Rev. de Jager makes the following comments on behalf of the RCN

He thanks the chairman for the invitation extended to his committee and to the GKN. He mentions that his committee at the time was getting ready for Leusden 1999. First they thought that no one could come, but he volunteered because he liked to observe our work. However, he admits that he did not realize the consequences of going. Having read the papers and checked the web page, he decided to speak about some items that are on our agenda.

He realizes that he is not just here as a brother who served one of the CanRCs, but as one who serves the GKN. He always feels at home among us, even though he also feels he has lost touch with the English language -- his third language (after Frisian and Dutch!).

The Country

May 4, 1998 was Remembrance Day in the Netherlands. He travelled to Holten, met veterans of the war. It is good to remind ourselves of the freedom enjoyed today also because of the contributions of the Canadians. One can wonder what our people do today with the freedom they enjoy; unfortunately they do not use it to seek the Lord but they use it against the Lord, as was evident again May 6 in the outcome of the federal elections. This displayed the course the Netherlands is on with the socialists cooperating with the Liberals; the Christian Democratic Party (CDA) again lost much support. We have a very materialistic society, and most probably we will again have a purple government (red with the blue liberals).

The Churches

We are still involved in an ongoing struggling to remain Reformed as churches. This is a struggle on more fronts than one. The days are evil. The spirit of the times creeps in. It's hard to build walls because walls alone do not keep away such spirits.

With respect to our young people, we may mention that it is hard to pass on to the next generation that which we have received from the Lord. All other matters seem to be attractive to them. History does not speak to them much anymore, and there is a tendency towards individualism.

In the churches there are also changes, especially with respect to preaching and liturgy. The preaching is done with a view to reach the hearts of the people rather than over their heads. After the Liberation, we were used to a solid exegesis out of the text in order to bring about changes in the lives of the people. But that is no longer effective. Nowadays it is said that we tend to forget the emotional aspect (what we refer to as the second stage).. The solid exegesis has to remain largely in the study and is not brought so explicitly to the pulpit. The attempt is to touch the people; thereby we seek to mould their lives. (I am speaking about the didactical aspect; of course we understand that the Spirit of God must bring about these changes). The Christelijk Gereformeerde Kerken always had that element. Kampen is rethinking this matter and is instructing future ministers accordingly.

We are also busy rethinking mission. First, the relation between word and deed, between the preaching and the work of mercy. The responsibility of the work of mercy will be brought back from organizations like De Verre Naaste to the churches themselves via the deacons. We also have an I.R.T.T. (International Reformed Theological Training); at the moment there are about twenty people who are being trained by pastors and professors from Kampen for six weeks.

National relations

The attitude of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken towards our churches is also changing. Discussion is happening for which we are thankful. Here the difficulty is that many are connected with the Netherlands Reformed (Buiten Verband).

International Relations

There seems to be some concern about the number of relations we have. Relations cannot just be seen in themselves; they are always related to history. E.g., Reformed Church of New Zealand chose for the synodical churches and now acknowledge that they were wrong to do so and thus this is corrected. We will most probably have a sister church relationship with the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. There are Liberated people who are members there who became emotional when visited to establish relations. That kind of thing also happens in mission work. There we have met the OPC and the RCUS.

Another aspect here is the pastoral care of our people who are literally all over the world and struggle with where to go to church. There is a need also to safeguard these people. Finally, there is a dynamic with respect to article 47 (your article 50, C.O.) in that regard. There is a need to do "as much as possible" (art. 50, your C.O.) because there is one Lord and one Church (Eph.4). Sound Scriptural ecumenicity has a broad view with respect to relations with churches abroad.

Canadian Reformed Churches

Regarding the Canadian Reformed Churches, I know there is discussion. We are helped very much by Clarion, regardless of what you think about it. "We take it along and distribute it and seek to keep up with what's happening here. When it's not so friendly and the tone is not so good, we leave it at home. Maybe Reformed Polemics is somewhat better, but I don't know yet. Otherwise we take both of them."

Regarding relations with churches in North America, "I want to say that you do not need to fear us. We know that you do a good job in thoroughly discussing relations beforehand and have taken initiative (e.g. URCNA).

I would like to encourage you in your relation with the RCUS. They were one of the first ones to discuss women's voting with us. They have addressed us about that matter; one brother spoke to one of our synods about this. From that we concluded: "that's why we have sister churches." Before, we often had the attitude: "we know Reformed theology." The times are changing. You need not fear that we will squeeze in. We only seek to help, also with respect to the OPC. We would like to see more progress. We will be sympathetic to your response and we will not be ahead of you. At the same time when we meet them, e.g. on the mission field, we will cooperate with them, but carefully.

The Marriage Form.

I understand that you are concerned about the fact that we will have a new marriage form. I was surprised that you did not take up the main concern. It is true that it has been reworded that it no longer just says that a husband will take care of his family but this is a matter of husband and wife together. This is because of many students who have to do this together with their spouses and therefore cannot say "yes" to this form. It has to do with "Double income families." Your main concern should have been the question about headship, which is also going to be discussed again at the General Synod of Leusden. Some say "head" is "chief", "boss"; others: "head" has to be explained from the context of Ephesians 5, someone who gives himself, who is a servant. This discussion is going on and will come up more.

