and church discipline. (thebanner.org)

---

🧭 Church Unity and Disagreement

• Covenant Community Toolkit: Synod tasked Pastor-Church Resources with developing a toolkit to help churches discern their hopes for covenant community, especially in light of potential covenant realignments. (hesedprojectcrc.org)

• Survey on Disagreement: The Office of the General Secretary was directed to create a survey to gather feedback from churches on how to navigate respectful disagreement within the denomination, with results to be shared transparently.(hesedprojectcrc.org)

---

🧱 Church Order and Discipline

• Confessional Alignment: Synod reinforced the requirement that all officebearers affirm the CRCNA's confessions without reservation. Those with reservations are expected to either align with the confessions, submit a confessional-revision gravamen, or resign from office. (christiancourier.ca)

---

These decisions reflect the CRCNA's ongoing efforts to address theological, structural, and relational challenges within the denomination. If you would like more detailed information on any of these topics, feel free to ask.(crcna.org) "

Audio: "What Do Muslims Think About Jesus? "

 https://castbox.fm/vb/818804882 

"DeVos family pledges millions, taps Ronna McDaniel to help GOP win Michigan |"

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/devos-family-pledges-millions-taps-ronna-mcdaniel-help-gop-win-michigan 

One of my favorite songs 🎵🎵

"When the Music Fades"

by Bonnie Knopf

 https://g.co/kgs/7aH3zBK 

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith✝️

Fight the Good

Fight of the Faith✝️!

Take hold of the

Eternal Life to which 

you were called 

when you made 

your Good Confession 

in the presence 

of many witnesses 

👍🙏☝️

         -1 Tim 6:12

Amen 🙏 👍" Hegseth Delivers a Perfect Response After Leftist Haters Bash Him for Hosting a Christian Prayer Service at Pentagon | "

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/watch-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-delivers-perfect-response/ 

"

It's interesting. I've gotten some criticism for hosting a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon yesterday," Hegseth told reporters. "We said it very publicly, we said it very proudly. Appealing to Heaven, to God, is a long-standing tradition in our military."

"I'm very proud that we're starting a monthly voluntary service at the Pentagon. George Washington was on bended knee with the troops, praying for God's providence and protection in that moment," he added. "Chaplains and ministers and Christians and people of faith across generations have prayed because of the business that we're in. The business of the 82nd Airborne…And we appeal to God"

Is this the answer to liberalized Xianity? "Orthodox Christianity: Young US men joining 'masculine' Russian churches"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30q5l8d4lro 

In other words 'Biblical Manhood': 

due to the liberalized church & seminary in America still being led astray by the hippy generation & trying to feminize young men 👎. The other problem is going too far in the opposite direction and becoming a form of overbearing 'toxic masculinity ' 👎. Try to find the 'Christly middle' ( my term, not in Websters) 

and everybody loved good ol' Cal Van Reken at the seminary !

 

real time: then there's Bob Knoor at the seminary who does something (nobody knows exactly what)

 

another English Professor in the mid 90's was Henry Baron

 

i actually had him for English 101 as a freshman, then later almost 10 years later I returned for a teaching degree and there he was, again, but it wasn't 101 

then there was Calvin Seminary : Bob Devries, Hank Zwaanstra, Roger Greenway, Sid Greidanus

 

one of my English professors was VandenBosch (aka "Anonymous Bosch") ,

 

The world is too much with us; 

late and soon,

Getting and spending,

 we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Memorial Day 2025

🕊️🕯️❤️✝️🇺🇸🪦🙏👶👼
#MemorialDay2025
https://youtube.com/shorts/4OyfTArfZ-E?si=V7y3lKLSZahVP7s6
🕊️🕯️❤️✝️🇺🇸🪦🙏👶👼

/calvin-university- breaks-ground-on- football - lacrosse -field

https://www.woodtv.com/ncaa/ncaa-football/calvin-university-breaks-ground-on-football-field/ 

These days "College English majors can't read -"

https://kittenbeloved.substack.com/p/college-english-majors-cant-read 

Gossip combined with ignorance is HIGHLY TOXIC 🚫👎

The unfortunate thing was that Steve Brinks and Rick deVries became friends at Notre Dame and they became gossip partners about things they really DIDN'T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND much about at all . Gossip combined with ignorance is HIGHLY TOXIC 🚫👎

Cc: Winny, Winnie 

CRC IN CRISIS "‘Change Is Necessary’: A Frank Picture of Rising Governance Costs and Diminishing Ministry Shares"

https://www.thebanner.org/news/2025/05/change-is-necessary-a-frank-picture-of-rising-governance-costs-and-diminishing

VOD 5.11.25

And Everyone

 who calls

 on the Name

 of the Lord 

will be Saved ✝️

     -Acts 2:21

I took a break from campus ✝️ ministry & went to Tahoe for a few days

>

Planned on hiking but there was still too much snow on the ground . Nonetheless, Most of the ski 🎿 resorts are closed for the season ( except Palisades, shown here). Palisades used to be called Squaw Valley & hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Do you remember that ?

