A. Nominating Ministers Who Have Served Their Present Churches Less Than Two Years
The synod judges that councils of vacant churches when nominating, should not place in nomination the names of ministers who have served their present churches less than two years, unless there are very special and weighty reasons. And if the counselor deems it necessary, in the name of classis, to approve a nomination bearing the name of a minister having served the present church less than two years, the counselor shall give an account of such action to the classis.
(Acts of Synod 1916, p. 29)
B. Calling Same Minister Within a Year
Calling the same minister twice for the same vacancy may not take place within a year without the advice of classis.
(Acts of Synod 1906, p. 16)
C. Calling Ministers for a Specified Term of Service
1. If the letter of call designates a specific term, the letter
shall also include a statement concerning the possibility and
method for reappointment and the financial arrangements which
will be made in the event that the appointment is not extended
beyond the specified term.
2. The church’s counselor, on behalf of classis, shall make sure
the termination procedures and arrangements stated in a letter of
call are fair and reasonable.
3. When a call is terminated following the procedure agreed to in
the letter of call, the minister shall be eligible for a call for
a period of two years, after which time the classis, with the
concurring advice of the synodical deputies, shall declare the
minister to be released from the ministerial of ce. For valid
reasons the classis, with the concurring advice of the synodical
deputies, may extend the minister’s eligibility for call on a
yearly basis.
(Acts of Synod 1987, p. 575)
4. When a term call is extended to a candidate, it shall ordinarily include a term of service of not less than two years.
(Acts of Synod 2000, p. 712)
D. Calling Ministers from the Reformed Church in America
1. A church may call a minister of the Reformed Church in America
(RCA) with due observance of the relevant rules that govern the
Orderly Exchange of Ordained Ministers (Cf. Acts of Synod
2005, p. 741). This shall apply only to a church that
continues to have a viable ministry.
2. Orderly exchange is intended for ordained ministers of the
other denomination to engage in extended service with an
indefinite or long-term call in a church (the inviting church)
while remaining a member of their own church that holds their
ministerial credentials.
3. An ordained minister of the CRC, in good standing, is eligible
to engage in extended service (a call) in the RCA and an ordained
minister of the RCA, in good standing, is eligible to engage in
extended service (a call) in the CRC.
4. Extended service is understood to mean that an ordained
minister of the CRC may be invited to serve as a minister of an
RCA congregation for an extended period of time while maintaining
status as an ordained minister of the CRC, and, vice versa, a
minister of the RCA may be invited to serve as a minister of a
CRC congregation for an extended period of time while maintaining
status as an ordained minister of the RCA. Such a person would
preach, teach, and administer the sacraments in a manner
consistent with the polity of the inviting church.
5. Orderly exchange allows an ordained minister to express the
desire, through appropriate channels, to serve in another
denomination as an ecumenical witness. However, orderly exchange
is always at the invitation of the inviting church and subject to
that church’s polity.
6. To be able to serve in another church, an ordained minister
will demonstrate to the appropriate body of the inviting church a
knowledge of and appreciation for the theological and liturgical
identity, history, polity, and discipline of the church.
7. Approval for extended service must be done in consultation
with and with the concurrence of the sending body. (In the CRC,
the sending body is the calling church council; in the RCA, it is
the classis holding the pastor’s membership.) The minister
remains accountable to the sending body for continuation of
ministerial status. In the event of termination of a call, the
polity of the calling church shall be followed, in consultation
with the sending church.
(Acts of Synod 2014, pp. 564-65)
8. Responsibility for the pastoral care of ordained ministers and
their families is to be initiated by the served congregation,
which will also inform both the sending and inviting bodies of
the CRC and the RCA, which will then share in that pastoral
care.
9. The ordained minister is subject to the supervision of the
sending body with regard to matters of discipline. The inviting
body shall have oversight of the congregation in which the
minister serves. Both the inviting and sending bodies shall be in
communication and participate as appropriate.
10. Each church will make provision for an ordained minister’s
being granted participation in the appropriate bodies of the
church in which he/she is serving (the inviting church). (Cf.
Article 38-g and its Supplement.)
11. All ordained ministers shall continue to participate in the
pension and benefits program of the denomination that holds their
ministerial credentials (the sending church). The inviting church
has the obligation to cover the pension and benefit costs. (Cf.
Article 38-g and its Supplement.)
