The Abide Project began, not as an attempt to chart a new direction, but precisely to avoid it.  The only unprecedented developments have been the deliberate attempts to protest and defy the decisions of Synod, and the subsequent failure of classes to keep such congregations accountable.

Recent Synods of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) have been called a “coup.” A resigning Council of Delegates member said this is a “new direction.” A prominent CRC minister called Synod’s decisions “reckless, arbitrary, and unimaginable in any other age.”  “The votes were never in doubt and everyone knew it,” wrote a delegate of Synod 2024. “A well-organized movement called Abide had been meeting and strategizing for several years now.”

These and other reactions suggest that the decisions of Synod regarding same-sex sex represent a foreign ideology which has only recently infiltrated the CRC.  Moreso, they suggest that this infiltration was a deliberate strategy (e.g. by the Abide Project) to change existing CRC values and commitments.

However, such suggestions are not only inaccurate, as this article will show, they’re nearly the opposite of the truth. The following historical summary will show that recent Synodical decisions have been to maintain the CRC’s long-held view of sexuality against some very deliberate strategies to undermine it. (For a more detailed version, click [here]…)

1973

Since it’s beginning in the 19^th century, the CRC has always held that same-sex sex is sinful.  However, this position was first committed to writing at Synod 1973. This report was ahead of its time in terms of its compassionate concern for those who experience same-sex attraction.  Still its commitment to the historic Christian understanding of sexual ethics was clear.  Consider these key sentences from the report adopted that year:

• We conclude that the New Testament passages which make reference to homosexual behavior are in harmony with the judgment of the Old Testament: homosexual acts are sinful.
• The choice for the Christian is between marriage and celibacy. Sex relations outside of marriage are forbidden in the Scriptures.

However, since the time that report was written, an ideology rooted in atheism and entirely foreign to Christianity slowly began to insert itself into Christian circles, including in the CRC.

2011

In 2011, Classis Grand Rapids East asked Synod to “appoint a study committee to review the biblical teachings regarding homosexual orientation and practice in light of current biblical and theological study of these issues.”  When Synod did not accede to this overture, a new group calling themselves “All One Body” started to meet in September of that year.

At first, All One Body (A1B) was focussed on having discussions, but within a few years and in defiance of the CRC’s stated position, they openly promoted full participation in church life by professing Christians who were in committed, monogamous same-sex relationships.

2013

In response to developments in US and Canadian politics, Synod 2013 voted 135 to 43 to form a study committee for pastoral advice on homosexuality. The mandate was to “give guidance and clarification” on how to “apply the biblical teachings reflected in” the 1973 report.  Though this mandate was challenged by those who wanted to see the 1973 position revisited, Synod voted against this proposal (140 to 39).  The following January, Classis Grand Rapids East formed its own study committee which generated a report presenting the Biblical teaching on same-sex sex as open to a variety of legitimate interpretations.

2016-2018

Though Synod 2013 was decisive in its commitment to the teachings of 1973, this was not true of all those selected to serve on the appointed study committee. When their 83-page report was made available (including a majority and minority report…differing on whether a minister could officiate a civil wedding of a celibate same-sex couple), it was evident that the majority of the committee felt constrained by the 1973 position.

When the report came to Synod 2016, many who disagreed with the CRC’s 1973 position came to advocate to the contrary. The night before the report came to the floor, delegates exited their meeting to find messages in rainbow sidewalk chalk: “We are the church too” … “ALL ARE IN GOD” … “WE ARE DYING TO BE WHO GOD MADE US” … “57 yrs in CRC, GAY, What will you do w/ me? And 1000s others?” Around 20-30 LGBTQ-inclusive advocates gathered in the audience wearing rainbow colored clothing for the June 15 debate.

Despite these protests, Synod voted 110-71 to recommend to the churches only the minority report (which had been signed by just two of the eleven committee members).  Additionally, Synod voted overwhelmingly to create a new study committee on human sexuality. They would officially be called the Committee to Articulate a Foundation-laying Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality. This time, to ensure the committee did its work in keeping with the convictions of the denomination, Synod stipulated that each member must “adhere to the CRC’s biblical view on marriage and same-sex relationships.”

That fall, A1B continued to advocate for full LGBTQ inclusion by inviting renowned CRC philosophy professor Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff to speak of his own shift in opinion. By 2018, A1B shifted its focus from education to political action. That November, they held an event at Sherman Street CRC in Grand Rapids. Dan Winiarski reported their plan—not to continue advocating through the agreed-upon denominational structures but—to deliberately defy the denomination’s position and force Synod to respond.  According to Winiarski, “the panel members…were in agreement (and the audience was too) that the ‘judicial’ plan presented their best path to victory.”

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