I still found some nice places to explore even though they weren't long hiking trails.  The weather was really nice sunny and blue not too hot either ( 70's). 

6000 feet down below in Sacramento it was in the 90's.

 Would have loved to take a swim but of course the water is ice cold because it's all snow melt at this time of year. 

quick decision in Rome, wow! first-ever AMERICAN POPE ! They said it would never happen

some of you Protestants and CRCers are saying "Who cares, I'm not catholic" . Well, you should care. We're all part of the same Body of Christ ! Stay informed. PRay he's a good one. The Catholic church effects EVERYBODY ! #PrayTheNews 

https://www.the-sun.com/news/14194998/cardinal-new-pope/

"HISTORY has been made as the First American Pope will lead the Catholic church with outsider Robert Prevost taking up name of Leo XIV after less than 24 hours of secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.

The new Pope - known to many as "Father Bob" -  stepped out onto the balcony in the Vatican to cheering crowds as he greeted them by saying "peace be with you".

re "An Act of Spiritual Communion -" Holy Spirit Parish

https://holyspiritchurch.us/an-act-of-spiritual-communion/ 

For Protestants, 

In plain English: we can talk directly to God with simple earnestness 

"When we cannot attend Mass [or church, for Protestants] we can still make an Act of Spiritual Communion. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, a spiritual communion is "an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him." One good time to make a spiritual communion is while we are adoring Our Lord ✝️ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, but we can make them at any time of the day or night, even multiple times a day..."

does calvin still do the annual "bod book" ? did zuckerberg steal the name & change it to "facebook " ?

https://www.google.com/search?q=calvin+college+bodbook&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1076US1076&oq=calvin+college+bodbook&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCDM4NjhqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

• The "bod book" emerged as a nickname for the student directory at Calvin College (now Calvin University) in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
• The name likely arose from its usefulness in helping students locate classmates and potentially find dates, reported in an article on the Calvin Chimes.
• The term highlights a historical aspect of campus life at Calvin, where student directories were a valuable tool for social connections, according to an article on the Calvin Chimes. 

i still have a few from my calvin days

Every Day should be a National 🇺🇲Day Of Prayer ( & international 🌎)- 🙏🙏🙏 #PrayMore ✝️👍☝️5.1.25 #MayDay

https://search.brave.com/news?q=national%20Day%20of%20prayer 

VOD 4.30.25 ✝️

"For as lightning ⚡
that comes from the
east is visible
even in the west,
so will be the coming
of the Son of Man✝️
    .... -Matt 24:27

#YAWYW ✝️☝️🙏

Prayers4 America 🇺🇸 :  (@AmeriPrayer1) posted at 8:17 AM on Tue, Apr 22, 2025:

You are what you eat?
Or,
you Are What
You Worship ⁉️✝️

(https://x.com/AmeriPrayer1/status/1914700107288863094?t=loP22e7FY5N6B49atGgB8A&s=03) 

Watch "My Life Is In God’s Hands (Morning Devotional And Prayer)" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/9jR3HeSNhSA?si=2EDa3omfSN7XUcuU 

Watch "April 29, 2025 Yes, Jim Kok is still alive (March 2025) (90th 🎈 birthday 🎂)" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/nD4KEpBZaok?si=HxODiRQQDG9YI0w_ 

you may enjoy this message by Corrie Tenboom (audio, click) (in English)

if you don't know , Corrie Tenboom was  a Dutch woman who survived the holocaust and a concentration camp - altho she wasn't Jewish (she was strong Christian) she received the same punishment as Jews after being caught hiding them in her house in the Netherlands during the war. Her sister Betsy was killed in the same concentration camp. Afterwards she became a well-known Christian  speaker & writer - giving very inspirational messages of hope and forgiveness .

click below to listen 

https://ia600603.us.archive.org/21/items/SERMONINDEX_SID31612/SID31612.mp3

, born Cornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom on April 15, 1892, in Haarlem, Netherlands, was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker. She and her family helped many Jewish people escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II by hiding them in her home. They were caught, and she was arrested and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned at the concentration camp..." -wiki

Happy ✝️ Easter . He's Arisen ☝️

The next morning 🌅

 the women came to the 

tomb & found it empty, 

&the angel said to the women, 

"Do not be afraid, 

for I know that you are

 looking for Jesus, 

who was crucified. 

He is not here; 

HE HAS RISEN, 

just as He said"

   Matt 28:5-8

Happy😊 

#Easter2025 🕊️🌅

re sending postcard to Kim Kooiker

some of you may know that I "dated" or whatever you want to call my relationship with Kim back around 1989-91 around the time I was finishing Calvin College and also working at Pine Rest Hospital as a mental health counselor (as was Kim, which is where we met).

