Reformed Protestant Questions

[Reefgazer]

Question for those of you who know a bit about religion: I was raised in the Reformed church, but for the past 15 years or so have been attending a Methodist church. Yesterday, I went to visit the only Reformed church in the area, a Christian Reformed Church.  It was different from the Reformed church I grew up in. The weirdest thing was that the entire service was what you typically hear at Easter, complete with Alleluia, Christ is risen songs, the Gospel reading from John that details Mary visiting the tomb, and a sermon talking about the resurrection. Now I know this is central to Chistianity, but what do they discuss at Easter, the wise men?!?!? And no one seemed to think this was out of place except me. Is there a religious reason that this might be a service chosen for late September?  Also, is there a difference between the Reformed church that I know and a "Christian Reformed" church?

Edited September 24, 2018 by Reefgazer

[EmseB]

It's probably not due to denomination, but that the pastor was preaching through one of the gospels and you visited when he got to the passage about the resurrection. Add in the fact that hymns are usually selected to correspond with the theme of the text, and that's the whole service.

This is typical of exegetical (as opposed to topical) preaching and not necessarily a reformed tradition. The pastor starts a sermon series on the book of, say, Matthew, starts at the beginning of Matthew and each week preaches through several verses until in a few months he's done with that book of the Bible. So it would make sense to the entire congregation because they've been hearing him preach through that book for the last few weeks if not months.

Most churches that do this will still use a text about the resurrection for Easter Sunday service and break from whatever book they happen to be going through at the time.

[marbel]

Yep, I was thinking exactly what EmseB said. 

[DawnM]

Agreeing with the other two.  I have certainly heard the "Easter message" when it wasn't Easter.  It is the central theme of the Christian Church......Christ dying for our sins and rising again.

I don't know what songs you sang, but singing Christ the Lord is Risen Today would not be out of the norm to sing when it isn't Easter.

[Ottakee]

I grew up within miles of where the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) was started and while I was Baptist, 99% of my classmates were CRC or Reformed.

Agreeing above it was likely just where they were in the scripture.  I attended a CRC church yesterday where my friend's husband is the pastor.....and he didn't preach from that text.  

[mom@shiloh]

The Christian Reformed Church split from the Reformed Church maybe close to 100 years ago for sundry reasons. They would still agree on many points of theology.  Worship style and the content of the preaching could vary widely between churches within either of those denominations, so it would be hard to say if you might find it similar to the church you are familiar with.

I agree that the CRC would emphasize exegetical preaching, so it's not at all unusual to talk about Christ's birth or resurrection at any point during the year. 

The CRC is a fairly small, close-knit denomination, so even though I'm no longer CRC, my first thought was, "Hey, I wonder if she met anyone I know."  Yea.  Seriously. 

[Reefgazer]

Do you know how the CRC differs from the Reformed church?  I ask because there were two things I found it unfamiliar in my visit to that church.   First, in the “We’re  praying for these people” section of the bulletin, there was a prayer for Brett Cavanagh and his family and that he be confirmed to the supreme court.  I thought this was a tad odd since it seemed to me crossing the line into political lobbying,  and I’ve never seen that done before.   Second, they had a ceremony where they were swearing in deacons and elders and it was made clear that it was only possible that men be deacons and elders.  In the Reformed church I attended men and women could be deacons and elders .

[Teachaheart]

Are you sure it was a CRC congregation? I live in a CRC saturated area. The CRC ordains women as deacons, elders, and pastors, and while most congregations will pray for our government and encourage political participation, most do not engage in promoting any particular candidates.

What you describe is more like a United Reformed Church congregation with its views on male-only leadership.

[mom@shiloh]

I will verify what Teachaheart said.  The CRC does ordain women in all of those roles.  While it would be perfectly common to pray for political leaders, it would be in generalities, and NEVER specifically promoting a particular candidate. Although, once someone has been elected to office, it would be common to pray for that person by name even if the particular church did not agree with their political views. 

[DawnM]

7 hours ago, Reefgazer said:

Do you know how the CRC differs from the Reformed church?  I ask because there were two things I found it unfamiliar in my visit to that church.   First, in the “We’re  praying for these people” section of the bulletin, there was a prayer for Brett Cavanagh and his family and that he be confirmed to the supreme court.  I thought this was a tad odd since it seemed to me crossing the line into political lobbying,  and I’ve never seen that done before.   Second, they had a ceremony where they were swearing in deacons and elders and it was made clear that it was only possible that men be deacons and elders.  In the Reformed church I attended men and women could be deacons and elders .

 

I would have walked out.  That is unacceptable.  

[ktgrok]

9 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

I would have walked out.  That is unacceptable.  

