Challenges include: “more allegiance to causes outside the church than to what we do together as a denomination”

The Christian Reformed Church has much to be joyful about, CRC Executive Director Rev. Jerry Dykstra said in an address to Synod 2010 on Monday night. But it also faces some serious challenges.

Alive, vibrant and well, the CRC is transforming lives worldwide with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the cup of cold water, Dykstra said. The church also provides thoughtful ecumenical and theological leadership that is much appreciated in the larger Christian community.

“I’m proud of the Christian Reformed Church in a humble sort of way,” Dykstra said. He expressed joy at seeing church members of all ages “living in harmony with God and his creation.”

Dykstra said the greatest challenge facing the CRC today is diversity at all levels – and he used synod as an example.

“I’m extremely disappointed that this year we have half the number of ethnically diverse delegates that we had a year ago,” he said.

Dykstra identified mistrust of institutions and leaders as another problem the church must deal with.

“We need to find a way as brothers and sisters in Christ to support each other, to support our leaders, and to trust one another,” he said.

Other challenges facing the CRC, Dykstra said, are tendencies toward congregationalism and parachurchism – “more allegiance to causes outside the church than to what we do together as a denomination” – and the danger of allowing politics to take precedence over Biblical perspectives.

Dykstra said he senses a fear for what may lie ahead for the CRC – a fear that is unnecessary, he said, because we serve a God we can trust for the future.

“We, the Christian Reformed Church and all of its members, are on a journey together, walking in the path that Jesus has prepared, that God has prepared for us,” he said. “I don’t know exactly where it’s going to take us, but I know and trust that God will take us where he wants us to go.”

This article first appeared on the CRC Newsroom website and is used with permission. Source: http://www.crcna.org/news.cfm?newsid=2010&section=1