From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 04:20:27 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-094 Second RCA Minister Faces Discipline for Theological Views The Reformed Church in America's conflict over the theological views of Rev. Richard Rhem, pastor of the denomination's fourth-largest church, is spreading. If some in the RCA's Classis of Southwest Michigan are successful, one of Rhem's supporters will face discipline charges for a newspaper article in the Kalamazoo Gazette supporting Rhem. Last March, Rev. Don Van Hoeven, longtime campus chaplain at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, wrote an opinion piece in the Kalamazoo Gazette supporting Rhem's views, including the assertion that non-Christians can be saved apart from the work of Jesus Christ. NR #1996-094: For Immediate Release Second RCA Minister Faces Discipline for Theological Views by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service KALAMAZOO, Mich. (September 10, 1996) URNS - The Reformed Church in America's conflict over the theological views of Rev. Richard Rhem, pastor of the denomination's fourth-largest church, is spreading. If some in the RCA's Classis of Southwest Michigan are successful, one of Rhem's supporters will face discipline charges for a newspaper article in the Kalamazoo Gazette supporting Rhem. Last March, Rev. Don Van Hoeven, longtime campus chaplain at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, wrote an opinion piece in the Kalamazoo Gazette supporting Rhem's views, including the assertion that non-Christians can be saved apart from the work of Jesus Christ. The article, later reprinted in the Grand Rapids Press, led to a local firestorm of criticism and efforts to apply discipline to Van Hoeven. Although the Rhem case is still in process, Rhem has been given a formal rebuke by the RCA's Muskegon Classis. In RCA polity, a "rebuke" is the highest level of pastoral discipline which can be administered without a "formal presentation and trial of charges in a judicatory" of the church. The Southwest Michigan Classis began a similar process with a three hour closed-session inquiry in August and will decide in an evening meeting in Hopkins on September 24 whether disciplining Van Hoeven is necessary, and if so, whether to admonish or rebuke Van Hoeven or begin judicial proceedings that could lead to his suspension, deposition, or excommunication. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-092: Back to the Drawing Board: Muskegon Classis Tables Proposed Settlement with Pastor of RCA's Fourth-Largest Church Contact List: Rev. Donald Van Hoeven 1024 Westfall, Kalamazoo, MI 49006 H: (616) 381-8586 Rev. Arthur Wiers, President, Classis of Southwest Michigan 910 Jenks Blvd., Kalamazoo, MI 49006 O: (616) 349-9788 * H: (616) 349-6415 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-094.txt .