Greetings

We are thankful for the course you are going. We pray for you because we know how hard it is for you with respect to relations with others and the difficulties you face in your midst as a result. I convey the greetings to you from your sister in the Netherlands. I hope you will remember us before the Lord also with respect to that battle we are waging so that we may be faithful before the Lord who will guide us in this age.

Rev. A. J. Pol responded to Rev. A. de Jager's address on behalf of the RCN with the following words:

Rev. DeJager:

Our personal acquaintance with each other goes back about twenty two years, when we first met each other in Kampen. It is a privilege and with thankfulness to our God and Father that I have the opportunity now to greet you on behalf of General Synod Fergus, 1998. We meet each other as brothers in the Lord Jesus Christ and as members of His church. The fact that you come to us here in Canada as a delegate from our sister churches in the Netherlands highlights the catholicity of the church of Jesus Christ. This church is not confined to one place or to one group of people. Our Lord Jesus Christ gathers His church throughout this world. We may also see that in this work there is continuity with the past. We have a common bond with our Lord and Saviour. Within this bond we observe the faithfulness of the God of the covenant, who works from generation to generation. As a result, there are also family bonds between members of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and the Reformed churches here in Canada and the United States. This gives occasion to much travel back and forth between this continent and the Netherlands, as families reaffirm their bonds with each other. And on Sundays there is the renewed joy of worshiping the LORD together as His people. In this way, the significance of fellowship with each other through ecclesiastical relationships receives an extra, very personal dimension.

We are united through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We verbalize what our riches are together as Reformed churches through our confessions. What a testimony this is in a world full of unbelief! You must struggle to maintain the truths of Scripture in the midst of a society that is showing more and more its rejection of the Christian faith and Christian values. Our struggle is not essentially different. We share the calling to fight the good fight of the faith and to guard the riches that the Lord has entrusted to us. Let us continue to stand together!

Your church federation is larger than ours. You have a wide variety of means and opportunities for engaging in internal discussions. This is a strength that also has an inherent weakness. Intensive discussions can lead to quick successions of developments that may or may not be beneficial for the life of the churches. As you look at us here on the North American continent, where distances pose barriers for interaction and our smaller numbers compel us to focus differently on various issues, it may seem to you that we are slow and perhaps even far behind you in certain respects. Yet perhaps our situation has an advantage that your people may not always be quick to perceive. When church life is lived at a slower pace there is a greater opportunity for reflection. This does not always mean that such an opportunity is always well used. Initiatives and developments in the midst of your churches can therefore also stimulate discussion and reflection among our churches as we are confronted with issues that you deal with.

We have a God-given obligation to "make every effort keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Phil 4:3). For this reason in our relationship as churches together, what may be real or only perceived differences of insight on matters affecting the life of the churches must sometimes be discussed. We hope that through our Committee for Relations with Churches Abroad this will continue to be possible in a spirit of brotherly love and with a desire to help each other to stand firm in the faith. We also hope that critical questions concerning matters raised by the committee will be seen in this light.

We are thankful for your description of developments in our sister churches in the Netherlands. You touched on a variety of subjects. How to pass on the Reformed heritage to the next generation is also a concern for us. Matters of liturgy and the preaching of the Word of God are very important. New developments in your midst will therefore undoubtedly be the subject of discussion among us too. Since we also support mission work, we will be interested in hearing more about the re-thinking in your churches of the underlying principles and their application in the execution of this work. We face questions concerning how to go about fulfilling our obligation to seek unity with other Reformed churches on this continent. So we are also very interested in hearing how you approach similar questions in the context of your country.

We continue to see a clear adherence to our Reformed confessions on our part as being of vital importance in our interaction with other churches. And when dealing with churches of a Presbyterian background we regard their faithful adherence to their Westminster Standards as being an important point of departure in being able to establish clearly what we have in common and what matters perhaps need further discussion in the light of Scripture as we seek to promote unity in faith. You will see this reflected, for example, in the decisions of our Synod concerning the ICRC. In particular we have reservations about the change in its Constitution. It no longer speaks of adhering and being faithful to the confessional standards listed in the Basis, but of faithfully adhering to "the Reformed Faith" stated in the confessional documents listed in the Basis. We understand fully that this is an attempt to promote commonality between the member churches. Yet the undefined nature of the expression "the Reformed faith" leaves room for a limited instead of whole-hearted acceptance of any of the confessions listed in the Basis. We hope that this concern of ours will also be yours we both seek and promote unity with other churches. True unity can only be pursued and maintained on the basis of a clear and shared understanding of the doctrines of Scripture.

We have a rich heritage. We share in great riches together as churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. We also look forward to a glorious future: the completion of His church-gathering work at His return in glory. Knowing that it is His work encourages and obliges us to maintain the unity of faith with you and to reach out to others in our country and abroad.

It is our prayer for your churches that the Lord will continue to the the object of your faith, the source of your strength, and your guide at all times through His Spirit and Word. May He sustain you as you "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3). Please pass on our greetings to our Dutch sister churches.

Rev. De Jager, allow me now to end on a personal note. We wish you the Lord's blessings during your stay in our midst, in your further travels, and on your life and ministry in the Netherlands.

Thank you.