 I seriously admired and respected Kim. We had several nice experiences together just getting to know one another. She came to our Lake Michigan cottage once when my parents were in town (near Silver Lake for those of you who know west Michigan). 

And she even accompanied me to my cousin Brian's wedding. And I remember visiting her home in Caledonia  (she attended South Christian & Calvin; I attended Grand Rapids Christian & Calvin) at least once when her whole  lovely family was there. Among other things such as movies, etc 

You could say it was "getting serious" but at the same time I was conflicted about my ultimate purpose in life. I was struggling with following what I thought was my call to be a Christian missionary versus just staying around Michigan, working a job of one sort or another, etc. 

Well, I was also accepted into Law School and eventually started, but did not finish, Wayne State Law School, nor any other law school. My experience at Wayne State led me to believe that I was not following God's call for my life if I pursued a career in law. 

After I left Wayne State law school I informed Kim that I was leaving Michigan too. It was a short conversation. I didn't really know what her feelings were towards me, but she was always amicable. We didn't get involved physically at all. 

It was more than "just friends" but not romantic either. I guess you could say we were just "getting to know each other gradually" . SO i left Michigan not knowing if or when I would be back. 

I ended up in California for a few months (where my parents lived) and then there was an earthquake in Costa Rica which I volunteered to do disaster relief . So I flew to San Jose met with other Christian missionaries and we worked together to help needy areas after the huge quake. 

And then I got an offer to tutor the kids of a rain forest tourist camp in Drake Bay near the famous Corcovado National park where tourists from all over the world travel to explore. So I stayed in Costa Rica for about 9 months total until near the end of August 1991. 

Then I returned to California and then decided to try seminary back in Grand Rapids. But then didn't  work for very long either. I stayed in the seminary for a quarter then I got disillusioned. Around that time I did see Kim a few times- once at a place called TeleDial which was owned by a friend of our family named Andy DeVries.

He offered me a job there- and when I was visiting I saw Kim- she was working there ! But i was till thinking I had to follow my call to be a full-time missionary- and a seminary-educated one for that matter. But I decided to try teaching instead for a while- I stayed at Calvin for 2 years working on an education/English degree but didn't see Kim much after that time at TeleDial. 

So it was really over I guess you could say (there was no "break up" or hard  words or anything because it was never to such a serious or formal level. But I always admired and respected her, and so when I returned to California and took a teaching job I continued to think about and pray for her. 

I also found out she had moved on and married a nice fellow (presumably) and so there was absolutely no romantic or relational thoughts in my mind anymore, nor her's obviously. Yet I knew she was a strong committed Christian so I wanted to continue to encourage her in the faith. 

After 2 years teaching I finally did go back to seminary and finally completed most of it- combining Calvin & Fuller Seminary. WHile at Fuller I remember sending her a postcard a few times- with encouraging Christian words- nothing more, nothing less. Just a friendly hello. 

Apparently, one of these times I sent the postcard to the wrong address- somehow I got her sister's address in my book. I didn't know this would make her sister's blood boil. You're not going to believe this but she actually spoke to the police about me sending a postcard (accidentally to the wrong address).

 Some time later I got a letter from an alleged detective (or somebody who called themself a detective) of the Grand Rapids Police Dept. I actually don't remember what it said but it was bizarre that he would be inquiring of me about sending a friendly postcard. Very bizarre. SO bizarre and strange that I communicated with his superiors about it and they apparently rebuked him and shut him down, and I never heard from him again.

 I guess he thought he would scare me but all it did was upset me so much so that I complained about it. And my complaint got thru to the right people at GRPD or Kent County Sheriff ( I can't remember) . 

So anyways, I just thought I would mention this because I don't believe Kim ever complained about it herself. It was Kim's sister as best as I can tell. I think the postcards that got thru to Kim herself were kindly received - because I knew she was a strong Christian and she knew my Christian path as well. 

So I think she appreciated the prayers and encouragement . To me she was a fellow Christian "sibling" so to speak. That's the way I think of my Christian school mates and Christian Reformed friends and associates that I knew from church or school etc. We are fellow members of the Body of Christ. 

I just want people to know that these were totally well-intended communication and I do this to people ALL OVER everywhere not just one former girlfriend or girl friend . 

And yes I did become an "seminary educated missionary" after all is said and done. I started my own Christian ministry and I continue to be a missionary/evangelist worldwide and especially around the USA ! Praise the Lord !

And I continue to pray for Kim and other girlfriends or girl friends as well relatives, guy friends,  church associates, former classmates, colleagues, etc. God bless you all. Tomorrow is Easter 2025  ! He Lives ! And hopefully We Live too (for Him!)