Religion

American Reformed to Consider Restructuring Plan amid LGBT Debate



The Reformed Church in America is creating a team that will consider a restructuring plan for the denomination that would make definitive rules on LGBT ordination and same-sex marriages.

The RCA General Synod voted on Saturday in favor of the task force.

RCA has about 186,000 members, but many churches in the denomination have been divided about LGBT and same-sex issues.

RCA spokeswoman Christina Tazelaar told The Christian Post that the proposal came because the denomination is “deeply divided around sexuality, interpretation of Scripture and governance.”

In 2018, the RCA created a “Vision 2020 Team” that gathered “extensive research” over three years.

“That team recommended a restructure because it anticipates a significant departure of churches as a result of this division,” Tazelaar explained. “The team felt a restructure would help the denomination thrive in the future and be better poised to handle conflict differently.”

The General Synod Council will next appoint members for the board.

Tazelaar told The Christian Post that the team will “be representative of the diversity in the RCA” and “will include several executive RCA staff members and representatives from around the RCA.”

The task force team could make recommendations as early as June 2024.

“God is inviting us to create a new future for the Reformed Church in America; a future full of hope and great potential,” RCA General Secretary Eddy Alemán said in a report last week to the General Synod.

According to Christianity Today, the RCA is nearly 400 years old and has less than 1,000 churches. Several conservative churches that were previously in the RCA have broken from the group to form independent churches.

In 2016, the General Synod tried to pass an amendment to the Book of Church Order that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, but the measure was not able to secure the two-thirds approval to pass as an amendment.

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Marc Bruxelle/EyeEm


Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.



READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.