Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 16:18:06 -0400 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 98090: RCA General Secretary Calls for Clinton Resignation; CRC Not Expected to Take Stand on Clinton NR #1998-090: Reformed Church in America General Secretary Calls for Clinton Resignation; Christian Reformed General Secretary Doesn't Expect CRC to Take Stand on Clinton So far, church officials calling for the resignation of President Bill Clinton for his confessed adultery with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and alleged perjury before the federal grand jury investigating the matter have generally been on the right wing of the theological and political spectrum. On September 21, former World Council of Churches staffer and current Reformed Church in America General Secretary Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson - who describes his denomination as both "ecumenical and evangelical" - joined the call for Clinton's resignation. In the prepared statement, issued prior to the release of Clinton's videotaped testimony before the federal grand jury, Granberg-Michaelson warned that "the personal moral failure and persistent dishonesty of President Clinton has created a public spectacle and a political crisis." Christian Reformed General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard, head of the other large Dutch Reformed denomination in North America, cited two reasons the CRC probably wouldn't join the RCA in calling for Clinton's resignation: the different histories and public roles of the RCA and theological objections to church officials becoming involved in governmental matters. NR #1998-090: For Immediate Release: Reformed Church in America General Secretary Calls for Clinton Resignation; Christian Reformed General Secretary Doesn't Expect CRC to Take Stand on Clinton By Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (September 23, 1998) URNS - So far, church officials calling for the resignation of President Bill Clinton for his confessed adultery with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and alleged perjury before the federal grand jury investigating the matter have generally been on the right wing of the theological and political spectrum. On September 21, former World Council of Churches staffer and current Reformed Church in America General Secretary Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson - who describes his denomination as both "ecumenical and evangelical" - joined the call for Clinton's resignation. In the prepared statement, issued prior to the release of Clinton's videotaped testimony before the federal grand jury, Granberg-Michaelson warned that "the personal moral failure and persistent dishonesty of President Clinton has created a public spectacle and a political crisis." "In its response, the church must resist the false and foolhardy notion that personal character can be segregated from public service," wrote Granberg-Michaelson. "Today, society stands in need of leadership that seeks to be morally sensitive." Granberg-Michaelson wrote that Clinton "has destroyed his ability" to effectively offer the gifts of "inspiring trust, creating community, and clarifying shared values" to the nation. The head of the RCA warned that personal morality and public service cannot be divorced. "Our society needs repentance from widespread attitudes that assume that personal morality is no one else's business and has no public consequences," wrote Granberg-Michaelson. "Religious faith teaches us that our lives, inwardly and outwardly, are one whole, dependent on God's sustaining love and grace. Our society could be helped in learning this lesson by President Clinton's resignation." "His determined pursuit to do business as usual and his resentment of public accountability for his moral failure not only further weaken his leadership but also perpetuate this damaging segregation of personal morality and public responsibility," wrote Granberg-Michaelson. In a closing pastoral paragraph, Granberg-Michaelson noted the church's responsibility to offer forgiveness and nurture to repentant sinners. "Certainly, that is our pastoral responsibility to the president, his family, and all others wounded in this sorrowful saga," wrote Granberg-Michaelson. "In so doing, the church expects that faith builds integration between one's personal commitments and public behavior." "For Bill Clinton, such healing can best occur if he removes himself from the office of the presidency," he concluded. The Reformed Church in America currently numbers 304,000 members and is America's oldest continually-established Protestant denomination, originally beginning with Dutch settlers in 1628 when New York City was a colony of the Netherlands. Though the other large Dutch Reformed denomination in North America, the 279,000-member Christian Reformed Church, is generally considered more theologically conservative than the Reformed Church in America, the General Secretary of the Christian Reformed Church said he was surprised by Granberg-Michaelson's statement and didn't expect the CRC to issue a similar statement on a political question. "To make a statement of that sort seldom comes into our thinking, mine particularly, and I don't know if anyone else here would think of issuing that kind of statement," said CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard. Engelhard cited two reasons the CRC probably wouldn't issue a call for Clinton's resignation: the different histories and public roles of the RCA and theological objections to church officials becoming involved in governmental matters. "The denomination, existing as it does in the middle of the county and in Michigan, doesn't feel it has much of a strong voice when it comes to national politics, whereas the RCA being at 475 Riverside, the Interchurch Center where many of the mainline denominations have traditionally had their headquarters, thinks of itself more in those terms than the CRC does," said Engelhard. "More principially is the notion of sphere sovereignty, that those who are elected officials and work within government are those equipped to deal with those sort of issues. For the church to make its statements about such matters should be done very sparingly. I suspect that shapes some of our thinking." Engelhard underscored the unusual character of the CRC's public stance on the Proposal B assisted suicide issue and its differences from the Clinton case. "This is a governmental thing, it belongs in the hands of the House and the Senate," said Engelhard. "In this case the church would not shrink back from saying that what Mr. Clinton did was immoral and leads to the moral degradation of the country, but probably would be more reluctant to issue statements about what should issue from this." "With regard to moral issues of life and death the church has spoken and those who represent the church may speak out with confidence," said Engelhard. "If someone asked me what do you think Mr. Clinton should do I can give a personal opinion but I would not dare or wish to speak on behalf of the Christian Reformed Church with respect to such issues." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1998-088: Southern Baptist Seminary President Defends Call to Discipline President Clinton Contact List: Dr. David Engelhard, General Secretary, Christian Reformed Church in North America 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0744 * H: (616) 243-2418 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 * E-Mail: engelhad@crcna.org Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America 49 Yawpo, Oakland, NJ 07436 O: (212) 870-2845 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive98: nr98-090.txt .