Several experienced General Assembly observers believe that this report will bring about a significant amount of discussion during the report of the CoC and, in an otherwise quiet Assembly with few ‘hot button issues’, this could prove to be a significant debate.

Out of the entire report presented by the Permanent Committee of Mission to the Word (CMTW) to the Committee of Commissioners (CoC) on Monday, only two items developed any significant discussion.

The first was a proposal for adoption by the General Assembly which would state that the past year was ‘MTW’s best year ever’. Such an important statement brought questions to the staff concerning the reasons the CMTW believed that was the case.

TE Paul Koistra, Coordinator of MTW, explained the overall number of long-term missionaries was greater than it had ever been and missionary account financial deficits were at their lowest level, and that MTW overall was running in the black. After some discussion, the CoC voted to change the wording to say that it was “an extraordinary year.” The group concluded that saying that it was not reasonable possible to confirm the stronger statement. The committee voted to recommend Paul Kooistra to serve as coordinator for another year.

The second issue was concerned Overture Number 9 was had been submitted by to vote on CMTW’s recommendation that Potomac Presbytery’s overture #9 resolving that Bible translations, particularly those supported by insider movements working in Muslim communities that advocated the removal of “Son”, “Son of God”, and “Father” from the texts were “unfaithful to God’s Word.”

The supporters of the overture indicated that Insider movements describe missiologies that state that Muslims come to Christ while remaining part of Islam. They retain their Muslim identities, affirm the prophethood of Mohammed, can attend mosque, fast, go on pilgrimage etc. CMTW had previously recommended that the portion of the overture calling for a study committee to investigate insider movements

Dr. Kooistra was invited to explain CMTW’s recommendation of removal of the study committee from the overture. The coordinator stated that such a committee was unnecessary given the fact that MTW was already equipped to assist churches deal with insider movement issues. Further questions determined that materials available through MTW were very minimal and included much material that was written by insider movement advocates.

After considering the two questions, the CoC moved to executive session to vote separately on each question. The group voted unanimously to recommend adoption of the part of the overture addressing insider Bible translation. Moving to the second question, the committee voted overwhelmingly to approve a study committee.

Several experienced General Assembly observers believe that this report will bring about a significant amount of discussion during the report of the CoC and, in an otherwise quiet Assembly with few ‘hot button issues’, this could prove to be a significant debate.