(Acts of Synod 2005, pp. 741-42)
12. It is important to the faithful and orderly exchange of ordained ministers that one who would serve in a congregation of another church first be formed and educated for ministry in one’s own tradition and have experience in serving in that church’s ordained ministry. Such experience and grounding in one’s own tradition are seen to be essential prior to serving in a setting of another tradition; therefore, such service is not intended for a first call.
(Acts of Synod 2011, p. 824)
E. Calling Ministers from Other Denominations
1. A church may consider calling a minister of another denomination only if it has put forth a sustained and realistic effort to obtain a minister from within the Christian Reformed Church or the Reformed Church in America. This shall apply only to a church which continues to have a viable ministry.
(Acts of Synod 2005, p. 742)
2. A minister of another denomination desiring to be declared
eligible for a call to a Christian Reformed church shall make
application to the Candidacy Committee. Once the application has
been filed, the procedures prescribed by the Candidacy Committee
in the “Journey Toward Ordination” document shall be
followed.
3. A council shall not nominate a minister from another
denomination for a call without the approval of its classis and
the Candidacy Committee.
4. The need for calling a minister of another denomination shall
be acknowledged when:
a. The minister to be called has such extraordinary
qualifications that the church recognizes that it would be
important for the denomination to acquire the minister’s service,
or,
b. The need of a particular congregation for a pastor is so
urgent that it can be met only by calling a minister from another
denomination, or,
c. The minister is a new-church developer and is being called to
start a new church, or
d. There is a need for indigenous leadership in a multicultural
or ethnic minority church.
5. At the scheduled colloquium doctum, the applicant or nominee
shall present a testimonial from the council or classis or
presbytery by the Candidacy Committee, concerning the applicant’s
or nominee’s purity of doctrine and sanctity of life.
(It is conceivable that just because the applicant is loyal to
the Word and the creeds that the minister is adjudged persona non
grata by their own ecclesiastical assemblies and that the
minister would not be granted such a testimonial. Should such be
the case, a careful preliminary investigation must be made by the
classis in consultation with the synodical deputies. The report
of this investigation, if satisfactory to the classis and
synodical deputies, will serve under such circumstances in lieu
of the testimonial.)
6. The following criteria shall be applied for approving or
disapproving the proposed nominee or applicant:
a. soundness of doctrine
b. sanctity of life
c. knowledge and appreciation of Christian Reformed practice and
usage
7. When ministers from other countries are being proposed for
nomination or request an examination to be made eligible for
call, the Candidacy Committee shall use the following additional
criteria:
a. ability to speak, or learn, the English language
b. ability to adjust to the American/Canadian situation
c. age limit of forty years (as a general rule)
8. The proposed nominee or applicant, having sustained the
examination and having received the approbation of the synodical
deputies, may now be called or declared eligible for call, as the
case may be. No further examination or colloquium doctum will be
required.
(Adapted from Acts of Synod 1984, pp. 642-43)
F. Determination of Need
1. Synod directs the Candidacy Committee to take specific and
special note of the “need” factor when requested to give their
advice to the councils and/or classes in the calling of ministers
from other denominations and in declaring ministers from other
denominations available for call in the Christian Reformed Church
at their own request.
2. Synod requires of the councils and/or classes such written
specification of the “need” for approving such ministers and
their calling as will satisfy the Candidacy Committee in their
decision, which written specification shall then become part of
the report of the Candidacy Committee to be submitted for
synodical approval.
G. Joint Ministry of Ministers from Churches in Ecclesiastical Fellowship
Ministers of denominations in ecclesiastical fellowship with the
Christian Reformed Church may be called by way of exception to
serve in the Christian Reformed Church while jointly serving
ministries within their own denominations. This arrangement
requires the approval of classis and the concurrence of the
synodical deputies. The specific need for their services must be
demonstrated and the pension fund arrangements must be
satisfactorily met in the denomination holding the minister’s
credentials.
Ministers of denominations in ecclesiastical fellowship who so
serve churches in the Christian Reformed Church will be accorded
the right of delegation to classis and participation in classical
committee work for the duration of their time of service in the
Christian Reformed Church. This right of delegation and
participation shall not extend beyond the boundaries of the
classis.
The Christian Reformed Church will by way of exception allow its
ministers to be called by a congregation of a denomination in
ecclesiastical fellowship if such a minister jointly serves in a
congregation of the denomination in ecclesiastical fellowship and
in a congregation of the Christian Reformed Church.
(Acts of Synod 1997, p. 663)