Tagged “Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches”

The CREC Presiding Ministers & the Malignant Pastor

Cancer

“So if someone with a long enough face to be a dowager from Human Resources tells me that I am no longer permitted, as a cis-white-male, to make any observations or comparisons, metaphorical or otherwise, about any aspect of the female anatomy, guess what I am going to do? Guess what my next blog post is going to be about?” —Douglas Wilson Continue reading →

Friday, September 29, 2017 |

“We charge you in the name of the Lord to abhor all forms of ignoring our intentions in what we have set down through dissembling, reinterpretation, dishonesty, relativism, pretended explanations, presumed spiritual maturity, assumed scholarly sophistication, or outright lying. . .”

“With patterns of church order and confessional standards, one of the fundamental requirements of Scripture is honesty (Ex. 20:16). Consequently, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we charge you, the generations who will follow us in this confederation, to submit to the Scriptures with sincere and honest hearts, and to the standards of this confederation as consistent with the teaching of Scripture. When a portion of our order and confession is found to be out of conformity to Scripture, we charge you to amend it honestly, openly, and constitutionally, as men who must give an account to the God who searches the hearts of men. We charge you in the name of the Lord to abhor all forms of ignoring our intentions in what we have set down through dissembling, reinterpretation, dishonesty, relativism, pretended explanations, presumed spiritual maturity, assumed scholarly sophistication, or outright lying, so that the living God will not strike you and your children with a curse. We charge you to serve Him in all diligence and honesty, so that the blessings of the covenant may extend to your children for a thousand generations.”
CREC Constitution (Preamble)

Thursday, September 28, 2017 |

“Do you . . . commit yourselves in faithfulness . . . to keep . . . the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. . .”

  1. “Do you, with all the officers of your church, commit yourselves in faithfulness to the churches in this Communion: to keep with them the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, to pray for them, to comfort them, to encourage them, to admonish them, and to rule with them in accordance with the Constitution of this Communion and in full submission to the Word of God?”

CREC Membership Vow (5)

Sunday, September 24, 2017 |

“we will prayerfully consider whatever they have to say”

Uh, in the middle of this controversy, the session of Christ Church invited the presiding ministers of the CREC — there are seven presbyteries in the CREC, I’m the presiding minister of the whole CREC, Randy Booth in Nacogdoches, Texas, is the pro tem presiding minister — um, our session invited the presiding ministers of the CREC to come in and conduct a review of our counseling of sexual abuse cases, etc., not excluding these two cases. So, um, a couple of weeks ago, ten days ago, we shipped to all the separate presiding ministers and to Randy a notebook, um, a Sitler notebook and a Greenfield–Wight notebook full of court documents, counseling records, etc., uh, they’ve got those, uh. Two of the committee members are going to be in town here in Moscow next week, to interview people involved, to interview the session, to conduct a thorough review. So we’re in the middle of that and I’ve recused — since I’m the presiding minister and pastor of Christ Church I’ve recused myself from that process. Randy Booth is the chairman of that committee. That review is going on as we speak and we hope to have a report, a report — recommendations — back from them by the end of the year. So one of the things you can say to friends is, ‘A review’s in process, and we will prayerfully consider whatever they have to say. And we have given them carte blanche to everything we have.’
Douglas Wilson (216)

“unnecessarily provocative language, including derogatory or calloused language about women”

“In that regard, let us point out a few specifics we believe are inconsistent with the high road. . . .

  • Using unnecessarily provocative language, including derogatory or calloused language about women. Referring to certain women as ‘small breasted biddies’ or ‘lumberjack dykes’ is not likely to serve an edifying purpose in this context. We note that this language has caused a good deal of anguish among pastors and elders of CREC churches who would otherwise be supportive of Pastor Wilson’s ministry. Pastors should be careful not to give women reasons to avoid seeking help from the church. Instead, we should make it clear that the church is a place where all people are treated with honor and respect, and where victims can find grace.”

Presiding Ministers’ Report

Monday, September 18, 2017 |

Of Slopes & Keys

And Child Molesters

Caution: Slippery Slope

“All the varied expressions of transgressive sexuality currently being celebrated in our culture, and now by the highest court in the land, are out of accord with God’s creational design for human sexuality, and are therefore sinful in the eyes of God. Whenever men set themselves up arrogantly to challenge God’s holy standards for sexuality, seeking to teach contrary to what God has taught us in His Word, they are vainly attempting something that is not within their authority to accomplish. We cannot bestow dignity where God has withheld it, and we cannot join together what God has determined shall remain forever separated.” —Douglas Wilson

Continue reading →

Thursday, September 14, 2017 |