A confessional church from the Dutch Reformed tradition, the CRC requires all officebearers (ministers, elders and deacons) to affirm that the CRC statements of faith (the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort) fully agree with the Word of God.
The CRC annual meetings, called synods, have held firm to the biblical and historic Christian position on marriage and sexuality despite a decade-long push to affirm same-sex behavior. Synod 1973 adopted a comprehensive report on homosexuality, concluding that “homosexual acts are sinful” and “Sex relations outside of marriage are forbidden in the Scriptures.”
An ideology rooted in atheism slowly began to insert itself into Christian circles, including in the CRC, where a group called All One Body began advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ sexuality in the church in 2011.
In 2020, Neland Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan decided that the 1973 report was merely “pastoral advice” and therefore not mandatory. Neland Avenue CRC ordained a deacon living in a same-sex marriage. Following Neland Avenue’s action, a group of CRC pastors and leaders formed The Abide Project to stand for the biblical and historical position on marriage and sexuality in the CRC.
Synod Decisions
Votes at Synod 2022 were overwhelmingly on the side of orthodoxy. Synod recommended the Human Sexuality Report to the churches. The report was the cumulation of a five-year project involving scholars from multiple fields and held to an historically orthodox position on marriage and sexuality.
By a vote of 123-53-2 synod affirmed that when the Heidelberg Catechism condemns “unchastity,” this includes “adultery, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, polyamory, pornography and homosexual sex.”
As such, this understanding had “confessional status” and was binding on all officebearers. Synod 2022 also instructed Neland Avenue CRC to remove the deacon in a same-sex marriage by a vote of 134-43-1.
Revisionists in the CRC did not accept the outcome. Neland Avenue decided to defy synod’s directives and refuse to remove the deacon in a same-sex marriage. Many more congregations publicly stated they were adopting an open and affirming policy.
A “Frequently Asked Questions” was released by headquarters that assumed Neland Avenue’s understanding of the 1973 report by saying Synod 2022 “raises the level of agreement expected” of officebearers. The FAQ said officebearers who disagreed with Synod 2022 could simply file an exception or “gravamen” and “would be considered officebearers in good standing.”
Another group emerged, calling itself “Better Together: A Third Way.” Their board included many well-known CRC leaders and their goal was to make same-sex marriage a matter for local churches to decide for themselves.
Instead of backtracking, Synod 2023 once again affirmed that “unchastity” includes “homosexual sex” and this has “confessional status.” Synod 2023 also rejected Neland Avenue’s appeal and again instructed the congregation to comply with the CRC position.
Revisionist resistance continued. Better Together: Third Way released a template for church councils to protest synod decisions of the last two years. Several of those protests would be sent to Synod 2024. More CRC congregations publicly adopted open and affirming policies that All One Body published.
Synod 2024 maintained the course of the prior synods with overwhelming votes. Synod voted 137 to 47 (74.5%) that gravamina (complaints as the basis of a legal action) “are not meant, nor should be used as an exception to the confessions.” Synod voted 134 to 50 to instruct churches that have publicly contradicted synod decisions “on unchastity to repent and to honor their covenant commitments to the CRCNA.”
The same resolution said, “all office-bearers from churches in non-compliance, by actions or in any form of media, be placed on a limited suspension” where officebearers could not be delegated to synod or to regional meetings of classis.
Departures
Following Synod 2024, theological revisionists have begun to exit the CRC. Multiple congregations have made moves to depart, some by public announcement of intent to leave and some by officially submitting disaffiliation requests to their regional body of classis.
Religion News Service reported “at least two dozen churches” were in the disaffiliation process due to an “increasingly rigid stance on sexuality.” With nearly 1,000 congregations, this represents a small minority of the CRC.
However, certain classes have seen significant departures. Classis Chicago South had 7 of their 17 congregations begin disaffiliation. Classis Grand Rapids East so far has 9 of 18 seeking disaffiliation. Christianity Today reported on the departure of First CRC Grand Rapids, one of the four original CRCs from when it began in 1857.
Prominent figures have resigned their positions, including CRC agency Thrive co-director Chris Schoon as well as Kathy Smith, the church order professor at Calvin Seminary.
On January 15, 2025, the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto voted to sever its ties with the CRC as a denominationally-related educational institution.
On February 18, 33 CRC ministers joined the Reformed Church in America, a sister denomination that is more flexible on LGBTQ practices.
Chris Schoon and Kathy Smith were among those accepted in a ceremony at The Community Church in Ada, Michigan.
Different Accounts
Different narratives have emerged about the CRC in recent years. Most of the words are from the disgruntled. Synod 2022 was labeled by revisionists as a “coup.” A resigning Council of Delegates member said the recent synods are a “new direction.” A prominent CRC minister called Synod’s decisions “reckless, arbitrary, and unimaginable in any other age.”
“The votes were never in doubt and everyone knew it,” wrote a progressive delegate to Synod 2024. “A well-organized movement called Abide had been meeting and strategizing for several years now.”
One CRC minister declared the last three synods to follow the “playbook” of “other right wing takeovers.”
That is, “introduce a wedge issue, hold up this wedge issue as a matter of denominational integrity, and then use the wedge issue to drive out from the denomination anyone who differs from those who are trying to gain control.”
“The Babylonians have struck. The denomination has been plundered,” blogged one progressive CRC pastor.