Is Aaron a bad guy? No.
He wants us to think that he is.
We disagree on matters of authority, history and interpretation and those matters matter. They are mutually exclusive and why would we want to be in a relationship with him.
At least Aaron is saying that out loud.
In the video above his “Mission Accomplished” moment is a parting of the ways. While many make the case that it is possible to partner together, myself included, despite our differences, he does not.
The thing that I wish he would stop doing, and that the rest of Abide would stop doing, is talk out of both sides of their mouth.
An affirming church that we would be sorted into, when we hear his theology and biblical anthropology explained in this video, is not a true church. It is disingenuous to say we’ll go our way and you’ll go yours and we’ll meet at the end in Christ.
You don’t believe that affirming Christians are Christians.
Why not simply argue that position?
This Synod is going to deal with the side issue of gravamen. The thinking on Abide’s side is that continuing to tighten the screws of discipline will chase the apostates away. Churches, officebearers, and the LGBTQ+ individuals that they claim to want to minister better to will leave. It is the logic of husbands when they want to divorce their wives but lack the courage to own their desires.
Instead they take the tactic of being a bad husband so that the wife will leave, he can claim the role of victim, and somewhere down the line he will be seen as a suitable partner because she left him and she’s the harlot.
Answer as a man if you have the strength to stand.
My challenge to Abide as you’re planning your Synod strategy: file the papers yourself.
Changing the rules around gravamen isn’t going to accomplish your goal.
It’s going to take 2 years to make any church order changes and there’s no way a committee can do the work required to convince a Synod that they’ve responsibly anticipated all the consequences of such a change in 3 days. If they try they’re negligent fools and you’re going to end up with a disappointing Friday afternoon and another hung Synod.
It’s probably going to take more than that because a study committee will be the reasonable and moderating response of the center that will see this as the “Better Together” option delaying what you want for at least 5 years and likely 6 with the requisite church order revision process.
Even if you do achieve gravamen changes most churches, officebearers, and members will simply go to ground and wait for you in the long grass. Those gravamina filed probably number less than 30 across the denomination. We don’t know because Church Order deems them to be confidential and between an officebearer and their council. Good luck trying to tell reformed churches what to do from above. Have you even considered the Frisians?
The rest haven’t bothered and you won’t find them.
They aren’t in this for themselves. They’re in it for their families, for their children, for their grandchildren, for the oppressed, for the hurting, for the denomination that is woven into their DNA. They’re here for the long haul. They’re on a mission from God and a few process changes aren’t going to scare them away from this fight.
Drop Aaron’s bad husband routine.
The first thing you should do is own your convictions. You don’t think we’re the true church. You want us gone. Stand up in the first plenary session and move to take up Overture 28 on its own as the first item on the agenda.
Tell us on the floor of Synod that you want the divorce. Tell the membership of this denomination that the affirmation of same-sex relationships is a heresy. Make it so that it is abundantly clear that you are throwing us out of the house.
You won’t.
I’ve not met with a man who is dissatisfied with his marriage with the courage to own it.