From: Darrell128 Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 18:31:32 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Subject: NR 98011: What's Left of Classis California South? NR #1998-011: What's Left of Classis California South? What should a classis do when over a two month period it loses its stated clerk, synodical deputy, classical interim committee chair and secretary, and can't even conduct its regular January business meeting? That was the question faced by Classis California South in January as it struggled with what to do about the secession of over a third of its membership and many of its officers. "Right now as it stands all the committees of classis have ceased to function except one, that is the Classical Home Missions Committee," said Rev. Randy Young of Friendship Community Church in Fontana, California, noting that of the twenty organized congregations that were in Classis California South until the recent secession, only four dozen people from about ten churches attended a special prayer meeting held on January 15 in place of the regular classis. NR 1998-011: For Immediate Release: What's Left of Classis California South? by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (February 10, 1997) URNS - What should a classis do when over a two month period it loses its stated clerk, synodical deputy, classical interim committee chair and secretary, and can't even conduct its regular January business meeting? That was the question faced by Classis California South in January as it struggled with what to do about the secession of over a third of its membership and many of its officers. Interim stated clerk Rev. Bruce Ballast from Calvary CRC of Chino didn't return repeated phone calls to his office for information on developments in his classis, but he may well have other problems on his mind. "Right now as it stands all the committees of classis have ceased to function except one, that is the Classical Home Missions Committee," said Rev. Randy Young of Friendship Community Church in Fontana, California, noting that of the twenty organized congregations that were in Classis California South until the recent secession, only four dozen people from about ten churches attended a special prayer meeting held on January 15 in place of the regular classis. The classis currently has sixteen organized congregations, and only four - Calvary CRC of Chino, San Marcos CRC, San Diego CRC, and Redlands CRC - are traditional Christian Reformed congregations. Most of the remaining churches in classis are Korean or Hispanic churches, and often are struggling with financial or language issues. That raised the issue at the special meeting of whether to continue as a separate classis or merge with Classis Greater Los Angeles, which also lost many of its members to conservative secessions in 1993. "The time was mostly spent in worship and prayer and at the end it was decided to poll the elders and pastors who were there, whether to merge with Classis Greater Los Angeles or to remain," said Young. "Most everybody wanted to remain as a classis. The only ones who thought it might be better to merge with Classis Greater Los Angeles were some of the Korean brothers who, if we were to merge with Classis Greater Los Angeles, would go to Classis Pacific Hanmi." "It was a good time of fellowship and prayer but no real business items were really accomplished," said Young. Young said that so far he hadn't seen clear signs of a liberalizing in Classis California South's official positions, and noted that he had been elected as a member of the new classical interim committee despite his close fellowship with those who recently seceded from the denomination. Young also made clear that his church would react strongly against any liberal developments. "We've made a conviction that if our classis were to allow women delegates, either women deacons or elders, as a delegate I would just leave the meeting. If I see that there is a female delegate, we'll just leave the premises," said Young. "We are also going to increase our letter writing and our outspokenness about some of these abuses in the Christian Reformed Church until they kick us out." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1998-010: Classis California South Loses Third of Membership Contact List: Rev. Bruce Ballast, Interim Stated Clerk, Classis California South 2837 Harbour Town Trail, Ontario, CA 91761-7341 O: (909) 627-1918 * H: (909) 947-8852 Rev. Randal Young, Pastor, Friendship Community Christian Reformed Church 6101 Cherry Ave., Fontana, CA 92336 O/FAX: (909) 899-7660 * H: (909) 899-4249 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive98: nr98-011.txt .