All Articles For Vanden, Berg G

The Help and Judgment of the Classis 

“The Ministers shall do their utmost to the end that the father present his child for Baptism.”  —Article 57, D.K.O.

“In the ceremony of baptism, both of children and of adults, the minister shall use the respective forms drawn up for the administration of this sacrament. —Article 58, D.K.O.

“The churches shall observe, in addition to the Sunday, also Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, the Day of Prayer, the National Thanksgiving Day, and Old and New Year’s Day.” —Article 67, D.K.O. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Article 12. “Inasmuch as a minister of the word, once lawfully called as described above, is bound to the service of the church for life, he is not allowed to enter upon a secular vocation except for such weighty reasons as shall receive the approval of the classis.” 

The thirteenth article of our church order reads as follows: “Ministers, who by reason of age, sickness, or otherwise, are rendered incapable of performing the duties of their office, shall nevertheless retain the honor and title of a minister, and the church which they have served shall provide honorably for them in their need (likewise for the orphans and widows of ministers) out of the common fund of the churches, according to the general ecclesiastical ordinances in this matter.”  A. Reasons For Emeritation 

In the former issue we explained that implicit in the idea of emeritation is retirement, either temporary or permanent, from the active ministry of the word. We further stated that this retirement is due to reasons of personal disability. It is our position that an emeritation proper is not granted because of circumstances in which others cause the continuation of the work of the ministry to be impeded. These cases should be treated under a different heading.

We were discussing the last time the various methods which are used to support emeritus ministers. The most common practice is that such support is taken from a common fund which is set up by all the churches for this purpose. This practice is in usage in our churches and is also; in accord with the provisions of our church order, “. . . .

“If any minister, for the aforesaid or any other reason, is compelled to discontinue his service for a time, which shall not take place without the advice of the consistory, he shall nevertheless at all times be and remain subject to the call of the congregation.” Article 14 D.K.O. 

“As Christian discipline is of a spiritual nature, and exempts no one from civil trial or punishment by the authorities, so also besides civil punishment there is need of ecclesiastical censures, to reconcile the sinner with the church and his neighbor and to remove the offense out of the church of Christ.”—Article 71, D.K.O. “The Lord Jesus Christ hath instituted Church Discipline, in order to remove scandals, and prevent their unhappy effects; and no church can, without the faithful and spiritual application of it, hope for His countenance and blessing.”—R.P. Testimony “The impartial and prudent exercise of Church Discipline is...