Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 07:01:01 -0400 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99044: MARS Student Fails URC Exam NR #1999-044: Mid-America Student Fails URC Exam; Kloosterman Urges Different Procedure for Examining Students For the first time ever, a graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary failed his candidacy examination for the ministry of the United Reformed Churches. Classis Central United States made its decision via an unusual procedure which Mid-America professor Dr. Nelson Kloosterman argued should become standard operating practice in the URC: the student's home church consistory decided he had failed the exam and that the classis therefore had no further business on its agenda with regard to the student. The June 1 special session of classis met at Lynwood (IL) URC for eight items of business: examining two 1999 graduates of Mid-America for ministerial candidacy; admitting a new congregation in Waupun, Wisconsin; dealing with four procedural overtures from Redeemer URC in Orange City, and admitting the retired French-language broadcast minister of the Christian Reformed Church's Back to God Hour to the URC ministry. Classis admitted the 45-member Grace URC of Waupun after a brief closed session and adopted all four of Redeemer URC's overtures, but not much else at the meeting went according to plan. Shortly after classis convened, it learned that Rev. Aaron Kayayan had withdrawn his request to be admitted to the URC ministry. Kayayan, long known as a staunch conservative in the CRC, resigned last fall from the CRC ministry and membership in Palos Heights (IL) CRC and has been attending Lynwood URC for about half a year. Most of the meeting was taken up by the examinations of Peter Kloosterman and Mark Stewart, both members of Community Reformed Bible Church of Highland, Indiana. Kloosterman sustained the examination, but Stewart did not. NR #1999-044: For Immediate Release: Mid-America Student Fails URC Exam; Kloosterman Urges Different Procedure for Examining Students by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service LYNWOOD, ILL. (June 2, 1999) URNS - For the first time ever, a graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary failed his candidacy examination for the ministry of the United Reformed Churches. Classis Central United States made its decision via an unusual procedure which Mid-America professor Dr. Nelson Kloosterman argued should become standard operating practice in the URC: the student's home church consistory decided he had failed the exam and that the classis therefore had no further business on its agenda with regard to the student. The June 1 special session of classis met at Lynwood (IL) URC for eight items of business: examining two 1999 graduates of Mid-America for ministerial candidacy; admitting a new congregation in Waupun, Wisconsin; dealing with four procedural overtures from Redeemer URC in Orange City, and admitting the retired French-language broadcast minister of the Christian Reformed Church's Back to God Hour to the URC ministry. Classis admitted the 45-member Grace URC of Waupun after a brief closed session and adopted all four of Redeemer URC's overtures, but not much else at the meeting went according to plan. Shortly after classis convened, it learned that Rev. Aaron Kayayan had withdrawn his request to be admitted to the URC ministry. Kayayan, long known as a staunch conservative in the CRC, resigned last fall from the Christian Reformed ministry and membership in Palos Heights (IL) CRC and has been attending Lynwood URC for about half a year. Lynwood URC had asked the classis to schedule a one hour "colloquium doctum" examination to receive him into the URC ministry, but only days beforehand, Kayayan decided not to go through with the examination. Lynwood URC pastor Rev. Jerome Julien declined comment on Kayayan's reasons but said he was continuing to attend the church and had no plans to return to the CRC. The main item on the classical agenda, however, was the scheduled five hour examination of Peter Kloosterman and Mark Stewart, both members of Community Reformed Bible Church of Highland, Indiana. Both men are fairly new members of the United Reformed Churches; Stewart recently transferred from the Toronto Orthodox Christian Reformed Church (Indep.) and Kloosterman was a longtime member of Dutton (MI) Independent Reformed Church. Both the Toronto and Dutton congregations are members of the Alliance of Reformed Churches. The examination began with concerns, and didn't go well as the day progressed. Beginning with objections to spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and content questions in the written sermons presented by both candidates, the examination stretched from 9 am until the dinner break, including nearly an hour of closed session debating whether to declare the two men candidates for the ministry. In the end, Kloosterman sustained his examination but Stewart did not. Classis also voted to declare that if Kloosterman accepts a call to a church within the boundaries of the classis, it would waive the ordination exam which would ordinarily be required in such cases. "It wasn't just one answer to one question," said Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, professor at Mid-America and a member of the Highland church. "There was a general concern that began building over a number of questions." Classis Central United States made its decision via an unusual procedure that Kloosterman argued should be in general use in the URC. "The consistory of Community Reformed Bible Church requested classis to examine the two men for candidacy; the classis agreed to that request," said Kloosterman. "After the examination the classis discussed the exam, and with the input of that discussion the elders of Community Reformed Bible Church went into closed session to deliberate whether they had sustained the exam. With one of the students, the elders decided he had sustained the exam and classis concurred with that position, and the consistory was in a position to declare him a candidate." "With the other student, the elders decided he had not sustained the exam, so classis had no more business before it," continued Kloosterman. "In my judgment this is the procedure that is called for by the church order; it's clear that the consistory calls the classis to meet and that the consistory declares that people are candidates for the office of minister of the Word, and if the consistory declares that students have sustained the exam, it is also the consistory which declares that students have not sustained the exam," said Kloosterman. "I'm not commenting on other procedures used in the URC, I think this is the procedure of the church order." According to Kloosterman, the next step is up to Stewart. "What is the procedure for a student who does not sustain his candidacy exam?" asked Kloosterman. "If he wishes to pursue the office of ministry of the Word, he needs to come back, talk to his consistory, and the consistory will work with him." Kloosterman said the Highland elders had no animosity toward Stewart and were willing to work with him if he chose to do so. Kloosterman also noted that Stewart was free to transfer to another URC which would call a classis meeting to examine him. Stewart left the classis after the exam and could not be reached for comment. The other candidate said he was pleased to sustain his exam but disappointed that Stewart had not. "I'm very pleased; this was a pleasure to go through," said Peter Kloosterman. "It was kind of bittersweet, though, that Mark didn't make it." At 31, Kloosterman had been a member of Dutton since his teenage years and worked as a tire retreader in Grand Rapids before going to college. Enrolling in Mid-America in 1996, he moved to the Chicago area, eventually transferred to the Highland church, and said he looked forward to serving a URC congregation. Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Grace United Reformed Church PO Box 217, Waupun, WI 53963 O: (920) 324-5968 * FAX: (920) 324-0478 * E-Mail: sysadmin@westraWci.com Rev. Aaron Kayayan 12233 South 70th Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463 O: (708) 361-8792 Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, Professor, Mid-America Reformed Seminary 229 Seminary Dr., Dyer, IN 46311 O: (219) 864-2400 * H: (219) 322-9003 * FAX: (219) 864-2410 Rev. Ralph Pontier, Stated Clerk, Classis Central United States (URC) 4608 Jackson Ave., Orange City, IA 51041-7446 H/O: (712) 737-4901 * FAX: (712) 737-3350 * E-mail: rpontier@rconnect.com ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-044.txt .