I have walked out of a service for something similar myself. Not acceptable. 

We do pray every week for those in elected office, by name, for them to have wisdom, etc. But to pray for a specific political figure to be put into power is totally different, especially one accused of a crime!!!

[TravelingChris]

It isn't illegal anymore.  I believe it was originally an Executive order established by Pres. Johnson and lifted by Pres. Trump.  And it never was illegal to advocate for positions on morality and theology if they were up in a ballot or up for a vote-  and that didn't matter what the moral or theological stand was. We have prayed for reform in prisons, marriage issues, abortion, saving the environment, etc. etc. depending on which church we were at. 

It wasn't being enforced anyway-  lots of candidates were going to churches and campaigning.

I could see a church praying for Cavanaugh and his family even if they weren't sure they wanted him confirmed.  His family is not accused and there is nothing wrong with praying for the accused or guilty people.  We are all sinners and I pray regularly for prisoners.  That does not mean I want them out to crime.   But none of the church\'s pastors were so blatant about supporting a candidate.  I have no idea who my two pastors, now one since the older retired voted for in the elections.  

I did walk out of a church once though.  We had an interim pastor (totally different church than I go to now though same denomination) and he started preaching how homeschoolers are sinning for homeschooling. That was a church of which I was a member.  Normally, though, I did not walk out with offensive stuff in the pulpit because it was just a church I was visiting -  however, I never returned.

[EmseB]

It might help to note that there is no one "the Reformed church".

There are a lot of churches that ascribe to reformed theology, but even that can vary. There's the RCA, PCA, OPC, CRC, CREC, and many others. There are reformed Baptists, Presbyterians, and some congregationalists, even, I think.

All of those denominations would called themselves "reformed" usually referring to holding to the Westminster Confession of Faith as their theological standards, but not always. And, as you found, they vary in interpretations of doctrine on elders, deacons, baptism, communion, etc. But in my limited experience with CRC churches, they do ordain women and tend to be more "liberal" in their theology (and I am not using the term politically here in any way whatsoever). A CREC church, OPC, and PCA would generally be more conservative in theology...generally, so not always.

[TechWife]

5 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

It isn't illegal anymore.  I believe it was originally an Executive order established by Pres. Johnson and lifted by Pres. Trump.  And it never was illegal to advocate for positions on morality and theology if they were up in a ballot or up for a vote-  and that didn't matter what the moral or theological stand was. We have prayed for reform in prisons, marriage issues, abortion, saving the environment, etc. etc. depending on which church we were at. 

It wasn't being enforced anyway-  lots of candidates were going to churches and campaigning.

I could see a church praying for Cavanaugh and his family even if they weren't sure they wanted him confirmed.  His family is not accused and there is nothing wrong with praying for the accused or guilty people.  We are all sinners and I pray regularly for prisoners.  That does not mean I want them out to crime.   But none of the church\'s pastors were so blatant about supporting a candidate.  I have no idea who my two pastors, now one since the older retired voted for in the elections.  

I did walk out of a church once though.  We had an interim pastor (totally different church than I go to now though same denomination) and he started preaching how homeschoolers are sinning for homeschooling. That was a church of which I was a member.  Normally, though, I did not walk out with offensive stuff in the pulpit because it was just a church I was visiting -  however, I never returned.

This isn't accurate. Trump's administration proposed getting rid of the Johnson Amendment as part of their tax reform, but they dropped it from their demands. It is still part of the tax code that churches cannot engage in political activity and maintain their tax exempt status.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/charities-churches-and-politics

There are specific regulations on allowed, limited lobbying in order to influence the nomination or confirmation of a federal justice, which includes the SC:

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/attempts-by-exempt-organizations-to-influence-judicial-appointments

Edited September 25, 2018 by TechWife

[TechWife]

5 hours ago, EmseB said:

It might help to note that there is no one "the Reformed church".

There are a lot of churches that ascribe to reformed theology, but even that can vary. There's the RCA, PCA, OPC, CRC, CREC, and many others. There are reformed Baptists, Presbyterians, and some congregationalists, even, I think.

All of those denominations would called themselves "reformed" usually referring to holding to the Westminster Confession of Faith as their theological standards, but not always. And, as you found, they vary in interpretations of doctrine on elders, deacons, baptism, communion, etc. But in my limited experience with CRC churches, they do ordain women and tend to be more "liberal" in their theology (and I am not using the term politically here in any way whatsoever). A CREC church, OPC, and PCA would generally be more conservative in theology...generally, so not always.

I think that  "reformed" is just as general a term as "baptist" is. There are wide differences in interpretation of what that means and how it is practiced.