I just had an article published in Perspectives, A Journal of Reformed Thought. This is the theology magazine of the Reformed Church. You can read it online here.
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About Me
- Old First
- Daniel James Meeter grew up in Manhattan, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Jersey, and Long Island. He was ordained to the Reformed Church ministry in 1980, and has served churches in Jersey, Michigan, and Ontario. He earned a Ph.D. from Drew University in 1989, and has published two technical books in theology as well as many articles. He is married to Rev. Melody Takken Meeter, the Director of Pastoral Care at the Lutheran Medical Center of Brooklyn. They have two married children. The Old First Mission Statement: Old First Reformed Church is a community of Jesus Christ in Brooklyn. We welcome persons of every ethnicity, race, and orientation to worship, serve, and love God, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We embrace the following missions: 1. To offer God's word, prayer, the sacraments, and discipleship; 2. To offer outreach, education, fellowship, and music; 3. To offer sanctuary to anyone seeking spirituality and hope; 4. To offer hospitality to community groups and the arts; 5. To care for the gifts we have been given through our Reformed Church, including our historic sanctuary and building.
2 comments:
Nice article. I'm not sure I agree with your statements on the RCA as a denomination distancing itself from the tradition, unless (and this is arguable) you are speaking of the General Synod and the General Synod Council as the denomination. If that is the case, I might argue that the denomination has rejected its tradition, but most of the RCA as a church has not.
You are very kind James.
And perhaps more optimistic and kindly than I am.
I think we do not love our tradition, not if love is expressed in care, nurture, and the application and investment of resources, even at some cost and sacrifice. I don't think our love for tradition is "formative" for the RCA. As a denominational system, we don't regularly drink from our tradition's wells. I don't think we delight in our tradition. I think we treat it like an old Buick in the extra garage; we like to show it every once in a while, but not much more than that. I mean the RCA as a whole corporate culture and system, notwithstanding the strong love on the part of some individuals. Like yourself. Like myself.
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