RCN Synod Ede Chairman on Women in Office
In the Netherlands, the synod of the Reformed Churches (Liberated) continues in Ede. A couple of days ago, the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad published an interview with Ds. Paul Voorberg, the chairman of the synod. In this interview, he’s very straightforward about where he stands on the issue of women in office. At the beginning of the interview, he acknowledges that his thinking on this has changed, but being open-minded about change is part of being Reformed. Later, after discussing (dismissing?) the Pauline injunctions about women in the church, he makes this statement, “…I see it as an enrichment when women are allowed to participate in the preaching of the Word and church government.” He adds that women being given a fuller role in society is a “fruit of the former Christianization of Western Europe.” God’s guiding hand is in this and now it must be reckoned with in the church. Remember: this is coming from the chairman of the synod. Again, we are reminded of our urgent need to pray for the repentance of our Dutch sister churches.
