From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 04:23:19 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-093 Dr. Jonathan Gerstner on Rhem: "Tragedy is the Only Word" Contacted shortly prior to the meeting of Muskegon Classis, one of the leading evangelicals in the RCA commented on the situation with Rev. Richard Rhem. Dr. Jonathan Gerstner, former synod minister of the RCA's Regional Synod of Canada, now serves as president of Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. NR #1996-093: For Immediate Release Dr. Jonathan Gerstner on Rhem: "Tragedy is the Only Word" [Editors' Note: Contacted shortly prior to the meeting of Muskegon Classis, one of the leading evangelicals in the RCA commented on the situation with Rev. Richard Rhem. Dr. Jonathan Gerstner, former synod minister of the RCA's Regional Synod of Canada, now serves as president of Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The following is an unedited statement from Gerstner. It should be noted that a few of his comments are based on the original proposal on which classis postponed action.] by Dr. Jonathan Gerstner Former Synod Minister, RCA Regional Synod of Canada (August 14, 1996) URNS - Tragedy is the only word, someone who had a reputation as a young man as a defender of the faith and now to fall into apostatizing, denying essential parts of the faith. That's a tragedy for anyone to take joy in, it's a very sad thing, but on the other hand I'm of course happy to see Western Michigan classes being serious in their responsibilities. For me as an evangelical RCA leader, the biggest question for me is what we do with those apostate classes that said they were in support of Dick Rhem and his theology. Rev. Rhem now has been disciplined, we hope and pray that he will think seriously about what has happened in his removing from the ministry, and hope and pray that rather than going on in ministry in the Jimmy Swaagart mode, instead that he will really repent and stop ministering until he has returned to an orthodox understanding of Christianity. The final thing now for the RCA is that our hands our clean now that we have taken the action we had to take. The hard thing now is what do we do as a denomination with these classes that seem to be saying that they are in support of a similar apostate theology. This has been a longstanding historical problem in the RCA of differentiation, not just of differentiation geographically in the RCA but now it's becoming very, very clear that we are dealing with essential theological differences. It is a big issue and I think it will be very interesting indeed to see where the future of the RCA runs from this. Obviously someone should be asking questions about whether the New York office guys were supportive of the sharp discipline that Michigan had, or whether they've actually tried to lessen the discipline given to Dick. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-092: Back to the Drawing Board: Muskegon Classis Tables Proposed Settlement with Pastor of RCA's Fourth-Largest Church Contact List: Dr. Jonathan Gerstner, President, Knox Theological Seminary 2750 NE 58th St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308 O: (954) 771-0376 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-093.txt .